USA > Texas > A Twentieth century history of southwest Texas, Volume I > Part 45
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Parchal
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in whom the graces of learning and culture united in making an inter- esting and entertaining gentleman. The poor and needy found in him a helpful friend and the oppressed a protector. He passed away in 1869, survived by his wife until the autumn of 1892, when she closed her eyes in death in San Antonio. They had three children: Florence, who died in San Antonio in 1866; Emmett, who was born in 1855 and resides in this city : and Thomas Moore.
Brought to Texas when a young lad, Thomas Moore Paschal sup- plemented his early educational privileges by study in Central College in Danville, Kentucky, to which he was sent in 1861, there remaining until 1866, when he was graduated and returned home. He took up the study of law under the direction of his father and in July, 1867, passing the required examination, was admitted to the bar. In the early years of his professional career he served for two years in the west Texas district as state commissioner, was also justice of the peace and in 1869 filled the office of city attorney in San Antonio. He won, too, a large clientage, his law business constantly increasing in volume and importance as he demonstrated his ability to handle intricate problems of jurisprudence. In 1870 he was chosen for the office of judge of the criminal district court of San Antonio, but resigned in 1871 to accept the position of attorney for the twenty-fourth district of Texas, which caused his removal to Castroville. At the succeeding election in a triangular race he was de- feated for the same position.
Retiring from the bench, Judge Paschal took up his abode in Brack- ett. Texas, where he continued as an able member of the bar until 1875. when he was again elected judge of his district and once more removed to Castroville, where he has a beautiful residence overlooking the Medina river. His service on the district bench by reason of re-election was con- tinued for more than twenty consecutive years. His decisions form a part of the legal records of the state. His mind is analytical, logical and inductive. With a thorough and comprehensive knowledge of the funda- mental principles of law, he combines a familiarity with statutory law and a sober, clear judgment which makes him not only a formidable adversary in legal combat but also gave him the distinction of having few of his decisions revised or reversed. He won justly merited dis- tinction by his celebrated decision in the Sauer case in refusing to natural- ize one Sauer on account of his extreme socialistic and other unconstitu- tional views. This decision attracted widespread attention from the national press. Indeed it was an epoch-making departure in the judicial interpretation of our hitherto loose and dangerouslv administered natural- ization laws and the wide and favorable comment it received led to amendments of such laws in Congress. This decision and the wise fore- thought displayed upon the great questions named, leading to results which have become a matter of national history, is indeed an honor to Texas and the south. In 1879 he passed judgment upon a prisoner by sentencing him to the penitentiary at Eagle Pass for horse stealing. The desperado then attempted to destroy Judge Paschal and other officers of the court by putting strychnine in their drinking water. He failed, however, in the attempt. but poisoned himself so that he died in a few hours.
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Other political honors aside from the judgeship have been conferred upon Mr. Paschal. In 1877 he was appointed under the treaty with Mexico extradition agent of the United States, but resigned in 1879. In 1892 he was chosen by popular suffrage to represent his district in the fifty-third Congress and while a member of the house he did an important work in behalf of forestry reservation, improved naturalization laws and irrigation. A brief glance at the forestry conditions and at immigration in the national laws of the country caused him to make a statement in Congress in respect to the latter, concerning the imminent dangers to America by reason of laxity in these directions. He presented the mat- ter so forcibly to the legislators that they adopted resolutions framed by him which resulted in vigorous action by the national government. both in setting apart immense tract of forestry in southeastern New Mexico along the Sacramento mountains, and in the amendment of our immigration and naturalization and irrigation laws, which was due in large measure to his persistent advocacy while a member of those com- mittees. When he became a member of those committees such a posi- tion in Congress was absolutely unsought by the average member, but against the advice of his friends in the house and of Speaker Crisp him- self, Judge Paschal sought service on those committees with the result that he has performed a service for the country that entitles him to national gratitude. In his speech on income tax he warned and urged capital to beware of dangers its systems and methods would evoke, and in later years his warnings and predictions have been verified. Since his retirement from public life Judge Paschal has been actively engaged in the private practice of law in San Antonio with a clientage of most important character. Although an earnest advocate of Democracy he is without further political aspirations, regarding the practice of law as abundantly worthy of his best efforts.
On the 13th of April, 1871, Judge Paschal was married in San An- tonio to Miss Florida A. Mays, a daughter of William Douglas Mays. of Gallatin, Tennessee, who died in San Antonio in 1873 at the age of seventy-three years. Her mother was Mary A. Cotton, who was born in North Carolina in 1820. To Judge and Mrs. Paschal were born five chil- dren : Mary Natalie, Lenore, Harold Addison, Thomas Elmore and F. Pauline. The eldest daughter is the wife of Captain Celwyn E. Hampton, of the Twenty-first United States Infantry now stationed in the Phil- ippines, and they have three children: Dorothy, Helen and Carmen. Perhaps no better estimate of his character can be given than in the words of one who has known Judge Paschal long and well and who said. "His career as a judge has made him a reputation for fairness, impar- tiality and ability. He studies every case-does not, on the bench, know friend from foe-and has never soiled the judicial ermine by an un- worthy act. He inherits the ability of his father. His future looks bright. His manner is engaging and courteous to the high and the low. At home he is indulgent and happy as husband, parent and friend." Judge Paschal's career has been an honor to the state that has honored him, and while in public life he has won admiration through his ability and fidelity in the city and state of his residence, where he is best known,
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he has that warm personal regard which arises from kindly companion- ship, geniality and deference for the opinions of others.
HON. EDWIN HOLLAND TERRELL, capitalist and statesman, ex-min- ister to Belgium and for many years a potent factor in Republican circles in Texas, makes his home in San Antonio. He was born at Brookville, Indiana, November 21, 1848. His father, the Rev. Williamson Terrell, D. D., was one of the most popular and widely known ministers in the Methodist church in Indiana a number of years ago. The great-grand- father, Henry Terrell. removed from Virginia to Kentucky in 1787 and was prominently identified with the early history of the latter state. His son. Captain John Terrell, grandfather of Hon. Edwin H. Terrell, was a gallant and conspicuous officer in the campaigns against the Indians shortly after the Revolutionary war and was present in the engagement known as Harmer's defeat in 1790 near the present site of Fort Wayne. Indiana. He also participated in Wayne's victory over the Miamis at Maumee Rapids, near the present site of Toledo, Ohio, on the 20th of August. 1794. He married a sister of Chilton Allan, one of Kentucky's famous lawyers, who represented the Ashland district in Congress for many years after Henry Clay had been promoted to the senate.
Edwin Holland Terrell was educated at DePauw University, In- diana, from which he was graduated in 1871, winning the first or vale- dictorian honors in a class of thirty-three members. He afterward pur- sued his legal studies in Harvard University, where he won the degree of Bachelor of Laws in 1873. He subsequently spent a year in travel and studied in Europe, devoting his time especially to the principles of in- ternational law and to modern languages. Returning to the United States in 1874, he entered upon the practice of his chosen profession in Indianapolis, Indiana, becoming a member of the firm of Barbour. Jacobs & Terrell, with which he was connected for a number of vears.
In 1877. Mr. Terrell came to San Antonio, Texas, which place he has since made his home. He has been prominently identified with the growth, prosperity and general business life of the city, has also been actively connected with many of the progressive public movements and is a wealthy and influential resident here.
Since his removal to the South Mr. Terrell has also taken a promi- nent part in the councils of the Republican party of Texas and was a delegate to the Republican national convention at Chicago in 1880, and again in 1888 and 1904. From 1894 until 1900 he was a member of the Republican state executive committee of Teaxs and has done much to mold the policy of the party in this section of the south. He displays thorough understanding of the conditions which exist in regard to party organization and his counsel has proved a valued element in formulat- ing plans and methods of procedure for the benefit of Republicanism here. In 1889 Mr. Terrell was appointed by Benjamin Harrison, then president of the United States, as minister to Belgium and following his arrival in Brussels in Mav of that year much important diplomatic work was submitted to his attention. During his four years' diplomatic experi- ence he took part in several noted conferences, particularly the interna- tional monetary conference in 1892. In 1891 he obtained the removal of the discriminating quarantine regulations which had formerly been
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applied to live stock shipped from this country to Belgium. He was plenipotentiary on the part of the United States to the international con- ference on the slave trade, which was in session at Brussels from No- vember, 1889, to July, 1890, and which drew up the slave trade treaty. In July of the latter year Mr. Terrell was made plenipotentiary in the international conference at Brussels, which drafted the treaty for the publication of the customs tariffs of most of the countries of the world. In 1891, as plenipotentiary under special commission, he negotiated with King Leopold a treaty of "amity, commerce and navigation" between the United States and the Congo state, which was subsequently ratified by the president and senate. On the Ist of October, 1893, following his i eturn to the United States and his retirement to private life, Mr. Terrell received from King Leopold II the decoration of "Grand Officer of the Order of Leopold." This but represents a portion of the important serv- ice which Mr. Terrell has rendered to his country, his course reflecting credit upon his nation.
In 1874 Mr. Terrell was married to Miss Mary Maverick, a daughter of the late Samuel A. Maverick, one of the founders of the Republic of Texas and prominent in the history of San Antonio and the western part of the state. Mrs. Terrell died in 1891 at the American legation in Brussels, leaving a family of six children. In 1895, Mr. Terrell was married to Miss Lois Lasater, a daughter of the late Albert Lasater. The family home is an elegant residence, containing one of the most carefully selected libraries in Texas, with the contents of which Mr. Ter- rell is quite familiar, for he is a man of broad reading and scholarly attainments, and possesses a practical knowledge of the French language. Since January, 1902, he has been the president of the board of trustees. of the Carnegie Library of San Antonio. In 1892, DePauw University of Indiana conferred upon him the honorary degree of Doctor of Laws. He is a member of the Beta Theta Pi college fraternity, and president of its San Antonio alumni chapter. He is also a thirty-second degree Mason and a Knight Templar, a member of the Knights of Pythias and a Companion of the Military Order of the Loyal Legion. He is a man remarkable in the breadth of his culture, in his indomitable perseverance and strong individuality. He has carved his name deeply on the records of political and professional history of the state and nation.
CAPTAIN THOMAS D. COBBS, of San Antonio, a lawyer of marked ability and a member of the legislature of unimpeachable political integ- rity, has left and is leaving the impress of his individuality upon the judi- cial and legislative history of the commonwealth. He was born in Choc- taw county, Alabama, a son of Chancellor Thomas and Lucy (Thom) Cobbs. He is descended from distinguished ancestry in both the paternal and maternal lines. His paternal grandfather, Thomas Cobbs, was mayor of Raleigh, North Carolina, and at a still more remote date representa- tives of the name were soldiers of the Revolutionary war, while still earlier generations of the family were prominent in the pioneer history of Carolina and Georgia. Thomas Cobbs, the grandfather, married a Miss Boone.
Their son, Chancellor Thomas Cobbs, was one of the famous lawyers of Alabama, serving with distinction on the bench for twenty-five years,
J. D. Cobbs
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during the greater part of which time he was chancellor of the court of chancery. Glowing tributes were expressed at the time of his death, which occurred in Birmingham 'in March, 1898, both by the public press and by individuals. It was a widely acknowledged fact that few men had served the state more efficiently and impartially or reflected greater honor upon the judiciary than he, his able decisions attracting widespread attention not only in Alabama but outside the state as well. Probably the most notable decision which he ever rendered was in the case of the Memphis & Charleston Railroad vs. the East Tennessee, Virginia and Georgia Railroad, which was an epoch-making decision, changing the entire status of railroad investments and having a marked effect upon railroad interests everywhere. Chancellor Cobbs was a man of unblem- ished life, of high and lofty character and one of the most learned and
able men on the bench of the south. Faultless in conduct, fearless in action and stainless in reputation, the lives of few public men of Ala- bama extended over a longer period and none was characterized by greater integrity of purpose, higher ideals or more practical service. Chancellor Cobbs wedded Lucy Thom, also of a well known family originating in Virginia. Her mother bore the maiden name of Lucy Hansborough and in this way Captain Cobbs is related to the family of P. Hansborough Bell, who was governor of Texas from 1849 until 1853. Major Hansborough of Revolutionary fame, is a direct, ancestor of this branch of the family. The Thom family in America was founded by Alexander Thom, a native of Scotland of the clan Cameron in Ivern- shire. He settled in Virginia and died in Westmoreland county, that state, in 1788. In Britain he had been an officer of rank in the Royal army and served under the ill starred banner of Prince Charles Edward Stuart on the fatal field of Culloden in March, 1746. This family is de- scended in direct line from the royalty, and in America, during the period of the Revolution, some of them were still loyal to the crown. Mrs. Lucy (Thom) Cobbs still resides at her home in Birmingham, Ala- bama, where her son, J. B. Cobbs, is a prominent business man and presi- dlent of the Alabama National Bank.
Captain Thomas D. Cobbs was reared in Sumter county in south- western Alabama, his father having maintained his law office at Living- ston, the county seat, for a number of years. He received his prepara- tory education at Lindisfarne Academy, an Episcopal school at Marion, Alabama, and after studying law in his father's office was admitted to the bar in Livingston in 1875. Previous to this time, however, he had filled a position of civil engineer as a youth in the building of the Ala- bama & Chattanooga Railroad. In his early days he was also circuit court solicitor in Choctaw county, Alabama, and held other positions in connection with the courts of that section of the state.
Captain Cobbs arrived in Texas in 1878 and located at Navasota in Grimes county, where he became a law partner of Major Hannibal Boone, who was attorney general of the state during the administration of Governor Coke. He practiced law there until he came to San Antonio in April, 1893, his removal to this city being made partially as a matter of convenience in carrying out his duties as attorney for the land depart- ment, which department consists of the lands originally granted by the
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state to the Texas & New Orleans, the Galveston, Houston & San An- tonio, the Galveston, West Texas and Pacific, the Houston and Texas Central and the Waco and Northwestern railroad companies. This has continued to form a prominent part of Captain Cobbs' practice, although he is variously engaged in large general practice in all the courts. He was admitted to practice in the United States supreme court in October, 1893, and was for some time a member of the legal firm of Denman, Franklin, Cobbs & McGown of this city.
He was also for some time prominently connected with the state militia, whereby he won his rank of captain. In 1902 he was elected to represent Bexar county in the twenty-eighth legislature and was re- clected in 1904 for the twenty-ninth session, and again in November, 1906, for the thirtieth session. In these sessions he has been a member of judiciary committee No. I and several other important committees. The office of representative came to Captain Cobbs absolutely unsought, nor did he make a campaign canvass nor ask for a single vote. It was one of the results of the movement which has been gaining strength within the last two or three years to send only men of the highest ability and character to the legislature. The press speaks of Captain Cobbs as one of the leaders in the general assembly. Although in a hopeless minority, he opposed what were known as the tax bills to increase taxes on corporations, his opposition being based upon the unconstitutionality of these bills. At heart he is a genuine friend of the working classes and yet he believes in no undue discrimination for either class, believing that the laws should be fair and impartial for all. Although quiet and com- posed in manner he is unfaltering in his advocacy of what he believes to be right, standing firm in support of his honest convictions and a judicial trend of mind makes him always fair and just. His merit has made him one of the able members of the house and his official career reflects credit upon the state.
Captain Cobbs was married at Navasota to Miss Carrie Quinney, a native of Texas and a daughter of Dr. Quinney, a prominent physician of Grimes county. Her mother was a daughter of well known General Barnes, also of Grimes county. Captain and Mrs. Cobbs have one son, Thomas D. Cobbs, Jr. He is a graduate in civil engineering of the agri- cultural and mechanical college and is now in his third year a student in the law department of the state university at Austin. As a citizen no man in San Antonio stands higher than Captain Cobbs. As a lawyer he ranks among the best in the state. He is an impressive and logical rea- soner, well grounded in the principles of law, quick to grasp the points in a case and adroit in presenting them. He is moreover a man of broad views in all questions relating to the public welfare and has proved him- self in all the relations of life an earnest, honest, upright man and a citizen of whom any community might justly be proud.
FRANCIS MARION HICKS was born at Newnan, Coweta County, . Georgia, on November 16, 1826, and was the fourth son of William A. and Margaret Moore Hicks. His father was born near McMinnville, Tennessee, and his mother at Raleigh, North Carolina, at which latter place they were married. The paternal grandfather of Mr .. Hicks was John Hicks, who was born in Virginia of English parentage. He was
Francis M. Hicks
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a soldier in the war of the Revolution and later moved to Tennessee, being among the first settlers of that state.
William A. Hicks had several brothers, two of whom were in the war of 1812, being members of the Tennessee Riflemen, under General Andrew Jackson, and one of them, Stephen D. Hicks, was with Jackson at the battle of New Orleans.
William A. Hicks left Tennessee when quite a young man, and lo- cated in Georgia, first at the town of Villa Rica, afterwards known as Hickstown, but later moved to Newnan where he engaged in trading and planting. When the County of Coweta was organized he became its first County Clerk. He afterwards moved to Paulding, Mississippi, then to Arkansas, and finally to Texas, where he located in 1849. He settled in the town of Rusk, Cherokee County, and was a prominent planter and political leader in eastern Texas, being an Old Line Whig. In 1853 he represented his district in the Texas Legislature and in that body was noted for his advocacy of a liberal policy toward the educa- tional interests of the state and for his earnest efforts to develop the state's resources by inducing foreign capital to invest in Texas. He died and was buried at Rusk about the year 1869. His wife, Margaret Moore Hicks, was a woman of excellent attainments and staunch char- acter. She died at Hickstown, Georgia, when the subject of this sketch was a mere child.
Francis Marion Hicks received only a primary education, having been schooled at Paulding, Jasper County, Mississippi, where his father then lived, and when only 15 years of age began his business career as a clerk in a store at that place. In a few years he began business for himself and soon became one of the leading merchants of his town. In 1852, attracted by the splendid opportunities offered in the west, he moved to Texas and settled permanently in the town of Rusk, after having engaged in business a short while in Corsicana. His business prospered and in 1861 when the Civil War began he was a man of con- siderable wealth. As soon as hostilities began he entered the Confeder- ate Army, being a member of Company A of the 2nd Texas Cavalry, and went with this company to Galveston, where he served in the ranks for about a year. On account of his business ability he was detailed to act as Commissary Agent of the Government and later was appointed by General Kirby Smith as financial agent of the iron works at Rusk and served in that capacity until the close of the war.
When peace was declared, Mr. Hicks found himself practically bereft of all his fortune, but with characteristic energy, aided by his ability and business reputation, he entered commercial life again as a merchant at Rusk and continued there with indifferent success until 1869, when he moved to Shreveport, Louisiana, and engaged in business as a cotton factor and commission merchant. In 1872 he formed a partnership with Mr. Robert H. Howell under the firm name of Hicks and Howell. At first their business was confined to handling cotton, but later thev conducted in connection therewith a wholesale grocery busi- ness. Under the energetic and intelligent management of the firm, its business soon grew to large proportions, its clientele numbering thou- sands and its name becoming the synomym of conscientious and intelli-
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gent business methods throughout the southwest. After 16 years of lucrative business, the firm of Hicks & Howell was dissolved, Mr. Howell taking from the establishment a comfortable fortune without in the least effecting its standing or credit. Mr. Howell moved to Los Angeles, California, and is now one of its wealthiest and most prominent citizens.
A few years after Mr. Howell retired from the firm, Mr. Hicks incorporated his business under the name of the Hicks Company, Limited, the name it now bears. The business of the company continued to en- large, having long since reached proportions where each year its trans- actions run into the millions and its field of operations stretches over large portions of the states of Louisiana, Arkansas and Texas.
In 1892, on account of failing health, Mr. Hicks moved to San An- tonio, Texas, leaving his son, Samuel B. Hicks, as manager of the com- pany, and the business has thus continued till the present time. Though unable to engage actively in business in San Antonio, Mr. Hicks pur- chased property there and erected thereon a handsome office building which still bears his name and is the first modern building of its kind in that city. The structure contains over one hundred rooms, is com- plete in every appointment and is located in the business center of that city, which is now the metropolis of Texas.
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