Reminiscences of the Early Days of Fort Worth

In 1856 J. C. Terrell, a young lawyer in his twenties, stepped off a stagecoach in Fort Worth, intending to travel on to California. Instead, he ran into an old classmate, Dabney C. Dade, who convinced him to establish a practice in Fort Worth, a city then in its infancy. In 1906 Terrell wrote his memories of those early days. His choice of subject matter was eclectic. He wrote of important settlers - E. M. Daggett and M. T. Johnson - and killing hogs, patriotism in the schools, and a Confederate reunion. His writing clearly reflects the attitudes and mores of the turn-of-the-century. In an afterword written for this reprint edition, Judge Steve King writes, "Parts of our past are well worth saving - to learn from and to emulate. Other parts are worth preserving in works like this - perhaps more to study, remember, and guard against their return." Terrell's reminiscences give us the only picture of Fort Worth in its first days written by someone who lived the city's history. They also give a clear picture of the author. What he wrote of Daggett and Johnson might well be said of Terrell: "Both were grand men, physically, morally, and mentally. Neither were exemplary or saintly, yet both to us old settlers were veritable heroes.