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Note: THE STORY OF THE STAPP CLAN YEARS ago in Tennessee, Joshua Stapp married Miss Stewart. Their children were four girls and four boys. The sons were named Silas, James, John and Benjamin. Silas was studious and used every opportunity to improve his mental ability. He succeeded in passing the medical examination and became a doctor. James was a farmer, and John a carpenter and painter by trade. Ben, the youngest, seemed to possess in a large measure all the qualities of his older brothers. His ability as a nurse and as an untrained, or rather unlicensed doctor, enabled him to render a valuable service to the sick of his home and community. His skill as a builder, both in wood and stone, enabled him to serve his neighbors as well as himself at a time when carpenters and masons were scarce. As a farmer he was among the first to discover and adopt better seeds, stock, implements and methods. In fact, this spirit of progress was doubtless responsible for the fact that the family became dissatisfied with conditions in the little home community of Middle Tennessee and decided to seek a better home elsewhere.
In 1850 Joshua Stapp (our great grandfather) with his family started out to find that home more to their liking. They traveled over parts of Kentucky, Indiana, Illinois, Missouri and Arkansas before arriving at the spot in Williamson County, Texas, where they located. Here in August of 1851, Joshua Stapp bought the land I live on from Winslow Turner, and it has been in possession of some of his descendants for eighty years. At that time he paid one hundred eighty four dollars for three hundred sixty nine acres - - fifty cents and acre!
In those days buffalo carcasses could be found but no live buffaloes were here. The Indians came to the homes of the settlers and asked for food. There were Indian fights in Burnet County, but none in Williamson, at least none in this part of Williamson.
In 1854, Ben Stapp (Mattie Adams' father), bought one hundred twenty three acres of land at a dollar an acre. Here he builds a log house and cultivated a small farm which was cleared from the heaviest timbered land. He thought prairie land was unfit for farming. They raised some wheat and corn which they had ground into flour and meat at Gabriel Mills where water power was used. Wild turkeys were here then and wild geese would sometimes settle on their wheat at night by the thousands. The farmers put out poison to keep them from eating up their crops.
When the Civil War broke out all four of the boys enlisted. Ben was able later to secure a commission to make shoes for the soldiers. This gave him a chance to live at home with his family and serve his country at the same time. Then the settlers made their own shoes and spun thread on yarn from which they wove the cloth for their clothes.
On November the eleventh Ben Stapp gave to the school district a lot forty-nine yards square. On this lot was built the first School house. It was built of logs with a puncheon floor and a fireplace. The seats were made of logs, also. There were few books then. The pupils studied the old Mulback readers, Websters blue back speller, and Quackenock's and Ray's arithmetics.
In 1870 Ben Stapp built the first house in the community made of lumber. Neighbors helped him haul the lumber from Lockhart in their ox wagons. Ben was the first to have a team of horses in the community. Ben also fenced the first pasture in the community. This was done in 1874. The fences at that time were either of rock or rails. Some later fencing was done in planting hedges of bois d'are.
In the year 1871 Joshua Stapp sold sixty one acres of land for two hundred thirty seven dollars and fifty cents. September 4th, 1871, Joshua Stapp sold Dotson Skaggs, his son-in-law, one hundred eighty four and one half acres, including all the improvements - - reserving seven acres for his own use.
February 1, 1878, Ben Stapp bought our place from Dotson Skaggs for $1,500. During 1879, he was obliged to haul water four miles across the prairie until a spring was found and opened up which has seldom failed to furnish water since. The first shallow well was dug in 1880. Later other shallow wells were dug as well as three drilled wells. Ben continued to live on this land until his death in 1916 - - a residence covering 66 years.
Before his death, Ben W. Stapp deeded, February 22, 1904, to his daughter, Mrs. M.E. Adams, one hundred thirty five acres, which she sold to C.M. Stapp in 1917 for two thousand eight hundred dollars. June 30, 1923, one hundred thirty five acres, valued at six thousand seven hundred dollars, was deeded by J.M. Stapp and wife to my father, C.M. Stapp.
The residence built in 1870 was in continual use until 1925, when my father replaced it with a modern home costing some four thousand dollars.
Some of the things which we enjoy most are the electric lights from our Delco light plant, the fruit from our orchard started in 1925, and the conveniences of a modern brick school building with six class rooms and an auditorium. The school building is situated on a lot of five acres sold from our tract of land.
The little town of Andice is located partly on land sold from our tract.
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