A history of Texas and Texans, Part 68

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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JAMES W. STRINGER. Twenty-three years ago James W. Stringer came to Wichita county, Texas, here identi- fying himself with farming activities, and from then up to the present time he has been a resident of said county and has long been reckoned among the successful men of the community. He extended his interests to the cattle business soon after he located here, and he is still so connected, while he has become identified with other financial and industrial enterprises of the cities of this county, by means of which he has come to occupy a po- sition of no little importance in Wichita Falls.

James W. Stringer is a native of Nevada county, Ar- kansas, born there on March 21, 1862, and he is a son of Wesley W. and Elmina (Haines) Stringer, both na- tive Georgians. Wesley W. Stringer was a farmer all his life, more or less successful, and his residence in Arkansas began in 1847, when he was just twenty-five years of age. He enlisted with an Arkansas regiment for service in the Confederate army, and served through- out the war, escaping without injury, save for the explo- sion of a minie ball in his vicinity, which impaired his hearing. He died in Columbia county, Arkansas, when he was sixty-four years of age, and the mother also passed away there, in the fifty-eighth year of life.

James W. Stringer was the eighth-born child in a family of five sons and four daughters. He had his early education, somewhat inclined to meagerness, in the com- mon schools of Nevada county, Arkansas, and up to the age of twenty-one remained at home on the farm. Then, when he felt himself entitled to his freedom by reason of his age, he left home and came to Texas, settling in Bell county in the summer of 1882. He engaged in farming there and was eight years in that district. When Mr. Stringer first came to Texas he spent one year attending school, and thus added not a little to his edu- cation. In 1890 he came to Wichita County, where he bought a farm. He gradually worked into the cattle business, and, though he has withdrawn to some extent from his regular farming activities, he is still interested in the cattle business. He has with the passing years come to have an interest in certain oil properties of the state, and he is vice president of the First National Bank of Electra, Texas, as well as a stockholder. He is also a stockholder in the Farmers' State Bank at Burk- burnett and in the First National Bank at Wichita Falls. He has never sought for a place in politics, though he has taken an active part in the Democratic activities of the county and is regarded as one of the stanch members of the party. Fraternally he is a mem- ber of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows.

On November 13, 1890, Mr. Stringer was married in Falls county, Texas, to Miss Sue Gribble, a native of Tennessee aud a daughter of Dr. C. Gribble. The mother of Mrs. Stringer died when she was a babe of two years. To Mr. and Mrs. Stringer have been born three sons and three daughters, concerning whom brief mention is made as follows: Lois, the eldest, was born in Wichita county, and she is now the wife of E. W. Marriott of Electra, Texas. The others are Myrtice,

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Leslie, Icie, James and Hubter, and all are members of the family circle, with the single exception of Miss Myr- tice, who,is a student in the Texas Christian University, at Fort Worth, now in her third year at that well-known institution. Leslie and Icie are high-school students in Wichita Falls, and the two younger ones are attending the grade schools.

In the fall of 1913 Mr. Stringer established the family home in Wichita Falls, here erecting a handsome home on Grant street opposite Kemp Boulevard, in the finest residence district of the city. The family are popular and prominent in social and other circles of the com- munity and have a host of good friends throughout the county, where they have long been known for their many sterling qualities.

RICHARD H. ALWOOD. A retired resident of Gaines- ville, Mr. Alwood was one of the pioneers of that city, having located there when it was a small village and still exposed to the Indian raids which made life and property unsafe in north Texas for a number of years after the Civil war. Mr. Alwood has had a great variety of expe- riences during his career and has possessed that active temperament of the pioneer and the frontiersman.

Richard H. Alwood was born in St. Mary's Parish, in Louisiana, January 10, 1847, a son of John and Eliza (Donald) Alwood, his father a native of Ireland and the mother of Mississippi. The father followed farming as his regular vocation. Richard was the second of the three children, and his brother James and sister Sallie are both deceased.

Richard H. Alwood grew up in Louisiana, received his education in the local schools, and at the age of sixteen, in 1863, enlisted as a soldier of the Confederacy in the Eighth Louisiana Tigers, and later was transferred to the Ninth Louisiana Tigers. He fought from the begin- ning of his enlistment until the close of the war as a private. Following the war he went out to Omaha and became identified with the great transportation business conducted by wagon and team across Nebraska into Ne- vada. He continued that work until he came to Gaines- ville, in 1868. Gainesville in that year was a village, possessing two saloons, one church, one blacksmith shop, one hotel, and one mill. Its proximity to the Red River and the border of the Indian territory exposed it to fre- quent raids from Indians and white outlaws, and on one occasion, while Mr. Alwood was in charge of a freight- ing train, the Indians stole eight mules from the wagons near Jacksboro. He got the mules back, however, with- out any fight. On locating at Gainesville, Mr. Alwood was given employment in driving a team for the firm of Cloud & Peary, and continued that work for one year. He then engaged in the livery and feed business, and had that establishment for a year. After that he was at work as a carpenter, and then engaged in the retail meat business, and conducted a shop in Gainesville until he retired, in July, 1912. In the meantime he had been extensively interested in cattle dealing, and bought and sold a large number of stock at different times. Mr. Alwood now has a nice little farm of fifty acres near Gainesville, and makes this place his hobby and recrea- tion, giving all his attention to its management.

Mr. Alwood was married in 1871 to Miss Margaret Dials, a native of Kentucky and a daughter of Jacob K. Dials. Mr. Dials came from Kentucky to Missouri, and then to Dallas, Texas, in 1859, later moving to Gaines- ville, where his death occurred in 1876. Mr. and Mrs. Alwood had three children: Jimmie Florence, who died at the age of five years; one that died in infancy; and Maude L. is the wife of Jacob B. Feltz of Gainseville, a traveling salesman, and they have one child, Alwood.

Mr. Alwood is a Democrat without any desire for of- ficial honors. He is an active member of the Methodist church and is well known in Masonic circles. He has served as junior warden of the Blue Lodge, is also a Royal Arch Mason, and has been Master of the Second

Veil, and at present is principal sojourner in the local lodge. Mr. Alwood and family reside at 1304 East California Street.

JOHN W. PHILPOTT. In making a study of the careers and characters of men of prominence the contemporary biographer is naturally led to inquire into the secrets of their successes and the motives which have prompted their actions. It is almost invariably found that success is a matter of the application of experience and sound judgment at the right time and in the right manner. In almost every instance the successful men of any profes- sion or line of business have obtained their positions through persistent individual effort. The career of John W. Philpott, proprietor of the J. W. Philpott grain ele- vator at Miami, Roberts county, is no exception to this rule, for but a few short years ago he arrived in Texas without capital or resources and through his own ability and perseverance has steadily risen to a position where he is recognized as one of the leading business men of his community. Mr. Philpott was born in Coffee county, Tennessee, September 25, 1875, the fourth in order of birth of the thirteen children of John and Ruth Naomi (Tony) Philpott.

John Philpott was born May 3, 1836, in Tennessee, and in that state was educated, reared and married. He became a well-known merchant in Coffee county, retiring from mercantile pursuits a few years before removing to Shelbyville, in Bedford county, Tennessee. In 1894 he came to Texas and located in Fannin county, where he became largely interested in farming, but has since sold most of his land, although he recently bought a farm near Canfield, Arkansas. He was married in Coffee county, Tennessee, to Ruth Naomi Tony, who was born in Illinois and educated in Tennessee, and she passed away in the latter state just prior to the family's re- moval to the Lone Star state.

John W. Philpott secured his education in the public schools of Shelbyville, Tennessee, and was twenty-one years of age when he came to Fannin county, there eu- tering upon his career as a grower of cotton, wheat and corn. He continued in Fanniu county for six years, and then removed to Cooke county, where for four years he was interested in wheat farming and cattle raising. He subsequently disposed of his interests in that locality and came to Miami, embarking in operations in farming and wheat shipping in Roberts county until the establish- ment of the J. W. Philpott Grain Elevator, in 19II, since which time he has devoted his entire time to this business. The rise of Mr. Philpott has been steady and rapid, as will be shown by comparing the young man who arrived in Texas with a capital of $10.05 with the substantial man of business who in 1912 shipped 175 cars of grain, representing $100,000, to Galveston and the eastern markets. He owns 960 acres of land, of which he has 750 acres sown with wheat, and he also owns lots at Pampa, property at Greenwade, eight lots in Miami, and a comfortable residence. His career has been one of great activity and uncommon success, due to the exercise of good judgment and the exhibition under all circumstances of the strictest integrity. He has shown unbounded faith in Texas, and in numerous ways has been influential in forwarding its interests. Primarily a business man, with onerous duties to claim his time and attention, he has not been indifferent to the responsibilities which a community expects its prom- inent men to assume, and has served faithfully and con- scientiously as school director and road overseer. His political tendencies make him a Democrat, while his religious connection is with the Baptist church.

Mr. Philpott was married December 14, 1897, in Fan- nin county, Texas, to Miss Nora Lyons, a daughter of David Lyons of that county. Five children have been born of this union: Ruth N., born in Fannin county December 23, 1899; James W., born in Cooke county, Texas, January 4, 1904; Flora May, born in Cooke

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county, May 28. 1905; George Arthur, born in Gray county, Texas, September 6, 1907; and Charlie Kint, born November 25, 1912, at Miami. The three older children are attending public school at Miami.

LEWIS RANDOLPH BRYAN. A former president of the Texas State Bar Association, Mr. Bryan was admitted to the bar of this state in April, 1880, at Brenham and has had a varied experience as a practicing lawyer. For the past thirteen years he has been identified with the Houston bar, one of the leaders in the profession and one of the citizens who stand high in social and public life.

The Bryan family represented by this Houston lawyer is one of the oldest and most prominent in the history of the state. His father was Moses Austin Bryan, whose name represents to students of Texas some of the most eminent personalities and events connected with the early growth and development of this commonwealth. Moses Austin Bryan was a native of Missouri and a nephew of Stephen F. Austin, the father of Texas. He came to Texas in 1831, a number of years after the Austins had undertaken their settlement and colonization enterprises, and became the private secretary of the real head of American affairs in this Mexican province. He accompanied Mr. Austin on one or more of his journeys into Mexico and was closely associated with the events and major personalities which led up to the separation of Texas from Mexico by the Revolution of 1835-36. At the final battle of San Jacinto, which resulted in the triumph of Texas over Mexico, Moses Austin Bryan was first sergeant in Mosely Baker's company in the regiment commanded by General Burleson, the grandfather of Postmaster General A. S. Burleson. He was also a close personal friend of Col. Frank Johnson, whose historical manuscripts are published as the chief features of his work.

Lewis Randolph Bryan was born in Brazoria county, Texas, October 2, 1858. The maiden name of his mother was Cora Lewis, daughter of Colonel Ira R. Lewis, a member of the consultation committee in 1835. Mr Bryan attained his early education at Independence, in Washington County, Texas, and was sent to Baylor Uni- versity, then at Independence, where he was graduated from a classical course with the degree of B. S. in 1877. He studied law in the office of Shepard & Garrett, a firm composed of Seth Shepard, now Chief Justice, Court of Appeals of District of Columbia, and C. C. Garrett, afterwards Chief Justice of Court of Appeals, First Supreme Judicial District of Texas, and also studied under Honorable John Sayles and Honorable Jas. E. Shepard, who gave lectures at Brenham in 1879 and 1880. Admitted to the bar on the 9th of April, 1880, he began practice at once in the old town of La Grange with Honorable J. W. Hill, now of San Angelo, Texas. where he remained until September, 1882, at which date he moved to Brenham and entered into partnership with W. W. Searcy, now president of the Texas State Bar Association, with whom he continued until 188S. and then was associated with J. D. Campbell, now of Beau- mont, Texas. From 1890. or more than ten years. he was established in practice in Brazoria county. On the first of January, 1901, Mr. Bryan moved his home to Houston, and he enjoys a large practice in this city. His offices are in the Commercial Bank Building.

His success in law has also brought him into active connection with business affairs, and he is now presi- dent of the Colonial Land & Loan Company of Hous- ton, and is Secretary and Treasurer of the Houston Home Company. Mr. Bryan was elected on July 3, 1902, President of the Texas State Bar Association, and held that office during the succeeding year. He is prominent in his profession and known among the fraternity from the south to the north boundaries of this great state. During the year 1911 he also served as president of the Harris County Bar Association. Representing a pioneer

family himself, Mr. Bryan was married on October 15, 1891, to Miss Martha J. Shepard, who, on her side, is also descended from one of the families which have been identified with Texas since the Republic era and with the early history of the nation and of the state of Kentucky. Her father was Col. Chauncey B. Shepard, who took up his residence in the Republic in 1837, only one year after the winning of independence. He was for many years a well-known resident of Brenham, Texas. Mrs. Bryan is also a Colonial Dame and a Daughter of American Revolution through both her Shepard ancestors and through her mother's family, viz., the well-known Andrews family of Kentucky. The three children of Mr. and Mrs. Bryan are Lewis Ran- dolph, Jr., who is a graduate of the law department of the University of Texas and is now associated with his father in the practice of law; Mary Shepard, a student in the University of Texas in the class of 1915; and Cora Louise, now at Sweet Briar College, Virginia. The Bryan home is at 802 Dennis Avenue, in Houston.

CAPT. JAMES M. LEE. After a career of varied event- fulness, beginning in the days of his early manhood, when he fought as a Confederate soldier, Captain Lee is now enjoyinig the peace and contentment of retired life in Gainesville, where he is surrounded by his family and his many friends.

James M. Lee was born in Rockbridge, Virginia, Au- gust 16, 1837, a son of Alexander and Sallie (Lee) Lee, the father having been a farmer and stock man of Vir- ginia. The eight children of the family are all now deceased with the exception of Captain Lee at Gaines- ville. Both parents were natives of Virginia, and the father was a first cousin of Gen. Robert E. and Gen. Fitzhugh Lee, both famous in the military annals of our nation.

James M. Lee grew up in Virginia, where he was edu- cated in the local and private schools, and when nineteen years of age came to Missouri, after the death of his parents. He began his career without capital, and his first work in Missouri was on a farm for wages. He then for two years farmed with his cousin, Richard Lee. He was living in Missouri when the war broke out and en- listed in Company E, in Elliott's Regiment, in Shelby's brigade, under General Price, and went through the war, most of his service being in the states of Missouri and Arkansas, and the Mississippi Valley. He was a private at his enlistment, but later became quartermaster in his regiment, and came out of the army with the rank of captain. He saw a great deal of active service and, though his hat was shot through, he was never wounded.

In 1874 Captain Lee moved to Texas, locating at Whitesboro, where he was engaged in farming and also conducted a hotel and livery business. For a number of years he was a well-known cattle raiser in that vicinity, and continued active in his varied occupations until 1905, in which year he retired. At the present time Captain Lee is the owner of 1,280 acres of land in the Pecos River Valley, in southwest Texas. He has been success- ful as a business man and has always enjoyed the out- door life and work of farming, and now as a diversion manages and works a small place near Gainesville. He is a Democrat, but has never been active in party affairs. Since 1863 Captain Lee has been affiliated with the Masonic Order and is one of the most popular members of the local lodge in Gainesville. His home is at 709 South Denton street, in Gainesville.

In January, 1867, Captain Lee married Miss Bettie Early. She also is related to a military family, her father, John Early, having been a relative of the famous General Early of the Confederate army. Mrs. Lee was one of three children, the others being Mrs. Eichler of Butler, Missouri, and Mrs. Lucy Gillespie, deceased. Mr. and Mrs. Lee have three children: Elizabeth, the widow of Percy Darwin; John Early, a manufacturer and busi- ness man of Dallas, Texas, and the father of one child;

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and Charles H., a cotton broker in Dallas, and has two children. Mrs. Elizabeth Darwin, who resides with her father, is very prominent in civic and social affairs in Gainesville, and is well known for her work throughout the state. She is chairman of the Civic Improvement Committee of the XLI Club, and in that capacity has done some notable work in the line of civic improve- ment. Her accomplishments came within half a point of gaining the first prize offered by a Texas magazine for plans and actual work accomplished in civie improve- ment. As chairman of the committee of the XLI Club she had charge of all the work connected with the clean- ing up of the City of Gainesville, and local citizens give her much credit for her leadership in a campaign for wholesome and sanitary conditions in the town. During the past year, due largely to her influence, more trees and flowers have been planted along the streets and about the homes of Gainesville people than were set out in any previous period of five years. Because of excellent results obtained in the betterment of pure food condi- tions, she has been appointed assistant to the Food aud Drug Commission of Texas, the first woman ever ap- pointed on such a commission. Mrs. Darwin is vice president of the District Federation of Women's Clubs and has held membership in the XLI Club for the past seventeen years.

WILLIAM L. MEADERS. After many years of success- ful and extensive connection with the cattle and live stock business in this state William L. Meaders in 1907 established himself in business with his brother in Olney under the firm name of the Meaders Brothers' Hardware Company, today one of the most prominent and prosper- ous firms of its kind in this section of the state. In this, as in his other enterprises, success has attended the efforts of Mr. Meaders, and in Olney, as in other towns with which he has been variously identified, Mr. Meaders has taken his place among the leading men of the com- munity. That he has gained a measure of success in his business life is due entirely to the qualities that domi- nate the man, for he started out with few advantages and no capital, but his determination and energy stood him in excellent stead in their place, with the result that he is today independent.

Born in Berry county, Missouri, on March 20, 1862, William L. Meaders is a son of Eleck A. and Mary (Weathers) Meaders, natives of Kentucky and of In- diana, respectively. Both became identified with the life of Missouri at an early period in their existence, and did not remove to Texas until the autumn of 1877, when they settled at Breckenridge, in Stephens county, there taking up farming and stock raising, in which enter- prise they continued until the end of their lives. The father died in November, 1901, aged seventy-three, and the mother passed away in June, 1907, aged seventy. The father was active in the Civil war as a participant with a Missouri Regiment, seeing four years of con- tinued service in the Southern Division of the Confed- erate army. The mother was educated in private schools in Missouri, and she met and married her husband in Missouri. Four children were born to them, as follows: J. B. Meaders, engaged with his brother William L. in business in Olney; Willian L., of this review; Mrs. Edna Pyles, living in Frederick, Oklahoma; John A. Meaders, living at Breckenridge.

William L. Meaders attended the country schools of Berry county as a boy, and when he left school he in- terested himself in stock raising and farming. Coming to Texas in 1877, he devoted himself to the business on a large scale, continuing in Stephens, county in that business from January, 1878, to August, 1907, in the latter year removing to Young county and settling at Olney, where he has since been engaged in business. When Mr. Meaders joined his brother in the establish- ment of their present hardware business in Olney, he did so on a small scale, the business being by no means an

extensive one, but one that was well established and which grew in strength and scope with each succeeding season. An immense stock of goods and largely in- creased show rooms mark the difference between the present concern and that which they brought into life six years ago, and the business is recognized as one of the leading hardware, wagon and implement houses in this section of the state today.

Mr. Meaders, while a resident of Stephens county, was for five years county commissioner of that county, serv- ing on the Democratic ticket, which party he has long been a stanch adherent of. He is a citizen of many ex- cellent qualities, and has a deal of civie pride and a pro- gressive spirit that make him a desirable addition to any community. Fraternally, he has membership in the Inde- pendent Order of Odd Fellows, being a charter member of the Stephens county lodge, in which he has passed all chairs. He is a member of the Presbyterian church.

On December 20, 1888, Mr. Meaders was married to Miss Annie Veale, of Breckenridge, the daughter of Car- roll and Amanda (Arel) Veale, the mother being still alive and a resident of Hill county, Texas. Seven chil- dren have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Meaders: Charles Meaders, the eldest, was born in 1889 in Stephens county. He married Mary Mateson on November 27th and re- sides in Young county. Leona Meaders is deceased. James, living at home, was born in 1894. Irene, born in 1898, is attending high school. Willie, Mary and Eleck, the three youngest, were born in 1900, 1902 and 1904, respectively.

The Meaders family is one that enjoys a leading place in the best social activities of Olney, where they are well known and highly esteemed for their many ex- cellent qualities, and where they display a proper interest in the welfare of the community as a whole.

WILLIAM W. COFFMAN. Among the younger business men of Goree, Texas, William W. Coffman has been very successful. As vice president of the First National Bank he occupies a position of importance in the finan- cial world and has the confidence and respect of the older business men of the town. Mr. Coffman is a na- tive of the state of Texas and consequently is never sparing in his efforts to improve conditions and build up that section of the state in which he makes his home.

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A history of Texas and Texans, Part 68

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