Pleasant Tackitt (or Tackett; April 22, 1803 – February 7, 1886) (sometimes rendered as James Pleasant, but no official documents support this name) was a 19th-century politician, pioneer

Methodist Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a Protestant Christianity, Christian Christian tradition, tradition whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's brother ...

minister, stockman, teacher, farmer, Indian fighter, and Confederate officer. Tackitt was a key figure in the history of

Arkansas Arkansas ( ) is a landlocked state in the West South Central region of the Southern United States. It borders Missouri to the north, Tennessee and Mississippi to the east, Louisiana to the south, Texas to the southwest, and Oklahoma ...

and

North Texas North Texas is a term used primarily by residents of the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex to refer to a geographic area of Texas, generally considered to include the area south of Oklahoma, east of Abilene, Texas, Abilene, west of Paris, Texas, Par ...

, including a state representative in the

Arkansas General Assembly The General Assembly of Arkansas is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Arkansas. The legislature is a bicameral body composed of the upper house Arkansas Senate with 35 members, and the lower Arkansas House of Representatives with 1 ...

. Because of his battles with Indians in Texas, Tackitt became known as "the Fighting Parson".

Early life

Tackitt was born in

Henry County, Kentucky Henry County is a county located in the north central portion of the U.S. state of Kentucky bordering the Kentucky River. As of the 2020 census, the population was 15,678. Its county seat is New Castle, but its largest city is Eminence. T ...

, to

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States between the East Coast of the United States ...

n Lewis Tackitt and Mary Elizabeth Bashum, and was one of seven children. The Missouri Methodist Conference assigned Pleasant as missionary to the Western Cherokees in Arkansas in 1829. He was a circuit rider for two years and then assigned to mission schools. He married Kezia Frances Bruton on August 20, 1830, in

Pope County, Arkansas Pope County is a County (United States), county in the U.S. state of Arkansas. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 63,381. The county seat is Russellville, Arkansas, Russellville. The county was formed on Novemb ...

. He served one term in the

before joining a Texas-bound caravan in the autumn of 1853.

Life in Texas

Pleasant settled first in the spring of 1854, two years before Parker County was organized, on Walnut Creek, about four miles west of Springtown, Texas. He founded Goshen Church, and helped clear ground for the adjoining cemetery after providing shelter for his family. He preached his first Texas sermon in the cabin home of Hezekiah Culwell, and regularly held services at Goshen, Springtown, and Ash Creek, where he helped build churches. In 1857, he organized the First United Methodist Church of

Weatherford, Texas Weatherford () is a city in and the county seat of Parker County, Texas, United States. In 2020, its population was 30,854. Weatherford is named after Thomas J. Weatherford, a State senator and advocate for Texas's secession to the Confederate ...

. Then, the Texas Methodist Conference transferred Pleasant to Fort Belknap, Texas, to spread the gospel to friendly Indians and white settlers. He organized churches in Palo Pinto, Shackelford, and Young Counties, including one at

Graham, Texas Graham is the county seat of and largest city in Young County. As of the 2020 U.S. Census, it has a population of 8,732. History The site was first settled in 1871 by brothers Gustavus A. and Edwin S. Graham, primary shareholders in the Texas E ...

. Tackitt at one time had 143 appointments requiring 1,200 miles of travel to visit all. Tackitt Mountain in Young County was named for him in memory of the skirmish there in 1860 between the Tackitt family and a band of Indians led by a

Comanche The Comanche (), or Nʉmʉnʉʉ (, 'the people'), are a Tribe (Native American), Native American tribe from the Great Plains, Southern Plains of the present-day United States. Comanche people today belong to the List of federally recognized tri ...

known to the settlers as Piny Chummy (or Pine-o-Channa). During the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...

, Tackitt served as chief justice and postmaster in Young County and as enrolling officer in the

Confederate States Army The Confederate States Army (CSA), also called the Confederate army or the Southern army, was the Military forces of the Confederate States, military land force of the Confederate States of America (commonly referred to as the Confederacy) duri ...

Final years

An often-told story emphasizes the major scares the Tackitts endured at their Fish Creek home south of Ft. Belknap. One of the family's cows came home with an arrow protruding from her back. Pleasant and his three oldest sons, James, Lycurgus and George, armed themselves and went to bring home the remainder of their herd. They were returning from the Tackitt Mountain area with the animals when 10 Indians rose from a ravine ambush. When the arrows and bullets ceased, four attackers lay dead, and James had a dangerous arrow point lodged in his skull and Pleasant was suffering from a point that pierced one foot. Both suffered great pain, but survived. Frontier life had tense episodes, but all Pleasant's children lived long lives, mostly into their 80s. His brother, Mann Darius Tackitt, was not so lucky. He was slain by a pillaging Indian band on his ranch in Jack County. Pleasant Tackitt returned to Parker County in the last years of his life and is buried in Goshen Cemetery beside his wife.

Frontier life

According to a 1925 article in ''Frontier Times'' magazine:

Children

* James Gray B. ''circa'' 1838 * Lewis Lycurgus "Like"; born May 4, 1840; Parker County, Texas Sheriff 1882–1883; commanding officer of Parker County Minute Company, Texas State Troops (Rangers), October 1865 * George Wm. Council ''circa'' 1842 * Andrew Chester Ashley born November 15, 1845; January - February 1874 - Texas Rangers, Young County, Texas. * Robert Emmett Elias; born April 10, 1849; justice of the peace, 1901-1922

Hall County, Texas Hall County is a county located in the U.S. state of Texas. As of the 2020 census, the population is 2,825. Its county seat is Memphis. The county was created in 1876 and later organized in 1890. It is named for Warren D. C. Hall, a secreta ...

. * Sarah Caroline ''circa'' 1851 * Perry Anderson ''circa'' 1854

Siblings

* Rev. Moranda Tackitt * Nathaniel Tackitt * Elizabeth Tackitt Davis * Sarah Louisa Tackitt Benefield Bewley * Mann Darius Tackitt * Martin Tackitt * Ferby Tackitt Smith ::The Pleasant Tackitt who was killed as a result of the

Mountain Meadows massacre A mountain is an elevated portion of the Earth's crust, generally with steep sides that show significant exposed bedrock. Although definitions vary, a mountain may differ from a plateau in having a limited summit area, and is usually higher t ...

was the son of Martin Tackitt.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Tackitt, Pleasant 1803 births 1886 deaths People from Henry County, Kentucky Members of the Arkansas House of Representatives Confederate States Army officers People of Texas in the American Civil War American Methodist missionaries Native American history of Texas Members of the Texas Ranger Division 19th-century American Methodist ministers 19th-century members of the Arkansas General Assembly Methodist missionaries in the United States