HLRGazette Archives

Wood County History

By LOU MALLORY - Chairperson, Wood County Historical Commission

 (From "James Stephen Hogg" - a biography by Robert G. Getner)

From page 45, "Fortunately, he (James Stephen Hogg) soon had experiences that revived his faith in human nature. With his ten dollars he took a short course at Mr. Baggett's school, four miles east of Quitman, and there he met Sarah Ann (Sallie) Stinson, the daughter of Colonel James Stinson, a prosperous sawmill owner and scientific farmer. The dark-haired, vivacious, intelligent girl, just over five feet tall, made an indelible impression on James Hogg."

From the same biography, pages 67 through 69: "With all his professional activities, Jim Hogg had little time for personal affairs. Yet he had somehow found time to make trips now and then fourteen miles to the east of Quitman to call on vivacious little Sallie Stinson, who had made a deep impression on him when he first met hoer in 1869 at Mr. Baggett's school. The visits were given a minimum of encouragement by Sallie's father, Colonel Stinson.

In fact, Jim may have figured that the infrequency of advertisements for the Stinson sawmill near the Big Sandy River in the News was due to the Colonel's reluctance to provide Jim with an excuse for coming to the house to collect for the ads. In any case, Stinson had made it clear that he did not want Sallie distracted while she was attending Professor Looney's school in Gilmer.

In the early spring of 1874, James requested Colonel James Stinson's permission to marry his daughter. Stinson was a prosperous, respected and kindly man. He had enclosed his sawmill machinery so that his workers were protected from the cold. By virtue of his extensive farm and timber holdings and his interest in scientific farming, he was a leader among the Grangers. At times he served as a Methodist preacher. He had nothing against the tall young justice but he wanted to be sure his daughter would be provided for. After all, Hogg had only recently entered politics and was not yet prepared to practice law.

True, the newspaper had done well, but the Colonel felt it was a risky business to start a home during a national depression. He asked James to wait. At this point, Sallie entered the room and announced that she loved Jim and wanted to marry him very soon. The Colonel's opposition melted and it was agreed that the wedding would take place on April 22nd, 1874.

Sallie and Mrs. Stinson then began busying themselves with the trousseau. Their good neighbors, the Gunstreams, offered the services of their newly acquired sewing machine, the only one in the county. Daily, mother and daughter worked happily at the Gunstream's house, turning out garments of the high standard Sallie always set for herself.

April is usually a rainy month along the ridge in North Texas. The April of 1874 was no exception - except in being more rainy than usual. On the 22nd, James made the 14 mile trip from Quitman to the Stinson home with some difficulty, but the Methodist minister who was to officiate became bogged down in mud and water. Word was sent to the Baptist minister, Pressly Davis, who, after fighting his way across the raging, swirling Big Sandy, arrived amidst a new downpour. To this day, natives point out "Press Davis Crossing."

The ceremony had to wait still longer until Mr. Davis could be dried out, but finally Jim and Sallie were pronounced man and wife. The usual country merrymaking continued well into the night. As it was not safe in the darkness to try to go to Mineola, Gilmer or Quitman, the entire wedding party spent the night with the Stinsons.

The small four-room house on the Gilmer Road in Quitman into which Mr. and Mrs. James S. Hogg moved may have seemed a little cramped to Sallie but it was full of happiness, because it was their own."

The house, referred to as the "Honeymoon Cottage" by Miss Ima Hogg, was subsequently moved to the Jim Hogg State Park in Quitman, restored and furnished.