BCGHS Journal Vol II, No 2, Apr-Jun 2020, by LeAnne McCamey, BCGHS Newsletter/Quarterly Editor

When working on the 1890 project, one of the usual tasks I come across is the necessity of attempting to find the name behind the initials found on county government records. Any Texas researcher is well acquainted with the fact that initials were used, many times, more often than an individual’s name.

When I came across the marriage record of J.E. Claybrook and Miss Mattie Boswell, I did the usual look up on Ancestry and The Portal to Texas History to see if I could find out who J.E. was. I found Joseph Edward and Joseph Edwin on Ancestry, so went to the Portal of Texas history to see if I could find an obituary for clarification.

I didn’t find an obituary, but what I did find compelled me to do more research on what I thought promised to be an interesting story. The search for “J.E. Claybrook” on the Portal to Texas History turned up several entries in the early 1900s local newspapers of his murder case being set for trial several times. Then it took a jump from the early 1900s to the next three decades in which he was commonly listed in the paper as the Vice-President and a director of Kopperl Bank and called upon numerous times to serve as a juror. So how does one go from being a killer to the president of the local bank for many years? I knew there was a story in there somewhere, but it wasn’t as easy to dig up as I thought it might be.

I contacted Bill Calhoon at the Historical Commission for assistance in attempting to find a trial record. I knew that files for that time period existed at one time, but I also knew that they had been moved during the Courthouse renovation in 2007 and literally “dumped” into a large open container at the Courthouse Annex. Bill couldn’t clarify for me if any of those records were saved (it merits more looking into).

I was aware that old Criminal Minute Books are housed at the Collection and asked if he could look the case up and give me an indictment charge and disposition. I had the case number from the trial announcements in the online newspapers.

I’m including Bill’s response as to the result of his research as I feel it is pertinent to future researchers.

“I was perplexed that I was not able to find anything in the District Court Criminal minutes after the motion to summon the jury for the February 1901 trial. It seems like all the “old” causes “disappeared” as the cause numbers for the rest of the minutes in Book D were all over 2600. We don’t have the Criminal Dockets for that time period (Criminal Dockets covering 1895-1938 aren’t here at the Collection). I checked the “Non-Jury” Docket in case they somehow had been entered there, but didn’t find anything.

So, I pulled up the microfilm for the Meridian Tribune and managed to find an article on the second trial published in the 16 September 1898 issue, found the name of the victim to be “Jeptha Harris” then found that there is a vertical file for this murder case. A photocopy of the 1898 article, as well as a photocopy of an article from 22 Feb 1901 about the third trial were in the file. I scanned both articles into the attached PDF.”

Bill is ALWAYS so helpful and is such an asset to the Historical Commission. The article he found goes into great detail and is self-explanatory. I have included it in this article with a brief biographical sketch of Joseph Edwin Claybrook.

Joseph Edwin “J.E.”[his death certificate says Edward] Claybrook married Minnie Mae “Mattie” Boswell on 23 Nov 1890, in Bosque County, TX. J.E. was born 29 Aug 1869, in Bosque County to Christopher R and Margaret (nee Lane) Claybrook. Mattie was born 6 Jan 1872, in Bullock Co, AL, to James William Boswell and Willie Placide Harris.

Advertisements in newspapers at the time indicate that J.E.’s father was a blacksmith with a shop on the corner of Lubbock and Crosby Streets in the village of Kimball. Joseph was three years old when his mother died in Mar of 1873. His father married in July of that year to Sarah Ann McKissick and had several more children by her.

Joseph (otherwise known as Joe) helped his father work his farm in the community of Steiner (also called Fowler) as a young boy. Joe’s brother, Jack, describes an incident that happened in 1876–when Joe would have been about six years old–when 100 Waco Indians came through and crossed the Kimball River on their way to Indian Territory in Oklahoma. Jack stated “My brother, Joe…, and I were scared. I hung onto my mother’s apron, and Joe crawled under the bed. All the dogs left the place until after the Indians were gone. My father and grandfather talked to the Indian Chief and gave them water from the well.”

After the death of his father in 1883, Joe took $1,000 that he inherited and purchased his sister, Mattie’s, land inheritance, adjoining it to his property and thus became the start of the “Joe Claybrook Farm and Ranch.” He worked hard, expanding his land holdings by purchasing property from other individuals over the next several years. That he was able to build a home for himself and newly wedded wife at the time of their marriage—he being a young twenty-one years of age—speaks a lot as to his diligence and enterprise.

As a young adult, Joe was generally known in the community as a neighborly young man –that is until he got “cross wise” with a man who owed him money and stabbed him to death. The Meridian Tribune gave a synopsis of the trial and evidence in the Feb 22, 1901 edition.

Joe had four very young children at home at the time this incident took place in 1897; one had just been born a couple of weeks prior. The 1900 census paints a picture of a hard-working farmer relied upon by extended family members. His wife had given birth to another daughter in the intervening years between the time of the incident and his third jury trial. His sixty-seven year old father-in-law lived with him as well as a nineteen year old sister-in-law. His step-mother, Sarah, lived on the neighboring farm with her youngest surviving daughter by J.E.’s father, Christopher. Though Sarah had a twenty-seven year old boarder living with her and her daughter, without doubt she depended on Joe to help run his father’s farm as well as his own.

Joe’s convict record gives some interesting details on his physical description as well as other details. It gives his height, weight, complexion, hair and eye color as well as a list of numerous scars. I thought the “bite scar” on the tongue was rather interesting and couldn’t help but wonder if he earned that one in his altercation with Mr. Taylor. Details also give marital status, tobacco use (I’m not sure of the code or meaning of the words under “habits” column), is able to read and write, attended ten years of school, gives the state of birth for him and his parents, occupation, date of conviction, sentence, charge, county, place of residence, plea, when received, date of expiration of sentence, and date of pardon.

The Huntsville Convict and Conduct Register indicates that Joe received a full pardon from the Governor of Texas about eight months after his incarceration. He was granted a full pardon and full restoration of his citizenship and voting rights on 23 Nov 1901.

Without a doubt, many in the community considered the altercation between Joe and Jeptha Harris a matter of self-defense, as evidenced by two hung juries and the newspaper article, before finally being convicted of manslaughter and pardoned shortly thereafter.

Joe returned home and lived a productive life. He and Minnie had eight children. One of his young daughters (Mattie) preceded him in death shortly after he returned home from prison. Minnie died 19 Mar 1920, and is buried in Cedron Cemetery.

Joe turns up with a wife – Rosie—on the 1940 census, indicating that he married sometime after the 1930 census. Joe died a couple of weeks after being numbered on that census on 19 May 1940. He, too, is buried in Cedron Cemetery.

SOURCES

Bosque County Marriages, Vol F, p. 78, Bosque County Collection

Death Certificate, Joseph Edward Claybrook, 12 May 1940, Kopperl, Bosque County, TX, Cert 71249

Find A Grave memorial page for Minnie Mae Boswell Claybrook , Memorial no. 8547261

The Kimball Herald, Sunday, May 20, 1860, Page 3

Bosque County Marriages, v. B – D 1860-1885, FHL 989186

Bosque County: Land and People, p. 211, Bosque County Historical Commission, 1985

1900 Census, Bosque TX, Joe E Claybrook, dwelling 159, p. 10; ED 8, FHL 1241613

Convict Record Ledgers, Huntsville B 017159-022080 20168 Ancestry

Death Certificate, Mrs. Minnie Mae Mattie Claybrook, 19 Mar 1920, Steiner, Bosque Co, TX, Cert 9175

1940 Census, Bosque, TX, J.E. Claybrook, dwelling 161, Roll m-t0627-03988, p. 9A; ED 18-13