Hard times could separate pioneer families

She was still in shock. It had all happened so fast. Was it three days ago when he died, or was it two? Yes, yes, he died three days ago. It was the funeral that was day before yesterday. It all happened so fast. He was working in the far end of the field right behind the house, trying to clear some tree stumps from the field, when he suddenly slipped, and fell down a slope on his back into some brush. And that is where the snake must have been - a rattlesnake, someone said - right in that low brush. It must have happened so quickly that the snake did not have time to run away. The snake bit him while he was still on his back;; bit him at the base of his neck; on the left side of his neck.
Somehow, he climbed up the slope to the field, took a few steps toward the house, and fell, face down - probably dead before he hit the ground. Her husband was dead. Killed by a snake. She still could not believe it. Could not believe it was true. They had been married 15 years. Had four children in those 15 years. They came to Gonzales and Green DeWitt’s Colony just three years ago in 1830 from Tennessee. The league of land he received had frontage on the river. It was going to be a place some day, he told her. Now, he was gone.
Who was going to help put in the crop this Spring? And the children. What about the children. The oldest three, all boys, were old enough to help out; do the work. They knew how. Their father had been a good teacher. But, the girl. The baby girl, just five years old. Would there be enough food for all of them? What if the corn crop came up short? What if they ran out of food? These questions were being raised by the other women after the funeral. How would she survive, they asked, and feed all the children.
Finally, one of the women, her cousin who lived in San Felipe, asked her if the five year old girl, who was named Sarah, should come and stay with them for a while, just to make sure there would be enough food to go around. So, it was decided; Baby Girl Sarah, the five year old, would go live in San Felipe. Just for a short while. Just so there would be enough food for everyone.
She packed Baby Girl Sarah’s few little clothes, the rag doll she played with, and then it was time for Sarah to leave. She started talking to Baby Girl Sarah - about how Daddy had gone to live with Jesus, and sometimes when that happened, other people went to live other places, too; and how baby girl was gong to live with this other family, Momie’s cousin, for a while. Baby Girl said, “Momie, does this mean I have to die, like Daddy?” “No, Baby Girl,” she replied. “You will just go live over there for a time, and you will have such fun there, and many nice things to wear and toys to play with.” “But, I don’t want to go, Momie,” Baby Girl said. “I want to stay here, with you and my Bubbas.” “Now, now, Baby Girl. Daddy would want you to do this, to do as I say’ she responded. Baby Girl replied, “No he wouldn’t. He would not send me away. He would want me to be here.” She said, “Baby Girl, you have to do as I say. It will just be for a short while. You will have such a good time.”
Baby Girl was crying now, hanging onto her mother’s legs. “No. Momie,” she said. “Don’t make me go. Please. Momie. Don’t make me go.”
Baby Girl Sarah left home that day with her few little clothes and her rag doll. She never returned, and never saw her mother and her brothers ever again. They spoke of her frequently at first after she left, and even talked about the funny things she did as a baby. But, as time went on, her name came up less and less, and then not mentioned at all. Her mother experienced times when she missed Baby Girl Sarah desperately, but the memories faded with time, and the longings to see her daughter drifted away, and became a random, distant thought.
And that is part of our history. The history of Gonzales. Gonzales, Texas is the Birthplace of Your Texas Freedom.