Proud to be a Texan

 

Flag of Texas - Lone Star State Symbol of Pride and Heritage 73425415 Vector Art at Vecteezy

PROUD TO BE A TEXAN

Once upon a time…
A love story began in the Red River Valley of the South. Like countless love stories before and after, this one is different as it is my love story. Mother and Daddy met and married in North Texas where just a few years before, their parents and grandparents, had migrated to a land that was wide open, where wilderness was still plentiful. This was a place where cotton and cattle would reign supreme.
 
My people arrived in Texas, a mighty state, full of proud people with a strong heritage. They were not afraid of hard work to establish themselves and sink their feet into solid ground to establish their homes and livelihoods. Most arrived in covered wagons, arriving anywhere from the early 1880s to the late 1890s. They came from Arkansas, Alabama, Georgia, Virginia and Tennessee.
 
And some of these were people I knew as a young child.
My story begins with a handsome young man, Truman Quillin, and a beautiful young nursing student, Carolita Jones. Both of them were born in Texas in the early 1920s and both of them knew their grandparents who were born in the 1850s-1870s. These were the ancestors who migrated to the great State of Texas. They arrived along about the time that the planning and construction of the State Capital in Austin was occurring.
 
It’s hard to wrap my head around that these people arrived in a place where just 50 years prior, Texas had defeated Santa Anna in the Battle of San Jacinto and the Republic of Texas was established 1836, and in 1845, Texas was admitted to the United States as the 28th state.
 
Here is a brief timeline of Texas just shortly before my people arrived:
May 13, 1865 – The last land engagement of the Civil War was fought at the Battle of Palmito Ranch in far south Texas, more than a month after Gen. Lee’s surrender at Appomattox, VA.
 
1866 – The abundance of longhorn cattle in south Texas and the return of Confederate soldiers to a poor reconstruction economy marked the beginning of the era of Texas trail drives to northern markets.
 
March 30, 1870 – The United States Congress readmitted Texas into the Union. Reconstruction continued, however, for another four years.
 
At 70 years of age, I stand amazed at how my family history is intertwined with the history of the land. I only wish that our young people would take an interest to truly understand what it took to carve out these areas to prepare the way for the rest of us. We must not lose our heritage. We must never forget where we came from because their footsteps lead straight to our front doors.
 
Timeline of My Family’s Arrival in Texas
Quillins – from Virginia – early 1880s
Sprowls – from TN – early 1880s
Jones – Alabama – early 1880s
Bridges – Georgia – 1880s
McNair – Arkansas – 1890s
Kings – Georgia – late 1880s
Hulsey – Georgia – late 1890s
Haney – Georgia – late 1890s