A history of Texas and Texans, Part 117

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

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The mother of James W .. Madden died at the early age of twenty-nine, when her son James was but thirteen years of age. Balis Madden, who was a farmer all his life, died at the age of fifty-seven, his death being sup- posed to have been shortened by a wound which he re- ceived during the Civil war. He had enlisted in 1862 and served until the battle of Mansfield, Louisiana, where he was wounded and his right leg amputated, so that he was unable to return to active service. After the war he served as tax collector of Houston county for six years,

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and was one of the prominent men in the community in all the movements and activities which represented the better citizenship and moral growth of this vicinity. There were six children in the family, two sons dying in childhood. A daughter, Mary, was the wife of James A. Glover, and at her death left one child, Nannie, who lives in Colorado City, Texas. Dorothy is the wife of B. F. Holcomb, a farmer near Alto, Texas. Florinda is the wite of Joe R. Monk, who lives at Kennard, in Honston county. Each has several children.

James William Madden, who is the only surviving son, spent his early childhood in Houston county during the Civil war period. When the war closed he was nine years old, and in the meantime his parents had lost all the slaves with which the plantation was operated, and the father, being a cripple from his wound, was unable to give much attention to his estate. In this situation the work of managing the farm devolved largely upon the young lad, and he remained at this post of duty and faithfully bore his responsibility in behalf of his parents until he was of age. He then married Miss Bettie Mitchell, a native of Houston county and daughter of Z. W. Mitchell. Their three children are named as follows: Addie-Missouri is the wife of Samuel M. Boone, who is a partner with James W. Madden in the real estate and abstract business; they have two children, Madden and Paul Boone. Charles Madden is engaged in the lumber and hardware business at Jourdantown, Texas; by his marriage to Miss Alice Dean they have three children, James, Elizabeth and Charles. Wilson-Erls Madden, who is now a civil engineer residing in Denver, Colorado, has had a notable career. A graduate of the Annapolis Naval Academy in the class of 1906, he then entered ac- tual service, was with the Atlantic fleet on its remarkable tour of the globe of that year or the year following, and after the return was with the Pacific fleet, reaching the position of Junior Lieutenant of the Navy. On account of ill health in 1910 he was retired on part pay by the naval authorities and has since been engaged in the prae- tice of his profession at Denver. He married Miss Dor- othy Ann Hayes, of New Jersey, and they have one child, Dorothy Sage Madden. Bettie. the mother of these three children, died at Crockett in April, 1884. and in November, 1885, Mr. Madden married Miss Sarah Thomas Holcomb, the daughter of Thomas H. Holcomb, who is now a resident of Augusta, Houston connty.

After leaving the farm, James W. Madden located in Crockett in 1882, and for three years served as deputy tax collector under his father, this being followed by six years' service as deputy county and deputy district clerk, the duties of hoth positions having been efficiently per- formed by him at the same time. He also edited the Crockett Economist, a weekly newspaper, during two years of this time. At the age of eighteen he had taken up the study of law, and he continued this at every pos- sible interval over a period of seventeen years, until in 189I he successfully passed the examinations and was ad- mitted to the bar. Since then he has been an active mem- ber of his profession, with the exception of three years, when he was called upon to give all his attention to public affairs. In 1896 Mr. Madden became private secretary to Charles A. Culberson, who was then governor of Texas, and is now the senior United States Senator from this state. In 1897 and 1898, during the Culberson adminis- tration, Mr. Madden was a member of the official family of the government, holding the chief office under his appointment as Secretary of State. His services in that office were important. He was ex-officio a member of the State Printing Board and State Board of Education. He was during that time also a member of the first Texas State Text-Book Board, a body created to select and adopt a uniform system of text-books for use in the public schools of the state. His associates on this board were Governor C. A. Culberson, M. M. Crane, then At- torney General; R. W. Finley, who was Comptroller ; J. M. Carlisle, who was Superintendent of Publie Instrne-

tion, and Professor W. F. Prichett, who was then Presi- dent of the Sam Houston Normal School. During this time Mr. Madden also presided at the organization of the twenty-fifth and twenty-sixth sessions of the legis- lature of his state, which was a part of his official duties. Since returning from Austin, Mr. Madden has given all his attention to his large and lucrative law practice at Crockett. He has served upon the city school board and has interested himself in a public spirited manner with all movements for the advancement of his home locality. He and his wife are members of the Southern Methodist Church, which he joined when sixteen years of age and she at fourteen, and he has been almost constantly on the board of stewards of his church, of which he is now chairman, and has also served as superintendent of the Methodist Sunday school for several years. He and his present wife have no children of their own, but his three children by his first wife were quite young when he married his present wife and they never knew her ex- cept as "mother." They are all prominent members of their respective communities and owe their splendid sta- tions in life in a large degree to her worthy and kindly precepts. In politics, Mr. Madden has always been a Democrat, being a firm believer in democratie principles of government and is a great admirer of our present executive head, President Woodrow Wilson.

JOSEPH H. NATIONS. In the commercial enterprise of El Paso during the last quarter of a century there has been no more conspicuous figure than that of Joseph H. Nations, who is owner and proprietor of the J. H. Na- tions Packing & Mercantile Company, and probably owns as extensive properties in ranches and the cattle industry as any other individual in west Texas. Mr. Nations has not only been an important factor in various lines of business, but also in the civic development of his com- munity, and has contributed largely to the advancement of the general welfare.

Joseph H. Nations, who represents one of the oldest families of Texas, was born in Gonzales county, Texas, January 5, 1857, a son of Eli and Eliza ( Austin Wood- ruff) Nations, natives respectively of Mississippi and Texas. Eli Nations, the father, came to Texas when a boy, in company with his father, and was reared in Austin and subsequently became a cattleman and farmer. During the closing months of the Civil war he was in the service of the Confederate government as beef buyer for the army. His death occurred at the great age of eighty-seven years in 1912, while his wife passed away in the same year at the age of seventy-six. The father was a resident of Gonzales county until 1883, at which date he sold his interests there and moved to Alpine. where he and his wife had their home until 1888, at which date they came to El Paso and lived in quiet re- tirement in this city until death came to both of them. The mother's half-sister was the wife of Anson Jones, who was the last president of the Texas Republic.

Mr. Joseph H. Nations spent his boyhood in southern Texas and attended the public schools, and also was a student in Moulton College of Lavaca county. When he left school at the age of twenty-one years it was to take up the ocenpation which his father had so long followed, the stock-raising industry, and among his con- temporaries the judgment is that no man in the state of Texas has made a more substantial and consistent sue- cess as a cattleman than Joseph H. Nations of El Paso. He is the owner of several ranches, one in El Paso county, a large ranch in Socorro county, New Mexico, another in Pecos county, Texas, and his herds of cattle, horses and sheep, principally cattle, number many thou- sand and cover many hills and valleys while grazing over the vast estate of Mr. Nations.

The year 1886 is remembered among old time cattle- men as one in which the cattle market was at about its lowest point, when the price of cattle was such that few men could make a profit by driving their stock to the

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northern and eastern markets. It was in this period of special depression that Mr. Nations made the beginninig of an enterprise which has since flourished as one of the largest of its kind in the Southwest. He established at El Paso a retail butcher business. From small begin- ning this has developed with the growth of El Paso in the general extension of the cattle business and all other lines of industry, and the J. H. Nations Packing Com- pany today does an annual business amounting to more than half a million dollars and has about one hundred people in its employ. It is by far the largest establish- ment of its kind in El Paso and is an important com- mercial asset to the city. Mr. Nations also has interests in a transfer company, in the real estate business, and in laying out additions to the city, and various other enterprises of this city. He is also a member of the executive committee of the Panhandle and Southwestern Stockmen's Association, El Paso, and of the American National Live Stock Association. His business career has been of a very strenuous nature. He has never al- lowed himself any vacation and from an early age has been constantly in the saddle, both literally and fig- uratively speaking, and it is as a result of this unre- mitting application to business that his success has ex- panded and been so generous. Mr. Nations is a di- rector of the First National Bank of El Paso, is presi- dent of the Young Men's Christian Association, and is a trustee of the First Baptist church. He is also a member of the Elks Lodge.

Mr. Nations was married October 6, 1880, to Miss lda M. Hicks, who was born in Mississippi and who came when a child to Texas with her parents. Her father and mother were Joseph Y. and Mary E. (Braden) Hicks, natives respectively of Mississippi and Tennessee. Both her parents represented some of the old and promi- nent families of the South, and for generations back had been identified with the wealthy and cultured and slave-owning country and Southern aristocracy.

Dr. Joseph Y. Hicks, father of Mrs. Nations, was a graduate of Tulane University of New Orleans and for many years was engaged in the successful practice of his profession in Lavaca county, Texas. The four ehil- dren of Mr. and Mrs. Nations are as follows: Josephine Nations, residing with her father in this city; Anna is the wife of A. B. Urmston, who is a wealthy retired ranchman and now resides with his wife on a beautiful and large landed estate near Edinburgh, Scotland; Kath- rine, who is the wife of Nelson Studebaker Riley, Mr. Riley being a nephew of the well-known Studebaker Brothers, antomobile and wagon manufacturers and the manager of the branch house of the Studebakers at Kansas City; Mary, the youngest child, is at the present time pursuing her studies in music at the University of Berlin, Germany. Finally, after many years of constant devotion to his business, Mr. Nations, appreciating the strain placed upon his health and physical resources, de- termined to take a vacation and enjoy a much needed rest by an extensive trip throughout the East. The home of himself and his family is at 904 South Magoffin street. Through all the years of his residence, Mr. Nations has kept a firm faith in the future of this city, and he him- self bas witnessed and helped promote a prosperity which has been surpassed by no other Texas city. With the completion of the great irrigation project now in progress, and with the further development of mining industries which are still in their infancy, and with the proper extension of trade with Mexico, El Paso, accord- ing to Mr. Nation's positive convictions, will forge rap- idly to the front, and within less than ten years will have a population of one hundred thousand people. Mrs. Nations is well known in El Paso for eburch and ebari- ties, and her name has often been associated with the social and benevolent undertakings which have been a feature of El Paso life during late years.

ROBERT L. LATTIMORE is well known as an attorney of Paris who has spent his professional life largely in the public service. He was born in Lamar county, Texas, near Roxton, on March 19, 1878, and he is the son of Joseph M. Lattimore.

Joseph M. Lattimore came to Texas from MeMinn county, Tennessee, where both he and his wife were born and reared. Joseph was born in 1844 and his wife was born in 1852. She died in January, 1899, the mother of Thomas, of Sulphur, Oklahoma; John, a farmer at Rox- ton, Texas; Robert L., of this brief notice; Samuel, of Fort Worth, Texas; William, a merchant of Paris, Texas; Aubrey W., of Lattimore & Thompson, Paris, Texas, and Roy and David Dickson Lattimore, farmers, of Rox- ton, Texas. The father of Joseph Lattimore was Buchanan Lattimore, who was born in Tennessee and there passed his entire life. He was a farmer, and he participated in the Civil war as a Confederate soldier, furnishing two sons to the service as well. His son, Joseph M., the father of the subject, was with General Forrest 's command during much of the time he wore the Confederate gray, some four years in all, and he served nine months in a Federal prison. Buchanan Lattimore married a daughter of John Kelley, and she bore him the following named children: Joseph M .; John, who was killed in battle during the Rebellion; Callie, who married Dr. King; Susie, the wife of William Sartin; Eveline married William Rowland, and one who died unmarried.

It thus appears that the Lattimore family is one of the solid ones of the South, which has produced many sons in each generation, who have done good work for their state in the way of citizenship and public service.

Robert L. Lattimore was educated in Roxton and was graduated from the Roxton High School. After a year as a teacher in the schools of the Prairie Point Distriet, Mr. Lattimore took up the study of law under the pre- ceptorship of W. P. Brown and the firm of Wolf, Sher- man & Semple, and his admission to the bar followed on December 21, 1898. Mr. Lattimore established himself in Paris soon thereafter in the practice of his profession, and after two years of legal activity was appointed as- sistant county attorney by Leslie L. Hardison, serving four years in that capacity. In 1904 he was elected to the office, which he filled most acceptably for another four years. His term of office was marked by a number of prominent cases, among which was the prosecution of the Youngs for murder, which terminated in the con- fession of one of those implicated after she had been committed to prison for life. The murder of one Jacowby, a prominent rural school teacher, by one Long furnished another case peculiar in the annals of crime in Lamar county, the prosecution of which fell to Mr. Lattimore, who convicted his man, and Long is now serv- ing a life sentence in prison. Other cases of a similar kind came up during Mr. Lattimore's incumbency of office and he handled them in that careful and effective manner that came to mark his regime as one of the most efficient ones in the history of the county.

In 1908 Mr. Lattimore was elected district attorney without opposition, and served thus for another four years. His district comprised Red River, Lamar, and Fannin counties, and the work of his department was conducted along lines of the most complete thorough- ness, so that offenders against the law suffered the con- sequences of their crimes in every instance. He retired from office in December, 1912, resuming private practice in association with Mr. Hutchinson.

Mr. Lattimore was married to Miss Jessie Caviness, daughter of C. G. Caviness, a well-known contractor of this city, who came to Texas from the state of Ar- kansas. Mrs. Caviness is the mother of four children. To Mr. and Mrs. Lattimore have been born two children- Boh and Louise.

millis Holloway

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WILLIS A. HOLLOWAY. Now living retired at Mid- land, Mr. Holloway is a Texas farmer and cattleman whose experience covers more than half a century and who belongs to one of the oldest families of American stock settled in the state.

Willis A. Holloway was born December 20, 1835, near San Augustine, Texas. His father was Simpson Holloway, a native of South Carolina, who came to Texas in 1818 and located on a farm near San Augus- tine. He was thus a settler of Texas three years before the first Austin colony was introduced into the bound- aries of the province and he was among the few Ameri- cans who had located in the eastern border of the state. Simpson Holloway was a soldier of the Mexican war and had also served in the Revolution of Texas during the thirties. The Holloway family is of mingled Scotch, Irish and French and Dutch descent, and the name has been identified with the southern states for generations and the families have always been planters and farmers and before the Civil war owned slaves.

Mr. Holloway at the outbreak of the Civil war enlisted in the civil service and served in the troops under Col Henry McCullough. He went all through the war and afterwards was at three different times a member of the State Rangers Service, his service being under John Cannon, John F. Ford and Captain Kirk Mays. He also belonged to an independent ranger company for several years in the Indian campaign and he now draws a pension for his services of twenty dollars per month.

Mr. Holloway was engaged in the cattle business at Midland up to 1905 and in that year was elected county treasurer, an office which he filled with fidelity and zeal for six years, and since then has been retired, living on his farm near Midland. Mr. Holloway first married Miss Mary Roberts, of Alabama, her family having come to Texas at an early date. She died in 1868. His second marriage occurred some years later when Miss Martha Me Reynolds became his wife. They are the parents of one son, who is now nineteen years of age. Mr. Hollo- way is a stanch Democrat in politics and has always given his time and contributed otherwise to the party organization. He is affiliated with the Masonic order and the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and is a member of the Baptist church, having been a deacon of that church for forty years.

N. LAWRENCE LINDSLEY. The high accomplishments that have marked the professional career of N. Lawrence Lindsley, one of the leading members of the Dallas county bar, prove his fitness as a representative of a fam- ily that for generations has been noted for its attain- ments in the learned professions. His great-grandfather, Philip Lindsley, was a noted educator and was president of what was formerly Nashville University, now Vander- bilt University, Nashville, Tennessee. His grandparents were N. Lawrence and Julia (Stevens) Lindsley, the former of whom collaborated in the compiling of Worcester's Dictionary, while the latter was a daughter of Moses Stevens, also a widely known educator, to whose memory stands a monument in the old city cemetery, Nashville, erected by the Masonie Grand Lodge of Ten- nessee. The father of Mr. Lindsley, Henry Stevens Lindsley, was a lawyer of distinction in central Ten- nessee, where he died in 1875, and one of his uncles was the late Judge Philip Lindsley, of Dallas, Texas. Mr. Lindsley 's mother bore the maiden name of Mary Bashie Atkins.

N. Lawrence Lindsley was born at Lebanon, Wilson county, Tennessee, in June, 1873, and was thoroughly educated in the classical, literary, and legal courses at Cumberland University, his native place. He was there graduated in January, 1894, with the degree of Bachelor of Laws, and soon thereafter entered upon the practice of his profession at Evansville, Indiana. His abilities were quickly recognized, a large and representative prae- tice resulted, and he was eventually retained as atttor-

ney by the Western Union Telegraph Company. As counsel for this corporation he came to Dallas, Texas, in 1899, and here he was at once welcomed among the leading legists of the city. Although he has retained his official position with the telegraph company, he is also engaged in the general practice. During the last several years, in recognition of his services, the com- pany has not only retained him in cases in which his personal attention has been desired, but also in associa- tion with other attorneys throughout the state on the appeal of their cases. As a lawyer Mr. Lindsley is up to the best standards of his profession. In the best sense of the word he had heen a full-measured man and citizen, filling all the places of professional and social life with rare ability and conscientious zeal and an earnest purpose which have made his influence in Dallas a constant force in behalf of the principles of good citizenship. His legal knowledge, perception, shrewd- ness, and ability are of the highest order, and his devo- tion to his profession and the interests of his elients has been distinguished even in a community of lawyers so strong, intent and tireless as those of Dallas. He is a good speaker, of the persuasive and convincing kind, and his eases are carefully thought and studied before trial and then ably argued and contested before court and jury. As might be expected from his scholarly train- ing, the law has not alienated his attention from general literature, and he is as pleasant to meet socially as a friend as he is formidable professionally as an oppo- nent.

In 1899, Mr. Lindsley was united in marriage with Miss Mildred Maude Field, the daughter of Judge A. H. Field, of Dallas, recognized as one of the most famous lawyers in the state during the early days, and consid- ered the greatest jury lawyer in Texas.

STEPHEN DECATUR BROWN. For manay years one of the quietly prosperous and enterprising citizens of the vicinity of Dallas was the late Stephen Decatur Brown, well known as a stockman and farmer, whose home on the outskirts of Dallas has in recent years become built up and practically a part of the city.

Stephen Decatur Brown was born in Virginia, Febru- ary 21, 1853, and he died September 13, 1883. His parents were William and Mary Brown, both natives of Virginia, and they had four children, only one now liv- ing, named as follows: Oscar, deceased; John, de- ceased; Mary, the wife of Dr. William Berkly, of Wash- ington, D. C., and Stephen Decatur.

The war disturbed all peace and order in Virginia during the '60e and came at a time when Stephen De- eatur Brown was a boy hardly in his teens, and while getting his first lessons in the local schools. He ran away from school and joined the Confederate army under General Lee, and served as a private from the early part of the war until its close. Although a boy, he did an efficient part as soldier and continued in active service until the end. He was never wounded nor cap- tured. After his discharge from the army he went out to New Mexico and engaged in the cattle business there. Later he was in Comanche county, Texas, where he was elected and gave capable service as sheriff for two years. After that he moved to Dallas county, and thereafter until his death was prosperously engaged in stock rais- ing. He built his home where Mrs. Brown still resides, at 1320 Penn avenue, and continued to operate his farm and stock business for many years. His widow now owns seven residences which were built on the original farm. Mr. Brown was a member of the Episcopal church and was a Democrat in polities, and, though always publie spirited and held in high esteem by his com- munity, was never willingly a candidate for office.

In 1873, Mr. Brown married Miss Octavia Coleman, a native of Texas and a daughter of Dr. George S. and Ellen (Douglas) Coleman. Dr. Coleman was a native of Asheville, North Carolina, and his wife of Virginia.

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There were six children in the Coleman family, men- tioned as follows: Mary S., deceased; David S., of Athens, Texas; William D., deceased; Douglas, de- ceased; Mrs. Brown; and Carrie, who is unmarried and lives with Mrs. Brown. To the marriage of Mr. and Mrs. Brown were born four children: George C. Brown is an optician of Dallas, senior member of the firm of Brown and Montgomery; Alexander B. is deceased; Edgar D. is employed in the treasurer's department of the Texas & Pacific Railroad and is unmarried; Gertrude is deceased.

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A history of Texas and Texans, Part 117

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