A history of Texas and Texans, Part 22

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 22

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On July 31, 1904, Judge Lewis was married in Jones county, Texas, to Miss Ola MeLaughlin, who was born in Arkansas, daughter of E. B. MeLaughlin, at present a resident of Dickens county. To this union there has been born one child: Juanita, born November 19, 1905, at Abilene, Taylor county.

ALEXANDER R. PHILLIPS. One of the ablest men in the fire insurance field of Texas is Mr. Alexander R. Phillips of Dallas, the special agent for the German American Insurance Company of New York. In 1897, when just out of school, and a boy of seventeen, he was given his opportunity. This opportunity consisted in subjecting himself to the demands and requirements that might be made of a general office boy in an insurance office. He did about everything an office boy would be asked to do, and at the same time was learning the in- surance business. At the end of three years he had advanced to the place of special inspector and rate-clerk for the Hartford Fire Ins. Co. He then became special agent of the Springfield Fire & Marine Insurance Com- pany of Massachusetts. He remained with that com- pany four years, and then hecame special agent of the Insurance Company of North America. While with the latter concern, the disastrous conflagration at Houston occurred, and he was one of the adjusters that handled these losses. Mr. Phillips was with the Insurance Com- pany of North America for eight years, and resigned in order to accept the special agency of the German- American Insurance Company of New York. His offices at Dallas are in the Insurance Building.

Alexander R. Phillips was born in Waco, Texas, Febru- ary 8, 1880, a son of George P. and Florence E. (Min- ney) Phillips. His father was one of the early settlers in North Texas, locating first at Sherman and then in Dallas and from there becoming a pioneer of the west Texas town of Abilene, where he erected the first frame building which adorned that town. He continued his residence in Abilene until 1893, then moved to Dallas.

Alexander R. Phillips, as a boy, was educated in the public schools of Dallas, and at the Dallas Academy, being graduated from the latter institution in 1897 and almost immediately entering upon his practical business career in the insurance field. He stands very high in all insurance circles, and in 1910 was selected as one of the special committee to formulate the general insur- ance schedules used throughout the state. The adoption of this new schedule of rates was an important event in fire insurance history in Texas, and the schedules then adopted are the ones now regularly used in all offices. Mr. Phillips is also an active member of the Texas Fire Prevention Association. He is one of the prominent laymen of the Southern Presbyterian Church being an elder in his home church. Mr. Phillips, on February 4, 1903, married Miss Anna Garlington, a daughter of M. D. Garlington of Dallas.

HARRY E. GORDON. As president of the Texas State Society of Public Accountants Mr. Gordon both offi- cially and through the prestige of his acknowledged abil- ity occupies the leadership in this important department of commerce. Mr. Gordon is a thoroughly trained pub- lie accountant, and a year or so ago came from New York City to Dallas where he rapidly became acknowl- edged as one of the most capable and successful in his profession.

Harry E. Gordon is a native of the historic old town of Haverill, Massachusetts, where he was born on the twenty-first of July, 1880. His family belongs to the old New England ancestry. His parents were James W. of state of New Hampshire, and Sarah (Matthews) Gordon, of the state of Maine. James W. Gordon, the

father, was for fifty-two years a carriage manufacturer in Massachusetts and when he retired from his long years of business he was a wealthy man, and moved from Massachusetts to New Hampshire to spend his declin- ing years. This branch of the Gordon family is directly descended from the Scotch Clan of Gordons, probably the most noted in Scotch history, and from the viewpoint and judgment of many capable historians, it was the Gordons, who, with their money and their bravery and their enterprise really established Scotland as a nation. Mr. Gordon's mother belonged to the old colonial Amer- ican stock and she has membership in the Daughters of the American Revolution and she is a niece of Major General Wilkes West, who was a major in the Revolu- tionary army.

Mr. Harry E. Gordon received his education, accord- ing to the standards of his New England rearing, and subsequently took up the practical work of accountancy. In 1910 he graduated from the New York University as an accountant, and in August of the same year located in Dallas where he established an office as a public accountant in connection with Peter & Company. Ou November 15, 1911, he organized the present firm of H. E. Gordon & Company, public accountants, with offices in the Wilson Building. Mr. Gordon was elected presi- dent of the Texas State Society of Public Accountants on the 22nd of May, 1912, and he is also auditor of the Advertising League of Dallas. He is a member of the college fraternity of Delta Sigma Phi of the New York University. Mr. Gordon was married at St. Louis, Mis- souri, September 26, 1912, to Miss Fannie Schnittker.

ROBERT W. EATON. As an exemplification of the high position to which a life of industry, perseverance and well-directed effort may bring an individual, the career of the late Robert W. Eaton is an interesting study. Early thrown upon his own resources by the death of his father, with but ordinary advantages of an educa- tional nature and no financial assistance, he persistently worked his way to the front ranks of business men, and at the time of his death, September 26, 1910, was widely known in county politics. Mr. Eaton was born at Bowling Green, Kentucky, in 1855, and was a son of Wesley and Nancy (Drake) Eaton, the latter being directly descended from Sir Francis Drake. Mr. Eaton's parents, natives of Kentucky, are both deceased. There were eight children in their family, as follows: Sarah, who is the wife of Theodore Dishman, still a resident of Kentucky; Catherine, deceased, who was the wife of Daniel Price, also deceased; Newton, who has passed away; Robert W .; Belle, who is single and a resident of Kentucky; Fannie, who is the wife of John Jones, of Bowling Green, Kentucky; Rochester, who is a resi- dent of Dallas, Texas; and Wesley, who is deceased.

Robert W. Eaton was reared upon the old Kentucky homestead place, and, his father being a farmer, he was brought up as a tiller of the soil. His educational advantages were somewhat limited, as the death of his father necessitated his going to work when still but a lad, but he was intelligent and ambitious, made the most of his opportunities, and managed to gain a good prac- tical knowledge of the important things in life. The mother managed to keep her little brood about her, and taught them habits of industry and honesty and en- deavored to fit them for the positions they were to fill in life. Mr. Eaton remained in Kentucky until 1880, in which year he migrated to Texas, and settled on a farm in the vicinity of Dallas. He remained thereon for some eighteen years, meeting with signal success in his farm- ing and stock-raising operations, and in 1898 came to Dallas, which was his home up to the time of his death, For years Mr. Eaton had been an active worker in the ranks of the Democratic party in Dallas county, and in 1898 he became his party's candidate for a position on the board of county commissioners, to which he was subsequently elected and served two terms. He then

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made the race for sheriff of Dallas county, but met with defeat, and again became the nominee for county commissioner. He was again returned a victor, and was serving in that capacity at the time of his death. Mr. Eaton's public record was one of conscientious serv- ice to his fellow-citizens. He had a high regard for the responsibilities of public office and it was ever his object to further those movements which made for progress, education, morality and good citizenship. In both pub- lie and private life he was highly esteemed, and his death removed from Dallas one of its most zealous and public-spirited citizens.

Mr. Eaton was married to Miss Mera Dishman, a native of Mississippi and a daughter of Jerry and Bettie (Woodard) Dishman. Mr. Dishman was a carpenter by occupation, and came of a family of Kentuckians, while his wife's people were from Georgia. There were five children in the Dishman family: Mera, who became Mrs. Eaton; Ella, who is the wife of John Harris, of Robie, Texas; Cora, who is the wife of Frank Darnell, of Abi- lene, Texas; Jerry, a stockman of that city; and Bettie, who is the wife of Ben Harwood, of Abilene. Mr. and Mrs. Eaton were married in 1880, and became the parents of these children: May, who is the wife of Tom Marsh, of Dallas connty, and has one child,- Thomas; Benjamin, who is single and resides at home with his mother; Robert, a well-known business man of Dallas, who has two children,-Wilkin and Robbie; and Beulah, who is the wife of Earl Lynn, of this city.

Mr. Eaton was brought up in the faith of the Method- ist Episcopal church, and was a liberal supporter of its various religious and charitable movements. He was known as a generous, big-hearted man, and one who never refused aid to worthy enterprises. Fraternally, he was connected with the local lodges of the Woodmen of the World and the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, in both of which he was very popular. Since his demise, his widow has resided at No. 4204 Ross avenue, Dallas, in the vicinity of which location she is widely and favorably known.

STEPHEN A. DOUGLAS. As an institution for the pre- paratory training of young men and young women the Douglas Select School of Waco has a record during seventeen years, not only of progressive growth and prosperity, but of broadening and increasing efficiency and usefulness. Already many successful men, in the professions and in business and affairs, credit that school with having furnished them encouragement and a good start on their career.

The founder of the school, Stephen A. Douglas, was born in Downington, Meigs county, Ohio, November 27, 1866. His father, Henry M. Douglas, born in the same part of Ohio in 1839, retired from farming in 1900 and spent the closing years of his long life in Texas, where he died in 1913. The mother, whose maiden name was Sarah A. Mccullough, was born at Boston, Massachu- setts, July 7, 1844, and now resides in Waco.

Stephen A. Douglas was educated in the public schools and attended the pioneer institution of higher learning in Ohio, the old Ohio College at Athens, grad- uating in 1889 as Bachelor of Pedagogy. After some years' experience in teaching in Ohio, he came to Texas in 1896, and in the following year established what is now the Douglas Select School at Waco. Beginning with nine pupils, and an equipment of one room with two tables and nine feet of blackboard, the institution has flourished, necessitating removal from time to time to larger and better quarters, and at the present time its average enrollment is one hundred and fifty pupils, though as many as two hundred and forty-four scholars have at one time enjoyed the instruction and influence of the school. It has a high rank among Texas preparatory institutions, and many of its graduates have made cred- itable records in colleges and universities. Professor Douglas is an excellent type of the modern educator, pro-

gressive in his methods, purposeful and determined in his attitude toward his calling, and is not only an instructor but possesses the rarer and more useful gift of imparting inspiration to his pupils.

Mr. Douglas is affiliated with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and the Knights of the Maccabees, is a Democrat in politics and a member of the Presbyterian church. He has succeeded well as a business man, and besides owning the property in which his school is con- ducted, on grounds 125x212 feet at 91 Washington street, he is a stockholder in the Southern Traction Com- pany.

Mrs. Donglas, his wife, is a member of an old and prominent Southern family. On May 28, 1910, Mr. Douglas was married at Waco to Miss Mattie H. Hill, daughter of W. S. and Maggie T. (Davis) Hill. Mrs. Douglas was one of ten children, as follows: Hugh B., Lonis L., Sam D., O. T., Fannie M., Read W., Altie L., Mattie H. and two who died in infancy. Her maternal uncle, Sam Davis, was a scout under Colonel Coleman of the Confederate army and when captured by the Union troops in 1863, . Mr. Davis refused to divulge any infor- mation concerning the Southern army, and his last words before his execution were: "If I had a thousand lives to give I would give them all before I would betray a friend of my country." W. S. Hill, father of Mrs. Douglas, was born in Rutherford county, Tennessee, in 1842, and died April 20, 1910, at Waco, was a promi- nent man in his locality in his home state, and after the Civil War located on a farm in Coryell county, Texas. Mrs. Douglas was born in that county. By a former marriage Mr. Douglas has three children: Sarah C., Stephen A., Jr., and Dorothy Mae. Mr. Douglas and family reside at 904 Washington street, Waco.

THOMAS STALLWORTH HENDERSON, youngest of the seven children of Thomas S. and Harriet (Red) Hender- son, was born near Washington, on the Brazos, on the 12th of January, 1859.

His parents were natives of South Carolina, and with their household and slaves, emigrated over land to Texas in 1848, settling in Washington county, where the father was a successful planter and influential citi- zen. The mother died in 1839, and some years after the war the father removed to Marshall, Texas, where he died in 1900. Of their children John N., lawyer and judge of the Court of Criminal Appeals of Texas, died at Dallas in 1907; Samuel R., lawyer, died at Bryan in 1908; Mrs. Lizzie Chandler lives at Anderson; Mrs. Alice Fowler at Lampasas; Mrs. Georgia Rodes at Nav- asota and Miss Ada and the subject of this sketch re- side at Cameron, Texas.

He attended the country schools of his native county and afterwards Waco (now Baylor) University, where he graduated with the degree of Bachelor of Arts and the honor of his class in 1877.

In preparation for his chosen profession, the law, he entered St. Louis Law School, St. Louis, Mo., where he pursued his studies until licensed to practice in 1879.

On the 19th of June, 1879, he located at Cameron, Texas, where he has since resided.

By industry and diligence he has established a repu- tation as an able and successful lawyer.

A broad minded and progressive citizen, Mr. Hender- son has contributed much to the development and up- building of his community. He is president of the Cameron Water, Power & Light Company; of the Ice & Cold Storage Company ; of the Milam County Abstract Company; vice president of the Citizens National Bank ; and member of the Board of Directors of the Texas Fidelity & Bonding Company, of Waco, and of the National Temperance Life Insurance Company, of Dal- las, Texas. His office building recently completed is one of the handsomest law offices in the state and is for the exclusive use of the law firm of Henderson, Kidd, Gillis & Henderson, of which he is the senior member.

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He inherits the family love of farm life and has ex- tensive farming interests.

He is a democrat and is a loyal and effective advo- · cate of the principles of his party. He was County At- torney of Milam county, 1880-82; District Attorney of the 20th Judicial District, 1882-86; City Attorney and member of the Board of Aldermen of Cameron; and in 1893 represented his county in the 23d Legislature. He served as a member of the Board of Regents of the University of Texas, 1895-11, being chairman for six years.

He attends the Baptist Church, of which denomina- tion his wife is an active member. His fraternal affilia- tions are with the Knights of Honor, the I. O. O. F., Woodmen of the World and the Praetorians. He is also an active member of the State Bar Association and the State Historical Association of Texas.

He was married at Marshall, Texas, in 1884, to Minnie Agnes Burns, daughter of John H. and Mary E. Burns, of Caddo Parish, La. Their union is blessed by six children, Thomas S., Jr., now a member of the above mentioned law firm; Eleanor, Mary Lake; John Burns; Harriet Ada. and Agnes Red.

JUDGE G. EVANS COWAN has been much in the public service in Franklin county. His life, in a business way, has followed the channel of lands, titles and surveys, and in the execution of his public duties he has come to be regarded as one of the real landmarks of the county. He has held the office of County Surveyor for some- thing like 20 years at various times, and a perusal of the record would seem to indicate that he has been returned to office of county surveyor on every occasion when his public service in other quarters did not pre- clude the possibility of his serving in that capacity.

Born in Cass county, Texas, on Dec. 11, 1856, G. Evans Cowan is the son of William J. and Harriet (Evans) Cowan. The father came out of Kentucky into Arkansas as a young man and in Clark county he met and married Miss Evans. He was distinguished for having built the first house in Arkadelphia, Arkansas. Among their children Judge Cowan was the seventh son, and in keeping with a popular' superstition regard- ing the destinies of seventh sons, Judge Cowan was tiek- eted with the nickname "Doc;" but the fates seem to have made an error in his case, for he never evinced aught of desire to embrace the medical profession for his own. Of the other children of William J. and Har- riet Cowan, William and Albert lost their lives while serving in the Confederacy around about Richmond, Virginia. Thomas died in Arkansas during the rebel- lion ; James died in infancy, and Jobn met his death in 1880 at Searey, Arkansas. Two survive,-George W., a resident of Mineola, Texas, and G. Evans Cowan, of this review.

Judge Cowan was reared chiefly in Clark, Polk and Sebastian counties, Arkansas. The death of his parents in 1860 left him orphaned at a helpless age, and he con- tinued to be among relatives iu those Arkansas counties until he reached his sixteenth year. His education hardly might be designated by that name, so scantily had he been instructed, and when he assumed charge of his own affairs at the age of sixteen he was meanly enough fortified by knowledge. Taking affairs into his own hands at this juncture he took service with a farmer at a small wage including three months' board in the summer months, while he expected to attend school, and the very fact that he set about in this way to mend his lack augured well for his future. It was along these lines of procedure that he brought his training up to that point where he was qualified to instruct others. In 1876 he returned to Texas, working as a farm hand and attending school intermittently until he was twenty- three years old, when he managed his affairs in such a way that it was possible for him to continue in school for the full space of a year. Then, after teaching one

term himself he attended the college at Thorpe Springs and finished the normal course there. He then entered regularly into the work of teaching and continued for six years in that work in Wood and Franklin counties, during which time he occupied himself in spare hours with the study of surveying, and thus prepared himself for later work with the compass and chain. Before he finished his career as a teacher, Judge Cowan was elected County Surveyor of Franklin county in 1882, and al- though he has held that office much of the time since, he actually made the run for the place but that one time. Because of his familiarity with land lines and surveys in this section of Texas, his services have been invited by adjoining counties in settling disputes and establishing corners, and otherwise unraveling the tangles into which many tracts of land have been involved from time to time.

In November, 1908, he was elected county judge, and again was called to the office in 1910, and when he turned the office over to Judge Walker, his successor, he as- sumed the duties of surveyor, to which he had been chosen on the same ticket. While serving as county , judge the question of the power of the county court to issue serip to build a court house was litigated to a final determination. His court decided to build a new county building and made an order to that effect, pro- posing to issue warrants upon the county for the purpose. The court's order was met with a suit in the name of the people, enjoining them until the question could be submitted to the voters and their sanction obtained. The matter went to the supreme court of the state for decision and a verdict was rendered in accordance with the procedure of the court of Franklin county, thus set- tling the question in the state, since which time other counties have built and are building public buildings in the same manner.

The Franklin county court house and jail are of con- crete and were erected complete, with furnishings, for warrants to the amount of $65,000, the warrants run- ning twenty years and drawing five percent interest. The court house is two stories with basement, Grecian architecture and a massive white pile, pleasing to the eye and attractive from every point of view. Its con- struction stands as a monument to the court that built it and to the integrity of those who executed the contract under its eve.

Judge Cowan qualified for the practice of law while serving as county judge and was admitted upon examina- tion before the district board of Texarkana, in January, 1913. His first case in court came to him from the Four-States Life Insurance Company, but his chief aim is to be able to appear in suits involving titles and to do probate work. His entry into the abstract field of Franklin county adds another competent factor to the record-searchers of Franklin county, and in this venture as an abstractor he is associated with Judge H. W. Hunt. Another point to the credit of Judge Cowan is his splendid aid in bringing into existence the building and loan association of Mount Vernon, a fiduciary concern which is doing much to enhance the general welfare of the town.

Judge Cowan was married in Franklin county, on January 4, 1881, to Miss Beatrice Wylie, a daughter of W. B. and Sarah A. Wylie, people of sterling Scotch lineage. Mrs. Cowan is the only daughter among the four children of her parents, the others being Dr. J. H. Wylie, of Winnsboro, Texas; H. A. Wylie, of Franklin county, and Alvin P., who died young. The judge and Mrs. Cowan have a family of six children. Della and Jessie are residents of Mount Vernon and Wichita Falls, respectively; Clinton is a farmer in Franklin county, and is married to Electra Shearer; Leslie is a resi- dent of Mount Vernon; Wylie is a student at the Deaf and Dumb Institute of Austin and Raymond and Otis are the remaining members of the family.

Glancing back over the early life of Judge Cowan, one

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can not fail to be impressed with the fact that out of a neglected and untutored boyhood, he has made possible so magnificent a success of his life, and there may be discerned between the lines as well as in bold type, much that should prove inspiring to other youth who have reason to feel that fate has dealt unkindly with them, and spur them on to emulate the accomplishments of the Judge.

PROF. CHARLES M. MOORE. As secretary of the Board of Education of Dallas, Prof. Moore now occupies an important place in educational circles of north Texas and for a number of years as teacher and as executive has been prominent in the school work of this state. He has been identified with educational work for twenty years, and has had many honors and positions which indicate his usefulness and standing as one of the fore- most schoolmen in this state.

Charles M. Moore was born near Troupe in Smith county, Texas, in 1872, a son of Andrew J. and Dorothy (Melton) Moore, his father being a farmer in Smith , county. His early education was obtained in the public schools at Troupe, and at the age of fifteen he entered the Summer Hill Select School at Omen, in Smith county, where he was graduated with the highest honors of his class, and as salutatorian in 1893. He then at- tended the Sam Houston Normal College at Huntsville, and in 1895 he graduated, again with the highest honors, and the winner of the Peabody Scholarship Medal. Dur- ing his school days he had engaged in teaching, and from 1896 to 1901 was connected with the public schools of Palestine, being principal of one of the ward schools of that city. During 1900-1901 he served as president of the East Texas Teachers' association.

Prof. Moore came to Dallas in 1901 to take the posi- tion of principal of the William B. Travis public school in this city. His work with that school for eight years stamped him as one of the ablest managers in the city and increased his reputation throughout educational cir- eles of this state. In March, 1909, he resigned to ac- cept the secretaryship of the Dallas Board of Education, a post to which he had been elected in February preced- ing. Prof. Moore succeeds to the office which for twenty-five years was occupied by the late Captain Thomas G. Terry.

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A history of Texas and Texans, Part 22

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