Waggoner Family members, left to right, Rose Blanch, Harley Waggoner, Will Gamblin, Bob Waggoner, Wanda Waggoner Pridgen,
Lynn Pridgen, Alice Waggoner Gamblin, Larry Gamblin, Cammie Gamblin, and Gena Sawyer, meet with Lavyn Sisco, right, at the
Sunny Slope location of Solomon Waggoner's grave, in Hopkins County, Tuesday afternoon, searching for clues about their heritage.
Waggoner Family Descendents Search For Hopkins
County "Roots" and "Uncover" Sunny Slope Community
by: Bobby McDonald
It was a herd of 229 old "mossy-horned" longhorns, like this cow, in the Sunny Slope Community,
that Dan Waggoner left Hopkins County with, and formed the ranching and oil dynasty, that would
span the North Texas counties of Wise, Wilbarger, Knox, Ford, Archer, Wichita, and Baylor.
Solomon Waggoner was born in Rowan County, North Carolina, in 1804, the son of John Waggoner, Sr. and Anna Maria Lopp Waggoner, and married Martha Elizabeth McGaugh, in 1826, in Lincoln County, TN. And, it was pioneers, Solomon and Martha Waggoner that made their way to Hopkins County, after a ten year stay in Red River County, Texas, arriving around 1849, in the Sunny Slope Community, located on Hopkins County Road #4752. Solomon Waggoner would die in 1849, leaving Martha with two grown children and seven minor children, ages three to eighteen. Solomon's will is one of the oldest wills on record in the Hopkins County Courthouse.
And, upon his death, his assets included 229 head of cattle and 191 acres of land. Solomon was buried in the Waggoner Family Cemetery near Peerless, in Northwestern Hopkins County (Sunny Slope Community). Solomon's eldest son, Dan Waggoner, and widow, Martha McGaugh Waggoner, filed a petition for his estate in Hopkins County. The court divided the estate with one-half going to Martha and the remainder to be divided among his children. Dan and the eldest daughter, Louisa, received their portion and Martha was made conservator for the other seven children. The seven minor children included: John T. Waggoner, Martha J. Waggoner, Luther Waggoner, Elizabeth Waggoner, Mary M. Waggoner, Sarah (Saray) Waggoner, and Napoleon Bonapart "Boney" Waggoner.
Dan Waggoner, son of Solomon and Martha Waggoner, and founder of Waggoner Ranches.
Records reflect that the eldest son, Dan Waggoner, was married to Nancy Moore, who died in childbirth in 1853 and is buried in the Sunny Slope Cemetery, next to her father-in-law. Nancy left a young son, W. T. Waggoner (Born in 1852). And, it was Dan Waggoner, who took the 229 head of cattle west to Decatur and began the Waggoner Ranches, that would eventually become one of the largest cattle ranches in the state of Texas, with multi-million dollar oil deposits beneath the ground. He and son, W.T., would become the founders of the ranching and oil dynasty that continues today, from quite humble beginnings on the windswept prairies of Northern Hopkins County.
W.T. Waggoner, grandson of Solomon and Martha Waggoner, and son of Nancy Moore Waggoner, and co-founder of Waggoner Ranches.
"Ever since I was 14 years old, I have tried to run the best outfit, own the best horses, raise
the best beef in the country, and do the most work...the man who doesn't admire a good
horse, a good beef steer, and a pretty woman...well something is wrong with that
man's head...."
~ W.T. Waggoner, Quoted in the "Hopkins County Echo" in 1934 ~
"Oil, oil, what do I want with damn oil? I'm looking for water for my cattle. That's
what my cattle need!"
~W.T. Waggoner exclaiming his disappointment in finding oil on his property in 1903, when he was
attempting to drill for water for his cattle ranch. ~
Harley Waggoner, Great-Grandson of Solomon Waggoner,
stands at the foot of Solomon, Martha, and Nancy's graves,
in the Sunny Slope-Waggoner Family Cemetery.
Well, it was on Wednesday, of this week, (April 28, 2010) that descendents of Solomon and Martha Waggoner met in Hopkins County, to trace their "roots" and visit the graves of their relatives. They first met at the Hopkins County Genealogical Society, as they reviewed information collected there, including a book, Clear Fork Kinship, written by Annie Nicholson Drake.
They then traveled to Cumby, where they ate lunch and visited the grave of Luther Waggoner (Son of Solomon and Martha), in the Cumby City Cemetery. Then, the group traveled to the Pleasant Grove Cemetery to visit the grave of Napoleon Bonapart "Boney" Waggoner, youngest son of Solomon and Martha. Last on their stop was the original land in the "Sunny Slope" Community, off Hopkins County Road-4752, where Solomon Waggoner, the family patriarch is buried in what is commonly known as The Waggoner Family Cemetery.
Family members visit the grave of Napoleon Bonapart "Boney" Waggoner, in the
Pleasant Grove Cemetery.
The beautiful rolling prairie, dotted with Indian Paintbrushes and anchored by a tall Live Oak tree, was the final resting place of Solomon Waggoner, his daughter, Martha Waggoner Milsap, and his daughter-in-law, Nancy Moore Waggoner.
Members of the Waggoner family had "brought along" Lavyn Sisco, a local genealogist and "grave witcher!" Lavyn found evidence of some twenty to thirty more graves in the vicinity of the Waggoner Family Cemetery. "We knew there were other graves located in the area," stated family member, Bob Waggoner, of Sulphur Springs. "But, we don't have any idea as to who they are...they could be family slaves, ranch hands, cowboys, and infant children, as well as other members of the Sunny Slope Community."
Sisco determined that some of the graves are that of adults, so it "stands to reason" that there were some other community members buried there.
"At one time, there was a Sunny Slope Church and School," allowed family member, Rose Blanch. "Florene Adams' book, Our Hopkins County Heritage, lists a school located there in 1909, with teachers being Zera Moore and Thomas E. Crane. School trustees were our relative, Napoleon Bonapart Waggoner, C.P. Connally, and Redden Crisp."
Local "grave witcher," Lavyn Sisco, finds another grave, on the
prairie in the former Sunny Slope Community.
"My family has passed down a story that when Rufus Waggoner was about 12 or 13 years old, he was at the trading post in Sunny Slope, and Napoleon Bonapart "Boney" Waggoner, and one of his friends, Dan Hicks, from down in Anderson County, near Palestine, rode into the community seeking a man who had stolen Hicks' horse," stated Bob Waggoner. "Well, Rufus said they found him at the trading post, with the stolen horse. The story gets 'sketchy' but either one or both of the men shot the man (Hickman) off his horse with a shotgun as he tried to escape. They held the man's brother with a gun, until they could get the law. Who knows, Ol' Hickman may be one of the ones buried in the unmarked graves, here on the hill at Sunny Slope!"
"I imagine there are loads of stories for every one of these people buried here, if we only knew!" expressed Harley Waggoner, Great-Grandson of Solomon Waggoner, of the Dallas area. "Folks had to be rough and hardy back in those days to survive!"
Among Thursday's visitors to the graves in Hopkins County was Will Gamblin, who learned how to "witch for a grave," under the tutelage of Lavyn Sisco. Will discovered several graves, using the two metal coat hangers, and happily told if it was a male or female buried in the grave. Will traced his lineage back to Ol' Solomon and Martha Waggoner as follows: Solomon Waggoner - Luther Waggoner - Rufus Waggoner - Ed Waggoner - Euless Waggoner, Alice Waggoner Gamblin - Gregg Gamblin - Will Gamblin.
Young Will Gamblin, a descendent of Solomon Waggoner,
learns the art of "grave witching" using "divining" rods.
"Will's had the 'time of his life' today, learning all about his descendents, and we'll probably have to make several treks to local cemeteries with him," exclaimed Larry and Alice Gamblin, his grandparents. "I think he's hooked on locating graves, now!"
Family members asked that anyone with information about the Sunny Slope Community, to forward it to Larry Gamblin, who lives in Sulphur Springs, or to the Hopkins County Genealogical Society. "We hope that we can identify some of the graves in the Sunny Slope-Waggoner Family Cemetery," expressed Gamblin. "It's kind of haunting to know there are folks buried there, with lifetime stories, and we don't even know anything about them! We'd love to find any clue as to their identity!"
The Waggoner Family is hoping to meet with other family members and compare notes, as well as look for clues about their famous ancestors. Meanwhile, they had a beautiful springtime day of discovery in Hopkins County, on Wednesday.
Searching for clues.....Lavyn Sisco walks the area near the Waggoner Family Cemetery, in the Sunny Slope
Community of Northern Hopkins County, and identifies places where additional graves are located.
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Editor's Note: For addtional information on the Waggoner Family go to "A Place Called Hopkins County," by Bobby McDonald, and "Clear Fork Kinship," by Annie Nicholson Drake. Both are available at the Hopkins County Genealogical Society.
