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Dr. J. D. Windham, Typical West Texan, Had Excting Times With Texas Rangers In Early Days Here'The WindhiuiiD wore from abounding hrapit^ly. a nouhl* as MMwipi. Or. J. D. Windham characteristic of Dr. Windham* Inc having aim* 10 Texas before u Southern aristocrat, seasoned itai Xtw Civil War. witling in Anne- aiul spiked by custom* of tlkr IIni. Countv. where he engaged (early cowmen in this country er, in the practice of medicine until lie became widely known attdjthlt; •erved m an enrolling officer respected for his open-lundW; th for the Cnn federate Amy. Thi. generosity and hospitality, t hunk less paaltlon was the The officer* atnveti on * Pn-j“lttourer of much trouble and annoyance to Dr Windham and ;u a gesture tuward cmllni the old feuds and hatreds, he gathered up hU belongings und came to die Bayou. I think just utter the war' In the new !or»-duy und the doctor held themuntil the following Monday when he freed thaln and gave them bock tbmr guns. They were surprised, if not astonished to find such a princely gentlemen. when they thoughtlion he practised his profession’they were seeking a deeper***, unit ranched. Ibis being one of They assured the doctor thatif;y**owItlaIthey would never diirturb him hiitin.tlie best ranch sections in the _ State He prospered und soon became a ranchman of some TC proportions.I While the State was under K carpet-bag rule, the uuthori-ties of Angelina County dis-iml patched n squad of officer* to rilil the Windham Ranch, then in the Brown County, to arrert th. R-nch. When near the W.nd-.u- dbcior und return him to Ange- ham home, Capt McMurray disclosed to his aids thnt they were „ to arresl Dr. Windham. They Upon their arrival at the vll-redunilityoutdoLater on. afier he hod moved to T«L'umaah Park, in Callahan County, a captain of the Ran-|tn was ordered .0 arrest Dr. Windham and. taking a few select men on a secret mission, approached the Windhamcoonboldly refused and told himlagc of Brown wood, they me lhe fvmt otf,is uttcrTI|),Dr. Glasscock und inquired of lt0 Brrrgt htm {hm „wy w0UJu Jum concerning Di^ Windham. 1vnUxt Ulm 3am* of the force unking the way to the Windham tad previously been employed Hunch Dr Glasscock sensing;,,,, tl,r Windham Hunch andHu'ir object in finding his mr friend and to-physician, directed them the long way around.—. while he hurried out by the_____________‘ , Inuwt direct route and notified'u-v gentleman. ‘ . Dr. Windham uf their npprouch.‘ whereupon Dr Windham po*t-, Jed his two sons-in-law, John Jonos and W E. Gilliland, atWere hi* unfailing friends After this Dr. Windham was not again luirBMicd. but was allowed to live a» he desired, a quiet roun-He owned a mud stone, and ople came to him from far and near for snake bites, spiderI strategic points with instruc-' and *kunk bites, os well as for Tlt.ru to close in on the officer*! the hydrophobia: dtw-bUe. JohnrltyIat the proper time and awaited their arrival.They soon rod* up and wore Invited to dismount and come in As -oon, however, a* they passed through th* door, Jones and Gilliland cam.- in behind *' them nnd Dr. Windham threw Jjjjjhb gun on them. removed their guns and made them his prisoner! He had their liofXw put up and fed and extended to his visiting prisoners his usualmibeIffmiWth*M'..I*tochseltnre-iodnd-iu-5agreements over mine and fur-lory wage* and Inflation problems. and dilferenccs over postwar planning and co-operation —nil these injure our unity, and keep us from producing ' •1 !and accomplishing the maxi-4«* mum.1 Hi We need more plain common mti sense—and lea ill-timed pro-d0 motion of Utopian fancie*—in th* regulation of private biuu-naM und livelihood, where such is undertaken by the Government It is to be hoped thut the form-of public opinion will help bring more acceptable and more effective procedures into being But in the meantime, nnd as the war goes on, we must be willingofbuudtoitmanswsicPitth.toc*lyoakSBabb, bitten by a skunk on the Young Ranch on the Pecos, U said to have ridden three horsee down gettuig to the “mail istonp” I am indebted to our fellow townsman. Sum H Gilliland, for much of the foregoing story, and for Uw succeeding feature I am wholly indebted to him. He tells me thnt Dr Windham told him thut he treated John Wilkes Booth for|mi his wound* Booth being a rela-1 nc. live of his, had come to hun for m, treatment after the assassin*-1 wr lion of President Lincoln.Haer-ench.elyon»d-Iihc•rutibc 1 a lesIU-I saw tlus colorful charurter but once I rode up from Burkett one afternoon, the distance between us being greater than 1 hod expected I was lar* in arriving. but was received and cored for In typical West Texas style. The old doctor was very feeble and when I approached him on a business matter he told me that he did not uttempt to handle business, but hurl turned such matters over to his son-in-law, John Jones, then sheriff of Callahan County Shortly after this he passed •way and was buried in a nearby cemetery. His wife, Aunt Fenny, lived only 0 few year*EJalisTttrrt*r*lt;Ihrchiihrto compromise our personal in-■ utter hi* death, nnd I note that tcrvsta insofar os possible when i she who was his faithful and; our Nation’ existence itself is devoted companion through aimperiled That’s what we re tolling the French to do.long and eventful life, deeps beside hirn. Peace be unto them!
Newspaper Details
Coleman Democrat Voice
Coleman, Texas, US
Thu, Jul 15, 1943
Page 11
Full Page
Clipped by
Max B.
USA 29 Jan 2022
Other Publications Near Coleman, Texas
Coleman Democrat Voice
