June 7, 2006

Ben Moss and his wife, Nannie were residents of Onega during the period of 1883. He was a public notary. His name was recorded as the notary on many survey documents during his lifetime in Aubrey. Ben Moss was the local Post Master beginning in 1883.

S. S. Slaton was also a surveyor on many of the early documents. He served in the Civil War in Virginia with George W. Goin and John Williams (the three of them were brother-in-laws). W.J. Slaton was Sanford and Nancy Slaton’s son. He served in the area post office in the late 1880's. The Civil War letters written by John Williams were first mailed to Eliza Woods Williams’ daughter Sophia Williams who lived in Arlington.

Local settlers could also pick up mail in Little Elm which is only ten miles away. Most of the early settlers of Cherokee descent and were illegally living in this area of Texas. They slipped around to live and work as they established their homes and raised their families in the area.

The Indians were declared illegal even though the Comanches and Apache roamed the area until they were ordered to leave Texas too.

One hundred and fifty years ago, the above-mentioned Cherokees who fought in the Civil War slipped around the area working and establishing their residency in the area.

W. J. Slaton was an Indian who hid his identity as a Cherokee even though his father fought in the Civil War.

The wooden logs were trimmed and patiently whittled from trees in the area to build a post office for the postal system that was established in 1883. The building was one of the first in the town to have a wooden floor.

The local Civil War veterans from the Cherokee nation were learning to read, write and do math. The Cherokees were finding that they fit in the local area and were rapidly changing their heritage to Black Dutch so they could live a normal life as others were allowed in that day.

Rev. John B. Denton, a local Methodist preacher, was also an Indian killer. He had moved to the area 40 years earlier when the County was about to be formed and named after Rev. Denton. Denton County was established in 1847.

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