Prairie Gothic: The Story of a West Texas Family

Chapter Twelve: Rachel and George Sin

92 Chapter Twelve: Rachel and George Singer The most famous of our kinsmen was a man named George Singer, who married Lina Sherman’s sister Rachel Underhill and was thus Grandmother Curry’s uncle. “Famous” is a relative term, of course, and nobody in Los Angeles or New York has ever heard of him, nor have they in Dallas or Houston. But around Lubbock and the South Plains, George Singer is still remembered as a man of considerable importance. His credits include: first merchant in Crosby County (1881), first merchant in Lubbock County (1881), and one of the original founders of the city of Lubbock (1891). Today, a stone marker in Lubbock honors him. It says that he established his trading post in 1877 and local lore tells that he traded with Comanches and buffalo hunters. Max Coleman, who knew the Singers well, claimed that George had come to the region as early as 1870 (Coleman 1952: 59), but the usually reliable Max got his dates wrong. Nobody but the Comanches occupied the Llano in 1870. J. Evetts Haley had Singer located at the crossing of two military trails near Yellow House Canyon in 1879 (Haley 1967: 47), but that date also appears to be incorrect. AcloseaccountingofeventsfindsGeorgeSingerarrivinginEstacado with the second migration of Quakers in 1881. (Spikes and Ellis 1952: 34) There, he opened the town’s first store but soon moved his operation thirty miles west to the headwaters of Yellow House Canyon, a few miles north of present-day Lubbock. (Seymour Conner, in Lawrence L. 93 Rachel and George Singer Graves 1962: 55 and 66). By that time, the buffalo had disappeared and whatever Indians happened along were a rag-tag collection of renegades, wanderers, hunters, and beggars from reservations in Oklahoma and New Mexico. The Southwest Collection at Texas Tech has a taped interview with George Singer’s son Charles, made in 1981 when Charles was ninety years old: “My folks told me about the Indians coming now and then, renegades from the reservation. Mother had a big wooden chest and when the Indians came, she would put us kids inside. One time there was sixty of them and they camped between the store and the house. They wanted something to eat, so Mother made them some biscuits. Father went to the store and got a big bag of prunes. Mother fed them biscuits and stewed prunes. When they left, about two hours later two of them brought back half a beef and left it for us. “ (Charles Singer interview, 1981) George Singer traded with Indians, all right, but they were not the same Comanches who once ruled the Plains and struck terror in everyone who encountered them. During the 1880s, “Singer’s Store was not only the sole house in this vast county, but it was the most important place,” (Coleman 1952: 59) a gathering spot for ranchers, cowboys, former buffalo hunters, and travelers on the old Mackenzie Trail. Max Coleman left us a nice description of the store: “In my mind’s eye I can see old man Singer in his store. . . . An old-time buffalo gun lay on the counter, handy to his hand. Outside, several greyhounds howled for meat, and nearby several wild horses were on the stake. That symbolized old man Singer. . . . I was surprised at the enormous stock carried by Mr. Singer. . . . [He] carried everything. Sacked grain, harness, sacked potatoes, and barrels of flour were piled among boxes 94 Chapter Twelve containing Arbuckle coffee, lard, beans, and canned goods. Mixed therein were saddles, boots, bridles, blankets, huge boxes of ammunition, and overalls, and coils of manila rope. Bull Durham tobacco sacks with papers attached were prominent, as that was before the day of the ready-made cigarette. I was surprised at the large amount of candy in the store. Mrs. Singer stated the cowboys were heavy buyers thereof; and, as for the Indians, [George] had to guard them off with a gun.” (Coleman 1952: 59, 60) Rollie Burns, one of the first cattlemen to enter the region, paid a visit to Singer’s Store in 1881: “In and around the store was a motley crowd of cowboys, a few Mexicans, and a half dozen Apache Indians. I mailed my letter, bought a drink of whiskey and some candy, stood around a while, and started back [to the Spur ranch].” (Holden 1932: 73-5) Because...