march star

North Texas StarMarch 2013

OUTDOORS ALONG THE BRAZOSTommy Thompson

THE LIFE AND TIMES OF JOHN R. BAYLOR - PART 2

CHASING OUR TALES

FRIEND, NEIGHBOR, NFL CHAMPION AND WWII HERO

8

March 2013 • NORTH TEXAS STAR STORYTELLER & RAMBLER • Page 2

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North Texas Star 3OUTDOORS ALONG THE BRAZOSBy Don Price

Outdoors Along the Brazos

4THE LIFE AND TIMES OF JOHN R. BAYLOR Part 2

By Jim Dillard

By Randall ScottTOMMY THOMPSON

14By Sue Seibert

CHASING OUR TALES


The following article appeared in the Thursday, March 19, 1970, issue of Raymond Martin’s Palo Pinto County Advance. It has

been paraphrased from a personal interview.Do you know where fortunes lie? They’re strewn

up and down, within a large coil of Los Brazos de Dios, somewhere between the tall gray dam known to all of us as Possum Kingdom and Dark Valley Bridge.

It is remote in the Fortune Bend landscape with its wisps of vapor. Speaking of man and his chattels, there’s a dearth of carbon footprints found in this lovely river bend of cedar and post oak. The owl hoots, the fox barks, the carp smacks the surface, and all are unmolested.

It is serene, the kind of serenity one yearns for, and the Palo Pinto coun-try’s starkness holds a fortune of pris-tine surprises; this river bend builds strong character, so strong that today’s youth might have changed had they trekked here.

Scars of yesteryear’s generation are sparse here; however, there are tenu-ous threads to the past, but one has to grope somewhat to find them. If this Fortune Bend landscape is remote today, imagine how stark it was dur-ing the throes of Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s depression.

On a hillside in Fortune Bend squatted a little one-room schoolhouse with high windows, smoke rising lazily from its chimney on a hoarfrost morning.

Within its wooden walls could be heard the clamor of children, individual bundles of energy, perhaps each one coming from some particular environmental hardship, for this nation was in the pits of the great depression.

Like a hen among her offspring a 19-year-old teacher stood at the blackboard, reaching for displine, for hygiene, for an education of some sort to be meted out to each pupil.

The teacher, then Miss Nola Marshall, lived on the riparian banks of Fortune Bend, but she moved up river to the very next bend, Garland Bend, which is everbit as remote, blessed with quietude.

“Paved roads were more than 20 miles away, even the nearest telephone was almost inaccessible,” Miss Marshall said. “Either you rode to school horseback or walked a familiar trail.” It could have been a foot-path, a cow trail, even a game trail; it didn’t matter as long as it led you to the familiar schoolhouse.

“I had 36 pupils in my class, and they ranged in age from 6 through 15. The depression was on us and

money was hard to come by for clothes, one boy wearing one shirt, the same shirt, for one month. As a new teacher in my first rural school, my main con-cern was to adjust.

“This necessitated a change and mode of living. You could buy two bars of soap for 5 cents, a dozen bananas for a nickel, and a bushel basket of pineap-ples for one quarter, that is if you could obtain the money. The river folk made this money largely by cutting cedar.

“When the crash came and the bottom fell from the market, the impact was felt in every city, on the farm, and even in our little school in the bend of this river.

“Very wealthy, influential men, apparently losing everything they had, jumped from skyscrapers, stepped in front of trains, hanged or shot themselves,

and were not able to think or see that something good might come from this.”

Not one mother or father of these little school chil-dren took one life because of the depression, not in Fortune Bend.

“Because of such an impact, time seemed to stand still. Suddenly the rich became poor and the poor became poorer. In making this adjustment we drew

from a strength, God.“Long forgotten was honesty, love,

loyalty and integrity. We today as yes-teryear are fast losing everything good and decent.”

Unfortunately it takes a setback, a backlash, a buckling of one’s knees for a man to pull away from the cauldron of corruption.

“As the shock subsided and we began to change our way of life, switching gears, things began to hap-pen. Life took on a glorious meaning. One stood a little bit taller.

“In our school a weekly question-naire was supplied each child: Have you brushed your teeth twice a day?... and if you didn’t have a toothbrush, a good elm root chewed slowly would do it... have you had a whole bath? etc.

“The commonplace things were really what counted: from the first leaves of spring, to early robins, to the russets of fall. There were fewer bro-

ken homes, no desire to keep up with the Joneses.”A wildflower just peeping through winter’s blan-

ket of snow was brought to Miss Marshall in a little grubby hand that soap scarcely ever touched; it was cherished and kept by her for years in a Webster’s dictionary.

And so this was the daily life of a schoolmarm in the wilderness, Miss Nola Marshall [now Mrs. M.F. Garland], who taught in a one-room school 40 years ago [about 1935 in Fortune Bend] but who lived in nearby Garland Bend, a sanctuary, a quiet place, in Los Brazos de Dios.

May it never change, for where would we be with-out musing over the steadfastness, the strength, the natives of the past? And a 19-year-old schoolmarm, Miss Nola Marshall. ✬

Outdoors Along the BrazosA T e a c h e r W i t h a P u r p o s e

By Don Price

Fortune BendPhoto by Julie Battle, Weatheford, TX


The Life and Times of John R. Baylor - Part 2 By Jim Dillard

Grand schemes were at work by others in Texas and throughout the South including the secret military society known as the Knights of the

Golden Circle which was created in 1855 by George Bickley. His southern version of Manifest Destiny was to build an empire stretching from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific in California with an imperial capital in Havana, Cuba. It would also extend slavery throughout the empire and strengthen that view among existing states that seceded from the Union.

The KGC moved its headquarters to San Antonio in 1860 where at least 32 “castles” in 27 counties were organized with thousands of recruits. Mass meet-ings and rallies were held throughout the state to further fan the flames of secession.

John Baylor was a member and strong activist in the castle orga-nized in Weatherford. He was also elected as a delegate to the Texas Secession Convention in Austin where on Feb. 1, 1861 the Ordinance of Secession was adopted.

When the people of the State of Texas voted to ratify the Ordinance of Secession on Feb. 23, 1861, a large con-tingent of several thousand Federal (Union) troops were garrisoned in forts and military post throughout Texas. Since Texas was now a member of the Confederate States of America, it looked for direction and support to Richmond, VA, where the seat of government for the southern cause rested. It was unknown if Federal troops would leave peacefully for duty back east or if direct con-frontation and force would be necessary to force them out of Texas.

In Texas a movement was immediately begun for their removal. The first order of business was to confront Union General David E. Twiggs, Commander of the Federal Department of Texas in San Antonio, for the sur-render of all federal property in the state. A 22-man Texas Committee of Public Safety was organized to secure con-trol of the state and oversee all military matters. Texas Ranger Col. Ben McCulloch was selected to raise a caval-ry force to back up the committee’s demands with a show of force if necessary.

Gov. Sam Houston refused to take the oath of alle-giance to the Confederacy and was replaced by Lt. Gov. Edward Clark. He promptly ordered the creation of two regiments of mounted riflemen for frontier duty and a statewide recruiting effort began. Col. John S. (RIP) Ford was appointed as commander of all military units being formed in Texas. Recruits were to report for duty in San Antonio with each man bringing his own horse, saddle,

harness and tack, clothing and personal weapon. Pay would come from Austin.

John R. Baylor had not waited on the sidelines for Texas to officially secede from the Union. During December 1860 he and his brother George issued a call for 1,000 men to go on a “buffalo hunt on the plains.” In reality they were recruiting a force of men ready to confront any Union forces that failed to leave the state. Ranger Colonel Ben McCulloch and his 400-man army arrived in San Antonio on Feb. 16, 1861, along with several armed “castles” of NGC and additional volunteer companies from surrounding counties and made preparations to storm the Federal

arsenal. Baylor was also present as the force demanded General Twiggs’s surrender of the Federal building complex which included the Arsenal, Ordinance Building, the Alamo, San Antonio Barracks and the Commissary Depot.

Reluctantly, he surrendered and no fight occurred. The terms of surrender included the evacuation of all U.S. property by the various garrisons and removal of U.S. sol-diers to the coast, along with their arms and baggage, where the U.S. Navy would evacuate them.

Col. Henry E. McCulloch, Ben’s brother, organized the First Texas Mounted Rifles and commanded forces on the northwestern Texas frontier. By March 19, 1861, Baylor designated his force as the Second Regiment of Texas Mounted Rifles which was accepted into Confederate ser-vice on May 23. The unit was then divided into two bat-talions of four companies each. Colonel Ford would com-mand one battalion in South Texas in the lower Rio Grande River region around Brownsville, to combat any Union forces that ventured into that region. Baylor and his battalion would occupy the abandoned Federal forts in far-West Texas, including Camp Hudson, and Forts Clark, Lancaster, Stockton, Davis, and Quitman, and establish his headquarters at Fort Bliss near El Paso.

Baylor and his men of companies A, B, D, and E of the Second Texas Mounted Rifles began their journey west-ward from San Antonio over the El Paso road during July 1861, each company traveling a few days apart. Captain Teel, with his KGC artillery battery company, followed for support. Their goal was to occupy the western military forts and secure any government property located there and ultimately establish Confederate Arizona in New Mexico Territory. There they would have to contend with existing Union forces already entrenched in the region at several forts and military installations and Apache

Indians. By July 1, 1861, Baylor and his units arrived at

Franklin near El Paso and secured Fort Bliss without dif-ficulty. After positioning groups of men at the abandoned Federal military forts along the way, he now had a force of only 350 men at his command. To supplement his force, he began recruiting men from the El Paso area to help fight Indians, bandits from Sonora, Mexico, and oth-ers for the upcoming campaign. Not only would they have to contend with Union forces in New Mexico, several bands of Apache Indians prowled the region, including 150 Mimbrenos under Managas Coloradas along the headwaters of the Gila River, 150 Chiricahua under Cochise between Mesilla and Tucson, and 500 Apaches in other bands between the Gila and Colorado rivers. In the mountains of West Texas were some 200 Mescalero Apache warriors of the Davis and White Mountain bands led by Chiefs Espejo, Nicolas and Antonio. The Apaches were adept at stealing livestock and horses and would pose a formidable threat to the upcoming military action throughout the region.

A garrison of U.S. troops occupied Fort Fillmore locat-ed upstream on the east side of the Rio Grande near pres-ent Las Cruses, NM, which was within striking distance of Baylor’s small force. After determining the relative strength of the U.S. force located there, Baylor launched an offensive under the cover of darkness on the night of July 23, 1861. Baylor and his men soon occupied nearby Mesilla, NM, located on the west side of the Rio Grande River across from Fort Fillmore. Two days later a Federal force of 350 commanded by Major Isaac Lynde demanded the surrender of Baylor and his men to which Baylor replied, “If you wish the town and my forces, come and take them!” A brick artillery battle soon ensued but the Federal troops were unable to dislodge the Confederates. Three Federal soldiers were killed and nine wounded while the Texans had six men wounded and 20 horses killed.

The next night Baylor sent out a party of 25 men who captured 85 cavalry horses and 26 mules from the post corral. Demoralized and fearing another attack the follow-ing day, Major Lynde ordered the fort abandoned and its supplies destroyed. As the federals tried to escape east-ward toward Fort Stanton through St. Augustin Pass in the Organ Mountains, Baylor’s men caught up with them and forced their surrender. Most were destitute and without water since they had filled their canteens with whiskey before evacuating Fort Fillmore. With only 280 rag-tagged Texas volunteers, Baylor had defeated a force of over 500 U.S. troops during the engagement. He also cap-tured weapons, ammunition and other valuable stores that would be put to good use by his force. Today, several land features in the Organ Mountains east of Las Curses include Baylor’s name: Baylor Mountain, Baylor Canyon and Baylor Pass Trail in

Continued on page 6

A 1861 painting of John R. Baylor that hangs in the Alamo.


The Life and Times of John R. Baylor - Part 2

March 2013 • NORTH TEXAS STAR STORYTELLER & RAMBLER • Page 6Continued from page 4the Aguirre Springs National Recreation Area.

Following this engagement, Baylor took possession of the region and declared martial law for the Confederacy and installed himself as Governor of Arizona with his headquarters at Mesilla. He designated all land between the 34th parallel and the Mexican border as Arizona, but later added the whole region south of 36 degrees 30 min-utes latitude, which basically eliminated New Mexico Territory. He also included the Colorado River to its mouth as the western boundary which incorporated several thousand square miles of Mexico. In addition, he autho-rized the creation of four additional cavalry companies and worked to restore mail service throughout the region and to make the road to Tucson safe for travelers.

Col. Albert Sidney Johnston, who had resigned his com-mand in California, came through the region and tempo-rarily took command of Baylor’s force. However, he soon continued his journey to the eastern war front, taking with him Capt. George Wythe Baylor, John Baylor’s brother, as his aide-de-camp. He would serve as a general in the Confederate Army as Commander of the Western Department and was killed during the Battle of Shiloh on April 6, 1862. Baylor now faced the formidable task of dealing with fierce bands of Apache Indians who were raiding throughout the region and causing havoc. They had killed more of his men than the Federals, and without additional reinforcements to fight them, his quest for Confederate supremacy in the southwest would be in jeop-ardy.

Meanwhile in Richmond, VA, the decision was made to replace Baylor, who had no formal military training, with a senior officer more qualified to lead the campaign that lay ahead in Confederate Arizona. Veteran Gen. Henry Hopkins Sibley volunteered his services and was autho-rized to organize a campaign on the western front to drive the Union forces out of New Mexico, a region he had only recently left. Like many other U.S. military officers, Sibley had made the difficult decision to resign his com-mission at the outbreak of the Civil War and pledged alle-giance to the southern cause. He departed for San Antonio where he began organizing two regiments of cavalry, a battery of howitzers and other such forces as he deemed necessary. But it would take time for such forces to be recruited, trained and outfitted for the long journey across the badlands of West Texas to New Mexico.

Baylor continued to look to Richmond for reinforce-ments to help hold the region for the Confederacy against a full-scale invasion by U. S. forces. On Oct. 23, 1861, Baylor made preparations to move his force and supplies from Mesilla in advance of a reported southward move-ment by Federal forces upstream on the Rio Grande at Fort Craig, which turned out to be a false report. He came under great criticism for this action from Robert P. Kelly, editor of the Mesilla Time, who insinuated he was a cow-ard and criticized his mishandling of the affair. Baylor demanded a retraction be printed but Kelly refused to do so. On Dec. 12, 1861, the feuding pair met by chance at Bull’s Store in Mesilla where Baylor confronted and accosted him. During a brawl in the street, Kelly drew a large bowie knife and attempted to stab Baylor who then put a gun to Kelly’s head and fired. He would die two weeks later. Baylor was found innocent of murder and acquitted on grounds of justifiable homicide.

General Sibley and his escort finally arrived at Fort

Bliss near El Paso on Dec. 11, 1861 ahead of his belea-guered brigade of three regiments of Texas cavalry. They had suffered greatly on the journey from San Antonio due to lack of provisions, water and disease. He immediately took command of all Confederate forces north of Fort Quitman, located 80 miles below El Paso, and created the Confederate Army of New Mexico. Baylor was stripped of his military command and reassigned to the position of chief executive of the territory, a duty he was not qualified to perform. However, Baylor still controlled a few units he had earlier recruited that remained loyal to him in his drive to extend the southern empire into Sonora and California.

During early Feb. 1862, the confederate authorities had reached an agreement with officials in Sonora, Mexico, to allow hot-pursuit of Apaches who were raiding into south-ern Arizona, an action John Baylor was eager to partici-pate in. After being unable to successfully engage and defeat roaming bands of Apaches in Arizona, Baylor led his force of Arizona Guards deep into Chihuahua, Mexico, where they eventually attacked and killed most of a band of Mimbreno Apaches. The atrocious actions that Baylor and his men took against the Apaches and Mexican civil-ians during their raid into Chihuahua strained diplomatic relations with Mexico.

As Sibley and his army moved northward up the Rio Grande fighting Union forces at Val Verde and near Fort Craig, Baylor languished in Mesilla with administrative duties which further exacerbated his hatred for Sibley, who had stripped him not only of rank but his pride.

He was encouraged when a report surfaced that Apache Chief Mangas Coloradas had requested a peace parlay with Captain Helm. Baylor quickly ordered Helm: “You will…use all means at the prospect of eliminating the Apaches or any tribe to come in for the purpose of making peace and when you get them together kill all the grown Indians and take the children prisoners and sell them to defray the expense. Say nothing of your orders until the time arrives. Leave nothing undone to insure success, and have sufficient number of men around to allow no Indian to escape.”

Baylor’s orders to Captain Helm was prefaced with a statement that the Confederate States had passed a law declaring extermination of all hostile Indians, which it had not. These orders would eventually lead to Baylor’s down-fall.

By April 1862 Sibley’s demoralized and decimated Confederate Army of Arizona retreated to Mesilla after defeat at Glorieta Pass east of Santa Fe. With a Union col-umn of 2,300 infantry and cavalry moving into western Arizona from California and Union volunteer companies coming into the territory from Colorado, Baylor sensed the end was in sight. Knowing the 12-month enlistment period for the men of the Second Texas Mounted Rifles he had recruited and led to Confederate Arizona would soon expire, Baylor abandoned his post without waiting for a reply from Richmond and returned to Texas with a plot to reorganize the unit and return. Two companies also aban-doned their post at the hospital at Fort Fillmore and fol-lowed Baylor to Texas.

On April 14, 1862, Baylor received official orders from George W. Randolph, Confederate Secretary of War, to raise a new “Arizona Brigade.” Baylor immediately began recruiting men from his new headquarters near Eagle Lake, and by December 1,500 men had signed up. However, arms and equipment were sufficient to arm only

300 men. Just as Baylor began his planned march back to Confederate Arizona, news of his previous mandate con-cerning the extermination of the Apache Indians reached the Confederate government in Richmond. President Jefferson Davis was outraged and fired Baylor from com-mand of his brigade, revoked his commission and ordered the expedition abandoned.

Undaunted, Baylor enlisted as a private with a cavalry unit that served in the Galveston Campaign of January 1863. He also ran for and won election to the second Confederate Congress where he would serve until the end of the war. In December 1864 he proposed to the Confederate War Department raising another force to retake Confederate Arizona through the northern region of the territory and surprisingly his recommendation was accepted by President Davis. On March 25, 1864, Baylor was reinstated to the rank of colonel in the Confederate Army and authorized to recruit men from the frontier counties of Texas. He began his journey back to Texas to start his new assignment, but two weeks later Gen. Robert E. Lee surrendered at Appomattox Courthouse in Virginia, thus ending his dream of a southern empire.

Sick and in poor health, Sibley retreated the Texas army back to San Antonio where they were disbanded during the summer of 1862. Sick and wounded men left at Santa Fe and at other hospitals in New Mexico were eventually paroled and found their way back to Texas on their own. Prisoners taken at the Battle of Glorieta were taken north to prison in Illinois and eventually released during late 1862.

After the war, Baylor returned to San Antonio and in 1878 moved to Montell in Uvalde, County, where he acquired a sizeable ranch. He ran for the democratic nomi-nation for governor of Texas against Richard Coke in 1873 but was unsuccessful. That same year at the age of 54 he offered his services to the army during the Sioux War. Baylor was involved in more than one gunfight and in 1881 stabbed and killed a man by the name of Gilchrist in the streets of Uvalde in a dispute over livestock. He was never charged or prosecuted.

He died on Feb. 8, 1894, and is buried in the Episcopal Church of Ascension Cemetery in Montell. The epithet on his tombstone was taken from the poem “Bivouac of the Dead,” by Theodore O’Hara:” On flames eternal camping-ground, their silent tents are spread, And glory guards with solemn round, The bivouac of the dead.”

John R. Baylor lived during turbulent times in early Texas and forged his name into the fabric of Texas culture and military history as a man of conviction motivated by ambition, ego and his quest to forge a new nation around his beliefs. Controversial to say the least, he championed the cause of southern supremacy and empire expansion across the southwest and vented his hatred against Indians in the process. His dynamic personality and ability to motivate those who shared his views made him a leader of men and a force to be reckoned with. ✬

HHHHHHSources: Savage Frontier: Rangers, Riflemen, and

Indian Wars in Texas, Vol. III, 1840-1841 by Stephen Moore; A Cry Unheard: The Story of Indian Attacks in and Around Parker County, Texas 1858-1872 by Doyle Marshall; Indian Depredations in Texas by J. W. Wilbarger; Blood & Treasure: Confederate Empire in the Southwest by Donald S. Frazier; The Handbook of Texas Online and other internet sites.


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STORIES & SNIPPETSFriday October 8, 1915

WHITT WILL BUILD ROAD[Despite a Chicken-stealin’ Judge]

A meeting of representatives of Poolville, Whitt and Mineral Wells was held at Whitt yesterday to discuss a highway from Fort Worth to Mineral Wells and more especially

as it related to the stretch of country that lies between Whitt and Poolville, which is a distance of some ten miles.

A preliminary meeting was held in the forenoon to line up the points to be discussed in the afternoon and a recess was taken to partake of a splendid lunch furnished through the hospitality of the people of Whitt. Those who ate at the hotel have a complaint to register at the conduct of our hitherto respected citizen, Judge L.E. Cowling. It is charged that when the bunch sat down to a plate of young tender chicken that he broke the Tenth Commandment and coveted his neighbor’s portion. By a subterfuge he got more than his share. Picking up another brand of victuals, he made such a to do over it that the boys let up on the chicken to get some of it and the Judge immediately made a dead set on the chicken, leaving the bunch a shadow of the substance.

It is distasteful to us to have to tell this on the Judge, but our people should know what kind of man he really is, so that when they again sit down to meat with him they may be alert and not let him get the Benjamins’ portion. A word in time is as good as a nod to a blind horse, or costs little in contrast with a railroad and can be used at little expense by motor vehicles. The jobbers of Fort Worth are now delivering their goods to the stores at Springtown by automobile and the same can be done to Whitt and Poolville by Wright & Turner of Mineral Wells when the route is opened for delivery trucks from our city. The same truck could pick up your surplus stuff and deliver it to town. By such means there is no reason why the wealth of this community should not be doubled or trebled. ...

On a motion by Dr. L.A. Lindsay of Whitt, the people of Whitt who were present went on record as stating that they would meeting Poolville with the road.

H.B. Ashbrook of Whitt, a farmer, said if Whitt will help, the farmers will do the same. If the people want the road in earnest, they can get it. He personally promised to help along any route they might choose.

Another meeting was set for Saturday for the Whitt people to talk over plans of work. They will then get into communication with the representatives of other places and decide on the route, after which the work will be begun. ...

Publisher’s note: It appears newspapers were more playful in the early 1900s, engaging in monkeyshine with officials even in serious matter stories. But we’ve all known people who would stop at nothing to get the plumpest piece of chicken. Right? And perhaps they do deserve to be held up to public ridicule. But I’m no judge. This series of pieces from the past is meant to remind us of this area’s unique history. The material comes from old issues maintained at the Index office and is presented pretty much as it appeared in print. These papers are quite yellowed and brittle, deteriorating from age. By publishing these pieces perhaps we can keep them in play in the digital world for years to come. For clarity, some punctuation issues have been addressed. Hopefully you will enjoy these tiny windows to the past. Feedback is appreciated and will be shared. E-mail [email protected] or send your letter to Mineral Wells Index, P.O. Box 370, Mineral Wells, Texas 76068, attention publisher. You may also drop it by our office at 300 S.E. 1st. St. in Mineral Wells. Thanks for reading!


On Thursday, Nov. 8, 2012, Tommy Thompson, quarterback for the Philadelphia Eagles, was posthumously inducted into the Philadelphia

Sports Hall of Fame. After 63 years and 120-plus inductees, Tommy’s eight seasons as the Eagles quarterback was final-ly recognized. As their quarterback, he lead his team to championship games in 1947, 1948 and 1949, winning the last two NFL championships.

He’s the only outstanding quarterback in National Football League history never to make the National Football Hall of Fame in Akron, OH. However, what is at Akron is one of Tommy's championship rings that was donated to the legendary Hall of Fame by his brother. The subjective term “outstanding” could be defined this way: Only 11 NFL quarterbacks, not counting the still-active Tom Brady, have won consecutive championships. Among all of them, only Tommy has yet to be enshrined into the Pro Football Hall Of Fame.

* * * * *Lurtis Pryor (Tommy) Thompson was born Aug. 15,

1918, in Hutchinson, KS, and grew up in Ft. Worth, TX,

attending Paschal High School. It was there that for the first time he made a name for himself in the sports community. A talented athlete in multiple sports, Tommy ran track and field, and threw discus, shot-put, and javelin. When he wasn‘t running track he was playing tailback on the football team.

In college, he studied theology at Tulsa University while body building, exercising and honing his athletic skills. University coaches played him at the position of single wing tailback running the football headfirst in his leather helmet - before the days of facemasks.

By the time he graduated in 1939, Tommy was physically fit and ready for anything or anybody that came along. From the top down he handsomely sported a shock of wavy black hair above rugged facial features: deep-set eyes, bro-ken nose and a distinctively squared jaw-line. His muscular build stretched over a large and intimidating 6-foot-1, 192-pound frame that gave him the appearance of a rugged bar-room brawler who personified the very image of a profes-sional football player.

In 1940 he started his professional career in the NFL,

signing with the Pittsburg Pirates (Steelers), but was seldom used in their single-wing offensive formation. The follow-ing year Pittsburgh’s owner Art Rooney and Philadelphia’s owner Bert Bell traded franchises before the 1941 season and Tommy went to the Eagles. It was with the Philadelphia

Continued on page 10

Tommy ThompsonL -to- R Joe DiMaggio, Dodie and Tommy Thompson on the golf course circa 1950.

Friend, Neighbor, NFL Champion and WWII HeroBy Randall Scott


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Continued from page 8 team that his leadership talents became evident as play-caller, passer and ball handler. Under Coach Greasy Neale, Philadelphia installed the T-Formation, and made Tommy the quarterback. However, and to nobody’s surprise, 1942 wasn’t a year to brag about when they ended with a disap-pointing 2-9 season.

World War II interrupted his football career. The Philadelphia Eagles and the entire NFL stopped when America declared war. Soon after joining the Army, Tommy found himself jammed inside a Higgins Boat on his way to the beaches of Normandy. He was wounded by German sniper fire when his unit landed on the beach in the second wave of attack on D-Day.

Having survived the Normandy invasion, he continued to fight the war in France and throughout the European theater of battle until the German surrender ended the war in 1945.

On one occasion, his unit liberated a POW Nazi Concentration Camp controlled by the German SS. With no regard for the rules of Geneva Convention, Nazis exer-cised cruel and unspeakable tortures on American and allied prisoners. It was such an unbelievable atrocity he kept photos of the camp’s prison cells and torture cham-bers to show what words couldn’t express shocking scenes of inhumanity. But it was mostly the tortured prisoners with their gaunt features and emasculated bodies that haunted him throughout the remainder of his life.

For meritorious valor in the face of danger and his cour-age in battle on the beaches of Normandy, Tommy received the Purple Heart and WWII service medals of bravery. After having served his two-year stint in the Army

he was honorably discharged. And, when he made it home, Tommy made a beeline directly to Philadelphia where he caught the end of the 1945 season. He played, but only briefly.

That summer, the post-war Eagles team mangers built a powerhouse by signing Van Buren, Wistert and Bucko Kilroy, which took them to an impressive 6-5 season in 1946. But, forget that, because it was the following year that made history. It was the 1947 season when Tommy’s professional career began to reach its peak, as did the Eagles, so much so, that even teams today look back on it for inspiration. For the first time the Philadelphia Eagles made it to the NFL Championship game; and in a close squeaker they lost by only a touchdown to the Chicago Cardinals 28-21.

It was the last time the Cardinals, who’ve since moved to St. Louis and Arizona, won a playoff game. But, the 1947 season wasn’t a failure for the Eagles - not by a long shot. Running back Steve Van Buren won the second of three consecutive rushing titles with 945 yards, 4.7 aver-age yards per rush and 10 touchdowns, and Tommy led the NFL, completing 141 of 246 passes for 1,965 yards and 25 touchdowns, most of which were on the right side of the field. Rather than be discouraged by the loss, it only inspired Tommy to work and train even harder.

The following year, they played again in a rematch at Shibe Park that went on record as a brutal hard-fought game during a blowing snow storm. Tommy led the Eagles with a determined vengeance over the Chicago Cardinals (and against the blizzard-like elements) to win the 1948 NFL championship game 7-0. Then, they won the 1949 NFL championship game, 14-0, over the Los Angeles

Rams. Tommy was named the

outstanding player in both the 1948 and the 1949 games.

For the first time in NFL history, the Philadelphia Eagles won two consecutive NFL championships back-to-back. In those same three years, Tommy threw for a total of 57 touchdowns and 5,372 yards and led the NFL in quar-terback pass-

er ratings for the years 1948 and 1949.“He [Tommy] was a good player,” recalled Bill

Macrides, one of Tommy’s backup quarterbacks. And, he went on to say, “He always did the right thing on the field. The guys recognized that and respected him for it.”

Even in defeat, team members never shunned Tommy. Most Eagles players would voluntarily champion their leader and quarterback on and off the field, enjoying the laidback comradery of the Texas backwoods country boy.

“I think the real key to those titles was Tommy Thompson. He had those indefinable qualities that make a player a winner,” teammate Al Wistert once said.

His weaknesses were few, but those that he had were made obvious when Tommy’s aggressive playing skills seldom changed from game-to-game, exhibiting habitual tendencies that opposing strategists easily detected and could readily defend against. When passing the football, he was a risk-taker, throwing as many as three intercep-tions in one game.

But his most notable flaw was to neglect the left sideline and throw to his right where most, if not all, of his longest career passing yards were gained. So, when Eagles tail-back Steve Van Buren wasn’t running the ball, opponents gained an advantage over Tommy’s consistent air attack to the right sideline. Opponents had an easy task to defend a narrow one-half of the field.

Back home, Tommy met and married Dora Constance (Dodie) Smart, a young girl from Palo Pinto County. Dodie was a direct descendent (great granddaughter) of notable pioneers John and Sarah Geupel. The Geupel’s were early frontier pioneers who’d settled the southern area of the county known as the Live Oak Community in the early 1870s. She was the namesake of her grandmoth-er, Dora (Geupel) Miller, and daughter of Oscar and Aurelia (Miller) Smart of Santo.

Tommy and Dodie moved about the country wherever his notoriety took him. In Philadelphia they lived in tem-porary housing during training season, and when traveling during the off-season they lived in apartments and hotels. The two went everywhere together, often visiting friends and family in Texas while staying with her folks in Santo. They were so busy traveling that and Tommy didn’t know it at the time – the movie theatre newsreels were

Continued on page 13

Dodie and Tommy Thompson were burried at Galatia Cemetery in

Norfork, Arkansas


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March 2013 • NORTH TEXAS STAR STORYTELLER & RAMBLER • Page 13Continued from page 10making him famous. In those days before television, movie theatres showed a short film-clip prior to the fea-tured movie.

They were produced and distributed by Fox Movietone, depicting the most interesting topics and sto-ries of the day. Usually narrated by broadcast/journalist Lowell Thomas, sporting events were among the movie-goer’s favorites, and these newsreels would sometimes feature Tommy in a live-action game at the helm of the Eagles offense. Americans quickly elevated pro football players to a level of stardom equaled only by Hollywood actors on the silver screen.

It meant that California was the place to be and Hollywood became their home. The popular couple rubbed elbows on the golf course with rich and famous actors, celebrities and sports figures, including Tony Bennett and Joe DiMaggio. In his most memorable tour-nament, Tommy played a round of golf with Vice President Alben Barkley of the Truman administration.

The Philadelphia Eagles’ 1950 season was a disappointing 6-6 when Tommy’s num-bers began falling. He’d endured muscle aches when he played and suffered the constant debilitating joint pain of arthritis, all of which had taken it’s toll on him. He retired from the NFL after the 1950

season and served as the backfield coach at the University of Arkansas under head coach Otis Douglas. An avid hunter, Tommy and Dodie built their home at Mallard Point on Lake Norfork, (known as the duck hunting capital of America) a few miles south of Norfork, AR. In 1953, the Winnipeg Blue Bombers hired him as a player/coach in the Canadian Football League where he threw the first touchdown pass at the new Winnipeg Stadium.

Two weeks later he threw another touchdown pass in a loss to Calgary. During the game, a fire started beneath Mewata Stadium’s grandstands, sending clouds of smoke onto the field; but play continued. It was his last game. Tommy’s note-worthy, but now largely forgotten pro career, began in Pittsburg in 1940 and ended 13 years later on a smoke-shrouded field in Calgary.

After that, he took several coaching jobs for the Chicago Cardinals and at the University of

Arkansas. All the while, Tommy and Dodie main-tained their Mallard Point home in Arkansas as their primary residence. They never had children and eventually moved to a retreat in northern Arkansas near the town of Calico Rock along the banks of the Upper White River. It was there that

Tommy and Dodie lived out their years.By 1970, arthritis confined Tommy to a wheel-

chair and in 1988 he was diagnosed with cancer. With his health failing, Tommy returned to Philadelphia for one last time to visit with his team-

mates and buddies at the Eagle’s 40th reunion of the 1948 championship team. At age 71 he succumbed to

brain cancer on April 21, 1989, and as he had requested, a graveside service was held at the Galatia Cemetery south of Norfork. Dodie, his wife of 47 years, passed away Sept. 6, 2001, and was laid to rest beside her hus-band.

Folks back home in Santo, remembered Tommy, not for his fame or accolades, but for who he was. He was loved by his family and friends, who spoke fondly of him. If he had an enemy, no one knew of him.

“Dodie and Tommy came by Grannie and Grandad's place while we lived with them, but of course, I didn't have a clue who Tommy Thompson was at the time. I wish we had gotten his autograph,” was what Steve Gilland, a family member, recalled when he was a small boy, having just met Tommy for the first time.

An ardent duck and deer hunter, Tommy never passed up a chance to go hunting with friends

and family members in the game-rich environment of Palo Pinto County. He

was known for his keen eye. His aim hit the intended tar-get with amazing accuracy. But you’d never hear him crow about it. He simply enjoyed telling a good hunting story. Get him started and Tommy excitedly launched

into stories of shotgun shells and wild game, details of duck blinds and deer stands, and tales of stalking his prey and bagging it.

Quiet, humble and always a pleasur-able unassuming fellow, Tommy never bragged. He’d been awarded numerous WWII medals for bravery, the purple heart, won two NFL championships, received numerous awards and acco-lades, and yet, there was no evidence of it in his home. The walls were bare of any photographs, awards, or medals, nor were there any championship rings, or shining trophies displayed on his mantel. If asked, Tommy would polite-ly decline to speak of them, noticeably uncomfortable talking about medals, trophies, or himself.

Tommy Thompson had a lot to brag about, but that wasn’t Tommy. It’s dif-ficult to understand how a quite unas-suming man could reach such lofty heights as an NFL champion or even a decorated war hero. But, Dodie knew. Among his many admirable traits, she knew his humble attitude was the secret to his life’s successes. It was

why folks admired him and why Tommy never declared a golf handicap to hide his real handicap. And, she also knew why he favored football receivers who lined up on the right side of the formation: it was because Tommy could only see out of his right eye.

A physical imperfection that reminded him of his hum-ble beginnings, it was a childhood rock-throwing incident that cost Tommy his vision. He suffered total blindness in his left eye. ✬

* * * * *Consultants:(1) JoAnn McCoy - great, great, granddaughter of John

and Sarah Geupel,(2) Jim Murphy - son of JoAnn McCoy and nephew of

Tommy Thompson,References:(1) The Philadelphia Inquirer - newspaper (sports sec-

tion) Thursday, November 8th, 2012(2) The Baxter Bulletin. (weekly publication)

November 8th, 2012 “A Look Back" series Baxter County Historical & Genealogical Society of Norfolk, Arkansas

Randall Scott, Author of “The Tinner,” is a member of Western Writers Of America, Western Literature Association, and Texas Historical Association. You can find Randall on the Internet at http://Randall-Scott.com

Quarterback Tommy Thompson lead the Philadelphia Eagles to NFL championships in 1948 and 1949.

Dodie(Smart) Thompson at her home circa 1945.


Here is the story from records handed down through the generations.

The first family record of Elizabeth Pigg is in Lincoln County, TN, in 1840, when she married William McKenney (McKinney). She was listed as Elizabeth Wakefield, and the marriage was recorded March 1, 1840. They are found on the 1850 Lincoln County, TN, Census with their children William, 9; John, 7; Nancy, 5; Mary, 3; and Joseph, 3 months. At the time, William was 35 and Elizabeth was 37. The children were all born in Tennessee, and family records state they were born in Lincoln County. Also on the census were three Wakefield children: Charles, 19, born in Tennessee; Dilly, 16, born in North Carolina; and Sarah, 14, born in Tennessee.

John James McKinney was born on June 13, 1843, in Lincoln County, TN. The last record the family has for him in that location is the 1860 census. Family tradition says that the family moved to Mississippi, but there was no record found of that move. John’s military papers for the Civil War show that he enlisted in western Tennessee on May 25,

1863. He belonged to Company E, Ballentine’s Regiment, Armstrong’s Brigade, Jackson’s Division, and Forest Cavalry the later part of 1864. On the widow’s application for pension, his wife stated that he served all four years, but family lore said that he left home as a teenager to go to the war and that he was never wounded. His unit was organized in Tippah County, MS, so there does seem to be a Mississippi connection.

William McKinney died in the summer of 1867, according to a statement made by his son-in-law, Albert H. McAlister. Elizabeth and her family appear in Hill County, TX, by August 1867. Elizabeth was buying land in her name, and her son, William Henry, also purchased land in Hill County that year. John married Eliza Jane (Jennie) Pledger in Hill County on Dec. 5, 1871. Jennie was the daughter of Wesley Pledger and Eliza Abagail Hamilton. They came to Hill County in 1865 from Chattanooga County, GA. Wesley Pledger was a Methodist preacher and died in 1866, his wife in 1901. They are buried in Covington, TX. J. J. and Jennie had 14 children, eight of whom lived to adulthood.

Ella Jane McKinney was born June 13, 1893, on her father’s 50th birthday. She was born about 7 1/2 miles north-west of Gordon, in Palo Pinto County. Her family moved from Hill County to Palo Pinto County in 1886. She married Lester Lafayette (L.L.) McElroy in Gordon, on Jan. 24, 1909. L.L. was the son of Jacob Silas and Sarah Elizabeth York McElroy. He was born Feb. 20, 1888, in Bellefonte, Boone County, AR. His family moved to Texas in 1888 when he was about 6 months old. L.L. and Ella moved to Breckenridge, Stephens County, TX, about 1925. They were the parents of 6 children: Lillian, Lorene, Ross, Clara, Don, and Dortha. Dortha married Charles E. Greenlee on Dec. 10, 1949, in Breckenridge.

On July 28, 1937, this obituary appeared in Palo Pinto or Mineral Wells:

“Mrs. Eliza Jane McKinney, pioneer mother of Mingus, Texas, died at her home in that city at 9 o’clock Wednesday morning after a serious illness of many weeks. She was the mother of Mesdames Oscar Carter and Cecil Foreman of Palo Pinto. Six more children survive. They are Mrs. Laura

Chasing Our TalesElizabeth Pigg Wakefield and H. William McKinney

Story told by Lou Hayes Warren after my story of November 2011By Sue Seibert

March 2013 • NORTH TEXAS STAR STORYTELLER & RAMBLER • Page 15Harrison, John McKinney and Jim McKinney, Mingus; H.F. McKinney, Gordon; Mesdames Ella McElroy and Rose Marsdon,Breckenridge. Twenty-seven grand-children and 26 great-grandchildren also sur-vive. Mr. McKinney died Jan. 15, 1912. Mrs. McKinney was one of the oldest citizens of Mingus and was known to her many friends as Grandma McKinney. She was a pioneer mother of the old school and lived through the many hardships and vicissitudes of fron-tier life in Texas. She was born in Chatanooga County, Georgia, January 26, 1855. She came to Texas with her parents when a little girl and settled in Hill County. She married Mr. McKinney there December 5, 1871. They moved to this county in 1886 where she had since resided. Funeral services were held Thursday morning at the McKinney home in Mingus. Reverend Rucker of Strawn conduct-ed the services. Burial was made a Lake Creek. E. A. Jones of Gordon directed the funeral. Facts of the pioneer mother’s life were taken from an old Bible over 100 years of age.”

Now, Randy Warren’s great-great-grand-mother was Letha Caroline Cary, who was born in 1825 in Alabama. They found her list-ed as L.C. McKinney. Supposedly, she married a man with the last name McKinney, and family lore says he was a gambler and after they moved to Palo Pinto County, he left her alone. She always listed herself as a widow. She had three children. Robert was born about 1842 and died of

pneumonia after having gone on a trail drive with Charles Goodnight, who lived across the Brazos River from them.

Sara was born about 1844 in Palo Pinto County and mar-ried Stephen V. Warren from Michigan. They married in Palo Pinto County on Oct. 24, 1875, and were living as of the 1880 Census. She died in 1882 in Baird, Callahan

County, TX, and was buried there and later dug up and brought back to Palo Pinto County to be buried on Warren land, which L.C. McKinney bought about 1870 or so. Sara had three children: Robert, who died young; Dora who never married and is buried in Oklahoma; and Mary Geneva, Randy’s grandmother who was born in 1879 and died in Palo Pinto County and is buried in the Indian Creek Cemetery.

So, what can someone out there contribute to either of these McKinney stories? Please let us hear from you!

I have heard from Robert E. Hale of Round Rock, grandson on W. J. Hale. He tells me he has stories and photographs to share, so I am looking forward hearing more from him.

Here are some queries regarding Palo Pinto and McKinneys:

From Gary Tilley of Bedford, Texas: “I am searching for information about the McKinneys that were in the 1880 Census for Palo Pinto County, Texas. Mother's maiden name was Esther Poole. Children were Docia (also spelled Doshey) b. 1/10/1863; Margaret b. abt 1867; Johnnie b. abt 1871; Seymour Mack b. 5/15/1876; Twins Dovie and Seph, b. 1/3/1877 (yes I know the dates are suspect); Willie b. 4/23/1881. The father was not in the 1880 census and was supposedly killed

when thrown from a horse.Anything you can provide is much appreciated.”Also from Mr. Tilley: “Searching for first name of

McKinney man that married Esther Continued on page 16

Back row, l-r, Rosetta McKinney Marsden, James (Jim) Bird McKinney, John William McKinney, and Laura May McKinney Harrison. Front row, l-r, Harley Fred (Pomp) McKinney, John James (J. J.) McKinney, Eliza Jane Pledger McKinney, and Ella Jane McKinney McElroy.


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Jack Hittson is born in Palo Pinto County the same year the county is organized, having been established the year before from lands formerly part of Bosque and Navarro counties. An early pioneer family of these parts, the Hittsons were suc-cessful cattlemen and prominent citizens of Palo Pinto County. Jack was the rst son of William Hittson, who was the second son of patriarch Jesse Hittson. Cattleman/sheriff John Hittson was Jack's uncle.Jesse Hittson moved his family from Mississippi to Rusk, Texas, in 1851, nally arriving in what would become Palo Pinto County in 1855.Jack grew up on the ranges of Palo Pinto, Stephens and Stonewall counties in North Central Texas. After nishing his schooling in Fort Worth, he followed in the footsteps of his father and grandfather and became a cattleman. According to Palo Pinto County Historical Commission's "Blue Book," "It was said that he (Jack) was the most successful of the younger generation of Hittsons..."Again according to the "Blue Book," Hittson was a generous man whose gener-osity in co-signing on a $100,000 note for someone ended his ranching opera-tions in North Central Texas. When the note was called Jack had to sell his Palo Pinto ranch to satisfy the debt.In 1902 he moved his family to New Mexico where, in 1942, he died in Tucum-cari.

Continued from page 15 Poole, part Indian, and whose children are listed below. The man was killed when thrown from horse. He supposedly came to US from Scotland.

Children:1. Docia (Doshey) F. McKinney, b. Jan 10, 1863, Palo

Pinto, County, Tx.2. Margaret, b. 1867?3. Johnnie, b. 1871?4. Seymour Mack, b. 1876?5. Twins, Dovie and Seph, b. 18776. Willie, b. 1881We believe all the children were born in Palo Pinto

County, Tx. The wife, Esther McKinney and all children except Willie were in the 1880 Census for Palo Pinto County.

Dovie was my grandmother. Any information would be appreciated.”

Dortha McElroy Greenlee says to Tilley of the McKinneys: “Your time frame is earlier than the time my grandfather was in Palo Pinto Co. My John (J J) McKinney arrived in 1886 from Hill Co., TX. They lived at Lake Creek and he donated land for the cemetery there.He served the Confederacy in a unit from Mississippi. He was born in 1843 in Lincoln Co., Tennessee. My mother was his 12th child, born in 1893 on his 50th birthday. It is my understanding that he attended many Reunions of the Civil War Vets. I have a copy of a picture that was made of the group at Mingus lake in 1903. It is not a good copy and I wish I could find a better copy. It may have been in a newspaper, but I don't know where to start to find the correct paper. There was a John

Middleton that served Taylor Co., Texas many years as sher-iff. Wonder if this is the same family?”

And finally from the Vernon Clipper of Lamar County, AL, Aug. 22, 1879, and submitted by Veneta McKinney: “The sheriff of Palo Pinto County, Texas, and a posse recent-ly had a fight with the Jones Gang of horse thieves. Larkin Jones was killed and John Jones wounded. Enoch and old Jones, two other thieves, were captured. Jack Morris was left to guard the wounded Jones and assisted the latter to escape. Morris was arrested and subsequently 25 masked men over-powered the four guards of Palo Pinto Jail, and shot Morris dead in his cell.”

Do you have a story to tell about Palo Pinto, Parker, or Johnson County, or any of our North Central Texas counties? Let me know! ✬


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