A history of Texas and Texans, Part 95

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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After the close of the war Judge Winfree, with equal valor and ambition, turned his attention to winning the victories which peace ever hath in store, "no less re- nowned than war," and he did well his part in bringing about a readjustment of affairs in the devastated and prostrate South, which he had deeply loved and faith- fully served. He engaged in railroad contracting in the mountain distriets of Virginia and later was identi- fied with similar operations in Kentucky. For a period of about two years he thus worked under the direction of William R. Johnson, who during the war had served as civil engineer for General Beauregard around Richmond and Charleston. After retiring from railroad work, Judge Winfree turned his attention to the vocation of bookkeeper and accountant, and in this capacity he was employed in turn in the cities of Louisville, Kentucky ; Nashville, Tennessee, and Augusta, Georgia.

Imbued with a desire to come to the Southwest, in which progressive section of the Union he believed he could find better opportunities for advancement through personal effort, the financial resources of the family having been brought to low ebb through the ravages of the war, he came to Texas in the autumn of 1873 and established his home at Crockett, which was then, a8

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now, one of the important commercial and industrial points of the state, as well as a center of admirable social activities, as the place had gained many citizens from the older states of the South. He devoted his at- tention for some time to clerical work, and eventually became one of the representative business men of the city, with inviolable place in popular confidence and re- gard. His career in Houston county has been one of significant usefulness and honor and he has contributed a generous quota to social and material development and advancement. For a period of about eight years he held the office of cashier of the old Houston County Bank, and when this institution was reorganized and incor- porated as the First National Bank of Crockett he was prominently concerned in effecting this reorganization. He was identified with the banking business in an execu- tive capacity for more than eight years and at the time of severing his relations with the First National Bank he was the incumbent of the position of county superin- tendent of public schools of Houston county, Texas.

Ever a stanch and ardent advocate of the principles and policies for which the Democratic party stands . sponsor in a generic way, Judge Winfree has been in- flnential in its councils in his city and county, and as a citizen he has given earnest support to measures and undertakings projected for the general good of the com- munity. In 1897 he was elected to the bench of the county court, and he continued to preside on the same, with characteristic ability and efficiency until 1902. After an interim of six years he was again elected to this important office in 1908, which term expired in Novem- ber, 1912. He has thus been the honored and valned incumbent of this judicial position for a total of ten years, and his retention of the position is virtually a matter of his own volition. During his first period of administration of the affairs of the county court Judge Winfree also served as superintendent of the county schools, and in this connection he did a splendid work in bringing the educational facilities of the county up to a high standard, his service having met with such success and such unqualified approval that he has been frequently termed the father of the schools of Houston county. In the time-honored Masonic fraternity Judge Winfree is affiliated with Lothrop Lodge, No. 21, Ancient Free and Accepted Masons, of which he is past master, and with Trinity Chapter, No. 4, Royal Arch Masons. He and his family all hold membership in the Baptist Church, and Mrs. Winfree is affiliated with the Order of the Eastern Star, an adjunct organization of the Ma- sonic fraternity.

On the 16th of August, 1874, about a year after his arrival in Texas, Judge Winfree was united in marriage to Miss Willie King Matlock, daughter of the late Wil- liam R. Matlock, who was one of the most honored eiti- zens of Houston county and concerning whom more specific mention is made on other pages of this work, in the sketch dedicated to the only surviving child, Joseph G. Matlock. Mrs. Winfree was summoned to the life eternal in 1882, and was survived by four daughters- Mary, who became the wife of D. R. Baker, of Crockett, Texas, and who is now deceased; Helen, who is the wife of William Cone, of Crockett; Adele, who is the wife of James Crawford, of Carson, Louisiana, and Willie, who is the wife of Jaek O. Powell, of Barham, that state. On the 10th of November, 1885, was solemnized the mar- riage of Judge Winfree to Mrs. Alice Bay, widow of Calvin Bay and a daughter of the late John King, who was a representative citizen of Grimes county, this state. Judge and Mrs. Winfree have three children-Joseph Edwin, who is an attorney-at-law in Crockett, and Marion L. and Mark King, who remain at the parental home. Mrs. Winfree has one son by her first marriage, Calvin Bay, who is a resident of Fullerton, Louisiana.

REV. JOHN J. WHELAN, O. M. I. No man in the town of Del Rio, Texas, is more greatly beloved than the Rev.

John J. Whelan, the priest in charge of the Roman Cath- olie Church in this place. Father Whelan has accom- plished much for the church in Del Rio. When he came to the city the church was greatly in want of a strong executive head as well as a truly spiritual leader, and Father Whelan was able to supply its needs. His in- fluence in the town extends far beyond the borders of his own church, for his strength of character and his active practicing of his high ideals must necessarily in- fluence all with whom he comes in contact.

The Rev. John J. Whelan was born in Ireland on the 1st of February, 1864. He received a fine education in the schools of his native land, first attending the elemen- tary schools and later entering Christian Brothers Col- lege at Armagh, Ireland. After this he spent some time in an ecclesiastical college in the southern part of Ire- land, and in 1888 came to Canada. Here he passed his novitiate, this being completed at the end of the first year. He then attended St. Joseph's Scholasticate, in Ottawa, Canada, for the study of philosophy and the- ology, and after completing his studies there was sent to New Westminster, British Columbia, and was there or- dained priest on the 27th of May, 1894. This was in 1894, and he spent some time as a priest in British Colum- bia, being stationed most of the time in Vancouver. He then went to Buffalo, New York, but remained only a few months, on account of ill health. On doctors' advice he then came to Del Rio, this being in 1902 and he has not only accomplished much for the church, but he has also regained his lost health to a great extent.

Upon his arrival in Del Rio, Father Whelan found the church in a bad condition. It is entirely due to his hard work and to the inspiration which he gave his parish- ioners that the church has been beautifully furnished, the fine linens and brasses and all the furnishings that add to the beauty of the ritual of the Roman Catholic Church having been added since his coming. Not only has his attention been centered on the church building itself, but the Sister's property, the church school, the Sacred Heart Academy, which was destroyed by fire, has been rebuilt and put into splendid running order. He has also been instrumental in securing a new church and parsonage for the Mexican people in the city, and they have their own priest and are a flourishing parish. When Father Whelan came to his parish the things which he has accomplished seemed well nigh impossible, but under the influence of his own industry and his en- thusiasm for the cause in which he was working, his people have done a splendid work. The work of such a man cannot, however, he estimated by the outward signs, for in the quiet round of his parochial duties he ac- complishes perhaps his greatest work, work that none save himself and his people know.

Politically, Father Whelan is independent and takes no active interest in politics, though he always likes to see the best man win. His work is his pleasure as well as his duty and his delight is in traveling about among his parishioners. He is an ardent believer in the state and the people among whom he has come to live. He says that Texas is a very large state and its people are big, broad-minded people, with warm, generous hearts. He adds that Texas is large in area and large in opportuni- ties, and offers a welcome to any honest man who is willing to put forth honest effort.

JAMES A. SMITH, of El Paso, Texas, is one of the best known men in the city and is widely respected. He has heen in business in the West and Southwest for many years and perhaps no one is more thoroughly acquainted with this section of the country, with its history and re- sources, than is Mr. Smith. His success in business is largely due to a capacity for hard work and to a wide experience with many kinds of men. Not only as a wealthy and influential business man is Mr. Smith known, but also through his position as postmaster of the city,

I. a. Swith

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an office involving no little responsibility and requiring considerable amount of executive ability.

James A. Smith was born in Hume, Alleghany county, New York, in 1852, on the 2d of May. His father, Asahel Smith, was also born in the state of New York and there grew up and married Susanna Taggart. Mrs. Smith died when her young son was only five years of age and after her death her husband moved to Missouri and settled in Cameron. He was living here when the Civil war broke out and he enlisted in the Union ranks as a private soldier. He was later made an officer and participated in the first battle of Lexington, under Colo- nel Mulligan. Here he was captured, but was paroled three weeks later. He became very prominent in recon- struction days in Missouri and served at one time as county commissioner of De Kalb county, Missouri. He met his death accidentally in 1900, in El Paso, where he lived with his son. He was seventy-four years of age at the time and his death resulted from the kick of a horse.

James A. Smith grew up in Missouri and received his education in the common schools of the state, spending the summer months in hard work, and thus serving an apprenticeship for the work he was destined to perform in later life. At the age of nineteen he went to work in earnest, finding employment in the sawmills. At the end of a year he went West to Colorado and located in Denver, where he was engaged in the furniture and up- holstery business from 1872 until the fall of 1875. At the end of this time he entered an entirely different line of work and one to which he was well adapted, this being the newspaper business. He went to Central City, Colorado, and there became editor and manager of the Central City Register. In the fall of 1897 he resigned from his position and once more entered the furniture business, continuing in Central City. In 1881 he sold out and removed to Durango, Colorado, where he en- gaged in the undertaking business. In the sprinig of 1882 he met with reverses in his business and lost prac- tically everything he had. Undaunted, however, by a disaster that would have made most men despair, he turned to the first thing by which he could earn a liv- ing and entered the railway mail service in Kansas City, Missouri.

It was in 1884 that he came to Texas and settled in El Paso. Here is where he made his first decided start on the road to success. He became a wholesale produce merchant and made a great success of this busi- ness, which he followed until 1890, when he received the appointment as postmaster of El Paso by President Harrison. At about this time he assumed the manage- ment and came into control of the El Paso Herald, the leading Republican newspaper of Western Texas. He conducted the business of the postoffice with the most conscientious care, but he was removed from office by President Cleveland, no reason being given, but his ae- tivity as editor of the Herald and the fact that it was conducted along lines of the most outspoken and frank Republicanism is very likely the reason for his removal. He continued as editor and manager of the paper until 1899, when he sold his interests, and during this year he incorporated the El Paso Dairy Company. He be- came president and manager of this company and has made it a great success, the dairy farm being located about twenty miles to the north of El Paso. He will, however, retire from this business in 1913, of which he is a director as well as manager.

In 1906 the postmaster of El Paso departed and left the management of the postoffice to his bondsmen, of whom Mr. Smith was one. His previous experience in this office led to his immediate selection as active manager of the affairs of the office, and in February, 1907, he was appointed postmaster by President Roose- velt. He was reappointed in February, 1911, by Presi- dent Taft and has managed the affairs of the postal

department since his first appointment with signal suc- cess.

Mr. Smith has numerous business interests in addi- tion to his publie office. He is a director in the Pioneer Abstract Company and is also president of the Valley Implement and Vehicle Company. He is very much in- terested in the agricultural development of this section and is part owner in the Rosedale farm, eight miles below El Paso, which is one of the fine alfalfa farms in this region. He is also a director in a company that owns a dairy farm about twenty miles north of El Paso, and is owner of a home in the city itself.

Mr. Smith has always been an active member of the Republican party and has made many a journey in be- half of the Republican banner. In 1900 he attended the Republican National Convention at Philadelphia as dele- gate-at-large, and in 1904, and again at the national convention in Chicago in 1908 he was a delegate from this district.

In fraternal affairs Mr. Smith has always taken a keen interest, belonging to the Ancient Free and Ae- cepted Masons, in which order he has taken the York and Scottish Rite degrees. IIe is also a member of the . Elks, and in both of these fraternities he is a life member. He belongs to the chamber of commerce and at one time served as president of this body.

Mr. Smith has been twice married, his first marriage being in 1873 to Miss Eva Hendricks, of Illinois. She died iu 1879, leaving three children, one of whom has since died. Kate, the eldest, is the wife of Thomas Franklin, of El Paso, and Lily G. is the widow of E. A. Howard and is now engaged in teaching in the El Paso public schools. In October, 1883, Mr. Smith was re- married at Cleburne, Texas, his second wife being Miss Alice Kendrick, a native of Caldwell county, Missouri. Mrs. Smith grew up near Cameron, Missouri, and was a dear friend of her husband during their childhood. When she was fourteen years of age she received a stroke of paralysis from which she has never entirely recovered, the use of her left hand being totally lost, and she has but little use of the right hand. She makes up for these deficiencies with remarkable cleverness, . using her teeth for writing and, in spite of her afflic- tion, her bright and courageous spirit and the devo- tion that exists between her husband and herself makes their home life ideal. They have one son, Ray Kendrick Smith, who lives in El Paso.

GLOVER W. WORTHINGTON, M. D. Representing the. first-class ability and skill of his profession and enjoying the best practice in Marathon and vicinity, Dr. Worthing- ton is one of the young physicians and surgeons of Texas who has quickly taken front rank in his profes- sion. He began practice with an excellent equipment and the test of real practice found him qualified for this important service among the social professions. It is `noteworthy that Dr. Worthington earned all the money for his professional education, and his success since be- ginning practice is commensurate with the ambition and energies which prompted him to enter this profession.

Glover W. Worthington was born in Houston county, Texas, June 8, 1874. His father, James Worthington, was a native of Arkansas, who came to Texas when a young man, and is now engaged in ranching in Brewster county. He is one of the active citizens politically, al- though he has always refused to hold any office himself. He is a member of the Christian church, and his wife was also devoted to the religion of that denomination. Her maiden name was Willie Hawkins, who was born in Louisiana and was married in Texas, and whose death occurred in 1894 when thirty-six years of age. Her re- mains now rest in Houston county. Of the six children in the family the Doctor was the oldest, and all the. other children still reside in this state.

Dr. Worthington had his early education in the com- mon schools of Houston county, and also attended high

1902

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school there. When be left school it was to take a place as clerk in a store, and for three years be worked hard, lived economically, and saved all he possibly could in order to put himself through college. When he was ready to take up the study of medicine, he entered Tulane University, at New Orleans, where he was graduated from the medical department with the degree of M. D. on May 1, 1901. His first practice after returning from college was in his native county of Houston, and be en- joyed a good patronage among the better class of people in that locality up to 1910, in which year be located in Marathon and established an office. He has the best practice through all this vicinity and stands high both as a gentleman and as a doctor.

In Houston county, in April, 1903, Dr. Worthington married Miss Lydia Hutchings, daughter of J. L. Hutch- ings of Houston county. The two children of the doctor and wife are named James L. and J. Phillip Worthing- ton. The doctor shows bis preference among the churches to the Christian denomination but is liberal and broad minded in his support of all. Fraternally he is affiliated with the Masonic Order, in which he has passed several of the chairs, has had official place in the Knights of Pythias, and is examining physician for the camp of the Woodmen of the World at Marathon. He was at one time chancellor commander for the Knights of Pythias. The doctor has membership in the Houston County Medical Society, and is local railway surgeon at Mara- thon. Among other responsibilities of his profession be is at the present time assistant county health officer for Brewster county. He is a Democrat but not a prac- tical politician and gives his vote for the cause of good government. In the recreations he finds his greatest pleasure in bunting. Dr. Worthington has found west Texas by all means the finest part of the state from his point of view, and he has many excellent reasons to as- sign for his belief that in the course of a few years it will become one of the garden spots and industrial cen- ters of all the western country.

SOLOMON A. STARR. The proprietor of the only drug store in Marathon, Brewster county, and possessing a large and prosperous business, Mr. Starr is a young busi- ness man who has had an exceedingly practical career, having begun life when a boy and having won success by his own efforts. He had a place of influence and esteem in his present community, and is one of the pro- gressive leaders in business and civic affairs in Brewster county.

Solomon A. Starr was born in Bosque county, Texas, August 20, 1881, and this state has been his home all his life. His parents were John B. and Nannie (Snow) Starr. The mother, who was born and married in Texas, was a member of the Methodist church and died in 1903 at the age of thirty-eight, ber remains now resting at Sweetwater, this state. John B. Starr, the father, was born in the State of Missouri, coming to Texas when a young man, and is now engaged in the retail meat busi- ness at Marathon. Formerly, for many years he was in the drug business. There were nine children in the family, and of these Solomon A. is the oldest.

After an education in the public schools at Stephens- ville, at the age of eighteen years, Solomon A. Starr took a position in a notion store, and thus acquired his first practical experience in business affairs. After about a year be went on a farm where he remained for one year and then became employed in a drygoods house, and four years later entered his father's drug store, and re- mained associated with the older Starr until he was twenty-five years of age. Some two years later be came to Alpine, where he was employed in the drug store for about three years and then came to Marathon where he opened a stock of drugs and kindred goods of his own. He carries a first-class line of pure drugs and druggists' sundries, and does an excellent retail business.

In November, 1906, at Sweetwater, Mr. Starr married

Miss Mae Johnson, daughter of W. Sam Jobnson, formerly of Cleburne, Texas. Their two children, one son and one daughter are named Loma-Fay and Solo- mon A. The family are members of the Christian church and Mrs. Starr is one of its active workers and identified with the work of the Ladies Aid Society. Fraternally he is affiliated with the Woodmen of the World, and is a Republican voter. During his residence in Alpine he was elected to the office of Mayor and has frequently been solicited to accept public honors, but consistently re- fuses. For recreation he is especially fond of tennis, and of all outdoor games.

WILLIAM J. YATES. The publisher and editor of the Alpine Avalanche is one of the ablest newspaper men in west Texas, and bis large experience in the profession includes relation with various papers in this state dur- ing a period of nearly twenty years. He was with the Texas troops during the late Spanish war, and is a man of much resourcefulness and enterprise, having given his talents to the promotion of the general welfare of Brewster county in recent years.

William J. Yates is a native of North Carolina, and of a prominent North Carolina family. He was born in Charlotte, April 3, 1870. William J. Yates, Sr., his father, spent all bis life in North Carolina, where he at- tained to prominence, both as a journalist and as a pub- lic man. He spent forty-two years as a newspaper pub- lisher. Though an influential man in politics, be never accepted office for himself, though he was honored with the appointment of adviser to the governor, an honorary office which he held for twenty years. He was an ac- tive member of the Methodist church and believed in practical religion and charity. He educated about twenty young men and sent them to the State University of North Carolina at his own expense. He was for many years president of the board of regents of the Univer- sity of North Carolina and for about fifteen years was president of the board of trustees for the Western North Carolina Insane Asylum. His death occurred in 1888 when about sixty-six years of age, and was the occasion of many tributes from prominent men all over the state. The maiden name of his wife was Sallie Springs, who was born in North Carolina, where they were married. She was a devout Presbyterian in religion, and took much interest in church work. She died in 1899 at the age of sixty-four and the parents now rest side by side in the old North State.

Mr. Yates, who spent the first twenty-one years of his life in North Carolina attained his first education by private instruction and then was a student in the Caro- lina Military Institute, the King's Mountain Military Institute aud the State University of North Carolina. In the newspaper and printing establishment conducted by his father he was more or less of a regular visitor from the earliest years of his recollection, and finally be- came a permanent attache of the office, where he learned the trade of printer and much else about the general printing and publishing business. When about eighteen years of age he determined to take up the study of medicine, and accordingly went to New York City for that purpose, spending two years there, but giving up the work on account of ill health. He soon afterwards went to Louisiana, and worked in a bank for about one year, and then came to Texas. With the exception of three years which he spent at Charlotte, N. C., in the editorial department of the Daily News, he has been a resident of Texas ever since his first arrival here. He was first in Fort Worth and then in Waco, spending about one year in the general insurance business. Goliad was the next field for his enterprise and be was en- gaged in editing a paper there for about three years and also became editor of the Daily Times at Victoria. He was for about one year receiver and editor of the Victoria Fact. Then the Spanish war came on in 1898 and he enlisted in Company M of the Second Texas United

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A history of Texas and Texans, Part 95

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