A twentieth century history and biographical record of north and west Texas, Volume I, Part 101

Author: Paddock, B. B. (Buckley B.), 1844-1922; Lewis Publishing Co., Chicago, pub
Publication date: 1906
Publisher: Chicago, New York, The Lewis publishing co.
Number of Pages: 968

USA > Texas > A twentieth century history and biographical record of north and west Texas, Volume I > Part 101

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CHARLES MILTON PATTILLO, presi- dent of the C. M. Pattillo Hardware Company of Stamford, vice president of the Citizens- National Bank and president of the board of school trustees, is a citizen whose value and worth are greatly appreciated and whose labors have been an effective element in the substan- tial improvement and progress of the locality in which he makes his home. His life record began at West Point, Georgia, on the 27th of June, 1857. His father, Dr. Charles T. Pat- tillo, was a practicing physician who followed his profession throughout his entire life. He was also a native of Georgia, born at West Point, and in early manhood he married Miss Mattie Ward, whose birth occurred in Salem, Alabama, where they were married. They re- sided at West Point from the time of their marriage until called from this life. They lived on a farm near the town until the time of the Civil war and after the close of hostili- ties took up their abode within the city limits,

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HISTORY OF NORTH AND WEST TEXAS.

where the doctor continued to practice his pro- fession until his life's labors were ended, in March, 1901, when he was sixty-eight years of age. He served as a surgeon in the Confed- erate army throughout the entire war. His wife passed away about a year previous to his death when sixty-four years of age. They had six children, three sons and three daughters, all of whom reached years of maturity, but one son and one daughter have now passed away.

Charles Milton Pattillo, the second in order of birth, was reared upon his father's farm until twelve years of age, when the family took ttp their abode in the city of West Point. He had the advantages afforded by the common schools and for four years he also attended the West Point Male Academy. Subsequently he entered upon his business career as a clerk at West Point, being thus employed for two years or until eighteen years of age. He after- ward went to Salem, Alabama, where he en- gaged in farming for two years and while re- siding there was married on the 4th of Decem- ber, 1877, to Miss Mattie Brewington, a daugh- ter of William J. Brewington, now a resident of Stamford.

After devoting two years to agricultural pur- suits Mr. Pattillo turned his attention to the grocery business in Salem, Alabama, where he continued until the fall of 1880. In the winter of that year he and his wife, accompanied by the Brewington family, came to Texas, ar- riving at Calvert, Robertson county, on the 24th of December of that year. There Mr. Pattillo was employed as a clerk for a short time in a mercantile store, after which he be- came connected with the lumber business as an employe of S. S. Whittemore. Mr. Whitte- more died a few months later, and Mr. Pattillo then conducted the business for Mr. Whitte- more's widow for two years, at the end of which time it was sold to Siddall Carroll & Company, with which firm Mr. Pattillo was connected for about four years. On the ex- piration of that period he removed to Valley Mills, Bosque county, where he purchased a lumber yard and engaged in the business for himself for six years, from 1886 until 1892. In

that year he removed to Hico, Hamilton county, where he conducted a lumber yard for five or six years, when he sold his business and bought a stock of hardware, the time spent there covering ten years. The town of Stam- ford, having recently been established, was be- coming a thriving and prosperous place at- tracting wide attention. Mr. Pattillo on sell- ing his business interests at Hico removed to Stamford and opened a hardware store, which has proved a profitable financial venture, Stam- ford being the center of a large area of busi- ness trade extending into the surrounding country for many miles. In the spring of 1905 the hardware business was incorporated under the firm name of C. M. Pattillo Hardware Com- pany, capitalized at twenty thousand dollars, with C. M. Pattillo as president and general manager. He is also the vice president of the Citizens National Bank of Stamford, which was organized on the 28th of February, 1905, and opened its doors for business on the 17th of March.

Mr. and Mrs. Pattillo have a family of six children, three sons and three daughters : Mary L., the wife of S. B. Tadlock, a member of the C. M. Pattillo Hardware Company and its vice president; Milton, who is secretary of and bookkeeper for the company; Kate S .; Gray L .; Thomas B .; and Mattie, the last named being so called for her mother and her grandmother.

Mr. Pattillo has been prominent and influ- ential in community affairs and is especially interested in the cause of education. He has been a member of the school board for twelve years, covering the period of his residence in Valley Mills and in Stamford. He was also a member of the board of aldermen while re- siding in Hico and is now president of the board of school trustees of Stamford. Fra- ternally a Royal Arch Mason, he belongs to Stamford lodge and is in hearty sympathy with the teachings and tenets of the craft. He holds membership in the Methodist church, with which he became identified in his boyhood days and has been a Sunday school superin- tendent since 1887. He has always taken an active part in all matters pertaining to relig-

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HISTORY OF NORTH AND WEST TEXAS.

ious work and his efforts in this direction have been very beneficial and helpful. Mr. Pattillo is one of the substantial business men of Stam- ford and the hardware firm of which he is a leading figure is well known throughout west- ern Texas and has a remarkable trade, extend- ing for many miles over this section of the state. His labors in behalf of public progress have also been recognized and appreciated by his fellow townsmen and he occupies an envia- ble position in the regard of his fellow men.

DAVID E. C. WILLIAMS. The memory of David E. C. Williams forms a connecting link between the primitive past and the progressive present in Montague county, for he settled here when the work of progress and development had scarcely been begun. He is now classed with the leading stock farmers of this part of the state. His birth occurred in Crawford county, Arkansas, February 18, 1839. His parents were Thomas N. and . Candace (Mobley) Williams, . both of whom were born in Kentucky, but their marriage was celebrated in Arkansas. The paternal grandfather, David Williams, was a native of Wales and was married in Kentucky, becoming one of the early settlers of that state, where he opened up a good farm, making his home there until his death. Politically he was a Whig. His children were: Elizabeth, Cather- ine, John and Thomas N.

Thomas N. Williams was reared in Kentucky, remaining there until 1831, when he removed to Arkansas and in 1833 he was married to Miss Mobley, a daughter of Clements and Chaney Mobley, who were likewise natives of Kentucky, in which state they were married. The father there owned a plantation and slaves and carried on farming for a number of years, but eventu- ally removed to Texas and in that state sold his slaves. Subsequently he returned to Arkansas. He became a pioneer settler of the latter state in 1828 and not liking his Texas home he returned to Arkansas, where he remained until his death. He was a Democrat, but without political aspir- ation, and in all life's relations he was true and loyal to the trust reposed in him and to the obli- gations that devolved upon him. The members

of his family were: Merriner, the wife of W. Whithead; Candace; David, who died in Ken- . tucky; Ryan, Charles and Green, all of whom died in Arkansas.

Following their marriage Mr. and Mrs. Thomas N. Williams located on a farm in Ar- kansas, where they remained until 1843, when they removed to Texas. After prospecting for a time, however, and not finding a location which, pleased him, Mr. Williams returned to Arkansas and purchased a farm on which he spent his remaining days. He was a Whig in politics until the dissolution of the party, when he joined the new Republican party. After the outbreak of the Civil war he removed to Kan- sas, where he remained until the close of hostil- ities, when he resumed farming in Arkansas, but he found that the rebels had largely. destroyed his property, taking everything that could be carried off. He resolutely set to work to repair the ravages of war and devoted his energies to agricultural pursuits there until his death, which occurred in 1875. Both he and his wife were devoted members of the Methodist church and aided largely in carrying on the church work. Mrs. Williams passed away in 1894 at the ripe old age of seventy-eight years. They were the parents of seven children : Frances, the wife of A. Smith ; David E. C .; Thomas J., who is living in Hale county, Texas; William S., who died in Arkansas, leaving a wife and four children; Sarah, who became Mrs. Burchfield and after the death of her first husband married James Pope; Martha, who became the wife of C. Wil- mot and afterward married Rev. Lloyd; and Morris, who died in Texas.

David E. C. Williams was born and reared in Arkansas, where he remained up to the time of his marriage in 1866, save that during the period of the Civil war he had been a resident of Kan- sas. He wedded Miss Elizabeth Gregg, who was born in Arkansas November 20, 1849, a daughter of James and Lucinda (Morton) Gregg, the latter a native of Tennessee and the former of Scotland. The father, however, be- came an early settler of Arkansas and there engaged in business as a stone mason, con-

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HISTORY OF NORTH AND WEST TEXAS.

tractor and builder, being employed on many public works. He was also a farmer and slave owner and was a stanch' Democrat. He repre -. sented his county in the state legislature and was a man of prominence and influence, leaving the impress of his individuality upon the public life and development of his state. His religious faith was indicated by his membership in the Methodist church and he was also a member of the Masonic fraternity. In his family were six children : Agnes, the wife of William S. Wil- liams; Mrs. Elizabeth Williams; Howard and W. W., both living in Arkansas; Anne, the wife of A. Lewis; and Hamlet, of Arkansas.

Following his marriage, David E. C. Williams rented and operated a farm in Arkansas for a number of years and then when his labors had brought him sufficient capital he purchased land and continued farming and stock raising in his native state until 1877, when he came to Mon- tague county, Texas. Farming at that time was an experiment here, for most of the settlers were engaged in cattle raising and had not tested the productiveness of the soil. Mr. Williams, how- ever, purchased land which he placed under cul- tivation and he also engaged in cattle raising. The latter branch of business proved profitable to him. It was the day of the free range, but later he had to fence a pasture and became owner of thirteen hundred acres in the homestead farm. Of this he placed two hundred and twenty-five acres under cultivation and continued success- fully in general agricultural pursuits until 1903, when he sold his lands and stock to his children. He is, however, still residing on the old home- stead farm and is living retired in the enjoyment of the fruits of his former toil, making his home with his daughter and her husband. He was for many years an active and enterprising agricul- turist, giving close and unremitting attention to the improvement of his property. In this way he created a large estate and at one time owned in Montague and Wise counties twenty-one hun- dred acres of land.

Unto Mr. and Mrs. Williams were born five children : James N. and William R., who are farmers of this county; John W., deceased;

George C., a farmer of Wise county ; and Mary A. E., the wife of Robert L. Mann, who was born in Arkansas, but was reared in Texas and is now farming the homestead property. They have one child, Mabel E., born June 12, 1904.

In 1882 Mr. Williams was called upon to mourn the loss of his wife, who died on the 14th of December. She was a devoted attendant of the Christian church and her many excellent traits of character won her the esteem and love of all with whom she came in contact. Politi- cally Mr. Williams is a stalwart Republican, rec- ognized as one of the leaders of his party in this locality.' He voted for the ticket when his was the only Republican vote that was counted in his precinct, but he can see that his influence has been bearing, good fruit, for there are now many supporters of the party in this section of the state. He keeps thoroughly informed on all the questions and issues of the day and on one occasion he was appointed postmaster of Saint Jo and became a popular office holder, but re- signed because his personal business interests claimed his attention. All that he possesses in: life has been acquired through his own labors. He has carefully watched his opportunities, has overcome all difficulties that have barred his. path and by determined purpose has worked his. way steadily upward.

JOHN K. MILLER. Strange as it may seem, it is within a comparatively brief period that the possibilities of Texas as a farming state have been recognized. Previous to that time its value was supposed to lie in the cat- tle ranches, where great herds could be grazed upon the free range or the individual pastures. Progressive, enterprising and far sighted men, however, undertook the work of tilling the soil and it was found to be both rich and productive, and today Texas is considered one of the best farming states in the Union. Mr. Miller of this. review is devoting his attention to agricul- tural pursuits and yet gives personal supervi- sion to his interests, although he has now reached the advanced age of seventy-nine years. He was born in North Carolina De-

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cember 10, 1826, a son of Joseph Miller, who was likewise a native of that state and died. in 1892, at the age of ninety-eight years. His wife, whose family, name in her maidenhood was Cox, died when her son John was only six years of age. In the family were eleven children, John K. Miller being the youngest son. He was reared to the occupation of farm- ing, his father following that pursuit through- out his entire life, and after attaining his ma- jority John K. Miller decided to make his life work the occupation with which he had be- come familiar in the days of his boyhood.

On Christmas day of 1846 was celebrated his marriage to Miss Arrena Tabor, a native of North Carolina and a daughter of Nathan and Elizabeth (Kendrick) Tabor. Three of their children were born in North Carolina, subse- quent to which time Mr. and Mrs. Miller came to Texas in 1852, settling about five miles west of Sherman. There he purchased land and followed farming for fifteen years. On the expiration of that period he removed to what is now called Miller Springs, where he lived until about fifteen years ago, when he built his pres- ent home three and a half miles west of Deni- son and has sinde occupied this property. His entire life has been devoted to agricultural pur- suits. For a brief period he lived in Denison and during that period served as a member of the city council for one term, being elected to the office upon the Democratic ticket.

Unto Mr. and Mrs. Miller were born four- teen children, of whom eleven are yet living. Mary Ann, the eldest, born in North Carolina, is the wife of N. B. Tigue, William T., Alice, A. C. D., Graves, George W., Joseph, B. J., J. N., Ivy and Estella.

During the early days of his residence in Texas John K. Miller was engaged in frontier service, protecting the homes of the pioneer settlers in the southwest against the depreda- tions of the Indians and he has witnessed al- most the entire growth and development of this part of the state as it has been reclaimed for the purpose of civilization. Many changes have been wrought until the western country today bears little resemblance to the district

into which he came so many years ago. He 'and his wife traveled life's journey together for fifty-six years, two months and nineteen days, and were then separated by the death of Mrs. Miller on the 13th of March, 1903, who left one hundred and twenty-five living de- scendants-children, grandchildren and great- grandchildren. Since that time five others have been added to the number of her descendants. Mr. Miller and all of his family are Baptists in religious faith, he having been a member of the Missionary Baptist church for a half century, and an Odd Fellow for fifty years, and his life has ever been upright and honorable.

THOMAS VOLNEY MUNSON needs no introduction to the readers of this volume nor to the horticulturists of the country, for he has an international reputation in this direction as the producer of some of the finest varieties of grapes that have been placed upon the market and he is regarded as authority upon the sub- ject of viticulture and has been a contributor to many of the leading periodicals upon fruit rais- ing, not only in this country but in foreign lands as well. He is moreover entitled to distinction from the fact that his business career has been such as any man would be proud to possess, for he has worked his way upward from compara- tive obscurity to rank with the successful citi- zens of the southwest and at the same time has made a record for usefulness in the great affairs of life that has made his name known from ocean to ocean. His birth occurred near As- toria, Illinois, September 26, 1843, and he is descended from Scotch ancestry. The first representative of the name in America was Captain Richard Manson, who was a Scotch sea captain belonging to a titled family. He settled in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, about 1661. His son, John Manson, Sr., was the fa- ther of John Manson, Jr., and the grandfather of Richard Manson, the great-great-grandfa- ther of our subject, who changed the spelling of the name to its present form. Theodore Mun- son, the grandfather, was married to Lydia Philbrook and their son William wedded Maria Linley, a daughter of Joseph and Sibilla (Ben-

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HISTORY OF NORTH AND WEST TEXAS.

jamin) Linley. It was William and Maria (Linley) Munson who became the parents of Thomas Volney Munson of this review.

Upon a farm in Illinois Thomas V. Munson was reared and he supplemented his early dis- trict school advantages by study in Fulton Seminary and in Bryant & Stratton's Business College. He afterward taught school in Illi- nois for three years and later was graduated from Kentucky University with the degree of bachelor of science in 1870. During the suc- ceeding school year he filled the chair of science in that institution. He was married in 1870 to Miss Ellen Scott, a graduate of Sayre Female Institute of Lexington, and a daughter of C. S. Bell, a florist of Lexington, Kentucky. Re- moving from the Blue Grass state to Nebraska they were residents of the city of Lincoln from 1873 until 1876, when they came to Denison.

Mr. Munson secured a tract of land north of the city and met with many hardships, dis- couragements and difficulties in the early years of his residence here. He at first raised garden products and carrying these in a basket walked to town, where he disposed of his vegetables. By frugality, industry and economy he was at length enabled to extend his business and be- gan planting trees, while in 1879 he commenced the publication of a small leaflet or catalogue. Every step was thoughtfully and carefully made after due consideration and he has continu- ally enlarged the scope of his endeavors until he is today one of the best known horticulturists of the country. In 1887 he removed from his little farm of forty-five acres north of Denison to his present place of residence, consisting of something over one hundred acres. He after- ward added to this property until he had about one hundred and fifty acres, while at the pres- ent time he and his son, Will B. Munson, retain the ownership of one hundred acres constitut- ing the Munson nurseries, having sold the re- mainder as lots for residence purposes. The Munson nurseries are famous today throughout the country and Mr. Munson has made ship- ments to every state in the Union, although his trade is chiefly in Texas, Indian Territory, Ok- lahoma, New Mexico, Louisiana and Arkansas.

He has sent many thousands of grape cuttings to France and also trial lots to parties in France, Italy, Australia, Spain, Germany, Eastern Africa and to the British colony at Natal in South Af- rica, to Brazil, Japan and Mexico. He has prob- ably the largest business of the kind in America and has in the domestic trade conducted a large nursery business as a dealer in shrubs, seeds, evergreen trees and all kinds of fruit. He has gained a national reputation as a writer on viticulture and as the originator of improved fruits, especially grapes. The degree of Master of Science was conferred upon him by the State Agricultural and Mechanical College of Kentucky in recognition of a thesis on "For- ests and Trees of Texas," published in 1883. In 1888 he received a diploma and decorations of the Legion of Honor with the title "Cheval- ier du Merite Agricole" for aid to France in viticulture. He became known for his careful botanical classification of North American species of grapes, of which he discovered sev- eral himself, and for his hybridization of grapes, of which he produced many hundreds of much merit. He has been elected a mem- ber of the leading American agricultural, hor- ticultural and pomological societies; of the American Academy of Social and Political Science; of the American Association for the Advancement of Science and of the National Agricultural Association of France. He is the author of "Grape Culture in the South" and "Horticulture in Texas" in the Encyclopedia of American Horticulture; Bulletin 56 on In- vestigation and Improvement of American Grapes, Texas experimental station (1900) ; a Monograph on American grapes with natural size color plates of all native species for the department of agriculture (1889) ; and numer- ous articles on horticultural subjects published in leading agricultural journals in the United States and France. He has made grapes his specialty, but is also well known as a producer of plums and peaches. He is now associate editor of the "Ampelographie," a work to il- lustrate and show how to cultivate all kinds of grapes grown in the world and published by P. Viala, inspector general of viticulture, of

JAMES H. PARRAMORE

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HISTORY OF NORTH AND WEST TEXAS.

France. Mr. Munson has contributed the arti- cles on Mission, Concord, Delaware, Catawba and Ives Seedling grapes with color plates for the publication, giving the origin of cultivation and distribution of these varieties. In 1901 Mr. Munson was elected a member of the In- ternational Conference of Hybridizers, which met the first time in London, England, in 1904. He was asked to prepare a paper upon a topic of his own choosing and he selected the sub- ject of "Advantages of Conjoint Selection and Hybridization and Limits of Usefulness in Hy- bridization among Grapes." This paper was published in full in the N. Y. Horticultural Society's Memoirs of 1902, volume I. He is a member of the American Pomological Soci- ety, for which he has prepared and read many papers and he is now its first vice president, to which office he was elected in September, 1905. In 1902 there was organized at the Buffalo Ex- position a society for the advancement of horti- cultural science in America and Mr. Munson was elected a member and chosen vice presi- dent. The American Plant and Stock Breed- ers Association was organized at the Louisiana Purchase Exposition and Mr. Munson was also elected a member. He sent to the exposition in St. Louis grapes, pears, persimmons and other fruit during the season, exhibiting there. over two hundred baskets upon which he re- ceived gold medals and diploma. He was ap- pointed by President Francis of the exposition one of the international jurors in the horticul- tural department of the World's Fair to award prizes, in which capacity he acted for the first half of September and passed upon thousands of displays of fruits of various kinds sent from Mexico, Canada and all the intervening country.

Unto Mr. and Mrs. Munson have been born seven children. William B., born in Illinois, was married to Miss Nona Cummings, of Aus- tin, Texas, and is associated with his father in the nursery business under the firm style of T. V. Munson & Son, and he also conducts an independent business as proprietor of an ex- tensive floral establishment in Denison, deal- ing in cut flowers. R. Warder, born in Texas, is treasurer and secretary of the Denison Cot-

ton Mills, Denison; Fern, born in Nebraska, is the wife of A. A. Acheson, of Denison, spe- cial inspector and route agent in the post office service in Ohio, Kentucky and Indiana, with headquarters at Cincinnati and home at Lex- ington, Kentucky. They have one child, Mar- cus Alexander. Neva, born in Denison, Texas, is' a graduate of the high school of this city and for the last three years has been a teach- er in the Peabody public school here. Olita, born in Denison is the wife of C. H. Calvert, assistant ticket agent at the Union depot in Denison. Viala Laussel, a native of Denison, was graduated from the high school here in 1894. Marguerite, born in Denison, is now a student in the public schools.

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A twentieth century history and biographical record of north and west Texas, Volume I, Part 101

Author: Paddock, B. B. (Buckley B.), 1844-1922; Lewis Publishing Co., Chicago, pub Publication date: 1906 Publisher: Chicago, New York, The Lewis publishing co. Number of Pages: 968

Author: Paddock, B. B. (Buckley B.), 1844-1922; Lewis Publishing Co., Chicago, pub
Publication date: 1906
Publisher: Chicago, New York, The Lewis publishing co.
Number of Pages: 968