A history of Texas and Texans, Part 155

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 155

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John L. Milstead was born in Mississippi, but was brought to Texas as a lad and here spent the remainder of his life in agricultural pursuits. He passed away February 15, 1912, at the age of sixty-four years, hav- ing been born October 10, 1848. Mrs. Milstead was born November 22, 1854, in Cherokee county, Texas, and died May 24, 1893, having been the mother of three children: James M., Jessie T. and Rebecca. James M. Milstead was given ordinary educational advantages in his youth, attending the schools of Tyler until he reached the age of seventeen years. He was industrious and am- bitious and made the most of his opportunities, and em- barked upon his career among the world's workers in a minor position in a printing establishment, where he learned the printer's trade. There he spent five years, and at the end of that period came to Waco, where he became engaged in newspaper work. This held him for two years only, however, and at the end of that time he began traveling in the interests of R. G. Dun & Company, being associated with this concern for a like period. Mr. Milstead then received his introduction to the realty business as cashier for the American Freehold-Land Mortgage Company, of London, England, with office at Waco, and for twelve years he continued to act in this capacity, all the time gaining valuable experience. In 1912 Mr. Milstead established an office at No. 404 Ami- cable building, Waco, and here he has since carried on his real estate operations. A man of enterprise, energy and resource, he has been successful in building up a large and representative clientage, and his operations have been extensive in their scope. When not engrossed in the activities of business, Mr. Milstead may often be found working among his chickens, for he took up ponl- try raising several years ago as a hobby and since that time has become somewhat of a fancier. He belongs to the Young Men's Business League and the Waco Ad- vertising Club, and when he can spare time for a vaca- tion takes frequent hunting and fishing trips. Frater- nally, he is connected with the Knights of Pythias, in which he has numerous friends, and his political views correspond with those of the Democratic party. He has never been an office seeker, but at all times has been ready to discharge his full share of the duties of citi- zenship.

Mr. Milstead was married at Waco, March 15, 1904, to Miss Ruby M. Randle, daughter of Dr. G. H. and Emma (Mizell) Randle and a member of an old pioneer family of Waco, and to this union there have come two bright and interesting children: Randle L. and Mil- dred F.

THOMAS J. BEALL. One of the best known figures in El Paso, Texas, is that of Thomas J. Beall, the well known lawyer, who in spite of his seventy-six years, and his long and active career is today one of the most energetic men in the business world of El Paso. He is well known all over the state, both in a professional way and through his prominent fraternal relations. He be- longs to the type of southern gentleman that the exigen- cies of the Civil war called into being. They were the men who made the bravest soldiers and then when the

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cause was lost, returned home and devoted the energies that had heretofore been expended on the battlefields of Virginia to building up a devastated South, and the honor and chivalry that is associated with the military caste has always found its truest exponent in this class of which Captain Beall is one of the few remaining members.

Thomas J. Beall was born in Thomaston, Georgia, a son of Doctor Jeremiah Beall, a native of Georgia. Dr. Beall was a prominent physician in Thomaston and Macon, but removed in 1851 to Texas, locating at Mar- shall. Here he was actively and successfully engaged in the practice of his profession a few years when he retired. He served as surgeon during the Creek Indian wars, and spent the last years of his life on his ranch near Comfort, Texas, dying in 1887. He married Susan V. Neal, a native of Georgia. She also is dead and is interred in Talbotton, Georgia.

Captain Beall received his earlier education in the schools in Georgia, although he was only a youngster when his father came to Texas. He later attended Tulane University in New Orleans and then entered the law department of Cumberland University in Tennessee. He was graduated from this institution with the class of 1858 and immediately located in Marshall, Texas. Here he practiced until the Civil war broke out and in 1861 he joined the Confederate army as a member of the company commanded by Captain Van Zandt, who was later to become Major Van Zandt. This company was known as the Marshall Guards and saw active service during the war. Captain Beall participated in the bat- tles around Vicksburg, and then was wounded and cap- tured in the first battle of Fort Donelson, in which the fort surrendered. This was on the 16th of February, 1861, and he was held a prisoner at Johnston's Island until September of that year, when he was exchanged. He then took part in the defense of Vicksburg when the city was assaulted hy General Sherman, the result be- ing the defeat of the latter officer. After the surrender of the city General Gregg was commissioned a brigadier general and Captain Beall was appointed on his staff, with the rank of captain. In October, 1864, Captain Beall took part in the battle of Chickamauga, where General Gregg was seriously wounded. After his recov- ery the general was assigned to the command of Hood's Brigade which was then on the march to join General Lee. Captain Beall remained with the general until he was killed on the James river near Richmond, during the Wilderness campaign. The captain participated in most of the battles leading up to the surrender of Richmond, among these being the battle of the Wilder- ness, Spottsylvania Courthouse, Cold Harbor, and finally the engagements near Richmond and Petersburg. In the battle of the Wilderness Captain Beall had his horse shot from under him and he was again wounded, but after the ball was extracted he rejoined his regiment, for in those last terrible days, every man was worth ten Federals, for they were fighting with their backs to the wall and with the courage of despair. Captain Beall fought through the last campaign and after the surrender returned to Texas to once more take up his Jaw practice.

He located in Bryan. Texas, and there remained un- til 1880, gaining a wide reputation as a brilliant and able lawyer. In 1866, during the campaign of Governor Geddings, he was offered the nomination for Congress, which at that time was equivalent to an election, but he refused the offer, having no aspiration towards political honors. He was one of the eight electors who cast their votes for Samuel J. Tilden for president in 1876.

In 1881, after a very successful career as a lawyer in Bryan, Texas, he removed to El Paso where he or- ganized the firm of Davis and Davis. This firm became the leading law firm in the city and did a large and lucrative business. In 1884 Captain Beall accepted the attorneyship for the Gould and Santa Fe Railroad sys-

tem and removed to Fort Worth where he made his headquarters until 1887. He then resigned his position and returned to El Paso where he established the firm oť Beall and Kemp, which in its turn hecame one of the most prominent and successful firms in the city. Since this time he has been engaged in practice here and his firm numbers among its clients such powerful and influential corporations as the Southern Pacific Railroad Company, the Galveston, Harrisburg and San Antonio Railroad Company, the Western Union Tele- graph Company and the State National Bank. He was elected president of the State Bar Association in 1897, and served his term with distinction.

Captain Beall takes an active part in the affairs of the fraternal associations of which he is a member. His chief interest is in the Masons, of which he has been a member since the war. He is a Knights Templar and was honored with the office of grand commander of the order of Knights Templar of the state of Texas. He was the prime mover in the organization of the Benevo- lent, Protective Order of Elks in El Paso and was the first Exalted Ruler of the order.

Captain Beall has been twice married. His first mar- riage was in 1866, to Miss Laura Wilson, a daughter of Colonel Thomas Wilson, of Brazos county, Texas. She died in 1867. His second marriage was to Miss Mar- garet Ragsdale, a daughter of Daniel Ragsdale, of the state of Mississippi. Mrs. Beall is living, and is the mother of four children. The captain has one daughter, Mary Beall, by his first wife. Susan, the eldest of the children of his second marriage, is the wife of E. E. Neff, of the firm of Neff and Niles, of El Paso. Nancy married Joseph F. Williams, who is cashier of the City National Bank, of El Paso. Florence became the wife of John A. Covode of the Bank of Grand Rapids, of Grand Rapids, Michigan, and his one son, Thomas, who lives in El Paso.

WILLIAM R. SAUNDERS, JR. One of Waco's very suc- cessful attorneys in civil practice is W. R. Saunders. In five years he has won his spurs in many cases, and ranks alongside many older men at the bar.

What Mr. Saunders is in the law is an illustration of the old saying that as the twig is bent so is the tree in- clined. From childhood he was accustomed to the ad- monishing of his father to take up a legal career, and his early ambitions having thus been cast in a definite di- rection and with a liberal helpfulness on the part of his father he began practice soon after reaching majority.

William R. Saunders was born in Winona, Mississippi, May 10, 1887, a son of William R. and Francis (Allen) Saunders. His father, who was born in Starksville, Mis- sissippi, in 1852, was a merchant, and in 1892 located at Forreston, in Ellis county, Texas. The mother was born at Selma, Alabama, in 1859. Of the two children, the daughter, Clyde, died in 1984.

The junior Saunders in 1908 was graduated Bachelor of Science from Baylor University, and remained in Waco to read law in the office of Judge George Clark. On June 21, 1909, he was admitted to the bar, and about the same time received his license to practice in the Fed- eral courts. His work has been entirely confined to the civil law, and he makes a specialty of damage and per- sonal injury cases. He is the junior member of the firm of Witt & Saunders, who have their offices on the fif- teenth floor of the Amicable building. Mr. Saunders from 1909 to 1913 was assistant city attorney of Waco. Mr. Saunders is unmarried, is affiliated with the Knights of Pythias, the Woodmen of the World, the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, the Fraternal Order of Eagles, and the Royal Order of Moose. In politics he is a Democrat, and is an active member of the Young Men's Business League of Waco. His church home is the Austin Avenue Methodist. When he gets away from his profession it is usually for a fishing trip, since that is his favorite recreation.

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DR. JOHN MANGUM, one of the leading and most suc- cessful exponents of the osteopathic system of treat- ment, has been in active practice of his profession in Waco since he was graduated from the Still College of Osteopathy at De Moines, Iowa, in 1907. Dr. Mangum was born in Raleigh, Smith county, Mississippi, on March 19, 1853, and is a son of Arthur and Celia E. (Caraway) Mangum. The father was a farmer and one time sheriff of Smith county, Mississippi, and in his later years was a merchant at Silver Creek, Mississippi. He died there in 1898, when he was seventy-two years old. The mother, who was also a native daughter of Smith county, Mis- sissippi, died in 1858, after which Mr. Mangum married a Mrs. Dixon, a widow with one child. Five children were born of the first marriage,-Engenia, Frances, John, Margaret, and William.

John Mangum was scantily enough educated in his boyhood days, for he was only permitted to attend school a few days at a time up to his twentieth birthday. He began clerking in a store then, and continued in that work until the fall of 1885, when he came to Texas, set- tling in Burnet county, and until 1893 he was cashier and bookkeeper for F. H. Halloway & Company. Then he was engaged as a cotton buyer for two years, and in 1896 he came to Waco as manager and head of the gin- ning department of the MeFadden Cotton Business. In 1905 he resigned from that position and going to Des Moines, Iowa, entered the Still College of Osteopathy at that city, and in 1907 was graduated from the insti- tution. He established himself in Waco soon thereafter and he has since been active in the practice of his pro- fession, meeting excellent success in his work and draw- ing to him a wide and ever growing clientele.

Aside from the regular practice of the Doctor, he has given some attention to the preparation and manufacture of a remedy for eczema, burns and skin diseases of every order, which he puts on the market under the name of Zee-Ma-Lol, and by the Dr. Mangum Medicine Company, of Waco. This preparation, though but lately placed on the market, has already gained a deal of popularity, and is regarded as a reliable and effica- cious remedy for the ills for which its manufacturers offer it. Dr. Mangum has made a specialty of diseases of the skin, and has met with excellent success in his treatments of those disorders since he identified himself with his profession.

On April 4, 1876,. Dr. Mangum was married to Miss Jane Gibert, daughter of Rev. Joseph and Mary (Stan- ley) Gibert, of Mount Olive, Covington county, Missis- sippi. They have two children,-Bertha S. and Mary S. Mangum. The first named is the wife of C. R. Sherrill. a lumber merchant of San Antonio, and the mother of two children,-Charles M. and Eugenia, and Mary is married to C. L. Maule, a bookkeeper in San Antonio.

Dr. Mangum is a member of the Pretorians, and he and his wife are members of the Presbyterian church.

WILLIAM F. COLE, M. D. Numbered among the lead- ing specialists of Texas in diseases of the eye, ear, nose and throat, is Dr. William F. Cole, who has returned to the scene of his former successes at Waco, after five years passed in other localities of the state. Doctor Cole came to Waco more than twenty years ago and rapidly rose to the leadership among the practitioners engaged in specializing in his line, his thorough preparation, his inherent skill and his deep and comprehensive knowledge bringing him a large practice and high distinction in his calling, and today he is repeating his former achieve- ments and again rapidly forging to the forefront.

Doctor Cole is a Georgian, born in Franklin county, January 24, 1857, a son of Jacob L. and Frauces P. ( Herndon) Cole. His father was born at Westminster. Pickins District (now Oconee county), S. C., in 1826, and grew up on a plantation, adopting the vocation of farming when he attained his majority. At the out- . break of the war between the South and the North, he

enlisted as first lieutenant in Company I, of the Georgia infantry, and served until the close of hostilities, when he returned to his Georgia plantation. In 1868, how- ever, he came to Texas, and here continued as a farmer and cattle raiser until his death in 1880. Mrs. Cole, who was also born in Pickins District, South Carolina, in 1828, passed away in Texas in 1913, having been the mother of nine children, as follows: Dr. William F., of this review; Salina, who is now the wife of Dr. J. W. James, a prac- ticing physician of Cal Allen, Texas; David H., a pros- perous merchant and farmer of Aline, Texas; Lucy, who is deceased; Edmond M., a well-known cattleman of Kent, Texas; Ida, who is deceased; Claudius, who is suc- cessfully engaged in farming at Kent, Texas; Burder, a successful farmer of Sweetwater, Texas; and Samuel, of Lake Charles, Texas, where he is a prosperous farmer.

William F. Cole was eleven years of age when he ac- companied his parents to Texas, aud here he attended the public schools of Jacksonville and Sherman. Following this he became a student of the University of Nashville, Tennessee, where he was graduated in 1882, with the de- gree of Bachelor of Laws, and he next entered George Washington University, at Washington, D. C. He was graduated from that noted institution in 1889, and at once took a post-graduate course at Georgetown Uni- versity, succeeding which he went to Europe and studied in clinics and hospitals in London, Paris, Berlin and Vienna, from 1891 until 1893, in the latter year return- ing to the United States and establishing himself in practice at Waco. Here he continued in active practice as a specialist in diseases of the eye, ear, nose and throat until 1909, when he was generally accounted the most eminent and successful specialist in his line in Central Texas. Giving up his practice because of impaired health, due to too constant devotion to the duties of his calling, he went to Brownsville, in the vicinity of which city he was engaged in farming until 1912, and then again started practice, at Brownsville. There he con- tinued until January 24, 1914, when he returned to Waco, and here he has continued to maintain offices at No. 902 Amicable Building. He is a member of the McLennan County Medical Society, the Texas Central Medical So- ciety, the Texas State Medical Society and the American Medical Association. He has done much scientific re- search work, and his hobby consists of inventions along the line of his calling. During his vacations Doctor Cole takes frequent trips accompanied by rod or gun, and seldom returns without some trophy of the field or stream. In political matters a Democrat, he served as county commissioner of Cameron county from November, 1912, until March, 1913, although he has not cared for public office. That he was popular, however, is shown by the fact that the voters gave him 355 ballots to 5 for his opponent. Doctor Cole has been successful in a business way, and is the owner of 240 acres of valuable land in Cameron county. He was for some years a director of the old Business Men's Association. Fraternally, he is connected with the Masonic Fraternity, a member of Gurly Lodge of Waco.

Doctor Cole was married July 30, 1890, at Baltimore, Maryland, to Miss Mary Brennan, whose parents were born in Ireland, and to this union there have come two children : William, who is deceased; and Frank B., a student at Baylor College.

JOHN T. DOLLINS. In popular government the tend- ency of the choice of the people falling upon men best fitted for the special duties of the particular office is well illustrated in the case of John T. Dollins, who is now commissioner of the police and fire departments, of water and lights, in the city government of Waco. Mr. Dollins has been an active business man at Waco for many years, was a patrolman and for eight years chief of the police department, and the people of the city recog- nize that there is no better equipped member of the

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community for supervising and looking after the impor- tant duties lodged in this department of municipal af- fairs.

John T. Dollins was born in Boyle county, Kentucky, December 8, 1863, a son of Reuben H. and Mary C. (Springer) Dollins. His father, who was born in Lin- eoln county, Kentucky, in 1826, was a farmer by occu- pation, and moved to Texas, arriving in this state March 7, 1878, and lived here the remainder of his days until his death, April 15, 1901. The mother was born in Mercer county, Kentucky, in 1830, and died in 1892. Their eight children were named as follows: Susie W., Stella M., Jennie E., John T., Annie B., Dudley R., and two that died in infancy.

John T. Dollins was about fifteen years old when the family moved to Texas. Up to that time he had attended the public schools of his native state, and throughout the period of his residence in Texas his career has been an active one in vigorous pursuit for the means of his own success and in work of public service. His first eight years were spent as a farm worker, and in 1887 he moved to Waco and after six months' experience in a butcher shop opened an establishment of his own in that line. He continued to sell meats to the local trade from 1887 to 1894 and then took a place on the local police department, spent four years in the ranks, and for eight years was chief of the department. Since re- signing in 1906, Mr. Dollins has given his active attention to his large retail meat business, and is one of the suc- cessful business men of Waco.

Mr. Dollins married Annie R. Seawell, a daughter of B. A. Seawell, a carpenter of Waco. They were mar- ried December 8, 1891, and four children were born to them, three of whom died in infancy. The only survivor is Dudley A. Mr. Dollins has long taken an active part in the MeLennan County Democracy, is a member of the Waco Commercial Club, the Young Men's Business League, and belongs to the Methodist church. He owns his comfortable residence at 1902 Barnard street. Mr. Dollins takes a just pride in a capable, efficient and com- petent administration of the department of public service entrusted to his care and devotes almost as much atten- tion to his official duties as to his private business and his home and family.

R. L. RANDOLPH. The record of R. L. Randolph, sheriff of Wichita county, is that of a man who has by his own unaided efforts worked his way upward to a position of independence in material things and promi- nence in public life. His career has been one of industry and perseverance and the systematic and honorable busi- ness methods which he has followed have won him the support and confidence of many. His election to the office of sheriff, in 1912, by the largest majority ever given to a candidate for that office in Wichita county, is a high tribute to his personal worth and popularity. Mr. Randolph was born at Nashville, Tennessee, October 15, 1857, and is a son of John H. and Harriet (Davis) Randolph.

John H. Randolph was born in Tennessee, and in young manhood went to Missouri, where he met and mar- ried Harriet Davis, a native of Calloway county, that State. Subsequently, they returned to Tennessee, but in March, 1877, came to Texas, settling at Graham, in Young county. In his native State, Mr. Randolph had been engaged in farming, and on locating in Texas took up ranching as a vocation and was engaged therein during the remainder of his life. He accumulated considerable city property, was successful in his ven- tures, and at the time of his death, in 1901, when seven- ty-two years of age, was known as one of the sub- stantial men of his community. During the war between the North and the South he served as captain of a company of Tennessee volunteer infantry, in the Con- . federate army. His wife passed away in 1895, at Graham, being sixty years of age, and the mother of

five sons and two daughters, of whom R. L. was the fourth in line of birth.

R. L. Randolph secured common school advantages, and on coming to Texas, as a youth of twenty years, engaged in freighting. In the fall of 1878, he was ap- pointed deputy to the sheriff of Young county, and when his superior officer was killed in a desperate battle with an outlaw, he was elected constable, an office which he held for four years. Succeeding this, he resigned his office and embarked in the cattle business in which he was engaged for six years, at the end of that time, in 1899, coming to Wichita Falls. Here Mr. Randolph be- came interested in farming ventures, in which he has been engaged to the present time. He was elected con- stable of the county in 1904, and four years later was elected sheriff, to which office he has since been re- elected, as before mentioned. In the discharge of the duties of his responsible office, he has ever displayed courage of the highest order, and a conscientious de- votion to the tasks devolving upon him that has won him the respect of the law-abiding people of his county and the wholesome fear of the criminal class. He has always been a supporter of democratic principles. Sheriff Randolph is a member of the local lodge of the Inde- pendent Order of Odd Fellows, and has numerous friends therein, as he has in business and political circles of this part of the State.

In 1892, Mr. Randolph was married at Wichita Falls to Mrs. M. E. (Davis) Williams, and to this union there have been born two children: Sudie, born at Wichita Falls, in 1894, a graduate of the Wichita Falls High School; and Mrs. Nellie Wyatt, born in October, 1895, who resides in this city.

JOSEPH RAMSEY FERRELL, M. D. A number of the most talented and learned members of the Texas medical fraternity have devoted their attentions to specializing, believing that in this manner they are better able to ac- complish a greater measure of good than in the line of general practice. Among the foremost is found Joseph Ramsey Ferrell, M. D., widely and favorably known as a specialist in diseases of the eye, ear, nose and throat, who for more than twenty years has been located in practice in Waco, where he now has offices at No. 49 and 50 Peerless Building. Doctor Ferrell was born in Ten- nessee, December 2, 1860, and is a son of Jesse R. and Lucy (Ramsey) Ferrell. His father, born in 1834, in Cannon county, Tennessee, came to Texas with his fam- ily in 1883 and here passed the remainder of his life as a nurseryman, passing away in 1591. He was a good and reliable citizen, industrions in his labors and thor- oughly progressive in his citizenship, and won the re- spect and esteem of those with whom he came into con- taet by reason of his many admirable traits of character. He married (first) Lucy Ramsey, who was born in 1836, in Washington county, Tennessee, and died in 1862, the mother of two children: Jesse and Joseph Ramsey. Mr. Ferrell married (second) Mrs. Deater, a widow of Leb- anon, Tennessee, who passed away in 1896.

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A history of Texas and Texans, Part 155

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