C. E. HORTON

C. E. Horton came to this county with Mr. S. C. Messer and helped him drive four or six hundred cattle from near Tyler. Abstract of title shows Messer bought the land east of town in 1888, but we thought he must have come before that. Because the record showed that Mr. Horton went to work when the mercantile company of Hearne and Company started about 1878. Mr. Messer was a good man. His first wife was Mary O, died in the 1880's and the last was Mary E. Ross. (This Mrs. Messer was a noted school teacher to whom my mother went to school, and the latter part of her life the fine lady lived next door sough to us. She was sister to "Uncle Sid R. Ross.)

That Bill Massingill was probably a cousin to Mr. Paige Massingill (see his story). They came from east or south Texas somewhere. He mentioned who they came with but I don’t recall.

(According to Mr. Price M. Rice, the Massingills came originally from Tennessee, where they were prominently in the drug manufacturing business. That at the outbreak of the Civil War, Mr. Paige Massingill was told to get on his pony and ride as far south as he could. Picturesque picture of him in the courthouse in broad brimmed hat.

(Mr. Carl Jackson tells me that Mr. Horton was originally in the fish hatchery business in Alabama. Several years ago I got into correspondence with a young fellow in the University of Alabama, a distant relative, who wanted to know more about Mr. Horton. It seems he and some of his family had started on the trail to Texas, a brother died in Alabama on the way, the others went back. I knew Mr. Horton all of my life to time of his death. Usually worked in the mercantile business, had his own hardware store, was a busy man. He was hard of hearing in the latter days and it was said if a man wanted credit he couldn’t hear him but if he wanted to pay a bill, he had no difficulty. He was fond of people and though deaf seemed to know more than others about what was going on. A fine old gentleman.

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