The VanPelts of Uvalde County

Capt. T. M. G. (Malcolm) Van Pelt was one of the early settlers to the Frio Canyon, a long wide valley with the Frio River running through it's center. He was born in Charlotte, Mecklenburg County, North Carolina, in July of 1831. His great-grandfather was a soldier in the war of the revolution.

He came to Texas in 1853 and settled first at Gonzales, then moved to Prairie Lea in Caldwell County in 1854. He bought cattle there and drove them to the Hondo River in 1855. In 1860 he moved and settled in Frio Canyon, Uvalde County. He had a fine ranch and farm fronting the river. At this time, the area of the Frio Canyon was regularly raided by Indian war parties. Capt. Van Pelt was an experienced Indian fighter but was also said to have been always running over with fun and practical jokes.

T. M. G. VANPELT BORN JULY 15, 1831 DIED DEC. 10, 1910

C. E. VANPELT (California Elizabeth Elam VanPelt) BORN JAN. 1, 1836 DIED NOV. 21, 1914

Joseph M. Van Pelt, the son of Malcolm Van Pelt and California Elizabeth Elam, was born at Prairie Lea, Caldwell County, Texas, on the last day of May, 1857. That was a noted year to old Texans, and called by some of them the "starving year." It was a year of great drought, when no crops were made, and many families went without bread for weeks at a time.

When Joe was about 3 years old the Van Pelts moved to Frio Canyon. One of the first things Joe became familiar with as he grew up was moccasin tracks and the almost constant alarm of Indians in the settlement. Indian tracks were often seen in the field where they had stolen potatoes and roasting ears. He went on many dangerous scouting trips after Indians when quite young.

J. M. VANPELT MAY 31, 1857 AUG. 22, 1912 At Rest

This post is in memory of my childhood friend, Norman VanPelt, descendant of these Texas pioneers, who is now buried among them in the Concan Cemetery.

Source - Early Settlers and Indian fighters of Southwest Texas by Andrew Jackson Sowell, Pub. by Ben C. Jones & Company, 1900

Mt. Pisgah

There is a historical marker on Farm Road 542, three miles south of Oakwood in Leon County, Texas, commemorating the Mt. Pisgah Cemetery which is believed to be one of the oldest cemeteries in the county. The cemetery is on Ringgold Creek two miles beyond the marker and south of Hwy 542. According to the historical marker the earliest marked grave is that of two year old John W. Orenbaum who died in 1854. As early as 1860 a school was established in the vicinity, in a log building on the Heatly tract.

ADELA ANN wife of JAMES COSTON daughter of H. M. & ELIZABETH JOHNSON DIED Oct. 26, 1867 AGED 18 years 5 months & 5 d's

MATTHEW VANN Born Mar. 15, 1819 Died Oct. 5, 1887

J. H. RICHMOND Dec. 12, 1890 Aug. 14, 1919 Blessed are the pure in heart

There are numerous graves marked only with field stones in Mt. Pisgah. Many early pioneers and veterans of the Texas Revolution are said to be buried in the unmarked graves.

Beaver Dam Cemetery

The above marker was erected at the Beaver Dam Cemetery in memory of the family of John W. Bell who came to Texas from Alabama in the 1850's and settled near Beaver Dam Creek and the small community of Russell in the Trinity River bottoms of Leon County, Texas.

UTA BELL BORN Dec. 3, 1848 DIED Apr. 16, 1919 Another link is broken In our household band But a chain is forming in a better land

THOMAS I. JONES BORN Dec. 13, 1872 DIED Aug.a 24, 1916

HORTENSE S. Wife of W. H. McMillan BORN Aug. 8, 1864 DIED Oct. 31, 1891

Infant Daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Willie Rawls Born Oct. 26, 1914