Ingram isn’t quite as old as some historians would have you believe

How one mistake can shape a legacy

Published in the Kerrville Daily Times on February 9, 2025

Ingram Street Scene, taken sometime between 1885-1900

One of the things that drives historians and genealogists crazy is when a mistake is made in a document, and the error becomes gospel or part of the official narrative.

My great uncle Ed is listed in several genealogical publications and websites as having the middle name of “Tishomingo.” Unfortunately, the author of a book, considered to be the ultimate source of information on that family line, mixed up Ed’s name with the place where he was living at the time — Tishomingo, Oklahoma. The book was published in 1941, and for the past 83 years, that mistake has been repeated as fact in subsequent publications and online resources. I roll my eyes every time I come across that error.

Such is the case with John Charles Wesley (J.C.W.) Ingram, the founder of Ingram, Texas. The mistakes are more than just a mixed-up middle name, most of what is written locally about his arrival in Texas is wrong.

John Charles Wesley Ingram
The Founder of Ingram, Texas

But first, the facts!  

I would like to thank Gary Roberts of Austin for his help with this article. He is the great-grandson of J.C.W. Ingram and has extensively researched Mr. Ingram’s life “the old-fashioned way” — which involves traveling to multiple states, visiting courthouses, digging into old documents, etc.). The hours of work he put into researching his family history is impressive and mind boggling.

I apologize in advance for all the dates I am about to throw at you. They are important to understand the point of my column, and I’ll do my best not to confuse you. I wish I could write more about the life of Mr. Ingram, he led an extremely interesting life, but the focus of this article is the errors in the local narrative.

John Charles Wesley Ingram was born in Gallatin County, Illinois, in April of 1829. He grew up on the family farm and left Illinois in 1844. After his departure from Illinois, he is reported to have lived in Missouri, Iowa and Oregon. It seems Mr. Ingram was a rolling stone as a young man.

After moving from state to state, he arrived in Lake County, California, in 1851. This is where Mr. Ingram finally puts down roots. In California, his profession was mostly farming and stock raising. In 1858-59, he held the office of Constable and married his first wife, Mandana Muzik, in August of 1859.

In the fall of 1873, Ingram was elected the first Sheriff of Lake County (his portrait still hangs in the Lake County Courthouse) and served in that position for four years.

Between 1879 and 1881, J.C.W. Ingram’s life is well documented in California. He is recorded as being elected as an officer of the Lakeport Grange Hall No. 76, and is recorded as the head of a large household in Scotts Valley Precinct and Big Valley Township during the 1880 census.

Numerous official records and publications dealing with the history of Napa and Lake County, California, mention J.C.W. Ingram, clearly placing him in California between 1879 and 1881. Of particular interest is “A Romantic History of Scotts Valley,” by Alice W. Deacon. On page 30, Deacon writes that in 1881, J.C.W. Ingram “… sold all the rest of his land to John F. Burger and left right away for Texas. The night before the Ingram family left the Valley, his daughter Mary was married to Fred Burger, son of John F. Burger, and the young couple built themselves a home nearby.”

This is where Kerr County got the narrative wrong. The historical marker on the Old Ingram Loop states that John Charles Wesley Ingram bought his property in Kerr County from the Morriss family in 1879 and that he was a Church of Christ Minister.

Historical Marker on Old Ingram Loop

The arrival of JCW Ingram is also listed as 1879 in Bob Bennet’s Book, “Kerr County – 1856-1956,” published in 1956. This book is considered by many local historians to be the most accurate source for Kerr County history.

As a result of these errors, the incorrect 1879 date is listed in many places, both online and in hard copy as the founding date for Ingram, Texas.

There is no way that JCW Ingram purchased land in Texas in 1879. The evidence is clear that he was living a busy life in California at that time.

According to the extensive research Gary Roberts has done on his great-grandfather, Mr. Ingram had many titles during his lifetime, including Presbyterian minister, grocer, merchant, constable, sheriff, Mason, postmaster and pharmacist. He was a true renaissance man — but he was never a Church of Christ minister.

So when was the town of Ingram actually founded?

Kerr County deed records show that J.C.W. Ingram was a property owner in Kerr County as early as February of 1882. This property was in the town of Kerrville and not in the western part of the county, where the town of Ingram is located.

In July of 1883, John Charles Wesley Ingram purchased 6 acres for the price of $60 from the Morriss family. The property was at the confluence of Johnson and Indian Creek on the North Bank of the Guadalupe. This is where he opened a store and post office. On Oct. 31, 1883, JCW Ingram became the postmaster of Ingram and gave the town its name.

“The Kerr County Album,” published in 1986 by the Kerr County Historical Commission, features an article written about J.C.W. Ingram by one of his descendants, Alice Davies. The dates about the founding of Ingram and his religious denomination are correct in the book, so I doubt the bad information came from his family. 

Bob Bennett’s book is the earliest publication I can find with the wrong date, and I don’t know where he went for his source material.

Unfortunately, the incorrect date, making Ingram four years older than it really is, has become part of the official record. It’s the kind of mistake that has “become viral” and is almost impossible to walk back.

So, take the cautionary tale of John Charles Wesley Ingram as a warning to never trust your first source of information — double check and dig deeper!