Maggie Vertner

    In the summer of 1886, Comanche County expelled its black citizens following the murder of Sallie Stephens by one of the family’s black workers near Downing.  When the ultimatum came down that all blacks were to leave the county, one young girl was residing with the W.C. Streety family in De Leon.  The Streetys apparently had a beloved servant whose name has been lost who had died at a relatively young age leaving a young daughter Maggie who continued to live with the Streetys.  Mr. Streety refused to allow Maggie to be taken from them and she continued to live with them until she became an adult.  She then apparently moved to Waco.

    She mailed the Streetys a post card around 1910 indicating that she was fine.  She signed the card, however her last name was not clearly written and appears to be either Vertner or Ventner.  Her first name was Maggie, which was also the name of Mrs. Streety.

     Maggie, a porter at the train station and his nephew Pate Cooper are believed to be the only blacks living in De Leon at the time of the expulsion.  Cooper and his uncle moved to Walnut Springs.

   

Left: W.C. Streety.


Center: Maggie Ventner as a baby.


Right: Maggie Anderson Streety.

Maggie Ventner or Vertner around 1910.

Maggie’s mother probably with W.C. Streety’s son James Lloyd Streety who was born in 1884.