A history of Texas and Texans, Part 4

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 4

Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).

Having sold his interest in this enterprise, Mr. Me- Nary, in the fall of 1906, came to El Paso. He began as an employe of the First National Bank, and after two years was elected Assistant Cashier of the First National Bank, and two years later elected a Vice President, and has since been chosen First Vice Presi- dent and Chairman of the Executive Committee of this institution. In 1911 Mr. MeNary was President of the El Paso Chamber of Commerce and has been an effective worker for business and industrial developments in this city. He is a Director and Treasurer of the Southwest- ern Portland Cement Company at El Paso; a Director and Treasurer of the El Paso Grain & Milling Company ;

1605

TEXAS AND TEXANS

a Director of The James A. Dick Wholesale Grocery Company; a Director and Treasurer of the Paso del Norte Hotel Company, and the El Paso Hotel Company, having been one of the promoters of El Paso's million dollar hotel, which has so intimately concerned the prosperity of the City; he is a Director and Vice Presi- dent of The First Mortgage Company and also of the American Trust & Savings Bank; a Director of the Rio Grande & El Paso Railway Company, and a director of the W. M. Cady Lumber Company, and the MeNary Lumber Company, at MeNary, Louisiana, near Alex- andria. The town of MeNary, whose two lumber mills have a daily capacity of 500,000 feet, was named after him.

Mr. MeNary, aside from business, is very much inter- ested in musical affairs, and is himself a trained and accomplished musician. During his first four years' resi- dence in El Paso he was musical director of the El Paso Choral Society, with a membership of one hundred. He possesses an excellent baritone voice, and in the different places of his residence he has done much to direct and elevate musical activities. For three years he served as Treasurer, Director and Vice President of the Toltec Club; in 1913 he was elected President of the El Paso Social Club; he is also a member of the El Paso Country CImb; is a Director of the Y. M. C. A., and a member of the Board of Trustees and Treasurer of the First Presbyterian Church.

At Las Vegas, New Mexico, October 8, 1902, Mr. MeNary married Miss Ruth Raynolds, daughter of Joshua S. Raynolds, and a native of Central City, Colo- rado. Her father is one of the pioneer bankers of the west, beginning his career with the Colorado National Bank of Denver, of which he was elected Cashier in 1871. He is now President of the First National Bank of Albuquerque, New Mexico, and the First National Bank of El Paso, Texas. Mr. McNary has had the ad- vantage of acquiring his experience in the banking business by close personal association with the foremost banker of the southwest.

Mr. and Mrs. MeNary are the parents of five children, four of whom are now living: Graham Raynolds Me- Nary was born in Las Vegas, February 4, 1904; Ruth Elizabeth was born July 4, 1905, at Las Vegas; one child was born October 21, 1906, and died at El Paso April 27, 1907; Marjorie May was born at El Paso May 5, 1910; Martha was born in El Paso, October 16, 1912. The MeNary residence is 1617 Arizona Street.

From the age of twelve to twenty years, Mr. MeNary spent his summers working on the farm of the late David Rankin, one of the greatest American farmers, and on the estate of that great farm king he earned his bread by the sweat of his brow and learned the valne of a dollar.

Mrs. MeNary takes an active interest in women's clubs and charity work, being a Director of the Y. W. C. A., the El Paso Women's Club, and an active member of the Board of Directors of the Charity Asso- ciation. She is an accomplished musician, being a grad- uate of the New England Conservatory of Music, and a violinist and organist of unusual ability.

ROBERT LYNN BATTS, of the law firm of Gregory, Batts & Brooks, has, since locating in Austin in 1900, gained a reputation as one of the most forceful mem- bers of the local bar, and has few peers throughout the state. His clear, analytical mind affords him unusual facility in working out the details of a case, and his contemporaries are quick to acknowledge his special abilities and his high position among the lawyers of Texas. He is a native son of the Lone Star state, hav- ing been born at Bastrop, November 1, 1864, his parents being Andrew Jackson and Julia (Rice) Batts.

Andrew Jackson Batts was a native of Virginia, and a descendant of one of the very earliest Colonial families of the Old Dominion. In 1857 he sought the West and

located at Bastrop, where he was residing at the time of the outbreak of the war between the states, through- out which he participated as a soldier in the Confederate army. With the fall of the Lost Cause he returned to Bastrop and here rounded out a useful and successful career, passing away in 1890. He was married in Texas to Miss Julia Rice, who was born in Alabama, and came to Texas as an infant with her parents in 1845, the family locating in Burnet county, where for years they followed agricultural pursuits.

Robert Lynn Batts was granted excellent educational facilities, and after completing the usual preparatory courses entered the University of Texas, from which institution he was gradnated with the degree of Bachelor of Laws in 1886. At that time he entered upon the practice of his chosen calling at Bastrop, and continued there until 1892, when he became assistant attorney general, under Attorney General Charles A. Culberson, now United States Senator from Texas. Mr. Batts' high accomplishments won him a full professorship when he was but thirty years of age, as a member of the law faculty of the University of Texas, a position which he held for a number of years. He took up active prac- tice in 1900, becoming a member of the firm of Gregory & Batts, with Thomas W. Gregory, and in 1907 Vietor L. Brooks was admitted to the firm, the style of which then became as now, Gregory, Batts & Brooks. This is known at this time as one of the strongest legal com- binations in the state, and has been connected with nu- merous important cases including the noted case of the State of Texas vs. Waters-Pierce Oil Company, in which the firm represented the state. Mr. Batts is the author ot numerons articles relating to his profession, which give evidence of excellent literary ability and taste, a broad knowledge of his calling, and a vigorous style. Among his technical works may be mentioned "Anno- tated Civil Statutes of Texas" and "Corporation Laws of Texas." The offices of the concern are located in the Austin National Bank Building, while Mr. Batts' home is at No. 2400 Lampasas street. He enjoys membership in the Masons, in the Odd Fellows and in the Kappa Alpha fraternity. His political affiliation is with the democratic party.

In 1889 Mr. Batts was married to Miss Harriet Boak, who is the daughter of the late John C. Boak, of Aus- tin; and to this union there have been born three chil- dren, namely : Robert E. Lee, Mary and Margaret.

WILLIAM F. RAMSEY. One of the eminent repre- sentatives of the bench and bar in Texas, Mr. Ramsey has been actively connected with his profession for more than thirty five years, attained to the highest honors in the Texas judiciary as Judge of the Court of Crim- inal Appeal and as associate justice in the supreme court, being the only person in history of the state who ocenpied both these positions. Since retiring from the bench he has attended to a large private practice at Austin. Judge Ramsey represents a Scotch family, which emigrated from Scotland in 1800 and settled in North Carolina, and has subsequently furnished many names notable in business, the professions, and in public affairs.

William F. Ramsey is a native of Texas, born October 25, 1855, in Bell county. His parents were John J. and Nancy (Clark) Ramsey. His father, a native of Ken- tucky, came to Texas in 1853, settling first in Falls county, later moving to Gonzales county, and in 1861 enlisted for service in the Confederate army. His mili- tary record covers practically the entire conflict between the states, and at the close of the war he held the rank of second lieutenant. He then settled in Johnson county, where he acquired large interests as a farmer and merchant and where he lived until his death in 1904. His wife was a native of Tennessee, and she died in October, 1871.

Judge Ramsey spent most of his youth in Johnson county, attended the common schools of that locality,

1606

TEXAS AND TEXANS

and received his college training in Trinity University at Tehuacana, Limestone county. From that old and splendid center of Texas education he was graduated Bachelor of Arts in 1876, and received his degree in law in 1877. Judge Ramsey began practice at Cleburne on the 4th of July, 1877. Cleburne remained his home and the center of his large and growing practice as a law- yer until January 1, 1908. At the latter date he moved to Austin, having accepted appointment as one of the justices of the court of criminal appeals, qualifying for the office on the first of January, and filling out an un- expired term. In November, 1908, he was elected for the regular term of four years, beginning January 1, 1909. However, on January 5, 1911, he resigned to accept a place as associate judge of the supreme court. On March 29, 1912, he resigned this high judicial place in order to make the campaign for the Democratic nomin- ation for Governor of Texas. He was one of the con- tenders for this honor at the Democratic primaries in July, 1912, but in spite of his vigorous campaign did not succeed in wresting the honors from the incumbent of the office, Governor, Corquitt. On October 1, 1912, resumed private practice at Austin, and that city is now his per- manent home. Judge Ramsey in 1884 was one of the presidents of electors on the Cleveland ticket.

He stands high in Masonry, having taken thirty-two degrees in the Scottish Rite, and in the York rite is Past Eminent Commander of the Knights Templar. He also belongs to the Hilla Temple of the Mystic Shrine at Dallas. Other fraternal associations include member- ship in the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks.

Until he moved to Austin to accept judicial office, Judge Ramsey was prominent in banking. In 1900 he became president of the National Bank of Cleburne, was president of the First National Bank of Covington, and president of the Farmers and Traders Bank of Rio Vista. He resigned all these financial connections in 1908, on his removal to Austin.

On January 28, 1878, Judge Ramsey married Miss Emma Johnson, a daughter of Rev. Felix Johnson, a prominent Presbyterian minister of Paris, Texas. Mrs. Ramsey died April 1, 1885, leaving a son, William F. Ramsey, Jr., who is now a practicing attorney at Cle- burne. On October 13, 1886, Judge Ramsey married Miss Rowena Hill, a daughter of Malcolm and Mary J. Hill, of LaGrange, Texas. There are three sons and three daughters by this marriage. Judge Ramsey and family reside at 106 27th street, Austin.

HON. JOHN L. LITTLE. Though only forty-one years of age at the time of his death at Kountze on December 14, 1913, the late John Lowery Little had a career filled with the successes of the able lawyer and with the distine- tions of public life, and as a former member of the Legislature, county judge, and as a member of the Texas bar, his name was known and honored in many sections of the State away from his home community. After Judge Little had concluded his service in the State Legislature in 1903, he began the new year by estab- lishing an office at Kountze, in Hardin county, where he continued the practice of law until his death. Besides a general practice he was local attorney for the Southern Pacific and Santa Fe Railroads.

John L. Little was born in Covington county, Ala- bama, in 1872, but spent most of his life in Texas, his parents having located in Milam county in 1876. His father, James M. Little, who died in Milam county in 1896, was born in Jefferson county, Georgia, of Scotch ancestry, and in early life was a lawyer and served for a time as district attorney of Covington county. Sub- sequently he left the law to take up the ministry of the Presbyterian church, and remained a consecrated and active worker in the church until his death. He had also been a soldier in the Confederacy, going through the entire war as a member of an Alabama regiment. The mother of Judge Little was Martha A. Pendry Little, a native of Jefferson county, Georgia.

John L. Little, who was reared in Milam county from the age of four years, had the advantages of the local schools, and then entered the Southwestern University at Georgetown, from which he was graduated with the class of 1896. Taking up the study of law with Major John A. Green in San Antonio, he remained there until his admission to the bar in 1897, and then established his practice in that city. Judge Little was always actively interested in politics, and after four years as a lawyer at San Antonio was elected a member of the State Legislature and served one term. In the latter part of 1903 he moved to Kountze and began his practice on the first of the following year. The citizens of Hardin county manifested their confidence in his integrity and ability by electing him county judge, an office which he capably filled from 1910 until 1912. In the latter year Judge Little made the race for Congress from the Second Congressional district, being one of the five candidates for that honor before the primaries. While prominent in politics, a popular campaign orator, Judge Little was essentially a public-spirited citizen whose best work was the disinterested service of the community and State, rather than for the sake of personal advance- ment.

He also had a military record. During the Spanish- American war he was lieutenant of Company I of the First Texas Infantry, U. S. Volunteers. His regiment went to Mobile, Alabama, then to Miami, Florida, where it was transferred to General Lee's corps, and after being stationed at Jacksonville and Savannah, was sent to Havana, Cuba. Judge Little was well known in Masonic circles, having taken the thirty-second degree of Scottish Rite, and was a member of El Mina Temple of the Mystic Shrine at Galveston, and was also affiliated with the Modern Woodmen of America, the Maccabees and the Knights of Pythias.

Mrs. Little, who is now a resident of Beaumont, is of an old and prominent Texas family. She and Judge Little were married at San Antonio August 21, 1898. Before her marriage Mrs. Little was Miss Carrie Power, born in Independence, Texas, and a grand-niece of General Sam Houston and granddaughter of Colonel Charles Power, once prominent as a citizen both of Galveston and Independence. Judge Little and wife had four children: Weldon Lowery Little, now deceased; Charles Power Little; Marjorie Power Little, and John Lowery Little.

JOHN CHARLES TOWNES, LL. D. Extraordinary as as has been the growth of the common school system of Austin, as well as its trade and commerce, the progress made in the establishment here of higher institutions of learning has been no less remarkable, so that it is now probably the greatest educational center of the state, and it is also one of the important commercial centers. The University of Texas, established on a broad base, both as to endowment and plans and scope of instruction, is recognized as one of the leading educational institu- tions in the country, made so by the high standing and ability of the educators in charge of its multiform depart- ments. John Charles Townes, LL. D., dean of the law school, is a member of a family long prominent in the profession of law, although it is in connection with the cause of education that his name will be best entitled to remembrance as one of the benefactors of his city and state.

Doctor Townes was born at Tuscumbia, Alabama, Jan- uary 30, 1852, and is a son of Eggleston D. and Martha Cousins (Betts) Townes. His grandfather, a descend- ant of the early Virginia settlers,, was John Leigh Townes, a member of the Territorial Constitutional Con- vention of Alabama. Eggleston D. Townes was a large planter, became prominent in the field of law, and was chancellor of the Northern District of Alabama. He moved to Texas in 1856, and, settling in Travis county,

1607

TEXAS AND TEXANS

became a member of the House of Representatives and of the Senate of Texas. During the war between the states he was a major of Texas troops and saw active service at Sabine Pass and other points in Texas and Louisiana, but during the progress of the struggle his health was undermined and he was forced to resign his commission and return to his home, where his death oc- curred August 30, 1864. The mother survived until 1893.

After thorough preparation Doctor Townes became a student at Baylor University, which he attended from 1867 to 1869, and from that institution received the degree of Doctor of Laws in 1898. He took up the study of law in 1869 and in 1873 was admitted to the bar at Austin, follwing which he was engaged in active practice in this city until 1877, the next eight years being passed at San Saba, Texas. In 1882 he became judge of the Thirty-third Judicial District of Texas, continuing to act in that capacity until 1885, when he resigned and re- moved to Georgetown, there continuing in practice until 1888, when he was appointed by Govenror Ross, judge of the Twenty-sixth Judicial District of Texas, but in August of the same year resigned the office and returned to Austin where he formed a law partnership with S. R. Fisher, under the firm style of Fisher & Townes. This association continued until 1896, when Doctor Townes was appointed professor of law at the University of Texas, and in 1902 was made the first dean of the law school of the University. After one year he resigned to devote his entire attention to his duties as professor of law, but in the fall of 1907 was again made dean of the law school and has held that position to the present time. In 1909 and 1910 he was president of the Asso- ciation of American Law Schools. While he has borne a fair share of the labors of professional and public life, accomplishing not less for the public welfare than for his own advantage, he has at the same time preserved his love of letters and his indulgence in the amenities of a refined and gentle life. As an author, he is well known in the line of his calling, among his numerous contribu- tions to legal literature being "Townes' Texas Plead- ings" (1901, second edition 1913); "Studies of Amer- ican Elementary Law" (1903, second edition 1911) ; "General Principles of the Law of Torts" (1907) ; "Civil Government in the United States and in Texas" (1908), and "Law Books and How to Use Them" (1909). His political allegiance is given to the demo- cratie party, while his religious connection is with the Baptist church, in which he is a deacon.

On December 28, 1871, Doctor Townes was married to Miss Kate Wildbahn, daughter of Isaac and Ann D. Wildbahn, of Manor, Texas, who came to this state in 1854 from Alabama. Four children have been born to this union: Ernest W., who is engaged in the practice of law at Houston; Edgar E., a legal practitioner of Beaumont; John Charles, Jr., associated with the law firm of Baker, Botts, Parker & Garwood, at Houston; and Anne C., a teacher in Miss Whitis' school at Aus- tin. Doctor and Mrs. Townes reside in their pleasant home at No. 2800 Rio Grande street.

WILLIAM THOMAS CASWELL. One of the comparatively few whose genius for large undertaking and achievement determines the business destinies of the localities in which they live and labor is William Thomas Caswell, of Austin. Brought in early manhood in touch with the cotton business, he seized upon his opportunity, mastered the rudiments of the trade with a thoroughness that has characterized his every action in life, and upon this practical knowledge has builded his exceptional business career. One by one he has seen the possibilities as they have opened before him, and each possibility has first become a probability and then made a certainty, until now he is one of the largest cotton exporters in the United States. Incidentally, he has become interested in real estate and timber lands, and gives the benefit

of his broad knowledge, clear judgment and vast experi- ence to various other lines of industry.

Mr. Caswell was born in Nashville, Tennessee, in 1877, and is a son of Daniel Haskell and Louise (Broadwell) Caswell. On his father's side he is descended from Scotch-Irish stock which emigrated to America before the days of the Revolutionary War and settled in Maine, but later moved to the South. His mother's family trace their ancestry back to the Mayflower and to John and Priscilla Alden of Massachusetts. Daniel Haskell Caswell in his early life was a millwright and built flour and lumber mills, but since 1880 has been actively engaged in the cotton seed oil mill business, being now the oldest oil mill man in active service. He was the owner of the Tuscaloosa, Alabama, Oil Mill, one of the first cotton seed oil mills ever erected, and in 1892 came to Texas and located at Austin, where he has since con- tinued to carry on his affairs, and is actively engaged in business in spite of his eighty years. During his long and useful career it is estimated that he has erected fifty cotton seed oil mills.

William Thomas Caswell received his early education in the public schools of his native city, where he gradu- ated from the High School, and entered Vanderbilt University, graduating therefrom in civil engineering in 1899. At that time he joined his father at Austin, and was associated with him in business for a short time. He then embarked in the business of cotton buying and exporting, which he has developed until it is now recog- nized as one of the leading enterprises of this section. At this time he is handling over 100,000 bales of cotton annually, and is one of the few cotton men in the busi- ness to buy direct from the farmer and export direct to the foreign customer, firms in Europe and Japan handling the greater part of his output. He also handles more wagon cotton than any dealer in the United States, his business during some years running up as high as $20,000,000. Mr. Caswell, in addition to being the owner of a chain of cotton gins in the vicinity of Austin, is president of the Capitol Compress Company and of the San Marcos Compress Company, and vice president of the Elgin Compress Company. He has been largely interested in real estate, and in 1910 bought and de- veloped what is now known as the Ridge Top Addition and the Ridge Top Annex Addition to the city of Austin, which have proved the most popular additions to the northern part of the city, now being rapidly developed and settled as residential sections. He is also the owner of the Hyde Park Heights Addition to the city of Houston, which he has most successfully developed and settled, and is the owner of 5,000 acres of timber land in Montgomery county, Texas, on which he has erected an extensive sawmill which is cutting some 15,000,000 feet of timber. He maintains offices at No. 410 Chicon street and 625 Littlefield Bldg., Austin, Tex. Mr. Cas- well's success is one which is noteworthy even in a part of the country where a large measure of success is not uncommon and where forcible and capable captains of business abound. And it is all the more remarkable in that it has been practically self-gained. Active, alert, quick in his decisions and courageous in his undertakings, he has the entire confidence of his associates, who con- stantly look to him for leadership and counsel. Essen- tially a man of business, he has cared little for public life, except as a good citizen performing his civic duties, and his only fraternal connection is with the Chi Phi fraternity of the Vanderbilt University. But he is an active worker in all charitable movements of Austin and in the Y. M. C. A. work, of which institution he was president several years.

Mr. Caswell was married in 1904 to Miss Vivian Breni- zer, daughter of Dr. Nelson O. Brenizer, a well-known practicing physician of Austin, and to this union there have been born two children: Anna Louise and Clair. The pleasant family residence is located at No. 1502 West avenue.

1608

TEXAS AND TEXANS

JUDGE T. W. HUDSON. A resident of the Lone Star State since 1871, of Grayson county since 1888 and of Sherman since 1890, Judge T. W. Hudson has had a praiseworthy career and one that entitles him to spe- cific mention in the pages of this comprehensive historical and biographical work. A straightforward account of the leading activities of the life of Judge Hudson is here presented, as closely in accordance with fact as is possible with the information at hand, and it is offered as a worthy addition to the recital of achievement pre- sented in this publication.

T. W. Hudson, justice of the peace of Sherman, Texas, was born on December 24, 1836, in Georgia, and is a son of J. R. and Martha E. (Banks) Hudson, both natives of that State. The father was a farmer and a well-to-do slaveholder before the war. He migrated to Arkansas in 1849, taking up land in Columbia county, and there continued to farm in a small way up to the time of his death in 1883. The mother survived until 1892. They were the parents of eleven children, six sons and five daughters, and of that goodly family seven are living today. Judge Hudson is the third son of his parents.

Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.

A history of Texas and Texans, Part 4

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