Little Owens Family Tree Blog

San Augustine We had to stop on our way back home to visit the town of John’s great-grandparents, William “Edgar” and Bertha America Neyland Hicks . We looked at Google Maps the night before to get a lay of the land near the cemetery and decided we could pull over to the side of the road with the RV for a few minutes while we located the graves. Here is some information on the town of San Augustine: https://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/entries/san-augustine-county As of 2020 there was a population of 1,920 and it is the county seat of San Augustine county. According to Edgar’s obituary Edgar and Bertha moved to San Augustine in 1903 where he began his dentistry practice. The family is buried at the San Augustine Cemetery. This cemetery had a nice directory at the front of it so you can figure where to locate the graves. There are six other family members besides John’s great-grandparents Edgar and Bertha Hicks : Ella Middleton Collier - Bertha’s mother - John’s 2nd great-grandm...

Town Bluff Town Bluff, TX is the town that John’s 3rd great-grandmother, Sarah Rivers Hicks and her children settled in Texas after her husband, William Jackson Hicks , died from a wound received in the Civil War. They came to Town Bluff from Cotton Hill, GA. Town Bluff was supposed to be a large port on Neches. River. Instead, Houston became the port.  If you’d like read about the town of Town Bluff, visit this site: https://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/entries/town-bluff-tx We didn’t get to explore the area as it was almost sunset so I don’t have any pictures to really share but it was a pretty area surrounded by pine trees. Here is a story from Dr. Peter Bundgard ’s research about how Sarah arrived in Woodville with her six children. Sarah’s Quilt by Anne Chappell As the quilt grew under her capable fingers, Sarah had no notion that of all of her many fine quilts, this one would one day serve a very special purpose. Instead, Sarah’s thoughts possibly drifted back to that tragi...

Woodville Woodville is where the Hicks family held a reunion for many years. Located about an hour from Lufkin, it is located deep in the Piney Woods of East Texas at the crossroads of three U.S. highways: U.S. Highway 69, U.S. Highway 190, and U.S. 287. It is the Dogwood Capital of Texas. Centrally located in Tyler County, Woodville's population in 2020 according to the United States census, there were 2,403 people, 1,084 households, and 724 families residing in the town. Woodville was established in 1846, when Tyler County was separated from Menard District. The town was laid out on 200 acres in the forks of Turkey Creek that was donated to the county by Dr. Josiah Wheat. The site was selected as the county seat by election and the town was named in honor of George T. Wood, who introduced the bill to establish the county and served as the second governor of Texas. Woodville was incorporated in 1856. The voters elected S. Hough mayor and N.A. Penland, P.A. Work, B.F. Ross and S.B...

I would like to start off saying that I had to delay this blog because I received a CD with a wealth of information from Dr. Peter Bungard, who has done extensive research on the Hicks family. I’m very thankful to Janis Rae Hicks Richter for putting me in contact with Dr. Bundgard. Since we had just visited southeast Texas, I wanted to look through the information so I could update what I had discovered. This CD has hundreds of pictures, stories and info to share. I’m giddy to say the least. We don’t have any photos from this side of the family. They must be somewhere because a lot of the ones for John’s direct line were submitted by his aunt Jeanne so I’m not sure where all these photos have gone. I strongly encourage anyone reading this to talk to your elders and save all important photos, letters and paperwork for future generations. Lufkin Lufkin, TX is the largest city in Angelina County and the county seat. The city is situated in Deep East Texas and about 60 miles west of the...