Bishop's First Families

Bishop, Nueces County, Texas 1910 - 2010 One Hundred Years of South Texas Heritage!

Bishop’s First Families

[The following are from the Bishop News of 1960 in a series written by Mrs. Gail Tubbs for Bishop's

then upcoming Golden Jubilee celebration.]

Samuel Robert Smith Family

Lula Baker, wife; children Della, Sam, Lena (Ratliff), Lula (Moore), Willie (Cannon),

Wallace, Charley, Hubert, Bert

The Sam R. Smith family arrived in Bishop November 28, 1912, coming from

Rogers, in Bell County, Texas. They came by train.

"We first lived on a farm one mile south of Bishop, now the Lonnie Wolters farm. We

rented this farm that had been plowed by a steam plow and all of the family worked

clearing out the tree roots preparing for our first crop. Later we bought two farms and

cleared them out. Six of the children, Lena, Lula, Wallace, Hubert and Charley

attended the first Bishop school. Lena (Ratliff) now lives in the home converted from

this school building.

"During the 1916 hurricane, we were forced to leave our home because it was blown

off the blocks. We went into the pasture and held on to the fence posts to keep from

blowing away. The storm hit in the late afternoon and we stayed in the pasture until it abated about 11 p.m. We

returned home and found the house with windows out, furniture and furnishings broken and blown over the place,

our hogs and chickens were killed, and our wagons and surrey domolished. Our father's brother, Jim Smith, Sr. from

Rogers, was here visiting us and prospecting for a farm to buy. He made the trip to the pasture with us, but was

undaunted in his determination to live in Bishop, and later bought a farm and moved his family here.

In 1916 a group of young people, chaperoned by Mr. and Mrs. Sam Smith and Miss Della Smith, took a trip to Flour

Bluff, in covered wagons, and one surrey, driven by Bryan Harrell, because his father was afraid for him to ride in

the wagons.

We left Bishop early one morning and got to the Flinn farm, east of Driscoll, when the wild young mules hitched to

one of the wagons ran away. They were stopped at the Petronila Creek. We returned to the Flinn farm and changed

to another team of tamer mules. It was night when we arrived at Oso Bay. The wagons bogged down and the young

men "packsaddled" the young women to the London Gin. The mules were hitched to the rear end of the wagons and

pulled them out. We then took another road to Flour Bluff. We arrived in Flour Bluff the next morning and set up

camp, with cooking to be done over campfire. Women slept in the covered wagons and the men in tents. That night

it came a windstorm and blew the tents down. The women went to an old hotel and spent the night while the men

stayed in the wagons. The next day was clear. We remade camp and spent the rest of the week hiking, exploring

and swimming. We couldn't fish as planned because the wind had driven the saltwater in and killed the fish that

were ordinarily in that area. During this time, all of the Flour Bluff area was covered with brush. There were very few

cultivated farms between Bishop and Flour Bluff. We camped overnight on our way home, returning to Bishop on

June 1. A total of eighteen made the trip together.

Louis Schroeder Family

(This family history was written by Ella Schoeder in 1983, and provided to us courtesy of Lois Schroeder Staff.)

Father: Louis Schroeder, born April 4, 1885 in Manor, Travis County, Texas. Died February 24, 1956.

Mother: Emma Louise Ottalina Schroeder, born July 23, 1887, in Washington County, Texas. Died August 5, 1924.

Louis and Emma Schroeder were united in marriage at Evangelical St. Petri Church, Coupland, Williamson County, Texas on

November 26, 1907. This union produced six children: Ella Schroeder, Fred W. Schroeder, Louis O. Schroeder, Monroe

Schroeder, Rose Schroeder Royce, Emmett Schroeder.

November 1912. I don’t know what date it was but this was the day we arrived at the Louis Schroeder farm five and a half

miles north of the city of Bishop, Texas. We came by train from Coupland, Texas. Seemed this was about mid-morning. It was

raining lightly. Mr. Henry Balko came to the depot in a tarp covered wagon, drawn by two horses. We, the family, were papa,

Louis Schroeder, mamma, Emma Schroeder, me – Ella, and my brother Fritz.

I remember we came along a winding trail through the Prairie in the front of the house – the rain drops popping on the tarp.

Then – there it is – Dad – eyes shining and a smile on his face, showing us our new house. The only other thing I remember

about our moving day – when we got into the house it was a mess. The floors were all covered with saw dust and lumber

scraps. There was no broom so they took an old rag that was there and pushed the stuff together and took it outside.

All the family’s belongings were shipped in a box car by rail. There was furniture, cookware, and dishes, farm implements,

wagon, buggy, tools and the animals – horse, mule, and cow or cows, two black dogs and two white cats The two dogs were

Watch and Fido.

The coyotes and rattlesnakes were here to welcome us or to let us know that we were invading their territory and they didn’t

like it. We managed not to get bit but we had a little dog that would come home from the pasture sometime with a swollen

head. He would kill the snakes but sometimes he got bit. That dog was named Fido. He was black with patches of light brown

about his head. The other dog we had was named Watch. He was solid black. He never got snake bit – he left the snakes

strictly alone.

All this land was King Ranch land. The land had been broken with a huge steam plow. There were lots of brush, roots and

stumps to be picked up and some had to be grubbed out yet.

Dad bought 100 acres on the south corner of the section. Mr. Louis Pfluger bought the other 60 acres. Dad rented the 60

acres from Mr. Pfluger. Several years later Dad bought the 60 acres from the Pfluger family.

All the water used on our farm had to be hauled in barrels on a wagon drawn by mules, so an early project was to get water to

the farm. When there was water on the farm Dad planted trees. He planted Hackberry trees and Chinaberry trees for shade.

He planted a peach orchard.

Another project was to put a barbed wire fence all around the farm. I remember the big gate with the tollgate parts at the drive

–in. Not many years later the fence and the tollgate parts were all taken up.

The new land was not in very good shape for planting. It was also too dry. Dad planted cotton and corn and also feed grains

for the animals. The first years the crops were slim.

The farm implements were rather simple. There was the walking plow. The walking plow didn’t walk – the one who did the

plowing did that. Two mules pulled the plow. There was a large sweep at the back and there were two handle bars to be held

with the hands to guide the plow along the row.

The planters and cultivators were single row. Some years later Dad got a double row planter and cultivator. Then there were

mowing machines. The farmers would cut all the feed down. Then it was raked up and hauled to the barn yard and stacked.

The mowing machine had a long blade or sickle that would stand up and was fastened when not in use. To use, the blade was

lowered and set in gear. This was a dangerous implement – one could get a foot or feet cut off if they got in front of it.

In 1913 Fritz and I had a new little brother. Louis Otto was born August 23, 1913. He had dark hair and brown eyes.

In September 1916 we experienced our first Gulf storm. It was windy that morning. Then the wind got stronger and it started to

rain. Dad said, “This is a storm”.

Our house was a story and half. There were two rooms downstairs. The upstairs was all one large room divided into two

bedrooms. We went back to the house. By that time one end of the house had gone off the blocks. We got kind of settled –

then the other end went down. It was getting dark and with the house off the blocks Dad thought we shouldn’t stay there

through the night. We all were bundled up and walked to the Kriedel’s house.

In January of 1919 we had another little brother at our home. Monroe Alfred was born January 21, 1919. He had light brown

hair and brown eyes.

In May of 1919 we had a bad hail storm. It destroyed all of the cotton crop. Dad replanted the cotton crop. The cotton were

late and were not open yet when the storm came. He made a good crop and got it harvested between the showers. The price

of cotton was good too. In September of 1919 we got another Gulf storm. It played around on the Gulf for days. Then about

midnight Saturday it was here. Edwin and Bennie had been out for their Saturday night outing. They came home early and

said get ready for the storm – it’s coming here.

After the 1916 storm Dad said he was going to build a storm cellar. So in 1919 we got to try out our new storm cellar. We sat in

it from about midnight Saturday – all day Sunday – and Sunday night until day light Monday morning.

In July of 1921 we had a little sister at our home. Rose Emma was born July 16, 1921.

Dad farmed through all the good crops and the not so good crops. The 1923 crop was special. We made 123 bales of cotton.

Also we could build the house now. The old house made it through two Gulf storms. It always went off the blocks and wasn’t in

good shape anymore. Dad thought it wouldn’t hold up through another gulf storm. Dad and mamma had talked about building

a house. Dad didn’t want a stylish house – just a good strong well built house to stand the gulf storms.

The house was finished in May 1924. We moved in and we sure liked our new house.

In August of 1924 we had another little brother at our home. Emmett Louis was born August 4, 1924. On August 4, 1924

mamma died.

Dad stayed there and took care of the family – “dem kids” – and so we grew up. One after another got married – except me –

and left home, but it was home as long as Dad lived. Dad died February 24, 1956.

Emmett, Rosie Lee and family rented the farm. They lived in the house for several years until they bought their own house.

Then the house was vacant. In June of 1990 we sold the house to be moved. It was moved to Driscoll, Texas.