My G'Uncle and Aunt told me this story on Monday 5/8/2000.
Story #1
It must be my g-g-g-grandfather or maybe his father.
He was in business in Birmingham, Alabama with a Frenchman (name unknown).
Something happened and they decided to part company so the Frenchman bought
out CATCHINGS. Now either CATCHINGS was "took" or he had a change of heart
a little later (I'm not sure which), because the business did great and the
family believes CATCHINGS was "taken". Anyway, they left Alabama and came
to Texas.
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Story #2
This is a story about my g-g-grandfather and grandmother. John W. CATCHINGS
(Welsh I'm told) and Willie Ann HOUGH (German I'm told)
It seems they were neighbors. John's farm was the closest to the HOUGH
farm. Willie Ann was just a girl about 12 or 13 years old. She had some
brothers and sisters. I believe she was the oldest.
One day some Indians came to the HOUGH farm and killed their mother and
father who were outside at the time. Willie Ann put all the kids under the
bed and told them to be very quiet. She was trying to protect them as best
she could. Their parents were lying on the ground and most likely were
dead. The Indians never came into the house, but they did look in the
windows. We don't know why they never went inside. Maybe they didn't see
anything worth taking, which I doubt.
John W. CATCHINGS heard about the killings and offered to help the HOUGH
children by taking them into his home. They stayed and he married Willie
Ann soon after that. He was about 30 years old or so and she was about 13
years old. I haven't found out how many children they had, but they did
raise her brothers and sisters. The pictures show a large family.
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Lynn Catchings Veitch
"Pay every debt as if God wrote the bill"
--Ralph Waldo Emerson