The Hoover family originally came to the United States with Peter Stuyvesant to help form New Amsterdam sometime in the mis-1600s.  Their name at that time was "Huber" and they were true-blooded Holland Dutch, and memembers of the Dutch Reformed Church.

When the English drove the Dutch out of New Amsterdam (changing the name to New York), the Hubers changed their name to Hoover, and with many other families, migrated to Pennsylvania. After several generations, the family again moved west, finally settling in the White River District of southwest Indiana.

Finally, John Hoover and his brothers (Jim and David) and his sister's husband (Mr. Caffey) decided  to leave Indiana and take a flatboat and head for Texas.  John' wife, Leoma (Mahele) Hoover and their young son, David, were left behind in Indiana, since she was in poor health.  In about 1842 or 1843; John and his brothers arrived in Grand Saline, Texas.  They had been millers in Indiana, but initially worked in a sawmill in Texas. They decided to form a corporation called "The Company", and quickly acquired great wealth.  Among their many holding were a flour mill, a lumber mill, and a hold on all the salt in the area. These and all their other enterprises were worked with black slave labor who were numbered in the hundreds.

In the meantime, Leoma, John's wife, died, and young David had been living with an elderly lady who had been a friend of  the family in Indiana.  Four years after Leoma's death, John decided to go back to Indiana and get his son David.  Unfortunately, shortly after returning to Texas with David, John died and was buried in the Hoover Family Cemetery which is between Pritchett (which was the old plantation for "The Company") and Grand Saline, Texas in Upshur County Texas.

The next few years were extremely horrible for David.  His uncles treated him badly and used him as a "general flunky."  In spite of their wealth, they wouldn't even let David go to school, but made him work in the salt mines instead.  Consequently, he never learned to read or write, and signed his name with an "X" until the day he died.

When the Civil War broke out, David had no interest in serving, but under the rather forceful influence of his uncles (possibly to try and keep him from wanting his father's share of "The Company") David, at 16 years of age, Joined the Confederate Army serving in Col. Walker's Foot Cavalry (400 men).  At their enlistment, David and several other young men vowed they wouldn't shave until the Yankees were beaten.  David never shaved again in his life.  In his later years, when asked why he didn't shave, he would reply, "We still haven't beat them d___ Yankees yet!".  For four years he would fight in such places as Stone Mountain, Arkansas and Peach Tree Ridge, Louisiana, where he said the bees nearly did more damage to them than the Yankees!

By the end of the war, all but one of David's uncles had died.  When Jim, the remaining one, was ordered to free his hundreds of slaves, this very effectively put and end to "The Company."

After being discharged at Marshall, Texas, David got a job as a freighter in Itasca, Hill County, Texas.

On August 25, 1868 in Bentenville, Arkansas, he married Mary Jane Scott, the daughter of Larkin Scott, a Church of Christ preacher, and Charlette (Kirk) Scott. Shortly after the marriage, David gave up the Dutch Reformed church and was baptized into the church of Christ where he eventually became a deacon at the Bethel Church of Christ between Dublin and Comyn, Texas.

Children from this marriage were;
 Etta L. (31 Aug. 1869) m. Fate Fagilie
 Edna D. (18 Dec. 1870) m Sutton Stone
 John Larkin (12 May 1872) m Lurana Ivey
 Mary Esther (24 Aug. 1873) m Breckinridge Kendricks
 Harlan Mulkey (29 May 1875) m. Dona Roach
 Newton H. (2 June 1877) Erma Roach
 William D. (22 Feb. 1879) m Hollie Caffey
 Alonzo Marian (9 Apr. 1881) m Ada Emery
 *George H. (24 Feb. 1888) m Zada Nancy Ringener

After living in Bentonville, Arkansas for a number of years, the family moved back to Texas, farming for a while in Alexander, and finally bought a farm in Comyn, Texas where they lived the rest of their lives.  David was born 22 Apr. 1845 and died 12 Apr 1921.  Mary jane died the following year. They are both buried in the old Roach Cemetery (now called Hansen Cemetery) near Dublin, Erath County, Texas.

People who knew David said that he had a very quiet nature, and he never weighed over 140 pounds.  He was an extremely kind man and would tell people about his life if they were interested. His wife was quite different however.  She was described as being Quite demanding, being an "always right - never wrong" type of person.  She is said to have "led David around by the ear" because of her strong willpower.

* George is the grandfather of the children of Dewy and Edna Nix.

(This account of the history of the Hoover family was written by Joan (Murray) Nix after an interview with Willard Hoover in June 1982.  Mr. Hoover is a son of John Larkin Hoover.  As a young man, he was able to spend much time with his grandfather, David, and from him learned much of the family's history.)

Notes -
No record has been found that the Hoovers were in New York or that they came from Holland. Nor was any record found in Grand Saline, which is not in Upshur County nor of them having  any connection to the salt mines in Grand Saline. Nor has any thing been found about "The Company". John, David's father,  is listed in the 1850 census of Upshur County with a wife M. born abt 1820 born in Virginia. I believe they are buried in "Hoover Cemetery" in Upshur Co. There are two hand hewn stones there, one with only J and the other with M.

There will be conflicting ideas in the  Hoover stories  but remember that most of these are the way they are remembered by older family members and from time to time we do find new evidence that changes what we know about the family. It has been said, GENEALOGICAL RESEARCH is never completed.

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