By Michael L. Hogue Hello and welcome back to The Hogue Connection! I came across an interesting story while researching the life of my fourth great grandfather, Templeton Carpenter Spivey (1794-1877). It revealed yet another criminal in the family, and I thought I would share that story with everyone on this post. Here are some links to my previous articles about family misfits; go here and here. Sorry, Cousin Benny C., it’s on your side of the family again! Just kidding…it’s my side, too.
My first cousin, 4 times removed, William Thomas Hix, had quite the violent life in and around Bosque (pronounced Bos-kee) County, TX around the turn of the 20th century. He was a big troublemaker and eventually paid the ultimate price for his misdeeds. This story uncovers the unexpected style of prairie justice that existed back in the late 19th century. I’ll divide this tale into two parts. Let’s start with a little background info…
Bosque County, TX, 1850
Temple Spivey married his wife, Charity, in 1820 in Bibb County, Alabama. They started their family there, moved to Tippah County, Mississippi, then on to Cherokee County, Texas in 1849. Our Gatlin line was also from Tippah, MS. Soon, Temple was obtaining land on the west side of the Brazos River. By 1853, he was one of the first settlers in that area. Bosque County formed in 1854, and in 1856 the voters elected Temple to the board of county commissioners. That same year, he oversaw the school board elections, and in 1857, was a delegate to the Democratic convention in Waco, TX. He remained active in the county and was appointed Postmaster of the office in Cyrus, TX.
Temple and Charity raised a large family near Smith Bend, eventually having 14 children. He continued to acquire property in the area. By the time he filed the paperwork for his will in 1867, Temple Spivey owned approximately 1900 acres of land. He also owned about 10 head of horses and mules, along with 33 head of cattle. His annual farm income was estimated to be $1600 in 1870. That’s about $40K in today’s money. He died on 25 Sep 1877 and is buried in the Smith Bend-Coon Creek Cemetery, next to Charity Hicks Spivey, who died in 1872.
One of their children, Calvin Asbury Spivey was my 3rd great grandfather. Calvin’s daughter, Josephine, would go on to marry Patrick Marion Larner in 1869. Their oldest son, William Calvin Larner is my great grandfather. Two of Calvin’s siblings are important to the rest of the story. Isaac Templeton Spivey and Mary Ann Spivey were the parents of our newly discovered criminals in the family.
Mary Ann Spivey, Mother of the Criminal
Mary Ann was born in Bibb, Alabama in 1825. She married James Marion Hix in 1843 while her and her family lived in Tippah County, MS. The couple soon started a family of their own and moved to Texas along with the rest of the Spiveys and ended up in Leon County, southeast of Waco. They were enumerated here in the 1850 federal census, with their first four children and Mary Ann’s brother Calvin. Child number five, our future criminal, William Thomas Hix, was born in 1854, back in Mississippi. The family returned to Texas before the 1860 census.
Sometime around 1863, James and Mary Ann returned to farm the land that James had purchased back in 1841. Their new address was Cotton Plant, Woodruff County, Arkansas. Documents show that he planted 40 acres in corn and 40 acres in cotton. Unfortunately, James Marion Hix died on 10 Sep 1866. Mary Ann and the kids managed to keep the farm running for a while. On 31 Sep 1869, she married Reuben E. Morris. They farmed in the area for several more years. As part of the settlement of her father’s estate, Mary and William Thomas Hix sold their interest in it to A.J. Henry for $150.00, on 7 Jun 1879. Not long after this agreement, Mary Ann Spivey Hix Morris passed away, probably in Woodruff County, AR. I cannot find a record of her death or burial.
Reuben Morris married his younger brother Peter’s widow, Mary, shortly thereafter. Peter passed away in late 1879 or early 1880, around the same time as Mary Ann. Reuben and Mary Ann did not have children. He died on 19 Aug 1899 in McCrory, AR, and his family buried him near his brother in Howell.
Let’s Look at the Early Life of William Thomas Hix…
William was born 22 Jan 1854 in Tippah County, MS. Most census reports show Mississippi as his birth place. One shows his birth state as Arkansas, but we know the family moved around quite a bit between the three states. By 1875, he had settled back in Hill County, Texas, not far from the lands of Temple Spivey. He married Martha C. Gaston in Bosque County on 26 Sep 1875. They immediately started a family, and had four children by 1880, including twin sons Francis and Alford.
The closest relative living near William’s homestead was his uncle, the aforementioned Calvin Spivey. The area they lived in was just to the east of the Brazos River and Smith Bend, near Aquilla, TX. It appears Hix used the money he received from his settlement of his grandfather’s estate to buy more land in the same general area. In spite of his criminal propensities, William was a very successful farmer/rancher and acquired more property over time. Some of the land was once owned by Temple Spivey. William rented much of it out to nearby tenant farmers, and by the end of the 1890’s was back living in Smith Bend.
It was here in Smith Bend, on property formerly owned by his grandfather, that his troubles began. Stay tuned, though! I’ll post Another Criminal in the Family, Part 2, next week! Thanks for visiting my blog at The Hogue Connection! If you would like to return to the Home Page, go here.