The young Republic of Texas wanted to increase the percentage of its non-Spanish population and extended the old impresario land grants in 1841 as a way to encourage European and American settlers. Joseph and Nancy Klepper immigrated to Texas (by 1844?) as did members of their extended family. Joseph, his son Samuel, and brother Daniel Klepper took up their head-rights in 1847 in the Peters Colony, the North Texas impresario land grant ran by the Texas Land and Emigration Company. The Klepper family settled in an area of the Peter's Colony now known as Plano, Collin County, Texas. "Plano developed on the head-rights of Joseph Clepper and colonist Sanford Beck when Kentucky farmer William Forman, after an 1840s scouting trip, moved to Texas with his family." As a married man, Joseph received a class 3 land grant, Fannin Third Class certificate number 1109, for 640 acres (abstract #213) between 01 Jan 1837 and 01 Jan 1840 and built a cabin in 1845 on a site that is about what is now Avenue J and 17th streets. Later, the city of Plano was centered at a point 25 or 30 feet west from a point on the east boundary line of the Joseph Clepper survey (next to the Sanford Beck survey). Plano was mostly a farming community that did not see a real population growth until the 1960s even though the railroad came to the town in 1872.
Lone Star: A History of Texas and the Texans by T.R. Fehrenbach, states on page 284 that the "Peters, operating as the Texas Emigration and Land Company, introduced two thousand families, mostly from Kentucky, but he was soon involved in insurmountable difficulties brought on by public hostility. In 1845 the attorney general filed suit to cancel his contract." The Texas Emigration and Land Company received many complaints from their settlers because the company reserved every other section of land for them selves which left space for squatters and other undesirables to live between the settlers. Some settlers in 1845 of the McKinney and Dallas areas claimed that they were promised comfortable housing and did not like the small one-room cabins. The situation became so tense that the company representative, Henry O. Hedgecoxe, narrowly escaped being taken by one to two hundred armed men on more than one occasion.
The Republic of Texas joined the United States of America in the Summer of 1845 and the Klepper's were once again U. S. citizens. They were soon joined by many more settlers when the Peter's Colony land grants expired in 1848. Lost deeds were replaced by the Texas legislature on 04 Feb 1853 so the Kleppers missing their paperwork would have had it shortly after that point.
There was a David Klepper listed as being a 32 years old Private in Fitzhugh's Company (Captain William Fitzhugh) during the Civil war. This was part of the group that was mustered into federal service on 02 Feb 1848 and then out of service on 01 Feb 1849.
Page 528 of the 1850 Collin County list Jacob Clipper's (Klepper) family as #275. Shown on the census are Jacob as a 45 year old farmer from Tennessee, his wife Nancy as 42 from Tennessee, their son Samuel S. as 21 from Tennessee, Isaac as 13 from Illinois, a ten year old "W. Clipper" (James W.) from Illinois, W.D. (William) as 7 from Illinois, and a two year Amanda from Texas. It also list Dr. Henry Dye of Virginia as a 20 year old physician (came to Plano in 1848). William died in 1851 and his body was buried at the Routh Cemetery (32°59'36"N at 96°42'13"W) south of the Klepper land grant.
The 1850 home of Daniel Klepper was located where the downtown business area of Plano soon developed
There are many Klepper family members and friends that have been Masons. Dr. Henry Dye and Nancy Klepper's brother Captain William Beverly are listed as distinguished members of Plano Lodge 235 (chartered 17 Jun 1859 Collin County, Texas). In May 1883, family members John Bench Klepper, Joe W. Beverly, and J. T. Kendrick were helping with their new building.
The family Joseph Klepper is listed on page 112 (precinct #11) of the 1860 Collin County Census. Samuel and Isaac have moved out by 1860 and James is still living at home but with his wife Fanney (21 of Kentucky) and their one year old daughter Emma J. Klepper of Texas. Dr. Dye has also moved out to raise his own family and practice medicine in the Plano area. twenty-four wagoner J. K. Rouch of Kentucky is now living with the family. He may have some connection to Joseph's uncle Andrew Jackson Klepper since Andrew owned a black smith shop on the east side of South Main Street (1870) and a wagon yard on the south side of Mechanic Street (east of Main Street, 1890) in Plano.
The 1860 census also list Joseph's brother Daniel's family on page 112R (precinct 11). Daniel B. Klepper is listed as a 35 year old farmer from Tennessee. His wife Elizabeth is listed as 23 from Illinois and their sons, William A. age three and John W. age one are both from Texas
The 1870 building committee for the Plano Presbyterian Church was Dr. Henry Dye, J. C. Skills, Joseph K. Klepper, and T. G. Kennedy.
After Joseph Klepper's death in 1884, The McKinney Weekly Enquirer of 12 Jun 1886 listed his wife Nancy Klepper as delinquent on $10.23 in taxes on one acre. It also listed J. L. Klepper (D. Klepper) as delinquent on $10.23 in taxes on five acres. William Beverly is also listed as delinquent on $1.09 in taxes on 14 acres.
There were a few disasters that must have had some impact on the Klepper family. Plano suffered from a tornado in 1880 and lost almost the entire business area in 1881 due to fire and then another fire in Oct 1895. There were also problems with Comanche Indians such as the 1843 massacre of Jeremiah Muncey and his family at their home on the south bank of the Rowlette Creek.
The Weekly Democrat Gazette reported on 29 Jul 1926 reported that the former pupils of the old Spring Creek school held a reunion on 27 July. In attendance at the Plano City auditorium were several family members including: Mrs. Emma Klepper Stults of Irving, Joe W. Beverly of McKinney, T. M. Beverly of Dallas, W. A. Klepper of Denton, and Mrs. Ann Beverly Hughston of Plano. The papers of George Pearis Brown list students of the Spring Creek school in Collin County, including Will, John, George, Joe, Ben, and Emma Klepper but does not list the years that they attended. "Some of these students had not met each other in fourty to fifty years."
Will, John, George, Joe Ben, and Emma Klepper were students of the Spring Creek School.
Ms Ruby Kendrick, daughter of John T. Kendrick and Kate Barnett Kendrick, died in Korea as a Missionary.
• Lucille Mehrkam, History and Genealogy of the Family of Jacob Klepper/Clepper Family and Malcolm McAlpine Family (The Gregath Company, 1996), Library of Congress under card number 86-62751
• The Plano Historical Committee, Plano Texas, The Early Years, Jan1986, ISBN 0-9651841-0-2 (page 230, 1855 Plano map on page 243)
• Collin County in Pioneer Times - Selections from the George Pearis Brown Papers, published by The Collin County Historical Society
• The Handbook of Texas On-Line, http://www.tsha.utexas.edu/handbook/online/articles/view/PP/hdp4.html
• 1851 Annual Message of Governor Peter H. Bell
• Adelle Rogers Clark, Lebanon on the Preston, Texana 976.4556 CLA (Plano Library)
• Mason Historian David Moore’s “A History of Plano Lodges” published 15 April 1995.