Leaving Scotland

James Hector was born on June 20, 1788; he was the son of John (1757-1831) and Mary Duncan Hector. He was the oldest of three children. He married Charlotte Teresa Mathieson, daughter of Lieutenant Alexander Mathieson of the Queens Rangers in Old Aberdeen, Scotland. Their marriage produced seven children. Four of the children were born in Scotland; the three youngest in Virginia.

Growing up in Scotland, James and Charlotte Hector managed to achieve a better than average education—for their particular situation in Scotland—and were avid readers of books. Their devotion to the ancient Latin and Greek authors apparently caused them to name their children after characters in the Iliad.

The descendants of James and Charlotte Hector were honest, hardworking and loyal citizens—with few exceptions—and eventually contributed sweat and blood to the settlement of the western territories and their Country's subsequent wars. Descendants of James and Charlotte Hector range throughout the Southwest United States. Two of their children left Virginia and arrived in the Republic of Texas on Christmas Day 1837. James and Charlotte would eventually follow their children from Virginia to Hays County, Texas.

The experiences, trials, tribulations and adventures of the Hectors in America span several generations and have untold numbers of descendants located throughout the United States. During the early 1800's there was rampant strife and hunger throughout Europe. The large landowners and the very rich ruled their realms with iron fists; showed little or no mercy for the poor and downtrodden. The new and unsettled lands across the ocean seemed to provide the only hope for freedom and better living conditions. All such conditions caused great unrest among the citizens of Scotland. Fear, strife, and hunger continued to plague the lower classes. Some of the less fortunate people found that their effort to stay alive was an awesome burden. They wanted to give up as there seemed to be no hope in sight. They began to believe death would be a relief; their oppressive government existed for the landowners and the rich families. The workers struggled to feed their families and avoid being caught up in the dreaded web of indebtedness that meant jail or a bonded slave.

It was said that those sorry conditions in Scotland were not inflicted by disease, famine or some other great natural calamity; but oppressive governmental laws and regulations and almost total disregard for the downtrodden and civil rights. The commoners felt that only the rich and powerful ever gained favor with the government. Their lives depended entirely on the whim of the government and those with money and influence.

Then widespread unemployment added to the burdens of the working class caused in part by onerous taxes that favored only certain segments of the society. The big landholders and those who managed to gain their wealth from inheritance, government contracts or had other high placed connections and influences always support the government corruption and excesses.

These were hard times throughout most of the world, except perhaps in the new and generally unsettled frontiers where governments had not been in control long enough to establish unwanted laws and regulations; especially over taxation.

Starvation was getting to be a daily threat throughout the Scottish realm. Some of the commoners who were educated and informed began to understand that it was no longer possible to support their large families under the stringent labor laws and extreme working conditions. There was no sense of justice as the laws favored the rich: big landowners who lived in their large castles and that were bequeathed from one generation to the next.

The commoners seldom had steady work, and when it could be found was normally from sunup to sundown and most times into the nights for a mere pittance of money for the hard labor demanded by employers and sanctioned by the ruling class who controlled the courts. Anyone who happened to owe money, rent or labor could without a doubt end up in the Scottish Indebtedness Court and more often than not remanded to prison and then for the fortunate ones released as bonded servants to an important landowner or sold to one of the overseas resettlement programs.

It was common knowledge throughout Scotland that bonded servants suffered a lifetime of horrible abuse, eventual death, and finally burial in pauper graves. Not even their families had any rights; even to be informed of the death of their disgraced relatives ensnarled in forced service. Then as late as the early 1820's such conditions continued to amplify and some members of James and Charlotte Hector's families had escaped to other lands to seek better living conditions. In Scotland and much of Europe hope was running out and the James and Charlotte Hector family became more disillusioned everyday as there was no positive sign of real change in sight.

The story chronicled here then, is about the proud and fairly well educated James and Charlotte Hector family who decided that regardless of what might happen elsewhere they had to escape the ever increasingly horrible living conditions. James and Charlotte Hector were well off financially in comparison to the greater population, but still struggled to pay their ever-mounting debts. Their holdings and income were limited and consisted mainly of what the James could earn as a part-time merchant and Charlotte's inheritance from her father's family.

Charlotte's father had served in the military and accumulated some wealth which he bequeathed to Charlotte, but he had limited her use of the funds to only the interest. James tried to avoid using any of Charlotte's inheritance, but occasionally they had to draw on the account to supplement the small amount of money earned by James. Even then it seemed to never be enough to maintain the family and keep them debt free. The ever-looming possibility of becoming bonded servants was considered something they could tolerate or contend with the rest of their lives. In fact, this was their greatest concern and cause for nightmares with visions of hard labor, starvation, chains, and whips. James vowed he would not let his family fall prey to the government's mismanagement and extreme inhuman policies.

The situation seemed to deteriorate by the day; finally they decided their living conditions demanded they find someway to drastically improve their lives. It was demonstrable clear that to change their prospects for a better life they would have to seek new environs. The unending fear of the government and its authoritarian rule made James realize that he had to eliminate the worry of his family becoming bonded servants and wards of the government. Already many of their brethren had escaped to distant lands including America, Canada, and Australia. The relatives in Scotland received letters often from these siblings relating the wonderful experiences and prosperity found in those far away places.

Their discussions about what they considered an impending calamity for their country continued to be the major topic between James and Charlotte. The future looked dark and there was no hope in sight. James argued that they had to escape to another country where they might have a fresh start. Then on a cold fateful night in 1819's mid-winter storm, James arrived home in high spirits and announced he had important news for his family. He called a meeting of his small family and they gathered around the hot stove. He said he had managed to obtain a contraband copy—a document outlawed in England—of the Constitution of the United States, along with its Amendments—declared in force December 15, 1791—and informed his family that for the next several nights they all would study these documents and compare them to Scottish laws. James and Charlotte took turns reading the Articles and discussed each thoroughly before proceeding. These family sessions dedicated solely to understanding the Constitution and its Amendments lasted for the better part of a month.

After all the exposure to the new documents and their declaration of liberty and freedom, Charlotte still had reservations about immigrating to America. James had convinced himself that it was finally time to act. America was his choice, the new and unsettled, and largely unpopulated land where opportunity reportedly was available to everyone. It was not an easy decision and he knew that convincing Charlotte would take effort and time. He dearly wanted his family to undertake the journey to the new land called America with all the dangers and hazards freely talked about in the streets and in the homes.

Some thought the government was behind much of the talk of the severe and unsafe conditions in America. There were many accounts and stories of women being captured, raped, and taken as slaves by the reportedly wild Indians. It was also said that all male captives were scalped or killed on sight. There did not seem to be verified proof that these horrendous things ever happened, at least in any great numbers, but the stories persisted and had great impact on the general population, and deterred the less adventurous souls from leaving their miserable hovels and sad situations.

Charlotte continued to study the American documents every chance she had and often-asked James penetrating questions. Her favorite ploy for delay seemed to concern the fact that approval of the United States Constitution and its Amendments had taken more than four years. She kept pointing to all the arguments posed by the various States in opposing ratification of the Constitution. She pointed out that the final votes in Massachusetts and South Carolina were very close and carried by only a few votes in each States. She demanded of James, "Tell me why you keep tugging at me? It took the old men in America several years to make up their minds. You also know that I am trying to see all sides of this issue. I hate the thought of leaving my family and perhaps never seeing them again. I know you have such thoughts as well, but you can only see the distant shorelines. For the love of our children loosen the reins just a wee bit."

James lost his patience one evening and demanded, "Charlotte, tell me where in all the Scottish laws can you find anything resembling the hope and promise embodied in the Preamble to the Constitution of the United States. You need not read past those great words to understand our lives will be greatly enriched once we reach those shores. Listen to this, 'We, the people of the United States, in order to form a more perfect Union, establish justice, insure domestic tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general welfare, and secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.' Now what part of that beautiful statement do you not understand? We can again go over the Constitution and the Amendments should you still have doubts about our future in America."

Charlotte did not immediately reply. After several minutes, which to James felt like hours, she nodded and said, "Thank you, James. I know your heart is set on improving our lives and finding greater opportunities for our children. I shall not be a dissenter."

Now, finally with Charlotte's support, James said a silent prayer and thanked the Lord for her decision to leave their homeland. He was elated with his wife's support. He knew Charlotte was a strong woman with a mind of her own and once she decided an issue, it would be supported wholeheartedly no matter the results. Then the planning started, the family decided to take their chances in the new land commonly known throughout Scotland as the wild heathen land sparsely populated with criminals and savages. None of these rumors deterred James and Charlotte. Such rumbling and name-calling did not cause them any alarm or hesitation. They as most informed people of their time were able to receive information from what they considered dependable sources. In fact, James and Charlotte dismissed all the derogatory rumors about America as feeble misinformation planted by the government to discourage flight of the citizens.

The decision to uproot their family, cross the great ocean and start a new life in America was not made hasty or because of one thing or event. They were finally decided by the information they had garnered from the Constitution of the United States and its Amendments. James and Charlotte had been debating their future and casting about for someway to improve their opportunities for a better life. They kept telling each other, their greatest worry centered on the limited opportunities for their children in Scotland. These conversations usually took place at night after they retired to their bedroom. James had known for sometime that he had acquired an incurable itch that kept crying out for him to take some action to find a way to give his family greater opportunities to better their lives.

His problem had been convincing Charlotte to accept the drastic changes he was proposing. Now at last she had not only consented but also enthusiastically embraced his idea of going to America. Then, they jointly decided that regardless whether they survived in the new land, death in the wilderness would be preferable to the misery experienced in their current situation with never an expectation of improvement of their lot. Yes, they would go. It was then decided at a family gathering that the father, James Hector, would be the first to depart for America and that the other family members would follow as soon as possible. James had heard talk of being able to work on the ship and perhaps earn some cash which would help him get established in America and might permit him to save the money he was carrying for whatever was required to settle in America.

He was not worried too much about what would happen when he finally arrived in America. He felt sure his education and knowledge equipped him very well to obtain employment and then succeed in the new land. After many hours and days of searching through the ports and talking to various ships' officers, he signed on to work as a crewmember in the ship's galley for his passage and food aboard the passenger ship Euphrates. During the long and arduous crossing of the Atlantic Ocean, James managed to eat as well as anyone aboard except perhaps the ships' officers.

One of the most disagreeable aspects of his experience in crossing the ocean was that he and the crew were forced to witness almost daily floggings of those caught stealing or deemed guilty of some other infraction of the rules. James could hardly restrain himself from attempting to stop the punishment, but well knew that he would receive whatever was being meted out twice over and might not live to see his family again. Anyway, he told himself that such ill-advised action on his part would not help the poor soul being whipped. He would end up just another skinned crewmember if he lived. He resolved to make sure he kept to himself and live to see his family settled in America. His good intentions and efforts to avoid trouble almost caused him to take a turn at the bloody whipping-post.

One of the ship's officers had taken an unwanted interest in James and tried to obtain what the officer called "a little fun." James not only rebuffed his advances but told him what kind of person he was and that his mother would cut her own throat if she knew what an ill-begotten mistake she had wrought on the world. The officer was offended and allowed that James would pay for his refusal at the whipping-post.

All this took place soon before the ship was to arrive in port. Therefore, two days before arrival in America, James Hector was brought before the ship's Captain and accused of insubordination, which he did not deny as he felt his actions were justified. The Captain would hear no evidence or permit James to make a statement. An Officer's word was law on his Ship. The Captain ordered ten lashes (a relatively light sentence) to be carried out at high noon the following day.

The Captain always delayed the whippings for several hours, or in some cases days, to increase what he considered the 'punishment of anticipation'. In addition, he liked to have more than one whipping administered within minutes of the last one so that he could watch the reaction of those awaiting their turn at the post. He enjoyed watching those waiting their turn cringe and flinch every time the whip cut the flesh and skin of the poor unfortunate at the post. The Captain was both a sadist and a masochist he enjoyed being physically abused or watching others being mistreated. His dominating enjoyment in life was pain mostly to others, human if possible, if not, any animal would do. The sight of blood excited him.

However, courageous galley workers who managed to keep him hidden under some canvas in an empty barrel for the last day of the voyage saved James from the ordered flogging. During this time, the ship had encountered some real severe weather on approaching the coast, resulting in the captain and other officers being fully occupied in managing the ship and forgot about James Hectors' ordered punishment. James knew that maritime customs and laws precluded the Captain from carrying out his ordered flogging once the ship entered the New York harbor waters. He intended to make sure that he was not discovered before the ship arrived in the harbor. He successfully avoid discovery and did not show himself until he knew that he was in port.

He was permitted to go ashore and therefore the punishment was not administered.