[From J. Marvin Hunter's Frontier Times Magazine - March, 1940]

Frances Amanda Andrews, daughter of Eleazer and Mary Hix Andrews, was born in Randolph county, North Carolina, on the Uharie river, November a 1843, and died at Luling, Texas, December 7, 1939, in her 96th year. The Battle of San Jacinto had been won just eight years before she was born, and Texas was still a struggling young republic invaded by Mexican troops one year before.

In 1866, in company with her brother in-law and sister, Mr. and Mrs. Eli L. Phillips, she left Salisbury, North Carolina, traveling by train to Memphis. En route her trunk was destroyed by fire. At Memphis she purchased material for two dresses and made them by hand as their boat sailed down the Mississippi to New Orleans.

They crossed the city of New Orleans in a "dray." From New Orleans they came by train to Columbus, Texas. which was the terminus of the Galveston, Harrisburg and San Antonio Railway. The remainder of the journey, to Gonzales was made by stage coach. The journey was long and arduous, requiring three months for its completion.

Leaving a war-torn country, Texas with its open range, free grass and productive soil, was to them a veritable land of plenty.

Miss Andrews' first home was at Belmont, in the western part of Gonzales county . Here her sister, Mrs. Phillips, died shortly after her arrival. Her loneliness in a strange land was somewhat lessened by the early arrival of her brother, W. W. Andrews, and his bride. Miss Andrews and Mrs. Andrews taught school together at Belmont. Later Miss Andrews taught at Mountain City, near the present site of Kyle. The next year she taught at Seal's Creek, near Luling, and boarded with the Jocey family.

At the time of her marriage to Captain Robert Thomas Nixon, December 19, 1872, she was teaching at the Glascow school. The site of this school will be remembered by the old chimney that stood for years after fire destroyed the school house, near where the old town of Nixon, in Guadalupe county, was afterwards established. It so happened that high water separated her from her trunk of wedding finery on her wedding day, her home now being at Seal's Creek with J. L. Andrews, the last brother to come to Texas. To use her words, she met this emergency by marrying in a "calico dress made with an overskirt." The ceremony was performed at the home of "Parson" Lancaster.

The transition from the schoolroom to the Nixon plantation was not easy. This plantation of 14,000 acres was located in Guadalupe county, six miles south of the present Luling. The Civil War had been over seven years. but its far-reaching effects were still present, even in far-off Texas. Hard times in this frontier area were the result. Captain Nixon had been previously married, and to Mrs. Nixon there fell the care of nine children, ranging in age from three to seventeen. And in the Nixon household of that day there were usually two or three children who were given a home; prominent among these should be mentioned Judge Leroy G. Denman of San Antonio, and three children of a deceased brother, Stephen Nixon.

Living conditions were very primitive by reasons of economic necessity and geographic isolation due to poor transportation facilities. Supplies were at first obtained at Belmont, three miles distant, through almost impassable sand hills. The home was furnished with chairs, tables, beds, clothes press, wardrobe, and a secretary made by Mr. M';Neamer, a cabinet maker at Belmont. The family possessed one of the few pianos in this vicinity. The installing of a cook stove was so revolutionary that the old negro, "Aunt liar. riet" refused to use it.

In 1875, as Mrs. Nixon well remembered, the Galveston, Harrisburg and San Antonio Railway reached Luling, a new town named for Lu Ling, a Chinese restaurant owner. who catered to the men building the railroad. Them was no bridge across the San Marcos river in those days, and when trips were made to Luling in a buggy or a wagon for ati plied—the family riding in a carriage with glass doors—it was necessary to use a ferry at Dorn's Ford.

Large families were the rule in early Texas. By 1886 Mrs. Nixon had seven children of her own, and of these sh e reared six to maturity. These six, all still living, are Mrs. E. F. Wood, Mrs. W. R. Hyman, Mrs. J E. Fisher, and Zeb Vance Nixon, all of Luling; Mrs. F. C. Allen of Corpus Christi, and Dr. Pat Ireland Nixon of San Antonio These children all went to school at the old Nixon school house built on lama donated by Captain Nixon, and for many years presided over by Major Lee Russell, a brother-in-law of Mrs. Nixon.

In 1895 the Nixon family moved to Luling, where better school facilities were available. In 1897 Captain Nixon died, and on the shoulders of Mrs. Nixon fell the responsibility of managing the estate. This she did during the intervening forty-two years, in a most creditable manner. She farmed the best parts of the land and rarely had a crop failure. Some of the outlying land was sold. Part of this comprised a good portion of the Darst Creek oil field. But of this she had no regrets, believing that great wealth is not an unmixed blessing.

In Luling she lived a full life. She saw her children grow up, and her grandchildren and great grandchildren multiply to the number of nearly one hundred. And in the midst of it all, at the age of 96, she reflected a serenity that was characteristically her own. Her accomplishments she accepted with humility. If it had been her inclination to boast, it would have been her joyful recollection of ninety years as a member of the Methodist Church. Forgotten were the hardships of pioneer days. But she was not living alone in the past, the life of Luling and Caldwell county and Guadalupe county were still a part of her life. She still went to church and was a regular attendant at the Fannie A Nixon Sunday School Class.

To all about her, Mrs. Nixon was a symbol of cheerfulness and tolerance and affection. To her backward glance there were no regrets. By those who knew her, she was loved in a very peculiar way perhaps approaching the saintly. From the old negroes of plantation days she received a particular type of reverence, and when times were hard and crops failed, they turned to "Miss Fannie" for help, and they were never disappointed.

At the close of the service at her grave the request was made by some of the negroes present at the funeral that a negro minister present be allowed to say a few words. When he was, of course given this permission, he read the following poem, which has in it some of the sentiment that is found in Negro Spiritual songs. This man is the pastor of Saint James Colored Methodist Church at Luling:

___________

IN MEMORIUM CAPTAIN ROBERT

NIXON AND WIFE.

By James William Maye, B. D. R. I. , Luling, Texas

The late Mother Fanny Nixon, the stay of family and all,

Wasn't hemmed in by Fate, yet she's met the final call.

Yes, 96 summers and more, was hers on the road of life,

And she leaves her family and friends, to battle with cares and strife.

She never suffered long, through dark drawn out days.

And now that it's all over, you ask:

"Does it pay? "

Yes, but not in dollars and cents,

is life to be measured,

But in the building of character,

friends, which is gold to be treasured.

Father Nixon outran her, by 42 years or more,

So you never can tell friends, what life may have in 'store.

An Army Captain was he, in the War Between the States,

And he defended his cause so well

that he routed the cruel Fates.

A big land owner was he, and a ranchman of the very first order,

For his land would reach from Zeller's

all way to the Mexican border;

Around his own ranch house,

were the quarters of colored hands,

And his great big jovial spirit,

lay claim to the Beulah Lands;

A friend of the Church were both,

and they espoused the Methodist cause,

And spared neither money nor means,

to enforce the Mosaic Laws.

Now, away over the hill, and clear out of sight,

The father went, after ending his fight,

And now, far behind the mother willingly goes

To her reward in Glory, who knows

Of the common sorrow they often shared?

As they journeyed hand in hand and dared

To confide each with the other,

On the daily problems as would a big brother.

And now, Mother o' Mine, your seat is vacant,

The voice we used to hear is now forever silent;

And the sweet lullabies that charmed us most,

Are forever gone to join a larger Host;

An Host out yonder in eternal bliss,

Where all is joy, and the realm

Sonkissed. Mother Nixon, believe me, is ours no more,

But she has gone to him, whom the whole Heavens adore!

Life teaches this great big lesson to all,

Get ready for the journey, ere you have to fall;

Fall before the Cycle, that will cut us all down

The Cycle of Death I mean, that knows no bounds.

The great and the small, both high and low,

Are gathered in his Cycle, when he begins to mow!

Good evening, Mother o' Mine, and Father as well,

Ere long we'll say Good Morning, and together we shall dwell!

And over on the Golden Shore, where new hopes are dawning,

We'll see our loved ones again, and say to them, "Good Morning."

(Ad finem.) At the end.

*The Mosaic Laws have reference to the Golden Rule: "Do to others as you would have them do to you."