Marcus William Hovenkamp was the
fourth of five sons of Edward and Belle Arthur Hovenkamp. His father, Edward Hovenkamp, born in New Jersey in 1824, migrated to Kentucky in 1850, where he was admitted to
the bar and practiced law in Macon and Fleming counties. He was married to Belle Arthur, a native of Kentucky. In 1854, he brought his family to Texas and settled at Birdville, Tarrant
County, where he was a member of the
law firm of Hovenkamp, Holland
and Blair. He was elected District
Attorney during the Civil War. Five sons
born to the Hovenkamps were; Jim A; John F; Dick; Marcus William and Ed. All were residents of Tarrant County.
Marcus W. established a permanent
home on a farm three miles south west of Keller. He was married March 6, 1889 to seventeen
year old Dora Bell Elliott. They became
the parents of six children; Grace, Mabel, Lucien, Mamie, Marcus W. Jr., and
Halcie. The mother of these children
died September 20, 1905 and was buried in Bourland Cemetery.
With the help of his teenage daughters,
the father succeeded in maintaining his home and providing well for his family,
a task made easier, perhaps, by his tolerant attitude and an unusual sense of
humor.
Mature men and women, who grew up
in the same neighborhood, have fond memories of the experiences they shared
with the Hovenkamp children. Whether it
was playing all day, spending the night as a house guest or sharing a meal,
visitors were always welcome.
On one hot summer day, Hugh White
returned home to tell of the bountiful treat of fresh pork he had enjoyed, wishing
his father would kill a hog before the usual butchering time marked by the
first frost of winter. The truth was
that one of the Hovenkamp boys had killed their hog with a rock and the only way
to avoid a total loss was to butcher it immediately and grind the meat into
sausage. With no refrigeration
available, the sausage was fried in patties, packed in crockery jars, covered
with melted lard and stored in the storm cellar.
Mabel Reed (Scott) spent many
weekends with her good friend, Grace.
She remembers the strict discipline that became evident when rules were
broken, such as riding the horses too fast and walking to school on the
railroad track instead of the wagon road.
Whatever the infractions, punishments were just and were accepted
without question.
Ten years after the death of his
first wife, M.W. Hovenkamp was married to Mrs. Lillie Burgess Smith. He died October 14, 1931, she on May 11,
1949. Both are buried in Mt. Olivet
Cemetery.
A brief history of the Hovenkamp
children follows:
1)
Grace, born December 9, 1889, died February 1936 and buried at Mt. Olivet. She was married first to Roy Mays, second to
_________. The children of the first
marriage are; Grace Belle Cheney, Margaret Walker, and Roy Marcus Mays.
2)
Mabel, born December 21, 1891.
She was married to Ed King. They
were the parents of three sons; Guy, Lawrence and Roger.
3)
Lucien, born August 8, 1894, died October 16, 1934 and buried at Mt. Olivet. He was married to Christian Carroll. They were the parents of a daughter, Jane.
4)
Mamie, she was married to Joe Strong.
Their children are Joe Jr., Dorothy Cox, Richard and Patricia.
5) Marcus W. Jr., born 1900, died
August 7, 1966 and buried at Mt.
Olivet. First wife was Gertrude Arthur. Their children are Dorothy Gray, Marcus W.
III, Mabel Ann and Russell.
6)
Halcie, born May 14, 1905.
