TOMBSTONE TUESDAY: Joseph Morse Bickford (1827-1896)

TOMBSTONE TUESDAY: Joseph Morse Bickford (1827-1896)

There are people who come into a community and in a quiet and steady manner contribute their talents in a way that affects many of the people within it. There was such a man that lived among the early citizens of Calhoun County, and his name was Joseph Morse Bickford. 

Joseph was born February 24, 1827, in Littleton, Grafton County, New Hampshire, to Thomas and Louisa Bickford. Joseph was the second of seven children. In 1850 he was a high school student attending Grafton County Teachers Institute, he graduated from Dartmouth College, and he was a student attending Harvard University by 1855. 

Joseph made his way down to the Gulf of Mexico and landed in Indianola, Texas. He was seeking a better climate due to an illness of pulmonary trouble. The 1860 Census shows that he was living in Saluria on Matagorda Island and was listed as the schoolteacher, in that isolated town. He had an estate of $600 and is listed among the teachers of Indianola and surrounding area schools. In 1854 Calhoun County School District formed and Saluria, Matagorda Island was named District Four. Teachers at the time were required to have a Certificate of Examination and they earned 6 cents a day that was paid by each student that attended. The Saluria school was burned down along with the entire town by the Confederate troops stationed at Ft. Esperanza when the Union Navy landed on all the ports on the Texas Coast. After the war, the Citizens of Saluria moved back and rebuilt the town. The school educated the children of the town, local ship pilots, ranchers, and traders, up until the deadly hurricane of 1875 when the town was once again destroyed. Some of the citizens that did survive rebuilt the town, reestablishing the school which ran until the town’s destruction in the 1886 Hurricane. The school was the only building left standing. It reopened and ran until enrollment dropped to 1 teacher and 7 students when it was closed in 1936. 

On February 25, 1867, Joseph married Mary “Mollie” Hensley in Calhoun County. The couple had four children, Mary A., Mable Lucille, Joseph Henry, and Florence. In 1870 the couple and their 2 eldest children were living in Port Lavaca with Mollie’s mother, Mary Thompson Hensley, who ran a boarding house in the city. The 1870 census shows Joseph as being a merchant with $1000 worth of real estate and $3000 worth of personal value. With a wife and two little baby girls, Joseph had to find an occupation that would support his family, and that would take more than 6 cents a day per student in a small school. Mollie’s father was William Richard Hensley, who was a surveyor in Stephen F. Austin’s original Colony, Indian Fighter, and close friend of William Barrett Travis of Alamo fame. He came to Port Lavaca in 1840 and was a successful merchant, which would tend to explain Joseph’s interest in the retail business. 

By 1880 the couple had completed their family and bought a house down the street from Dr. and Juliette Fretwell on Virginia Street. Joseph was a grocer. On February 23, 1896, Joseph Morse Bickford died. He was 68 years old. His obituary said that he had retired from his mercantile business due to ill health. His obituary also said that he taught school in Port Lavaca for many years, but I could not find that he taught anywhere but in Saluria. I am not sure how reliable the obituary is because they say he moved to Port Lavaca in 1802, which was 25 years before his birth and 38 years before Lavaca existed. His service was held at the Episcopal Church, and he was buried in Port Lavaca Cemetery. He left his wife Mary and 4 children behind. 

Joseph was born to teach, that is obvious in the schools he attended to prepare himself to make a life that included him living his passion. The children that lived on Matagorda Island in the remote town of Saluria and attended the little school there were lucky indeed to have Joseph Bickford for their teacher. The level of education that they received was no doubt the best that could be had with their teacher’s tutelage received from the highest schools of education in New England. He became a familiar face in the community of Port Lavaca doing business and making friends with his fellow citizens. The children that he raised along with Mollie grew into adults that contributed to the communities they lived in. A teacher can retire but they never lose their love of teaching. In interacting with those who are around them, they will share what knowledge they have when given the opportunity. Joseph left the world around him a better place, quiet, steady, but well thought of and loved by those who knew him. 

Researched and written by Sheryl Cuellar

1830, 1850, 1860, 1870, 1880, U.S. Federal Censuses 

U.S. High School Student List 1821-1923

U.S. School catalogue 1765-1935

Texas Marriage Index 1824-2021

Calhoun County Historical Commission Facebook page Tombstone Tuesday: William Richard Hensley. 

Read more about Mollie’s family here: https://www.facebook.com/profile/100068726265028/search/