People, Places & Events

DAR hears Sylvia Marrs speak
Special to The Monitor
MABANK–Sylvia L. Marrs is a native Texan, married and the mother of three grown children and the grandmother of five.
She had a colorful career among the Indian tribes and she shared her experiences with the Sarah Maples Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution recently.
Currently, she is a substitute teacher for the Temple ISD.
Sylvia is treasurer for the Betty Martin DAR Chapter in Temple, Secretary for the Ben Milam Chapter of the DRT (Daughters of the Republic of Texas) and travels with husband Bill to his many genealogical and social organizations.
Marrs began her teaching career in 1964, with the Bureau of Indian Affairs on the Navajo Indian Reservation at Nazlini, Ariz.
Later she and her husband were promoted and moved to the headquarters school at Chinle.
While there she attended a workshop conducted by the famous Indian musician, Louis Ballard.
The Bureau of Indian Affairs wanted the students to learn their own music. The principal of the Chinle Boarding School actively encouraged the students and provided the resources to enable a choir devoted to Indian music.
The children sang music from all of the tribes. The choral group named Naatsiiliid Nizhoni Singers, traveled to many places, including Europe.
Marrs played the drums and other instruments while she sang, and also did a native dance.
What is so unusual about Native American music is that it does not have words for many American words, it has sounds.
Each tribe is different in their music by the sounds.
The Hopi is a very gentle tribe and so their music is gentle. She played music such as the Creek Duck Dance Song, Piaute Social Song, Apache Chant, Hopi Buffalo Dance, Navajo Gourd Dance Song and many others.
Marrs brought some native instruments such as an old Ute flute that was made from a hollowed out tree limb, Alaskan drum, and weapons such as tomahawks.
Marrs has had a very colorful career among the native tribes, and we appreciate her sharing it with Sarah Maples.
 

Massacre at Fort Parker recounted at RootSeekers
Special to The Monitor
MABANK–The speaker for the RootSeekers Genealogical Society meeting was Nina Hendricks.
Hendricks was born and raised in Texas and is the mother of three children and grandmother of seven.
Her passions are genealogy, gardening and her grandchildren. She is a proud member of the Sarah Maples Chapter Daughters of the American Revolution and RootSeekers Genealogical Society.
Her topic was a book titled “Indian Depredations In Texas,” by J.W. Wilbarger, first printed in 1889.
Wilbarger felt it was important for future generations to know about the hardships the early settlers in Texas encountered as they tried to tame this wild land.
He knew first hand about the struggles against the Indians. His brother Josiah was scalped by the Indians a few miles east of where the capitol of Texas now stands. He survived the massacre of his companions but afterwards died from a disease of the skull caused by these injuries.
For more than 20 years he interviewed the early pioneers of Texas who had to plow their fields with one hand while holding a rifle in the other.
He states that the present generation can at best have a faint idea of the hardships, exposures and perils to which the pioneers of Texas were subjected.
Among the many tragedies that have occurred in Texas, the massacre at Fort Parker holds a conspicuous place.
Nothing that has ever happened exhibits savage duplicity more plainly than this massacre of helpless women and children.
In 1833, a small colony was organized in the state of Illinois for the purpose of forming a settlement in Texas. They selected a beautiful region on the Navasota River a small tributary of the Brazos. Parker’s colony consisted of only some eight or nine families.
On May 18, 1836 early in the morning, James W. Parker, L.D. Nixon and L.M.S. Plummer were at their field about a mile away when several hundred Comanches and Kiowas made their appearance at the fort.
The Indians hoisted a white flag, and Benjamin Parker went out to have a talk with them. Pretending that they were looking for a suitable camping place, the Indians asked for beef because they said they were hungry.
Not daring to refuse them, Parker told them they could have what they wanted.
Returning to the fort he stated to the inmates that in his opinion the Indians were hostile and intended to fight, but added he would go back to them and try to avert it.
His brother Silas tried to get him not to go, but he persisted and was immediately surrounded and killed, whereupon the whole force charged upon the fort.
Silas M. Parker fell outside the fort while he was fighting to save Mrs. Plummer.
Samuel M. Frost and his son Robert met their fate while defending the women and children inside the stockade.
Old Granny Parker was stabbed and left for dead.
Killed was Elder John Parker, Silas M. Parker, Samuel M and his son Robert Frost.
Wounded was Mrs. John Parker, Old Granny Parker and Mrs. Duty. Captured was Mrs. Rachel Plummer, her son James Pratt Plummer, 2, Mrs Elizabeth Kellogg, Cynthia Ann Parker and her little brother, John Parker age 6.
Next meeting of RootSeekers will be at 7 p.m. May 21, at the Tri-County Library in Mabank.
Topic will be the stonewall which we all hit while doing research.
Each Tuesday, from 9:30 a.m. to noon, at Tri-County Library someone from RootSeekers will be on hand to assist with ancestral research.
 

Habitat gets donation from PWC
Special to The Monitor
MABANK–Once again, the Pinnacle Women’s Club, through its fund-raising efforts, was able to present a check for $2,000 to Cedar Creek Habitat for Humanity.
Construction has begun on their second house in the lake area, which will soon be the home for a single dad and his four young children.
In addition, fund-raising efforts have kicked off for the third house targeted for later this year, and the organization is searching for a family to occupy the fourth house to be built next year.
“Several members of the Pinnacle Women’s Club and their spouses take an active role in this worthwhile organization.
“It gives us great pleasure to support Habitat’s humanitarian efforts and recognize the involvement of the individuals in the Women’s Club in assisting this charity,” PWC philanthropy chairman Jean Alexander added.