USA > Texas > A Twentieth century history of southwest Texas, Volume II > Part 71
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months. This he closed out in 1889 and moved to Alice, where he oper- ated a saloon until 1893. In this year he opened a private bank, under the firm name of Pressnell & Mosser, which did a successful general banking business until 1906, when the State Bank of Alice was organized. with a capital of $75,000-P. A. Pressner, president, S. B. Mosser, vice- president, and T. H. Clark, cashier. This bank is looked upon as one of the solid banking institutions of Southwest Texas.
Mr. Mosser is identified with several business institutions, including the Alice Gin Company and the Cheap Home Land Company, which makes a specialty of selling land to homeseekers on the easy payment basis.
Samuel B. Mosser is a member of the Methodist Episcopal church and a superintendent of the Sunday school, also a member of the board of trustees of the Alice Methodist church, and an energetic worker in the interests of his church. He is a Knight Templar and also a member of the Knights of Pythias and the Knights of Honor. Mr. Mosser was married twice, the first marriage being to Miss Lucy Breeding of Fayette county, Texas, and a daughter of James Breeding of Kentucky. By this union there were four children, two of whom lived to maturity: Samuel, who died April 14, 1902, aged twenty-two years, leaving a wife and one son, John; and Carrie (Mrs. Brown Fuller) of Alice, who died at Cotulla in 1883. The second marriage was to Miss Fannie Whitley at Cotulla in 1884. She is a native of Texas and comes of an old pioneer family. She is, in common with her husband, a member of the Methodist Episcopal church. Mr. and Mrs. Mosser are the parents of three chil- dren : Amos G., born January 25, 1889 ; Emma, born November 18, 1892 ; and Harry, born October 27, 1893.
C. K. WALTER, engaged in the practice of law in Gonzales, came to this city in 1888, and has since been associated with the professional life and with the upbuilding and development of this city. He was born in middle Tennessee in 1852. His parents died in that state during his boy- hood, and he then went to Mississippi to live with his brothers and sisters who had formerly located in Prentiss county, that state. Soon afterward he went to Oktibbeha county, where he engaged in clerking in a store until February, 1872, when he left Mississippi for Texas. Although he never had the advantage of attending school after he was eleven years of age, he joined different literary and debating socities in the community in which he lived and thus gathered much learning in that way, while his general knowledge has also been promoted from broad reading and inves- tigation.
Arriving in Wilson county, Texas, Mr. Walter there remained for fourteen months, after which he went to Llano, Mason county, Texas. On the 13th of August, 1876, he arrived in Gonzales county, Texas, and located sixteen miles east of the city of Gonzales. He was appointed dep- uty sheriff of the county in 1886, under W. E. Jones, thus serving until the accidental discharge of a revolver seriously disabled him. While lying in bed with his injury he took up the study of law in 1887, and thus pre- pared for the bar. After a thorough preliminary reading he was ad- mitted to the bar January 21, 1888, and has since engaged in the practice of his chosen profession. In that year he took up his residence in Gon-
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zales, and in March, 1889, entered upon the private practice of law. He was elected city attorney that year and was re-elected, holding the office altogether for nearly four years, when he resigned to accept the position of county attorney in 1892. He held the office for six years, be- ing elected in 1892, 1896 and 1898. Not only in the interpretation and ex- pounding of the law has Mr. Walter gained distinction, but has also made a most creditable record in framing law, for in November, 1906, he was elected to the state legislature from the Fifty-sixth district. In 1890 he was solicited to become a candidate for county attorney, subject to the Democratic nomination, but declined. In 1892 he organized the Populist party in Gonzales county and was elected on that ticket as county attor- ney, but he has now returned to the Democratic ranks and is one of the stalwart advocates of the party.
Mr. Walter is a member of the Gonzales Lodge, A. F. & A. M., and is also connected with the Woodmen of the World. An analysis of his character shows that he is a man gifted by nature with strong intellectual powers, which are well developed, while his perseverance and industry have been strong and salient factors in a successful career.
SHAW BROTHERS is the firm name under which is conducted a suc- cessful dairy business in San Antonio. The real head of the enterprise is Lemuel T. Shaw, who was born in St. Landry Parish, in Louisiana, in 1849, his parents being Lemuel J. B. and Adelle (Guillory) Shaw. The mother was a member of an old French family and died at the Shaw home in St. Landry Parish in 1860. The father owned a large plantation in that parish, but was by profession an educator and for many years conducted a boarding school. He was also otherwise engaged in educa- tional pursuits and did much for the intellectual development of the com- munity in which he lived. In 1861 his place was overrun by the contend- ing forces of the Civil war and with the members of his family he left Louisiana and came to Texas, bringing with him his negroes and as much of his effects as could be conveniently hauled in wagons. He then located in Columbus, Colorado county, Texas, where he died in 1872.
After arriving in this state the Shaw family engaged in the cattle business and Lemuel T. Shaw from his early boyhood to the present time has been connected with the stock industry. He began to run cattle in Colorado county as soon as he was old enough to take charge of a bunch. He later moved his outfit to the free range further west, and for several years was located and ran his cattle in Burnet, San Saba and McCulloch counties. He also engaged in sheep raising, and by wise manage- ment and thorough knowledge of the business he entered upon a success- ful career that has not been marred by any reversals of fortune. In 1889 he located in San Antonio in the dairy business, beginning on a small scale on South Flores street. There he conducted his enterprise for six years, and in 1898 he came to his present location in the West End. Here he has seventy-five acres of land under close cultivation for feed crops for his dairy stock, the entire tract being within the city limits of San Antonio. This is a model and modern dairy in every respect, being one of the best in the country, nothing being lacking to promote its per- fection. The new dairy barn completed in February, 1906, is a handsome and substantial structure with accommodation for nearly one hundred
L. J. Shaw A Family
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cows. There they are milked and fed in almost absolute cleanliness, the barn having a hard gravel floor, thoroughly drained. Sanitary principles are insisted upon, thus guaranteeing the purity of the products of the dairy. Beside the milk business, butter is manufactured, and in fact all dairy and creamery products are manufactured and sold. Milking time in this barn is a scene to delight the eye and is an attraction for visitors, who are always welcome and who carry away a most pleasing impression of the superiority of this place over the ordinary dairy.
The reputation of Mr. Shaw's herd of Jerseys is such that there are eager buyers at the highest prices for such calves as he places upon the market, fifty dollars being a common price for a calf of this herd as soon as it is born. Mr. Shaw uses almost exclusively fine Jersey cows, of which he has for several years been a successful breeder, having changed from the Holstein because of the fact that Jersey milk is richer and gives better satisfaction to customers. Shaw's dairy has one of the best herds of Jerseys in the state, and in addition to the milk cows at the dairy he keeps about one hundred head of dry cows at the Shaw ranch eight miles nortwest of San Antonio. Through skilful and efficient management and the strictest honor and integrity in his business he has become wealthy, and his dairy represents one of the most successful money making enter- prises in San Antonio. In compliment to his sons, who are associated with him in business, the firm is called Shaw Brothers.
Lemuel T. Shaw was married in Colorado county, Texas, in 1869, to Miss Kate Ferguson, a native of Louisiana, and they have twelve living children, namely: Mrs. Florence Maud Armstrong; Lottie, the wife of Lewis Brooks, who is one of the prominent cattle men of McCulloch county and a very wealthy citizen, having extensive interests in that sec- tion of the state ; Mrs. Lucy Carothers ; Claudius E. ; Percy ; Ransom L .; Thomas ; Mrs. Pearl Lacey ; Mrs. Della Riley ; Essie; Katie, and Grover Shaw. The eldest son, who in 1906 completed a four years' enlistment in the United States navy, was educated in the best technical schools. He had risen to a position of responsibility in the electrical service, having shown special aptitude and ability in that branch, and was promoted to the naval wireless telegraph service at Portsmouth (New Hampshire) sta- tion. He resigned from the navy to engage in the electrical business in San Antonio.
JOE FARIS represents that invaluable element to the progress of Texas which has always stood for law and order, whether he has acted in a pri- vate or an official capacity. Now the owner of much valuable real es- tate both within San Antonio and in its suburbs, and for a long time one of the most extensive shippers of horses and mules in the southwest, he has reached an honorable and substantial station in life along the road of sheer personal endeavor, and in spite of the fact that his pathway was beset by obstacles which would have completely discouraged weaker tem- peraments.
Born in Fluvanna county, Virginia, in the year .1856, the son of Au- gustus and Elizabeth (Harrison) Faris, Joe Faris lost hrs mother when he was an infant of one year. The family history is clearly traced to a period before the Revolution, being English on his father's side and
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Scotch-Irish on his mother's. His great-grandfather, Martin Faris, was an officer under Washington throughout the Revolutionary war, and was also a distinguished man in public and political life, being one of the notables mentioned for the presidency in the early days of the republic. Another fact worthy of historic note is that an uncle, Charles M. Faris, was of the party who captured John Brown, the noted abolitionist. The mother of Mr. Faris was a member of the Harrison family of Virginia which produced two presidents, her father being a cousin of Tippecanoe Harrison. The family is also related to the Pettuses, who became famous in the history of both Alabama and Mississippi.
Upon the death of his mother Joe Faris was adopted by his aunt and uncle and reared by them on a plantation in Fluvanna county. The old family homestead was in the heart of the historic portion of Virginia that was overrun by the contending armies of the north and south in the Civil war in the progress of the conflict was almost completely dev- astated by them. By the marchings and battles of the military forces the locality was in a state of almost daily disturbance and harassment. These . ravaging scenes of war are among the early boyhood recollections of Mr. Faris, and the results of the conflict were so disturbing to civic and educational conditions that he reached the period of youth without having the benefit of any regular schooling. It is therefore to his great credit that he achieved such a decided measure of success in after life.
At the age of eighteen Joe Faris left Virginia, and journeying down the Ohio river from Huntington, West Virginia, stopped in Mason county, Kentucky, where he went to work on the well known stock farm of L. H. Long at a salary of ten dollars per month. He remained at this place a year, receiving valuable experience in the care, handling and breeding of fine stock, especially horses, in which he has ever since been inter- ested. Two years later, or in 1876, he located permanently in Texas, settling at San Marcos, the county seat of Hayes county, and for some years he made that county, as well as Travis, his headquarters and the scene of his official and business activities.
Of sound physical constitution and fine appearance, of unquestioned bravery and skill in the use of firearms, Mr. Faris soon attracted the attention of criminal officers and his services were drawn upon in the execution and preservation of the law. He served for several terms as deputy sheriff in Hayes and Travis counties, and for some time as a special officer with the State Rangers. In these capacities he distin- guished himself for his coolness and skill in hunting criminals, the fron- tier of the state in those early days being infested with horse and cattle thieves, train robbers and various kinds of desperadoes. He participated in many a notable chase and execution of such criminals, and materially assisted in ridding the country of them. His many stories of the exploits of such characters as Sam Bass, Alfred Aylee, Ben Thompson and King Fisher would make a thrilling chapter in themselves. Mr. Faris also had considerable experience as a buffalo hunter out in the San Angelo and Abilene country.
For twelve years Mr. Faris was actively engaged in shipping horses and mules from the Texas market to the north and east, and in this line of business he became one of the largest operators in Texas and there-
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fore in the country. It is recalled that he furnished a large number of cavalry horses for Colonel Roosevelt's regiment of Rough Riders which was recruited at San Antonio.
Joe Faris has now lived in San Antonio for the past twenty years, and is one of its best known residents. Besides being the owner of val- uable city property, including a beautiful home in the West End, he has a fine ranch and fruit farm of two hundred acres on the New Sulphur Springs road, fifteen miles southeast of the city. In connection with his productive and profitable fruit orchard of five thousand trees, Mr. Faris also engages in general farming. He is also interested in the real estate business in San Antonio, and is the proprietor of the Alamo Loan Com- pany.
Before her marriage Mrs. Faris was Miss Lizzie Harris, sister of Professor J. K. Harris, of San Antonio, and a member of one of the well known pioneer families of Texas.
JOHN K. LAWHON, cashier of the First National Bank at Pleasanton, has throughout his entire life been a representative of the business interests of southwestern Texas. He was born in 1868 on a ranch on the Frio river in LaSalle county. His parents were J. M. B. and Eveline (Dail) Lawhon. The father, a native of Georgia, came to Texas in the latter '50s, and when the differences between the north and the south culminated in the Civil war he joined the Confed- erate army as a soldier. In 1865 he returned again to Texas and located on the Frio river in what is now LaSalle county. He had lived in Texas previous to this time, however, having spent a year in the state at a period antedating the war. He was a prominent stockman, running his herds upon the ranches of this part of the state, but in 1872 he dis- continued the cattle business and locating at Pleasanton, Atascosa county, established a weekly paper called the Western Stock Journal, of which he continued as editor and publisher during the remainder of his life, his death occurring March 24, 1880. Like the others of the name, he took a prominent part in pioneer experiences, including the trouble with the Indians and the settlement of the southwestern section, together with its conversion into ranches and farms, whereon the stock-raising and mercantile interests of this section of the country are now being profitably carried on. His widow, still surviving him, now lives in Pleasanton.
John K. Lawhon was reared and educated in Pleasanton, and in his youth he had experiences in connection with the care of livestock and also as a clerk in different stores. For two years he was deputy county and district clerk. In 1894 he was elected county treasurer, in which position he has been continued through successive elections to the present time, his term expiring in the fall of 1906. He will then have served for twelve consecutive years and he has decided not to again become a can- didate. His long continuance in office is certainly unmistakable proof of his ability and of the trust reposed in him by his fellow townsmen.
In the spring of 1906 John K. Lawhon was one of the organizers of the First National Bank at Pleasanton, which was opened for business on the 9th of April, of that year with a capital stock of twenty-five thous- and dollars, its directors and stockholders being among the most sub- stantial citizens of Atascosa county. Mr. Lawhon has been continuously
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cashier of the new institution. This bank was the first one in Pleasanton and the county and fills a long-felt want in business life. It was estab- lished on a safe, conservative basis that has secured a liberal patronage. It started out under favorable conditions owing to the rapid growth of the county and the early development of business interests here. The citizens of the town are proud of the bank as an enterprising institution and its successful conduct is largely attributable to Mr. Lawhon.
J. B. WHITE is proprietor of a meat market and bakery at Eagle Pass and is also county treasurer of Maverick county. In his official duties and in private life he has made a creditable record as one who is reliable as well as energetic and progressive and thus he deserves mention among the representative men of this part of the state. He was born in Goliad county, Texas, October 17, 1861, and pursued his education in the common schools while spending his boyhood days in the home of his parents, Peter and Martha Elam (Craig) White. The father was 'born in Virginia and the mother was born and reared in Salem, Illinois. There she married a Mr. Craig and about 1837 removed to Texas, set- tling in Goliad county, where Mr. Craig, a millwright by trade, erected many of the early mills of that and other localities. For many years he resided in Goliad county but subsequently removed to Hopkins county, where he spent his remaining days. He left four children: Thomas, a speculator ; Mrs. Louisa Osgood ; and Alexander and Wesley, who are stock men. After the death of her first husband Mrs. Craig married Peter White, a native of Virginia and one of the pioneer residents of Texas, who came to this state with the Austin colony in 1820. He se- cured a headright in Jackson county, comprising a large tract of land, and thereon remained, making some improvements until he secured a good title from the Mexican government. He afterward went to Ar- kansas, where he remained for a number of years, during which time he married, while subsequently he returned to Texas and located on his headright in Jackson county, where he followed farming and stock- raising, there residing until after the death of his wife. To his care were left six children: John, Austin, Peter, Gray, Nancy and Margaret. The four sons served in the Confederate army. The children were all young at the time of the mother's death but became useful, good citizens. John and Peter were killed in the war. After losing his first wife the father married Mrs. Craig, a widow, who had four children, and they reared the two families doing a good part by them. For a short period Mr. White remained on his headright farm and then sold a part of it, removing later to Goliad county, where he engaged in stock farming until his death April 5, 1865. He was a slave owner and he developed a large and valuable estate, although in the early days he underwent many of the deprivations and hardships incident to pioneer life. He was an active figure during the early exciting times in the development of Texas and he served as a member of Houston's army, which gained independence for Texas, being detailed in the commissary department. On the day of the decisive battle at San Jacinto he was off with a train of provisions for the army. He went through the siege to the close and was always ready to respond to a call in case of other raids on the country. He also helped drive the hostile red men out of Texas and in
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1846 helped settle the dispute between Mexico and the United States. He entered the army against the Mexicans, his command being stationed to protect the border at Brownsville. Thus he was a veteran of two wars. During the Civil war his sympathy was with the Confederacy and he used his influence in its behalf but was too old to go to the front. However, he gave four sons to the service and the war caused him heavy financial losses as well, for his slaves were freed and he lost much stock through the foraging of the armies. Many men of notoriously bad character disguised themselves as Indians and plundered and robbed and drove off the best of the stock. Mr. White was a strong and influen- tial Democrat but cared little for office, and he was a worthy member of the Masonic fraternity. His wife survived him and kept the family together.
She was a daughter of Mr. Elam, one of the early settlers and promi- nent farmers of the vicinity of Salem, Illinois. He remained in that lo- cality and died on the old homestead. His children were James; Frank ; Mrs. Martha White; and Mrs. Polly Ann Cox, who first located in Missouri and afterward removed to Oregon. James and Frank came to Texas but after a short time returned to Missouri, where they continued to reside. Mrs. White the mother of our subject, remained on the old homestead in Goliad county until 1883, when she sold that property and started for Dewitt county, but before reaching her destination she became ill and died in November, 1883, the family later continuing the journey. She was a worthy member of the Christian church. By her marriage to Mr. White she had three children: Simon, who died in 1888; Alpha. who became Mrs. Vivan and after the death of her first husband married a Mr. Wooster ; and James W., of this review.
James W. White remained with his widowed mother during her life time and then found a good home with a married sister until 1884, when he married and made a home for himself in Zavalla county, where he established a ranch and engaged in the stock business. The range was then free and his business flourished. He got a good start and afterward bought land and fenced his pasture, erecting also good ranch buildings. He remained in successful business upon that place until 1894, when he sold out there and in June of that year removed to Eagle Pass, where he yet resides. While ranching he also carried on farming to some extent, raising feed and family supplies.
Since coming to Eagle Pass Mr. White has purchased a commodious residence and has engaged in the conduct of a meat market and bakery on Main street, having a very prosperous business. He is always in the market for the purchase of beef cattle and he leases a pasture and keeps stock on hand ready for slaughtering. He has also made some business investments in this locality and is a stockholder and the vice president of the International Dry Goods & Furniture Company of Eagle Pass. which is incorporated. A wholesale and retail business is carried on that extends into Mexico. He is also a stockholder in the Guide, a demo- cratic newspaper, which is owned and controlled by an incorporated company. In all of his business undertakings he has been very suc- cessful and has displayed keen discernment and unfaltering enterprise.
Mr. White was married in 1884 to Miss Mattie Floyd, who was
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born in Dimmit county, Texas, April 6, 1866, a daughter of Robert Floyd of Arkansas. Her father joined the Confederate army from that state and served until the close of the war. He was held as a prisoner for a short time, after which he was exchanged. Later he removed to Dimmit county, Texas, where he so successfully carried on farming and also conducted business as a brick mason. In this connection he assisted in the upbuilding of southwestern Texas. His death occurred in Goliad county in 1903. He was a stalwart Democrat and a member of the Ma- sonic lodge. He had for a few years survived his wife, who died in 1900. Both were worthy members of the Christian church. Their family numbered eight children: James, Walker, John, Bettie, Susie, Mattie, Molly and Beacomb.
The home of Mr. and Mrs. White has been blessed with six interest- ing children: Alford, born January 14, 1886; Robert, July 19, 1888; Clara, April 16, 1890; James, October 1, 1892, Mabel August 29, 1895 and Mattie, August 19, 1897. Mrs. White is a devoted member of the Christian church and a most estimable lady. Mr. White is recognized as one of the stalwart advocates of democracy in his county and is much interested in the growth and success of his party. In 1902 he was elected county treasurer and in 1904 was re-elected so that he is still filling the office, the duties of which he has discharged in a creditable and satisfactory manner. In Masonry he has attained the Royal Arch degree and has filled all of the chairs of the Blue lodge, acting as master of Eagle Pass lodge. He is also a Knight Templar Mason and in his life exemplifies the beneficent spirit of the craft.
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