Stump the Texpert

Have you a question concerning Texas history? One that's been burning your brain like an ice-cream headache? How do we spell relief? 

R - I - C - H - E - Y

Don't be fooled by cheap imitations. Nature editor Howie Richey, who introduces visitors and newcomers to Central Texas via his Texpert Tours, hereby makes the challenge, throws down the gauntlet and pitches his hat into the ring. He triple-dog dares you to come up with a question concerning Texas he can't answer.* 

Email your questions to The Texpert ( See Editor's Note above )

*Answers provided by Mr. Richey are not necessarily those that would be supplied by the editor, or other contributing writers. Void where prohibited. Questions should concern Texas geography or history, be in English and answerable. Questions and answers will be posted in this page.

Saturday, June 15, 2002
Dear Texpert, I was just wondering what the absolute location is of North Central Texas in longitude and latitude, and I was also wonering what the relative location is of North Central Texas to some of the other regions in Texas. Thanx for your time - Just Wondering

Dear Wondering, Thanks for getting in touch! Dallas-Fort Worth is approximately 97 degrees West and 33 degrees North. As a whole, Texas extends farther than 94 and 106 degrees West, and between 26 and 36 degrees North. This year's Department of Transportation highway map shows latitude and longitude ticks. -Texpert

Tuesday, January 01, 2002
Dear Texpert, Has the "Come And Take It" cannon from Gonzales ever been recovered, and were is it, if so? - Barefoot Larry

Dear Barefoot, One story says the diminutive four- or six-pounder was buried near Sandies Creek on its way to Bexar after the Battle of Gonzales in 1835. Unearthed a century later, the piece is on display in the Gonzales County Museum. A replica is fired every October at the battle reenactment in Gonzales' Pioneer Village. A less romantic version allows the original cannon made it to the Alamo and was melted down by Santa Anna's troups after the fort's fall. - Texpert

Monday, September 24, 2001
Dear Texpert, I believe my ancestors financed the stone masons that built the Capitol in Austin and were given land on the New Mexico/ Texas border with the name Farwell. Any information would be greatly appreciated. - Thank you, K Forsyth

Dear Karen, According to the New Handbook of Texas, John V. Farwell, wholesale dry goods merchant and member of the Capitol Syndicate, was born at Painted Post in Steuben County, New York, on July 29, 1825. He was the third of five children born to Henry and Nancy (Jackson) Farwell, who made their living by farming and shipping lumber. Farwell entered the Texas cattle-ranching scene in 1882, when, as a leading member of the Capitol Syndicate, he helped finance the building of the new Capitol in Austin. Both he and his brother and partner Charles were directors of the Capitol Freehold Land and Investment Company, organized in London in 1885 to handle the land that became the XIT (Ten Counties in Texas) Ranch. In addition, he was for a time managing director of the XIT. In that position, Farwell spent some time at the ranch, where he occasionally held church services for the employees; his nephew Walter erected a summer residence near Channing that served as the new XIT headquarters. Farwell died on August 20, 1908, and was interred in Chicago. - Texpert

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Dear Texpert, Double dog dare to supply a question on Texas that the Texpert can't answer, huh? My great-great grandfather, Charley Hester, rode the Chisholm Trail in 1871 and the Western Trail in 1878. A few months before his death in 1939, he penned a lengthy memoir. He wrote, in part: "In any event, in due time we cut loose from the Missouri wagoneers who spread out over the country headed for various places and for various purposes. Our outfit continued through Texas southwestward to Eagle Pass and thence down the Rio Grande to the "Southdown" country. There we found the country literally overrun with cattle. About all they were worth was their hide and tallow, and the ticks saw to it that there was precious little tallow.... As we worked the herd on the Southdown we made it a practice to keep the calves castrated and branded. The law in 1871 was that any critter without a brand after reaching the yearling age was the property of any person who slapped on an iron.... I saw a piece of riding that made me "sit up and take notice." Part of the western Southdown country is thickly covered with mesquite and a scrub oak which makes tossin a rope a real job. However, a good cowpoke can snare a cow in tight quarters. But that was not spectacular enough for the Mexican riders...."

My Stump-the-Texpert question is--where was the Southdown, and is there any other printed reference to it? - KD Ross

Dear KD, Thanks for the fascinating quote! My own great-grandfather, Claus Henry Frick, left a 20-page autobiography from the same era. He also drove cattle up the trail in the 1870s. Alas, the only other printed reference I've found for "Southdown" is a breed of sheep. We'll keep looking! - Texpert

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Wednesday, June 20, 2001

Mr. Texpert, Do you know how the town of Elkhart, Texas, got it's name? If not, I got it from one of the old timers who was born here. - M H

Mr. H, According to the Handbook of Texas, Elkhart in Anderson County was first settled in 1851 members of Daniel Parker's Pilgrim community who moved there to take advantage of the new post office and a newly established railroad. With the efforts of a friendly Indian, the newcomers built a community that continued to survive. They named the town after the Indian. Yes? - Texpert

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Thursday, April 05, 2001

I'm doing an independent study on Texians during the Western movement for my American History class. I was hoping that you will be able to help me. Do you know how Texas during 1789 - 18.. affected the U.S. economy and government? All information is greatly appreciated! Thanks, MH

Dear MH, I'd say slavery was the biggest question, especially after the mid-1820s, when Stephen F. Austin began bringing American colonists to settle here. Many of them owned slaves, and abolitionists in the US desired to maintain a balance between slave and free states. Most everyone expected Texas to join the Union eventually. For a good general description of this issue, see chapter 16 in LONE STAR, by T R Fehrenbach (American Legacy Press, 1983). -Texpert

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February 25, 2001

Dear Texpert, All the family records show my grandfather was born in Eagle Lake, TX, in 1896. However, his siblings (some of whom were within a year of his age) were all born in the Panhandle. The only Eagle Lake I can find is the one west of Houston in Colorado County. It seems unlikely that is the place the records are referring to, given the distance and no recorded family history in that area of Texas. So, my question: Was there another Eagle Lake? RW

Dear RW, I've found no other Eagle Lake. First suggestion: your great-grandmother was traveling (for whatever reason) when she birthed your grandfather. Second: the records are wrong. Perhaps another lake existed in the Panhandle near where your ancestors lived. - Texpert

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February 22, 2001

Mr. Richey, My name is Skylar and I am in the fourth grade. I am doing a report on Joanna Troutman. I cannot find any pictures of her. Do you know where I might can look on the Internet? Thank you for your time and help. - Skylar Brown

Dear Skylar, Try this link: http://www.tfaoi.com/am/7am/7am292.jpg

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