This journal was written by my Great Grandmother, Mrs. Alice Caroline Wright Dickenson, who lived in western Wise County during her early life in the late 1860's.
donated by Carolyn Scott, 4810 Blue Ridge Ct., Muskogee, OK 74403 whose mother was born at Alvord and grew up around Bridgeport, graduating from Bridgeport High School in 1936. She is seeking family kinfolk and information from Wise County. (spelling is as seen in the original.)

I, Alice Caroline Wright, was born May 31, 1859, 5 miles west of Bridgeport, Wise Co., Texas, the first daughter and third child of John Wesley and Margaret Wright. My mother was Margaret Lindsay, the youngest child of a large family, left an orphan at 10 years old, raised by her oldest Bro. Dr. Jim Lindsay. My Father and Mother were married in Newton Co., Mo. in 1853 (?) , moved to Texas. In 1857, landed in Decatur, Wise County, Texas in Jan 185?. Father bought 5 acres of ground on the west slope of the hill at Decatur and worked at his trade, a blacksmith, that year. Bought land from Colonel Hunt 16 miles west of Decatur where I was born.

Now I will give you a few pictures of my birth place. On the south and east a rocky hill side. The south terminated in a flat valey which was put in cultivation. East side was a lake of watter which seldom ever went dry. West was a small prairie glade. North a woods with the road which connect us to the main Jacksboro and Decatur highway, which after years was the stage road. The house was a log room 16 feet square with a fireplace of rock in the east end, a door in the south, one in the north. The rail cowpen was northeast of the house. East a path in a zigzag fashion in and out of the rocks and bushes taken you to the lake where we got our supply of watter. On the south slope of the hill is ehre we children made our play houses and thus making a rock play house is my first recollection of life. I was just 3 years old but today I can remember just how that rock play house was built. My oldest Bro. Jim was the reason. We smaller children carried the rock and an aunt and some little cousins spent several weeks with us and prehaps that is why I remember it so plainly. There was a large flat rock with 2 trees growing out from under the east and just enough apart to alow us to pass between. So we had this for our doorway. Then build a wall of small rock around the big one, and Bro. made a fire place in the west side and we built a fire in it. (I was there in 1875 and the old play house was partly standing. Bro. George died at 7 years old, and after some time Sister Josephine and I taken Typhoid fever and the indians were very bad & neighbors scarce, so we moved to Veal's Station for protection and medical aid. Josephine died just as I got well and Papa and an uncle carried the little body back to the Hunt grave yard and lay it to rest by Bro. George. Papa's sister Mollie was a baby when Josephine died. When Bro. Charlie was born, I with Papa's help was chief cook and dish washer. I thought I was big and smart, but had to stand on a box to be tall enough to wash dishes, but Papa bragged on me and it was all right if my Papa praised me.

It was then we went to our first school and Jim got a whipping and he told the teacher he was going home and tell his Papa on him and I ask permission to leave the room. Teacher said not untill after my lesson was said. So I could not help what happened in class, but was embarrassed very badly. Another time I had to stand up and had on a red flann? skirt and it was torn so I was embarrassed again. My first Teacher was Mr. Robtrs. The next Prof. Stout. Papa went back to Missouri about this time and was gone 3 months and we did not hear from him. We lived near a family who had an idio...? boy. One day he began to yell "hoop hay yah ah hy hey. John Wright coming." We all looked out and then gathered out where we could see a high hill road a mile away. Sure enough their was a covered waggon and we all thought like the boy. Which it proved to be our Papa and oh how glad. What rejoicing on Mama's part as well as our own that he had returned safely. He started home with a waggon load of big Missouri red apples and traded some along the way for clothing, dry goods of one sort and another.

During the war Ma wove cloth and made all our clothes with her fingers. Papa could not go to war because of his health. He had lung trouble and coughed for 18 years before he died. The Indians made raids nearly every light moon. So we staid close at home and keep a watch out for their signs during light nights. One time they stayed in so long everybody near moved to Dan Waggoners ranch and taken their stock and most of the men guarded the stock day and night and 2 or 3 men stayed at the ranch in day time to guard the women and children. They herded the stock in day time and penned them at night and taken turns standing guard at night.

Another time we got a dreadful scare. Uncle Yearby Isbell had a comand of Tame Indians (I don't remember the name of the Band) and they would run the Comanchies out and had several fights so he was in a few days ride of our place, and got sick so he come with his band of Indians to our house to rest up. Ma and a cousin who was with us was milking. The cow pen was out near the waggon road that lead north to the main road. It was dark. Papa was at the house careing for us smaller children. Ma and Cousin Nolia were milking when they hear horses feet and jabbring. They know it was Indians so they hid, one in a corner of the rail fence the other... ...Blind staggers then we hitched in one a head and had a spike team. The night we got back to Veal's Station, another horse died of the Blind staggers.

Papa rented a house for us and he and Bro. Jim went to the old home where I was Born to straiten up the field and house and put in a crop of corn. Everything had gone to rack but they did the best they could. And in 3 weeks another horse died, left us one and the worst of the four. So we moved back, but it was a drouthy year and we raised nothing at all. Now I will go back in my memory and tell of some things that happened before we moved from that place.

..The first question was, have you heard of any Indians. Ma said no, but I believe they were around last night and told of how the day had gone. Well papa siad they were here all right I guess. They killed a calf about 3 miles West of here and I got down and skinned it and here is the hide. They just taken out the best of the hind quarter and it must of been killed for their breakfast. Then they looked over the place. I found traces of them (where) they had sit on a pen in the field where Pa had frailed out wheat to take to mill, and made arrows. So we escaped once more.

There had been a stage running from Decatur to Jacksborrow for some time, once or twice a week, and now we had gotten fixed up pretty well. Built a side room, a porch in front with a bedroom on one end of it and put the old house I was born in up for stables. So the stage co. wanted to have our place for the half way ground to stop, take dinner and change horses. So Papa kept the stage stand, as it was called then, and we fed lots of travalers. My mother's fine corn lightbread was known all around. While we kept the stage stand, was my first rememberance of Decatur. I had been taken there many a time when small. I can remember of Mother atelling of one time when she and Mrs. Hunt went in an ox waggon together and how I would scream when the waggon would go jolting down a steep hill. I catch my breath now sometimes when going down hill especially if in an auto. Well, I had the privalag of going with my Papa to Decatur. He rode with the driver on top. The stage had 2 seats inside facing and I was the only passenger inside. As we drove along in a sweeping trot with 4 horses, one of the front team fell down and the stage came to a sudden stop and so did I onto the other seat.