Dallas History, Texas

Dallas is regarded as one of the cities in Texas that has influential individuals and remarkable events in history.  As an introduction, Dallas’s first settler John Neely Bryan built a cabin near the Trinity River in 1841.  Five years later, a village and a county was organized, named after then US Vice President George Miffin Dallas.  Here are other people and events that you may want to know about.

The Beeman Family

This family, headed by John Beeman, was known as one of the founders of Dallas.  Originally from Illinois, the Beemans decided to settle at a military camp 22 miles north of the city.  The entire clan had four families with 19 children and 4 single men.  They were actually contributors to John Neely Bryan’s settlement in the place as they lent a wagon for him to use in transporting supplies to town.  John Beeman was also the first to establish a small lending business in the area.  Other commendable individuals in this family were William (secured court order for the creation of Dallas County) and James (elected justice of the peace for the county).

The Peters

This family was considered as one of the first establishers of the largest companies in Dallas’s history.  William Peters bore the foreground for this while he invited 20 other investors from England and other areas of the United States.  The contract provided for 200 family settlements in three years but several disputes on land hindered this proposal.  In 1848, however, after the contract expired, Dallas was opened to more settlers.  Old inhabitants of the place were raging mad and more conflicts arouse from there.  It took 20 years before everything else was amicably settled including the issue of land titles.

The Cockrells

This family lead by Alexander and Sarah moved to Dallas in 1847.  They were responsible for purchasing part of John Neely Bryan’s properties including that of the Dallas town site and a ferry in the Trinity River. Alexander Cockrell opened some businesses such as freighting, lumberyards and sawmills.  While he was unable to read and write, his wife, Sarah did the job for him as she kept the books to track their finances.  Unfortunately, Mr. Cockrell died from a gunfight with city marshal Andrew Moore in 1858.

Despite this tragic event, Sarah did not despair.  In fact, she even ventured into other undertakings such as the creation of the St. Nicholas Hotel.  Another company, which she founded, was known to be the object for constructing bridges in Dallas connecting the city to a lot of major roads.  She further invested on a flour mill and real-estate buying.  She died in 1892 leaving Dallas with a lot of memories to cherish.

These are but just some few of the noted events and persons that contributed to the progress of Dallas.  To these days, the locals relive the passion built by these institutions in its occurrence.  They respected everything established by these families and have enriched the history the Beemans, the Peters, and the Cockrells have left behind.

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