A history of Texas and Texans, Part 158

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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In 1876, at Waco, Mr. Prescott married Fannie Hart, who died in 1898. The six children of their marriage are: Mary L., now Mrs. Ripley Hendricks of Waco; Aurora, now Mrs. John Flemister of Dallas; Arthur MacArthur Jr., who is a printer at Waco; Thomas H. Prescott, in the printing business at Fort Worth; Wil- liam W .; and Francis L.

Mr. Prescott is prominent and well known in fraternal and social circles. His affiliations are with the Benevo- lent and Protective Order of Elks, the Fraternal Order of Eagles, the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, the Knights of the Maccabees. He attends the Episcopal church and is a Democrat in politics. He is a member of the International Association of Firemen Engineers, of the Texas Volunteer Firemen's Association, and the National Firemen's Association. He is the owner of a comfortable residence in Waco, and is a stockholder in the Cotton Palace Association. Mr. Prescott has made of his official service his chief enthusiasm in life, and practically all his time and interests are divided between the headquarters of the fire department and his own home.

D. W. ODELL. As a principal in each of three distinet law firms, D. W. Odell is easily one of the busiest at- torneys in Fort Worth and vicinity. His career in law has been one of unusual brillance and has brought him into touch with much of the important legal business that has been transacted in this section of the state, as well as introducing him into the politics of the state and rendering him a force to be reckoned with in the legis- lative body and in political circles generally. He has been acting counsel for some of the big interests of the

state, as well as for the state itself, and in all his pro- fessional activities, has carried away the honors by reason of his consummate skill, his far-reaching legal knowledge and his adroitness in managing his cases in all their varied aspects. No more successful lawyer of publie men might be mentioned in this section of the state than Mr. Odell, and his achievements are in every way worthy of him.

D. W. Odell was born in Crockett, Houston county, Texas, on December 30, 1867, and is the son of J. M. and Arabella (Murchison) Odell, both natives of Ten- nessee.

In the public and private schools of Cleburne, Texas, young Odell received his early schooling, but his train- ing did not extend so far as graduation from the high school of the place. He left school to enter the office of Judge Ramsey at Cleburne, where he gave himself up to diligent and telling study under the direction of the worthy judge, there continuing for some years. He was admitted to the bar in 1890, and very soon thereafter began the practice of law on his own responsibility, his long experience with Judge Ramsey fitting him for in- dependent practice as soon as he had obtained the necessary license. In 1892, he was elected county at- torney for Johnson county, and served one full term; he was re-elected to succeed himself and when his second term of two years was within a year of expiring, he resigned at the solicitation of Judge Ramsey and formed a business partnership with that gentleman, who was loth to dispense entirely with the association of the younger man in his practice. This union, it is need- less to say, was a most successful one, and endured for twelve years, during which time Mr. Odell was elected to the State Senate in four years and served four years in that important capacity. Thereafter he had an im- portant place in the political activities of the district, and was delegate-at-large, to the Kansas City Demo- eratie Convention at Chicago in 1900, Distriet Delegate to the National Convention at Chicago in 1896 and served as president pro tem in the state senate.

Mr. Odell is a member of the following law firms: Odell & Turner, of Fort Worth and of Odell, Johnson & Harrell, at Cleburne.

Mr. Odell has been employed as counsel in a great many important connections during the past fifteen years. In 1907 he was counsel for United States Sena- tor Bailey of Texas, in the investigation before the Texas State Legislature. He was counsel for the Waters- Pierce Oil Company in the Penalty and Ouster suit in- stituted by the state, and he represented the House Com- mittee in the Jake Walters Contempt proceedings be- fore the Texas legislature in 1911. He was counsel for the state of Texas in the celebrated Sneed trial for the murder of Albert G. Boyce, and was counsel for the Rev. Dr. Norris, of Fort Worth, charged with the burning of his own church. These citations comprise a few of his more noted legal activities, and will serve to indicate in some measure the prominence he has in the state as legist, as well as legislator.

On December 31, 1893, was solemnized the marriage of Mr. Odell to Miss Birdie G. Murchison, daughter of D. M. Murchison, of Houston county, Texas, where the family is one of the best known in that vicinity. To them have been born four children, as follows: Arabella, Mary, Francis and Weldon.

The family is one that is accorded the highest regard of all who share in their acquaintance, and they move in the most select circles of society in the city.

JOHN B. YOUNG. No one. perhaps, knows and under- stands the west as well as those early pioneers of civili- zation, the locomotive engineers, who served in the days when the iron horse traveled for hundreds of miles through country desolate of human habitation. Many memories of these days are hoarded in the mind of John B. Young, of Toyah, Texas. Although he is now a mer-

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chant and the most successful in his line in the town of Toyah, yet for years he was a railway engineer, and the life of the road still holds its appeal for him.

John B. Young was born on the 4th of October, 1861, in Canada, the son of the Rev. Thomas A. Young and Charlotte L. (Monk) Young, both of whom are now deceased. The Rev. Mr. Young was a clergyman of the Episcopal church, and devoted his life to the work of the church in Canada. He died at Coteau Landing, in Canada, at the age of sixty -- four years, and now lies buried in the cemetery at Quebec. Mrs. Young died at the age of sixty-one and is buried in Hamilton, Ontario. There were nine children born to the Rev. Mr. Young and his wife, two of whom are deceased.

Of the living children of his parents' family, John B. Young is the fourth. He was educated in the Bishop's College at Lenoxville, in the Province of Quebec, but left school at the age of sixteen to enter the business world as a check clerk in a railroad office. As a youngster he had had as his pet ambition that of becoming a railway engineer, and he had at no time relinquished this plan, so new he determined to enter the brotherhood. He first obtained a position as a fireman and then was promoted to that of engineer. He received his first engine while an employe of the New York and New England Rail- road, and after years of service with this road he came west. Here he entered the service of the New Mexico and Arizona Railroad, running out of Benson, Arizona. This was in the pioneer days and life was not the routine for the locomotive engineer that it is today. His last service as an engineer was in the employ of the Texas and Pacific Railroad, in the years from 1884 until 1908. During his entire service as an engineer he never had an accident until the month of July, 1908, when he re- ceived a broken limb in a wreck at Midland, Texas. After this accident persuasion was brought to bear on the veteran engineer by his wife and friends and he was persuaded to give up his seat in his beloved engine.

In February, 1909, Mr. Young therefore entered the mercantile field, as the proprietor of a small dry goods and notion store in Toyah. With the assistance of his wife he has succeeded in building from this modest be- ginning the largest business of its kind in Toyah. The pleasant manner and genuine worth of the proprietor has helped to make this store the most popular in Toyah and everyone is a friend of Mr. Young's. He owns a pleasant home in Toyah and is also the owner of four sections of fine Reeves county land.

In the fraternal world Mr. Young is a member of the Masons, belonging to the Knights Templar and also being a Noble of the Mystic Shrine. He has been made an honorary member of the Brotherhood of Locomotive En- gineers. In religious matters, Mr. Young is a communi- cant of the Protestant Episcopal church. He is a Demo- erat, politically, and takes a keen interest in local poli- ties, being a member of the aldermanie council.

Mr. Young married Miss Agnes Van Gieson, who was born in New York state, a daughter of Virginius Van Gieson, her father serving in the Federal army as a lieu- tenant during the Civil war.

ROBERT MCCLELLAND WALKER, M. D. Many of the men in the medical profession today are devoting them- selves to the prevention of disease, as well as its cure. They are endeavoring to persuade people to use better methods and are spending their time in the search for more satisfactory methods of handling disease. Among this class of medical practitioners in Texas is Dr. Walker, of Amarillo, who in his position as city health officer for the past five years has been able to accomplish much for the improvement of public sanitation and the health and welfare of the community. Dr. Walker is a suc- cessful young physician, who has been a resident of Amarillo since 1904 and enjoys a large and distinctive private practice in this city.

Robert MeClelland Walker was born in Montgomery, Grant county, Louisiana, April 25, 1871, being the second

in a family of three children born to Henry Clay and Emma (McCain) Walker. His father, who was born in Louisiana, has been a merchant for many years in that state and is still in' active life and a resident of Homer. He is a veteran of the Civil war, having served with the Ninth Louisiana Infantry, going in as a private when only thirteen years of age, and during the great part of his service, which continued from the beginning to the end of the war, he was a courier. He has been successful as a business man and now enjoys a competence. In polities he is a Democrat and is a member of the Meth- odist church. His wife, also a native of Louisiana, died in 1876 at the age of twenty-one.

Dr. Walker attained his early schooling in the public institutions of Louisiana, and between the ages of four- teen and seventeen was engaged in clerking in his father's store, an occupation from which he had occa- sional time to attend to his school studies. He early learned to rely upon himself and to make the oppor- tunities and the means for his advancement along the lines indicated by his ambition. When he was seventeen years old he began studying medicine under the precep- torship of Dr. H. V. MeCain, who was first cousin at Montgomery, Louisiana. After two years, when he was nineteen years old, he entered the medical department of Tulane University, and completed his medical course at Memphis, Tennessee, where he was graduated M. D. in 1894. He practiced for about three years at Duson, Louisiana, and after leaving medical college at Memphis, came out to Texas and for nine years was located at De- catur, in Wise county. In 1904 he established his office in Amarillo and has been in continuons practice here ever since. The doctor is a member of the county and the state medical societies and at the present time is secretary and treasurer of the Potter County Medical Society. Fraternally he is affiliated with the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks and is a member of the Methodist church.

At Decatur, Texas, on November 23, 1898, he married Miss Emma Miller, a daughter of Captain William A. Miller, who was a veteran of the Civil war and a member of a Louisiana regiment. Mrs. Walker was born in Ar- kansas, but was reared and educated in Wise county, Texas, having come to this state when a baby in her mother's arms. One daughter born to Dr. Walker and wife is Willena, who was born in Decatur, January 11. 1903. The family residence in Amarillo is a beautiful bungalow at 1310 Harrison street. This home and his excellent practice and many other evidences of material prosperity and popular esteem are the fruits of a career in his profession from a beginning some twenty years ago with only thirteen dollars of cash capital besides a horse and bridle and saddle. Dr. Walker used his horse and riding equipment in order to attend his first patient, and had to use most of the capital before he received his first fees.

CYRUS ARTHUR WRIGHT. As one of the most success- ful as well as one of the most brilliant attorneys of the Panhandle region of Texas, Cyrus Arthur Wright is widely known. Mr. Wright has resided in Amarillo for four years, during which he has been engaged in the general practice of law and has been uniformly successful. Upon learning something of Mr. Wright's family history one can not help but be impressed by the strength of heredity. Mr. Wright is descended from some of the oldest families of the southern aristocracy, and tracing his ancestry back the men have been brilliant scholars and brave soldiers, while the women of the type that made the women of the Confederacy. With such stock as this it is no wonder that Mr. Wright has heen sue- cessful, and yet when we see many men with just such ancestries, of no worth to the world, we must give MIr. Wright much credit, for the use to which he has put his gifts.

The father of Cyrus Arthur Wright, M. U. F. Wright, was born in Westmoreland county, Virginia. When the

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Civil war broke ont he immediately entered the Confed- erate service, although he was under age. He enlisted in the Ninth Virginia Cavalry, as a substitute for a cousin whose father had just died, and when his cousin re- turned a month later, he continued, and served through- out the war. After the surrender at Appomattox closed the chapter, he returned to the old home place and is still living in the old home which was built by mechan- ies brought over from England for the purpose. This house was erected by the founder of the Wright family in this country, William Wright, who settled in West- moreland county, Virginia, in 1725. He brought many slaves and lived the life of an English country gentle- man. When the Revolutionary war broke out, the men of the Wright family were brave members of the Colo- nial forees and later some of them served in the War of 1812. The family was originally of the Anglican or Episcopal faith, but M. U. F. Wright is a member of the Methodist church. He has been a planter all of his life and is a member of the Democratic party. He married Eliza Harding Coles, a native of Virginia and the daugh- ter of Thomas Richard Coles, who was a soldier in the Confederate forces. Her grandfather, James Coles, fought during the War of 1845, with Mexico, as a colonel. Thomas Richard Coles, who was major of the Forty-sev- enth Virginia Infantry, C. S. A., married a Miss Harding, who was directly related to Commodore Perry. Eliza Coles Wright died at the old home in 1890 at the age of thirty-eight. Five children were born to her union with Mr. Wright and of these Cyrus Arthur Wright is the eldest and the only one who is a resident of the state of Texas.

Cyrus Arthur Wright was born in Westmoreland county, Virginia, on the 27th of August, 1873. He re- ceived a splendid education, first attending the famous old college of William and Mary, at Williamsburg, Vir- ginia, and later entering the University of Nashville, from which institution he was graduated in 1898, with the degree of B. A. He entered the latter institution on a scholarship which he won through competitive exam- ination and his record in college was a brilliant one.

After leaving the university he taught school for a time, in Tennessee, South Carolina and Texas. He came to the latter state in 1901, first teaching in Arlington, Texas. In 1902 he removed to Itasca, in Hill county, and here he began the practice of law. He had alto- gether four years of experience as a teacher. He did not remain in Hill county long, soon removing to Brady, McCulloch county, where he opened an office and re- mained for seven years, enjoying a very successful prac- tice. During this time he served one term as county judge.

In March, 1909, he removed to Amarillo, Potter county, Texas, and here he has resided ever since. His practice is a general one and he has very little spare time, so busy does it keep him. His offices are in the Bivins block and he is enthusiastic over the future of Texas, and Amarillo, never expecting to live anywhere else.

In politics Mr. Wright is a member of the Democratie party, and he has always taken an active interest in county, state and national polities. He is a member of the Potter County Bar Association and of the Bar As- sociation of Texas. In the fraternal world his principal affiliations are with the Knights of Pythias. In religious matters he is a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church, South.

On the 26th of June, 1911, Mr. Wright was married to Miss Gladys Yoakum Gillette. Mrs. Wright was born in Texas, in Greenville, Hunt county, and is a daughter of William S. Gillette. Mrs. Wright's father died when she was four years old and when she was seven she went to Los Angeles with her mother and there they lived until she was twelve years of age. She attended school in the California city and when they returned to Fort Worth, Texas, she went to school in that city until she was sent to the National Park Seminary, near Washing- Vol. IV-33

ton, D. C., to complete her education. She graduated from this institutiou with high honors. Mrs. Wright's mother was a Taylor, a member of a well known family of Tennessee, and indirectly descended from James K. Polk. After the death of her first husband Mrs. Gillette married Judge C. H. Yoakum, attorney general for the Frisco Railroad Company, and a brother of B. F. Yoa- kum, who is president of this company, and he has been everything that a stepfather could he to Mrs. Wright. Mr. and Mrs. Wright have one son, Gillette Foy, who was born in Fort Worth, Texas, on the 9th of February, 1913.

WILLIAM S. ROBERTS. The Panhandle country within the last two decades has proved one of the richest and most fertile areas of the great state of Texas. The more important factor, however, than the resources of the land and climate, is the character of the citizenship, in whose hands are entrusted the destinies of this re- markable country. In this respect the outlook for the Panhandle is especially bright, and searching in every corner of the state would not reveal a higher grade of social and civic character than can be found in the ex- treme northwest. A family that well represents this Panhandle citizenship is that of William R. Roberts, a citizen and well-known business man of Amarillo.

William S. Roberts was born in Hill county, Texas, May 30, 1866, the oldest of ten children in the family of Jesse and Epsie (Williams) Roberts. The Roberts fam- is Scotch-Irish in origin, and the first ancestors lo- cated in Virginia. The great-great-grandfather of Mr. Roberts moved west and became one of the early settlers in Illinois and the grandfather moved from that state to Texas, among the pioneers. On the maternal side the Williams family came from England and settled in Ten- nessee, whence they move to Mississippi, and Grandfather Daniel Williams finally located in Hill county, Texas, where he was among those who developed the virgin land from the wilderness, and planted the first erops in that part of the state. The parents of Mr. Roberts were married in Hill county in 1865. Jesse Roberts, who was born in Illinois, came to Texas in 1854, first settling in Navarro county, and became stock farmers and accumu- lated much property and was influential in citizenship. He is now a retired resident at Springtown, in Parker county. During the Civil war he served with the Confed- erate army for two years, and during that time was sta- tioned at Galveston, where he saw only some small skir- mishes and was never in the major campaigns of the war. In politics he is a Democrat and is a member of the Church of Christ.

Mr. Jesse Roberts is one of the remarkable men of Texas, in one respect. He holds the world's champion- ship among the old-time fiddlers, and there is no one anywhere in the country who can wield the bow over the strings with more grace and agility and at the same time perfect more melodious and entrancing melodies than the venerable Jesse Roberts. He never graduated from any school of musical instruction, trained himself in the art, and has the ability to execute all kinds of music. The mother, who is still living, was born in the state of Mis- sissippi. There were ten children in the family, of whom William S. was the first.

William S. Roberts was reared and educated in Texas, and began his career as a teacher. He was graduated in 1893 from the well-known institution Springtown Academy, and after leaving that school taught mathe- maties for five years, and for ten years was engaged in public school work in Erath, Cooke and Roberts coun- ties, Texas. During that time he served two terms as superintendent of the schools of Cooke county, and was also a member of the Board of Examiners. In the Spring of 1903 Mr. Roberts came to Amarillo, where he opened a real estate office, and where he has since built up a large business in this line. He is thoroughly well informed as to land values and resources of the country,

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and is a real estate dealer in whom his patrons have im- plicit confidence.

In political affairs Mr. Roberts has always taken an active part, hoth locally and in the state, and gives his support to every movement for better government. His party is the Democratic. He is now serving and has served for four years as president of the Amarillo school hoard. Fraternally he is affiliated with the Modern Woodmen of America, and is an elder in the Church of Christ.

On August 27, 1895, at Springtown, he married Miss Lulu Nolchutt, daughter of E. L. Nolchutt, formerly of Tennessee, but settling in Texas many years ago. Mrs. Roberts was born in Texas, and is a talented, highly edu- cated woman. She was graduated in 1894 from the Springtown Male and Female Institute and besides rear- ing a fine family of children, she has taken much interest in women's affairs, having membership in the Mothers' Club and civic leagues, and other local movements. Six children have been born to the Roberts home, and they are named as follows : Lora, born at Springtown, graduated in 1913 from the Amarillo high school. Miss Lora gained special distinction by winning the first prize in a contest offered by the Santa Fe Railroad in a contest, the award being made for the best essay describing the edu- cational advantages of the Santa Fe's demonstration train. Two hundred and seventy-three schools and col- leges in six different states and five thousand two hun- dred and eighty contestants were represented in this unique competition, and among others represented were students from the University of Oklahoma, the Canyon City Normal, Baylor University at Waco, and other higher schools. Leta, the second of the children, was born at Era, in Cooke county, and Lona was also born in the same place. Jo Billy Roberts was born in Ama- rillo, which was also the birthplace of Juanita and one now deceased. Mr. Roberts and family reside in a com- fortable and attractive residence at 1810 Tiler street. He is also engaged in farming and stock raising and owns a large amount of land in this section of the state. Mr. Roberts has thoroughly studied conditions in north- west Texas, and claims in time the plains country will become one of the leading grain producer centers of the United States.

WILLIAM C. RUTLEDGE, M. D. A prominent physician and surgeon of North Texas, Dr. Rutledge has practiced medicine for twenty years, and for the past fourteen years has been located at Denison, where he enjoys large professional success.

He was born April 4, 1861, at Martinsburg, Ken- tucky, in Cumberland county. He is of English stock on his father's side and Irish on his mother's. The early ancestors of Dr. Rutledge, Edward and John Rutledge, came from England to North Carolina. Edward Rut- ledge was governor of North Carolina and John was one of the signers of the Declaration of Independence, and both were very prominent men. The doctor's great- grandfather came from North Carolina and located in North Alabama and the doctor's grandfather, John Rutledge, came from Alabama to Kentucky, and married a Murley. To them were born eleven chil- dren, six sons and five daughters, Milton Rutledge being the fifth in order of birth. There are a num- ber of relatives in Texas, and most of them live in Collin county. The doctor's parents were Milton and Nancy (Smith) Rutledge, both born in Kentucky, and the father, who was a farmer, came to Mckinney, in Collin county, Texas, in 1884, and farmed in that vicinity until his death in 1909. The mother is still living, and is an active woman of seventy-five years. Dr. Rutledge is the second in a family of two sons and two daughters. His early education was acquired in the public schools of Kentucky, also the normal schools of Burksville and Glasgow, Kentucky, and besides private study he pre- pared for his profession in the Hospital University of

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A history of Texas and Texans, Part 158

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