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

Image Plates

James Boyd Hawkins and his siblings at Raleigh, North Carolina, August . Seated (left to right): James Boyd Hawkins, eldest of the group; Jane A. Hawkins; Dr. William J. Hawkins, addressed in several letters from James, especially about the building of the Ranch House; and Dr. Alexander Hawkins. Standing (left to right): Frank Hawkins, whose letters describe his trip with James from North Carolina to Mississippi, where Frank settled as James went to Texas—James named his son Frank for this brother; John D. Hawkins Jr., James’s partner in the Caney sugar plantation; and Philemon B. Hawkins, one of several generations of Philemons. Alexander (Sandy) lived for several years in Florida and sent James orange trees sometime in the s; the orange grove still thrives in . HRLTD Ariella Alston Hawkins, date and place unknown. HRLTD Plantation house, painting by Georgia Mason Huston, about . The house was in disrepair but still standing. HRLTD The sugar mill at Caney plantation. The original  painting by Sallie Hawkins, daughter of James B. and Ariella Hawkins, was copied in the s by Georgia Mason Huston. HRLTD James B. Hawkins carried with him a pocket memorandum book; several of his notebooks are in the Hawkins Ranch File of Historical Data. Here he has noted “people given shoes.” HRLTD A receipt from D. E. E. Braman for the hire of “Slave Ben,” . HRLTD Passport of Frank Hawkins, issued on July , , signed by William Seward. HRLTD Frank Hawkins during his school years in Cassel, Germany. Photograph by G. Kegel, Cassel, Germany. HRLTD Frank Hawkins, date unknown. HRLTD Elmore Rugeley Hawkins, date unknown. HRLTD Ruins of the plantation house, . Photograph by Bill Isaacson, HRLTD The five Hawkins children after their move to town to live with their Rugeley grandparents (collage), ca.  or . Left to right: Elmore (called Sister), Lizzie, Janie, Meta, and Harry. HRLTD The red-tile-roofed house under construction in . This was the Hawkins children’s first home of their own. HRLTD On the south porch of their new house. Left to right: Janie, seated; Sister at the door; Lizzie behind the trellis; Meta, seated; and Harry. HRLTD Sister in a rowboat near their house, during one of the frequent floods. For more about floods see Stieghorst, Bay City and Matagorda County. The Hawkins children’s uncle Henry Rugeley (left) was their trustee when they lost their parents. Beside him is Sister, and next to her is Rowland Rugeley, Henry’s brother. Photograph taken at the wedding of Henry Rugeley’s daughter Mary to William B. Ferguson Jr. (called Tilly), who stands behind the bride, March , . HRLTD Janie on horseback among cattle to be shipped. Photograph by William B. (Tilly) Ferguson Jr., s. HRLTD Janie (right) stoops to examine a calf with the ranch hands and veterinarian, Dr. Marks (bending, with only legs and hips visible). In the foreground at left is Paul Ford, and William Franklin and Dode Green stand at the fence. Photograph by Beryl Sprouse, s. HRLTD Automobile parade in Bay City. Meta is in the big hat in the car at left. Janie is at the wheel of the car at right, and Lizzie stands on its rear bumper. In the background is the courthouse built in . The sign at left reads “Bay City Realty Co.” The date of the photo is before  when a new courthouse was built; likely about . HRLTD Jim Lewis asked Meta for her picture in March . She sent this one, taken while visiting a school friend in Joliet, Illinois. Jim and Meta married in . HRLTD Jim Lewis gave Meta his picture. He served during World War I as a recruiting officer and is pictured in his uniform. HRLTD Sister posed in , four years before her marriage to Esker McDonald in . The hall chair was acquired at the time the Hawkins children’s house was built and furnished in . HRLTD The Currie house, painted by Forrest Bess. In the s Meta and her sisters commissioned the Matagorda County artist to paint this house portrait. For decades the Hawkins children observed the slow disintegration of the Currie house (also called the Cavanah house). HRLTD Sister, , photographed by Vera Prasilove. At the photographer’s request, Sister holds a hat; it is Esker...