A history of Texas and Texans, Part 109

Author: Johnson, Francis White, 1799-1884; Barker, Eugene Campbell, 1874-1956, ed; Winkler, Ernest William, 1875-1960
Publication date: 1914
Publisher: Chicago, American Historical Society
Number of Pages: 906

USA > Texas > A history of Texas and Texans > Part 109

Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).

Dr. Hodge spent his boyhood days at Athens, and his early experiences and associations were laid on a farm. He took up farming as a regular vocation, and did much in the way of raising stock. Some years after he had reached his majority, he took up the study of medicine and did his first work in that direction while still wearing his farmer clothes. Later he attended the Kentucky School of Medicine, and was graduated

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M. D. with honors in 1891. When he was thirty-two years of age the Judicial District Board, embracing the counties of Anderson and Houston, granted him a cer- tificate to practice, and he later became president of that board which issued him his first license. In 1900 Dr. Hodge, who has always kept abreast of the times, and has been a student and worker in his profes- sion, took a post-graduate course in the New Orleans Polyelinie. He has served as president of the County Medical Society, and as a member of the legislative committee of the state Society of Medicine. For some time he has served as local surgeon of the Cotton Belt Railway Company, and belongs to the Railroad Company's Surgeons' Associaion. He has never held any political office, has never had any desire for po- litical activity, though he is a good Democrat, and a very public spirited citizen. His church is the Pres- byterian. In physical appearance, Dr. Hodge gives the impression of a man who has always been strong and able to bear his own burdens and a considerable share of other people's. He has lived well, has always been in comfortable circumstances and in his county and home town is a man of the highest standing.

In Henderson county, in September, 1875, Dr. Hodge married Miss Bethany T. Burns, a daughter of Robert Burns, her family having been Seotch Presbyterians and farmers by occupation. The children of Dr. and Mrs. Hodge are: Dr. Robert H., who graduated from the Galveston Medical College in 1905, and is now snecessfully practicing his profession at Athens, mar- ried Miss Dovie Mc Williams, and their one daughter is Eugenia; Willie J .; Hugh Marvin; Bruce; and Mary. Mrs. Hodge died in June, 1911. Dr. Hodge is past master of Athens Lodge No. 165, and also a member of the Royal Arch Chapter of Masonry.

EMANUEL M. ROGERS. A resident of Vernon since 1894, Mr. Rogers has been one of the important factors in the improvement and upbuilding of this section of the state, and has a long record of efficient public service. At the present time he is filling the office of County Clerk of Wilbarger county.

Emanuel M. Rogers was born in Johnston county, Ar- kansas, Sept. 18, 1867, the youngest in a family of seven sons and five daughters born to J. S. and Har- riet (Smith) Rogers. His father, who was born in Bonham, Texas, moved to Arkansas in 1866, locating in the county where his son was born. He was a planter and a man who was regarded as successful in business affairs, and held a place of esteem in his com- munity. During the Civil war he entered the service of the Confederate army, with an Arkansas regiment. His death occurred at Clarksville, Arkansas, in 1882, at the age of sixty-two. His wife, who was born in middle Tennessee, received her education in that state, and died in Arkansas at the age of sixty-two in 1880.

As a boy Emanuel M. Rogers lived on the farm in Arkanass, and first attended the district schools. That education was supplemented with a course at Hendricks college in Arkansas, and when he left school he found a field of experience and opportunity for advancement in a store at Hartman, Arkansas. Arkansas continned to be his home until 1892, in which year he moved to Texas, and located first in Knox county, where he was in the stock business for a couple of years. Then in 1894 he moved to Wilbarger county, and for eight years was employed in one of the local mercantile establishments at Vernon. His popularity as a citizen and well known integrity brought him to the front as a candidate for public office and elected him county assessor, which position he filled from 1905 to 1912. In November, 1912, he was elected county clerk, and is now filling that office.

In polities he is a Democrat, and fraternally is affili- ated with the Knights of Pythias, the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, and the Woodmen of the World, Vol. IV-23

and has filled the chairs in these different orders. His church is the Methodist.

In Johnston county, Arkansas, December 17, 1886, Mr. Rogers married Miss Nannie McFadden, a daugh- ter of John and Nannie McFadden. The McFadden family has been well known in northwest Texas, and Mrs. Rogers' mother is now living at Vernon at the advanced age of eighty-nine years. Her father died in 1912. Mr. and Mrs. Rogers have five children: Mrs. Lela Pinkston, born in Arkansas in 1889, lives in Ver- non and has one child; H. E. Rogers, born in Arkansas in 1890, is married and lives at Vernon, has one daugh- ter; Miss Annie Rogers, born in 1897 in Texas, is at- tending school at Vernon; Lois Rogers, born in 1904, is a school girl, and Buddy Rogers, born in 1906 at Vernon, is in school.

JAMES F. BOYD. As cashier of the First National Bank of Iowa Park, James F. Boyd has a prominent place among the leading men of the town, and his lead- ership is further accentnated by his incumbency of the office of Mayor, to which he was elected in 1911. He has been identified with various business enterprises in the years of his residence in these parts, and yet retains his interest in the grain business in which he was ae- tive prior to his association with the First National Bank. He has made his way upward without appreciable help from others, and he is today one of the most widely and favorably known young men in these parts.

Born on the 25th day of July, 1880, Mr. Boyd is the son of James A. and Emma ( White) Boyd, natives of Virginia, and of Dallas county, Texas. James A. Boyd came to Texas as a young man and settled at Lancaster, in Dallas county, where he eventually came to be a well known merchant. He has been postmaster at that place for many years, and has also demonstrated his versatility by taking an active part in the agricul- tural industry in that community. He is still living at Lancaster, busy and alert as ever at the age of sixty- three years. His wife, who was born, bred and educated in Dallas county, there married her husband. She was the daughter of parents who came to Texas among the first settlers of Dallas county, and were long and worthily identified with the development of that dis- trict. Three children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Boyd: Mrs. Aileen Roland, living in Dallas; James F., of this review; and E. P. Boyd, living in Wichita county.

James Boyd in his boyhood days attended the schools of Dallas county, and in 1899 was graduated from Ran- dolph College in Lancaster, his home town. He then engaged in the retail merchandise business at Lancaster, remaining thus identified for five years, and severing his connection with merchandise to associate himself with the grain buying business. For two years he followed that enterprise, in 1905 coming to Iowa Park, locating in the grain business here and continuing therein for two and a half years. It was then that he became as- sociated with the First National Bank as a clerk in the establishment, and in 1911 he was elected to the office of cashier, in which he has since continued and where he has given a valuable and praiseworthy serv- ice. The bank, which is one of the sturdy and stanch among the smaller institutions of the county, has a capital stock of $25,000; surplus of $25,000; with un- divided profits of $15,000. The bank was organized in 1900, and has made a pleasing record in the pass- ing years.

Mr. Boyd, in addition to serving as mayor of the city, is serving as treasurer of the school board, and his interest in the educational affairs of the town is one of the fine spots in his makeup. He is a Democrat, but does not permit national politics to interfere with civic fidelity and service. Fraternally he is a member of the Knights of Pythias and is a member of the Meth- odist Episcopal church as well.

On May 20, 1903, Mr. Boyd was married to Miss

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Pearl Ferguson, of Iowa Park, the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. B. N. Ferguson, who are yet residents of this community, and among the best known and most highly esteemed people of the city. The two children of Mr. and Mrs. Boyd are Fay, born in Dallas county, in 1904, and Francis, born in 1908 in Iowa Park.

CHARLES R. HOUSTON. The modern merchant is found in nearly every town and city of west Texas. The man who knows what the people want, and how far their wants can be faithfully stimulated; who keeps a large and well selected stock of goods, but never so. long that it is out of date; and who acts on the prin- ciple that real success is only a return for an adequate commercial service-those are the qualities of the most prosperous men in merchandising in west Texas today, and one such merchant is Charles R. Houston, secretary and manager of the Carter-Houston Dry Goods Com- pany at Plainview.

Mr. Houston is a native of Mississippi, born in Cal- houn, July 8, 1878, a son of L. B. and Mattie (Thorn- ton) Houston, both parents also natives of that state. During his early life the father was a farmer and planter in Calhoun county, and in 1867 moved to Texas, spending three years in Ellis county. He then went back to Mississippi, but eventually returned to Texas for his permanent home, and is now living in Bell county. He is a farmer and stock raiser. The father was born in 1848, being now sixty-five years of age. The mother, who was born in 1850, died in this state May 15, 1906.

Of the six sons and two daughters of the family, Charles R. was the third. At an early age he began laying the foundation for his career, by attendance at the public schools, and after leaving the local schools he took a course in the Metropolitan College of Dallas, where he was graduated in the commercial class of May 1, 1901. In 1899 he had begun his practical career as a clerk at Bartlett, and spent five years in working for W. W. Walton. The Walton Dry Goods Company was then organized and he became one of the owners and the active manager for four years. He then sold out and came to Plainview, and was employed by the Carter Mercantile Company for one year. At the end of that time the business was reorganized and incor- porated, Mr. Houston buying an interest and being made active manager. Under his control the Carter- Houston Dry Goods Company has become one of the largest stores in west Texas. Mr. E. M. Carter is president of the company, Mr. Ellis Carter is vice president and Mr. Houston is secretary and manager. Since Mr. Houston took charge the business has in- creased in volume to double its former aggregate. About a dozen expert salespeople are employed throughout the year and at times the force is increased to twenty-five.

Mr. Houston in politics is a Democrat, and is af- filiated with the Masonic Order through the York Rite to the Commandery degrees. His church is the Meth- odist. On May 8, 1911, at Plainview, Mr. Houston married Miss Mamie Ethel Grigsby, who was born in the state of Tennessee. Mr. Houston has won his own success, having started in at the lowest grade of mer- cantile service and worked his way up to the top. IIe believes that he has selected the finest portion of Texas for his residence, a region which is bound to develop and grow in prosperity with the passing years. He is the owner of his own home in Plainview, and he and his wife enjoy the highest standing in social circles.

WILLIAM HENRY WOLCOTT. For many years one of the big men in the cattle industry of west Texas, Wil- liam H. Wolcott retired a few years ago, and while not traveling he and his wife maintain their pleasant home in Midland. He has had a long and prosperous career

and represents a family whose members have borne the responsibilities of life honorably and usefully.

William H. Wolcott was born at Hot Springs, Ala- bama, November 29, 1843, a son of William and Eliza (Galligher) Wolcott. The father was a native of New York and the mother of Alabama. William Wolcott, Sr., when a young man of eighteen, having heen well edu- cated in schools of New York City, came to Alabama during the early forties and located in the Wetumpka, in what was then Coosa county, but is now Elmore county. A man of education, he found his work as a teacher, and was engaged in teaching in different parts of the state until 1853. In that year he brought his family overland to Tyler, Texas, and thus hecame one of the early settlers of Smith's county. He continued his profession as teacher in the vicinity of Tyler until his death, in 1860. Outside of his regular occupation, he was prominent in many ways in his community and al- ways took a leading part in political affairs. His wife died in Dallas county, Texas, in 1878, at the age of fifty- five. His great-grandfather, a native of Georgia, had the distinction of being the first white man who lived in Wetumpka county, Alabama, being an Indian trader and a man of great influence, not only among the In- dians who then inhabited Alabama, but also subsequently among the pioneer white settlers. There were eight children in the family of the parents, and they are named as follows: Benjamin F. Wolcott, who is a prom- inent farmer at Corpus Christi and Fannley of Midland, this state; Elmira, now deceased, was the wife of Samuel Cooper of Dallas county; William H., who was the third in the family; Mary, wife of Timothy F. Garvin of Ellis county, a prominent farmer and stockman; Eva, widow of Samuel Garvin, brother of Timothy, Mrs. Garvin now residing in comfort and ease in the city of Dallas; George Wolcott, who is a successful stockman at Mid- land; Andrew J., who is retired from ranching and makes his home in Dallas; Oliver P. Wolcott, who is a farmer in Dallas county and has a prominent part in politics in that part of the state, having served as county commissioner of Dallas county for several terms.

Mr. William H. Wolcott is now a man of seventy, yet in appearance and activity is still in his fifties. He is optimistic, genial and an enjoyable companion, has al- ways enjoyed success, and bas won his prosperity without interfering with the rights of others and has been helpful to his friends and neighbors throughout his career. He attained his education in Smith county, near Tyler, and when fourteen years old left school and assisted in the farm work until the outbreak of the Civil war. He was eighteen years old when he enlisted in the Nineteenth Texas Cavalry, under Col. Buford, in Parsons' Brigade. For four years he was a Confederate soldier and one of the most loyal and efficient men who bore arms for the South. He was in many campaigns, and was in the es- pecially trying battle of Yellow Bayou, where for thirty- six days his brigade were continually engaged in fighting. After the war he was connected with the transportation business of northern and central Texas as then con- Jucted. He drove ox teams, hauling wagons loaded with merchandise and other products from Waxahachie to Mil- lican. Millican at the time was the northern terminus of the Houston and Central Railway and the nearest railway station to all points in north and central Texas. It was a distance of one hundred and fifty miles from Waxa- hachie to Millican, and the round trip required a number of days and was a slow and arduous method of trans- portation, hut practically the only one prevailing in that time.

On March 28, 1867, Mr. Wolcott married Miss Mar- garet Boydstun, who was born in Illinois and when a child came across the country to Texas, in 1848, when she was 11 years old. Her father was Jacob G. Boyd- stun, a farmer and a man of standing in his community. After his marriage Mr. Wolcott located in Ellis county, where he was engaged in stock raising, and subsequently

GEORGE W. WOLCOTT, WILLIAM II. WOLCOTT,

ANDREW J. WOLCOTT. OLIVER P. WOLCOTT.

MRS. MARY GARVIN, BENJAMIN F. WOLCOTT,

MRS. EVA GAARVIN

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followed the same occupation in Tarrant county. As one of the old-time cattlemen, and by exercise of the constant vigilance aud judgment which were essential to support in those days, Mr. Wolcott in time came to be proprietor of large herds, who followed the pasture over many ranges, and, though he had the reverses which were inseparable from the range-cattle industry, he on the whole was successful and prosperous, and when he finally sold out he possessed a competence for his declin- ing years. After selling out he moved to Deaf Smith county, in 1906, and also bought many hundreds of aeres of land in Midland county. In 1909 he finally sold out practically all his stock interest and has since lived re- tired in Midland. He and Mrs. Wolcott have enjoyed one long vacation in California, and they now contem- plate the places of travel in many parts of the country. Mr. Wolcott has always been a loyal Democrat, but has always avoided any practical party work or official honor. He and his wife are members of the Christian church.

ROBERT J. KING, is postmaster of Clarksville, where he has resided continuously since 1885. Save for a short period in the educational field of the county upon his advent to the state, his relation to the com- munity of Clarksville was clerical until he entered the government service nearly sixteen years ago. In his service as postmaster of the metropolis of Red River county, he has rendered unusual and con- spicuous attention to duty, and holds a record seldom equaled in presidential offices as a continuons servant of the government.

Mr. King is one of the many contributions of Bed- ford county, Tennessee, to the citizenship of Texas. He was born in that locality on May 18, 1860, where his father, Rev. Robert J. King, spent his life preach- ing the Gospel as a minister of the Lutheran church, and he was a son of Samuel King, who came out of the state of North Carolina and passed away in or near Shelbyville, Tennessee when in his young manhood. He, as the founder of this pioneer family, was de- seended from ancestry that settled in the colony of the old Tarheel state when King George yet held sway in America. This old patriarch was the father of five sons and three daughters, and their preacher son was among the first born of the number. One of these sons passed his life near Nashville; another lived near to Knoxville, and a third made his home in the vicinity of Murfreesboro, Tennessee.

Rev. King was born on Christmas Day, 1810. He was a man who was self-educated as well as self- assertive, and from his early life he felt impelled to take ministerial work upon himself. He died near Shelbyville in 1892, after an active and vigorous re- ligious life that was resultant of much good in the cause in which he labored. During the turmoil of the Rebellion he remained steadfast for the Union, al- though many of his relatives went south because of their sentiment and gave active aid to the Confederate eause. Even his own son took the path marked out by the leaders in secession and opposed his brother on the battlefield at Murfreesboro.

Rev. King married Miss Mary Ann Philips, a dangh- ter of William Philips, who migrated to Tennessee from Virginia. Mrs. King died at the age of seventy-five. Their children were eight in number, named as follows: John F., of Manchester Tennessee, an ex-soldier of the Confederacy; Samuel F., who passed away in his native state; Charles B., of Cottage Grove, Oregon, and a Union soldier; Edmond C., of Alexandria, Indiana; George T., of Fresno, California; Mrs. Samuel Brant- ley, of Beech Grove, Tennessee; Mrs. Leah V. Bobo, of Tullahoma, Tennessee, and Robert J., of this review.

Robert J. King received a liberal schooling in Shel- byville, Tennessee, and made use of his learning for a time as a teacher. He was twenty-five years old when

he sought the west in Texas, and dates his advent into Red River county from September, 1885. He taught some two years at Rosalie and in 1887 he became a merchant's clerk in Clarksville. Four years were spent in the employ of R. N. Shaw and six years with Sam Steinlein, and from the store of the latter he went as the appointee to the office of postmaster of the city. He received his appointment from President Mckinley and took the office on May 1, 1898, as the successor of W. H. Dickson. In 1902 he was commissioned by President Roosevelt and again in 1906, and Mr. Taft gave him his fourth commission in 1910, with the com- pletion of which appointment he will have served six- teen years and broken the record for official tenure in the Clarksvlle office. His record has been one that he may well be proud of, and he occupies a prominent place in civic and municipal affairs in the city. He was brought up in a loyal home where the doctrines of Republicanism overshadowed all other political topics, and whatever active connection he has dis- played in politics went to Republican fortunes, al- though he has never sought for political honors at any time in his life.

In April, 1883, Mr. King was married to Miss Nannie Newman, in Winchester, Tennessee. She was a daugh- ter of Col. "Taz" Newman, a former Confederate officer, well known as a public man in Tennessee and a speaker in the state senate for four years. Col. Newman married Miss Sarah Buchanan, and Mrs. King and "Taz" Newman, of Mexico, are the issue of their union. The children of Mr. and Mrs. King are: Ed- ward S., of Hugo, Oklahoma. He is with the Goldmau Grocery Company and is married to Miss Mary Graham of Paris. They have two sons, Robert Joseph and Al- bert Edward. Newman King, of Shaw, Mississippi. married Miss Bonnie Sherry. Miss Carrie May King, the youngest of the family, is a resident of Clarksville.

Mr. King is well advanced in Masonry, and is Past High Priest of the Clarksville Chapter of Masons, and has represented his chapter in the Grand Chapter of Texas. He is a Past Chancellor of the Knights of Pythias and has sat in Grand Lodge of the Texas Pythian Knights, and filled other offices in the lodge. He is a member of the Presbyterian church of the United States of America.

ALLEN T. REED, M. D. Despite the fact that Dr. Allen T. Reed gained his medical training under circum- stances in which he was desperately handicapped, he has won through to a place of prominence in his pro- fession in Clay county, and is well and favorably known to the medical profession as well as to the laity. He is a native Texas product, born in Sherman, on July 17, 1863, and has lived in Texas all his life. He is a son of Dr. Nelson B. and Lavanda A. (Trous- dale) Reed, concerning whom brief mention is made here as follows: Nelson B. Reed was born in Iowa and eame to Texas in the fifties. He practiced medicine all his life, dying in 1867 when he was forty-eight years of age. He was a Methodist and a member of the Masonic order, and when he died in 1867 he left his widow and seven small children practically unprovided for. The mother was born in Tennessee, and in that state she was married. She was a devout Christian woman, long an active worker in the Methodist church, and she labored faithfully to rear her young children following the death of their father. She died in 1890 and is buried near Honey Grove, Texas.

Of the seven children born to Dr. Nelson Reed and his wife, Allen T. Reed is the sixth child and the youngest son. In the public schools of Honey Grove and vicinity he gained his early education, and up to the age of nineteen he continued at home. He then set out to plan for his own future, and for two years he devoted himself to farm work, saving every penny of his earnings in the meantime. He then entered the

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Missouri Medical College at St. Louis, Missouri, and after a two-year course of study there he went to the Kentucky School of Medicine, from which he was graduated in 1890, with the degree of M. D. The first years of his practice were confined to Honey Grove, his old home locality, and he continued there in all snecess, but in 1912 he decided to move to Byers, and here he has since continued in active practice. Dr. Reed may well be regarded as the leading physician of the city and of these parts, where his standing is of the most excellent order and his practice a large and lucrative one.

He has kept well abreast of the times in his studies and has taken post-graduate courses from time to time, both in the best clinics of New Orleans and Chicago. He is the local surgeon for the Wichita Valley and Fort Worth & Denver Railroads at that point, and has mem- bership in the Northwestern Texas Medical Associa- tion and the state medical association. Dr. Reed is a Democrat, but not an active participant in polities, and he has membership in the Masonic order with Blue Lodge and Chapter affiliations, and he is also a member of the Woodmen of the World.

In 1889 Dr. Reed was married in Fannin county, this state, to Gersham A. Cravens, the daughter of W. H. Cravens of Fannin county. Four children were born to them. Gertrude and Willie are deceased, while Velma and Annette were spared to them.

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A history of Texas and Texans, Part 109

Author: Johnson, Francis White, 1799-1884; Barker, Eugene Campbell, 1874-1956, ed; Winkler, Ernest William, 1875-1960 Publication date: 1914 Publisher: Chicago, American Historical Society Number of Pages: 906

Author: Johnson, Francis White, 1799-1884; Barker, Eugene Campbell, 1874-1956, ed; Winkler, Ernest William, 1875-1960
Publication date: 1914
Publisher: Chicago, American Historical Society
Number of Pages: 906