A history of Texas and Texans, Part 145

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 145

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).

Doctor Wayland is a direct descendant of Dr. Francis Wayland, the famous writer and educator of New Eng- land. Like his famous ancestor, Doctor Wayland has a passion for colleges and universities, and years ago conceived the idea of a great college for the plains, se- lected a site for its erection and began to work and sacrifice to realize his dreams, until today Wayland Col- lege is established in a magnificent structure costing one hundred and sixty-five thousand dollars, has grounds on the highest point in the city, is one mile west of the square, and the grounds and buildings and equipments represent a value of two hundred thousand dollars. Though the college is young, three hundred and fifteen students were enrolled in 1913-14. His first gift was the campus of thirty acres and ten thousand dollars in cash, but as the buildings progressed he put more and more into it, until his donations represent over one hun- dred thousand dollars in actual cash, and he expects to give more.

Early in life Doctor Wayland was converted and joined the Baptist church. In politics he is a Demo- erat. He became identified with the Masonic Lodge in 1885, taking the Royal Arch degree in 1889, and be- coming a member of the Commandery in 1914. By his marriage to Miss Tucker, celebrated December 27, 1883, at Azle, in Parker county, Texas, Doctor Wayland is the father of nine children, namely: Beulah M., born June 18, 1885; Joseph Marvin, born March 3, 1887; Mabel C., December 30, 1891; John H., September 29, 1894; Catherine L., December 31, 1896; Mary B., March 2, 1898; Sarah F., March 13, 1902, and James Robert and Helen Marguerite, twins, born March 7, 1907. Six of these children are still living.

The information for this brief sketch of one of Texas' most notable public benefactors has been furnished by one who knows his career and his accomplishments, and this brief sketch may conclude with this sincere esti- mate and tribute: "He is without doubt the most pro- gressive and liberal Baptist layman in Texas, accord- ing to his means. He is not a rich man when compared to many others in Texas, for there are men on the plains worth many times what he controls, but none with a more liberal soul. He gives to every good cause, he has given thousands of dollars to other interests in Texas, including missions and philanthropy, and espe- cially to the young and growing Baptist Seminary at Fort Worth, to which institution he gave three thousand dollars since Wayland College was founded. He is an active churchman along all lines of church work, sup- ports every worthy enterprise, and is honored by his people of this great section. He has made a name worthy to go down in history along with his worthy ancestor, Dr. Francis Wayland of national fame."

WESLEY ALLEN FRENCH. One of the old-time mer- chants of Kaufman and the representative of one of the oldest American families, Wesley Allen French is one who has given a worthy account of himself in the busi- ness of life, and won for himself a place of importance in the business and civic life of the community. For thirty-five years he has carried on a cattle trade in Kaufman that has given him a wide prominence in the heef markets of the west, and as the owner of a fine ranch of eight hundred acres he takes rank among the most successful agricultural men of the county.

Wesley A. French was born at old Tarrant, Texas, on December 9, 1853, and is the son of Allen Oliver and Lucy Jane (Ferris) French. The father was born in Vermont in 1818, and there was reared to rural life, receiving at the same time a passing fair education. His family was a most distinguished one of the Green Mountain state, his mother's uncle being Ethan Allen, famed in Revolutionary times and the author of that historic reply at Ticonderoga, "In the name of the Great Jehovah and the Continental Congress," when asked by whose authority he demanded the surrender

2062

TEXAS AND TEXANS

of Fort Ticonderoga. Allen Oliver French was the only one of the children of his parents who did not linger abont the old parental home and devote his life to the state of his birth. He came in 1851 overland from Vermont to Texas, and made this state his home during the remainder of his life. The quiet, peaceful atmosphere of his parental home had scant attraction for him when young manhood woke within him, and he longed for the freedom and the untutored ways of the Western frontier. He roved about a considerable time in Texas before he stopped at old Tarrant, in Hopkins county, and there he spent two years, during a part of the time being occupied in the conduct of a small coun- try store. He traded his stock of goods for a number of horses, his intention being to penetrate farther into the west, but his horses, all save a mule and a pony, were stolen by Indians the day following the trade, and it was upon the backs of these last remnants of his little fortune that the family and their remaining effects made their way into Waxahachie. For a few months Mr. French stopped there, being occupied dur- ing that time in selling out a stock of goods owned by another party, and accompanying them to Kaufman to assist in a similar performance when the work in Waxahachie was completed. It was in 1855 that they settled here, and when the sale had been consummated he profited by the few acquaintances he had made and found other employment as deputy county clerk. He was later appointed to the office of clerk of the county and served a short time. When he discontinued his public service, he again gave his attention to the mer- chandise business and opened a little store on the corner of the public square, where his son is still active in business and where he carried on a mercantile career, save during the period of the war, until death claimed him in January, 1873.

Allen Oliver French came into the South ten years prior to the war, and it pleased him to array himself on the side of the South on that question that separated the North and the South at that time. He said but little of his Yankee antecedents, and even dismissed the subject of family history, to the decided disadvantage of his own children. He was a man ever sincere and earnest in his communications with his new neighbors, and soon found himself to fit into the civic fabric so like the original threads that it would be difficult indeed to distinguish the boundaries of his individual person- ality. He was such a man as the public needed in those days for the collection and custody of its taxes during the chaotic period of the Civil war, and he was made tax collector and treasurer for Kaufman and Van Zandt counties while the war was in progress. While per- forming his duties as collector he did his work on horse- back, kept his money in an old trunk, and carried it to Austin at intervals in that "strongbox" placed in a buggy. He was absent from his home many days at a time, and he carried on communication with his fam- ily through the medium of his son, Wesley Allen, of this review, who often carried money, as well as mes- sages, and met his father at great distances from home and at cross roads where the elder man was expected to be at certain times. When Mr. French surrendered his commission and retired to his little store in Kaufman as a private citizen, no breath of suspicion attached to any of his transactions during his service, and no man before or since has served whose public or private life more nearly conformed to the principles of right be- tween man and man.

In the political turmoil just preceding the outbreak of the war he saw more clearly than did his neighbors the results that must inevitably acerne from the threat- ened conflict. He knew full well the resources of the North and advised and voted against secession, but when it was accomplished by the convention of Texas, he acquiesced and loyally supported the government of the Confederate states. His store in Kaufman con-

tinued business while the war was in progress, and the "war widows" bought goods of him that were never paid for, and much goods were sold for which Confed- erate serip was exchanged, the same yielding nothing in the end. But, in spite of these and other adversi- ties, he persevered and came to the end of his life with comforts for his family, satisfied that he had done what he could to relieve suffering and toward the construc- tion of a state.

Allen French married Miss Lucy Jane Ferris, a daughter of Rev. Philo Ferris, a Methodist minister of Racine, Wisconsin, and a sister of Judge Ferris, who spent his life in Waxahachie, Texas. The father was a native of Vermont and went to Wisconsin in early life. Mr. French and Lucy Ferris were married in 1845, and they came down the Mississippi river to the mouth of the Red river, on up to Jefferson, Texas. They were bound for California, but finding the climate of Texas beneficial to the health of Mr. French, they set- tled here, and thus was established in Texas a family that has been up and doing in the interests of the state since its location here. Judge Ferris, the brother of Mrs. French, was easily one of the foremost men of Ellis county and one who is properly deserving of men- tion in this connection. He was born on March 26, 1823, in the town of Hudson, on the Hudson river, in New York state, and received a good education as meas- ured by the standards of that early period. He was twenty-four years old when he first made his way to Texas, having by that time become a full-fledged law- yer. From the beginning his career in law was spec- tacular. His briefs began to make their appearance in the Supreme Court reports as early as the Fourth Texas Report, and success attended him at every step. He was a Democrat, and during the presidential campaign of 1852 he served as editor of the Jefferson Herald, per- forming the duties of his task chiefly at night, so as not to interfere with his regular professional work. In that year he was elected to the Legislature for the counties of Titus and Cass, and the authorship of the common school system then adopted for Texas was di- rectly credited to him, he having prepared the bill and followed it to its final passage. In 1854 he moved, for the sake of his health, to the town of Waxahachie, then a small village, beautifully located on the waters of the Waxahachie river, and here he soon found himself deluged in a practice that included seven counties. His progress from then up to the outbreak of the war was rapid, and during the war he served in the position of judge of the Sixteenth Judicial District, a position in which he felt he could render better service, owing to the ill state of his health, than he could on the field of battle. His was a lawless district, but the judge with a firm hand maintained the supremacy of the law to the end of the war. At one time, in Parker county, his life was threatened in the event that he should attempt to hold court and organize a grand jury, and it is needless to say that the judge carried out his plans to the letter, afterward indicting the parties, who were in due time tried and convicted. Thus was the spirit of insubordination successfully quelled in his district. At the close of the war the judge retired to the duties of a practicing attorney, and in 1868 he associated him- self in a banking enterprise with a Mr. Getzandaner. Judge Ferris withdrew from the bank some eight years later in favor of his son, and formed a partnership with a Mr. Rainey that endured for several years, and conducted some of the most important litigation that was carried on in the county. In 1875 Judge Ferris was chosen by the people to frame a new constitution for the state of Texas, and he rendered a most praise- worthy service in that important work. Later he was one of the five commissioners appointed by Governor Coke to amend and revise the statutory laws of the state, and this laborious task was carried to comple- tion with great credit to the commission. The articles

Olis + Bacon

2063

TEXAS AND TEXANS

in the revised statutes relating to "Public Lands, " "Statute of Frauds," "Trespass to Try Title,"' "Forcible Entry and Detainer, " "Registration, "' etc., were the work of Judge Ferris, and so well were they prepared that in a committee appointed in later years to re-digest and revise the laws, they were required not to change or alter any word or sentence, or even the punctuation, in the former revision.

Judge Ferris was one of the delegates from Texas to the National Democratic Convention in Chicago in 1884, and that was his last act of participation in the public life of his district. He withdrew from all activities of a public nature, and devoted himself thereafter to a quiet private life, his closing days being passed in his fine home, surrounded by every comfort and luxury. He was for many years a consistent member and supporter of the Methodist Episcopal Church, South, and his daily works were of the most exemplary order, show- ing forth many of the gentler Christiau virtues and the straightforwardness and integrity of a genuine man- hood.

Mrs. French, whose brother Judge Ferris was, died in 1894, the mother of five children. Ella died un- married; Ida is the widow of W. C. Hollenquist and resides in Terrell, Texas; Wesley A. is the subject of this review; Mary A. died in Kaufman as the wife of M. F. Porter, leaving two children; Anna married the late John C. Graves, one of the leading merchants and citizens of Kaufman, and has one son, June Graves.

Wesley Allen French was born at Tarrant, Texas, on December 9, 1853, and during his childhood was ever a valnable aid to the material welfare of the family. He was a part of the little store that his father conducted in Kaufman, and when his father died in 1873 he re- turned home from Waxahachie, where he had been at- tending school, and since that time has not strayed from Kaufman. He saw to it that the little store was conducted in such manner as to maintain in comfort the family and educate the younger sisters, and in the years he has devoted to it he has ontgrown two business houses, and recently erected a third, which will per- manently mark the spot upon which Allen Oliver French launched his business life in the county seat.

As success in the mercantile business followed Mr. French, he concluded to devote himself to activities in the cattle business, as an experiment, and so well did his experiment work out that for thirty-five years now he has been thus occupied. He has displayed a rare judgment and sagacity in perfecting shipments of beef for the markets, and his cattle rarely miss the top price for beef, while packers have come to know Mr. French through their long acquaintance with the products of his ranch. His fine farm of eight hundred acres in the vicinity of Kaufman, as well as his business house in the city, testify substantially to the character of his material progress in this community, as well as adding not a little to the appearance and wealth of the same.

Mr. French has been twice married. In 1889 he mar- ried Miss Emma Irvine, a daughter of Judge John Irvine, of Terrell, and she died in 1892, leaving a son and a daughter. William Allen was graduated from the A. & M. College of Texas in the class of 1913, and is now at the head of his father's business interests. Mattie Lee was born in 1890. In June, 1895, Mr. French married Miss Araminta Love, a daughter of John K. Love, a farmer, and one of the early settlers of Texas. He was a conspicuous character of Kaufman county for many years, and a Confederate soldier. The children of Mr. and Mrs. French are eight in number and are named as follows: Jane and Julia, who are twins; Ferris, named in honor of his maternal grandmother's family; Rachael, Thad, Katie, Diek and John Wesley.

Mr. French has never been a man to devote himself to fraternal or other social life, confining his attentions to his family and his business affairs. He has. however, been a member of the Methodist church, and served it as

a steward for many years. He is one of the solid and conservative men of Kaufman who has reached a high place in material prosperity as a result of his own ac- tivities, and his place here in the esteem of the people is one that is undeniably secure and desirable.

OTIS T. BACON. Thirty years of residence and official activities have given Mr. Bacon a place of honor where he might properly be called the foremost citizen of Wichita Falls. He was chosen many years ago to fill the first term as mayor after the incorporation of the city and that distinction will be associated with his name as long as Wichita Falls has a history. Thus in an official and private capacity he has done much to pro- mote the general improvement and upbuilding of this fine commercial center of Texas. For the past six years he has served as postmaster and his administration of that office has been productive of many changes and improvements in the service and he was the organizer of the first regular. city delivery service in Wichita Falls and during his term has also been completed the splendid new postoffice building.

Otis T. Bacon was born at Paris in Bourbon county; Kentucky, September 13, 1858. His father was Warren A. Bacon, a native of Massachusetts, born in the town of Dudley, September 18, 1816, moving to Kentucky in 1840 and becoming a farmer and banker and a very successful man in that locality. During his early years of Kentucky residence he taught school and was com- paratively a poor man when he began his career in that state. In early life he was a Whig and afterwards a Republican and in religion was an Universalist. His death occurred at Paris, Bourbon county, Kentucky, June 28, 1902, at the advanced age of eighty-six years. The maiden name of his wife was Belle Talbott, a daughter of Louis and Sarah Talbott, and she was born in Bourbon county, April 1, 1836, and died in August, 1898, at the age of sixty-two years. She was the mother of six children, three sons and three daughters, of whom Otis was the third. The Bacon family has a long an- cestral record, going back to the parish of Winston in Suffolk county, England, to the year 1600. The first ancestor of record was Michael Bacon, and Michael Bacon, Jr., was one of the founders of Dedham, Massa- chusetts, where he resided from 1635, the year in which he came from England. Many of the family in that and subsequent generations took part in the Indian wars and also in the Revolutionary struggles. An uncle of Otis T. Bacon was Edward Davis Bacon, eighth in descent from the original American settlers, and was a missionary in the cause of liberal Christianity, while his younger brother, William S. Bacon, was a preacher of the Universalist faith. The Universalist Society in Oxford was the third society of that faith in America being organized in 1775, and all the Learned and Davis families, who were ancestors of Mr. Bacon, were sub- scribers to the organization of the church. On the ma- ternal side Mr. Bacon is descended from early Virginians of English descent who had lived in that commonwealth from before the Revolutionary war. Grandfather James Jones was a Revolutionary soldier and was in the Kings Mountain fight. He was also in the fight at Guilford Court House, in which he was taken prisoner, and died on a British prison ship. James Jones married Ariabelle Kennedy, whose father, Jesse Kennedy, was an official surveyor in Kentucky, and lived on Kennedy's creek where he was among the first settlers.

Otis T. Bacon was educated in the private schools of Kentucky and at the age of nineteen left home with limited resources and arrived at Taylor, Texas, in Oeto- ber, 1877, his first employment being as clerk in a store at that place. He lived there for six years and on August 10, 1883, arrived and became a citizen of Wich- ita Falls, which was then a small village. For a number of years he was successfully identified with the real estate business in this city and as a result of early and

2064

TEXAS AND TEXANS

continued investments in the city and adjacent country he has accumulated a large fortune, his holdings consist- ing of business and residence property. At the solicita- tion of Col. Cecil A. Lyon, chairman and national com- mitteeman of Texas, Mr. Bacon consented to have his name presented to the president for the position of postmaster of Wichita Falls. On November 1, 1907, President Roosevelt appointed him postmaster and he has conducted the office from that time to the present writing. On January 1, 1913, the postoffice was moved into the new Federal building, a structure which is an ornament and credit to Wichita Falls and which was built at a cost of $67,868.50. This is said to be the finest office in a city of its size in the state of Texas. Fifteen clerks now compose the staff of the local post- office and there are six city and six rural carriers. Mr. Bacon, among other things, has the credit for having established and supervised the new service of the parcel post at the beginning of 1913, and has inaugurated many other changes for the benefit of the citizens. The total business of the local office for the year ending March 31, 1908, was $18,036.13. Each year from that time forward showed a large increase and the total receipts for the year ending March 31, 1913, were $47,352.90. In 1908 the office had only four clerks, there were three rural carriers and no city carriers. When he became postmaster Mr. Bacon found the local office in a very unsatisfactory state and he accepted the office under protest. His management, however, soon cleared up all the disorder and for several years he has had a record as head of one of the best conducted postoffices in Texas.

In February, 1889, Mr. Bacon served as county road overseer and in that position graded the first road in Wichita county. He held the office for six months, until the fall of 1889. At that date Wichita Falls was in- corporated, and Mr. Bacon was chosen the first mayor. He was re-elected in the following April and served two years and nine months. He was also president of the school board for two years, and for three years was a member of the city council. A Republican in politics, he has always been one of the leaders in the Texas party. Fraternally he is affiliated with the Ancient Order of United Workmen at Wichita Falls, the Benev- olent and Protective Order of Elks in this city, and is a member of the local chamber of commerce. He has membership in the Christian church.

On December 9, 1885, at Muir, in Fayette county, Kentucky, he married Miss Drusie Smith, a native of Fayette county and a daughter of John and Augusta Smith, old residents of that vicinity. The two children born to their union are Otis T., who died in infancy, and Benjamin B., born at Muir, Kentucky, June 20, 1892.

Mr. Bacon is very democratic in his tastes and rela- tions, has been a friend of the laboring man and of labor organizations and many of his staunchest admirers are among what is often called the common people. He possesses very broad views, is a man of versatile accom- plishments and has many delightful reminiscences of old-time days in Texas and Wichita Falls. During his conduct of the local postoffice he has never made a prac- tice of keeping his door locked to the public and any one has ready access to his hearing and counsel.

WILLIAM JOHN YATES, tax assessor of Kaufman county, Texas, was born in Dallas county, this state, March 4, 1871, the son of a Dallas county farmer, Eli Yates.

Eli Yates was a native of Alabama, but he grew up and married in Scott county, Mississippi, and from there enlisted his services in the Confederate army. He par- ticipated in the battle of Iuka and other engagements of the Army of the Tennessee, and at the close of the war brought his family to Texas. In his youth he had no opportunities for schooling, and in the battle of life

he was hampered by reason of his lack of an education. On coming to Texas he settled on the old Caruth farm, near Dallas, from whenee, a few years after the birth of his son John, he removed to Kaufman county. His life was that of the quiet, honest farmer, and in his re- ligious views he harmonized with the teachings of the Baptist church, of which he was a worthy member. He passed away in 1909. His widow, Angerona (Wig- gins) Yates, survived him a few years and her death occurred in June, 1912. They were the parents of James A. and Willoughby E., of Forney, Texas; Mrs. George Deeds, of Arlington, Texas; Mrs. E. J. Ball, of Forney, and William John, whose name introduces this sketch.

William John Yates was reared on his father's farm. He attended the schools near his home and also for a session or two was a student at Baylor University. His first work away from the farm was as a clerk for the Conway-McCord Company, a leading mercantile estab- lishment of Terrell, Texas, where he won several pro- motions, until he was made buyer in the shoe depart- ment, a position he held for fifteen consecutive years. He was with the firm from the time it opened its first goods in Terrell in January, 1893, until he resigned his place in order to enter upon his duties as a public officer of the county.

Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.

A history of Texas and Texans, Part 145

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