Person:Henry Lewter (1)

Notes from WFT #468

Henry was primarily a farmer and rancher. The complete story of his early years has been lost. What is recorded here are the memories of his younger daughters and notes of an older daughter which were found in the files of the Camp San Saba, Texas, genealogical society.. How he met and married Laura Matilda is unknown. They seemed to complement each other throughout life. She was grey eyed, small, red haired, and had a quick temper. He was at least six foot one with black curly hair, blue-grey eyes, of notable strength, slow to anger, but not to be ired. The older girls tell of watching him dance with Laura while holding a small child in one arm and Laura in the other. In their memory, he was an excellent dancing partner. He and his sons were accomplished horsemen and the girls told of his ramrod straight image in the saddle. Laura, like most women of the time, rode to town in a buggy or wagon. She could handle a team of two horses as well as her husband. However, I have never heard that she drove a larger span of horses. Henry moved with his young family from Tyler, Texas, to Dexter, Texas, in 1871. His elder brother, John Knox Worth Lewter, was living in the community at the time. Henry was probably in the company of his father and mother during this sojourn. He subsequently moved to Camp San Saba, Texas, in 1884. Again, the move was in the company of his father and mother. It was probably in Camp San Saba that he entered the freighting business. His daughter Minnie recorded her memories of their life in the community many years later in a letter to the Camp San Saba library. Their stay was only for about four to six years. Henry left Camp San Saba with his family and moved to the community that is now Marrieta, Oklahoma. The community was considered Indian Territory in 1890. This move was followed by a move to Pontatoc, Oklahoma, in 1900. Henry was a life long Democrat and a life long member of the Masonic lodge. He probably entered the Masonic fraternity while in Tyler. He belonged to the York Rite and is believed by at least one grandson to have taken the degrees of the Scottish Rite as well. He was a Master of several lodges during his life. It is believed that he assisted in the organization of the Pontatoc Lodge.