Traveling is nothing new to the JOY Club at the First Baptist Church in Bonham. Actually, the club’s entire name is Just Older Youth, and they were in Sherman recently for an outing at MG’s. Next month a trip to Paris to dine at Hole in the Wall is on the agenda.
But on Monday, the JOY Club’s monthly luncheon was all about travel of another sort. This luncheon was all about time traveling, as Lanny Joe Burnett transported the group back to the days of pioneer settler Bailey Inglish and Barbara Gore discussed activities at Fort Inglish and told about the early life of Sam Houston.
Bailey Inglish, the founder of Bonham, laid claim to the land along Bois d’Arc Creek and Powder Creek, officially listing the date of his original settlement as March of 1837. Inglish was granted 1,280 acres of land, which included the eastern portion of present-day Bonham. However, his family’s influence in North Texas began two decades earlier.
As Lanny Joe Burnett pointed out in his colorful portrayal of Bailey Inglish, much has been written about the first Anglo settlers in South Texas. History books detail how Stephen F. Austin, in late 1825, established a colony in south Texas along the Texas Gulf Coast area between the Colorado River and Brazos River and along the San Jacinto River.
Records also indicate a change was already underway in North Texas. As early as 1817 the Inglish family was already colonizing an area near the mouth of the Kiamichi River on Red River. At that time, this area was part of Hempstead County, Arkansas Territory and county records from 1817 show that raiding Indians were suspected of stealing 15 horses from Joseph Inglish and his neighbors. In 1920, this part of what is now northeast Texas and southeast Oklahoma became Miller County, Arkansas Territory and the following year Bailey Inglish, Joseph's son, was elected sheriff.
Burnett breathed life into the fascinating history of the Inglish family’s experience along Red River. This is how he described the first love of Bailey Inglish:
“I met a girl who would change my life. She had eyes that sparkled like stars and a voice like a nightingale. I thought she must be an angel. Her name was Jane Sloan, but I called her Jennie. Together we had six children, three boys and three girls. We were living a dream – settling new lands and raising a family.”
Burnett’s portrayal told about the devastating loss of Bailey’s beloved Jennie, his subsequent discovery of Bois d’Arc Creek, and his respect for another important man in the history of Bonham, John P. Simpson. It was Simpson’s sister-in-law, Nancy that became the second wife of Bailey Inglish.
Together, Bailey and Nancy raised six children. A fort was built for the safety of the settlers along Bois d’Arc. Bailey was in command of the fort and he was chosen to be a “justice” in the Republic of Texas, although most people seemed to refer to him as Judge Inglish. He was also the first postmaster of Bonham.
While other men and women of unflinching character made their stand in South Texas during the Texas Revolution, or established famous, sprawling ranches in the endless plateaus of West Texas, the Inglish family left a mark that endures today along the banks of Bois d’Arc Creek and Red River.
Barbara also reminded the JOY Club that volunteers are always needed to help with different projects at Fort Inglish village.
She also gave a brief talk about the fascinating live of Sam Houston. His lifetime included several careers. Sam Houston lived with, and becomes a spokesman for, the Cherokee Indians; he taught school to pay off his debts so that he could leave to join the Tennessee Volunteers during the war of 1812; he fought with Andrew Jackson in the Battle of Horshoe Bend; he served as the governor of Tennessee and Texas (the only person in American history to have governed two states); he led the Texas Revolution, later serving as the President of Texas and then as a Senator.
When Texas joined the Confederacy, Houston refused to swear his allegiance. That ended his days as the governor. Supposedly, he was given the opportunity to lead an army to fight the uprising, but as a man with the vision to comprehend the suffering and bloodshed that would divide the state and the nation for years to come, Houston chose the live out his last days near Huntsville.
Barbara Gore told how, as Houston worked on his memoirs and reflected of the watershed events of his remarkable life, another writer asked what Sam Houston felt was the most important accomplishment in his storied career.
“I was a teacher,” Barbara said Houston answered. “That was the best thing I did in my life.”