A history of Texas and Texans, Part 8

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 8

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).

ROLAND JONES. One of the important business con- cerns of Nacogdoches is the Nacogdoches Compress Company, an establishment which represents the chief business activity of Roland Jones, president and manager of the company. Mr. Jones has lived in Nacogdoches since 1890. His first experience in the cotton business began with Mayer & Schmidt as classer and shipper, and he subsequently became a buyer on his own account. For six years he held the position of public weigher. From that he turned to compress work, leasing the

1618

TEXAS AND TEXANS

compress at Nacogdoches, and after a time joined Her- man Loeb and John Schmidt in purchasing the plant. The business was reorganized and the first officers of the company were: Herman Loeb, president; Roland Jones, vice-president and manager, and John Schmidt, secretary and treasurer. Later Mr. Loeb sold out his interest to Mr. Jones, and the latter then became president and manager with E. A. Blount as vice-president, while Mr. Schmidt continued as secretary and treasurer. This com- pany does the compress work for a large proportion of the cotton raised in the vicinity of Nacogdoches.

Roland Jones was born in Caddo parish, Louisiana, on December 27, 1862. His family is one that for more than seventy years has been prominent in western Louisiana and eastern Texas. His father was Roland Jones, Sr., a North Carolina man, a graduate of the Cambridge Law School and who came to Shreveport in 1840, and was one of the original stock company which established the town of Shreveport. He was a success- ful lawyer and business man, and died at Shreveport in 1869 at the age of sixty years. He was elected and served a term in Congress; was an ardent southerner, but physically unable to go into the army, and did his part during the war in connection with the legal depart- ment of the Confederacy at Shreveport. During most of his years, he was identified with public affairs in Louisiana, served as district judge for a long time, and there was seldom a year in which he was not performing some official duty in his home city. Judge Jones was a member of the Episcopal church and fraternally is a Mason. In Wilkes county, North Carolina, near Salis- bury, he married Miss Anne Neville Stokes. Her father was Governor Montford Stokes of North Carolina, and her mother's maiden name was Rachel Montgomery. Mrs. Roland Jones died in 1894 at the age of seventy- eight. The children are given brief record as follows: Montfort Stokes Jones was a prominent jurist of Louisi- ana, was widely known as a journalist, had much part in state politics, and died at Shreveport in 1904; Mrs. Kate B. Pickett, the wife of James B. Pickett, died in Shreve- port; Mary died in Denver, Colorado; Mrs. Conway Moncure, lives in Shreveport; Mrs. Charles K. Randall is also a resident of Shreveport, and the youngest is Roland Jones, Jr.

Roland Jones, Jr., grew up at Shreveport, where most of his education was supplied by Thatcher Academy. His early training was for the profession of civil engineer, and in that profession he worked several years on the New Orleans, Pacific & Mississippi Valley Railroad, going out as an ax-man, and was eventually promoted to the position of superintendent of track on the Mississippi Valley Road. Soon afterwards he began his career in the cotton business, and that has absorbed practically all his attention and energy for the past twenty-six years. Mr. Jones has a very successful record as a business man, and is very popular in Nacogdoches and vicinity. He is interested in affairs outside of his private business, and home community, and is one of the life members of the Texas State Historical Association.

Roland Jones was married in Nacogdoches, February 14, 1892, to Miss Esme Matthews, a daughter of Henry P. Matthews and Lela (Hill) Matthews. Her father, a native of Texas, was the son of a pioneer Texan, and Mrs. Matthews was a daughter of Judge Hill, one of the ablest men in public affairs in the state, during his time. Mr. and Mrs. Jones have three children: Genevive, wife of A. B. Patterson of Nacogdoches; Roland, Jr., and Ashford.

CAPTAIN JOHN M. MAYS. For more than a quarter of a century Captain John M. Mays has been connected with the commercial interests of Henderson, and during this time he has not alone attained material success and prestige but has also risen to a high place in the esteem and confidence of the people of his community through his constant and sustained publie spirited citizenship.

The firm of which he is now the head is one of the oldest in this part of Rusk county, and the straightforward and honorable principles by which it has been conducted have brought it a deservedly high reputation in the marts of trade and commerce. Captain Mays came to Texas in 1866, just after the close of the Civil war, from Abbeville, South Carolina, having been born in that section of the Palmetto commonwealth March 16, 1846, a son of Meade and Mary E. (Porter) Mays, and a member of an old slave-holding family of South Carolina.

Meade Mays was born in South Carolina, and died there a young man of thirty years. He married Mary E. Porter, a daughter of John Porter, a Methodist minister and of an old family of South Carolina, and there were two children born of this union, John M., of this review, and Anna L., who was the wife of John M. Trasker, who died at Bethany, Louisiana. Mr. and Mrs. Trasker had three children: J. M. Trasber, of Greenwood, Louisiana; Mrs. Alice Edgar, of Bethany, Louisiana ; and Mrs. J. C. Miller, of Ponca, Oklahoma. Mrs. Mary E. (Porter) Mays married for her second husband W. M. Griffin, and she died at Kilgore, Texas, in 1907.

The early home of John M. Mays was a rural one and his education came chiefly from the Cokesbury school of South Carolina, an institution of some note at that time, under the supervision of the Methodist church. When the bitter war between the North and the South was being contested Mr. Mays left the military school at Columbia, where he was completing his education, and in 1863 took the place of his stepfather in the regiment, subsequently enlisting in Company B, Second Kentucky Cavalry, which was recruiting and rendezvousing in the vicinity of Atlanta, Georgia. This proved to be a part of General John Morgan's command, and Captain Mays was with that daring commander until the latter was killed at Greenville, Tennessee. Among the engagements of this command with which Captain Mays was connected were the battles of Wytheville, Virginia, and Saltville, Virginia, and on the great Kentucky raid he took part in the fight at Cynthiana, Lexington and Mount Sterling. Later he was transferred with others to General John- ston's army at Atlanta, and was engaged in scout duty on the Savannah river when word was received of the close of hostilities.

In 1866 Captain Mays left his home in South Carolina, and with his mother and stepfather made his way to the Lone Star state. They settled in Harrison county, and there he was early employed in freighting goods as a teamster from Shreveport to Elysian Fields, but later became a teacher and had a school for a few months near the dividing line between Harrison and Panola counties. Still later he became a farmer in that locality, and contented himself with tilling the soil for a few years or until the opportunity presented itself to become a clerk at Bethany, Louisiana, where he received his introduction to the general mercantile business. Fol- lowing this experience he came back into Texas and accepted a position as clerk at Deberry, and after some more preparation felt himself capable of handling a business of his own and accordingly opened a store at Harmony Hill, in company with J. M. Trasper. There he spent nearly ten years and laid a firm foundation for his future success.

Captain Mays came to Henderson in 1887, and here continued the mercantile business as junior partner of the firm of Trammell & Mays. This concern has been succeeded by several others, but Captain Mays has always been the partner to remain in the business. It was first succeeded by Mays & Miller, next by Mays & Harderian and finally by Mays & Harris, which association still continues. The Captain is a man of rare business ability, keen discernment and excellent judgment, and his thor- ough knowledge of the needs and demands of his com- munity allows him to place before the trade the highest class of articles to be secured. Aside from his commercial interests he has various other business holdings, and at

EdDuggan

1619

TEXAS AND TEXANS

this time is a director of the First National Bank of Henderson and a stockholder in the oil mill here, of which he was one of the promoters.

Captain Mays was first married at Lawrence, South Carolina, in 1867, to Miss Alice Starnes, a daughter of Robt C. Starnes. She died near Bethany, Louisiana, in 1869, leaving one son, Robert M., who married Alice Beaty, and is engaged in business at Shreveport, Louisiana. Captain Mays married his present wife at Henderson, Texas, in February, 1877, she having been a Miss Georgie N. Trammell, a daughter of Thomas J. Trammell, a Georgian and an early settler of Texas. To this union there have been children born as follows: Foster W., a resident of Henderson; John M., Jr., a merchant of Greenwood, Louisiana; Anna L., the wife of W. F. Chamberlain, of Henderson; Miller, of Green- wood, Louisiana, and Ralph L., Georgie, Alice, Thomas and Helen, who reside with their parents.

In his sphere as a citizen Captain Mays has been unreservedly a man of commercial affairs. He has essayed politics only at times along with other delegates bent on nominating local or state candidates, and has had a seat in several Democratic conventions. He is a Master Mason in his fraternal connection, and his re- ligious faith is that of the Methodist church. Veterans' reunions have found a place near Captain Mays' heart, and he has attended many during the era of popularity of those gatherings of the men and boys who wore the "gray."

VALENTINE L. PUIG. In Laredo and vicinity a name that suggests large financial responsibility and civic influence is that of Valentine L. Puig. While he is now and for a number of years has been one of the big men in this part of the state, there are some who remember him twenty or twenty-five years since as a hard-working, earnest youth, with no capital save his untiring energy and with only a record of steady fighting against heavy odds from early boyhood. At the present time Mr. Puig and his brother, B. A. Puig, own fifty-five thousand acres of land in Webb county, lying about fifty miles north- west of Laredo, and they are extensively engaged in the cattle business. Theirs is one of the largest ranches now remaining undivided in southwest Texas.

Valentine L. Puig is a native of the city of New Orleans, and a son of Valentine Puig, still living and a resident of Laredo. The family in 1896 moved to Laredo in Duval county. Mr. Puig had little or no formal edu- cation, and started out to earn his own way when only nine years of age. Between the years 1886 and 1893 his life was one of struggle and continuous labor, chiefly as a clerk, and his wages ran between eight or ten dol- lars per month to as much as sixty dollars per montlı. His first position was as a messenger boy, and he was then employed at seventy-five cents a day for seven months in railway construction work. On leaving his previous employment and moving to Laredo in 1894, Mr. Puig found work with Mr. E. Cruz as a clerk at twenty- two and a half dollars a month. This employment lasted for eight months, and he was next with the Stone- burg people in their dry goods store for eight dol- lars a week, and at the end of a year they gave him twelve dollars a week. This employment continued for two years until Mr. Puig married, and by 1897 he had accumulated a small capital of fifteen hundred dollars, and with that as a nucleus his success has been one of rapid increase. It is noteworthy that as success has come to him he has been eminently liberal in helping others less fortunate, and even in the days when he was a struggling clerk he took care of his father and mother, and still supports them in comfort at Laredo.

In 1908 Mr. Puig was elected a member of the board of county commissioners of Webb county, and has served in that capacity with efficiency and general sat- isfaction ever since. The handsome new seventy-five thousand dollar county court house was built during the administration of the board of which Mr. Puig is a

member. A fact that should be noted in this connection is that before the court house was completed thirty thousand dollars were needed to bring it to completion, and it was feared that long delays might possibly ensue if the money were raised by a bond issue. Under the circumstances, the commissioners wisely borrowed thirty thousand dollars on their individual notes, and thus allowed the work to go on without interruption and Webb county has its present fine county building largely due to the generous efforts of the board of commis- sioners.

Valentine L. Puig has a wife and four children: John, Valentine, Joe and Bruna. Mrs. Puig, formerly Miss Bruna Ortiz, is a daughter of the late Juan Ortiz, a prominent Laredo citizen. Juan Ortiz was the son of Reyes and Maria Antonia Ortiz. In 1872 Juan Ortiz built the substantial and interesting residence on Zara- gosa street in which the Puig family now live.

EDMUND DUGGAN. One of the best known men in pub- lic affairs in Tom Green county was the late Edmund Duggan. He was a pioneer, having located in the county more than thirty years ago, and remained closely identi- fied with its business and official life until his death.

Edmund Duggan was born in Travis county, Texas, September 19, 1840, four years after the establishment of the Texas Republic, and five years before Texas because a State of the Union. The family were, as this date indicates, among the early settlers of Texas. His parents were Thomas H. and Elizabeth Duggan, who came from Mississippi. The father had been a merchant in his home State, and after moving to Texas about 1839 settled in Travis county, but afterwards moved to Guadalupe county, where he served as clerk for several terms, did farming as his regular vocation, and also was sent to the Legislature several times. His death occurred in 1865, and his widow survived him many years until 1902. There were six children in the family, and the late Edmund Duggan was the oldest.

As a boy he had private instructions, and later studied in a school of collegiate grade. His first business was that of general merchandising at Prairie Lee. In 1867 he sold out his business and moved to Guadalupe, where he was engaged in farming and stock raising for several years. In 1877, having sold his ranch, he took a place at Austin as bookkeeper in the State treasurer 's depart- ment. He worked at the State capitol until 1881, when he resigned and moved to Tom Green county. For a number of years he was well known as a sheep raiser, and did a good business in that line. In 1888 he was elected to the office of county and district clerk of Tom Green county. Others had held similar places for a longer time, but it is doubtful if any county official in the State enjoyed more completely the confidence and esteem of its citizens than the late Edmund Duggan during the twenty years in which he filled the place of clerk of county and district. He finally was obliged to give up the position on account of ill health and several years later, on April 22, 1911, he died at his home in San Angelo. His funeral was conducted by Rev. A. B. Perry, and was largely attended by hosts of friends who had learned to esteem Edmund Duggan, not only for his social nature but for his high character and influence as a man and citizen. His remains were laid to rest in the Fairmount cemetery near San Angelo. His body rests beside those of his only two sons, who had died before him. During the war Mr. Duggan volunteered for service in the Confederate army as a member of Company D of the Fourth Texas regiment, becoming lieutenant of the company, John B. Hood being the first colonel of that regiment, and in the latter part of the war Mr. Duggan served as a member of General Ford's staff in Texas. He went through the war and was pro- moted from lieutenant to captain of his company. In polities he was always a good Democrat, and fraternally belonged to the Masonic order and the Ancient Order of United Workmen. At different times he filled all the

1620

TEXAS AND TEXANS

chairs in the Masonic Lodge, and went through the York Rite, Commandery degrees. His funeral service was conducted under the auspices of the Blue Lodge. He was also a member of the San Angelo Club.

On November 21, 1867, at Seguin, Texas, Mr. Duggan married Miss Julia Coor-Pender of Seguin, a daughter of Dr. Lewis Coor-Pender and Mrs. M. M. Coor-Pender. Her father was a physician of Mississippi, having lived and practiced at Clinton for many years, and during his early life had served in the War of 1812 as lieutenant of his company. He died in 1845 at the old home in Missis- sippi, and the mother passed away in 1877 in Texas. Mr. and Mrs. Duggan had but two children, the two sons already mentioned, Thomas Jefferson and Edmund, Jr. The first named died May 29, 1899, at the age of thirty-one, and Edmund died August 24, 1907, at the age of thirty-two. Mrs. Duggan survives her husband and children and has an attractive home at San Angelo, where she enjoys the friendship and solace of many kind friends, who have known her and her husband for a great many years.

SHIPTON PARKE. President of the First State Bank of Fort Stockton, of which he was one of the organizers, Shipton Parke easily ranks as one of the largest stock- men and ranchers in Pecos county, and as the possessor and manager of large industrial and financial resources is a man whose leadership and activities are very closely identified with the solid prosperity of his home community.

Shipton Parke is a Kentuckian by birth, born in Madi- son county of that State, March 10, 1848, a son of Hezekiah and Elizabeth (Cruve) Parke. The parents were native Kentuckians, and came to Texas in 1853 when the son, Shipton, was twelve years of age. The father was a farmer, and contractor and builder, a prominent member in his Masonic Lodge, devoted to the cause of the Baptist church, and had an influential place in political affairs. His death occurred in 1884 at the age of about seventy years. His wife was also a devout member of the Baptist church, and she died in 1871, when about fifty years of age, and they are laid side by side in the Masonie graveyard in Gonzalez, Texas. Of their ten children, Shipton was the fifth.

Shipton Parke was reared to manhood in Texas, had his early education in private schools up to the time he was seventeen and then was introduced to practical affairs by work on his father's farm. Leaving home be took up the battle of life on his own responsibility and earned his first money by varied occupations of freight- ing, ranching and any other honest toil that came in his way. During these years he several times accompanied large herds of cattle over the trail to Kansas, and has known all the interesting phases of the cattle industry since the days of the free range down to the present mod- ern stock farm. For three years he was in the employ of the Houston boys in the Panhandle, and then in 1883 came out to Pecos county and was employed by the well known rancher J. D. Houston for about eight years. At the end of that time he was far enough along to begin operations for himself, and since then the career of Ship- ton Parke is a matter of common knowledge to all the stoekmen of the state. His largest ranch is thirty miles east of Stockton and contains about fifty thousand acres of land. His headquarters are equipped with all the modern improvements for raising and handling cattle and other live stock. Mr. Parke was one of the organiz- ers of the First State Bank of Fort Stockton, and has since been its president. He was also one of the organ- izers of the First National Bank in this city, and also has a large share of its stock.

In Fort Stockton, on February 26, 1896, he married Miss Emma Lea Shelton, a daughter of Gabriel Shelton, who was formerly a resident of Illinois. The marriage of Mr. and Mrs. Parke was celebrated in the old gov- ernment guardhouse at Fort Stockton. Their four chil-

dren, two sons and two daughters, are Iva, deceased; Gladys, Shipton V. and Chester. Mr. Parke and wife are members of the Presbyterian church, and he is af- filiated with the Fort Stockton Commercial Club. His polities is Democratic, and on public questions, as well as in business affairs, he has always been noted for his ready and effective utterance of his opinions and con- victions, and such has been his success that his judg- ment is relied upon implicitly by all who seek it or are sufficiently within his friendship to be accorded the privilege of his advice and counsel. Mr. Parke served as county commissioner of Pecos county for one term. He is fond of all kinds of social amusements and out- door sports, particularly baseball.

RALPH B. SLIGHT. Now postmaster and proprietor of a drug business in Alpine, Mr. Slight began his career in Texas about thirty years ago as a cowboy, riding the old cattle trails, both north and south, and having an experience in the cattle business which took him all over the state, into several of the western territories, and into Old Mexico. By industry and good management, and an honesty for which all his old and new friends would vouch, he prospered as a business man and has attained to a position of esteem in his community.

Ralph B. Slight is a native of England, where he was born on November 25, 1868. His parents were William C. and Charlotte Ann (Gadsby) Slight, both natives of England, where they were married. The fam- ily moved to Texas and located at San Antonio in 1888. The father had settled there in 1884, and was engaged in the plumbing business until his death, in 1904, at the age of sixty-two. He also took much interest in local affairs and politics at San Antonio. The mother passed away in England at the age of forty-two, and her body rests in her native land, while that of her husband is interred at San Antonio.

The early education of the Alpine postmaster was attained in the English schools, although he did not at- tend after he was fourteen years of age. The first posi- tion in which he began earning his own way was as clerk in a drug store, and at the beginning his wages were only 75c per week. A short time later he got a better place, in a lawyer's office, as office boy, and fol- lowed that work until he came to the United States, at the age of eighteen. After living in San Antonio only a few months, he came out to Brewster county, which has been his real home ever since, although his activities have taken him pretty much over the entire southwestern country. He worked on a ranch for several years, and then became connected with some of the large cattle concerns in capacities which took him over the trails through cattle country. He was for about twelve years engaged in that work, and during that time did consid- erable business in the buying and dealing in cattle on his own account. In 1898 he took a place in a mer- cantile establishment at Alpine, and two years later l ought his present business, where he carries a full line of drugs and druggists' sundries and enjoys a large trade in this community. Mr. Slight was first married at Alpine in 1898, to Miss Lottie Williams, who died in 1903, leaving two children, a son and daughter, named Gladys and Bernal. At San Antonio, on October 12, 1910, Mr. Slight married for his present wife Miss Mary Sanford, daughter of William Sanford, now of Alpine. They are the parents of one child, Ralph B. Jr. Mr. Slight and family are regular members of the Methodist church at Alpine. Fraternally, he is affiliated with Masonry, having been master of the Blue Lodge three times and for two years district deputy grand master. He is also a member of the Woodmen of the World. For a number of years he has done much prac- tical polities as a Republican, and in January, 1913, was appointed to the office of Postmaster at Alpine, taking charge of the office at the same time the parcel post system was inaugurated. Mr. Slight is fond of outdoor

1621

TEXAS AND TEXANS

sports and athletics and at one time was manager of the Alpine Baseball Team.

BENJAMIN FRANKLIN SHEPHERD. While the career of Mr. Shepherd for the past six years has identified him with the old Panhandle town of Memphis, where he is proprietor of the Memphis Democrat and the present postmaster, his work as a newspaper man has taken him to various localities, both in Texas and Oklahoma, and he has a large acquaintance among Southwestern people and numbers among his friends many prominent nien in business and public affairs.

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 8

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