Mr. Williams said that old Tom Neal had a club foot and was county
treasurer and defaulted. [T. D. Neal was county
treasurer from 1873--1878. --E. Weathers] Then Old Man Grigsby held
the office, had a wooden leg up to the hip. [L. M
Grigsby was county treasurer from 1878--1886. --E. Weathers]
He also made default. He came from about Nachadoches, and he got to
speculating in hogs. Was really a good man, but borrowed the money that
way from the county and the hog market went to the bad. He did not know
whether he left at the time or not--was told by someone he went hopping
off on his one leg with the money but that was probably figuratively
speaking. Mr. Williams said that he did come back later.
He had a daughter named Mattie, who was pretty and later married Joe
Rice, one of the sons of the old James M. Rice, who went to New Mexico. I
had been told that Mattie had a date with Mr. Williams, but told her
school girl friends with something of an oath that Joe Rice showed up. I
asked Mr. Williams why he broke this date, and he just said he just
"didn’t give a ... " in those days.
There were, he said, dark complected people. Probably Cajun.
Anyhow a niece came for a visit , with Louisiana touch, beautiful, and
that Ed Perry nearly went crazy, about her, going to Louisiana to see her
several times. After Grigsby left the treasury, he said that they
appointed Judge C. _. Bell to the office. That would put the incident
pretty far back in time.
(Mr. P. M. Rice, said that Grigsby put in money with Matheson, the
saloon man, and enters on a building contract for the Texas
Central Railroad, and lost it.)
