From Enslavement to Hallettsville History

By Murray Montgomery  -  Staff Writer  

Tate Hicks would never forget where he was when the news came that slavery had been officially abolished. President Abraham Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation on January 1, 1863, declaring all slaves to be free. However, the enslaved people of Texas did not receive the word until June 19, 1865 (Juneteenth). 

"I was living with the Russell family when freedom came," Hicks said. "The mistress told us, 'You are just as free as I am; you can now go wherever you want.'" However, Hicks said they simply did not know where to go. The Russells allowed the formerly enslaved people to stay on the property for a year until they could find a place to live.

 In 1946, Hicks told a local newspaper that he was the oldest man in Lavaca County. However, the newspaper seemed to have the impression that he might have been mistaken about when he arrived; the paper’s calculation would have made him even older. Because he came to Texas as an enslaved person, he followed the practice of the era and took the surname of his enslaver, A.W. Hicks, who was one of the first settlers of Hallettsville. 

During an interview with The Lavaca County Tribune, Hicks said the area was still a wilderness when he arrived. There were no roads, only paths made by wild cattle and other animals. “Only a handful of whites, with some colored people as their slaves, lived where thousands reside today," he recalled.

Tate Hicks outlived his enslaver. In 1946, he was over 100 years old and living near Shiner. He stated he was born in Tennessee in 1845. "I was two years old when my master, A.W. Hicks, moved here from Tennessee with his family of five children and six slaves," Hicks said.

The Hicks family settled on the Lavaca River, about two miles northwest of Hallettsville. In his interview with the Tribune, the elderly man was asked how they managed to survive in the wilderness. He said there was plenty of game and wild cattle for meat, and they also raised corn. Cornbread and wild pork were their primary meals. “Wild turkeys, deer, bears, lions, and other animals were plentiful then," Hicks said.

Archival newspaper articles provide a significant link to the past. The Tribune's story offers a vital eyewitness account of the challenges the first settlers faced. While the old man's memory might have been somewhat foggy, he witnessed events that remain mere conjecture in most history books.

The article revealed that Hicks did not care much for Native Americans who continuously threatened the settlers. "You couldn't have a light on in the house at night," he recalled. "They used bow and arrow; I still have some of their flint arrows—they killed several whites and slaves." 

Parts of the interview indicated that Hicks might have been slightly confused about the exact timeline of his life, but his memory seemed remarkably clear for the most part. When asked if he remembered the Hallett family, he replied, "I used to work for them and remember Mrs. Margaret Hallett especially well."

According to The Handbook of Texas Online, Margaret Hallett donated the land for the town site that became Hallettsville. The website also lists A.W. Hicks as one of the first settlers in the area that eventually became Lavaca County.

In the Tribune article, Hicks knew exactly where the Halletts were buried. Responding to the interviewer's question, he said, "They are buried west of town on the Breslau Road." The newspaper verified his answer, noting the spot was “preserved “on the present (1946) Paulie Appelt farm."

According to the Texas State Historical Association, Margaret Hallett died in 1863, and was buried on the Hallett league. Her remains were later transferred to [Hallettsville] Memorial Park, where a grave marker acknowledges her as the founder of Hallettsville.

When Tate Hicks was interviewed, four of his children were still living. The newspaper article stated he was living with his son-in-law at Henry Nollkamper's place near Shiner.

The Tribune concluded the article with these words: "More than a century of memories of this county are stored in his mind. He saw this community emerge from a complete wilderness into farms and towns. What can be searched for in records, only he remembers."

(Editor’s note: Shortly after writing this article, I came across more information in The Lavaca County Tribune from the January 27, 1948, issue. The article stated that Tate Hicks had died. The story also implied that he could have been much older than he remembered – possibly 117.)