Daily Progress, Jacksonville, TX

Living

Discussion

Add a comment on this story
November 5, 2012

The Mystery Man

BOB BOWMAN Jacksonville Daily Progress

BULLARD — Daingerfield, the pleasant county seat of Morris County, was named for Captain London Daingerfield, supposedly a native of Nova Scotia, but beyond that and a few other facts, Captain Daingerfield remains a mystery man.

Morris County pioneers told stories of finding Daingefield’s millstone and water well, which pre-dated local Anglo-American history. These items were likely made by Acadian settlers from Louisiana, but they returned to the territory because of Indian hostilities.

A spring known locally as Daingerfield Spring was once a popular camp used by Indians such as the Choctaws and Caddoes. Around 1830, Captain Daingerfield and a company of 100 men attacked an Indian village at the spring and, after a long, bloody fight, the Indians were driven away.

Local history says Captain Daingerfield settled his family around the spring, but the Indians retaliated, killing Daingerfield, his wife and children.

The Captain and his family were likely buried nearby with large flat rocks marking their graves. But as the years passed, the cemetery and rocks were moved as new homes were built in the area.

In those days, it was the custom of settlers to plant cedar trees around the graves of their loved ones. Near the spot where the Daingerfields were buried, large cedars are now growing.

The problem of finding more about Captain Daingerfield is compounded by the fact that Morris and the surrounding counties were once a part of Arkansas

Army records in Washington have no record of Daingerfield and, despite the efforts of several historians to unearth more details about the captain, his family and his fellow soldiers, his disappearance remains one of the legendary stories of East Texas.

Some early visitors were not kind to the early town of Daingerfield. William A. McClintock, who passed through the area in 1846, noted in his diary that the town consisted of "three or four cabins scarce fit for pigsties."

But by the early 1850s the town began to grow. Sylvia Academy, a private school for girls, opened around 1850, and in 1852 the Marshall Presbytery of the Cumberland Presbyterian Church founded Chapel Hill College.



(Bob Bowman of Lufkin is the author more than 50 books about East Texas. He can be reached at bob-bowman.com)

 

Text Only
Living
LOCAL MAGAZINE
Community Calendar
Loading…
Events by eviesays.com
Election 2012
AP Video
Fmr. TWA Flight 800 Investigators Want New Probe Raw: Heat, Spurs Back on Court Ahead of Game 7 Dolce and Gabbana Convicted of Tax Evasion Paris, Prince Depositions Used in Jackson Trial Coiffed Cattle Get Their Close-up In Berlin, Obama Channels Cold War Activism Police at Patriots Tight End's Home for 2nd Day Fed Suggests Bond Purchases Could Slow AP: DOJ Broke Own Rules Seizing Phone Records Raw: Baby White Rhino Debuts at Australian Zoo Time Lapse: Rebuilding Bridge Post-collapse Ohio Woman Accuses 3 of Holding Her Captive Hunt for Ex-Teamster Boss Hoffa's Remains Ends Aug. Trial Set for Ohio Man in Triple Kidnapping Car Crash in NYC's East Village Injures 8
Hyperlocal Search
Premier Guide
Find a business

Walking Fingers
Maps, Menus, Store hours, Coupons, and more...
Premier Guide