A history of Texas and Texans, Part 37

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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During the period in which Mr. Evans has been a teacher he has spent much time perfecting himself in his especial line of work. He has devoted his spare moments to advanced work in education both at Grayson College at Whiteright, Texas, and at the Summer School of the University of Chicago. But he demonstrated his ability chiefly in the success with which he has applied the methods which the class rooms of these two in- stitutions promulgated. He is a constant student and ever on the watch for any way in which his school may be bettered. A man of broad education himself he is not narrow-minded and does not think as do so many superintendents, that his school is perfect, but he was ever open to suggestion. In the summer Mr. Evans was chiefly occupied with normal school work in which

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he acted as an instructor. He has made addresses on education throughout the state and some of his time was given to his work as a member of the state board of examiners. This contact with people in all sections has brought him a wide acquaintance and the character of the work which he has accomplished together with his personal popularity has caused a wide demand for his services.

Mr. Evans was married in Dodd City, Texas, on the 3rd of July, 1895, to Miss Mattie E. Walker, a daughter of William H. Walker, who was a farmer and an ex- Confederate soldier. Her mother Mary

E. (Kincaid) Walker and they were both natives of the state of Tennessee. Two children, Idris and Kenneth, have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Evans and the whole family are members of the Methodist church. Mr. Evans himself has been a teacher in the Sunday school for a number of years. He is not a member of any of the fraternal orders nor has he ever taken part in politics.

JAMES N. BLAKE of the firm of Blake & Hinkle, well known as lumber dealers in Paris, has been identified with the business and political activities of the city since 1884. He has been a man of no little prominence in Paris and in the county and his prosperity is greatly of his own making. Born in Kauffman county, which is now included within the limits of Rockwall county, Texas, on November 25, 1857, he is the son of Chris- topher Columbus and Mary (Thompson) Blake.

Christopher C. Blake, it may be said here, was born in Lexington, Kentucky, in 1825 and in 1845 came thence to Texas. He married Mary Thompson in the state of Indiana and soon after established himself on a farm in Kauffman county. When the county was divided he found himself located in Rockwall county and there Mrs. Blake died, while he passed away in Collin county, this state. Christopher Blake was the sole member of his father's family to identify himself with the Lone Star state. He served in the Confederate army under General Griffith and soon after the close of the war he located in Lamar county, locating near Tanner's tanyard, where he pursued his calling as a farmer. He was a wise parent and reared his family in the knowl- edge of the dignity of labor, inspiring them with an ambition to follow the simple industrial arts. He had three sons. John H., the eldest, is now a resident of Hemphill county, this state; James N., of this review, was the second born, and the third and youngest is Monroe, of Seattle, Washington.

The country schools prepared James N. Blake for the civil duties of life and for many years after he attained his majority he was occupied in the work of the farm and in the tanyard. In 1884 he came to Paris and here got his first real experience in business when he entered the employ of Joseph Brown, a merchant of Paris, in the capacity of a clerk. He spent seven years here in the one place and then went to the Frisco Rail- road Company, with whom he was employed in the construction of their line into Paris.

In 1892 Mr. Blake began to gain some prominence in a political way, and in that year was nominated for the office of district clerk of Lamar county, being elected as the successor of George W. Martin. He was twice re-elected-in 1894 and in 1896-and when he retired, after six years of honorable service, he added his pres- ence and his active participation to the lumber concern which he had previously established with Albert B. Hinkle, who is still his business associate. The firm of Blake & Hinkle has conducted a thriving lumber busi- ness for as many years as it has been in existence in Paris and is recognized as one of the leading com- mercial establishments in the city.

On December 15, 1881, Mr. Blake was married to Miss Olivia P. Davis, a daughter of Palmer Davis and a granddaughter of the pioneer, J. W. Davis, who came

to Texas in 1838 from Cleveland, Ohio, and entered a large body of land in Red River county.

J. W. Davis was a doctor and practiced medicine for many years among the people of his locality. He was twice married and the three children by his first wife settled at Sacramento, California. The children of his second marriage were Palmer and David H., who spent their lives in Lamar county. Dr. Davis is buried at Spring Hill, Texas. Palmer and David H. Davis were merchants in Paris prior to the Civil war, in which they served as soldiers of the Confederacy, and Palmer Davis died in Paris in 1867. He married Miss Martha Harrison, a daughter of W. H. Harrison. Mr. Harrison was of the Virginia branch of this prominent and honored family. The children of Palmer Davis and his wife were as follows: Anna, who died in Paris, the wife of Ed Bonham, leaving one son, Edward; Olivia P. was born January 22, 1863, and John W. who died in 1891, unmarried. No children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Blake.

Mr. Blake is a Past Master of Paris Lodge, No. 27, A. F. & A. M., and is a Past Chancellor of the Knights of Pythias. He was reared in the influence of the Presbyterian faith and has followed in the precepts of that church.

J. D. COTTRELL. For thirty-one years J. D. Cottrell has been a resident of Plano, Texas, and for nearly twenty years of this time has been prominent at the bar. Primarily a legist, he developed such aptness for affairs, such strength of character and solidity of judg- ment, that he became a legislator, a leader in the public life of the community, and an important factor in social affairs in his adopted place. Practically the entire growth of Plano has passed under his eyes and he has contributed in no small way to the development which has made this one of the leading cities of Collin county and a center of business prosperity, professional importance and educational and religious activity.

Mr. Cottrell was born on a farm in the vicinity of Cumberland Gap, Claiborne county, Tennessee, February 3, 1866, and is a son of Samuel E. and Mollie (Norvell') Cottrell. On the paternal side of the family he is of Welsh descent, while his mother's ancestors were French and the grandparents on both sides migrated from Virginia to Tennessee at an early date. In the paternal grandfather's family there were fifteen children, while the maternal grandfather had nine sons and daughters, and at this time Mr. Cottrell has no less than one hun- dred and eight living cousins of whom he personally knows. A sister of Mr. Cottrell, Alice, the wife of J. H. Potts, resides at MeKinney, Texas. Samuel E. Cottrell was born in Virginia and was a youth when taken by his parents to Tennessee. There he grew up a planter and stockraiser, adopted those vocations when he embarked upon a career of his own, and, like his father, operated his land with slave labor prior to the outbreak of the Civil war. He was an energetic and enterprising man and made a success of his operations, continuing to be engaged therein until his death, about 1896, the mother having passed away in 1873. Samuel E. and Mollie Cottrell were the parents of nine children, of whom two died in infancy, while five still survive, and J. D. Cottrell is the fourth in order of birth. The father was married a second time to Miss Mary Mundy, daughter of Lake Mundy, a brick mason and carpenter of Tennessee, and to this union there were born seven children, all of whom are living.

After securing his primary educational training in the public schools of his native state, J. D. Cottrell started assisting his father in the work of the home farm, but, tiring of farm life, at the age of seventeen he left the parental roof and made his way to Texas. Here he took a course in the Plano Institute, at that time one of the highest institutions of learning in the

It Havingtace.

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state, being conducted by the well-known Professor W. F. Mister and Professor T. G. Harris. Following one term in that school he soon thereafter took up the study of law and January 15, 1895, was admitted to the bar, and at once took up the practice of his pro- fession at Plano, which has since been his field of endeavor. It has been said that in the legal profession there is no royal road to promotion, its high rewards are gained by diligent study and long and tedious at- tention to elementary principles and are awarded only to those who develop, in the arena of forensic strife, characters of integrity and moral worth. In that most difficult and perplexing of professions, the mere occupa- tion of distinguished position argues for its possessor solid ability, signal skill, sound learning, untiring in- dustry and uncompromising integrity. It has been through the possession of these qualifications that Mr. Cottrell has risen to his present high position at the bar of Collin and the surrounding counties. His career has been aided by no happy chance or circumstance. Each step has been carefully planned and energetically worked out. Among his professional brethren he is known as a man who thoroughly respects the unwritten ethics of his calling and he has also succeeded in gaining that most difficult of acquisitions-public confidence. A Democrat in his political views, he has ever been an earnest and zealous worker in the ranks of his party and on frequent occasions has been called to offices of high responsibility. He was the youngest alderman ever elected to the city council of Plano, and while in that capacity was called upon to act during two terms as mayor pro tem. He also served one term as city attorney and four years as assistant county attorney, and in 1902 was elected a member of the Twenty-eighth Legislature of the state. His work in that body earned him re-election to the Twenty-ninth session, and during the latter term was a member and chairman of a num- ber of important committees. Since that time he has served an additional term as city attorney. In 1912, through the earnest solicitation of his friends, he be- came a candidate for Congress, but after the start of the campaign his health failed and he was forced to withdraw from the race. Since that time he has de- voted his entire attention to his law practice. Mr. Cottrell has few interests outside of his profession and his home, but is appreciative of the enjoyment of com- panionship with his fellows and is a popular member of the Knights of Pythias.

On March 25, 1891, Mr. Cottrell was married at Cuero, Texas, to Miss Josephine Cook, daughter of Fred Cook, an early settler of DeWitt county, Texas, who became a large farmer and stockman, and is now deceased. Two children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Cottrell, of whom one is still living: Travis Josephine Cottrell, born May 31, 1895, a graduate of the Plano High School, and now attending the Southwestern University at Georgetown, Texas.

Since coming to Collin county thirty-one years ago Mr. Cottrell has witnessed a marvelous change in ma- terial development here. At the time of his arrival but one railroad passed through the county and one small bank was able to handle all the business of the county. Land was to be secured for ten dollars an acre that now demands from $140 to $150 an acre. He has been a promoter of the movements which have com- bined to develop and advance this part of the Lone Star state and has prospered with its prosperity, thus establishing his right to a position among Collin county 's representative men.

J. F. HARRINGTON. Although he is numbered among the more recent acquisitions of the legal profession in Collin county, J. F. Harrington has already won a firmly established position in the ranks of his calling here, and the confidence in which he is held by his fellow-citizens was given expression in 1913, when he was elected city

attorney of Plano, a position which he now holds. He is a native son of this city, and was born August 29, 1887, his parents being John H. and Mary Frances (Mathews) Harrington.

Mr. Harrington is of Scotch-Irish descent, his great- grandfather having emigrated to this country from Scot- land at an early day. His maternal grandfather, R. F. Mathews, was a drummer in a Confederate regiment dur- ing the Civil war. A. Harrington, his paternal grand- father, was a slave holder before the Civil war, was one of the early settlers of Collin county, Texas, and was the first person to be buried in the Rawlett Creek Cemetery in this county. John H. Harrington was born in the vicinity of Plano, whence his parents had come from Kentucky, and was reared a farmer, a vocation which he has followed throughout his life. At this time he is carrying on successful operations on a tract of land taken up from the state by his father. He has led a life of industry, and has been successful in his ventures, being known as one of the substantial men of his community. He married Mary Frances Mathews, also a native of Collin county, who also survives, and they have been the parents of four sons and three daughters, of whom four sons and one daughter still survive: S. Walter, who is en- gaged in farming in Collin county ; Mattie M., who is the widow of Thomas A. Robertson and a resident of Plano; Clint A., a student of the Plano High school; J. F .; and Robert L., who is also a student of the Plano High school.

When he had completed the curriculum of the public schools of Plano, J. F. Harrington entered the Univer- sity of Texas as a student in the law department, and was graduated therefrom in 1910, shortly after which he was admitted to the bar. He at once took up the prac- tice of his profession at Plano, and here he has continued in the enjoyment of a large professional business, having on his books the names of some of the most prominent people and -leading business houses of the city. He is known as a careful, painstaking, conscientious and pro- found lawyer, and has been retained at one time or an- other as general or special counsel in leading cases of jurisprudence in Collin county, thus becoming more or less a familiar figure in the courts. In political matters he is a Democrat, and is a great admirer of President Wilson and an advocate of his policies, especially in re- gard to the Mexican situation. In April, 1913, at the earnest solicitation of his friends, he consented to be the candidate of his party for the office of city attorney, and his subsequent election gave evidence of his true worth and widespread popularity. Aside from the organiza- tions of his calling, he belongs to the Masons and the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, in which he has numerous friends, as he has, in fact, in all walks of life. He is a consistent member of the Methodist Epis- copal Church, South, and a member of the board of trus- tees of the Fanny Harrington Chapel of that denomina- tion at Plano, named in honor of his mother.

On October 23, 1913, in the Walnut Grove Presbyterian church, Collin county, Mr. Harrington was united in marriage with Miss Mytte E. Harris, daughted of the Rev. M. C. Harris, a minister of the Presbyterian church and pastor of the Walnut Grove church of that faith. Reverend Harris came to Collin county from Arkansas about the year 1870 and during his long years of labor here has become widely known to the people as an earnest and zealous minister of the Gospel.

THOMAS E. CRAIG. The manager of the Mckinney Compress Company is an electrical and mechanical en- gineer by profession, and has had a very successful career both in his profession and in business. Mr. Craig has given service as construction or consulting engineer in connection with a number of Texas enterprises, in- eluding railways and electric power plants, and still a young man has a career of great promise in the future

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as well as a record of successful performance up to the present time.

Thomas E. Craig was born March 3, 1875, in Hopkins county, Kentucky, a son of J. L. and E. V. (Owens) Craig. The family is of Scotch-Irish stock. His par- ents were both natives of Mississippi, came to Texas in 1868, locating in Hopkins county, where the father was a farmer and merchant until ill health compelled him to retire, and his death occurred in Sherman in 1911. The mother is now living at Kingsville, Texas.

Mr. Craig, who is the oldest of four living children, graduated from Austin College at Sherman and ac- quired his technical education in the University of Ten- nessee, where he completed a course in both the elec- trical and mechanical engineering departments and graduated Bachelor of Science. The following five years were spent in the employ of the General Electric Com- pany at Boston and New York, at the end of which time he joined the engineering staff of the Dallas Inter- urban Railway Company during the progress of this con- struction work. In 1907 Mr. Craig erected the plant of the People's Light Company at Corpus Christi, and re- mained in charge of its operation for some time. His home has been at Mckinney. since 1911, in which year he bought stock and became manager of the Mckinney Compress Company. Besides his local business he still continues practice in mechanical and electrical en- gineering, and his services are chiefly employed in the erection of electric light plants and water works, and as consulting engineer in the preparation of reports on public utilities of that kind. The MeKinney Compress Company is a stock company of local capital, incor- porated at fifty thousand dollars capital.

Mr. Craig has always been a Democratie voter, affili- ates with the Masonic Order and from boyhood has been a, member of the Presbyterian church. On November 2, 1910, at Mckinney occurred his marriage to Miss Kathryn Heard. Her father, S. D. Heard, is a prom- inent Mckinney capitalist and business man. Their home is on W. Hunt street in Mckinney.

JONAS KNIGHT, D. O. At MeKinney one of the phy- sicians who can claim a patronage of exceptional numerical strength and value is Dr. Jonas Knight, who is one of the ablest exponents of the osteopathic school of medicine in north Texas. Within the past twenty years the practice of osteopathy, starting in restricted localities and hampered by prejudice, has spread from coast to coast, and has won its place with older schools.

Dr. Jonas Knight was born April 2, 1884, at Com- merce, Texas, the son of John T. and Susan E. (Wil- liams) Knight. The family is of Scotch-Irish stock and Dr. Knight was the youngest of twelve children, eight sons and four daughters, eight of whom are still living. All his near relatives live in the state of Texas except- ing one sister, Mrs. S. T. Patterson, of Roswell, New Mexico. The five brothers are all at Commerce or in that immediate vicinity, namely: John Knight, now retired from active business and president of the Farmers' State Bank of Commerce; Thomas Ingram Knight, also retired from business; Lemuel Lee Knight, a farmer; Amos Knight, city marshal of Commerce, and Ira Knight, a farmer. The family are characteristic for their excellent health and their fine physical con- stitution and longevity is a trait of the people of that name. The father is a native of Alabama and the mother of Mississippi, and they came to Texas about 1850, first locating in Wood county. The father was a farmer and stock raiser, and during the war served for two years in the Confederate army. He took part in some of the historic battles of the war and was slightly wounded in one engagement. His ocenpation as a farmer and stock raiser continued from the end of the war until his death in 1907, and his wife passed away in 1909.

Dr. Knight received his early training in the public

schools of Hunt county, later attended the East Texas Normal College at Commerce and in 1902 entered the American School of Osteopathy at Kirksville, Missouri, from which he was graduated in 1904 with the degree D. O. His first practice was at Greenville, Texas, but in a short time he went to his old home town of Com- merce and was in practice there four years. Following a post-graduate course at Kirksville in 1908 at the American School, Dr. Knight returned to Texas and located at Mckinney, in which vicinity he has built up a large practice since 1909.

Dr. Knight is a Democrat in politics, affiliates with the Masonic Order, the Chapter Degrees, with the Benevo- lent and Protective Order of Elks and is a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church South at MeKinney. On January 17, 1906, at Butler, Missouri, was solemnized his marriage with Miss Lorena Lampton. Her father, Dr. W. E. Lampton, was a physician of the Osteopathic school and is still in practice in Missouri. Mrs. Knight died July 12, 1911. Dr. Knight has his office in the Foote building in MeKinney.

D. W. SMITH. Milling occupies an important place among the thriving industries of Northern Texas and many of the most successful business men of this sec- tion are concentrating their energies on this branch of activity. The progressive men of Grayson county have not been slow to realize the advantages offered by their locality in this direction and some of the most important enterprises of this kind are to be found in Whitewright, among which may be mentioned the Womack Milling Company, much of the success of which may be accredited to the progressive methods of its capable secretary, treasurer and manager, D. W. Smith, a man of broad business experience, who has brought to his labors an enthusiasm that is rapidly bringing his concern to the forefront.

Mr. Smith was born at Dakota, Stephenson county, Illinois, August 22, 1872, and is a son of Samuel and Virginia Smith, the former a native of Pennsylvania and the latter of Virginia. The father, who spent his life as a carpenter and contractor, died in January, 1888, the mother passed away in May, 1910. D. W. Smith received his education in the public schools of the Prairie state and he early took his place among the world's workers, as his father died when he was sixteen years of age. He came to Texas in 1894, locating in Whitewright, where he secured employment in a livery establishment and also clerked in a grocery store. Sub- sequently he became bookkeeper for the Whitewright Oil Mill and then received his introduction to the grain and feed business, as proprietor of a venture of his own. He was thus brought into connection with other enter- prising and progressive business men here, and in 1912 was offered and accepted his present position. The Womack Milling Company was founded in 1898, as a stock company, and since its inception has enjoyed a steady and healthy growth. The product consists of flour and meal and the firm also deals in seeds and grain of all kinds, the trade extending all over the Northern and Northeastern sections of Texas. The capacity of the mill is 250 barrels of flour per day, a grain elevator is operated in connection and twelve men are employed. In the management of this busi- ness Mr. Smith has shown himself capable and thorough, a master of every detail of the business and a man of acumen, foresight and sterling judgment. He has the unqualified confidence of his associates and is widely known in the trade throughout this section. He has always been a Republican in his political views and has at all times supported the interests of his party, but has not sought preferment, his only public service being in the capacity of city secretary for one term. He is a member of the United Commercial Travelers' Associa- tion and the Knights of Pythias and his religious affilia- tion is with the Methodist Episcopal Church, South. He

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is known as one of the enthusiastic "boosters" of his section, with a firm belief in its future development and the ability to inspire that faith in others.

In February, 1906, Mr. Smith was married at Bryan, Texas, to Miss Emogene Martin, daughter of the late James Martin, a successful farmer for some years and a veteran of the Civil war, through which he served as a soldier in the Confederate army. He died in 1903. Mr. and Mrs. Smith have one daughter, Vivian, a bright child of four years.

CHARLES W. BRYANT has been a resident of the com- munity of Whitewright for a period of fifty-eight years and is now living retired from business cares save for the supervision which he gives to his invested interests. He is a man of excellent business ability, of genuine personal worth and of strong and admirable traits of character, and well deserves mention in this work as one of the representative men of Grayson county. He is a native of this county, born near the present site of Whitewright, September 6, 1856, and is a son of Anthony M. and Susan S. (Binkley) Bryant, being of Irish and French descent on his father's side of the family and of German ancestry on his mother's side.

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A history of Texas and Texans, Part 37

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