John Arnold Callaway as a cowboy. He was born November 15, 1857 near Crockett, Texas, in Houston County, the fifth of nine children born to James Wilson Callaway from Franklin County, Georgia and his wife Caroline Elizabeth Dillard from Williamson County, Tennessee. He was the seventh generation in the pioneer family of Peter Callaway, his 4th Great Grandfather, who came to America from England in, or before, 1640.
In 1836, before John's father, James, came to Texas, in the Texas War for Independence, Sam Houston had defeated Santa Ana's troops, but those troops were not the bulk of the Mexican army and hostilities continued periodically between Houston's Texas troops and the Mexican Army until a formal armistice was reached between the Mexican Government and the new Texas Republic in 1843, ending the Texas War for Independence.
In 1839, James Callaway came from Georgia to Colorado County, Texas, West of present day Houston. Shortly after he arrived, he was taken prisoner by elements of the Mexican army and held in captivity where he was mistreated. After a period of time, James managed to escape from the Mexicans, and although he had lost most of his clothes and was almost naked, he managed to find his way to Sam Houston's Texas army and safety.
John's mother, Elizabeth Dillard, had come from Tennessee to Houston County, in East Texas, with her family, in 1835, and in about 1844, after the armistice with Mexico, James moved to Houston County. After arriving in Houston County, James and Elizabeth met and they began a courtship and were married on July 14, 1846; the year that the Mexican-American War (1846-1848) began in Texas.
After their marriage, James partnered with his father-in-law, William Dillard, and together they operated a large estate in Houston County, Texas. After a successful 14 year partnership, in 1860 William Dillard died and James was appointed executor of his estate. His responsibility was to sell the land and distribute the proceeds to the estate's beneficiaries. This proved a costly chore for James, who had to post a $10,000 bond, a very large amount for the time, and in the process of administering the estate he lost a considerable amount of money.
Then, after the civil war began, (1861-1865), the Confederacy requisitioned cattle and other livestock belonging to the estate and paid for them with Confederate money which was worthless after the war. After his father's death, John's mother told him that his father, James, came into the house with a trunk full of Confederate money and in a rage began throwing hands-full of bills into the fireplace. When flaming bills began to fly out of the fireplace, she said that she was fearful that he would burn down the house and she begged him to stop. After James' death, the family found the trunk filled with the remaining bills.
John Callaway was four years old when America's Civil War began, and the combination of the war and the death of his maternal grandfather the year before, effectively bankrupted his family. So, with no estate or land, few livestock, and little money remaining, James Callaway moved the family West to Gonzales County and then, in 1866 or 1867, on to DeWitt County, Texas.
John spent his childhood, and attended school, in DeWitt County through at least the sixth grade. He was literate, he could read and write, although his spelling sometimes left something to be desired, and he was good at arithmetic. For a cowboy living on the
Western frontier he was relatively well educated. He was a lifelong proponent of education. And, although he thought that boys did not require schooling past the eighth grade, he saw to it that his children received the best education that he could provide for them. In fact, two of his girls, Minnie and Nellie, went to college and became school teachers and his youngest daughter, Enid, went to nursing school.
In 1836, before John's father, James, came to Texas, in the Texas War for Independence, Sam Houston had defeated Santa Ana's troops, but those troops were not the bulk of the Mexican army and hostilities continued periodically between Houston's Texas troops and the Mexican Army until a formal armistice was reached between the Mexican Government and the new Texas Republic in 1843, ending the Texas War for Independence.
In 1839, James Callaway came from Georgia to Colorado County, Texas, West of present day Houston. Shortly after he arrived, he was taken prisoner by elements of the Mexican army and held in captivity where he was mistreated. After a period of time, James managed to escape from the Mexicans, and although he had lost most of his clothes and was almost naked, he managed to find his way to Sam Houston's Texas army and safety.
John's mother, Elizabeth Dillard, had come from Tennessee to Houston County, in East Texas, with her family, in 1835, and in about 1844, after the armistice with Mexico, James moved to Houston County. After arriving in Houston County, James and Elizabeth met and they began a courtship and were married on July 14, 1846; the year that the Mexican-American War (1846-1848) began in Texas.
After their marriage, James partnered with his father-in-law, William Dillard, and together they operated a large estate in Houston County, Texas. After a successful 14 year partnership, in 1860 William Dillard died and James was appointed executor of his estate. His responsibility was to sell the land and distribute the proceeds to the estate's beneficiaries. This proved a costly chore for James, who had to post a $10,000 bond, a very large amount for the time, and in the process of administering the estate he lost a considerable amount of money.
Then, after the civil war began, (1861-1865), the Confederacy requisitioned cattle and other livestock belonging to the estate and paid for them with Confederate money which was worthless after the war. After his father's death, John's mother told him that his father, James, came into the house with a trunk full of Confederate money and in a rage began throwing hands-full of bills into the fireplace. When flaming bills began to fly out of the fireplace, she said that she was fearful that he would burn down the house and she begged him to stop. After James' death, the family found the trunk filled with the remaining bills.
John Callaway was four years old when America's Civil War began, and the combination of the war and the death of his maternal grandfather the year before, effectively bankrupted his family. So, with no estate or land, few livestock, and little money remaining, James Callaway moved the family West to Gonzales County and then, in 1866 or 1867, on to DeWitt County, Texas.
John spent his childhood, and attended school, in DeWitt County through at least the sixth grade. He was literate, he could read and write, although his spelling sometimes left something to be desired, and he was good at arithmetic. For a cowboy living on the
Western frontier he was relatively well educated. He was a lifelong proponent of education. And, although he thought that boys did not require schooling past the eighth grade, he saw to it that his children received the best education that he could provide for them. In fact, two of his girls, Minnie and Nellie, went to college and became school teachers and his youngest daughter, Enid, went to nursing school.
John Arnold Callaway as a cowboy. He was born November 15, 1857 near Crockett, Texas, in Houston County, the fifth of nine children born to James Wilson Callaway from Franklin County, Georgia and his wife Caroline Elizabeth Dillard from Williamson County, Tennessee. He was the seventh generation in the pioneer family of Peter Callaway, his 4th Great Grandfather, who came to America from England in, or before, 1640.
In 1836, before John's father, James, came to Texas, in the Texas War for Independence, Sam Houston had defeated Santa Ana's troops, but those troops were not the bulk of the Mexican army and hostilities continued periodically between Houston's Texas troops and the Mexican Army until a formal armistice was reached between the Mexican Government and the new Texas Republic in 1843, ending the Texas War for Independence.
In 1839, James Callaway came from Georgia to Colorado County, Texas, West of present day Houston. Shortly after he arrived, he was taken prisoner by elements of the Mexican army and held in captivity where he was mistreated. After a period of time, James managed to escape from the Mexicans, and although he had lost most of his clothes and was almost naked, he managed to find his way to Sam Houston's Texas army and safety.
John's mother, Elizabeth Dillard, had come from Tennessee to Houston County, in East Texas, with her family, in 1835, and in about 1844, after the armistice with Mexico, James moved to Houston County. After arriving in Houston County, James and Elizabeth met and they began a courtship and were married on July 14, 1846; the year that the Mexican-American War (1846-1848) began in Texas.
After their marriage, James partnered with his father-in-law, William Dillard, and together they operated a large estate in Houston County, Texas. After a successful 14 year partnership, in 1860 William Dillard died and James was appointed executor of his estate. His responsibility was to sell the land and distribute the proceeds to the estate's beneficiaries. This proved a costly chore for James, who had to post a $10,000 bond, a very large amount for the time, and in the process of administering the estate he lost a considerable amount of money.
Then, after the civil war began, (1861-1865), the Confederacy requisitioned cattle and other livestock belonging to the estate and paid for them with Confederate money which was worthless after the war. After his father's death, John's mother told him that his father, James, came into the house with a trunk full of Confederate money and in a rage began throwing hands-full of bills into the fireplace. When flaming bills began to fly out of the fireplace, she said that she was fearful that he would burn down the house and she begged him to stop. After James' death, the family found the trunk filled with the remaining bills.
John Callaway was four years old when America's Civil War began, and the combination of the war and the death of his maternal grandfather the year before, effectively bankrupted his family. So, with no estate or land, few livestock, and little money remaining, James Callaway moved the family West to Gonzales County and then, in 1866 or 1867, on to DeWitt County, Texas.
John spent his childhood, and attended school, in DeWitt County through at least the sixth grade. He was literate, he could read and write, although his spelling sometimes left something to be desired, and he was good at arithmetic. For a cowboy living on the
Western frontier he was relatively well educated. He was a lifelong proponent of education. And, although he thought that boys did not require schooling past the eighth grade, he saw to it that his children received the best education that he could provide for them. In fact, two of his girls, Minnie and Nellie, went to college and became school teachers and his youngest daughter, Enid, went to nursing school.
In 1836, before John's father, James, came to Texas, in the Texas War for Independence, Sam Houston had defeated Santa Ana's troops, but those troops were not the bulk of the Mexican army and hostilities continued periodically between Houston's Texas troops and the Mexican Army until a formal armistice was reached between the Mexican Government and the new Texas Republic in 1843, ending the Texas War for Independence.
In 1839, James Callaway came from Georgia to Colorado County, Texas, West of present day Houston. Shortly after he arrived, he was taken prisoner by elements of the Mexican army and held in captivity where he was mistreated. After a period of time, James managed to escape from the Mexicans, and although he had lost most of his clothes and was almost naked, he managed to find his way to Sam Houston's Texas army and safety.
John's mother, Elizabeth Dillard, had come from Tennessee to Houston County, in East Texas, with her family, in 1835, and in about 1844, after the armistice with Mexico, James moved to Houston County. After arriving in Houston County, James and Elizabeth met and they began a courtship and were married on July 14, 1846; the year that the Mexican-American War (1846-1848) began in Texas.
After their marriage, James partnered with his father-in-law, William Dillard, and together they operated a large estate in Houston County, Texas. After a successful 14 year partnership, in 1860 William Dillard died and James was appointed executor of his estate. His responsibility was to sell the land and distribute the proceeds to the estate's beneficiaries. This proved a costly chore for James, who had to post a $10,000 bond, a very large amount for the time, and in the process of administering the estate he lost a considerable amount of money.
Then, after the civil war began, (1861-1865), the Confederacy requisitioned cattle and other livestock belonging to the estate and paid for them with Confederate money which was worthless after the war. After his father's death, John's mother told him that his father, James, came into the house with a trunk full of Confederate money and in a rage began throwing hands-full of bills into the fireplace. When flaming bills began to fly out of the fireplace, she said that she was fearful that he would burn down the house and she begged him to stop. After James' death, the family found the trunk filled with the remaining bills.
John Callaway was four years old when America's Civil War began, and the combination of the war and the death of his maternal grandfather the year before, effectively bankrupted his family. So, with no estate or land, few livestock, and little money remaining, James Callaway moved the family West to Gonzales County and then, in 1866 or 1867, on to DeWitt County, Texas.
John spent his childhood, and attended school, in DeWitt County through at least the sixth grade. He was literate, he could read and write, although his spelling sometimes left something to be desired, and he was good at arithmetic. For a cowboy living on the
Western frontier he was relatively well educated. He was a lifelong proponent of education. And, although he thought that boys did not require schooling past the eighth grade, he saw to it that his children received the best education that he could provide for them. In fact, two of his girls, Minnie and Nellie, went to college and became school teachers and his youngest daughter, Enid, went to nursing school.
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