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GENEALOGY COLLECTION
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ALLEN COUNTY PUBLIC LIBRARY 3 1833 02282 4590
DENEALUDT 976.4 P13H V. 4
GENEALOGY COLLECTION
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HISTORY OF TEXAS
FORT WORTH
AND THE
TEXAS NORTHWEST EDITION
EDITED BY CAPT. B. B. PADDOCK
VOLUME IV
THE LEWIS PUBLISHING COMPANY. CHICAGO AND NEW YORK 1922
VOL. IV-1
COPYRIGHT, 1922 THE LEWIS PUBLISHING COMPANY
Southern Box & -
50 ( 4vols)
1157724
I.a.D. Smith
Fort Worth and The Texas Northwest
J. A. DOUGLAS SMITH. A highly successful oil operator and a pioneer in the oil develop- ment of Wichita County. J. A. Douglas Smith, of Burkburnett, has never been a soft-handed, white-collar man, but grew up inured to the work and hardships of the cattle range, and acquired initiative, self-reliance and resource- fulness in a business even more uncertain and requiring fully as much nerve as operating for oil.
He was born in Wise County, Texas, in 1870. At that time Wise County was well out toward the frontier and the fear of Indian incursion had not yet subsided. His parents, B. M. and Margaret (Shinn) Smith, now de- ceased, were early settlers in Texas. His father was a native of Mississippi and served with a regiment from that state throughout the four years of the Confederate war. In Jan- uary, 1870, he brought his family to Texas and settled in the Pleasant Valley section of Wise County, about two miles from old Bridgeport and about twelve miles from the county seat of Decatur. He was a farmer and cattleman and also a school teacher. In 1881 he taught the first school in Pleasant Valley, the schoolhouse being a log structure. He was a genuinely good man and upright citizen, and impressed his sturdy character on that pioneer community.
While B. M. Smith was deeply interested in the education of his own children and those of the community, the conditions of the fron- tier also made it necessary that every member of the family as soon as possible should con- tribute some useful form of labor. Remark- able as it may be J. A. Douglas Smith had some regular duties as herding cattle when only six years of age. He practically grew up in the saddle, and came to know all the famous old time cattle men in northwestern Texas. As cowboy, foreman and in other positions of trust he served such noted organizations as those of Burk Burnett, Dan Waggoner, Jess Carpenter and Sidney Suggs of Oklahoma .. This line of work took him all over the cow
country of northwestern Texas and southern Oklahoma.
Still prosecuting his business as a farmer and stockman, Mr. Smith in the spring of 1906 located at the then- small village of Burkbur- nett, in the northern part of Wichita County. He therefore became one of the pioneers of what has since become a famous oil town. Mr. Smith in his long experience as a stock- man early learned "how to take a chance," and he did not overlook the new opportunities pre- sented by the development of this section of northern Texas as petroleum oil territory. In 1916 he became an operator and driller on his own account, and drilled the first well in what is known as the shallow field of Wichita County, a few miles south of Burkburnett. Ever since then he has been successfully engaged in oil operation.
The climax of oil operations in the Burk- burnett townsite came in the latter part of July, 1918, with the bringing in of the Fowler well. The September following Mr. Smith brought in a well a mile and a quarter south of the Fowler well, opening up a new produc- ing territory. He was not alone engaged in the producing end of the business but entered the refinery industry also by organizing the Texhoma Oil & Refining Company. This is now one of the largest corporations of its kind in the Texas field. Among other oil interests Mr. Smith has two producing wells in his own yard at his home in Burkburnett, and these alone constitute a source of very substantial monthly revenue.
Mr. Smith for many years has been a well known figure in public affairs in Wichita County. He served six consecutive years as a county commissioner, and during that period the magnificent county Court House was built at Wichita Falls. Prior to that he had acted as deputy sheriff of the county for the Burk- burnett precinct. He is a thoroughly active and public spirited citizen in every way. Mr. Smith married Miss Addie Luella Reeves, and they have an interested and devoted family of six sons and two daughters, named James Clif-
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ford. V'era. Leonard F., Dee, Archie, Hattie, Owen and Garland. Fraternally Mr. Smith is a Scottish Rite Mason and a Shriner, and a member of Maskat Temple of Wichita Falls.
WILLIAM V. JONES. In one of Texas' largest and most important industries, the Wichita Motors Company, William V. Jones has realized many of the objects that lead a resourceful and ambitious man into the busi- ness field. He has found his opportunities and has been given increased responsibilities in an industry which he entered only in a minor capacity.
Mr. Jones was born at Weatherford, Texas, and is a son of Evan and Hannah (Williams) Jones. His parents were natives of Wales, and after their marriage they came to America and settled in Texas. They lived at Weather- ford from about 1880, where the late Evan Jones was an architect by profession. One of his sons, Evan Jones, has followed the same profession at Fort Worth. Another son, J. R. Jones, is in the wholesale jewelry business at Dallas.
William V. Jones acquired a substantial education in the grammar and high schools of Weatherford. He has been a resident of Wichita Falls since 1912, in which year he became a clerk in the offices of the Wichita Motors Company. His progress has been steady and his experience has given him a close and detailed knowledge of the entire business. He is now assistant secretary of the corporation and its purchasing agent, and is one of the men directly instrumental in the success of the firm that manufactures and ships to all parts of the world the Wichita Motor Trucks.
Mr. Jones is a member of the Chamber of Commerce and is affiliated with the Presby- terian Church. On December 24, 1920, he married Miss Lorraine Breedlove, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. E. H. Breedlove. Her parents formerly lived at Wichita Falls and are now residents of Bentonville, Arkansas. Mr. and Mrs. Jones were married at the home of the bride, Applewood Farm, near Bentonville.
WILLIAM M. MCGREGOR, president of the First National Bank of Wichita Falls, is one of the ablest financiers of this part of Texas, and has back of him as his board of directors a number of the most representative men of the city and county, who have implicit faith in him and his ability to handle the problems of this vast concern with its resources of over
$11,000,000. Mr. McGregor was born at Tal- ladega, Alabama, July 31, 1868, a son of W. M. and Emma (Cousins) McGregor. The McGregors are of Scotch origin, but have been established in the United States for many generations. W. M. McGregor inherited the solid qualities of the Scotch, and was a suc- cessful business man. In 1885 he brought his family to Wichita Falls from Alabama, and from March 19 of that year President McGregor has been a resident of this city. During the war between the two sections of the country W. M. McGregor espoused the cause of the Confederacy and fought gallantly in its defense, commanding a company. With the close of the war he returned to his old home and just as manfully tackled the dif- ficult problems of the reconstruction period.
President McGregor is a product of Wichita Falls, as 'all of his business experi- ence has been gained here, and for thirty odd years he has been connected with the fortunes of the First National Bank, which he entered as bookkeeper. Three years later he was made assistant cashier, and in 1915, when the bank was consolidated with the old First State Bank & Trust Company, he was elected first vice president. He has always been active in the operations of the bank and for
the past twenty years has been the central figure in every large business transaction handled by his bank. At the annual meeting in January, 1921, Mr. McGregor was elected president to succeed Judge R. E. Huff, who proposed his name. Judge Huff continues with the bank as chairman of the board of directors, and acts in an advisory capacity. The First National Bank has direct connec- tions with seventy banks in Northwest Texas, and its enormous resources enable it to handle transactions of vast magnitude.
Mr. McGregor was married to Miss Kate C. Carter, a daughter of the late Kit Carter. of Palo Pinto County, one of the famous Texas cattlemen of the old days, and presi- dent of the Kit Carter Land & Cattle Com- pany of Texas, and was one of the organ- izers and the first president of the Texas Raiders Association. Mr. and Mrs. McGregor have two children. namely : Carter McGregor, who is cashier of the First National Bank. and Lillian, who is the wife of Lester T. Burne, of Wichita Falls.
A man of great public spirit, Mr. McGregor has given much thought and intelligent serv- ice in behalf of the city, advocating and sup- porting those measures for civic improvement and moral uplift which in his judgment would
Aus Ja. D. Smith
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PRESTON F. JONES AND FAMILY
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work out for the good of the majority. As an effective member of the Wichita Falls Chamber of Commerce he has accomplished much for the encouragement of business, and his recent election met the approval of the leading commercial and industrial bodies. Prominent in Masonry, Mr. McGregor has been raised through all of the degrees in his fraternity and is also a Shriner. Personally he is one of the most popular men in North- west Texas, and he numbers as his friends the leading men of the state.
REX C. OUTLAW is a native of West Texas, one of the popular and progressive business men of that section, and for a dozen years or more has been active in banking, oil produc- tion and other interests. He is cashier of the First National Bank of Ranger.
Mr. Outlaw was born in Stephens County, Texas, in 1889, a son of G. W. and Fannie (Scott) Outlaw. The name of G. W. Outlaw is familiar to a host of old time West Texans. He is a pioneer, now enjoying well earned leisure and retirement in his home at Sweet- water. A native of Mississippi, he came to Texas during the early fifties and was associ- ated with some of the great cattle outfits oper- ating in Palo Pinto, Stephens and other coun- ties of West Texas. He fought Indians, en- dured drought and blizzard, and hardly any of the experiences of the old time western plains- men have been omitted from his career.
Rex. C. Outlaw grew up in a virile atmo- sphere, well calculated to bring out the self- reliant qualities of his character. His youth was spent largely on the home ranch in Stephens County. After finishing school he took up a business career, and most of his activities since youth have been in banking. He became assistant cashier of the First Na- tional Bank of Ranger in 1909, and has given more of his time to this institution than to any other. In 1917 he resigned to become identified with the First National Bank at Strawn. However, in 1918, he returned to the First National of Ranger as cashier. In January, 1919, he again resigned, and for nearly two years was independently active in the oil business in Central West Texas. Then, in November, 1920, he rejoined the First Na- tional Bank at Ranger as cashier.
The First National is the oldest bank of Ranger, and has been a financial bulwark of that community through many years. It is a progressive institution, and since the first oil discoveries at Ranger in the fall of 1917 its resources and facilities have been greatly
enlarged to keep pace with the enormous wealth of the community and its industry and business. The history of the bank starts with the early eighties, when it was under the name of William Bohnig & Company, private bankers. Later, under the same ownership, it became known as the Bank of Ranger, and in 1906 it was reorganized with a national charter as the First National Bank of Ranger.
Mr. Outlaw is widely known in West Texas and is admired for his exceptionally keen financial abilities. He is also public spirited in all matters affecting his home community. He is a Knight Templar and thirty-second degree Mason, and is a member of Moslah Temple of the Mystic Shrine at Fort Worth. He mar- ried Miss Mamie Bowles, of Palo Pinto County. Their two children are Dorothy and Rex C., Jr.
PRESTON F. JONES, of Valley View, has been identified with that section of northern Texas forty years. He had many varied expe- riences before locating here, but since then has applied his efforts consecutively to the devel- opment of the soil, the improvement of a farm, and the cultivation of many successive crops, out of which has come the material fortunes that enable him to live in comparative leisure.
Mr. Jones was born near Golconda, Pope County, Illinois, February 23, 1851. The death of both his parents when he was ten years of age left him an orphan and largely upon his own resources, though he lived with relatives until he was grown. His father, Chellis Jones, was a native of Virginia, and moved to Ken- tucky, where he married America King, a native of Hardin County and daughter of a farmer in that section of Kentucky. Twenty years before the Civil war Chellis Jones moved to Illinois, and he died at the beginning of that war, at the age of fifty-five. His wife died three years earlier. Chellis Jones was a teacher, and the first lessons of Preston F. Jones were learned under his father's direc- tion. Though Chellis Jones was a native of Virginia, he and his family were staunch Union people. Of eight children two sons were Union soldiers, Osborn, now in the Old Soldiers Home at Quincy, Illinois. and Daniel K., who was also in the army, while the other children were: James, who died in 1862; Wil- liam, who died in Marion, Illinois, and left a family ; Elizabeth, wife of Mordecai Johnson. a resident of Tamaroa, Perry County, Illinois : Preston F .; Mrs. Priscilla America Cogdale ; and John M., who ran away from school to join the regular army, fought Indians in the
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northwest four years, being mustered out at Walla Walla, Washington, and remained in that country and was finally in the dry goods business at LaPorte. Oregon.
Preston F. Jones had little opportunity to acquire an education after his father's death. For two years he lived with an uncle, J. D. Martin, in Johnson County, Illinois, and spent another year with an uncle, Benjamin Purcell. in Daviess County, Kentucky. From Kentucky he returned to Illinois, and for a time worked on a farm near Springfield. He learned teleg- raphy with the Chicago and Alton Railway at Ashland and Petersburg, and for three years was in railroad work. His last service in that line was at Chicago. For a time he was em- ployed as a special policeman by the Chicago and Alton, his duty being "to keep beats off trains and prevent the theft of company coal." Mr. Jones first went to Chicago in 1871, while the smouldering ruins of the big fire were still in evidence. He was in Chicago about five years, spending the summers working on a Government dredge boat and in the winter was employed in the steel works. He was a street car conductor in that city when a friend pro- posed that he go to Texas, and he came south largely for the purpose of avoiding the cold winter.
Mr. Jones and his aunt, Mrs. Annie G. Rob- erts, came to Texas in 1876. He was then a young man of twenty-five. They traveled by railroad as far as Sherman, and thence a horse conveyance took them to Denton, to the home of J. D. Martin, the uncle of Mr. Jones pre- viously referred to. Having an opportunity to work on a dredge boat in the line of his pre- vious experience, Mr. Jones went to Galveston and spent the winter there. Not being satis- fied with the climate so far south he returned to Denton County the next spring and did farming on the shares for three years, putting in the crops for half of the returns. His old aunt while in Texas had purchased a tract of land on the Denton-Cooke County line, and Mr. Jones negotiated to purchase this of her heirs for three dollars an acre. To make the first payment he borrowed seventy-five dollars. At one time he paid sixty dollars interest, and when he finished paying the note the interest amounted to $87.50. During the second and third years he was in Denton County he farmed on the shares with A. J. Nance, then married the daughter of his employer and settled on the land he had contracted for on the county line. There was no house in sight from that location, and he built the first home, a box
house of two rooms. This sheltered his fam- ily until he could provide a better residence. Mr. Jones encountered many handicaps at farming. He had to buy teams and imple- ments out of what he made, had to pay interest on borrowed money, and owing to a mistake in his location of land he had to purchase a 160 acres to maintain his farm. and this also was done on borrowed money. His was a case of holding on through many precarious years, barely making a living existence, but buoyed up by the hope and faith inspired by his vision that "Texas would become the grandest state in the Union," until his courage and persistence were rewarded when he sold his land at a hundred dollars an acre, a price to which his many years of labor and in- provement greatly contributed.
Mr. Jones was not only busily identified with his farm and home but also with affairs of community development. He became a trustee of the district school and an official of the Methodist Church, holding his membership successively at Bolivar. Valley View and San- ger. He cast his first presidential vote for General Grant in Chicago, but since coming to Texas has identified himself with the Dem- ocratic party, though merely as a voter.
Mr. Jones married Cynthia J. Nance. Her father, Andrew J. Nance, who died in 1915, at the age of seventy-five, came to Texas from Johnson County, Illinois, prior to the Civil war. He settled in Denton County and be- came one of the large land owners and pros- perous citizens of that section. At the out- break of the war he entered the Confederate army, served until captured, spent some time in a military prison at Chicago and was paroled on condition he would remain away from the South until the end of the war. He agreed to this condition, and was in his old home in Johnson County until the end of hostilities. While at Camp Butler his feet were frozen, and that incapacitated him for further military duty. A. J. Nance married Henrietta Cash, who is still living. Mrs. Jones, the oldest of the Nance children, was born July 16, 1862. The next two were Gordon and Marshall. twins, the former deceased and the latter a farmer on the old Nance homestead. Julia Nance lives near Sanger, Texas, widow of William Burkholder. Minnie is the wife of Joseph Wade and lives on Clear Creek in Den- ton County. Vada is Mrs. Collin Garrison, of Amarillo, Texas. Lizzie is the wife of Clay Garrison and lives at Clovis, New Mexico.
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Besides the material prosperity he saw de- veloped through his efforts Mr. Jones had the satisfaction of rearing a splendid family of children, and in his declining years also has grandchildren about him. His oldest daughter, Jewell, widow of Moody Pryor, lives at Valley View and is the mother of Wade, Opal and Minnie Ora. May Jones was married to Thomas Pryor and has a daughter, Thelma. America Jones is Mrs. T. Jeff Wheeler, of Valley View, and has two children, Freda and Ruby. Jack Jones died in 1919, leaving a son, Warren. Ona, wife of Cleburne Warren, lives at Sanger. Ruby, the youngest child, was for a time a teacher in New Mexico and married a ranchman, Holt Holloway, and lives near Tucumcari in that state.
M. OVERTON McDOWELL is assistant gen- eral manager of the Wichita Mill and Ele- vator Company. This business, established nearly a quarter of a century ago by Mr. Frank Kell, still president of the company, is the largest flour milling concern in Northern Texas, and his success and prosperity are a tribute to the remarkable productiveness of this section of the state as a grain raising dis- trict. Mr. McDowell has achieved success and prominence in this line of business, has been associated with the company at Wichita Falls for over ten years, and from that has extended his interests to banking and also to public affairs.
He was born in Dallas County, Texas, October 6, 1889, a son of J. O. and Brooksie Herd (Marion) McDowell. His father, who was born near the modern city of Birmingham, Alabama, came to Texas in 1867 and located in Dallas County, which was still sparsely set- tled and an isolated district. His home was about ten miles northeast of Dallas, at Farmers Branch. The family lived there until the early nineties, when they removed to Shelby County, in Eastern Texas.
M. Overton McDowell grew up at Timpson, attended the public schools of that town and in 1907, at the age of eighteen, came to Wichita Falls. He has considered that city his home ever since. His association with the Wichita Mill and Elevator Company began in 1909 as a clerk in the office. It was a congenial busi- ness, well fitted to his peculiar talents and abilities, and though he went through college and acquired a liberal education, after begin- ning work for the company his mind and ambition were directed toward definite ends while he was pursuing his studies. He gave
up his work at Wichita Falls to enter South- western University at Georgetown, and received his A.B. degree in that institution in 1913. He then spent another year in the Uni- versity of Texas, at Austin, and was awarded his Master of Arts degree in 1914. In the meantime, and continuously since completing his education, he has made the most thorough study of the milling business, both manufac- turing and sales, and it was on the basis of his proved proficiency that he was made assistant general manager of the company. For many years the Wichita Mill and Elevator Company has been the leading industry of Wichita Falls.
Mr. McDowell also has extensive interests in five banks in Texas and Oklahoma, and owns a controlling interest in two of them.
Some unusual honors and responsibilities in public affairs have devolved upon him. He is a member of the Wichita Falls Board of Edu- cation. In May, 1920, he was appointed alder- man, in full charge of the Department of Public Service. The duties involved in this position in view of the wonderful growth and expansion of Wichita Falls are exceedingly heavy and important. He has under his charge the work of the various branches, such as dairy and food inspection, sanitary inspection, medical inspection, involving a mass of detail work that none but a public spirited citizen with 'high regard for the welfare of his city and community could afford to undertake. It is a public duty, the performance of which is the very highest form of public service.
Mr. McDowell is a member of the Chamber of Commerce, is a Mason, and belongs to the Southern Methodist Church. He married Miss Eunice Ramsey, and they have one daughter, Joecile McDowell.
MARTIN L. ALLDAY. Broad vision, faith in his own judgment and ability to carry out his plans, no matter how vast may be their extent. are some of the characteristics of Martin L. Allday, lawyer, bank director, oil operator and former city official, one of the most striking figures in the life of Wichita Falls and the wonderful oil developments of the Burkbur- nett field. Mr. Allday has had an experience not given to many, and yet he has but passed the milestone that marks his third decade. Had he been an ordinary man it is likely he would have still been occupying a position in the ranks of his chosen position, but he is not, he is one in a thousand, and knows, as do very few, how to make the most of whatever comes within his range of vision, and in advancing
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his own interests he has taken many others with him and increased his community's pros- perity in a marvelous manner. Mr. Allday as one of the organizers and secretary and manager of the Fowler Farm Oil Company, which drilled and brought in the famous Fowler well, the first gusher in the Burk- burnett district and which resulted in the beginning of one of the greatest oil booms in history. Had he not possessed the knowledge of the soil, the faith in the reports of his experts and the willingness to chance his all to back his convictions, present conditions in Wichita County might never have been developed.
Mr. Allday was born many miles away from the scene of his present operations, at Atlanta, Cass County, Texas, January 2, 1890, a son of Judge E. A. and Della C. (Howe) Allday. Judge Allday is one of the oldest and most dis- tinguished lawyers of Eastern Texas, and has had a long and honored career in his profes- sion. He has served as county judge, and of later years has been special judge of the Court of Civil Appeals by appointment of Governor Campbell. He was born in Georgia, but when only a child was brought by his parents to Cass County, Texas, which was principally settled by pioneers from Georgia. Both his father and the father of his wife were pioneer planters of Cass County and men of promi- nence in their day.
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