Farmers, Ranchers, the Land and the Falls - Texas Parks & Wildlife ...

A History of the Pedernales Falls Area, 1850–1970
26 Joyce Brock genealogical materials; birth dates confirmed by information on
T.J. and Betsy’s tombstones as noted in Hearn, Henly Cemetery, p. 3.
27 Bobby Wilson interview; 1880 manuscript census; and Trammell’s 1886
homestead affidavit, in which Trammell affirmed that he had “occupied, improved,
and cultivated” the land in the A.C. Hughes tract.
28 Author’s interview with Bobby Wilson for constructions, fields, way of
life and economy, lime kilns, crops planted; his remembrances and assertions, passed
down through his family, are supported by visible configurations of stone fencing
and foundations, physical evidence of lime kilns and other artifacts on sites occupied
by the Wilsons and other settlers, observed by the author during a tour of the area
guided by Bobby Wilson, July 1996. Tobacco speculation based partly on Harriet
Wheatley’s reference to “two brothers” who, according to local legend, once grew
tobacco in the area, and partly on the Wilsons’ tobacco-country roots.
29 Names of children and description of Henry Wilson and names of children
from genealogical materials and family stories supplied by Joyce Brock; ages and
illiteracy information from 1880 manuscript census, Blanco County.
30 1880 manuscript census, Blanco County; names and birthdates of
Trammell children from a Bible that once belonged to Annie Jane Trammell, in
possession of Bobby Wilson. As late as 1900, seven of the Trammell’s children were
still living with their parents: 1900 manuscript census, Blanco County.
31 Mary Terry, Greene C. Wilson, Matt Huff, and Thomas Welch (see below)
were among those adult settlers in the area who could not sign their names to legal
contracts, and instead signed their assent with a simple “X” (his/her mark). Henry
Wilson could sign his name, but since his own children could not read or write, the
literacy skills of Henry and his wife Elizabeth were probably limited.
32 Bobby Wilson interview for cemetery, schoolhouse and “Schoolhouse
Flats,” testimony based on stories handed down through his family, reinforced
by physical evidence of schoolhouse. Bobby Wilson’s grandmother, Annie Jane
Trammell, attended the school in the 1870s and perhaps a bit later. Additional proof
lies in the 1900 contract in which M.T. Holton sold the Greene Wilson tract to J.B.
Wenmohs; the contract excludes from the sale 2 acres of land on the tract “heretofore
deeded for School House.” Interestingly, no previous or future contracts for the land
mentioned this 2-acre tract, and the author could find no record of the donation in
Blanco County deed or trust records: this could be because Blanco County’s records
were destroyed in a courthouse fire in 1875. Greene Wilson as itinerant minister:
information from Joyce Brock. For tradition concerning the schoolhouse, see Harriet
Wheatley, “Memories of Mrs. C.A. (Harriet) Wheatley.” Mrs. Wheatley mentions
the school and the remnant foundation near the graveyard, but also suggests that
the building might have been “one of the first Lutheran churches in this area.” This
is unsubstantiated and runs counter to what is now known about the building, the
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