A memorial and biographical history of Navarro, Henderson, Anderson, Limestone, Freestone and Leon counties, Texas from the earliest period of its occupancy to the present time, together with glimpses of its prospects; also biographical mention of many of the pioneers and prominent citizens, Part 102

Author:
Publication date: 1893
Publisher: Chicago, Lewis Publishing Co.
Number of Pages: 954

USA > Texas > Henderson County > A memorial and biographical history of Navarro, Henderson, Anderson, Limestone, Freestone and Leon counties, Texas from the earliest period of its occupancy to the present time, together with glimpses of its prospects; also biographical mention of many of the pioneers and prominent citizens > Part 102
USA > Texas > Freestone County > A memorial and biographical history of Navarro, Henderson, Anderson, Limestone, Freestone and Leon counties, Texas from the earliest period of its occupancy to the present time, together with glimpses of its prospects; also biographical mention of many of the pioneers and prominent citizens > Part 102
USA > Texas > Leon County > A memorial and biographical history of Navarro, Henderson, Anderson, Limestone, Freestone and Leon counties, Texas from the earliest period of its occupancy to the present time, together with glimpses of its prospects; also biographical mention of many of the pioneers and prominent citizens > Part 102
USA > Texas > Anderson County > A memorial and biographical history of Navarro, Henderson, Anderson, Limestone, Freestone and Leon counties, Texas from the earliest period of its occupancy to the present time, together with glimpses of its prospects; also biographical mention of many of the pioneers and prominent citizens > Part 102
USA > Texas > Limestone County > A memorial and biographical history of Navarro, Henderson, Anderson, Limestone, Freestone and Leon counties, Texas from the earliest period of its occupancy to the present time, together with glimpses of its prospects; also biographical mention of many of the pioneers and prominent citizens > Part 102
USA > Texas > Navarro County > A memorial and biographical history of Navarro, Henderson, Anderson, Limestone, Freestone and Leon counties, Texas from the earliest period of its occupancy to the present time, together with glimpses of its prospects; also biographical mention of many of the pioneers and prominent citizens > Part 102

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).

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LIMESTONE, FREESTONE AND LEON COUNTIES.

Navarro county, where he still resides. Mr. Floyd was engaged in trading three years, and then, in 1875, bought his pres- ent farm of R. M. White, on Chambers creek. Up to 1888 he was employed as a school-teacher in addition to farming and stock-raising, but since that time has given his attention entirely to agricultural pursuits. He began life for himself at the age of twenty-one years, and at the age of twenty-seven years was compelled to start anew, with comparatively nothing, and what he has gained since that time is the result of his own labors. He owns 1,300 acres of land, 500 acres cultivated, has sixty head of cattle and twenty horses. Politically, he affiliates with the Demo- cratic party.

Mr. Floyd was married, in 1871, to Josephine H. Clements, a native of Rusk county, Texas, and a daughter of J. A. and Sarah (Smith) Clements, natives of Georgia, who came to Texas in 1857. To this union has been born four children: Jacob A., Mary V., Leander C. and John B. Mrs. Floyd is a member of the Meth- odist Episcopal Church. Our subject is in hearty sympathy with and a liberal sup- porter of the church, and while in Virginia served as Sunday-school superintendent and lecturer.

R. D. R. LONG, now deceased, was for many years an honored citizen of Limestone county. He was born in South, Carolina in 1816, reared partly in Tennessee and partly in Missouri, to both of which States his parents moved when

he was yet young. He was well educated, and early in life selected the ministry of the Methodist Church for a calling. He came to Texas when a young man, prob- ably in 1848 or 1849, and stopped in Washington county. In 1851 he went to Limestone county and took up his resi- dence at Springfield, which was then the county seat. He there engaged in the drug business, and also pursued his minis- terial studies, and was actively engaged in the drug business and the ministry for many years, and had a drug store in Springfield from 1851 to 1873. At the latter date he removed to Mexia, and was in business there until 1876, where lie died, September, 1877. He was an industrious, good citizen, was devoted to the interests of his church, and desired to devote his life to it, but his health would not per- mit. Mr. Long took work from the Con- ference at intervals, as his health would allow, but whether he belonged to the Conference or not, he always preached if able to do so. At an earlier date he filled charges at all the meeting places in Lime- stone and Navarro counties, and even went as far as Ellis county. He was always a zealous worker. His marriage took place August 16, 1859, to Miss Nannie Yell McGuire, a daugliter of John McGuire, of Springfield, Limestone county. Mrs. Long was born in Bedford county, Tennes- see, and was brought by her parents to Texas in 1854. Her father was a native of Kentucky, and a physician by profes- sion. He died here, in Limestone county, in 1866, at the age of sixty-five. Mrs. Long's mother was Mary Yell, a native of Tennessee, and a member of that historic

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HISTORY OF NAVARRO, HENDERSON, ANDERSON,

family of Yells well known in Tennessee and Arkansas and other Southern States. She died in Limestone county in 1857, aged forty-seven years.

Mrs. Long is one of a family of thirteen children, all of whom accompanied thie parents to Texas in 1854. Of these, seven are now living, three being residents of Limestone county, and these are: Mrs. Long; Catherine Laughlin, wife of M. C. Langhlin; and Mrs. Sarah Hyden, the widow of Abner Hyden. Mrs. Long has a brother, Thomas P. McGnire, and a sister, Mrs. Retta Adams, the wife of Henry Adams, residing in Hood county ;. two brothers, Andrew J. and Cornelius, reside in Lampasas county; and a sister, Mrs. Mary McChristian, wife of Johnson McChristian, lives in Bosque county. Her brother Archibald lives in Comanche county, and Mordecai and John, well known citizens of Limestone county, died here. Virginia, who was the wife of John Mc- Christian; and Naomi, who was the first wife of the subject of this sketch, died in this county.

Mr. and Mrs. Long had the following children : Ella, who is now the wife of Os- borne Kennedy, of Groesbeck, in this county; Mattie, the wife of R. T. Mosley, of Corsicana; Reuben, a business man of Mexia; Robert Lee, a physician of Mexia; Marvin, Assistant Cashier of the First National Bank of Mexia; Katie, wife of F. C. Colden, of Corsicana; and Joseph and Mamie were twins. Dr. Long was a member of the Masonic order for many years. He was a fine scholar and a gen- tleman of culture. When Mr. Long died he left his wife with the eight above

named children to raise, the eldest being but sixteen. She had but a very small property, but by good management she brought them all up respectably and gave them all good educational advantages, and now almost all of them are married and filling honorable positions in society. The sons are young men of fine morals and unimpeachable character.

The only professional one of the sons is Robert Lee. He may be said to represent his father in a certain way, and is a young man for whom is predicted a brilliant fn- ture. He was born April 4, 1866, at Springfield, this county, was reared there and in Mexia, and educated in the schools of the latter place. He attended Marvin College at Waxahachie, Ellis county, this State, and read medicine while engaged in the drug business at Mexia. He was very ambitious, and went to New York and took his junior course of lectures at Belle- vue Hospital Medical College, New York, and his senior course at Tulane University at New Orleans, graduating from the latter in the spring of 1891. He immediately entered into practice at Mexia, where he has also engaged in the drug business. Young Dr. Long is a very bright young man, and certainly has the promise of a successful career before him.

EORGE W. ELIOT, one of the lead- ing farmers and old settlers of Na- varro county, Texas, was born in Fayette county, Tennessee, in 1830, and was the son of Andrew C. and Alfie (John- son) Eliot, natives of Kentucky and Ten-

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nessee. Both of the families were of En- glish extraction and came to America at an early day and engaged in agricultural pursuits. Andrew C. Eliot was born in Kentucky, married in Tennessee, and died in Georgia. He and his wife reared a family of six children as follows: Sarah, deceased, was the wife of Dr. F. M. Petty; George W., our subject; Andrew J., de- ceased, was a twin brother; Mary J., the wife of A. J. Fleming; and W. J. Eliot resides in Tennessee.

After the death of Mr. Eliot, his wife removed to her old home in Tennessee, where she resided until her death. She was a faithful member of the Methodist Episcopal Church.

Our subject grew to manhood in Fayette county, Tennessee, where he at- tended the common schools of his native county. At the early age of fourteen he commenced life for himself, managing the affairs of his widowed mother and caring for his fatherless brothers and sisters until they reached years of maturity. In 1854 he started for Texas, but was delayed for two years in Arkansas; but in 1856 was able to reach this State and locate in Na- varro county, where he engaged in farming on rented land. Within a year of his en- trance into the State Mr. Eliot was able to purchase 100 acres of raw land, which he cleared and resided upon until 1870, wlien he purchased a portion of his present farm, consisting of 240 acres of raw land, for which he paid $3 per acre. He has added to his original purchase until he now possesses 548 acres, with 250 acres under a fine state of cultivation. The greater portion of his wealth has been made since

1870, and entirely by agricultural pursuits.

In 1861 he joined Company E, Thir- teenth Regiment, under Captain Melton and Colonel Botes, which was the second company raised in the county. This regi- ment first joined the State troops for twelve months, then was re-organized and joined the regular Confederate service, being sta- tioned at Velasco. For the space of three and one-half years they were not engaged in any battles. About that time they made araid into Louisiana and were in the vicinity of Vicksburg at the time of its fall. After the disbanding of the regiment at Valasco he returned home and resumed his agri- cultural pursuits, although he found him- self a financial wreck.

He was married, in 1859, to Miss Ruth J. Wantland, a native of Illinois, daughter of Marshall and Rebecca Wantland. Mr. and Mrs. Eliot were married at Sherman, Texas, and have been the parents of seven children, namely: Edgar, at home; Oscar, deceased; Cora L., wife of W. F. Steward; Stella, wife of John Birge, of Sherman; Sue A., wife of Dr. O. L. Thweatt, of this county; Minnie, and George W., Jr., at home. Both Mr. and Mrs. Eliot were members of the Methodist Episcopal Church, South, and Mr. Eliot is a member of the Farmers' Alliance. They are worthy and highly respected citizens of their sec- tion of Navarro county.

ROSPER K. MONTGOMERY, one of the leading farmers and prominent settlers of Navarro county, Texas, was born in Mississippi, in 1836, a son of

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HISTORY OF NAVARRO, HENDERSON, ANDERSON,

P. K. and Mariah (Darden) Montgomery, natives also of Mississippi. The Montgom- ery family came originally from Ireland, settling first in South Carolina, and then in Mississippi, where they soon assumed an important position, justly deserved. The paternal grandfather of our subject was Speaker of the first Legislature ever convened in Mississippi. He and the ma- ternal grandfather were the organized set- tlers of Jefferson county, and assisted in mnoving the Natchez Indians. The mater- nal grandfather was one of the most dar- ing men of the State, and it is said that lie headed the party of men that captured Aaron Burr, on Coles creek, Mississippi. His grandnephew, Put Darden, was Master of the State Grange of Mississippi, also the National Grange, and was a candidate for Governor against ex-Governor Lowery. The Grange of that and other States erected to his memory a handsome monument. The paternal grandmother of our subject was a Miss Swaizie, and hier parents re- ceived large grants of land in Adams county from the Government. P. K. Montgomery was a man of superior attainments, and a prominent politician. Previous to the late war he represented his county in the Legislature many years, was State Sena- tor from his district after the war, but took no part in that struggle, although he es- poused the cause of the South. In his political views he was a Whig, and was intimately acquainted with S. S. Prentiss and other Mississippi statesmen. Previous to the war he was an extensive planter and slave-owner, and after that struggle he farmed successfully with freedmen for many years, also becoming one of the lead-

ing men in political affairs. The descend- ants on both sides were and are at present among Mississippi's most prominent fami- lies. Mr. Montgomery was twice married, first to the mnothier of our subject, and they had eleven children, nine of whom lived to years of maturity, as follows: J. D., a graduate of Oakland College, Mississippi, was killed in South Carolina, while under Colonel McEnirey; S. S., a prominent citi- zen of Jefferson county, Mississippi, who has represented Franklin county, that State, in the Legislature; P. K., our sub- ject; Franklin, a resident of Franklin, county, Mississippi; Harrison, Mary, Clara, Virginia and Ellen. The last mentioned married J. J. Goode, a prominent lawyer of Louisana, who died, leaving her with a large family of children. She inherited the superior intellect of her father, and has earned a good livelihood, mainly by her pen. The wife and mother died in 1863, and in 1866 Mr. Montgomery married the widow of John W. Seymour, who was a member of the. Confederate Congress from Louisiana. Mr. and Mrs. Montgomery had two children, Robert L. and Sylvester.

P. K. Montgomery, the subject of this sketch, graduated at Oakland College, in Mississippi, at the age of twenty years. He was then engaged in planting until 1858, when he located in Carroll parish, near Lake Providence, Louisiana. In 1862, he joined Colonel William T. Wither's regiment of light artillery, Com- pany E, was elected Orderly Sergeant, and took part first in the battle and siege of Vicksburg. He was there captured and paroled, and returned to his home. A short time afterward he made his way to

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Navarro county, Texas, where he has since confined himself to agricultural pursnits. Mr. Montgomery is a great student, and few men in the State are better posted in the his- tory of Texas and other Southern States than our subject. He is also a great linguist, and a man of more than ordinary attain- ments.

He was first married to Miss Ruth Chambliss, a daughter of Colonel S. L. and Jane T. (Scott) Chambliss, natives of Mississippi. The father was Colonel of the Louisana Partisan Rangers, a man of a great amount of self respect and nerve, a pronounced friend of the South, and a large slave-owner and planter in Louisiana and Mississippi. He commenced life a poor man, and at the commencement of the late war was known as one of the most suc- cessful financiers of Louisiana. Mr. Cham- bliss was a soldier in the war of 1835-'36, an old Texas veteran, and represented his county in the Fourteenth Texas Legisla- ture; his death occurred in 1890, at the age of seventy years. To Mr. and Mrs. Montgomery were born three children, one now living, Mary L., wife of W. S. Blair, of Corsicana. The mother died in 1866, having been a member of the old-school Presbyterian Church. In 1868, our sub- ject was united in marriage with Miss Margarett P. Cooke, a native of Mobile, Alabama, and a daughter of Colonel R. G. and Naomi (Maxwell) Cooke, natives of Tennessee and South Carolina, respect- ively. Colonel Cook removed to Alabama in a very early day, erected the first house in Dayton, that State, later moved to Mo- bile, where he was a prominent commis- sion merchant for many years. In 1866

he located on a farm in Navarro county, Texas, and engaged in buying cotton in Corsicana. His death occurred in New Orleans, while going on a visit to Mobile, Alabama, in 1877. Colonel Cooke reared a family of five children: E. A., wife of Glass Marshall, of Kentucky; J. J., who was killed at the battle of Antietam; Mar- garett, wife of our subject; Robert, de- ceased; and Mary, wife of John R. Simp- son, of Mobile, Alabama. Mr. and Mrs. Montgomery have three children now liv- ing: Naomi D., Walter C. and Whitney. Mr. Montgomery has never desired at the hands of the people any political advance- ment in the way of office. He is a close student, and a prosperous farmer, and loves his gun and fishing rod. Both he and his wife are members of the old-school Pres- byterian Church, in which the former is Superintendent of the Sunday-school.

M. QUARLES, District Clerk of Anderson county, is a native of Georgia, having been born in Sew- ard county, in that State, June 11, 1844. Samuel Quarles, his father, was born in the same State in 1792. He was reared upon a farm and received the rudiments of an English education, became a prosperous farmer and large slave-owner, and died be- tween Georgia and Arkansas in 1845, to which latter State he had already moved his family and was returning for his slaves and other property. Peter Quarles, the grandfather of our subject, was also a na- tive of Georgia. He also was a farmer, but never liad the success that attended the efforts of his son, and remained a poor man

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HISTORY OF NAVARRO, HENDERSON, ANDERSON,

all of his life. He married Miss Nancy Brown and reared but the one child.

The mother of our subjeet died in Marion county, Arkansas, after becoming the mo- ther of several children. C. M. was under the care and guidance of his brothers after the demise of his parents. In 1853 the boys came to Texas, arriving in Anderson upon the 13th of November, and there our subject spent a small portion of his time in trying to get an education. The very best facilities afforded then did not equal the poorest of the district schools of the present time, and Prairie Institute was the last one which he attended, his career there closing in 1860. In 1861 Mr. Qnarles enlisted in Company A, Second Texas Cav- alry, under Colonel J. S. Ford, and later under Colonel Charles Pryor. The first year the command.saw service in western Texas, New Mexico and Arizona, and the second and third years on the Mississippi river, and the last year was spent at Eagle Pass on the Rio Grande, disbanding at San Antonio.

Upon his return home our subject eu- gaged in farming, continuing without in- terruption until February, 1881, when he received the appointment of Deputy County Clerk under Clerk R. I. Ronall, and in November, 1882, our subject became a candidate for and was elected to the office of District Attorney to succeed A. F. Mc- Reynolds, having distanced four opponents. He was re-elected in 1884-'86 and '90, having the last year two opponents. In 1892 he was not a candidate. In 1888 our subject bought land near Elkhart, ag- gregating 554 acres, which he intends to assume charge of next year.

As a public official Mr. Quarles is pains- taking and is in every way efficient. His friends are legion and he enjoys the con- fidence of the whole county. He has not been so regardful of the domestic side of his nature. The experience of wooing and winning a fair lady has never been his, but the years are not so heavy upon his head but that such an event may yet, take place.

E. BATEMAN, one of the leading business men of Marquez, Texas, a farmer and ginner, was born in Crawford county, Georgia, in 1848. He is a son of M. Bateman, who was born in the same State, in 1832, a teacher by profes- sion, who came to Texas in 1854, stopping first in Rusk county and moving thence to Leon county, and making his fourth set- tlement south of Marquez. Besides his professional work, Mr. Bateman cultivated a small farm. In politics he was quite ac- tive, but never held any office. During the Civil war he was a Confederate soldier for four years. The grandfather of our subject, Clayborne Bateman, was born in Alabama, and moved to Georgia at an early day, where he married a Miss Harris, by whom he had nine children, six of whom are still living. Our subject's father was among the oldest of the children, and mnar- ried Mary, a daughter of William McAr- thur, of Georgia, and the children born of this marriage were: our subject; Jerome, deceased; Florence, deceased; Sidney; Victoria and Mary, both deceased.

Our subject secured a very limited edu- cation, principally in the country schools,

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although he did attend the Henderson high school for two years. He then thought of studying medicine, but the de- mise of Dr. Baldwin frustrated his desires in that line.

When Mr. Bateman became of age he engaged in railroad work, first on the In- ternational & Great Northern, and then on the Central, and followed the business about five years. He then returned home and engaged in farming, and continued at that until 1886, when he added a gin mill to his business, locating it in Marquez. The gin has a capacity of about 300 bales a season. A 200-acre tract of land consti- tutes Mr. Bateman's farm, and a good por- tion of this is under cultivation. A sad- dle business in Marquez is also being considered by our subject, he having picked up the business in 1891 and secured a patent on a saddle jack.

He was married in 1875, to Miss Cassie, the daughter of Dr. Watkins, whose wife was a daughter of John Durst. Six children were born of this marriage, two of whom are now living, Sim and Ella. Mrs. Bateman died in 1889. In 1890 Mr. Bateman married Mollie, the daughter of Joseph Bell, a pio- neer of Leon county and a worthy citizen. He was born in Mississippi. He has one child, Joseph, and the family are members of the Christian Church.

YRUS HELM .- The worthy gentle- man who is the subject of this sketch is a pioneer of the Lone Star State, having come here in 1848, stopping for

one year in Henderson county, and then proceeding to Anderson county, where he has resided ever since. Mr. Helm was born in Kentucky, above Paducah, on the Tennessee river, in Lauderdale county, March 29, 1824. His father, Littleton Helm, was a native of South Carolina, having been born in that State July 16, 1797. Young Littleton was left an orphan at a very tender age, by the death of his father, Mayberry Helin, and wife. This naturally interfered with his education, whichi was not so thorough as he desired, for he took delight in reading and study all his life. Turning his attention to planting, he followed it with marked suc- cess, growing quite wealthy. Littleton Helm wielded a wide influence in that portion of Kentucky in which he lived. While not a public speaker, his was a clear and reflective mind, and people went to him for opinions as well as counsels, so that he became a moulder of sentiment. An ardent inember of the Baptist Church, and an enthusiastic friend of education, lie exerted a wide-spread influence in extend- ing the cause of religion and of the schools.

This worthy man, the honored father of our subject, married Mary, daughter of Wilson and Sallie (Russian) English, who bore him children as follows: Sarah, born 1820, died 1867, wife of Wilson Manley; Lena, born 1822; and our subject. Neither public nor private schools were numerous or high-class in the '30s in the frontier State of Kentucky, and the boys reared in those times on plantations were not expected to have a superabundance of book knowledge; and our subject was no exception to his fellows.

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Our subject was married at the age of twenty-two, went to work for himself, raising a crop the first year on his father's farm, and in the following year all of them came to Texas, where they bought 1,000 acres of land for the same number of dollars, of Dr. Starr, of Nacogdoches. Within nine years this was disposed of at $5 an acre, and the money reinvested at the close of the war. In 1866 Mr. Helin bought a tract near Palestine, out of which he has made a fine farm and has it hand- somely improved, consisting of 950 acres, 400 of which are under cultivation. A fine gin was erected upou it in 1868, cost- ing $1,500. There is also a fine orchard, with good ontbuildings and all other ap- pointments essential to a modern farm. Our subject bought, in 1885, a small tract in Palestine, that is now one of the most beantiful in the city, where he resides, in retirement from active life, in enjoyment of the fruit of his labors.

Mr. Helm has been a member of the Baptist Church since 1854; has reared his children in that faith, and, like his vener- able father, has given much of his time and money to the cause of his Master. He organized the Baptist Church at Pales- tine, beginning with but three members, contributing a goodly sum toward the cost of the first house of worship. In 1862 he enlisted in Colonel Terrell's regiment of cavalry, and saw service in the Trans- Mississippi department, on the coast of Texas. The command participated in the battles of Mansfield and Pleasant Hill, besides taking part in a number of minor engagements, finally disbanding at Porter's Bluffs.

Our subject was married October 21, 1845, to Margaret A., danghter of Joseph Clark, a gentleman of wealth and a poli- tician and public speaker of some repute. The results of this union are: Augusta, widow of Robert Grigsby, with four chil- dren; James L., deceased; T. A., a large farmer, living at Wichita Falls, Texas; Josephine, wife of A. G. Burton; Dora, now Mrs. Cook; Jefferson, deceased; May- berry, deceased; J. B .; E. J. C., living at Houston; and Cyrus L. Mr. Helm has given his children exceptional educational advantages, thus enabling them to success- fully cope with the world and develop into honored and revered members of society.

ASPER HOWARD, a farmer resid- ing in the western part of Limestone county, is a son of Jesse Howard, a grandson of Henry Howard, and of Eng- lish extraction. The latter, a soldier in the war of 1812, settled in Mississippi in an early day, where he afterward died. He was a planter by occupation, and led a plain, uneventful life. Jesse Howard was reared in Mississippi, went to Georgia when a young man, was there married to Martha Armstrong, and subsequently moved to Marion county, Alabama. In 1844 he took up his residence in Nacogdoches county, Texas, in 1854 moved to Hunt county, same State, and in 1859 to Parker county, where he died in September, 1865, aged sixty five years. He was a farmer and stock-raiser all his life. Martha Armstrong was a native of Mississippi, and a daughter

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LIMESTONE, FREESTONE AND LEON COUNTIES.

of James Armstrong, a planter by occupa- tion, and a soldier in the war of 1812. She died in Palo Pinto county, Texas, in 1873, at the age of sixty years. Mr. and Mrs. Howard were the parents of ten children, namely: Samuel Green, who died in Falls county in 1862; Jesse, also deceased in that county; Timney J., deceased, was the wife of John Renfro; Martha, widow of A. B. Trimmer, and a resident of Hunt county; Marvin J., of Kent county, this State; Jasper, our subject; Isaac Newton, of Wise county, Texas; James W., a resi- dent of Kent county; Andrew J., of the same county; and Sarah A., who married Robert Williams, and both are now de- ceased. The six sons served in the Con- federate army during the late war.

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Author: Publication date: 1893 Publisher: Chicago, Lewis Publishing Co. Number of Pages: 954

Author:
Publication date: 1893
Publisher: Chicago, Lewis Publishing Co.
Number of Pages: 954