Gunsight established stagecoach exchange by 1858

According to historic records, the community of Gunsight developed from an early Butterfield Stagecoach route over the historic wagon road between Fort Griffin (Shackelford Cty.) and Stephenville (Erath Cty.), on what was known as the Old California Trail, initially charted by Capt. Randolph B. Marcy back in 1849. Traces of this historic California Trail can still be found on the Charles Donnell Ranch near Murray, only a few miles from Eliasville.

Ancestors in Gunsight have the advantage of early histories written by Lenora McIntire, an article by Shirley Dukes in the Comanche Electric Cooperative magazine titled, “The Rich History of Gunsight, Texas” and a recent book compiled by Myra (McIntire) Hall, “Gunsight, Texas: The Legacy Lives On,” which has many family histories and numerous photos throughout the book, a true labor of love. Then, we have my earlier Historically Speaking columns of 2008 and 2016 about Gunsight. Plus, many can still refer to what we call the “Gold Book,” published in 1978, for many stories about these early historic communities and pioneer families.

Early settlers at Gunsight included Smith D. Broyles and wife, Charlotte I. (David) Broyles who settled at Gunsight as early as 1868, one year after they married, in 1867. The couple lived in a rock house on the Gunsolus Creek and had four children. Their son Rufus H. Broyles married a local gal, Maggie C. Booher, in 1904. Their grandson is the deceased Roger Broyles and he and his widow, Sandy’s granddaughter carries the name of her great-grandmother, Maggie C. Booher Broyles forward into a new generation.

Nathan E. Sylvester Booher came to Gunsight in 1870 and married another local girl, Mollie Shepard on Jan. 26, 1881. They had seven children before she died in 1894. Their 11-year old daughter, Maggie C. Booher took charge of the household and helped raise her five younger siblings. She subsequently married Rufus H. Broyles, named above.

Another early settler to Gunsight was Silas Teague. His son became a doctor and returned to Gunsight to practice for a few years before he and his wife, Sophronia, moved on to Cisco and set up a practice there. Their infant daughter was buried at Gunsight Cemetery in 1879.

The very first person buried in the Gunsight Cemetery was Lewis Benson McCleskey, infant son of James Benson and wife, Sarah (Freman) McCleskey, in 1877. The McCleskey family donated the land for the Gunsight Cemetery and then later, others donated more land, as needed, to expand the cemetery.

Another early settler who arrived in 1877 was J.N. Lamb and in 1878, the Boles family settled in the area with Ervin Wilburn Boles and wife, Annis D. (Rhodes) Boles. Her parents were early pioneers, Isaac D. and Mary Ann Rhodes, who settled between Wayland and Harpersville. The Bole’s log cabin was a story and a half, where they lived for 15 years. By 1900, E.W. Boles purchased land from Carolyn Young, located north of Gunsight. The couple had five sons and three daughters and all married other young people from the Gunsight community. One son, Claud Wilburn Boles, met his wife when she was a teacher at the Gunsight school, Pebble Hargus, of Eastland. Another son, Paul Leach Boles, married Willie Baggett, also from another pioneer family, who had settled at Gunsight. Tobias Lambden Boles married Lydia Bowen, whose family ranched at Gunsight.

John Ashley Boles and Virginia (Notgrass) Boles had arrived in 1876, with James A. Notgrass in the small caravan of eight wagons. Accompanying Notgrass was his wife Polly and their four children. The small wagon train originated in Arkansas and was headed to land claims at Gunsight. Boles and Notgrass had gone on ahead to stake their claims and helped Notgrass build a log cabin for his family and then he and Boles had returned to lead the wagon train to their destination. The Notgrass log cabin had two large rooms separated by an enclosed hallway. Both rooms had a fireplace and one window and a door opening to the hallway, which was an unusual design but copied later by many settlers. In addition to his immediate family, Polly’s aunt, Mrs. Frank Winsely, a widow and her seven children were also on the wagon train. Additionally, Notgrass’s sister, Virginia (Notgrass) Boles, and her husband, John Ashley Boles and their four children. Also on the train the sister of James and Virginia Notgrass, Mrs. Ellen Poe, who was also a widow and her two children. After arriving at Gunsight on July 4,1876, the men helped clear the land for the two widows and built their log cabins and then cleared their own land to plant a winter garden. One of the sons of John Ashley and Virginia (Notgrass) Boles was John Ashley ‘Ballard’ Boles, who married into another historic pioneer family, by marrying Fannie Darcus Ledbetter. The father of the original John Ashley Boles was said to be a Cherokee Indian Chief, known as Isaiah Boles.

At some point, Zeb Boles ventured west to join the other Boles family members, who had come before them, along with W.T. Johnson and J.L. Hall.

Seabourne ‘Sebe’ Ephriam Ledbetter came to Gunsight about 1877 and married Suzannah Rogers Cash of the Wayland community. He served in the Texas Confederacy as a LT. in the 30th Texas Cavalry. Due to his military service, he was given a land grant in Roberson County, which he sold and then returned to Gunsight in 1879. The couple had four children, who all married into other pioneer families at Gunsight. Thomas Benson Ledbetter first married Fatie Florence Carey and then later married Josie Tolbert. His brother, William Calhoun ‘Cal’ Ledbetter, married Martha ‘Mattie’ Johnson, A daughter, Mattie Ledbetter, married Joseph Benson Baggett, from another historic pioneer family of Gunsight origins. Additionally, another daughter, Fannie Darcus, married into the pioneer Boles family of Gunsight, to John Luther ‘Ballard’ Boles. This couple had 11 children and three of the boys, Loyd, Carl and Roy, all served in World War II and two of the boys, Loyd and Carl, were part of the historic invasion on the beaches of Normandy. After the boys came home, they helped clear the land for Lake Daniel and Loyd helped dismantle a Carbon Black Plant at Parks Camp.

The mother of the three brothers, Fannie (Ledbetter) Boles, was part of the historic Ledbetter family who helped settle southeastern Stephens County and other ancestors of hers settled in the Fort Griffin area of Shackelford County. The Ledbetter family traced their ancestry back to Ireland and an Irish immigrant, Frederick Ledbetter, who came to America in 1775.

There is much more to tell you about the pioneer settlers at Gunsight. Stay tuned for more on Gunsight next week. If you have additional historic photos or stories about Gunsight, contact Jean Hayworth at office@ breckenridgeamerican. com.