Honey Grove, Texas

Other Early Settlers Around Lane's Academy

Published in the Honey Grove Signal-Citizen about 1938

Written by H. P. Allen, assisted by W. J. Erwin

Mr. Joe Wise, the father of our fellow townsman, Sam Wise, and Phillip Wise of Bonham, came from Sumner County, Tenn., and lived to be 90 or more years old. Mr. Isaac Broils was another. Then Mr. Isaac Lyday, William Scears, the Pollard families, and the Chiles family, consisting of James, Lewis, Robert, Larkin and Ley.

Lewis Chiles married Miss Martha Drennan, daughter of Mr. David Drennan, who was one of the very earliest settlers, coming from Illinois. Mr. Chiles reared a large family and lived to see all his children married and settled.

Mr. Davy Drennan, who was the father of Mrs. Chiles, was also the father of Mrs. S. A. Erwin, Mrs. A. G. Stobaugh and Mrs. J. B. Ryan. He had one son, William. Mr. and Mrs. Drennan both lived to a ripe old age.

About 1852 or '53 quite a number of families from about Gallatin and Nashville, Tenn., came and settled six or seven miles southwest of Honey Grove. Among them was Thomas and Robert Shaw. Thomas volunteered his services in the 11th Texas Cavalry for the Confederacy, and saw lots of hard service. After the Elkhorn Tavern fight, his regiment was ordered east of the Mississippi rover. He served under Bragg in his Kentucky campaign and was later in the three days fight at Murphresboro, Tenn. After that affair his company and regiment was so decimated that it was decided to send a man to Texas to solicit recruits. It would have been useless to have sent any but a man if fine character and influence to solicit recruits, and Thomas Shaw was the man selected by his comrades as the most suitable man in the company for the job, which was a high compliment. He accepted his commission and came to Texas and went to work, but soon found that he was cut off from his command and was transferred to Burnett's battalion, in which he served until the surrender.

The writer was not sufficiently acquainted with Robert Shaw to know his war record, but he was a good citizen.

About 1858 Mr. Charles Wood, a young man from Christian County, Ky., came to Honey Grove. He was related to the Ben F. Wood Family. He found employment and was a likeable young man. When the Civil War came on he volunteered his service by joining Company F (Nicholson) 11th Texas Cavalry. He was fortunate in going through the four years of strife without being captured or wounded, and was never furloughed. After the surrender he came back to Honey Grove, found something to do, and later married one of Angus Galbraith's daughters and established a home where the town of Windom was built. He took the leading part in getting the first school house built at that place. He was a helpful, good neighbor and reared a family of sons and daughters. He died suddenly at the age of 79 years.

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