Rev. Thomas Ruben Hanks

Birth: Apr. 30, 1786 Death: Nov. 28, 1857

THOMAS HANKS Much has been said in different sketches regarding the ox-wagon trip of pioneers from old states to Texas. This extract from Mrs. Barrett's D.R.T. papers may be found interesting: "When Thomas Hanks came to Texas from Nashville, Tennessee, in the spring of 1836, there were twenty or thirty ox-wagons loaded with families and all they possessed. They were three months on the way. Had many hardships, broken wagons, etc. They had to stop in Louisiana to rest teams and get provisions. They crossed the Mississippi River on a flat boat, one at a time, but had to swim the Red River and the San Augustine River, but landed all right. Their closest doctor was at Nacogdoches, about forty miles distant, but they made most of their medicine from roots and herbs." To understand something of the hardships our forefathers endured, one has but to consider a part of the routine of living in a typical pioneer home. In the first place, to prepare or to even procure the food put upon the table required patient, persistent toil. To make bread it was necessary to rub corn between pieces of steel, or rocks, if one had corn if not roots or bark must be found as a substitute. To get meat one must kill a deer, a turkey, a bear, or other wild game (which fortunately were all plentiful), a'tld for sweets, tedious search must be made for a "bee tree" for honey. To raise crops clumsy wooded home-made plows drawn by oxen, broke the ground, while the hoes were also of wood. The clothes worn were made of cotton grown on the farm, picked, spun into thread, woven into cloth and cut and made by hand at home. Goards were grown for many purposes, milk pails, water buckets, and even for buttons to fasten clothing. Coffee was frequently made from parched wheat, sweet potatoes and other things. Fortunately, milk was generally plentiful. The first rude houses . were constructed of logs, with dirt or puncheon floors. The cracks between the logs were oftentimes wide. One of Thomas Hanks' daughters, Kizzie Hanks Colwell, would frequently find an Indian in the early morning reaching his hand through these cracks to play with her babies. An experience of this same "Grandmother Cohvell" will illustrate some of the more terrifying hardships of the times. On one seven mile horseback ride to her father's home, she saw nine bears by the roadside, and one panther in a tree. The big cat sprang at her, but her horse squatted and squealed, and the panther went over her. She said the horse seemed to go on wings the rest of that journey. Another of her experiences was perhaps even more hair raising. She was washing at the spring when a notoriously bad Indian came and, picking up her sleeping babe by the heel and motioning towards a great oak near by said. "This how I kill on war path. Bust brains out". The anguished mother smiled. The braggart dropped the child and went on his way. Thomas Hanks remained a few years in Angelina County, then came to Anderson where he remained, preaching the gospel till death ended his labors in 1857. His remains rest in old Antioch Cemetery. Thomas Hanks was a picturesque character. During the days of the Texas Republic he married many couples. After Texas became a state, be went to Nacogdoches, procured a license, then proceeded to hunt up all his couples and marry them again. Many laughable incidents occurred. One "bride" was in the cow pen when the preacher appeared with the astounding tidings that she must go through another ceremony if she would be a lawful wife. She washed her hands obediently. but permitted one doubtful murmur to escape. "All right, Daddy Hanks but I have a good notion not to have Mr. Gilliland this time. I know too much about him now."

Taken from; A Centennial History of Anderson County Texas By; Pauline Buck Hohes 1936

Excerpts from "Genealogy of the Hanks and Allied Families" by Gladys Hanks Johnson, published April;l 27, 1965 in Houston, Texas:

Thomas, son of Moses and Aggatha Hanks, married Sarah "Sally" Hill, evidently in Pulaski County, Ky., in Sept. 1804. We do not know the relationship of the numerous Hills who married into the Hanks family.

Williamson County covered a large part of Tennessee and when it was cut up to form other counties, Maury Co. was one of them. Many of the Hanks kin and friends "fell" into Maury County, but Thomas was among those who were "left" in the old county, where he was listed in the 1820 census. (the 1810 census was destroyed). Evidently Thomas was a shrewd trader and farmer, for he seemed to acquire quite a bit of property and slaves. The deed books of all the counties where we find him listed show him to deal extensively in land.

Thomas made quite a name for himself as a minister in the Primitive Baptist Church. His mother, being a Dodson which family had numerous Primitive Baptist ministers in it's fold, it is no wonder that she had some sons to follow this route. The books on churches of Tennessee list him many times as being here or there or the other place as the minister of this or that church from one end of Tennessee to the other. In 1824 the lower part of what is now Tennessee was opened to settlers and the Hanks families followed the crowd on. Here Thomas, with his brother George and their sons, at one time or another in a few years to come, were listed on the deed records of Hardeman County. On the tax list of 1826, Thomas was shown to own 100 acres--entry 1884, range 1, section 1. Also--entry 1741, range 4, section 1, covering 40 acres. The 1828 list shows him taxed for one slave and the 1829 list shows him with 94 acres.

In this year of 1829, Thomas made a trip to the new lands being opened up in Texas by the Austins. Several Baptist books of this early time mention his visit and the services he held in the homes of the settlers. In Texas at this time no Protestant services supposedly were allowed. Under the contract the Austins had with the Mexican Government only Catholic religion was allowed. But the government of Mexico and the head of the church in Mexico were not interested in furnishing priests for these gringo settlers. So the years went by with no services of a priest for marriage nor for burial. Finally the settlers began to hold their own services in their homes and to encourage ministers to settle. Copies of the many letters written by Stephen F. Austin to the Mexican Government show his concern and, at the time of the visit of Thomas Hanks, Austin had cooled his heals for six months in Mexico waiting for an audience with the Governor to talk these things over.

One of the ministers contacted and one that made a trip to Texas to spy out the land was Elder Z. N. Morrell of Nashville. After his trip to Texas he returned to move his family. In Nashville he met a good friend, Deacon McIntosh, of his church, who told him of the plan of McIntosh's friend, Sam Houston, with his Indian friends to set in motion a "little two horse republic under the Lone Star", so he tells us in his book "Flowers and Fruits of 36 years in Texas". In this book, Morrell mentions the visit in 1829 of Thomas Hanks and of his preaching in the Moses Shipman home; Shipman's son later wrote a book and also made mention of this visit. Here, in the San Felipe settlement west of the Brazos, Thomas is credited with the first Protestant conversion west of the Brazos. An English Episcopalian, Mrs. Allcorn, wife of James Allcorn, a Baptist deacon, was converted. Because of the church rules in Texas, it wasn't until after Texas's independence was won that Mrs. Allcorn was baptized.

On returning to Tennessee, Thomas decided to stay in the state although he moved to Fayette County where he appeared in the 1830 census which shows him owning 16 slaves. On July 8, 1830, Thomas sold Alex McKinzie his land for $800.

By the winter of 1835, Thomas had made up his group to come to Texas, three of his sons preceded him. His wagon train was comprised of thirty families--families of his own sons and daughters, friends and many relatives. By December they were on the way, using oxen rather than horses, as the Indians did not like oxen to eat and the oxen were easier to handle on the trail. It was a hard three months of travel, and long before they reached Alexandria, Louisiana, where the Red River was crossed, their supplies had run short, many were sick and tempers were short. Here it was decided to stop to repair and re-provision, they made camp here for two weeks.

On reaching Texas soil, the families began to drop off one by one with friends and relatives, but Thomas made his way on to San Augustine Mexican Settlement, where his sons, Bird and Wesley, had received a grant and were living. In this county Thomas later received around 4000 acres in different grants, his first ones being made by the Mexican government on March 2, 1836. So now the back breaking job for slaves and master began--clearing the land for the spring planting. Food was of paramount importance, as always, and a money making crop had to be put into the ground, so the first homes were caves cut out of the sandy-clay hills, and brush lean-to's. Tobacco would not grow here, it had been found, but corn and cotton grew beyond their wildest dreams and continued to do so for many many years. Sometimes it was a year or more before a comfortable home was built. Even one with dirt floors and animal skins at the doors and windows was welcomed. Thomas' daughter, Elizabeth (Hanks) Caldwell wrote in her memoirs that many a morning she awoke to find a friendly Indian playing with a baby in it's crib, through the cracks, the walls were not even chinked up.

Land values at this time were high, so one of the Hanks men wrote, quoting a price of 62-1/2 cents an acre. Slaves brought fabulous prices, and explains one reason the people of the South suffered so bitterly financially at the end of the Civil War. Thomas' sons, as well as many other kin, served in the Texas Militia of the Republic and received grants of land for this service, most of it being surveyed out of Houston County District. Most of the kin moved into this new area, as did Thomas, but he held on to his land in Angelina and San Augustine counties as long as he lived

The church at Pierpoints became part of Thomas Hanks' pastorate in 1845 and he served it for five years, as well as other churches along the way. Called "The Pilgrim Church of Regular Predestinarian Baptist", few mentions appear in it's records, which run from 1833 to 1869, of money. None shows the amount paid to it's ministers, if any. One item mentions "money was spent for bowls or pans for feet washing".

In 1846, just before Texas became part of the United States, the larger counties were cut to form others, and a part of Houston County to the north formed a county which was named Anderson. Here all the Hanks kin who lived in Houston County "fell". Two of the sons of Thomas Hanks operated a brush-lean-to trading post on a hill overlooking the country, making it easy to guard against marauding Indians. A small village soon grew around the trading post. This became the county seat and took the name Palestine, the name of the hometown of the Parkers. Later the trading post land became the site of the county courthouse.

The first officials of the new county were appointed by the officials of the parent county, Houston, and Thomas Hanks was appointed as the new county treasurer and his son James was named as the county clerk, a post he held for many years. The first school in the county was taught by another son of Thomas and this building was used as a voting place. This school was begun in the little settlement west of Palestine called Tennessee Colony.

After Texas became part of the United States, Thomas took out his license to perform marriages under the laws of the Union and he traveled all over the settled parts of Texas re-marrying those he had united in marriage under the laws of Mexico and of Texas. Many comical incidents happened along his journeys, but one of the most memorable seemed to be this one. Late one night he arrived at a farm home to find the lady of the house milking in the cowpen. She was worn and old looking beyond her years. On being told the purpose of his visit, she slowly dried her hands on her apron and stared at them unseeingly. Finally she spoke to him--"All right, Daddy Hanks, If you say so, but knowing Mr. Gilliland like I do, I've a good mind not to marry him again".

Sarah (Hill) Hanks, Thomas' wife, died January 10, 1847, and was buried in Old Antioch Cemetery, a family plot on the George Hanks plantation. The land has changed hands several times, but came back into the possession of a George Hanks descendant by marriage. This man kept the cemetery in excellent condition for many years, but at his death, and he was buried there, it has been allowed to run down again. Thomas died in the fall of 1857. His well worn Bible is still there in Anderson County in the possession of his descendants.

Thomas' descendants have served Texas well, as teachers, soldiers, judges of the courts, election judges, and even as a state senator and as county officials. All carrying on the heritage handed to them by their forefather who served his fellow man, his country, and his God with the best that was in him. He carried the word of the Lord where it was needed and where it was wanted in the early days of Tennessee and Texas. B. F. Fuller in his "Fuller's History of Texas Baptists" quotes on page 77, W. M. Tryon--"Thomas Hanks--he did not know what type of a person he was, but he did bring many to the church".

Excerpts from "The Tracings", Volume 3, No. 2, Fall 1984, Pages 63-75 by the Anderson County, Texas Genealogical Society:

A HISTORY OF TENNESSEE COLONY, TEXAS Located twelve miles northwest of Palestine, Tennessee Colony is one of the oldest, most historic communities in Anderson County. The land in the area was an original Spanish land grant to Manuel Riondo through the governor of Coahuila, Mexico in 1833. Many of the early settlers bought land from James Zacherie and William Moore, agents for Manuel Riondo.

When the settlers first came, the Spaniards and Indians (Blackfoot, Kickapoo and Cherokee tribes) were skirmishing over the land drained by Beaver, Catfish, and Keechi Creeks to the Trinity River. The Indians had used this territory as seasonal hunting and fishing grounds and protested the Spanish soldiers' rights. The Spaniards maintained a fort on the Trinity River below Long Lake, probably near Magnolia Ferry. The settlers bargained with the Spaniards to help drive away the Indians. Later, they played these two factions against each other to gain supremacy for themselves.

Although some historians give 1838 as the date of the first settlers, later researchers believe 1845 is correct. A wagon train of brave pioneers left Tennessee in search of more fertile farm land at lower prices and a new life in what would soon be the newest state in the Union. Some of the other early settlers were from Alabama and other southern states. The original settlers named their new community Tennessee Colony in honor of their home state. They arrived after a three month trip plagued by difficult travel and many other hazards. Their covered wagons were drawn by mules, horses, and oxen; many settlers brought their slaves with them.

Among the original settlers were Reverend Thomas Hanks and other family members. He had made a trip to Texas in 1829, and returned to San Augustine in 1836, so in a sense, he paved the way for the other settlers, many of whom were his relatives. His sister, Anna Jane and her husband, John Woolverton, Sr., came with six grown children, their spouses, and children. This included George and Gideon Shelton who were married to two Woolverton sisters.

Soon a thriving little community was established, with a general store owned by James S. Hanks, a blacksmith shop and furniture shop. The homes were built of logs and hand-planed lumber. The surrounding rich farm lands produced corn, sugar cane, and "king cotton" was the chief crop. The cotton was shipped by boat down the Trinity River to the Gulf of Mexico from Wildcat Ferry and at a later ferry at Green's Bluff. As a result, Tennessee Colony became a trade center for the surrounding areas as far away as Dallas. The raw materials and farm products were gathered here for shipping, and manufactured articles were brought back in exchange.

One of the first tasks for the settlers was to erect a building for church and school use. It was a log building with hand-planed floors and furniture and was located about one mile from the present community. Reverend Thomas Hanks was among the first ministers here, and is considered the first Protestant minister west of the San Augustine River. Other early preachers were the circuit riders who brought religious services to many of the early communities and rural areas

Burial: Antioch Cemetery Montalba Anderson County Texas, USA