A history of Texas and Texans, Part 34

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 34

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Ruffin C. Roberts entered the mercantile business when he reached manhood, but the outbreak of the Civil war caused him to lay aside his yardstick and enter the Con- federate army. He became a member of General Bragg's army, and participated in the Atlanta campaign, near which city he was wounded. After the close of the war he resumed his business in Alabama, but the devastation that the four years had caused determined him on seeking a new field. He consequently came to Texas and located in Bonham, where be established a mercantile business and where he remained for nine years. He then moved to Palo Pinto, Texas, where he was engaged in selling goods and in freighting to and from Weatherford or Gordon and Palo Pinto. In 1887 he returned to Bon- ham, and there spent the remainder of his life, retiring from active business some years before his death, which occurred in 1908. In religious matters he was a member of the Cumberland Presbyterian church, and in political questions he was a staunch Democrat, though never car- ing to hold office. He married Miss Jennie Cox, who was born in Osceola, Missouri, the daughter of Judge Cox. The latter came to Texas and located in Bonham, where he died. Mrs. Roberts is still living in Bonham, and is the mother of seven children, all but two of whom are living. Of these, Miss Lelia V. has been for twenty years in charge of the Normal Mission Schools of the Methodist Church South at Saltilio, Mexico. Benjamin died in Bonham without having married. Odeneal is a merchant in Bonham. Mattie is an assistant to her sister in the mission school. Harry is the next in order, and then comes Charles of Ravenna, Texas, and Albert, who passed away unmarried.

Harry Roberts was born in Bouham, Texas, on the 1st of March, 1874, about four years after his father had come to Texas. He was educated in the public schools, and while still a boy went into the business world as a clerk for one of the merchants in Bonham. He spent a number of years in the employ of Harris Brothers, with whom he remained for five years. After leaving the employ of the latter firm, be entered that of J. L. Ware, and remained here for three years. He then was employed by the Bonham Wholesale Grocery Co., spend- ing a year in the office. He was now familiar with the selling end in the house and with the clerical work of the business, and, thinking that for thorough knowl- edge he ought to know something of salesmanship on the road, he now took a sample case, and for nine years was a traveling salesman for the firm in Texas territory. He then abandoned the road and engaged in merchan- dise for himself in Bonham as a member of the firm of Rogers, Woodward and Roberts, being in charge of the dry goods department. On the Ist of January, 1911, the Bonham Wholesale Grocery Company were able to make an announcement that not only pleased them very much, but was very satisfactory to their customers, and that was that Mr. Roberts had been persuaded once more to enter their service, as manager of the house, succeeding J. F. Arledge, who became president of the company. Mr. Roberts is a stockholder and director of the com- pany and has been very successful in the management of the affairs of this important commercial house.

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In public life, Mr. Roberts was a member of the city council of Bonham, being the representative from the first ward. He was elected in 1911, and his platform, which was prepared by the citizens of the town, has been ably fotlowed out by him during his terms of office. This platform called for a campaign of public improve- ment, which included some solution of the city water problem, the building of cement walks, and the paving of streets. While he was in office, a bond issue of thirty thousand dollars was voted for water and one hundred thousand dollars for walks and street improvement. Dur- ing the two years two deep wells have been bored, and the city is supplied with an abundance of good, pure water. Three miles of paving have been completed and seventy-five to one hundred blocks of concrete walks have been laid.

Mr. Roberts has always been very active in church work. He is a member of the Methodist church, and has been a steward of the church for fifteen years. He has been active in Sunday school work for many years and recently attended the annual conference.

Mr. Roberts was married in LaGrange, Georgia, on April 1, 1899, to Miss Annie Reid, a daughter of Sidney A. Reid, who is a lumber dealer in Birmingham, Ala- bama. Her mother was Miss Bettie Morris before her marriage, and Mrs. Roberts is the 'eldest of five children, as follows: Mrs. Benjamin Freeman of LaGrange, Geor- gia; Mrs. W. D. Cooper of Birmingham, Alabama, and Charles and Gus Reid of the same city. Mr. and Mrs. Roberts have four children-Lelia E., Gus Reid, Harry Morris, and Annie.

CAREY A. GRAY, M. D. Well and favorably known to the medieal profession of Fannin county and to the com- muuity at large is Dr. Carey A. Gray, a resident of Bon- ham for the past quarter century and one who has par- ticipated largely in the civic affairs of his county and in state politics as well. His life has been one of the ut- most usefulness, both professionally and as a citizen, and the county owes to him a high place in its esteem and consideration, in view of his long and honorable career therein.

The Gray family is one that came out of Virginia in days gone by, the first of the name to establish the fam- ily outside that state being Hiram Gray, the paternal grandfather of the Doctor and who in his young manhood pioneered to Ohio, later locating in Indiana, in which state he passed his remaining years, his home being long established at Brownburg, in that state. He was born in 1814, and his life was spent in devotion to the farming and stock raising industries, in which he gained a degree of prominence and prosperity that gave him a sure place among the leading citizens of his district. He married Roxana Logan in early life, and their children were seven in number, among whom may be mentioned Harry, Andrew J., William, and Oscar. There were three daugh- ters as well, all of whom married men of good social standing in their various communities and contributed their full share to the prosperity and growth of the lo- calities where they established homes.

One of these sons, Andrew J. Gray, became the father of Dr. Carey A. Gray of this review. He was born in Indiana in 1830, and he died in Seneca, Missouri, in 1876, where he had been engaged in business since 1869. He had been a soldier in the Civil war, serving as a pri- vate in the Union army, and prior to the war had been engaged in farming with his father in his native com- munity, in Indiana, the town of Madison having repre- sented his home. Mr. Gray was a man of more than average education and was recognized as a man of prom- inence in his community as long as he lived. He married Anna Tewel, a daughter of A. Z. Tewel, who was a native of the state of Ohio. Mrs. Gray, however, was born in Indiana, and she is now a resident of Bentonville, Ar- kansas, where she went as the wife of a Mr. Turner after the death of her first husband and where she was wid-

owed for the second time. Four children were born to Andrew Gray and his wife, but of that number only two reached mature years, one of them the subject of this review and the other being Miss Stella Gray, who shares her mother's home, in Bentonville.

Dr. Carey A. Gray was born in Madison, Indiana, on September 15, 1864. The family soon after moved to Seneca, Missouri, where the father entered upon a career at blacksmithing and wagon-making, in which he was occupied until his death. It was here that young Gray spent the years of his minority, and his public school training came to him in the Seneca schools. His mother had been a school teacher prior to her marriage, and, fol- lowing her widowhood, she resumed the duties of her for- mer profession. The son thus had the benefits of an at- mosphere of education that the average youth is denied, and he profited well by the advantage thus accorded him. When he felt himself sufficiently prepared to enter into a business life, he engaged with an old friend of the family to launch out for himself, and that friend was Harmon Dustin, who had long retained a fatherly inter- est in the young man. The two engaged in the drug business at Southwest City, Missouri, and continued thus for some years. He later became associated in business with a man of the name of Jones, and the two, in pros- pecting about for a desirable location for the continu- ance of the drug business, settled at Bonham, Texas, in 1888. There they conducted operations under the firm name of C. A. Gray & Company a short time. Dr. Gray however, was strongly inclined to the study of medicine as a result of his close acquaintance with the profession through his activities in the drug business, and in 1892 he took up the study in earnest. He went to Louisville, Kentucky, and there enrolled in the Louisville Medical College, finishing his studies there three years later. He returned to Bonham in 1895 a full-fledged M. D., and here he has since continued in practice. He has further prosecuted his medical studies from time to time as a student in the Post-Graduate School of Chicago and with the well-known Mayo Brothers, at Rochester, Minnesota, in both of these clinics adding very materially to his qualifications as a physician. His professional work in Bonham and throughout Fannin county has been of an order that has placed him among the foremost medical men of north Texas, and he has long been prominent in the medical societies of the state. He has given honored service as president of the Fannin County Medical So- ciety and of the North Texas Medical Society as well and has served as Counsellor of the Fourteenth district. His connection with the S. B. Allen Memorial Hospital of Bonham since its opening has been a highly creditable one, calculated to further his prominence and reputation among medical men of the city.

In his political persuasion, Dr. Gray came up in the atmosphere of Republican politics, and has been inter- ested in the success of Republican policies and candidates since he became a voter. He readily fell in with Texas leaders in the party and won a place among the local and state Republicans as a political organizer. He was at one time a member of the state committee and for years took part in all the state conferences and conven- tions. He was a delegate to the national convention in 1908 and cast his vote for the nomination of President Taft. In 1912 he was an alternate to the Republican National Convention at Chicago, but illness prevented him from being present at that time. He has done some campaigning as the Republican candidate of the Fourth Texas District for Congress, and in 1906 was the Re- publican nominee for Governor of the state. He is now a member of the Executive Committee of the Progressive party for Texas, having aligned himself with the for- ward movement of the Republican party in 1912.

The chief civic duties that Dr. Gray has performed in Bonham as an official have been as the incumbent of the post of city health officer. In that office he has wrought faithfully and well, demonstrating the interest of a good

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citizen in the administration of the duties of his position. In July, 1883, Dr. Gray was married at Southwest City, Missouri, to Miss Sallie Radcliff Smith, a daughter of Dr. B. F. Smith, who moved to that district from Cir- cleville, Ohio. Besides Mrs. Gray, only one of the chil- dren of Dr. Smith survive, that one being a banker of Southwest City, Missouri. Mrs. Gray passed away on September, 19, 1899, as the mother of four children, concerning whom brief mention is here made as follows: Mabel, the eldest of the four, is the wife of F. N. Hall of El Paso, Texas; Harry R., also of El Paso, is mar- ried to Miss Louise Brownlee and is occupied in civil en- gineering; Carey A. Jr. is a farmer of Fannin county, and the youngest is Miss Lucile, who makes her home with her father, in Bonham.

The doctor is prominent socially as well as profes- sionally, and has membership in the Masonic Order as a Knight Templar, in the Knights of Pythias, and the Elks. He has no churchly affiliations, but his life has manifested the better qualities of citizenship.

JAMES THOMAS JONES. As county collector of Lamar county, James Thomas Jones is among the youngest of the native sons of his county to achieve so responsible a position in the service of the public. He was born a few miles from Paris on September 22, 1880, where his pa- ternal grandfather, Jefferson Jones, settled in 1851. The family is one that came to Texas from the state of North Carolina, and its pioneer head passed his life as a farmer. During the Civil war he was a mail carrier for the Confederate States of America, that constituting the only public service of an official nature ever rendered by him. Not until the dawn of the twentieth century did the family enter the field of politics, and the first of the name to enter into political activity was Jacob Jones, the father of James Thomas Jones of this review.

Jacob Jones was born at the point of the settlement of his father in Lamar county, on November 2, 1856, and reached mature years without more of education than that afforded by the public schools of his native com- munity. He became a farmer here, and continued in this vicinity until he removed to Hardeman county, in 1904, where he is now engaged in carrying ou his agricultural activities and is one of the commissioners of the county. He is the fourth child of his parents, his mother being Margaret Long, a daughter of one of the pioneers of Lamar county, whose posterity has maintained a family prominence in the business and professional life of Paris. The other children of his parents, Jeff and Margaret Jones, are Charles I .; James, who died just following the battle of Shiloh, as a soldier of the Confederacy; Mary, who married Douglas Bullington and resides in Lamar county; George, who passed away in Oklahoma, and Robert E., a resident of Paris, Texas, at the present writing.

Jacob Jones married Margaret, a daughter of Pinek- ney and Nancy (Brown) Mayfield, who located in this district from the state of Tennessee. They became the parents of eight children, named as follows: James Thomas; Laura, the wife of J. W. Peace of Hardeman county, Texas, in which county also reside George W., Joseph, 'Duncan, Jesse, Luella and Ruby.

James Thomas Jones was a pupil in the rural schools, and also in the public schools of Paris, and he continued in farming until he had passed his majority. He then came to Paris and secured a position as a salesman and bookkeeper in a grocery concern, serving in that capacity until his appointment as deputy in the office of John T. Bullington, county collector of the county of Lamar. He later served under John F. Williams in the same office, and succeeded that service by making the run for office on his own responsibility, but suffering defeat at the polls. During the two years that followed he engaged in the grocery business, and was then nominated for the office of county collector on the Democratic ticket. He was nominated against three competitors and drew two-

thirds of the popular vote at the election, in 1912, and assumed the duties of his office on December 1, 1912, as the successor of Collector Dennis.

On December 22, 1908, Mr. Jones was united in mar- riage with Miss Lenna Knowles, a daughter of Henry Kuowles, a contractor of Blossom, Texas, where the marriage ceremony was solemnized. She was one of the four children of her parents, the others being Brenna, Floyd, and Fletcher. Mr. and Mrs. Jones have one daughter, Janice, now three years old.

The Jones family holds to the faith of the Missionary Baptist church, and the Knowles people to the Methodist church, but the family of James Thomas Jones maintain no church relations.

GEORGE F. BRANNON. The arduous tasks that formerly confronted every housekeeper are being revolutionized in large degree by modern methods which have arisen from a demand for science in the homely labors of life as well as in the fields of industry and trade. Answering this call, the modern laundry has become recognized as one of the most helpful of institutions, and, conducted along sanitary lines, gives relief from the hard household labor and produces results more generally satisfying than those possible to attain in the ordinary home. Prominent among the Texas industries of this nature is found the Mckinney Steam Laundry Company of Mckinney, a ven- ture that entered upon its business life under modest cir- cumstances, but which, under the directorship of an able management, has grown and developed until it is ac- counted one of the thriving industries of a thriving city. The proprietor of this business, George F. Branuon, a man of enterprise, progress, and practical views, is emi- nently worthy of the title of self-made man. When he started upon his career he had but little capital, and less experience, but, what was better than either, he had a stern and unflagging determination to succeed, aud bis present firmly-established position among the business men of his community is sufficient evidence of the grat- ification of his ambition.

Mr. Brannon is of Irish and Holland descent, and was born in May, 1878, at Heflin, Cleburne county, Alabama, a son of J. F. and Mary E. (Vaughan) Brannon, the former a native of Georgia and the latter of Alabama. His father, formerly a farmer and cotton grower of Ala- bama, came to Texas in 1892 and located at Sherman, where he continued in agricultural pursuits and stock raising up to the time of his death, in September, 1908. Mrs. Brannon still survives her husband. Of the eight sons and five daughters of J. F. and Mary E. Brannon, nine are now living. George F. was the fifth in order of birth.

George F. Brannon commenced to attend publie school in his native state, but the latter part of his education was secured in Texas, his training finding its completion in a course in the Metropolitan Business College of Dal- las. His first venture of a business nature was in writing insurance, a line in which he continued for two years with a fair measure of success. For some time he had been possessed of the idea of establishing himself in the steam laundry business, aud in 1899, in partnership with his brother, C. M. Brannon, founded the Mckinney Steam Laundry Company, becoming its first manager, a position which he has continued to hold to the present time. His brother is now president of the Ideal Laundry Company, at Dallas, Texas, in which George F. also is a stockholder; and, in addition, with Mr. W. I. Dungan, they own the laundry at Ennis, Texas, which is under the able management of W. I. Dungan.

When the Mckinney Steam Laundry Company was first founded, it commenced operations upon a small scale, in a poorly-equipped building, and with a small though promising trade. In several years it was found necessary to enlarge the quarters and to improve the equipment, and, as the years have passed, the plant has constantly been made larger and the latest machinery

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has been installed. At this time this is one of the few plants operating its own Corliss engine, in addition to having its own deep well for its water supply. Twenty- five people are employed in its work, the trade of Me- Kinney is controlled, and about sixty per cent of the business comes from outside the city. In addition to the regular laundry department, special work is done in the way of dry cleaning, dyeing, and hat work. Mr. Bran- non has been prudent and conservative, and, while enter- prising in projecting his plans, he has never speculated, although he has ever been quick to see an opportunity and courageous to grasp it and carry it through to a suc- cessful conclusion. A man of genial, courteous personal- ity, his popularity has done much to add to the volume of his business, while his straightforward and honorable methods have contributed toward giving him a high standing in business circles of his adopted city. In poli- tics a Democrat, he has not found time to enter actively into political life, but takes a keen interest in those things that affect the welfare of Mckinney. He has a firm belief in the future of this part of the state, and it is but natural that he should feel grateful to the locality in which he has attained such a decided success. Frater- nally, he is a Mason, in which he has attained to the Royal Arch degree, and also holds membership in the In- dependent Order of Odd Fellows and the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks. He is a consistent member of the Baptist church, to which his wife also belongs.

Mr. Brannon was married November 2, 1901, at Me- Kinney, to Miss Florence Johnson, a daughter of John Johnson a real estate owner and renter of this city. Two bright and interesting little daughters have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Brannon: Annette, aged eleven years, who is attending the graded schools, and the baby, Charlsey May, aged six years, who is just beginning her school experience. The family is widely and favorably known in Northern Texas, and, in addition to Mr. Bran- non's family and that of his father, he has four nephews here, who came from Alabama and Georgia, and three annts on his mother's side-Mrs. Dungan, Mrs. Reid, and Mrs. McDowell.

REUBEN S. MORRISON, county attorney of Archer county and a practicing attorney of Archer City since 1908, is one of the best known men in the legal fra- ternity in these parts, and one who enjoys a generous measure of success in his chosen profession. He has been prominent in public service for several years, always in the line of his profession, and gained a name for him- self in that department of activity as well as in private practice.

Born in Selma, Alabama, on June 30, 1858, Reuben S. Morrison is the son of J. G. and Mary (Carson) Mor- rison, natives of South Carolina and Alabama, respec- tively. The father removed to Mississippi in early life and died at Enterprise, Mississippi. He was a soldier in the Confederate army during the Civil war, serving under General Lee, and passing through the entire period of the war. He was in later years identified with me- chanical pursuits, having a decided gift for mechanics, and he died at Enterprise when he was sixty-two years old. The mother died at Hazelhurst, Mississippi, in 1881, aged sixty-one years. They were the parents of a large family of fourteen children, and Reuben S., of this re- view, was the ninth in order of birth. Following his high school days, Mr. Morrison read law under H. C. Conn at Hazelhurst, Mississippi, and in 1883 he was ad- mitted to practice, beginning his life work at the same place. Mr. Morrison continued there in practice for six years, when he went to Vernon, Texas, and was there busy with the practice of law until 1897. In that year he removed to Warren, in Greer county, Oklahoma, where he remained until 1908, when he came to Archer City, and here he has been in constant practice since that time. He received his appointment to his present office while still in Oklahoma. This is very unusual, but

nevertheless true. Owing to his prominence as an attor- ney he was induced to accept his position in Texas while a resident of Oklahoma, and he has served con- stantly since that time, being twice re-elected since he began his service as county attorney of Archer county. While a resident of Wilbarger county, in 1888, he was assistant county attorney for two terms, and in that and in his present office he has given an excellent ac- count of himself in his official capacity.

A Democrat, Mr. Morrison has given splendid service to the party wherever he has been. He is a member of the Baptist Church and of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and the Homesteaders' Association.

On February 28, 1883, at Jackson, Mississippi, Mr. Morrison was married to Miss Cora Antoinette Wheeler, of Hazelhurst, Mississippi, the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. E. B. Wheeler, a well known family of planters of that state. Twelve children have come to them: Sylvester Weldon, superintendent of the Tipton High School at Tipton, Oklahoma, married, and the father of three children; Mrs. Reuby Anderson, living in Tulsa, Okla- homa, the mother of two children; T. E. Morrison, a student of the Central Business College at Sedalia, Mis- souri; John G., born in Vernon, Texas, now attending school same place as his brother, T. E .; Ethel, also born in Vernon, a student in this city; Emma Joto, born in Warren, Oklahoma; Claude, Hazel, Percy and Maggie all were born in Warren, Oklahoma, and are now at- tending school in their home town; Mary Belle is de- ceased, and Bessie, who was born at Hazelhurst, Mis- sissippi, is also deceased, her death occurring at Harrold, Texas.

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A history of Texas and Texans, Part 34

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