The Hawkins Ranch in Texas: From Plantation Times to the Present

Acknowledgments

Acknowledgments In writing this book I have had the guidance in early stages of Howard Lamar, William H. Goetzmann, and Randolph Campbell; and of friends who are themselves writers and editors—Anita Howard, Kathleen Niendor ff, and Ann Friou. I have also found that the twenty happy years of discussing books with book club friends have helped me catch sight of those factors that chance to make an imperfect book a better one. For their interest, hands-on help, and encouragement my thanks also go to my children Jane Furse, Austen Furse III, John Furse, and Mary Furse as well as to my nephews and nieces Frank H. Lewis Jr., Janet Lewis Peden, Meta Lewis Hausser, and James N. Lewis. I have noted in my introduction that my granddaughter Elizabeth Friedman and son John Furse joined me in searching through the Hawkins and Alston letters at the University of North Carolina. Jane Furse and Anne Seel Furse, both good writers and editors, gave me helpful advice on organization. Wayne Bell, architect, whose field is historical site preservation, planned the  renovation of the Hawkins Ranch House—work finished by the architect Logic Tobola. Both improved the comfort of the house while preserving its historical integrity. The architect James Robert Coote kindly read my description of the Hawkins Ranch House and saved me from many, though probably not all, blunders. My cousin Martha Rugeley Bachman helped identify family photographs ; Helen Cates Neary set me straight on details of the county courthouse ; and Paul Hemmer pointed out the census report giving evidence of the use of prisoners on the plantation. Helping me fill in other local details were Frances Parker, Mary Belle Ingram, Carol Sue Gibbs, and Virginia Moore Whiddon (the childhood friend who joined me in exploring the town). Until his death in , my brother Frank H. Lewis took care of historical records of the Hawkins Ranch in a metal World War II shell box. His preserving the records has been a practical help. Greater yet, however, 196 acknowledgments has been his communication to younger generations his own regard for the Hawkins Ranch as a beloved place. I especially thank the office staff of Hawkins Ranch Ltd.—Bill Isaacson , Lena Stavinoha, and Cindy Tomek—for organizing and retrieving many local and ranch records, maps, and photographs. Lena Stavinoha is to be thanked for creating and organizing the Hawkins Ranch File of Historical Data, a source frequently referenced in this book. John Robert Mullen and Patsy Wiginton were the photographers for several handsome illustrations used. Bill Isaacson created maps of the Hawkins Ranch especially for this book. Institutions I would like to thank are the Matagorda County Museum of Bay City, Texas, and the Wilson Library of the University of North Carolina, which holds in its Southern Historical Collection the Archibald D. Alston Papers and the Hawkins Family Papers. ...