Allusion has already been made to most of those who constituted our first county officials, and as some have been noticed as fully as the scope of our work justifies, it remains to refer briefly to those who have been but barely mentioned and state such matters with respect to them as will give the reader clearer ideas as to their characters. These are Gideon Mills, assessor and collector of taxes; C.C. Alexander and Wilson Barker, commissioners. Mills was among the first men to settle on Paluxy. He was a man of short and stout appearance, with rather prominent features, and a marked peculiarity of speech, which rendered his nationality of uncertain determination. It is probable that the Irish and Scotch stock predominated in his make-up, but his brogue neither indicated these nor the German origin. He gave to the vowel "e" the broad sound of "a" and did not neglect to drawl out the latter to its broadest limits, and seemed also to try to get into the hissing "s," a like breadth of volume; thus he spoke of his office as being that of the "aes-saes-sor and collaec-tor of taexaes;" and he seemed to not have the power to modify or change his peculiarity of speech. It is related of him that when he once called upon a good widow lady in the course of his official duties and announced that he had come to "aes-saes her taexaes," he had great difficulty in finally convincing her that his business was legitimate. He was a man of social disposition, though of earnestness of purpose, was greatly liked by his neighbors and those who knew him well; was often spoken of as fit representative to the legislature, as he was a man of good general information and by his frontier experiences was well versed in the wants of the people of this section. But after his term of office expired he retired to his farm, where he remained a few years, always highly respected; but he was now growing old and seemed to feel that he was not appreciated properly by the new comers, and sometime during the 70's removed to the west and is probably still living at Big Springs, Texas. It is said that his daughter, Mrs. King, who recently died on Paluxy, was the first white child born on that stream.

C.C. Alexander was a man of intelligence and prominence in this locality. He lived on Squaw creek and about Barnard's mill, and was a surveyor. During the war he had been a County Judge of Johnson. A daughter of his was the wife of James Wray, a prominent man in early times of Squaw creek, and who had several children yet living in this vicinity. Wray was a brave and brawny man, but quiet and peaceably disposed; and it is related that during the turbulent times, two men at enmity with him, conspired to make way with him. One of these, St. Helen, by name, had a serious impediment in his speech, caused from asthma, so he could rarely speak above a whisper. They agreed to get Wray into a house, extinguish the lights and St. Helen was to immediately knock Wray down and his confederate then to fall upon him and cut his throat; but when St. Helen made at his victim, the latter anticipating him, reversed the plan by felling St. Helen, who in the darkness was immediately fallen upon by his fellow conspirator with a knife applied to his throat and would have soon been dispatched, but the exigency of the situation caused the unfortunate St. Helen, for the moment, to gain the use of his vocal cords and loudly announce his identity. Returning to Alexander, he probably did not live through his entire term of office as commissioner. He was not a mild tempered man, and as acts of violence were not uncommon at this period, he was mortally wounded in an affray either at Stockton or Granbury, and returning home died a few days later.

Barker was one of the earlier comers to the Paluxy Valley; was domiciled prior to the war a few miles above Barnard's mill, a locality often subjected to the depradations [sic] of the Indians, and his experiences and losses have been considerable. His intelligence and conservation seemed to designate him to his fellow associates as a fit representative of their interest in affairs of the new county. Coming into office as one of the first commissioners, he was continued in this duty for several terms of service, extending into the period covered by the constitution of 1870, when the several Justices of the Peace constituted the Police Court. Meanwhile he had removed from Paluxy to the east of the Brazos and settled upon George's creek, where, as Justice of the Peace in that settlement remote from lawyers, he became chief counsellor [sic] and dispenser of justice among his neighbors, by whom he remains to this day highly respected. Esquire Barker of late years has been afflicted with blindness, which keeps him confined at home, hence his old friends of other parts of the county do not see much of him now. But occasionally he visits his nephew, Mr. Phil Jackson at Granbury, where he has opportunities to meet sometimes with his old associates.

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