"Father, mother and most of their children moved from Lincoln County, Tennessee to Texas in the year 1845, and settled at the old home place in Rockwall County in 1846.

All the children were born in Tennessee, sister Elizabeth being the oldest married at the time father moved and I was but a babe in Mother's darms when we parted. This sister lived to be over 70 years old, and at her death she and her children were blessed with much of this world's goods.

H. W. Kyser also married in Tennessee and moved to Kaufman County, Texas, a few years before the war. Sister Polly H. married J. C. Saint. They moved to Texas with father, but soon moved back as far as Memphis, Tennessee, lived here to a good old age, reared a large family, and had good property.

They lived in Memphis at the time of the great yellow fever peidemic. Sisters Lucinda and Mahaly married two brothers, James and Davis Yeary, of Sugar Hill, now Farmersville, Texas. J. H. Kyser lived and died in Kaufman County, Wade M. lived on a part of the old home place and died there. Milford H. died in 1859 in Cherokee County, Texas. He and brother Wade were off with two ox teams loaded with flour, when he took sick and died. He was not more than 21 years of age at his death.

Father and mother both died at the old home place. He lived to the good age of 82, and mother over 70 years, there being about 12 years between their deaths, mother dying first. Mother and Lucindia, wife of Tom W. Yeary, and Wade are buried at the Kyser graveyard. Father and my first wife are buried close to where Lucy and Bonnie Kyser now live. So far as I know I am the only child living, and I was born in 1844. I can't give you dates, as the old family record is with my children at Rockwall.

As Father moved here he bought in Little Rock, Ark., a cross-cut saw, a frow and last but not least a steel or hand mill, and these tools were never allowed to rust from idleness. When father was not using them the good neighbors were. Of course the mill was not borrowed, as it was made fast to a post planted firmly in the ground but its use was free to all who might furnish the power and sweat to run the grim monster.

It was here at father's place that Uncle Bennie Boydstun and family camped for some time (not at the Womack place). It was here that I and the Boydstun girls learned to call each other 'cousin'. As years passed I conceived the idea of cultivating the relationship to a more definite point and to a higher degree in the capacity of son-in-law to Uncle Bennie: I was very willing, but Mollie, the daughter, was not, so we never did advance further than 'cousin.'

As to the early settlement there, Rockwall was not known. This wall of rock from which the town took its name was found many years later. There were two neighborhoods up and down the river. These neighborhoods were known as the upper and lower neighborhoods. The upper neighborhood included the vicinity of Rockwall and the lower neighborhood as far down as Isaac Briscoe's, 3 miles below the town of Heath.

As to school and church houses, the first built was east of father's and south some 150 or 200 yeards of the old Kyser graveyard. At this log hut I first attended school. Isaac Brisco went to this school; also Uncle Hugh Shaw and Z. P. Goodman, who then lived and built the first bridge at what is now Barnes Bridge. Col. McKensie first settled this place and ran a ferry boat across the river for the benefit of the travel. About this time the first dead was buried at the Kyser graveyard. The first grave I remember seeing dug was there. It was for a child of Jackson Irvine (a son-in-law of Col. McKensie) though there were many graves here before this. This grave was marked by a rude boisd'arc frame and at the time I moved away, this frame was yet standing. A large mustang grapevine is standing inside the frame, its brances supporting the now weak frame. Many of the Shaw family, Mrs. Stone, Jas. Thompson and his wives, Goss, and many other old timers I can't remember are sleeping here.

Oh, dear Bud, if we could only see and know the many who sleep here we would be astonished. In an early day there were no stones to mark the graves. Boards were used at the fresh grave to mark the places. These decayed or were burned up by prairie fires.

The next school house was built south of your father's place and east of the Yankee Branch, not far from where John Lenley now lives. I attended this school: Louis Dalton was teacher, and gee-whiz what a school! Now it would draw a larger crowd of sightseers than a wild west show. The boys and girls sat together, and we all studied aloud, each fellow using his lungs to their fullest capacity, and how we did learn! We all loved our teacher. What little I know in books I learned at this school. The next school house was built at Willow Springs. It was a frame building sided and covered with native boards. J. L. W. Baker did the framing of this house. Mrs. Isham Chishum gave it the name of Willow Springs, as a large willow tree stood at this spring. J. P. Vinson's spring is near to where this tree stood. Judge Barnes had writing desks made for this house and they were good ones, too. He brough the first grain reaper. One man did the friving and another stood on back of apron and raked off the grain. Mack Barnes the noble boy who was killed by Indians, ran this machine.

After these pioneers had gone through many hardships of a new county, got little farms and horses, hens and cattle growning to them, they began to feel happy of their future prospects. But alas, it was not so with many of them. Many who located lands in good faith found to their sorrow an old Mexican grant lying behind their claims. This was the case with father and othrs who settled on the Teal league. I forward you an old article of agreement of those involved. This case was in the courts for several years, but never came to trial. The case was compromised. The article of agreement is as follows:

We, the undersigned, agree to pay our proportion of the expenses of a suit pending in the District Court of Kaufman County, of Julia Burchitt vs. James Keisear, according and in proportion to the intrust we each claim in the league of land described in said suit. For the payment of our said part we bind ourselves to each other, our heirs and assigns, for value received. April 21st, 1854.

Signed: James Kyser, Jas. Thompson, Hugh Shaw, John O. Heath, J. W. F. Stone, I. Davis, I. J. Briscoe, Ephraim Gease.

Your friend and well wisher,

J. K. P. Kyser