This article was provided by Jeff Thompson, whose great grand uncle was Bill Wilson.  It came from an old manuscript found by Jeff in his genealogical research.  There are some differences in this article from other published sources and it is reproduced here exactly as written.

July 1862 -- It was sorghum making time in southern Parker County. Life was still very difficult in this county, created in 1855. During the light of the moon every month, the Comanches came over the Palo Pinto Mountains and raided the settlers, stealing horses and murdering the early pioneers. In fact, the Indians stole horses with such consistency that the farmers used mostly oxen for farm purposes. Until the summer of 1862, no recorded killings or captures of the white settlers by the Indians were reported in the area twelve miles south of Weatherford near the Brazos River and the Hood County line. Most of the early settlers in this area were related. Our story of the Indian capture of Anna Akers and her cousin, Bill Wilson involves a family group.

Hiriam Wilson bought a small ranch on Spring Creek, near Muddy Creek in 1872 and moved there with his wife and children. One daughter, Elizabeth later married W. R. Woodhouse and son, Frank married Lou "Lucy" Akers, the sister to Anna Akers. Both Elizabeth and Frank continued to live in Parker County. Both raised their families there. A younger child, Bill was born in 1850 and is one of the subjects of this story. Oliver Fulton, an uncle of Bill had moved to the area earlier and lived on the old Coldiron place some three miles north of the Wilson family and about a mile west of Nebo Mountain. Anna, an orphan was living with the Fulton family along with her sister, Lou. Anna Akers is the other subject of this story.

In the summer of 1862 Bill was twelve years of age and Anna was about the same. Late on a Tuesday afternoon, Bill was sent to spend the night with his Uncle Oliver. He was to drive the oxen the next day for Oliver, as he made sorghum syrup. Early on Wednesday they started their syrup making as planned. The oxen they were using were wild and frisky. Oliver decided to cease work around noon because of this.

He sent Bill and Anna to Hiriam's to spend the night and bring back more gentle oxen to use at the mill. This was about a three-mile trip along a road that was open on one side and brush on the other. Indians might be in the bushes and capture them, even though it was not thought to be a great danger in this area. The two children made it fine until they were within a half-mile of the Wilson home. They had passed the home of other relatives, the Richardson's. Mrs. Richardson, at her loom saw the children pass. Everything was well at this time. This was the halfway point between the Fulton and Wilson homes.

The children were attacked by a band of seven mounted Indians just before reaching the Wilson property. The foremost Indian overtook Bill, who was running as fast as he could. He was knocked down with a blow from the butt of a lance. Bill was then hoisted up behind the Indian. With Bill riding behind the Indian, they returned to the other six Indians, who were mounted and had Anna surrounded. She was screaming and hitting them with her bonnet. Anna was then placed behind one of the braves and the entire party headed at fast pace toward the Nebo Mountain. Nebo was northwest of the place they were captured. This was a very fast ride and they gained the north side of the mountain in a very short time. On the way to Nebo Mountain, the Indians and their captives passed T. J. Shaw's sheep but did not see young Jim and Jack Shaw as they were hiding. The boys had seen the Indians coming, but from their hiding place, they could not see the captives. Having gained the top of the mountain, they placed one brave in a tree to watch all directions for fear of being followed. Mount Nebo was the highest point in the area and the highest point from Somervell County. This mountain was often used for signaling between tribes. The Indians were very nervous. The children could not understand their language and were very frightened. They felt they would be killed as soon as the Indians decided they were not being followed.

Now back at the Fulton and Wilson homes, there was no worry at this time. Oliver Fulton thought the children were spending the night with the Wilson's, while the Wilson's thought they were still at the Fulton's. So the long night began for the two children and seven Indians on Nebo. Anna crying and fighting with her bonnet.

Just after dark, a wagon train with many horses was passing about a mile east of the mountain. This excited the Indians, as they need more horses. After the travelers had camp for the night, five of the braves slipped into the camp and stole all the horses while the two remaining braves guarded the children. The children were sitting on a big, flat rock on the north side of Nebo where they could easily see T. J. Shaw's log cabin and other settlers' homes. During the night, an owl hoot was heard. Anna and Bill were placed behind the braves on the horses. The group headed for the bottom of Nebo and joined the other five Indians with the stolen horses. This entourage of Indians, crying children and stolen horses traveled to the west as fast as possible. They heard the Wilson's dog bark and the rooster crow. They crossed the Brazos River at daybreak and stopped at the mouth of a canyon. Bill was rolled in a blanket with an Indian sleeping on the blanket so he could not escape. Anna was allowed to sleep next to Bill. They both slept from exhaustion, even though they felt they would soon be killed.

At one point the next day, they stopped long enough to kill three calves. The Indians ate the meat raw and offered some to the children. They could not stomach it. As the trip resumed, Bill and Anna were both placed on the same horse tied together on the horse. The horse was then unbridled and turned loose among the stolen horses. About the middle of the day, they reached Sunday Creek, in Erath County. They stopped for a while and this time killed a cow and cooked some of the meat. The children ate a small amount. Since they had not already been killed, the two felt they now would be held for trade. They began to talk and plan an escape. After this stop, the children were placed back on the old roan mare. They were no longer tied on, but still running loose with the head of stolen horses.

As they crossed the mountain in Erath County, it was a serene night. Anna had stopped crying. As they neared the top of a pass a rattle of firearms all around the party broke the stillness of the night. At the first round of shots, the old roan mare with Bill and Anna fell dead, as did most of the other horses. The children had to fight for their lives among the kicking horses. All the while they were thinking it was their families that had finally found them. They began to scream that they were captives. With all the commotion, the rescue party thought they were wounded Indians screaming. They continued to shoot until Bill finally convinced them that they were indeed captives. He was told to come forward with his hands up. He found Anna hidden behind a rock and took her with him. Anna practically passed out when she saw the white people.

They soon found that the men in the rescue party were not family. It was a company of minutemen from Stephenville commanded by Captain Hughes. They had been called out to follow a party of Indians who had murdered a settler on Rock Creek in Palo Pinto County. Not an Indian was killed, but they left without a horse and Bill and Anna were safe. Captain Hughes sent a member of his party to Parker County to tell the families of the safety of the children. Anna & Bill were taken to Stephenville and Judge Marvele returning them to Parker County in a buggy, as Anna was too weak to ride a horse. The trip took four days over rough country.

Back home, concern did not start until Thursday morning when Hiriam went to the Fulton home to see how the 'syrup making' was going. They quickly realized the children never reached their destination and went to the Richardson home. Mrs. Richardson reported that they had passed her house the afternoon before on the way to the Wilson's home. At this time, some 18 to 20 hours after the children were captured, the settlers realized the children were in the hands of the Indians. A group organized immediately, including the Wilson's, Richardson's, Sealy's and Shaw families. After two days, the search was given up. They felt the children were either dead or would be offered for trade.

On Friday night the settlers were in mourning at the Sealy home when the messenger sent from Captain Hughes arrived and informed the group that the children were safe. Much rejoicing took place. Shortly after this event, Hiram Wilson and his family moved back to Dallas County. There Bill married his wife, Kate. They had two daughters, Bertha and Kate. They remained in Dallas County until 1874. He then moved to Eastland County, then to Oklahoma and back to Dallas in 1914, which is where he later died. Bill revisited the route the Indians took with Anna and himself to the Nebo Mountain and other parts of the trail in the early 1920's. At this time he showed his nephew Regan Wiggs, the big flat rock where he and Anna spent the night on Nebo Mountain and relocated the entire story to him. Anna also revisited the mountain in 1862, and tried to find her bonnet, but never found it.

Anna Akers married J. W. Anderson in 1869 in Dallas County. They had two children who died young. Anna and her husband, as well as his two children were deceased before 1923.

Many of Bill Wilson and Anne Akers' relatives live in Parker County today. Many of them attended the Nebo School located at the foot of Nebo Mountain on the northwest side from the late 1800's until 1927. This Indian capture is told to hundreds of visiting school children each year. They also visit the Shaw cabin, built in 1856. The property holding both the school and cabin now belong to the V. Kemp family. The Parker County Historical Commission agrees with the Kemp's that this important event should be preserved by a marker to be placed on Highway 51, near Mt. Nebo on the east side of the road at the nearest point to Mt. Nebo, the Nebo School and the route the Indians took with their captives.

This page was uploaded on April 30, 2000

© 1997 -2011 Lela Evans
Last Updated on February 4, 2011
Webmaster