*Dr. Richard McKinsey Hokit (1821 GA – 1881 TX) and also spelled Hoket, was a Methodist and/or Presbyterian minister, farmer, and trader, per notation on the 1870 and other census records. In 1850, he married in Comal County (in general proximity to Rev. Henderson S. Lafferty) to Theresa Meyers from Germany, and they appeared on the 1850 census in Springfield, Limestone County. In 1860, this family was found in Parker County, where John Annis Lafferty and other Lafferty kin have a connection.
In 1870, the Hokits were in Precinct 1 of Guadalupe County (Seguin), where L.D. claimed to have two “farm town lots” and where Henderson also lived at one time. And in 1880, several generations of the Hokit family live along Bear Creek in Uvalde County. The patriarch, Richard M. Hokit, died in 1891 and is buried in the Tomerlin Cemetery in Devine, Medina County.
It is interesting to note that Richard was a bugler in Adams Company, Chevallies BN, Texas Mounted Volunteers during the Mexican American War. He enlisted March 6, 1847 and was mustered in at San Antonio.
Richard Hokit lived not far from Robert Kincheloe, a man well-known to Henderson Lafferty. Henderson actually visited in the Kincheloe home and held church services there at one time. The relevance of this information is that this was a fairly close community, in many respects.
Edward J. Hokit (also found as John E) is Richard and Theresa’s son, who is just a few years older than John Henry Lafferty. In 1880, the Hokit families are in Precinct 3, Uvalde County as enumerated on June 11-12 of that year. John Lafferty, age 21, was a boarder/farmer in the household with Edward’s wife and 2 daughters. The land that the Hokit’s occupy was next to the Lafferty Patent on Bear Creek. And the Bear Creek Cemetery is on the Hokit property.
While there are records referring to this little community on Bear Creek as “Exile”, there is a cemetery in Real County (about 15 miles north west of Bear Creek) called Exile Cemetery. Ed and Ann Hoket (no dates) are buried there, as well as Richard Henry Hoket (10 February 1892 – 27 March 1946), Charles H. Hoket (10 April 1865 – 1 January 1941), and Mary Frances Boales Hoket.
*Note: Not necessarily relevant to The Old Rover story, Richard Hokit and Theresa vary in information about their birthplaces. Sometimes it’s Georgia and Germany (respectively) and other times it’s Mississippi and Alabama. Additionally, FindAGrave adds the title “Dr.” to Richard. There is also a reference to him as a Dr. Richard M. Hokit [born Georgia] on the death certificate of a family member, the informant for whom was a daughter.
Uvalde County 1907 Postal Map showing Exile near Edwards County line.
Exile, Texas
The Handbook of Texas states: “Exile, named for its supposed distance from any settled area, was near the junction of Mare Creek and the Dry Frio River at the Uvalde-Real county line.” This does not match up with the location of Exile Cemetery.
The TXGenWeb site for Real county (see this link) notes:
History and Survey by Sid Heard, Reagan Wells, Texas Compiled by Marjorie Keilner
Location: Off US 83 at Dry Frio River; up FM 1051 to Reagan Wells community; 7 or 8 miles above Reagan Wells on the old Hokit Ranch; about 1/2 mile East of Dry Frio road.
History: Exile Cemetery dates to at least Dec. 22, 1892. The cemetery served a community called Exile which also supported a school by that name. The Exile settlement was about 8 miles above the present location of Reagan Wells.