A history of Texas and Texans, Part 31

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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With the battles of Oak Hills and Elkhorn, the Texas troops formed a part of the army ordered to Corinth, where the Confederate forces were in need of reinforce- ments, and Colonel Griffith's genius soon made itself felt against General Grant, then pressing hard toward Vicks-

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burg. The Texans were dismounted in Arkansas and their horses sent back to Texas, a move that proved un- popular with the troops, and it was decided to remount them while operating about Holly Springs, information to that effect reaching the men and subsequently caus- ing a serious situation in the army. The delay in the arrival of the horses aggravated the men and at Lump- kin, Mississippi, they showed a mutinous disposition when ordered to march by shouting "Horses! Horses!"' without offering to move. Colonel Griffith took in the situation and addressed his Texans, appealing to their patriotism, their honor and their sense of duty, until every man, save one, yielded, and the ugly situation cleared up as if by magic.

The transfer of the main army to the East gave Colo- nel Griffith greater opportunity to display his ability. He studied the location and disposition of Grant's forces and conceived a plan of campaign against the enemy's rear which met with the endorsement of his co-ordinate officers and resulted in the Holly Springs campaign, with the capture of its garrison and immense stores and sup- plies. This success not only refurnished the Confederate troops, but it disarranged the plans of General Grant and thereby relieved Vicksburg from immediate sack. This campaign was undertaken under the direction of General Van Dorn and was made with the approval of General Pemberton. The service rendered by Colonel Griffith proved so arduous that his naturally delicate physique threatened a breakdown and a few weeks later he felt impelled to resign his command and return home.

Upon his return to Texas, Colonel Griffith, as a brevet Brigadier, was elected a member of the Tenth Legisla- ture, where he became chairman of the committee on military affairs. On March 1, 1864, he was appointed Brigadier-General of state troops by Governor Murrah, for District No. 2, which embraced practically all of the counties along the Brazos and Trinity rivers and east to Van Zant county. In the discharge of his duties in that capacity he elicited the commendation of the Gov- ernor of the Eleventh Legislature, and he continued in command of the district until the end of the war.

In 1876 General Griffith was elected a member of the Fifteenth Legislature and he aided in putting the new state constitution into operation. He was made chair- man of the committee of public printing, where he earned the reputation of a tireless worker, and where he proved to be a veritable "watch dog" of the treasury. Several laws bear the impress of his legislative hand, among them being the statute making drunkenness in office a misdemeanor, and which might be regarded as a pioneer effort toward prohibition in Texas.

In 1873 General Griffith came to Terrell and was here engaged in the merchandise business for a time. He was a large stock raiser before the war, and in later years he identified himself once more with that industry, but he was retired from active business for many years before his death, which took place Angust 6, 1901.

In his citizenship General Griffith showed forth a personality that towered high and which had few su- periors. His address was pleasing, his mind was active, acute and penetrating, and his judgment was clear and unfailing. He was a man inclined to deeds of impulse, but seldom did rashness characterize his moods, and he was always just. He lived down among his fellows, and no material success in life, however great, lifted him above the common people whence he came. His restless energy and his indomitable will urged him on continu- ally, and from his very nature he could not have occu- pied a humble station in life, spite of the fact that humility characterized his personality. In business he proved himself a very Napoleon of finance, both before and after the war, for he made a modest fortune in each period. No matter what the enterprise, he threw his whole soul into the work, as he did when at Holly Springs and Oakland he matched military wit and conrage with General Grant, and when he died a man of achieve- ment and worthy of emulation, was laid to rest.

That the service of the General was of the highest order during his military activity is amply attested by the possession of a letter from General W. H. Jackson, upon the retirement of General Griffith from the Con- federate army.

"Headquarters First Cavalry Corps. "Spring Hill, Tennessee. "' May 8, 1863.

"Lieut .- Col. J. S. Griffith :

"Colonel: Permit me to offer the testimonial of my high appreciation of you as a gallant, competent and meritorious officer of exceptional moral character. It affords me great pleasure to refer to the valuable serv- ices rendered by your command at Oakland, Mississippi, in repulsing and routing a superior force of the enemy, advancing upon General Grenada and thereby saving our retreating army; also the gallant and signal service of yourself while we were together and commanding sep- arate brigades on the raid to Holly Springs and West Tennessee. Please accept the assurance of my highest consideration, and with many regrets that your con- tinued ill health compels you to leave this corps, and a wish that you may soon regain your health sufficiently to enter the service again, I remain, very respectfully,

"W. H. JACKSON,

"Brigadier-General Commanding Cav. Corp."

General Griffith had brothers and sisters as follows: Crabb, the eldest of the family, served in the Mexican war and was a merchant in Farmersville, Texas, later moving to Terrell, and there retiring. He died in 1912, leaving a family by his wife, Grace (Price) Griffith, comprising two sons and two daughters. Elizabeth Griffith married Frank Powell and died in Shelbyville, Texas, without issue. Joseph served for a time in the Confederate army and later became a merchant in Farmersville; he married Lucy Roberts and left three sons and a daughter. Matilda married William Me- Daniel and lives at Sulphur Springs, Texas. She has three sons and two daughters.

On December 8, 1851, General Griffith was married to Miss Emily Simpson, a daughter of John J. and Jane (Brooks) Simpson. The marriage occurred in Nacog- doches county, Texas. The father of Mrs. Griffith came to Texas from Kentucky, his native state, where he was born in 1788, and he died in Nacogdoches county in 1833. He spent his life as a planter, and was always a large slave holder. His family included children as follows: Mary, who married William Buford and spent her life in Sulphur Springs, leaving a family of four children at her demise. William married Letitia Buford and was a boatman and captain, who did a considerable trading in lands and died at San Augustine. Caroline married Albert Nelson and died in Nacogdoches with three daughters and three sons. John died at the age of twenty-one in Nacogdoches. Victor was a farmer near Nacogdoches. He married first Harriet and then Nannie Arnold and died on his farm. Fannie married Conda Reguet and lived in Nacogdoches, where her husband carried on mercantile operations. When she died she left three daughters and a son. Sarah Emily, the wife of General Griffith, was born on November 20, 1833. Flor- ence married Augustus Edwards and died in Terrell, leaving two daughters and a son. Augustus married Emma Kyle and spent his life as a miller and farmer in Garrison, Texas; he died there, leaving five sons and three daughters.

Mr. Simpson was a man of plain but liberal educa- tion, and he came to Texas in about 1829, entering heartily into the hardships incident to those pioneer days in the history of the Republic. Their life was marked by all the stress and strain of existence in a new and wild country, and many a long night did the wife and mother spend sleeping in the brush to keep herself from the Indians while her husband was out with others defending the community against the marauding red-

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skins. He became a large landholder in his vicinity and came to be a man of importance in the community. A member of the Methodist Church, he was a man of the highest integrity and the stanchest religious convic- tions, and he reared his children in that faith.

To General and Mrs. Griffith were born a goodly fam- ily, those who reached years of maturity being: William Crabb, of Terrell, where he is engaged in real estate. He is a business man of many and varied interests, and is known to be one of the potent business factors of the city. He married Miss Georgia Charlton and they have children: Lydia, Charlton, Summerfield, Guynn and Max. Miss Lydia has studied voice culture in London, Paris and Berlin, and is au especially talented young woman. Charlton Griffith is a real estate man in Ter- rell; Summerfield is a farmer and is married to Miss Nell Mason; Miss Guynn is at home, and Max is a stu- dent at the K. M. I. Augustus B. Griffith married Miss Nannie Harmon, and they have one child, Emily. Emma married Matthew Cartright Roberts, and they have five children: Emily, Annie Ruth, Summerfield, Matthew C. and Ione.

After the death of her gallant husband, on August 6, 1901, Mrs. Griffith continued to reside in Terrell until her death, December 30, 1913, after a short illness. She was a gracious and whole souled lady and had a host of stanch friends in the community where she passed so many years of her life and where she was long identi- fied with the church and social activities there carried on.

JULIAN CAMPBELL CLOPTON. Long years of identifica- tion with the hotel business have given to Julian Camp- bell Clopton a reputation as a host with the traveling publie that is indeed enviable, and his own native busi- ness ability has been the cause of his excellent success. He has owned and operated a number of hotels in Fort Worth and in other parts of the state and has seen misfortune in his day, but he is at the present time re- garded as one of the most successful and prosperous men of the city and there is every reason for that belief.

A Kentuckian by hirth, Julian Campbell Clopton was born at Jordan Station, Fulton county, Kentucky, on May 28, 1875, and he is the son of R. M. and Sally (Clopton) Clopton, both of Mississippi. The family, it should be stated, is one of the oldest of English ones, dating back in this country to 1757, when the first of the name came to these shores. The great-great-grand- father of Mr. Clopton, Reuben Clopton, was the son of William and Elizabeth (Hales) Clopton, who were the direct descendants of Lord and Lady Clopton of Eng- land, where the family had its origin in the fourteenth century, the first mention of the family in history being in the year 1437, and members of the house of Clopton being oft found named in the pages of the early history of the kingdom.

Julian Campbell Clopton attended the public schools, but did not complete his high school course. He was deflected from that as a result of a difference of opinion with his father, which ended in the boy leaving home, and he first came to Texas in 1889, locating at Fort Worth, which he has made his home ever since. His first enter- prise here was in selling papers in the streets, the Fort Worth Gazette being his stock in trade, and he soon estah- lished himself as a reliable business boy, with a paying route, the largest in the city. He saved money at this business, continuing for eighteen months, when he took a position as messenger with the Santa Fe Railroad. He remained thus occupied but a short time, then went to East Texas and worked in a saw mill at Montgomery for the firm of Montgomery & Bantley. His next move took him back to the employ of the Santa Fe road, in the building department, and he was thus employed in the construction of bridges for about two years. Fort Worth at this juncture again claimed his notice and here he took employment with the Metropolitan Hotel as a night clerk, in which capacity he served for two years,

then becoming chief clerk of the same hotel. This was his first introduction to hotel life and from then until the present time he has been continuously identified thus, with the exception of one year, when he terminated his connection with the Metropolitan Hotel and going to St. Louis worked for the R. J. & R. Shoe Company. On his return to Fort Worth he again took a clerkship at the Metropolitan Hotel, remaining for a year, when he bought out the Harris Hotel at Terrell, Texas. He was without capital and went into the deal largely on his nerve, as the saying goes, but he made money and met his obligations promptly as they fell due, and in a few years sold the same at a profit and went to Mineral Wells, where he built the Oxford Hotel. This hotel was destroyed by fire, the disaster finding Mr. Clopton with- out insurance, and when the smoke cleared away he found himself at the bottom of the ladder again with a cash capital of thirty-five dollars in his pocket and a wife and baby looking to him for maintenance. He wasted no time in vain regrets, however, as many a less enterprising man might have done, and he secured em- ployment for the time being in Watson's Cafe in Fort Worth, remaining there only a short time.

Mr. Clopton had a host of good friends in the city among the best business people of Fort Worth and with the hacking they brought to his aid he built and equipped the Modern Terminal Hotel opposite the Union station in Fort Worth. It should be said to his credit that in three years' time Mr. Clopton had met and cleared away every obligation against his property, leaving him sole owner of the place, and in 1910 he sold the property to J. E. Hutt & Company, after which he joined forces with a Mr. Meacham, and together they bought the Siebold Hotel, which they modernized in every detail from cellar to dome, making of it a strictly first class hotel. Its cafe is known to be the rendezvous of the best people in Fort Worth and if one should wish to locate a business man in the city during luncheon hours one's first guess is Siebold's Cafe-and one need go no further as a rule.

Mr. Clopton enjoys the genuine confidence of the publie and he has a host of friends in the city, where he is known to be one of the most popular men of the community. He is a Mason of the thirty-second degree, with affiliations in the Shrine, and he is an Elk and an Odd Fellow as well.

Miss Alma Craft became the wife of Mr. Clopton, she being a daughter of John Craft of Mineral Wells. They have two children: Marion Elizabeth, horn in Mineral Wells, September 20, 1907, and Julian Campbell Clopton, Jr., born in the Siebold Hotel, Fort Worth, on January 31, 1913.

JOE C. KERBEY, JR. One of the leading factors in the development and progress of Travis county is the land and investment firm of Joe C. Kerby & Company, which, although founded only seven years ago, has grown rapidly into a recognized force in its particular line. The directing head of this business, Joe C. Kerbey, Jr., is one of Austin's progressive and energetic young men of business, who has won a place for himself among the substantial men of his community by his inherent ability, his enthusiasm and his wealth of modern ideas. Mr. Kerbey was born at Waukesha, Wisconsin, Septem- ber 4, 1883, while his parents, Joe C. and Maria (Me- Fall) Kerbey, were making a trip to the North. His father, born in Pennsylvania in 1822, left home as a boy and for a time lived in Arkansas, but in 1854 came to Texas and resided in different parts of the state until the outbreak of the war between the states. At that time he became connected with the quartermaster's de- partment of the Confederacy, with headquarters at Tyler, Texas, from which point he was engaged in getting supplies for the army and attending to the forwarding of the same. After the war he became connected with the firm of C. R. Johns & Company, in their land busi-

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ness, and remained with this concern until January 1, 1872. Mr. Kerbey at that time practically retired from active business affairs, although he superintended the management of the lands which he had accumulated. His death occurred in 1907, when he was eighty-five years of age. Mr. Kerbey was married in Tennessee to Maria MeFall, who was born at Columbia, that state, and she still survives and is now making her home in Austin. Three children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Kerbey, namely: Joe C., Jr .; MeFall, born in 1885, educated at the University of Texas, where he was graduated with the degree of Bachelor of Arts in 1908, and now at Washington, D. C., being connected with the Washington Herald, was married in January, 1911, to Miss Elizabeth Waite of Yonkers, New York, and has one daughter-Elizabeth; and Mary Louise, who is the wife of Arthur L. Skelley of Austin, has one daughter- Mary Louise.

Joe C. Kerbey, Jr., received his early education in the public schools of Austin, following which he entered the University of Texas. Upon his graduation there- from he entered the banking business as clerk of the Capitol Bank & Trust Company, but resigned his posi- tion at the time of his father's death, and in 1908 em- barked in the real estate and investment business, specializing in realty at Houston, El Paso and Austin. He has been successful in building up a large business and his standing in realty and financial circles proves that he is worthily representing the honored name which he bears. He is a member of Hill City Lodge, No. 465, A. F. & A. M .; Lone Star Chapter, No. 6, R. A. M .; Austin Council, No. 2, R. & S. M., and Fidelity Lodge of Perfection, No. 4, A. A. & S. R., and also holds mem- bership in the Beta Theta Pi fraternity. Mr. Kerbey is unmarried. He maintains well appointed offices at Nos. 809-810 Scarborough building and resides at No. 2610 Whitis avenue.

JOHN CORNELIUS FLOREA. A lawyer by profession and one of the leaders of the Fort Bend County bar, former superintendent of the county schools and also honored with other county offices, the owner of a large amount of property in which he is interested as a de- veloper, Mr. Florea is for these substantial reasons and for many others one of the best known and most enter- prising citizens of Fort Bend county. He has had an interesting and varied career and first came into Texas as a school teacher, an occupation which he followed with much credit for some years.

John Cornelius Florea was born in Adams county, Ohio, in November, 1866, a son of Hamilton and Adeline (Peterson) Florea, his parents being natives of the same county. How the family got established in Ohio would make an interesting story if told in detail. The outline is as follows: The original ancestors of the Floreas were French Huguenots, who fled from France during the era of persecution and settled in America. The founder of the American branch was Jacob Florea, who was the great-great-grandfather of the Richmond lawyer. He was not only an early American settler, but helped the colonies fight in their struggle for independence against Great Britain. His son Joshua, the next in the line of ancestry, went over the Alleghany Mountains into Kentucky along with Daniel Boone and other pioneers of that territory. It was in Kentucky that Grandfather John Florea was born. The father of John had received a grant of land in Ohio in what was then called the northwest territory, and, on coming of age, John Florea located upon this land and thus established his family in Adams county. Grandfather John Florea had all the characteristics of a true pioneer, was a man strong and rugged physically and possessed all the hardy virtues of the best men of his time. He reared fourteen children to maturity and he himself died when eighty-seven years of age. Hamilton Florea, the father, spent all his life

as a farmer and lived and died on the original grant of land in Ohio. During his younger days he taught school and was always a hard worker, but a quiet unassuming man who performed his duties without any ostentation. His wife's people were of Danish stock, although resi- dents in America for several generations.

The Richmond lawyer has one sister, Rhoda Ellen, the wife of J. M. Wisecup of Highland county, Ohio. Mr. John C. Florea up to the time he was of age lived on his father's farm and learned all of its duties. Many a day he drove an ox team and became accustomed to the hardest kind of work, and no doubt the energy and thriftiness thus installed were largely responsible for the success he has achieved in professional and business life. The common schools afforded him his early educa- tion and he attended them about six months each year. For one year he taught his home school and then worked his way through the Academy at North Liberty, Ohio. It was in Missouri where he and three other young men were trying an experiment by themselves and kept their own house while doing the work involved. The death of his father recalled Mr. Florea from Missouri and he returned and settled up the estate. he then entered the noted educational institution known as the Holbrook School at Lebanon, Ohio, and by hard work paid his way through that school and was graduated with three degrees. In the meantime he had been engaged as a teacher of summer normals and soon afterward came to Houston, Texas, where he was principal of one of the public schools for one year.

In 1893 Mr. Florea married Miss Jessie Dunlop of Houston. She is a daughter of Andrew and Ella Dunlop, who were early settlers of Texas, her father having served from this state in the war as a Confederate soldier. Somewhat later Mr. Florea left Houston with his wife and settled in Fort Bend county, where he bought four hundred and thirty-eight acres of land. He still owns this handsome property and during the first seven years was engaged in cultivating it as a practical planter. Being an educator of experience he was next honored with election to the office of superintendent of county schools and supervised the county school system in this capacity for four years. In the meantime he had taken up the study of law and was admitted to the bar, since which time he has had an office in Rich- mond and has enjoyed a splendid practice. In 1908 he was elected county attorney and held office four years and during his residence on the farm had served as a justice of the peace. Mr. Florea is identified with varied interests in this section of Texas. About the time he was admitted to the bar he bought the newspaper known as the Texas Coaster, a weekly paper, in which he still retains a half interest. He is a member of the Richmond Development Company and is giving much attention to the improvements of his own property in this county. The five children of himself and wife are mentioned as follows: Louise Adeline, the wife of Joseph Austin of Richmond; Nellie is in school at Denton, Texas; Minnie, George Dunlap and Jesse Mer- riam are all at home. Mr. Florea and wife are active members of the Christian church, he is affiliated with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and the Knights of Pythias, and Mrs. Florea is a member of the Daugh- ters of the Confederacy. Mr. Florea is a keen student of men and affairs and whether in official capacity or as a private citizen has always maintained a deep in- terest in educational activities. He is regarded as one of the brightest men in Fort Bend county.

JOEL R. McGEE, M. D., of New Boston, Bowie county, Texas, belongs to one of the pioneer families of the "Lone Star State."

He was born in Bowie county, two miles south of the present town of New Boston, in 1870, son of J. Tom and Elizabeth (McCright) McGee. J. Tom McGee was born

Anderson

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near Rome, Georgia, in 1846, and in 1849 came with his father, Joel McGee, and other members of the fam- ily, to Texas. The family settled in Cass county, which was their home until 1859, when they moved to Bowie county. This has been their home ever since. J. Tom McGee, at the age of eighteen, enlisted in the Confed- erate army, and saw one year of active service. He mar- ried soon after the war, and with the passing years seven children and fifteen grandchildren were given to them, all of whom are still living, with one exception-a grandchild was claimed by death in September, 1912.

Joel R. McGee attended the common schools of his native county and the New Boston high school, and he also pursued a course of study at the Sam Houston Normal School at Huntsville, of which institution he is a graduate with the class of 1894. Then for nine years he taught school in Bowie county. Meanwhile he de- cided to enter the medical profession. He prepared him- self for this work at the University of Tennessee, at Nashville, where he graduated from the Medical Depart- ment in 1903. Immediately following his graduation, he opened an office for the practice of medicine at New Boston, where he has since continued, meeting with that success which his thorough equipment and earnest efforts merit.

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A history of Texas and Texans, Part 31

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