Chasing Our Tales - John Hittson, Palo Pinto County's First Sheriff, and His Brother, James

As I was raised by a cowboy whose father was a German immigrant, stock farmer, and settler of Wheeler County, some of the most fun I have with this column is learning about the cattlemen who made this county and established it as one of the leading cattle raising areas of Texas history.

John Nathan Hittson (known as "Cattle Jack Hittson) was born in Nashville, Tennessee, on 11 October 1831, to Jesse and Mary Ann "Polly" Beck Hart Hittson.

Jesse was born in Prince Edward County (Amelia County today), Virginia, 15 September 1801. He died in Palo Pinto, Texas, on 16 October 1861. He is buried in the Hittson Cemetery on the Brazos River. He married Polly in Tennessee. William B. (Bedford?) Hittson is the second son.

When John was sixteen, his family immigrated to Rusk County, Texas, where his older brother, Alexander Jr., had established a ranch. Then with James Dulin (son of Sugar Dulin and Tabitha Howard) and others, they moved on to Crow Creek Country in Hill County, Texas, and when he was twenty, in 1851, John married Selena (Sallina) Frances Brown. They had ten children.

By 1856, John Hittson with his father and brother William (who had married Martha Brown who was John's wife Selena's aunt in 1854) moved on to Grindstone Creek in Parker County accompanied by James Dulin. Dulin stayed in Parker County and assisted in its organization while John, Jesse, and William moved on to Palo Pinto County and homesteaded a parcel of land at what is now called Hittson Bend on the Brazos River. By 1860, John's herd of cattle numbered about 500.

In 1857 John Hittson assisted in the organization of Palo PInto County and was elected its first sheriff. On 11 July 1861 John, in his capacity as Assistant Marshall, signed the Palo Pinto County Census, which included Buchanan and Shackleford Counties.

Palo Pinto County could not hold John Hittson for long. During the Civil War John, James, and John's son Jess, moved on west, first to Fort Davis and then to Camp Cooper, an abandoned US Army camp in Throckmorton County. They stayed there until the end of the War, branding ownerless cattle and selling them in Mexico, and by 1865 John Hittson was the richest man in the area.

On 30 June 1866 the Hittsons, Press McCarty, and Freeman Ward, a former slave, were hunting cows on Tecumseh Creek when the were accosted by a large band of Indians. McCarty rode back to the ranch headquarters and reported that the Hittsons and Ward had been killed, and indeed Ward had been killed, but the Hittsons rode swiftly up the creek and hid under a cliff. The Indians succeeded in killing the Hittsons' horses and in wounding John with an arrow to the thigh and William with a flesh wound in the hip. Finally the Indians gave up and the trio of Hittsons walked the two miles back to Camp Cooper where there was much rejoicing.

In 1866 John moved his Three Circles Ranch to Battle Creek in Callahan County and grazed his cattle over an eight county area. Also in that year he and several other ranchers drove their cattle to Fort Sumner, New Mexico, and on to Colorado following the cattle trail opened in 1865 by James Patterson. This trail later became the Goodnight-Loving Trail.

Again, in February of 1867, John Hittson was involved in a battle with Indians between the towns of Palo Pinto and Santo. The Indians had stolen horses, and a posse was formed to recover the horses. The posse reads like a who's who of Palo Pinto history, names including Bevers, Belding, Dillahunty, Powers, Metcalf, and Hays, as well as John Hittson. There was quite a fight, and the Indians were chased away.

Also in 1867 John Hittson and John S. Chisum supplied beef to the Navajos in exile at Fort Sumner.

Primarily because of losses of cattle due to Indian raids, as well as the over crowded grazing conditions, by 1872 John decided to move his cattle operation to Deer Trail, Colorado, near Denver. There, he also raised Merino sheep.

Hittson remained prominent as a cattleman until his death, although he had many financial reversals. When he died on Christmas Day in 1880, the probate records that his estate inlcuded over 20,000 head of cattle. His death was due to being thrown from a wagon pulled by a runaway team of horses.

William Hittson became a prosperous rancher in Palo Pinto County. During the Civil War he served briefly, but resigned from the Confederacy with many other of the area who refused to leave their families to deal with the bloodthirsty Indians of the area. He did serve the Confederacy by assisting in the delivery of cotton for export to Mexico in exchange for ammunition. Following Martha's death, William married B.J. Young in 1890.

At one time there were as many as 40,000 head of cattle bearing William's HIT brand, which grazed over 160 sections of three Texas counties. The HIT brand is still in use today by the Hittson family.

The Hittson family genealogy is quite interesting, and it is also confusing. John and William's grandfather was Alexander Hittson, born 28 March 1754, in Virginia. He was indentured to the church wardens of Dettingen Parish of Prince William County Virginia, and his papers state that his name was Alexander Eidson. However, in a real estate transaction of 1777 Alexander's surname had become Hittson.

Alexander Hittson was married three times. His first wife was Macke(a)y Royall. They were probably married about 1875, and she died about 1885. They had at least three children, two whom were named Sally (who married William Alderson) and Richard (who married Druscilla Stubblefield).

Next Alexander married Rhoda Dodson on 10 December 1786. She died in 1814. Alexander and Rhoda had seven children, Jesse (John and William's father), Berryman (who married Phily Harpole who was born 16 September 1821), Thomas, born in 1792 in Pittsylvania County, Virginia, and died 1876 in Tennessee (who married Patsy Tucker); Richard; Elizabeth (who married George Dodson); Alexander Jr. (who married Jemima Jane Motley and they died in Kemp, Kaufman County, Texas. Their children were William H., Jamima Jane, Mary Minerva, Elizabeth LeFavre, Raleigh C., Charles H., John A., and Mary L.); Mary "Polly" (who married Beverly Mays, Jr.), Sally Sarah (who married James Claxton), and Jane (who married Jonas Chainey).

Third, Alexander married Mary Minor on 13 February 1816. They had no children.

Although I have found reference that states that a John Hitson, who may have been Alexander's father, is listed in the Roster of Soldiers from North Carolina in the American Revolution, Genealogical Publishing Co, Baltimore MD, 1977, I find no Hit(t)son listed in the DAR Patriot Index. Therefore, I feel that, at the least, no one in the family has proved a Revolutionary War connection for DAR.

Here is some more Hittson genealogical information.

There is also an Alexander Hitson who is listed as having married an Ann Gander Davenport sometime after 1793 in Cumberland County, Virginia.

One person who is researching this line is Evelyn McManus Williams, 500 North 44th Street, Duncan, Oklahoma 73533. She is looking to share information.

Andrew Hitson <jennyw@hypermax.net.au> wrote, "I have very little knowledge of my family, as my father migrated here to Australia in the 1960s. Any information would be great! My father was Jack Calvin Hitson, of Fort Sumner, New Mexico. He was born in 1915, son of Bill Hitson who was Deputy Sheriff in Fort Sumner. I am aware that the surname was probably spelled Hittson earlier. I have no other ideas, but am interested in reading all the posts on the HItson family. To my knowledge, there are no other HItsons in Australia!!!!"

Jacinda Dieken <jdieken128@aol.com> writes, "My mother's parents were Onis Hittson and Ruby Lindsey Hittson. He was a settler in Stephens County, Texas, along with his brother Byrel. Dr. Lawrence Clayton from Hardin-Simmons had some information on Hittson Bluff on the Brazos River and was going to take me and show it to me, but we didn't get around to it. Also in Palo Pinto County was a murder trial of Wallace Hittson's father-in-law who shot him. It was in the 1960's, I believe. He was a brother to Onis and Byrel."

Linda Jolly <lindajolly@hotmail.com> wrote, "Looking for Robert "Lock"Hittson/Hitson, married to Patience Jane Allred. Their daughter was Myrtle Lea Hittson/Hitson. Robert's father was Wyatt, and his mother Martha, from Coffee County, Tennessee. I think Robert's brothers and sisters could be Thomas, William, George, Jesse, Permelia, and Harriet. They moved to Texas. Myrtle Lea was born in Rody, Fisher County, Texas. They also lived in Arkansas."

Some of the Tolleson researchers theorize that William "Grandsire" Tolleson (a South Carolinian), married a Patsy Hitson. It is suspected that William's mother may have been a Hitson because one of William's brothers was named Hitson Tolleson. The 1850 Census for Tishomingo County, Mississippi, shows William Tolleson's wife to be named Mary -- not Patsy.

There is an interesting website at http://www.geocities.com/heartland/ranch/5448/hitson.html titled "Edeson/Eidson/Hitson Family".

There is an annual Hittson reunion. You can contact Vicki Hittson <vicki@pathfinder-ranch.com> for more details.

Well, I hope you have enjoyed this genealogical search into another cattleman of Palo Pinto County history. If you have questions or comments, please send them to me, Sue Seibert, P. O. Box 61, Mineral Wells TX 76068-0061; or email me at siouxcitysue@cox-internet.com.

See you next time!

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