GEORGE HICKS PEGUES WAS
FIRST COLLIN COUNTY JUDGE
Examiner
January 20, 1966
The following
story was written by Etta Bearden Pegues of Newark, Texas. Her husband was
the grandson of Judge Pegues:
McKinney was
only a one-room log building operated as a saloon in one end and a general
mercantile in the other end when George Hicks Pegues arrived there in an
ox-wagon with his family from Alton, Illinois, in January 1845.
Scion of the
distinguished Claudius and Henrietta Butler Pegues, of South Carolina, he
was born near Cheraw, S. Carolina, December 10, 1801. At an early age he
taught a subscription school in his community.
Like all school
teachers in early days his method and management included spelling as a
principal study. One day he had the spelling class lined up against the wall
as usual and began pronouncing the words in a distinct voice.
"Squirrel," he
enunciated clearly t one little fellow who had been trying hard to get to
the head of the class by "turning down" the pupil ahead of him.
The little boy
feeling certain that he knew how to spell the word and that this would be
his "crowning moment" threw back his head and swelled out his chest
preparatory for the triumph. "Squee i r l," he said proudly. But his teacher
ignored the ludicrous incident with his usual diplomacy. George Hicks Pegues
gave up teaching for a position as salesman in the store of his uncle,
William Spencer, who was the son of Samuel Spencer, one of the principal
judges of the state of North Carolina previous to and after the
Revolutionary War between the U. S. & Great Britain.
Thrown in close
proximity with his employer's lovely daughter, Elizabeth, George lost his
heart to her and asked for her hand in marriage. The date of their marriage
is not known to us nor the date when they left their natal state and
migrated to Illinois. All we know is that tales of big old Texas appealed to
him and he drifted to Collin County where he preempted one and one-half
section of land.
With the aid of
his negro slaves he operated 960 acres, buying more land year after year for
one dollar per acre. The town of Murphy is located on acreage once operated
by this versatile pioneer of Collin County. From Murphy westward his acreage
stretched for miles. A creek still known as Pegues Branch flows across land
once operated by George Hicks Pegues, and two springs bearing the name
Pegues Springs still furnish cool water for occupants on part of the
acreage. From these springs the Pegues family carried water up a hill and
drank it from a gourd.
George Hicks
Pegues was loyal to the Confederacy and much of his land was sold for
Confederate money which died on his hand when the Southern Cause was lost.
George Hicks
Pegues studied law under Collin McKinney, who was one of the signers of
Texas Independence. He held every office in Collin County except High
Sheriff and Constable, and these he refused despite the urgent appeals from
his many friends. He was the first Judge of Collin County and died during
his term of office, as Judge, August 11, 1871.
His wife, who
could neither read nor write, thinking everything in her husband's office
belonged to him, went to the office and emptied the contents of desk drawers
into her apron and proceeded to take them home with her. Naturally, some of
the documents were important, such as deeds and records of various sorts and
were promptly returned by the family.
To the union of
George Hicks and Elizabeth Spencer Pegues were born 10 children, five of
which reached maturity. The names of their children were: Enoch, Claudius,
William S., Leonidas King, Sarah Ann, Mary, Harriet L. Mary S., Oliver
Spencer, and Robert B.
Elizabeth
Spencer Pegues passed away September 1, 1886 and was laid to rest beside her
husband in a little cemetery west of Murphy on land once operated by them as
farm land.
The descendants
of this couple are scattered over the United States from Illinois to the
Gulf of Mexico, and from the east to the west coast; most of them
functioning as useful citizens, following for the most part the example set
for them by their illustrious progenitor, Judge George Hicks Pegues.
Surname Index
Recommended Citation:
""George Hicks Pegues,
EARLY SETTLERS OF COLLIN COUNTY." Collin County, Texas History
and Genealogy Webpage by Genealogy Friends of Plano Libraries, Inc., <http://www.geocities/genfriendsghl>
[Accessed Fri February 13, 2004 ].
