BCGHS Journal, Vol IV, No 3, Jul-Sep 2022 by Sharon Whitney, BCGHS member/BCHC member

William R. “Will” Conine, R.E. Conine’s son, wrote a rare firsthand description of early Bosque County in the 1860s and 1870s. His recollections were written during the late 1920s, influenced by theTrail Drivers Association collecting the stories of cowboys who drove cattle up the trails. He was also encouraged by family and others who loved his stories. In 1999, Conine’s writings were transcribed and compiled in a book titled, The Memories of Will Conine:1860s to 1890s. Much of the story of R.E. Conine, Sr. that follows was gleaned from Will Conine’s writings. Anyone interested in learning more about the writings or obtaining a copy of the book, please feel free to contact Sharon Whitney; swhitney06@yahoo.com. Copies are available at the Bosque County Collection in Meridian, TX.

Robert Emmett (R.E.) and Elizabeth Ann (Tibbs) Conine

Robert Emmett (R.E.) Conine, Sr., his wife, Elizabeth Ann (Tibbs) Conine, and their five young children came to Bosque County, TX, from Mississippi following the American Civil War. This was the Reconstruction Era, a period of uncertainty and lawlessness. The county was sparsely settled, renegade Indians still occasionally raided, outlaws were prevalent, wild horses and cattle roamed the open prairies, and the great Texas cattle drives streamed through the county. The county was at the edge of the Texas frontier. Yet Conine’s story begins earlier in Georgia and Mississippi.
Robert Emmett (R. E.) Conine was born February 15, 1826, in Putnam County, GA, to Richard and Martha Patsy (Boon) Conine. He was raised on the Oconee River in Putnam County. His father died when R.E. was about eleven years of age, and nothing is known of his early years.

R. E.’s older brother, Richard, moved to Mississippi and subsequently settled in Carroll Parrish, LA. It seems likely young Robert Emmett followed Richard to Louisiana. The 1850 US Census lists the 24-year-old R.E. Conine as a teacher living in the household of the John R. B. Jones family in Ward 5, Morehouse Parish, LA, September of 1850. Morehouse Parish is adjacent to Carroll Parish. Carroll Parish was divided into two parishes in 1877.

By 1860, R. E. had moved to Mississippi and was married to Elizabeth Ann Tibbs. Elizabeth was born November 2, 1835, in Scott County, MS. She was the eldest of the eight children of William Coffee and Mary (Howell) Tibbs. William C. Tibbs was born in Smith County, TN, son of Thomas Tibbs.

R. E. and Elizabeth were known to have seven children — six lived to adulthood:

William “Will” R. Conine – born January 2, 1854, Scott Co, MS. He married Laura Jane Rainbolt, September 28, 1876, Bosque County. He died May 13, 1936, in Oklahoma City, OK, and is buried in Smith Bend/Coon Creek Cemetery in Bosque County.

Mary Elizabeth “Betty” Conine – born February 12, 1856, Scott County, MS. She first married Monroe Stafford Ledenham, February 12, 1871. They divorced in 1874, both events in Bosque County. Her second marriage was to William Burgess Warrington, November 30, 1881, also in Bosque County. She died June 11, 1919, and is buried at the Smith Bend/Coon Creek Cemetery.

Albert Alexander “Ab” Conine – born October 28, 1858, Scott County, MS; never married; died March 22, 1922, Bosque County, and is buried in the Smith Bend/Coon Creek Cemetery.

Robert Emmett “Emmett” Conine, Jr.- born August 27, 1860, Scott County, MS. He married Leah Gillentine, February 14, 1892, Erath County, TX. He died April 10, 1903, Bosque County, and is buried in the Smith Bend/Coon Creek Cemetery.

Sarah Amanda “Minnie” Conine – born April 3, 1864, Scott County, MS. She married Francis Marion (F.M.) Goodall, October 28, 1891. She died October 4, 1933, in Waco, McLennan County, TX. She and her husband are buried in the Valley Mills Cemetery.

The children below were born after they moved to Texas.

Mattie T. Conine – born March 20, 1873, died March 26, 1873, Bosque County.

Frederick B. “Fred” Conine – born July 21, 1874, Bosque County; never married; died August 5, 1953, Bosque County, and is buried in Smith Bend/Coon Creek Cemetery.

R.E. owned farmland on Pelahatchie Creek near the Scott County, MS, line. About 1858, when they built the railroad through the state to Morton, R.E. sold the land and moved a few miles east to the town of Morton where he began a mercantile business and operated a gristmill.

The 1860 US Census lists R. E. Conine as a merchant in the town of Morton. In October of 1860, R. E. was among a list of citizens of Morton who signed a petition sent to Mississippi Governor, John J. Pettus, requesting a Charter of Incorporation. The town of Morton was incorporated, on April 10, 1861. Although many of the early city records were destroyed, a county record shows R. E. Conine was Mayor of Morton, Mississippi, on May 8, 1861. Masonic records of December 1860 list R. E. Conine as a member of the Morton Lodge (number 254), Scott County, MS.

During the American Civil War, both Union and Confederate armies occupied the area in part of 1863 and 1864. The south suffered shortages of supplies and food and most of the men went off to war. R. E. remained at home to protect and run his gristmill providing a much-needed service.

Following the fall of Vicksburg, MS, in 1864, the Union Army, under the command of General William T. Sherman, moved eastward. On February 8, 1864, Sherman’s troops pushed their way from Brandon toward Morton along Wire Road. They encountered little to no resistance from General Joseph E. Johnston’s retreating Confederate forces until they were near Line Creek. A skirmish occurred at the crest of a hill near a house about a mile from the Conine home. A small group of Confederate soldiers retreated near the house with Union soldiers in swift pursuit. The soldiers probably were not aware the home was occupied by a Mrs. Jones and her five small children. As the soldiers exchanged fire, the young mother came to the door to see what was happening when she was struck by one of the rounds. In the skirmish, a couple of Confederates were also killed. The remaining Confederates fled in retreat. When the Union soldiers reached the house, they discovered the tragic misfortune. They found the woman’s body in a pool of blood with her five little children clinging to her crying. The commanding officers notified her neighbors and placed a guard at the house. Union soldiers stayed through the night, made a coffin, and assisted in her burial. Funds were collected through the Union headquarters and camp and the money was left with the neighbors to provide provisions for the family. Even one of the neighbor ladies, whose husband was in the Confederate army, said she knew “there were some good Yankees.”

That night Union troops bivouacked on Line Creek about four miles southwest of Morton believing they would face General Johnston’s forces the next day in Morton. However, Johnston evacuated Morton to make a stand further to the east.

The Union encampment was near the Line Creek Baptist Church, only a few miles from the Tibbs home. This was the home of Elizabeth Conine’s mother and siblings. Her father, William C. Tibbs, was a member and deacon of the church and was buried in the churchyard cemetery in 1853 after his sudden death.

The next morning, February 9th, the Union army advanced toward Morton up Wire Road past the Tibbs home. The Union troops ransacked the Tibbs home, foraging for additional food and supplies. They continued past Ueltschey Tannery (today at the intersection of MS Route 13 and Lindsey Road) up Ueltschey Hill, which had held the confederate artillery, and into the town of Morton.

Although the Confederates had evaded the pursuing Union army, they left the town of Morton to the mercy of Sherman’s army. Early that morning, R. E. had gone to his gristmill in hopes of saving it. During the day, Union soldiers approached the mill and an officer soon followed. The officer talked with Conine at length. Eventually, the officer and soldiers left, and the mill was unharmed. Some of the Morton residents believed the gristmill was spared because R. E. and the Union officer were both Masons.

Of course, Sherman’s Union Army targeted the railway, burned trestles, and bent rails into the famous “Sherman Necktie”. According to a Southern Railroad report made in late 1865, the Union Army burned the station house at Morton at this time. This resulted in the loss of furniture, company records and archives, and the personal library and fine art paintings of the Southern Railroad President, William C. Smedes. These items had been removed from Vicksburg to Jackson and the Morton depot for their protection.

Following the Civil War, in 1866, R. E. and Elizabeth decided to make a fresh start for themselves by moving from their home in Scott County, MS, to Texas. They loaded their belongings on an ox-drawn freight wagon and made their way to Texas with their five young children. They crossed the Mississippi River at Natchez, MS, and the Red River at Alexandria, LA, into Texas. They crossed the Brazos River via the flatboat at Waco and entered Bosque County.

When the R. E. Conine family first came to Bosque County in 1866, they experienced a sparsely populated frontier, abundant in tall native grasses on the open range. Herds of wild horses and cattle roamed the county’s prairies and renegade Indians occasionally still raided.

The R. E. Conine family first settled briefly in southeast Bosque County on Isenhower Branch near the Waco to Meridian Road. As a former merchant, R. E. would regularly buy, trade, and sell items. On one occasion, he went to the Norse settlement and bought a load of wheat which he took to Waco to be milled. He sold most of the flour in Waco for a nice profit and returned home with his portion.

In the spring of 1867, R. E. decided to move to Erath County, settling on Little Daffau Creek near the Waco to Stephenville Road; settled previously by a man named Woods. The people there encouraged R. E. to teach school. The men quickly put up a log house near the Conine home to be used as a school.

In the fall of 1867, the people of Stephenville persuaded R. E. to move to Stephenville to teach in their school. Stephenville was a wild frontier town where buffalo hunters, cowboys, and outlaws frequently came to town. Often these men would come into town, drink whiskey, and shoot up the town.

While in Stephenville, R. E. hired a man on shares to use Conine’s freight wagon to ship buffalo hides, pecans, and other goods to the river port town of Jefferson; located on the Red River in northeast Texas. They would then return to Stephenville with goods to sell from the eastern markets.

A Methodist circuit rider, John Wesley DeVilbiss (who delivered the first English sermon in San Antonio in April of 1844), came to Stephenville in 1868 to preach the gospel of Jesus Christ. On several occasions he was a visitor to the Conine home. Reverend DeVilbiss also served an appointment to the American Bible Society from 1866 to 1870. As a result, an American Bible Society auxiliary was organized in Stephenville in March of 1868 with Rev. J.M. Johnson as president, R.E. Conine as corresponding secretary, and Dr. W.W. McNeil as treasurer.

By the spring of 1868, the untamed atmosphere of Stephenville may have been too much for the family. The Conines packed up the wagon and moved back to the Duffau area. Robert A.Tibbs, Elizabeth’s brother, finished teaching that year at Stephenville. R. E. and his family settled on the bank of Big Duffau, and he taught school at Duffau again. This time they built a log schoolhouse located at the edge of the prairie between the Big Duffau and the Beach settlements.

In late 1868, R. E. decided to move to the state of Kansas. This time they made the trek with a herd of cattle. They crossed the Red River at the mouth of Mill Creek in Red River County and thru part of the Oklahoma Indian Territory and Arkansas and finally into the southeast corner of Kansas. They settled near Baxter Springs in 1869, but only after a short time decided to return to Texas.

Returning to Texas, they traveled mostly through the Oklahoma Indian Territory crossing the Red River near Denison, TX, crossing the Trinity River at Dallas, and arriving near Waco by December of 1869. They stayed north of Waco for a couple of months where they sold goods from Kansas, picked cotton, and R. E. worked at a gin.

In February of 1870, the Conines returned to Bosque County, settling about five miles northeast of the new town of Valley Mills. They lived on the west bank of Childress Creek (Roden T. Crane Survey) near Dripping Springs, a well-known creek crossing. They began establishing and improving their farm, but in late spring a devastating flood ruined or washed away many of their belongings. It took months to restore the household and rebuild rail fences. During the summer that followed, the area suffered from great sickness. R. E. became sick and his daughter Minnie was seriously ill for a long time. Several neighbors also suffered from chills and fever. Dr. Hays, from Smith Bend, was their doctor and good neighbors were always quick and willing to help each other through such difficulties.

Influenced by the difficulties experienced by the flood and illness, the Conines decided to move to the open prairie in September of 1870. The family settled on South Coon Creek (now known as Fairview). When they first arrived, they lived in a tent for several months before they completed a rawhide lumber house. They also built a cedar log house nearby and added rail fences. They used their oxen teams to break the turf for cultivation.

R. E. taught in several schools and continued to freight in the 1870s. In November of 1870, according to Commissioners Minutes, Bosque County, R. E. Conine, Andrew Downing, and James Thomas Cox were elected as trustees from precinct three, subdivision six. Conine was also paid from public school funds from 1872-1873, as a teacher at Mulberry Creek.

During the 1870s, there was a great deal of lawlessness in southeastern Bosque County. The cattle thieves and outlaws were prevalent in the Coon Creek area. The area’s terrain and proximity to the canyons along the tributaries and Brazos River provided exceptional opportunities for concealment and quick routes of escape.

In 1872, Jim and Belle Reed became neighbors of the Conines. The Reeds moved to Bosque County to hide and start a new life. Reed was wanted for murder in Missouri and for passing counterfeit money in California. After Jim Reed’s death in 1874, Belle eventually moved to the Oklahoma Territory where she married Sam Starr. She is best known today as “Belle Starr.”

The Reeds were always friendly and very discreet with the neighbors. According to family lore, the Reeds and their two children, Rosie (later known as Pearl) and Eddie, would visit the Conines. Sometimes Belle and the children would come alone and on occasion, she used their sewing machine.

While in Bosque County, although Jim Reed was discreet among his closest neighbors, it seemed he could not overcome his unlawful habits or resist temptation. Reed enjoyed participating in the horse races which were frequently held at tracks located on North Coon Creek and at Smith Bend. Tensions escalated after one contested race involving Reed’s horse that resulted in the murder of Ambrose Wheeler. Wheeler had been an ally of Jim Reed and his brother, Sol Reed. But the Reeds became suspicious that Wheeler was scheming to have them killed. In August of 1873, while Wheeler was returning home from a trip to Meridian, the Reed brothers chased him down, shot him, and took his horse and saddle. Several months later, Belle Reed returned the horse and saddle to Wheeler’s widow. The Reed brothers fled Bosque County after the murder. A $500 reward was issued for the brothers for Wheeler’s murder. The Reed brothers also became sought after for the murder of Richard Cravey (near Spring Creek, southwest of Meridian) in February of 1873.

During the great Texas cattle drives from 1867 to 1890, droves of cattle streamed through Bosque County. The main trail, as well as many feeder trails, passed through the county. Some of the herds that crossed the Bosque River at Eichelberger Crossing in McLennan County passed near the Conine home on South Coon Creek on their way to a Brazos River crossing. Other herds they witnessed crossed the Bosque River at Cooper’s Crossing and Valley Mills. Those that crossed at Valley Mills passed Cayote on their way to cross the Brazos River at Kimbell or Fort Graham. These large herds grazed and bedded on the prairies of Bosque County as they waited their turn to cross the Brazos River.

Will Conine recalled passing thousands of cattle, passing one herd after another traveling from their home on Coon Creek to the timbers on the Bosque River near Clifton, about ten miles. He thought it would seem unreasonable for anyone to comprehend the number if they had not witnessed it.

The Conines traded horses with some of the drovers. They also helped to keep their cattle separated from the large herds that passed. They were able to add to their herd from the unwanted newly born calves on the trail. Drovers had no use for newly born calves. The Conine cows could rear two or three calves at a time. The Conines even drove cattle to Ennis to sell after the railroad reached there in 1874.

R. E. preempted 160 acres (now known as the R. E. Conine Survey) in the early 1870s. During the years that followed, he added about 600 acres to their farm. In about 1879, with the additional acreage, Conine took a flock of Moreno sheep on shares. The 1880 US Agriculture Census revealed Conine had 490 head of sheep with the production of 850 pounds of fleece. Sheep ranching was a big industry in Bosque County during the era. The county was in the top ten Texas counties in sheep and wool production in 1880. However, the sheep business was difficult with disease, parasites, and predators like coyotes. The markets turned downward after 1885 and ended their sheep business aspirations.

The US Agriculture Census dated June 8, 1880, also relates Conine’s other farming/ranching endeavors and production in 1879. Conine had a peach orchard of sixty-six trees. His farm grains included thirty acres of Indian corn, six acres of oats, eleven acres of wheat, and ten acres of cotton which produced two bales. His livestock consisted of four milk cows which produced 400 pounds of butter and other cattle; forty head with twenty-five calves production in a year. He also had forty poultry with the production of 300 eggs.

Schools and churches provided the opportunity for social gatherings in remote areas. Itinerant preachers held services in schoolhouses and settlers homes resulting in the beginning of a few churches in southeastern Bosque County. In 1879, a Methodist Episcopal Church, south of the Clifton Mission, was located in the William Shepherd Survey and provided an opportunity for valuable fellowship, worship, and education. S.V. Pool “in consideration of the love I have for the cause of Christ and further consideration of one dollar” granted to the trustees, M. L. Burton, M. V. McElhanan, W. W. Richards, R. E. Conine, S. Herring, C. Herring, A. B. Mills, James Dawson, O. D. Griffin, and J. E. Jones, about four acres for the purpose of a church, parsonage, school, burial, and other church purposes. However, this land was sold to E.G. Parker Kellum ten years later. The prairie church is probably the one associated with the Salem school, also located in the Shepherd Survey. The church also preceded the Coon Creek, Fairview, and Cayote Churches. The Salem school predated Cayote school, which began about 1885 after the Cayote Post Office/Store relocated to Childress Creek.

In 1888, the population of the area had continually increased. R. E. considered applying for a US Post Office to supply the area between Cayote and Roswell. However, he died in January 1889. His son, R.E. “Emmett” Conine, Jr., completed the application in February 1889. Elizabeth once read of a small village named Merrivale and suggested the name. Thus, the Merrivale Post Office was established in May of 1889, and R. E. “Emmett” Conine, Jr. became the first Postmaster. In the fall of 1890, Emmett moved to Duffau to become postmaster. His brother, Albert, became the Merrivale postmaster. At that time, brothers Albert and Fred, operated a general store connected with a post office.

Robert Emmitt Conine, Sr. died January 22, 1889, at their home on Coon Creek. Elizabeth died on August 6, 1899, at Meridian. Both are buried in the Coon Creek-Smith Bend Cemetery.

SOURCES

1850 United States Federal Census; Ward 5, Morehouse, Louisiana; Roll:M432_233; page:405A; image:142

1860 United States Federal Census; District 3, Scott, Mississippi, Roll: M653_591; Page:93;Image:97; Family History Library Film: 803591

U.S. Selected Federal Census Non-Population Schedule, Agriculture, 1880; Clifton District 12, Bosque, TX, USA, Robt E Conine.

Bosque County History Book Committee. Bosque County: Land and People (A History of Bosque County, Texas), book, 1985; Dallas, Texas.

Crowson, George M. “History of Alabama and Vicksburg RR” The Meridian Speedway, https://www.meridianspeedway.net/history-of-the-av.html

Bearss, Margie Riddle. Sherman’s Forgotten Campaign: The Meridian Expedition. Gateway Press. 1987.

American Bible Society; Bible Society Record, Volumes 13-14, Page 45;1868.

Bronstad, Alvin Lawrence. The History of Education in Bosque County, Texas, book, 2004; Clifton, Texas.

Conine, Will. The Memories of Will Conine: 1860s to 1890s, book, 1999, Waco, TX.

United States Postal Service Application record, Microfilm Roll 566, Merrivale, Bosque County.
National Archives and Records Administration (NARA); Washington, DC; Record of Appointment of Postmasters, 1832-Sept.30, 1971; Roll 121; Archive Publication M841.