Life of pioneer family on west Texas frontier was rough

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ichard Franklin Tankersley enlisted in an all-volunteer company of “minutemen” on May 24, 1858 and spent the next 60 days combing the West Texas countryside for hostiles.

While he was making the frontier safe for neighbors and perfect strangers, his wife and six children – alone and unprotected – faced the constant threat of attack from the same Indians. Either the head of the household minimized the danger or never gave his loved ones’ predicament a second thought.