BCGHS Journal, Vol VI, No 2, Apr-Jun 2024, by Ves Box Jr, 1890 Project Committee Chair

The 1890 U.S. Federal Census for Bosque County, Texas — along with most of the 1890 U.S. Federal Census — was destroyed in a fire in the U.S. Commerce Department building in Washington, DC, on January 10, 1921. In a project to reconstruct the 1890 census for Bosque County, many resources are being studied, including a newspaper article from 1890 mentioning Bosque County.

On Sunday, March 16, 1890, The Fort Worth [TX] Daily Gazette published an announcement titled “Bosque Awake – The Citizens of Bosque County Alive to the Importance of Representation”.

The article continued “At a meeting of a few of the citizens of Bosque County at the courthouse last Saturday to take steps towards organizing for the purpose of having this county represented, Rev. F. Lockett of Morgan was elected Chairman of the meeting and James H. Knight, secretary.” On March 25th, the Fort Worth newspaper announced that Bosque County had been assigned exhibition space in the Spring Palace. On May 22nd the paper mentioned that Mr. H. C. Cook of Bosque County travelled to Fort Worth to see the Spring Palace and cheer Mr. T. F. Lockett, who oversaw the Bosque exhibit.

The Texas Spring Palace Exhibition in Fort Worth, Texas, was a regional agricultural exposition created to attract investors, visitors, and settlers to Texas. One of the most elaborate buildings the people of Fort Worth had ever seen, the huge wooden structure was built in May of 1889 at a cost of $35,000 [over a million dollars today] and stood for two seasons until destroyed in a disastrous fire on May 30, 1890. The massive structure was inspired by the Crystal Palace in London and featured eight towers and a massive dome. The interior featured the exhibit hall, a tipi, a log cabin, a prairie dog town, a cave, and a fountain stocked with waterfowl and fish. Exhibits provided by many Texas cities, towns, and businesses, included historical objects such as Sam Houston’s cane, art, cultural exhibits, and agricultural exhibits.

A flash fire of unknown origin broke out on the night of May 30, 1890, with over 5000 visitors in the building. Amazingly, only one fatality resulted from the fire, which destroyed the building in less than twenty minutes. Al Hayne, a forty-year-old civil engineer from Fort Worth, died of his injuries after helping clear the hall of visiting women and children.

Although it lasted only two seasons, the Texas Spring Palace was considered a great success. The event received national exposure and brought investment and business to Fort Worth and exposed thousands of visitors from every state and six foreign countries to all Texas had to offer.

The Rev. Thomas Francis Lockett, mentioned in the article above, was born in Prince Edward County, Virginia, on July 26, 1826. Family history states that Mr. Lockett was converted and baptized in Clarksville, Virginia, in 1842, while returning home to Prince Edward County to unite with a Baptist church. He was a student at Richmond College in Richmond, Virginia in 1843 and graduated in 1847. Rev. Lockett was licensed to preach by the Sandy River Baptist Church in Virginia in November of 1847. In 1848, he moved to Cole County, Missouri, to minister to the Osage Baptist Church. He taught at the Osage Institute for two years.

Thomas F. Lockett married Miss Sally W. Dixon in Cole County on May 17, 1848. Sally W. Dixon, daughter of Levi Dixon [1800-1894] and Sarah Waller Bolton [1804-1877], was born in North Carolina on March 17, 1828. In September of 1850, Professor Thomas F. Lockett and his wife, Sally, and three children lived near Liberty in Cole County. The school annual for William Jewell College in Liberty, listed the Rev. T.F. Lockett as a professor of mathematics and natural science from 1850 to 1852.

Rev. Lockett and his wife, Sally, were listed in the 1860 census for Jefferson City, Cole County, Missouri, where T. F. Lockett was listed as a Baptist Minister. Thomas F. Lockett was a veteran of the Civil War, serving with the Confederate Army in the 10th Regiment Missouri Cavalry. He served under General Sterling Price, first as Chaplain and was later promoted to Major. After the Civil War, Rev. Lockett wrote to a friend: “I had the good fortune never to have lowered the Confederate flag nor the banner of the Cross of Jesus, during the entire four years of my service.” Rev. Lockett moved his family to Texas. The 1870 McLennan County, Texas, census listed Rev. Thomas Lockett as a Minister of the Gospel. The family living “west of the Brazos River”.

In June of 1880, Thomas Lockett and his wife, Sallie [sic], were living with two young sons in Bosque County. Mr. Lockett was listed in the census as a store clerk and his twelve-year-old son, Thomas, was working as a shepherd. Rev. T. F. Lockett and Sallie W. Dixon were the parents of eight children — five sons and three daughters. T. F. Lockett was listed in the tax rolls for Bosque County in 1890.

Sally Waller Dixon Lockett died in San Diego, California, on January 15, 1898, and was buried in the Mount Hope Cemetery in San Diego. In June of 1900, Thomas Lockett was listed as a Baptist preacher, widowed, living in Palo Pinto County, Texas. Rev. Lockett died in the home of his son, O.L. Lockett in Meridian on March 8, 1902, at the age of seventy-five. He was buried in the Meridian Cemetery, in Meridian, Texas. His large marker is inscribed “Thy Will Be Done” and “Father, into thy hands I commend my soul”.

SOURCES

The Fort Worth [TX] Daily Gazette, “Bosque Awake, Sunday, March 16, 1890.
Newpapers.com.

Fort Worth [TX] Daily Gazette Tuesday, March 25, 1890. p4. Newspapers.com

Texas Bird’s-Eye Views, “Fort Worth in 1891” Jan. 26, 2018. Wikipedia

Eyes on Texas – Fort Worth Texas Spring Palace. http://www.durangotexas.com/eyesontexas/fortworth/springpalace.htm

1850 United States Federal Census, Clay County, Missouri, Thos. F. Lockett, Ancestry.com

1860 United States Federal Census, Cole County, Missouri, Thos. F. Lockett, Ancestry.com

1870 United States Federal Census, McLennan Co, Texas, Thos. F. Lockett, Ancestry.com

1880 United States Federal Census, Bosque County, Texas, Thos. Lockett, Ancestry.com

1880 United States Federal Census, Palo Pinto, County, Texas, Thos. Lockett, Ancestry.com

Findagrave.com, Rev. Thomas Francis Lockett, Meridian Cemetery. Meridian, Texas.

Findagrave.com, Sallie Waller Dixon Lockett, Mount Hope Cemetery, San Diego, California.

Cole County, Missouri, Marriage Index 1821-1851, Thos. F. Lockett, Ancestry.com

U.S. College Student Lists 1763-1924, Rev. Th. F. Lockett, Ancestry.com

U.S. Civil War Soldiers 1861-1865, Thomas F. Lockett, Ancestry.com

The Meridian Tribune, Friday, March 21, 1902, Portal to Texas History

Hometown By Handlebar, “Texas Spring Palace”, parts 1 & 2, . Hometownbyhandlebar.com