Hiram Rattan, a Delta County pioneer born in 1805, settled in Texas in 1835 on his brother Larkin Rattan's 1,000-acre land grant, which later became the site of the city of Paris. Both Rattan families moved to Delta County in 1839, and Hiram obtained two third-class land grants for producing grain and livestock. Larkin later joined the California Gold Rush before returning to his native Illinois. Four Rattan relatives were massacred by Texas Indians, and although the Civil War and politics divided the family, their devotion to Texas endured. Their descendants included educators and military and political leaders.