Chasing Our Tales - Dicey, Texas, Parker County

Chasing Our Tales, Dicey, Texas, Parker County

 

At the LDS Family History Center, they sometimes get some unusual requests. Thought you might enjoy a few:

"To the Family History Center, please find my grandmother. I have worked on her for 50 years without success. Now see what you can do."

"I've looked for grandpa for over 20 years. Do you have him you your library?"

"Our grandfather was found dead, crossing the plain in the library."

Well, I found something interesting on the computer about your county. Some of you are probably more familiar with it that I am, but I thought it made an interesting story....the story of Dicey.

Dicey, it seems, is the 44,045th most popular last name in the Uniste States, but your Dicey was named for Christiam name, not surname, of an individual.

Dicey is a place in Parker County, Texas, location 32°48'26"N and 97°41'56"W with an elevation of 924 feet. It is on the northern bank of Lake Weatherford where highway 730 crosses.

Dicey was first named Power for Parson Power, an early settler of the area. I have not discovered if Parson was his name or his occupation, either is possible.

There was a general store at the site of the Dicey Community both before and after the Civil War which was run by Miss Dicey Puryear, wife of W. G. Puryear.

The first post office was established in Power, Texas on 23 April 1888. The first postmaster was James C. Power. However, the post office was discontinued on 17 July 1890, thus dropping the name of Power. Then on 6 March 1891 the post office was reestablished and the name was changed to Dicey to honor Mrs. Puryear. At the time of the establishment of the Dicey post office, the postmistress was Cynthia P. McDowell.

The community served the area farmers with a general store, a church, and a school. I have not learned when the first school classes were held, but they were held in the church., and in 1877 Miss H. H. Puryear was the school mistress.

The Dicey Church was one of the earliest churches in Parker County, being established in the late 1850's.

The population of the Dicey Community was reported at 63 in the mid-1920's through mid-1940's. Then it dropped to just over 20, but it still existed as a community in 1990.

If you are interested in learning more about the community, you might get a copy of John Clements' book, Flying the Colors: Texas, a Comprehensive Look at Texas Today, County by County, published in 1984.

Locally you can find a file on the Dicey Community here at the Weatherford Library.

There is some interesting local family history of the area. The Welse surname Jones is prominent in the dicey Community. John Lewis Allen Jones grew up with his aunt Nan Akers after his mother died when he was 6 years old. His family had moved from Missouri by wagon train to Texas on 3 July 1876. They first stopped over at Will Parker's place, near Dicey, about 300 yards from the present Dicey Cemetery. They settled about 1 mile north of Dicey.

Mr. and Mrs. Warren B. McCleskey were settlers of the Dicey Community here in Parker County. Hannah McCleskey was born in Louisiana, the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. N. W. Watson. Her father was a pioneer in the cattle business in this area and a partner of C. B. Rider.

Warren B. McCleskey was born in Gainsville, Georgia, and came to Parker County with his brother in 1869. He married Hannah in 1870, and they settled in the Dicey Commuity where they lived for many years. They were members of the Baptist Church.

Warren was a progressive citizen and one of the largest landowners in the county, owning three or four farms, and a ranch in Young County. He was the County Food Administrator in 1917.

He and Hannad had nine children, including daughters Mrs. M. A. Biggers, Mrs. Elmer Wall, Mrs. A. Miller of Weatherford, Mrs. Bessie Page, and sons George, Ned, W. C., and N. W.

Both Hannah and Warren are buried in the Dicey Cementery.

William Henry Ragle was born January 1836 in Giles County, Tennessee, and died November 1909 and is buried in the Cook Cemetery in the Dicey Community.

William Henry Ragle was a private in the 5th Texas Cavalry, Company K, Mounted Infantry of Confederate States of America, which was Thom Green's regement). He enlisted on 1 April 1862 in Weatherford and is shown as "absent""sick in hospital" from 31 Nov 1862 to 31 Jan 1863. He is showned to have returned to duty and on detail with horses in Feb 1864. He served until the close of the war and his wife Melinda Jane Nolan Ragle applied for his pension on 29 Dec 1926.

Ragle's father was Martin Haigie "Haga" Ragle of Limestone County Alabama and his grandfather was John Ragle. His mother was Parthena Parker. He had brothers Jacob and Henry. When William Henry was one year old, his father moved the family from Tennessee back to Limestone County, Alabama, where he bought 120 acres of land about 1 mile south of the Tennessee line and about 1 mile west of a village named Gilbertsboro, but known as Gourdsville, on Little Shoal Creek.

Wiliam Henry Ragle and Parthena Parker had 12 children: Martin Henry, William Nathan, Jonathan Young, Richard Joshua, Geroge Hiram, Adam Timba, Sarah Parthena, John Lewis, Minnie Jane, Mary Evaline, Martha Ann Elizabeth, and Della Cedonia.

The next family I will mention is that of James Edward Higgins who was born 29 April 1877 in Springtown. He died on 4 Jan 1962 and is buried in the Dicey Cemetery.

James Edward was married to Pearl Belle Tucker on 25 Dec 1902. Pearl was born 11 Nov 1875, and died 9 Jul 1918. She is buried at Dicey, also.

Their children included Glenna Belle, Rosa Lee, Sarah V., Katheryn Evelyn, Ruby, Margaret Mozelle, and Alice Marie.

The final family I will mention is the Isbell family. The Isbells came from Halifax County Virginia.. They moved to Robertson County, Tennessee, about 1800. The family then moved to Benton County, Missouri, before 1840, then to Christian County, Kentucky, and some time before 1858m Yearby Hudson Isbell and his wife Caroline Elizabeth Lindsey moved to Wise County Texas. Their son, Yearby Hudson Jr. was born 5 March 1858, and is believed to be the first white child born in Wise County.

Yearby Jr., after the death of his frist wife, married Frances Isabella Cummings (this made her Isabella Isbell!) in 1891. Their first child, Gertrude was born in Springtown while her father was Constable there.

Gertrude was the bookkeeper for John Hart's Grocery before marrying Everett Ritch in 1918. They lived on the Isbell farm and operated a dairy. Gertrude died in 1960 and Everett in 1961. They are both buried in the Dicey Cemetery. Their only child, Mary Frances, was born in Weatherford in 1919.

Well, that's it for Dicey, but I do have a couple of other things to talk about.

Before I do, I want to tell you a couple more genealogy funnies: An ad in a genealogy magazine, stated the following:

" For Sale, We have an antique desk just right for genealogy work and a lady, with think legs and large drawers"; but my favorite is this simple statement: "I trace my family history so I will know who to blame!"

©2001 Sue Seibert, Oak Cottage TX Genealogy, Chasing Our Tales