Moses William Hindes
McMullen County, McMullen County, Texas
Marker Inscription
A pioneer in settling of southwest Texas. Born in South Carolina; married Mary Jane Mason. Moved in 1840's to Alabama, then to Mississippi. With wife and 6 children came in 1855 by ox-wagon and horse-drawn hack to Texas. After a year in Lockhart, moved (1856) to this area of sparse settlements. To have adequate water for cattle raising, tried living on Ash and San Miguel Creeks. Then settled on the Frio, where in drouths "wells" were sunk in the river bed. During the Civil War (1861-1865) Hindes and his son George were Confederate scouts. In that time Indians plundered this area, stealing children and horses. On Aug. 1, 1865, warning came of a new Indian raid. Neighbors went to Hindes' home (9 mi. sw) for safety. 6 men took turns guarding 40 horses held in the corral. At daybreak when the Indians attacked, Moses Hindes was shot to death defending his homestead. Buried at first in this Boothill, he was later reburied in Pleasanton Cemetery, Atascosa County. His heirs remain loyal to this area for which Mr. Hindes died. George, the eldest son, founded the town of Hindes, Atascosa County. The Hindes & Beever Store, Pearsall, sold first pearburner ever marketed. Every generation has had men who rode with Texas Rangers. 1968 Incise in base: Erected by great-grandchildren, carrie Hindes eppright and Leroy Hindes.
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
Moses William Hindes brought his wife and six children by ox-wagon to sparsely settled South Texas in 1855, chasing water enough to raise cattle along the Ash, San Miguel, and Frio. During the Civil War he and his son George served as Confederate scouts while Indian raids swept the region, stealing horses and children. When raiders struck at daybreak on August 1, 1865, Hindes was killed defending his homestead; buried first in a local boothill, he was later reinterred at Pleasanton, and his descendants remained on the land he died for.
Why it matters
His life and violent death distill the hard bargain of the Texas frontier—settlement, cattle, wartime service, and deadly conflict with Native raiders—that defined a generation of pioneers.
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Related people
- · Moses William Hindes
- · George Hindes
- · Mary Jane Mason
Themes & tags
Nearby & related markers
San Caja Hill
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San Caja Hill's name — from "Sin Caja," or "without coffin" — recalls the December 1872 Turkey Creek fight, when ranchers from Oakville overtook a raiding party after a herder had been killed. The warriors' bones, placed in a cave here, later mysteriously vanished. The "Caja," or box, wordplay also spawned enduring legends of buried bandit loot and lost San Saba silver.
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Stringfield Massacre
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On September 28, 1870, the Thomas Stringfield family was overtaken in their wagon by raiders striking north from Mexico. Thomas and his wife Sarah Jane were killed, as was young Adolphus, while four-year-old Thomas vanished without a trace. Eight-year-old Ida Alice fought her captors, was speared and trampled and left for dead — yet she survived, rescued and living on until 1937.
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