There
are countless challenges in writing about our early ancestors. The most obvious
is the lack of firsthand information, leaving us to rely on stories and letters
passed down through the ages, whose veracity has likely been exaggerated or
distorted over time. Newspapers, when available, can be an invaluable resource,
though again, the story can only be viewed through the reporter’s perspective.
Government records are more dependable, but they often lack the personal
details that every genealogist wants to include. And even the availability of
these records isn’t always guaranteed, as many have been lost to fires, wars,
and other catastrophic events. We
are grateful that Kenneth Monroe “K.M.” Pybas, an ancestor of our family,
shared portions of his narrative through wartime diary entries from his service
with General Nathan Bedford Forrest’s Escort, along with several other
scattered records that detail the challenging years that followed.
Collectively, these documents outline a life divided into two significant
phases—the tumult and upheaval of the Civil War and the gradual, persistent
perseverance of post-war hardships that guided his family to Texas.
EARLY
LIFE IN LINCOLN COUNTY, TENNESSEE (1824-1862)
K.M.,
born on November 9, 1824, was the eldest son of Lincoln County farmers James
and Sarah Pybus, joining an older brother, William Robert. When William was
twenty and K.M. nineteen, their father died unexpectedly at the age of
forty-one. His will named his close friend, John Landess, as guardian to the
boys and executor of the estate. Landess served as clerk at the Concord
Primitive Baptist Church in Belleville, where James had been an elder.
At
the age of twenty-one, William left Tennessee for Houston County, Georgia.
Their mother, Sarah, remarried Joshua Yates, a minister at the same church, and
because K.M. was still not of age, Rev. Yates assumed his guardianship. K.M.
continued farming the land his father left behind while living under the care
of his mother and stepfather. In 1847, at twenty‑three, he met Eleanor “Ellen”
Cain Holt, the nineteen‑year‑old daughter of the local postmaster. They married
on November 9, and the following year, welcomed a son, Jordan Cain Pybas. For
the next fifteen years, K.M. farmed, raised his growing family, and served his
church and community. They could
not have known that their quiet life was about to be overtaken by one of the
most brutal conflicts in American history.THE
WAR YEARS: RIDING WITH FORREST’S ESCORT (1863-1864)
 |
Some of Forrest's Escort, Date Unknown |
In
1860, eleven Southern states left the Union after decades of conflict over the
institution of slavery. The crisis erupted into open war on April 12, 1861,
when South Carolina forces fired on Fort Sumter in Charleston Harbor.
On
January 10, 1863, K.M. enlisted in the Confederate Army and was selected for
General Nathan Bedford Forrest’s Escort. This small cavalry company was hand‑picked
for their riding skill, reliability, and combat ability. They were fast‑moving,
disciplined, and trusted
The
winter of 1862–63 was one of the wettest Middle Tennessee had ever seen.
Soldiers later called it the “Great Rain of 1863,” a month-long deluge that
turned roads into knee‑deep mud and flooded every creek and river. Cavalry
operations became grueling marches through soaked fields and rising water. When
K.M. joined the Escort in January, every march, reconnaissance, and skirmish
occurred in cold rain, gray skies, and mud that swallowed horses to their
fetlocks.
“Fight
at Fort Donaldson on Feb 3rd 1863. Confederates repulsed with heavy loss;
Wheeler in command.”
On
February 3, 1863, Major General Joseph Wheeler led approximately 2,500
Confederate cavalrymen, including Forrest’s brigade, in an attack on a heavily
fortified Union garrison at Dover, Tennessee. Forrest warned that the position
was too strong, but Wheeler ordered a frontal assault. Union rifle pits and
artillery fire tore through the attacking lines. Confederate losses were
severe: around 855 casualties, nearly 35 percent of the force. Union losses
were significantly lighter.K.M.’s
brief note of “heavy loss” doesn't quite capture how serious the disaster
really was. Forrest’s own unit faced nearly 250 casualties, and his intense
anger during the retreat became legendary. As part of the Escort, K.M. likely
saw that anger up close. His comment that “Wheeler was in command” subtly
criticizes the leadership that sent so many men to their deaths. The setback at
Dover widened the gap between Forrest and Wheeler and eventually led to Forrest
being transferred to command independently in Mississippi.
“March
5th, 1863, Heavy fight at Thompson Station, Williamson county, Tenn, killed and
captured the whole federal force, about two thousand. Capt. Little killed. Got
my horse shot.”
The
Battle of Thompson’s Station on March 5, 1863, resulted in a significant
Confederate victory but came at a high cost for Forrest's Escort. A Union
brigade led by Colonel John Coburn moved from Franklin to investigate
Confederate positions. Forrest and Wheeler surrounding them, after five hours
of combat, Coburn surrendered his entire force, estimated between 1,200 and
2,200 men. K.M.’s estimate of “two thousand” was notably accurate. Captain
Montgomery Little, Forrest’s original Escort commander and a close confidant,
was fatally wounded while leading a charge, dealing a heavy blow to the unit’s
morale.
K.M.’s
horse was shot during the battle. For a cavalryman, losing a mount was a
significant loss; Confederate troopers had to bring their own horses, and
without one, a soldier risked being dismounted and reassigned to the infantry.
The fact that his horse was killed beneath him shows he was right in the heart
of the fighting near the railway cut, where the battle was the fiercest.
“March
6th started home, arrived at home 7th, remained at home
until 9th and returned to command.”
After
the victory at Thompson’s Station, K.M. probably borrowed a horse to ride the
thirty-five to forty miles back to his home in Shelbyville. Forrest often
allowed brief furloughs to men who had lost their mounts, as long as they could
find another horse and return quickly.
“March
25th, fighting at Brentwood, captured the whole garrison amounting to 810
prisoners with wagons, teams, tents and everything they had.”
The
capture of Brentwood was one of Forrest’s most successful operations. K.M.’s
count of 810 prisoners is very accurate; official Union records list between
787 and 800 men taken from the 22nd Wisconsin and 19th Michigan. The “wagons,
teams, and tents” were especially important. Forrest’s men seized thirty-five
wagons loaded with supplies that were far better than what the Confederate
cavalry usually carried. As a member of the Escort, K.M. would have been among
the first to ride forward with Forrest’s demand for unconditional surrender.
“April
10th, 1863. Skirmish near Douglas Church, four miles from Franklin, Tenn. Capt.
Freeman killed and his battery* taken; recaptured the battery with small loss.
Got my fine horse killed and left all rigging on the battlefield. Four of the
escort wounded.” (*A battery was an artillery unit, roughly the
equivalent in size to an infantry company.)
The
fighting near Douglas Church, just south of Franklin, placed Forrest’s Escort
in a rare and dangerous position. While Forrest prepared to strike the Union
forces at Franklin, Union cavalry swung around and hit his rear guard. In the
confusion that followed, Captain Freeman — a young teacher and law student
before the war — was killed at close range.
His death enraged Forrest and his men, who counterattacked, recaptured the
guns, and drove the Union forces back toward Franklin.
For
K.M., the day came at a personal cost. His horse — his second in just over a
month — was shot out from under him. In the chaos of the retreat, he lost his
saddlebags, bedroll, and all his gear. The Great Rain had not yet ceased, and
the Escort had fought for weeks in cold, waterlogged conditions that hurt both
men and animals.
“April
13th, went home for another horse, stayed at home three days and returned to
the command.”
“April
16, 1863, command started to Decatur, Ala. I started home sick.”
Shelbyville
was a major agricultural hub, and K.M. probably depended on his family or
neighbors for his horse supply. By April, however, horses were becoming rare
across Middle Tennessee as both armies moved through the area. The timing of
his illness is significant. After losing two horses, fighting in relentless
rain, and sleeping without a bedroll or dry clothes, his immune system probably
failed.
“April
25th Very sick and remained at home until May 12th. Left home for the command.”
In
1863, being “very sick” usually indicated a serious illness like typhoid,
dysentery, or pneumonia — diseases that caused far more deaths among soldiers
than gunfire. Seventeen days at home suggest he was confined to bed. His
recovery occurred during a brief pause before the war intensified again in
Middle Tennessee.
When
he left home on May 12, he returned to a transformed landscape. The Confederate
Army of Tennessee had fortified Shelbyville with earthworks, turning it into a
large military camp. On his way west to rejoin the Escort at Spring Hill and
Columbia, he likely passed tents, felled trees, and churned mud from thousands
of soldiers. It was probably the last time he saw his hometown under
Confederate control.
“May
13th met the command at Athens, Ala.”
K.M.
had left home on May 12 after nearly three weeks of being ill. To reach Athens
the next day, he had to travel roughly sixty miles — a tough journey for a man
still recovering. His return to duty shows the determination expected of
Forrest’s Escort, who were required to stay close to their commander and move
quickly whenever they were needed.
“June
4th attacked the enemy at Franklin, drove them into their fortifications; we
went to town and remained sometime and then withdrew with no loss.”
The
June 4 action at Franklin was a reconnaissance in force, not the major battle
of 1864.
Forrest and General Pegram tested the Union garrison’s strength and
drove them into Fort Granger, a strong position overlooking the Harpeth River.
The Confederate cavalry briefly occupied Franklin's streets, gathering supplies
and speaking with locals before withdrawing. The Union commander refused to
leave his fortifications, so Forrest gathered intelligence and retreated
without loss. It was a successful day of pressure for the Escort, with fewer
casualties than earlier in the spring.
“June
9: Had a skirmish at Triune, Tenn.; withdrew in the evening.”
While
the eastern armies fought the famous Battle of Brandy Station on June 9,
Forrest’s command was engaged in its own series of intense clashes around
Triune. These actions were intended to mask Confederate movements and assess
Union positions. K.M. and the Escort accompanied Forrest as he personally
reconnoitered the Federal lines. Their role was to stay close to him, carry
messages, and provide the quick-moving protection he depended on when
approaching enemy positions.
“June
11, had a skirmish and charged the enemy and drove them within two hundred
yards of their big guns and drove one hundred head of horses and mules out of
pasture.”
“June
15th started home from Columbia.”
“June
16, arrived at home and remained there until June 25th then went to the
command. June 28th left home on the retreat from Middle Tennessee; arrived same
evening at Tullahoma.”
These
entries represent an important moment in K.M.’s life. He was at home during the
last days of Confederate control in Middle Tennessee, unaware that the region
was about to be permanently taken over by Union forces.
After
returning from Columbia in mid-June, he found a tense, quiet countryside—the
calm before the storm. Union General Rosecrans was planning the Tullahoma
Campaign to outflank the Confederate Army. While K.M. was home, Union cavalry
took Shelbyville, and by June 28, it was in Union hands. His departure marked
not just duty but exile, knowing Federal troops would soon occupy his home.
The
retreat from Shelbyville to Tullahoma was chaotic and tiring. Forrest, who had
been in Columbia during the initial breakthrough, arrived too late to prevent
the collapse. He led his forces—including the Escort—on a perilous night ride
to join the main army. At the Duck River bridge, the retreat degenerated into a
rout, with horses and soldiers swept into the river as the Union “saber
brigade” attacked. The roads, muddy from months of rain, made
the march to Tullahoma a brutal ordeal for both horses and men.
“June
29th, skirmish with the enemy; Col. Starns mortally wounded. J.P. Dean mortally wounded of the escort.”
“
June 30th. Col. Starns and J.P. Dean died.”
Colonel
James W. Starnes, commander of the 4th Tennessee Cavalry, was one of Forrest’s
most trusted officers. While guarding the Elk River bridges during the
Confederate retreat, he was shot while reconnoitering the Union position.
Before the war, Starnes was a physician from Franklin, and he was respected for
his calm leadership. His death hit the cavalry hard. Forrest, who relied on him
as a steadying presence, was deeply affected.J.P.
Dean, a member of the Escort, was wounded in the same fighting. In a company of
only about eighty men, everyone knew one another well. Dean most likely fell
during the intense skirmishing along the river or while the Escort covered the
retreat. With the army pulling back in heavy rain, there was
little time for proper burials. For the Tennessee boys in the Escort, seeing a
friend fall with the enemy close behind was a heartbreaking moment during an
already desperate retreat.
By
June 30, K.M. had lost his home to Union occupation, his early commanders,
Little and Starnes, and now his friend Dean. It was also the final day the
Confederate army held Tullahoma. As he recorded these deaths, the army was
beginning its difficult march over the Cumberland Mountains toward Chattanooga.
“July
22nd, near Chatanooga, Tenn, taken sick. Remained in camp sick four days.”
“July 26th, started to hospital at Athens, East Tenn., arrived there the 27th,
remained there
until the 27th of August and transferred to hospital at Atlanta, Ga.,
remained there until Sept 5th, started for the command and arrived at the wagon
train on the 7th day of Sept; remained with the train until the 15th then got
with the command at Dalton.”
The
retreat from Middle Tennessee lasted seventeen days with continuous rain. For a
cavalryman already seriously ill in April, exposure, lack of dry clothing, and
constant movement were overwhelming. Near Chattanooga, K.M. fell ill again as
the Confederate army fortified the city against Union forces. He was sent to
Athens due to full hospitals in Chattanooga. A month-long stay in 1863 likely would indicate a severe illness like typhoid, dysentery,
or pneumonia, which killed more soldiers than combat.
On
August 27, he was transferred to Atlanta as the Confederates evacuated East
Tennessee hospitals to avoid Union capture. K.M. left Atlanta hospital on
September 5, then spent two days
finding the army’s wagon train before rejoining the Escort amid rising tensions
between Generals Forrest, Bragg, and Wheeler, just before a major battle.
“Sept.
18th, fighting commencing at Chickamaga between the cavalry and infantry moving
up and preparing for battle.”
“Sept. 19th. Fighting commencing at 8 o’clock a.m., lasting until 8 p.m.
Federals falling back with loss heavy on both sides.”
“Sept. 20th, battle commencing at 9 o’clock a.m. and continued until 7 p.m.;
fighting heavy all day; slaughter heavy on both sides with Rosecrans falling
back and Bragg advancing holding the battle ground.”
“Sept. 21st Rosecrans retreating to Chattanooga; Bragg pressing closely.”
“Sept 26th, fighting at Charleston, Tenn. enemy falling back to Athens,
capturing seventy-five prisoners of the Federals.”
After
the Union center's breakthrough on September 20, Rosecrans retreated toward
Chattanooga. Forrest urged General Bragg to pursue immediately, believing the
Union army was in disarray. Bragg refused, opting instead to lay siege. This
decision widened the rift between the two men. Just days later, Bragg ordered
Forrest’s command to be transferred to Wheeler — a move that would permanently
damage their relationship.
“Oct
2nd: Went to Dalton to rest and recruit our horses; remained at Dalton one
month.”
K.M.’s
simple note about resting and recruiting horses aligns with one of the most
turbulent moments in the Confederate high command. The day after he arrived in
Dalton, General Braxton Bragg issued an order removing Forrest from command and
transferring his brigades to Joseph Wheeler. Forrest confronted Bragg in a
heated exchange that became famous in Confederate history, and President
Jefferson Davis soon arrived to prevent the dispute from tearing the army
apart. Davis ultimately granted Forrest independent command in Mississippi and
West Tennessee. While most of Forrest’s men were reassigned, his Escort was the
only unit he was allowed to keep. Their loyalty in Dalton this month remained
unwavering.
The
cavalry horses were really worn out after a summer filled with constant
marching and intense fighting at Chickamauga. Dalton was one of the few places
where the Confederates could still find some grain and fodder. For K.M., who
had already lost two horses earlier in the year, this month was probably spent
trying to find a way to recover his horse or get a new one.
“November
2, Left Dalton for Okolona, Mississippi.”
Okolona
became Forrest’s new base as he left Georgia's siege lines for a roughly
300-mile, harsh winter ride into Mississippi. Cold rain turned roads to mud;
men lacked coats or blankets. Despite fires, staying warm or dry was tough, and
they endured long, bleak days.
“Nov
20, arrived at Okolona.”
After
eighteen days on the road, the Escort reached the Black Prairie region of
Mississippi, a fertile area that would become the center of Forrest’s new
command. For Forrest, it was familiar ground, and the people of Okolona
welcomed him warmly. Local families provided food and clothing to the men of
the Escort, who were now the core of what would become a rebuilt cavalry force.
When
they arrived, Forrest technically had no army besides the sixty to eighty men
of the Escort. Their first task was to start recruiting — often through
aggressive conscription — in the countryside behind Union lines. Okolona’s
position on the Mobile and Ohio Railroad gave them better access to supplies
and mail than they had in Georgia. But their time there was short. Forrest was
already planning a raid into West Tennessee.
“Nov
27th, started from Okolona, Miss. to Jackson, Tenn.”
Jackson
was behind Union lines, and Forrest planned to set up a temporary headquarters
there to gather men who avoided conscription or served as partisan rangers.
With fewer than 500 men at the start, Forrest relied on the Escort as his most
experienced force. The late November rains made travel difficult, swelling
streams and turning the bottom lands into deep mud, risking horses’ lives. Union
cavalry would have struggled to catch them in this condition, but Memphis's
Union command underestimated Forrest, focusing on the recent Confederate defeat
at Chattanooga. Forrest used this distraction to slip into West Tennessee.
“Dec
(date illegible) 1863: arrived in Jackson and remained there three weeks.”
With
his headquarters in Jackson, Forrest gathered more than 1,500 unarmed men, with
many more arriving from nearby counties. The Escort helped organize these
inexperienced recruits, many of whom lacked horses or weapons. They also
collected cattle, hogs, leather, and wool to send south to the Confederate
armies. But by mid-December, Union forces, estimated to number nearly 10,000
men, were approaching Jackson. Forrest had no choice but to begin a fighting
withdrawal toward Mississippi with his newly formed, mostly unarmed force.
“Dec
24; Started from Jackson at 4 p.m.; traveled 20 miles to the Hatchie River;
crossed at 3 o'clock at night and drove a squad of Yankees five miles to their
camp and routed them.
After
three weeks in Jackson, Forrest moved his men out at dusk to avoid being
trapped. The Hatchie River was the main obstacle between Jackson and safety,
and winter rains had made crossing difficult. The “squad of Yankees” K.M.
mentions was likely pickets from the 7th Illinois Cavalry, positioned to block
the river crossings. The Escort, acting as Forrest’s veteran strike force,
drove them back and secured the crossing. This allowed thousands of recruits
and a large herd of captured livestock to begin crossing the river before Union
forces could react. It was the first step in a week-long running battle that
would see Forrest lead more than 2,500 new soldiers and hundreds of wagons back
to Mississippi.
“Dec
26th: Left camp on the Hatchie for Mississippi; came upon enemy at Summerville
and had sharp fight; drove the enemy back, killing several and capturing about
50 prisoners, 4 wagons and teams. Escort lost 3 men. Dock Boone killed. Lt.
Boone's arm broken.”
The
fight at Somerville was a key action in the retreat. Forrest cleared a path for
his 400-wagon train and recruits. The Escort led the charge against the 7th
Illinois Cavalry to prevent the Union from splitting the Confederate column.
K.M. suffered personal losses: Dock Boone was killed, and his brother, Lt.
Nathan Boone, had a shattered arm. Many men in the Escort were neighbors or
kin, so these losses were deeply felt. With little ammunition, Forrest ordered
the Escort to charge with pistols and shotguns at full gallop. Their surprise
attack overwhelmed the Union, capturing prisoners, wagons, and horses, vital
for the recruits. The victory opened the “Southern Gate,” placing Forrest south
of the Union line and near the Mississippi.
“Dec
27th, Crossed Memphis & Charleston Railroad; had skirmish with enemy and
drove them back.”
This
skirmish took place at Lafayette Station, the last major barrier before
reaching safety. The Memphis & Charleston Railroad was heavily defended,
and if Union forces secured the crossing, Forrest’s entire column would have
been trapped. The Escort charged the pickets guarding the station, forcing them
back, then tore up rails and cut telegraph lines to delay reinforcements from
Memphis.
By
this point, the Escort had been fighting or marching for seven grueling days
through freezing rain and deep mud. Their horses showed signs of wear, and K.M.
likely spent his nights carefully scraping mud from his mount’s legs to prevent
painful infections. Surrounded by thousands of unarmed recruits, the Escort had
to stay constantly in the saddle to keep the column moving and prevent panic.
In the cold rain, K.M. would have been mindful of guarding his revolvers and
shotgun, knowing that damp powder could make them useless during a charge.
Losing
Dock Boone the day before deeply affected everyone. However, in the Escort,
they had no time to grieve, bearing their sorrow as they continued onward. They
were tired but committed to safeguarding the vulnerable recruits who depended
on them.
“Feby
20, Left camp at Starksville, went to West Point and met the enemy,
reconoitered with them; escort captured twenty-one prisoners late in the
evening, then of escort sent back with the prisoners. I was on the detail.”
By
the end of 1863, K.M. and the Escort had pushed south through freezing mud to
cross the Coldwater River into Mississippi, finally placing themselves beyond
the reach of the Union columns pursuing them. On January 1, 1864, Forrest
established his headquarters at Como, Mississippi, where the Escort oversaw the
reorganization of his new command. This was the most stationary period they had
experienced in a year. On January 24, Forrest was promoted to major general,
and the Escort became the core of a force now divided into four brigades.
These
campaigns led to the final, desperate phase of the war in Tennessee. Forrest’s
cavalry was attached to General Hood’s Army of Tennessee during the invasion of
Middle Tennessee. After the Confederate defeat at Nashville on December 15–16,
Forrest was recalled from Murfreesboro to serve as the rear guard for Hood’s
shattered army. On December 26, 1864, the day of K.M.’s capture, the
Confederate retreat struggled southward through freezing rain, snow, and deep
mud. Forrest’s men made their last stand to protect the army as it crossed the
Tennessee River at Bainbridge, Alabama. Union cavalry under General Wilson
pressed against the rear guard, and K.M. was likely captured in the final
chaos.
Once
captured, he was marched north with other prisoners through bitter winter
weather. Now a cavalryman on foot, he faced an eighty-mile trek to Nashville
with inadequate clothing and worn shoes. The Nashville Military Prison — housed
in the State Penitentiary and several converted warehouses — was overcrowded
after the Battle of Nashville, holding more than 13,000 Confederate prisoners.
K.M. and his comrades were confined in poorly ventilated rooms and fed meager
rations of hardtack, salt pork, and thin bean soup. Disease was rampant.
Smallpox and pneumonia spread quickly among men already weakened by exposure
during the retreat.K.M.
spent approximately four months as a prisoner of war. By early 1865, Union
authorities started offering the Oath of Allegiance to prisoners deemed
non-threatening or willing to cease fighting. Standing before the Assistant
Provost Marshal General, he pledged to “support, protect, and defend the
Constitution.” Many of Forrest’s men took the oath not out of disloyalty, but
because the war was obviously lost, and their families in occupied Tennessee
were struggling to survive. K.M.’s oath record mentioned that he “has family,”
a detail that likely contributed to his release instead of being sent to a
northern prison camp.
The
fighting was over. The cause was lost. But he was alive and returning home.
REBUILDING
AFTER THE WAR (1865-1880)
K.M.
returned to Shelbyville to rebuild his farm after the war's destruction. Since
its capture in June 1863, the town had been under nearly nonstop Union
occupation. While this prevented the town center from being destroyed, the
surrounding countryside had suffered years of foraging, raids, and lawlessness.
Fences were burned for firewood, livestock were taken, and both armies stripped
the crops. By 1865, many farms in Bedford County were neglected or abandoned
due to a shortage of labor and draft animals.
Two
years later, on March 16, 1867, K.M. and Ellen welcomed their ninth child, a
daughter named Emily Evaline, whom the family called Missie. By the 1870
census, K.M.’s farm was valued at $4,570, with a personal estate of $4,200 —
placing him among the top 10–15 percent of households in Bedford County. This
was notable in a region where the average farm value had nearly halved since
1860. His total assets of about $9,000 suggest he probably owned between 200
and 300 acres, a significant holding for that time.
The
most revealing figure was his personal estate. Livestock, equipment, and cash
comprised nearly half of his wealth, indicating he had the capital to hire
labor and buy new machinery, even as many neighbors were “land poor” and
overwhelmed by debt. Most returning Confederate veterans in Bedford County had
little or no personal estate, with land valued under $1,000. K.M.’s financial
situation indicates he managed his resources vigorously in the immediate
postwar years, taking advantage of high cotton and livestock prices. His
economic strength would have made him a respected member of the community,
including Unionist officials eager to rebuild the county’s tax base.
In
December 1874, a case titled K.M. Pybas vs. James L. Hix reached the Tennessee
Supreme Court. K.M. had co-signed a note for Hix, who was married to Ellen’s
sister, Huldah Ann Holt. When Hix defaulted, the creditor pursued K.M. for the
full amount. Although he made several payments, the court ruled against him.
Because the debt was substantial and the 1870s economy was depressed, he was
forced to sell his Bedford County property to satisfy the judgment. The loss
was a significant setback after years of rebuilding.
This
financial setback may have prompted him to take a position as gatekeeper for
the Shelbyville and Fayetteville Turnpike Company in 1876. The job offered a
steady income at a time when the Hix debt had drained his agricultural savings.
For a man who had once been among the wealthiest farmers in the county, it was
a tough but sensible step toward securing his family’s future.
THE
MOVE TO TEXAS (1878)
By
the spring of 1878, K.M. sent his eldest son, Jordan, to Texas to look for
land. Jordan bought property in Grapevine, and soon the entire Pybas family
prepared to leave Bedford County. The group included K.M. and Ellen; their
youngest children, Alice, K.M. Jr., and Missie; their sons, James, Hiram, Ben,
and William, along with their families; and James’s father-in-law. They likely
left Tennessee between late August and early September, arriving in Grapevine
on October 14, 1878.
Improved
roads and rail links made the journey quicker than the long pioneer treks of
earlier decades, but it remained difficult. The summer of 1878 was an El Niño
year, with daily temperatures in the mid- to upper 90s—one of the hottest on
record. For the three pregnant women traveling with the family, the heat and
lack of clean water made the trip especially arduous.
The
weather caused more than just discomfort. The same heat and humidity fueled the
Yellow Fever Epidemic of 1878, which swept through the Mississippi River Valley
as the Pybas family traveled west. By the time they reached Tarrant County in
mid-October, theweather
had begun to cool, but they had survived a crossing of a landscape marked by
disease and extreme heat — one of the toughest environments in the postwar
South.
In
the summer of 1880, tragedy struck. Three of James’s children died of typhoid,
five others fell ill, and his wife suffered a nervous breakdown. Faced with the
loss and the unhealthy conditions around Grapevine, K.M. declared, “We’re not
going to stay in this unhealthy locality any longer.” He sent Jordan and Ben
north to find new land.
They
found 500 acres near Sivells Bend, close to Gainesville. The family moved in
the fall of 1880, building a four-room house and living in wagons, tents, and
half-dugouts beneath a grove of hackberry trees. They arrived too late for the
corn or cotton harvest and survived the winter on turnips, late vegetables, and
whatever game they could hunt.
Sivells
Bend was in a deep curve of the Red River, surrounded by high bluffs and
fertile bottom land—the 500 acres offered better grazing opportunities for
cattle than the crowded farms around Grapevine. However, the winter of
1880–1881 was severe across the Southern Plains, marked by sudden “blue
northers” that brought freezing temperatures and damp winds. The family had
little shelter, few supplies, and no margin for error. It was the lowest point
they faced together — a stark contrast to the days when K.M. had been a wealthy
Tennessee landowner and a member of Forrest’s elite Escort.
THE
FINAL YEARS
The
winter of 1880 marked the last time the entire Pybas family lived together
beneath one grove of trees. When spring arrived, the urgency of survival
shifted to the need for independence. One by one, the sons who had built fences
in exchange for meat began constructing fences for themselves. K.M., who had
survived the charges of Forrest’s Escort and the losses in the Tennessee
courts, now watched his family spread across the Texas and Oklahoma frontier.
Their
paths were varied, often challenging, and deeply connected to the region's
history:
Jordan
Cain Pybas, a veteran of Shiloh and Fort Morgan, lived to see Oklahoma City
grow from a frontier settlement into a state capital. He died in 1922 at the
age of 73 in Oklahoma City, leaving behind a son who served in WWI.
James
Blair Pybas, who served in the 12th Kentucky Cavalry and sought
refuge along the Red River, drowned there on March 22, 1891, at the age of 40 during
a massive flood. He left behind his wife, Emma, and five children in Sivells
Bend, Texas.
Hiram
Caldwell Pybas, your direct ancestor, became a successful farmer in
Pottawatomie County, Oklahoma, raising his family in Trousdale and Wanette and
living to the age of eighty. He and his wife, Carrie, had eight children.
Ben
Pybas lost his wife and children between 1891 and 1905 — probably due to fevers
and tuberculosis common in the Red River bottoms — before starting anew in
Iron, Texas. He remarried Dora Poston in 1906, and they had a daughter named
Kenneth Marie, after Ben’s father. He served as county commissioner for Cooke
County, Texas, from 1916 to 1920.
Margaret
“Alice” Pybas Giddens was abandoned by her husband, Zambry Giddens, who was
later found dead along the railroad tracks in Dallas in 1922, suspected of
having been murdered. She lived on, raising her four children and passing away
in 1947 at the age of 86.
Kenneth
Monroe “Boy” Pybas Jr. married Dora Kernal of the Chickasaw Nation,
granddaughter of leader Thomas Parker. Their marriage, performed under
Chickasaw law, tied the Pybas family to the history of the Chickasaw removal
from Mississippi. Boy was known as an excellent horseman, and it’s said that
when his youngest daughter was born in 1913, he rode from their home in McClain
County, Oklahoma, to Tishomingo, Oklahoma (the historic capital of the
Chickasaw Nation) in 24 hours to file for her tribal citizenship before the
federal deadline. Covering the nearly 90
miles within such a short time would have been a grueling “Pony Express” feat.
He lived to be 90 years of age, outliving one of his eight children.Will
and Missie Pybas stayed in Cooke County. Missie lived to be 88 years old,
seeing the area's change from dugouts and turnip patches to the modern era of
the 1950s. She married twice and had a total of eight children. Will also
married twice and raised two children.
He died at the age of 60.
K.M.
Pybas, the family patriarch, lived through the Civil War, lost his farm, moved
his family 730 miles from Tennessee to Texas, faced the harsh winter of 1880,
watched his children scatter, and saw the changes on the frontier. As an old
cavalryman of Forrest’s Escort, he experienced the dawn of the twentieth
century, passing away in 1913 at the age of eighty-eight.
By
that time, he had watched his family grow from Tennessee planters into
resilient frontier survivors and eventually early settlers of two new states.
The family of the man who once rode behind Nathan Bedford Forrest and sought
shelter under hackberry trees during the winter of 1880 eventually spread out
across Texas and Oklahoma. Some were drawn by the excitement of the Land Run,
while others stayed rooted in Cooke County. Even though the Red River claimed
Blair in 1891, it couldn’t erase the Pybas name.
K.M.
lived long enough to see his children face the same hardships he
experienced—loss, war, hunger—and then rise again. Many of them are buried at
the Bear Head Cemetery near Sivells Bend, Texas, where a sign reads, “They
rest together in spirit.”
Enduring
Tragedy Together
