Hill County Texas

 

ROBERT WENTEN PAULEY

Was the son of JOSIAH B. PAULEY and ANN F. (CARRICO) PAULEY. He was born 3 Dec. 1851 in Wythe Co., Virgina. He came to Texas in 1873 and married ELIZABETH ELLEN JOHNSON, daughter of NIMROD P. JOHNSON and ANNIE CAROLINA (TRUELOVE) JOHNSON, on 31 May 1874 in Navarro Co., Texas. He died 15 Nov. 1929 in Foard County, Texas and is buried in the Crowell Cemetery there.
Robert and Elizabeth had a total of eight children of which two are still unknown to me. I have identified six of those children of which I'll address.

1. W. F. PAULEY, a son, birthdate still unknown. He died 1929-1937. He is mentioned in his father's obituary in 1929 as living in Bradley, Arkansas. No further information.

2. ANNIE LEE PAULEY, born 30 April 1875 in Texas. Annie married JOHN HARVEY WILLIAMS on 6 August 1891 in Hill County, Texas. Annie and John had one son, JOHN LEE WILLIAMS, born in 1894 in Tyson, Texas. Annie Lee (Pauley) Williams died 10 January 1894, only ten days after giving birth to her son. She is buried in the Old Lebanon Cemetery in Hill County, Texas.

3. J. F. PAULEY, a son, was born on 11 Feb. 1880 and died 9 May 1897 near Hillsboro (probably Lebanon). He was only 17 years old when he died as a result of a burglary. There are several newspaper accounts regarding the circumstances of his death**. In those accounts, young Pauley (J. F.) is referred to by several different names, but it is clear to me that he is, in fact, the son of Robert and Elizabeth as he is buried in the Old Lebanon Cemetery next to his younger brother, Arthur L. Pauley, a known son of Robert and Elizabeth. The birth and death date of J. F. Pauley coincide with all of the dates of the newspaper articles I have found regarding his murder. His father, Robert, gave an account of the murder on 19 May 1897. He stated, "Clem (possible nickname?) came in at ten o'clock and told me about the smokehouse door being open, and I got up and went out straight to it without saying anything or arranging a plan of action with him. I went out the kitchen door and went straight to the smokehouse door, and I don't think the burglar saw me until I put my hand on the door to shut it, when he cried out to me not to shut the door. He (the burglar) got to the door just as I was pushing it to and stuck his pistol out. It was a large pistol and I grabbed the barrel. Just then Clemmie (J. F.) came up around the house. He had gone out the front door and come around and was in the act of putting up his hands like he was going to help me when the pistol went off and he fell, shot through. He lived about 16 hours." Other accounts state that Mr. Pauley went to the aid of his son and the burglar got away. Mr. Pauley "found three hams in a fence corner about seventy-five yards from the house that the burglar had carried off from the smokehouse and he had a sack of meat starting out with it when met." GEORGE HEDRICK was charged with the murder of young Pauley two weeks later. There was much feeling in the community at the time and strong talk of lynching was indulged in. Hedrick was eventually given a lifetime sentence on the charge of murdering young Pauley.

4. DOLPHUS GIPSON PAULEY, my grandfather, was born on 4 May 1889 in Hill County, Texas. He married MARY ADDIE CHOATE, daughter of THOMAS MATTHEW CHOATE and JOSEPHINE C. SPRINGFIELD, on 3 June 1917 in Snyder, Oklahoma. Dolphus and Addie had two daughters, RUTH JO ELLEN (PAULEY) BAGLEY JONES and my mother, RUBY JEAN (PAULEY) CROWNOVER BRYSON. Dolphus died 13 April 1945 in Olney, Young County, Texas and is buried in the Crowell Cemetery in Foard County, Texas.

5. ARTHUR L. PAULEY was born 20 August 1893 in Hill County, Texas and died at the age of 4 on 27 August 1897 in Hill County, Texas, sadly only three months after the death of his brother J. F. Pauley. I do not know the cause of young Arthur's death. Arthur is buried near his brother, J. F. Pauley, in the Old Lebanon Cemetery.

6. JAY FOY PAULEY was born 11 January 1899 in Jack County, Texas. He married BEULAH LAVINA WATTS on 11 Feb. 1917. They had two sons, JAMES WENTEN PAULEY and EDWIN FOY PAULEY. He later married ELSIE MAY RANIER. Jay Foy died 2 July 1963 in Lawton, Oklahoma and is buried in the Breckenridge Cemetery in Breckenridge, Texas.

** "Dallas Morning News," 11 May 1897, entitled "Young Man Killed".

http://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth387914/m1/1/zoom/?q=kirk

"Galveston Daily News," 11 May 1897, p. 2, entitled "Murdered By a Burglar."
"Dallas Morning News,: 14 May 1897, entitled "The Pauley Killing."
"Galveston Daily News," 14 May 1897, entitled "Will Protect the Prisoner."
"Dallas Morning News," 23 May 1897, entitled "The Hedrick Case."
"Fort Worth Morning Register," 23 May 1897, entitled "Held For Shooting."
"Dallas Morning News," 23 May 1897, entitled "Hedrick's Examining Trial."
"Galveston Daily News," 23 May 1897, entitled "Remanded Without Bail."
"Galveston Daily News," 13 May 1899, entitled, "Life Sentence Confirmed."

Note: I will be adding the newspaper scanned articles sent to me by Marian McGowen as soon as I can work it into my schedule. Sorry for the inconvenience.

Other sources regarding J. F. PAULEY: Hill County, Texas Obituary Book by Roy Bessire (2 articles)

 

I would love to correspond with anyone related to this Pauley family.

Marian Jean (Bryson) McGowen
108 15th. NW
Ardmore, OK 73401
Email: Mtrophies@aol.com
Phone: (580) 226-1643

 

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© 2010-Present Patsy Vinson TXGenWeb, Hill County Coordinator