Collins Academy

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This Month in History

This Month In History: The Death of William Perry

After his arrival in Jefferson, Texas in 1842, Captain William Perry quickly rose to prominence in the community. He partnered with W.W. Withenbury and opened Jefferson to steamboat traffic. He went on to obtain large amounts of land, opened the Excelsior House, and even served as Mayor for a short time 2. It’s during this time that he donated Lots 7-9, Block 86 (now the site of the UMBC) to local slaves to allow them their own place of worship.

On his way home, on the night of January 2nd, 1869, Perry encountered Detective Charles H. Bostwick and his soldiers outside of the home of John Vines. They had received word that known fugitive, Bud Connor, was planning on meeting Vines’ wife, his sister, that night to get supplies before leaving town. However, due to conflicting accounts of what actually transpired that night, the legitimacy of this claim is still in question. Official reports state that the soldiers spotted Perry, believed he was Connor, and ordered him to halt. When he failed to comply, they fired on him. It was not until they approached the body that they realized their mistake.

Perry’s body was then taken into the Vines’ home, and the soldiers returned to camp. 2 This was convincing enough to most to prove that the death of Perry was accidental and was thereby dismissed. All charges against Detective Bostwick and his men were dropped. 1People remained skeptical of Bostwick’s claims. It was difficult for anyone to believe Perry could be mistaken for Connor. At this time, Perry was in his 50’s, whereas Connor was only about 20. Several witnesses also came forward claiming they heard the soldiers shushing each other and they had never ordered Captain Perry to halt. There are also claims that they were never informed when the trial was taking place. Therefore, no one had the opportunity.

The decision to take Perry’s body in to the Vines’ house has also been brought into question. Why was he taken there when his own house was only down the street? Also, after Perry was shot, the soldiers were sent back to camp, rather than having a select few wait back and continue to wait for their original target Bud Connor.

Perry’s funeral took place on January 8th, 1869 1. He is buried in Oakwood Cemetery in Jefferson alongside his wife. Despite potentially never knowing the hard facts of what actually occurred that night, Captain William Perry’s death (and life) will remain an infamous part of Jefferson Texas’s history.

References:
Spencer, Andrew and Curtis Hawthorne. Murder in Jefferson: THe 1868 Stockade Case. Jefferson, Texas: 23 House, 2012. Book.
Traylor, Russell. Carpetbaggers, Scalawags and Others. Waco, Texas: Marion Coun-ty Historical Commision , 1982. Print.

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Clues to the Past

Was it American Indians or Union Soldiers?

Archaeological work on lots 7, 8, and 9 of Block 86 of the Urquhart Addition in Jefferson, Texas, during the spring, summer, and fall of 2017 has revealed evidence of almost continuous human occupation of the Union Missionary Baptist Church site over the last several thousand years. “This hilltop site would have provided a perfect perch for overlooking Big Cypress Bayou and accessing its resources. The higher elevation would have also presented more wind and thus the location would have fewer mosquitoes and other flying insect infestations and the sandy soil would have rapidly drained the heaviest rains. All this would have been advantageous to hunter-gatherers at this location,” stated Project Director Gary Endsley.

One of the problems with analysis of finds is that local collectors have been removing artifacts from the site for several years prior to this work.  A local informant recently indicated that “Indian arrowheads” and various artifacts from the federal occupation during Reconstruction have been
removed and some are in his possession. Unfortunately, by removing artifacts from their primary context (or their original location) in the soil, we lose information that can be obtained from the sedimentary layers.

In archaeology, the Laws of Stratigraphy and Superposition are used to determine relative chronologic age and the time sequence of vertically excavated finds. Basically, the older artifacts will be buried deeper and the younger layers are above the older layers. The deeper an excavation gets, the farther back in time it goes. Artifacts found in the same stratigraphic layer are of approximately the same age and are said to be in context with each other. It is from this contextual relationship that cultural analysis emerges. When relics are removed from this context, all that information is lost. It is like trying to read a book with important pages missing.

Figure 1

Figure 1 is a photo of the bottom of Excavation Unit 6 at the 30 cm level (almost 1 ft). About 15 cm down, a dense charcoal lens is present indicating the remains of burned material which is likely the church built in 1847 and burned during Reconstruction by the Knights of the Rising Sun. In this dark band are charcoal chunks and a piece of orange brick that was probably part of a pier to the first structure. At bottom right of Figure 1 on the floor of Excavation Unit 6, Level 3, is a charcoal circle that extends downward some 30 cm and may be post mold from a Caddoan house. It could also be post mold from a Union soldier’s lean to shelter as they were stationed on the hill top for 2.5 years, December 1868 until May 1871. As Anthropologist Kari Dickson explains “the presence of post molds indicates that at some point in the sedimentary history, an external force drove the top layer of the soil into lower layers. Or, in this case an individual likely drove a post into the soil, leaving the top soil at the base of the post.” When the post decays, it leaves post hole mold in place.

Figure 2

Figure 2 and Figure 3 are from Excavation Unit 8, 2 m SSE of Excavation Unit 6. At the 30 cm level, 4 possible post holes are observable in Figure 2. At 50 cm in figure 3, only the two outermost markings are still present extending slightly into level 6 where they disappear.

The conundrum is this. We have artifacts showing the presence of Union soldiers and we know they arrived less than three months after the burning of the first church built on this site. We also have 127 Native American artifacts from our recent work. All but one of these are chert (flint) flakes and pieces. There is one sherd of Caddoan pottery. Most of the chert and the small pottery sherd were found in context with the first church above 30 cm from the surface.

Figure 3

A few other flakes and pieces of chert along with chunks of ocher were found 50-70 cm down indicating an archaic cultural presence several thousand years ago.

It is hoped that the stolen cultural materials will be returned to become part of the assemblage of artifacts that tell a complete and accurate story as part of the heritage center’s interpretive displays. Looting of archaeological sites disrupts proper scientific examination which better preserves our fascinating heritage.

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Ceiling Raised at Mother Church

Temporary framing being used to raise and support original bead board ceiling.

Over the past several days, General Contractor Danny Hurt and his careful restoration crew have been busy raising the 1883 ceiling back to its original position overlooking the sanctuary of historic Union Missionary Baptist Church. Via the skillful use of ladders, jacks, and various sized timbers, Hurt is raising the sagging bead boards and securing them with heavy duty but temporary framing. Later, after roof joists are repaired above, the bead boards will be permanently reattached to them and the framing will be removed.

According to Hurt, once the bead boards are reattached to the roof joists, they will be repainted to match the original sky blue color that resides under the green paint that covers them now.

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Mother Church to Reactivate Jefferson Junior Historians

In order to encourage student research and the recording of findings in projects about local history, the restored Union Missionary Baptist Church will host Jefferson Junior Historians as part of its Heritage Center programming. “We will reactivate the previous charter with the Texas State Historical Association,” stated Gary Endsley of Collins Academy. “TSHA sponsors this extracurricular program started in 1939 by Walter Prescott Webb for 4th through 12th grade students. He wanted students to get involved in the actual doing of history,” Endsley added.

The revitalized Junior Historian chapter will recruit from within the established Jefferson ISD school instructional program. It will be guided by school-approved sponsors with co-sponsors and community volunteers playing important supportive roles. While encouraging the exploration and documentation of state and community history, the Jefferson Junior Historian program will create opportunities for students to learn research, critical inquiry, analytical reading, writing, critical thinking, and debate skills.

One of the major objectives of the program is to encourage chapter members to research a topic on state or local history and to record their findings in a research project. Cross-curricular applications arise in the varied options for project presentation. Students may choose a project category according to their abilities and interests: the collection of oral histories, individual historical paper, individual or group exhibit, individual or group performance, individual or group web site, or individual or group documentary. Topics may vary from major events such as the opening of navigation to Jefferson, to personal stories such as that of one student’s great grandmother who immigrated to Texas from Germany. While learning about history in a personal venue, these experiences also enable students to develop skills of formal writing, public speaking and presentation, media visual design, and public performance, among others.

Endsley is now searching for interested adults, especially history buffs and history teachers, to comprise the necessary volunteer support network. “Alumni of the original Jefferson Junior Historians would make perfect co-sponsors. I’ve already talked to several and have more on my list to get to,” stated Endsley. A cosponsor may be either a teacher or a lay person interested in community history. The cosponsor is a key person in the chapter organization as her or she performs many support services such as planning meetings, planning student projects, arranging field trips, and contacting human resources. If you are interested in participating as a student or cosponsor, please contact Endsley at (903) 665-2900 or drop by Collins Academy at 500 E. Broadway in Jefferson during normal work hours.

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Foundation Successfully Leveled at Church

The foundation of Union Missionary Baptist Church has been drastically improved through pier and beam replacement conducted by Precision Foundation and House Leveling of Longview, Texas. The leveling and stabilization work occurred during the week of August 14 and resulted in the best foundation the 1883 structure has ever had according to Kenneth Jarman, owner of the leveling company. Taking great care to prevent collapse of any part of the building, new pier footings were excavated by hand with small batches of concrete mixed and poured to create a much deeper and stronger base. Carefully inspected beams were replaced as needed. These were leveled by appropriate placement on cinder block cores which will be restored to 1883 condition using historic bricks salvaged from this job.

 

“The foundation was leveled with the northeast corner that was raised 10 inches,” said Danny Hurt, the project’s general contractor. “This matches with the specifications from our restoration architect and facilitates construction of the back porch, the installation of a lift for ADA access, and the Phase 2 construction of our support annex with restrooms, storage, and office,” he added. The covered area between will provide space for interpretive displays; one of which is the historic, in-ground baptistry.