James Alexander Ware would end up serving as judge of the District Court embracing the counties of Atascosa on the east to Maverick County on the west.

When the new year of  1874 arrived, newspapers were printing endorsements for James.  The following piece reads:

“As Judge William H. Russell, of the Brownsville district, has resigned his seat on the bench in order to take another in the State senate, we hope Governor Coke will appoint to the bench Captain James A. Ware, a gallant soldier, honorable gentleman and able lawyer.”

Original Jan. 31, 1874

The anticipation mounted and then on April 2, 1874, the newspapers reported that in “an executive session yesterday the Senate confirmed the judicial nominations … J. A. Ware, to be judge of the Twenty-fifth District.”  (Ref. 2746) It was very flattering when the paper went on to add, “It is one of the hopeful signs of returning peace and good will among our people to see an honest and capable judiciary, supplying the [now empty] place of incompetent and in some cases, dishonest judges.”

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(Ref.2746)  dated April 2, 1874

One of the most resounding endorsements for James came in the following 
newspaper article that was printed on April 3, 1874.

“Captain James A. Ware is to occupy the seat of J. J. Thornton - and resigned, in the Castroville and Eagle Pass district.  He is a good lawyer, a man of strict integrity, and has been tried in the crucible which detects the true metal.  We have been his companion in exile since the war, have seen him cut cord wood at five bits a day for a living, have experienced in person the nobility of his nature in the hour of distress, and thank Governor Coke for selecting him for a position so well suited to his character and ability.”

The following photographs are of the docket book of James A. Ware.

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Property of James & Judy Ware

James was sworn into office on July 21, 1874

I, James A. Ware, do solemnly swear or affirm, that I will faithfully and impartially discharge and perform all duties incumbent on me as commissioner for the extradition of persons accused of under the treaty between the United States and Mexico on that subject according to the best of my skill and ability, and that I will support the constitution and laws of the United States and of this state.  And I do further swear or affirm, that since the acceptance of this constitution by the Congress of the United States, I, being a citizen of this state, have not fought a duel with deadly weapons, or committed an assault upon any person with deadly weapons or sent or accepted a challenge to fight a duel with deadly weapons, or acted as second in fighting a duel, or knowingly aided or assisted anyone thus offending, either within this state or out of it; that I am not disqualified from holding office under the 14^th Amendment to the Constitution of the United States, and further that I am a qualified elector in this state. 

James A. Ware
July 21, 1874

(Ref. 2062)

     
             (Ref. 2062)                                         Official oath

 

Many years later, his obituary would describe his judicial service as follows:

“As a District Judge, he was painstaking, just and impartial.  He served his term of four years with distinction as a profound and able jurist.”

In 1875, just one year into his service as a district judge, James was endorsed by the Dallas Daily Herald for the position of Lieutenant Governor for the state of Texas.  He did not win that election, but it must have been an honor and a resounding vote of confidence in his performance as a judge to even be nominated.

The Dallas Daily Herald, December 18, 1875

“We observe that the San Antonio Express seems to think that it would be nothing more than fair and just to select a Lieutenant Governor from the West.  The paper refers in flattering terms to Governor Stockdale, Judge Devine, General Knox, Judge Ware, and Major Brackinridge.”

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It was also in 1875 that Governor Coke wrote an extremely long letter to the Secretary of War which ended up being printed in the newspaper.  It concerned military officers still assigned to Texas and problems that had ensued.

Executive Office, State of Texas
Austin June 8, 1875

Honorable W. W. Belknap, Secretary of War, Washington D. C.
Sir - your extraordinary communication of May 18^th reached me, with its enclosures, in due time.  Not being informed as to the facts of the transaction of which you complain, leading to the indictment by a grand jury of Starr County, at a recent session of the District Court, of Colonel Hatch, of the ninth United States Cavalry, and Lieutenant French and three soldiers of the same regiment, for offense against the laws of Texas, I have deferred a reply until I could obtain information of them which could be relied on as authentic.  This information I now have in a report made at my request by Honorable James A. Ware, who presided as judge over the court in which the indictments were presented.  I enclosed for your information a copy of Judge Ware’s report, with the remark that he held the court in Starr and other counties on the Rio Grande by exchange with Judge Dougherty, the presiding judge of that District, because of the many cases in the courts of that district in which Judge Dougherty had been counsel, which he consequently could not try as judge.  Judge Ware is a lawyer of ability and a gentleman of the highest integrity, is in no way complicated with affairs on the Rio Grande and in Texas, where he is known, his report is universally believed to embody the truth of the matters of which he speaks.

The report of Judge Ware confirms the impressions I had received of the matters referred to, from newspaper reports and verbal representations, and shows that the difficulty originated at a ranche between the five colored soldiers (one Sergeant and four privates) resulting in the death of one citizen and the wounding of another, and the killing of two of the soldiers.  How the fight originated, or who is to blame for it, can only be ascertained by judicial investigation, as the citizens give one version of it and the soldiers another.  The facts present precisely the case which made it the duty of Colonel Hatch, under the rules and articles of war, to turn over the soldiers engaged in the

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melee to the civilian authorities, to the end that the whole affair should undergo investigation.  Instead of doing this, however, that officer accepted the statement of the soldiers as true, proceeded in an unlawful, violent and wholly unauthorized manner to march a portion of his command to the ranche where the difficulty occurred, to the terror of women and children, and there arrested a number of citizens, and either ordered or permitted his men to break open their houses and plunder them, as if he had been in the enemy’s country and his will the sole law.  If it be admitted that the account of the affair given by the soldiers is true, the conduct of Colonel Hatch, according to the testimony, was in utter violation and contempt of the laws of the State, and wholly unjustifiable.

It will be perceived, also, from this statement of Judge Ware that these officers and soldiers were not, as stated by Colonel Hatch in his report to General Ord, upon which General Sheridan's dispatch and your letter are based, indicted by a grand jury of Mexicans, in collusion and sympathy with Mexican thieves and raiders, but by a grand jury of white citizens of American birth and origin, (except two of the number,) who, while citizens of Texas, of Mexican origin, are certified by Judge Ware to be gentleman of the highest character and standing, and one of whom has been a severe sufferer from Mexican raids.  The court presided over by Judge Ware and the grand jury made up of respectable citizens of Texas, impaneled in accordance with the laws of Texas, which produced these indictments, are a part of the machinery of government of this State for the administration of its laws, and its’ proceedings and actions stand on the same footing with those of all our other courts of the same jurisdiction. The presumption which under every government obtains in favor of the correctness of the proceedings of its judicial tribunals, exist in support of the action of the District Court of Starr County, against the officers and soldiers referred to. Are not the officers and soldiers of the United States Army amenable as other persons are for violation of State law?  No one can doubt but that they are.  They must be prosecuted, if at all, as other persons are, by indictment; yet because they are indicted by a proper court, in pursuance of a lawful jurisdiction, the President threatens to uncover the country to a savage invasion by withdrawing the troops.  The President allows the exparte statement of Colonel Hatch, who stands charged with felony, to be conclusive in forming his judgment of the court and jury which prefer the charge.  What court would not be condemned on the testimony of persons arraigned by it on grave criminal accusations?  Such testimony is not admissible in the courts of any civilized country on behalf of the accused party yet the President of the United States, through his Secretary of War, seeks by a threat to make it conclusive.  How are infractions of civil law by the military to be investigated, and the rights of citizens to be vindicated against their encroachment if not in the mode pursued in Starr County?  Or is it, in the judgment of the President, impossible that Colonel Hatch and his soldiers can be guilty of an offense against state laws?  Does not your letter, conveying the President’s views, completely subordinate the civil to the military authority?

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I am called on by your letter to interfere with and control the courts in their operations so as to secure immunity from prosecution for officers and soldiers of the army.  The President of the United States ought to know that the Constitution of Texas, like the constitutions of other States in the Union, and that of the United States, has thrown around the judiciary safeguards which make that department of the government independent of the Executive, and that the courts are governed by constitutional and statutory laws which the Executive cannot alter or interfere with.  After the courts have performed their functions, the Governor is invested with power to pardon, and to remit fines and forfeitures; but your letter is the first indication I have ever had that any one supposed that the Governor could dictate the courts, or in any way influence or control their proceedings.  You are requested to inform the President that the courts of Texas are governed in their administration by the constitution and laws of the State and the United States, and not by the orders or desires of any Executive officer, State or Federal, and that his determination to withdraw or not withdraw the troops from that country will in no way influence or affect their action.

That the power of the Governor to pardon or remit, would be as liberally exercised in behalf of an officer or soldier of the United States army, as in that of any citizen, I feel I can give the fullest assurance.  It is impossible that any representative man of Texas can feel other than a just pride in the army of the United States, or any other sentiment than that of admiration for the gallantry of the officers and men composing it, and I may say here that the only judgment rendered in a State court against an officer of the army for an infraction of a State law, since I have been Governor, that I have heard of, was remitted on his application, not because it was improperly rendered, but because of equities in his behalf, which the court could not properly consider, making it a proper case for Executive interference.

I desire to relieve the mind of the President of the impression made up on it by Colonel Hatch’s report, that the population on the Rio Grande border of Mexican origin are colluding with the raiders and thieves from Mexico.  This is believed to be a very great mistake.  The citizens of Texas of Mexican origin, who reside on the Rio Grande border, are peaceable, docile, law-abiding people, perfectly submissive to authority, and loyal and well disposed toward our government, State and Federal.  Many of them are of superior intelligence, and a high order of men.  They have for three years past been depredated on and plundered by robbers from Mexico, until the more simple and uninformed among them have begun to doubt the ability of our government to give them protection, and to some extent have been dominated into an acquiescence in these raids through fear of, and not sympathy with, the robbers.  If relieved of

the constant terror they are under of murder and robbery by a protecting force which shall give them assurance of safety, they will do their part as citizens, either in peace or war, and do it well.  So far from entertaining a prejudice against the soldiers of the government, which would prompt to injure or

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injustice, the precarious condition of these people, and the constant danger surrounding them, has taught them not only the value but the necessity of soldiers for defense, and their greatest desire is for enough of them to give security to the country.

The fight between citizens and the colored soldiers in Starr County is the only trouble between the people and any portion of the army that I have heard of on that border.

The Raiders from Mexico, whom Generals Ord and Sheridan inform you in the dispatch, a copy of which you sent me, are daily invading that country, and have been doing so until it is virtually overun by them, have been more fortunate than the citizens.  I have heard of no trouble or collision between them and the soldiers; not a gun has been fired between them and the soldiers, so far as I know or believe, although it is a matter of common notoriety in that country that the invaders not infrequently operate within sight, and almost within gunshot, of the military stations.

To withdraw the colored troops on the Rio Grande would leave the country in no worse condition than it is now in, and would be no clearer deprivation of the right of Texas to be defended against invasion by the national government, than she now suffers from their utter worthlessness and inefficiency.

The President has been twice informed from this office of the deplorable condition of the Rio Grande country, and the manner in which it is being overrun by Mexican robbers and thieves. The copy of General Sheridan's dispatch sent me gives him the same information.  Section 4 of article 4, of the constitution of the United States makes it the duty of the national government to protect each State against invasion.  If it be admitted that the information upon which your communication is written is perfectly correct and truthful, I venture to suggest for the consideration of the President that the wrong done by a few citizens toward the five soldiers should be redressed through the proper tribunal, in a legal mode, and not in an infinitely greater wrong perpetuated against a whole State by the President of the United States in withholding a clear constitutional right.  While in view of the past history of Texas, and the achievement of her independence against all the power of Mexico, at a time when the population, wealth and resources of the State were less than one-tenth what they now are, it would not be presumptuous to say, if the necessity should be thrown upon her, that she is amply able to maintain the integrity of her territory, and the security of her people against any invasion that might assail her from Mexico, and would not count the cost of doing it.  I feel justified, notwithstanding your intimation to the contrary in refusing to believe that the national government will under any pre-text, or under any circumstances, by refusing the performance of a high constitutional duty, devolve that necessity upon her.

Very respectfully,
Richard Coke, Governor of Texas

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Original copy of Coke’s article

The years that James served as a judge (1874-1877) provided financial security for the family at last.  Jane was able to sell their property in Corpus Christi and move to Belton, Texas – just a short distance from her parents and where her oldest daughter would eventually marry and settle.  Unfortunately, his job as a district judge still required James to have to travel frequently and be away from home.  He had an office in Austin (about 60 miles from Belton) and he also frequently worked out of San Antonio which was about 130 miles from Belton.  He also, obviously, had to spend a great deal of time in Eagle Pass, in Maverick County.  His district covered a vast area and there were many times when he had to stay for several days in one location to deal with legal issues that had stored up, only to travel to another remote town to do the same thing. 

Records show that on June 17, 1874, James filed for property near the town of Brackett which was situated on Las Moras Creek.  The state legislature had formed Kinney County from Bexar County in 1850, and Las Moras Creek was a stream in Kinney and Maverick counties.  By having property that far west, it gave James a place to reside when he journeyed to the outposts of Texas where there were no fancy hotels and no family members to stay with.

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The town of Brackett became a stop for a stage line from San Antonio to El Paso and the area was familiar to James.  Fort Duncan was just a short distance from the point where Las Moras Creek flows into the Rio Grande and where Eagle Pass was located.  The town got its first post office in 1875.

Las Moras Creek

Maverick County Courthouse

 

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Belton was the perfect place for Jane to take up permanent residence because it was so strategically located for her.  It enabled her to be close to James when he was in Austin, to her children who settled in the Waco/Belton area and to her siblings and parents who were in Salado.  Fanny, Somerville, and Eudora obviously needed to stay in one place for their education and Bell County offered much in that arena.  “By the mid-1880s Belton had a population of 4,000, daily mail and stagecoach service, three newspapers, an opera house, five schools, steam grist and flour mills, two hotels, thirteen grocery stores and three banks.”  (Ref. The History of Bell County, Texas, by Bertha Atkinson, 1929)

Georgetown boasted of Southwestern University, which considered its founding date to be 1840 when Rutersville College opened.  The Village of Salado was founded at the Old Military Road crossing of Salado Creek on October 8, 1859 - coincident with the founding of Salado College.  Many of the leaders of Bell County had felt the need for the establishment of a fine school and very quickly Salado became a viable settlement.  Salado College began on October 8, 1859, at a tent meeting at Salado Springs of prominent men from throughout Bell County with a desire to create a high-class school in the county.

(Ref. 3294)

 
Ruins of Salado College in 2008

In addition to those schools, there was a fine school located right in Belton that would become known in the future as the University of Mary Hardin-Baylor.  It was chartered by the Republic of Texas as a Baptist university in 1845, and was then known as Baylor Female College.  The female department later became what is now Baylor University.  In the latter part of her life, Jane would remain continually active in the school – particularly the ‘Daughters of the Confederacy’ group.  She was even named their patron saint.  In 1874, however, the main concern for the Wares was the education of their children who were 16, 13, and 11 (respectively).  Both parents felt it was very important for them to have stability.  Sadly, it meant more years of separation and learning to be content with only occasional visits, but Bell County became the touchstone for their offspring in the years to come.

  

Baylor

 

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Belton, Texas 1870   (Ref. 3223)

Belton 1876   (Ref. 3223)

 In addition to the education possibilities available for her children, Jane also chose to stay in Belton during the years James was serving as a district judge because it was simply far safer than the areas of Texas that James would be traveling to, and that was not saying much!  In writing his memoirs, Mr. S. M. Ray (a resident of Belton at the time), stated:

“When I first came to Belton in 1873, nearly every week in the world somebody was called out of his house and shot down in cold blood. Cattle and horses were being stolen all the time and rarely did the offenders ever reach a courtroom.”  (Ref. 1036 & 2437)  Belton, however, could also offer familial stability.  Jane’s parents and siblings were settled close by, and with the three growing children, prospects in Maverick County seemed even bleaker.

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In 1875, just one year after James was sworn into office, the following telegram arrived in San Antonio from a newspaper in Galveston:

“The Indians are on the war path again.  On the 15th inst. they attacked the Eagle Pass stage twenty miles east of that city, captured it, took the mules, scattered the mail and wounded the driver, but he providentially escaped. They are on a general expedition, and doubtless comprise part of the band whose exploits were telegraphed you on the 19th.  Gen. Augar leaves for his new department tomorrow, via Luling.  He will be accompanied by Lieut. C. Augur, of his staff.  His family will remain here temporarily.” (Birmingham Iron Age, Birmingham, Ala., April 1, 1875 - Transcribed by Veneta McKinney)

 According to the Texas Handbook on History, “The last Indian raid in the county occurred in 1877; the site of the gruesome mutilation of three traders, eight miles northeast of Eagle Pass, was for many years afterwards known as Deadman’s Hill.  Saloons, gambling houses, and smuggling operations proliferated in and around Eagle Pass during Reconstruction.  The infamous J. King Fisher and his followers dominated the town, the county, and the courts throughout this period.  Maverick County judge William Stone moved his family to San Miguel for safety.”  It is not surprising at all that James, like Judge Stone, would not want his family subjected to those dangers, especially since (as a district judge) he would often be traveling and not there to protect them.  Consequently, the next four years found James and Jane continuing their long-distance marriage. 

Both Belton and Maverick County would continue to grow in the next few years, but Belton soon began to bring in industry that would affect the family by way of their children.  A gentleman named Joel F. Elliott began a retail business in Belton in 1875 that quickly became quite profitable.  He would end up marrying the Ware’s oldest daughter four years later in 1879.  Then, in 1885, Rev. Horace Edwin Hayden wrote in his genealogy book that “Somerville Ware is in partnership with his cousin, Andrew Murray, in the book trade in Belton. Texas.”  (Ref. 6)  Andrew was the son of Jane’s sister.  The town promised progress and jobs with it.

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Bell County Courthouse

 Envelopes addressed to the Wares in Belton, Texas

Property of James & Judy Ware

 
 
Embossing on the Docket book of Judge James Ware
owned by James & Judy Ware

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“The photo of Maverick County courthouse and jail illustrates a common story in Texas.  Often the courthouse and jail were built at the same time and often they were the first buildings on a desolate landscape.  Similar photos exist for El Paso and Marfa – where the buildings appear to be on the surface of the moon.”  – Courtesy Texas State Library and Archives   (Ref. 777)

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