A twentieth century history and biographical record of north and west Texas, Volume I, Part 104

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 104

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Dr. and Mrs. Williams became the parents of two sons. Elmer E., who was born in Kan- sas and is now living in Portland, Oregon, was married to Elizabeth Ragland, of Denison, Texas, and they have one child, Ray. George Gordon, born in Kansas, is now living in North Carolina. He was married there in 1904 to Miss Daisy Weaver of Wilson, North Caro- lina, and they have a little daughter, Virginia Ray.

Following the death of her husband Mrs. Williams entered business circles of Denison, opening an insurance and real-estate office in 1892. She has met with success in its conduct and has secured a good clientage in both de- partments. Well informed concerning realty values, she has negotiated some important property transfers and her earnest efforts di- rected by sound judgment and executive ability have brought her a good financial return. Her husband was an exemplary member of the Ma- sonic fraternity and of the Grand Army of the Republic and Mrs. Williams now belongs to the Order of the Eastern Star and the Women's Relief Corps, the two ladies' auxiliaries of the above named organizations. She is likewise a member of the Presbyterian church and in Denison, where she has now made her home for a third of a century, she is held in the high- est esteem by reason of what she has accom- plished and her admirable womanly qualities manifest in her social relations.

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HISTORY OF NORTH AND WEST TEXAS.

LEON LALLIER is extensively and suc- cessfully engaged in the production of fruit and garden products near Denison, where he finds a splendid market and all that he raises commands the highest city prices. A native of France, he was born on the Ioth of Novem- ber, 1834, his parents being Louis Thomas and Mary (Robertson) Lallier, who were natives of France. The father died in Texas at the age of eighty-eight years, while the mother's death occurred in Kansas when she was seventy- seven years of age. They came to America with their family when their son Leon was seventeen years of age, arriving in the United States in 1852. The father established his home in the state of New York and afterward removed to Wisconsin, where he purchased a farm which he used for florist and market gar- dening, making his home thereon for about thirty-six years. In his native land he owned a wine distillery. He afterward came to Texas and his last years were spent in this state.

Mr. Lallier of this review remained a resi- dent of Wisconsin for thirty-six years and there followed market gardening, in which he was very successful. He also had a fine green- house, which he erected. In 1885 he came to Texas, settling about a mile southwest of the corporation limits of Denison, where he pur- chased one hundred acres of land on which some improvements had been made. He has since added to this property and now has one hundred and thirty acres, of which ninety acres are under cultivation. On the farm is an excellent orchard of about eight acres plant- ed to apples, pears, peaches and plums, and in addition to fruit raising and the production of vegetables he does general farming. His property is now well equipped with modern improvements and there is a deep well and a windmill to supply water for irrigation pur- poses. The land is sandy with a clay subsoil and is very productive as is shown from the fact that Mr. Lallier has gathered strawberries to the value of four hundred dollars and black- berries to the value of two hundred dollars

from one acre. The crops are almost unfail- ing and in fact there has never been a season in which the farm has not produced a profita- ble crop. Mr. Lallier is one of the pioneers in the production of fruit, berries and vegeta- bles and has demonstrated the value of this section of the country for that purpose. He now has sixty acres of timber land with a fine growth of timber, which he prefers to save rather than place the tract under cultivation.

Mr. Lallier was married at Fond du Lac, Wisconsin, in 1860, to Miss Julia S. Sholet, a native of Syracuse, New York, of French parentage. At Syracuse Mrs. Lallier's father was one of those promiently engaged in the salt industry, a capable business man well known in that vicinity. Mrs. Lallier, inherit- ing the worth of character that was her father's has devoted her married life to rearing her children to wholesome ideals of character and activity, and is also one of the esteemed women of the social life of her community.

Mr. and Mrs. Lallier have nine children, of whom eight are living: Frank, a resident of Wisconsin; Louis, of Texas, who married Maud Simonson and has four children ; Ralph, Ethlyn, Louis and Charlotte; Leonie, the wife of Burt S. Clark, by whom she has five children, Gladys, Leon, Frank, Kenneth and Esther; Leon Lallier, Jr., of Wisconsin, who married Maud Annas and has two children; Charles, who wedded Lulu Wordsworth, who taught in the public schools of Denison and has three children, Wesley, Paul and Elsie; Esther, who is teaching in the public schools of Denison ; Burt, who is a civil engineer in government service in Panama ; and Rene, at home.

In politics Mr. Lallier is independent, caring nothing for office but preferring to give his time and attention to his business affairs. He now has an excellent property and his farm is the visible evidence of his life of thrift and in- dustry, for he has prospered as the years have gone by, not because of any inherited fortune or favorable combination of circumstances, but because he has labored persistently and earn- estly for success.

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HISTORY OF NORTH AND WEST TEXAS.

ANTHONY P. CHAMBERLIN. For fif- a resident of Sherman, where he was engaged teen years Anthony P. Chamberlin has been a ' in contracting and building until 1889. In Oc- resident of Denison, connected with its busi- ness development and public progress. He is distinctively American and has aided in develop- ing at this place a typical American city, whose progress and enterprise are worthy of the spirit of the west. His birth occurred in Watertown, New York, in 1850, his parents being Nelson and Anna V. (Kauffman) Chamberlin. The father was born in Rutland, Vermont, and died in 1896, at the age of sixty-seven years. His wife, who was born in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, is still living, her home being in Ypsilanti, Michigan. She was reared In Springfield, Ohio, and was a daughter of Michael Kauffman, a native of Pennsylvania, who became one of the first settlers of Springfield, Ohio. At the time of the Mexican war Nelson Chamberlin, father of our subject, enlisted from Boston and de- fended the interests of his country in that strug -. gle. At the time of the Civil war he organized a company and was chosen captain of the com- mand that was mustered in in 1861 as Company I, Eleventh Michigan Infantry. He rendered valuable service to the Union cause for two and a half years, after which he resigned and returned to Monroe, Michigan, where he set- tled on a farm. In 1865 he moved to Dexter, Michigan, where he was engaged in the marble business and there he remained until his death.

In 1877 Mr. Chamberlin was united in mar- riage in Sherman, Texas, to Miss Nannie Gate- wood, a native of Missouri and a daughter of Colonel James Gatewood. Her father at the breaking out of the Civil war become com- mander of a Missouri regiment that enlisted for service in the Confederate army and was in Price's division. Associated with George Smith he was the founder of the town of Se- dalia, Missouri. Unto Mr. and Mrs. Cham- largely in the latter state. He remained there , berlin have been born three children: Nelson G. and William H., both born in Sherman; and Hazle T., born in Marysville, Colorado.

Anthony P. Chamberlain accompanied his parents on their removal from New York to Ohio and afterward to Michigan, being reared until twenty-four years of age and then came to Texas in September, 1874, making his way from Detroit, Michigan, to Dallas. He had previously learned the marble cutter's trade in Dexter, Michigan, under the direction of his father, and sought employment in that line in the southwest. He spent the winter in Dallas and in the spring of 1875 went to Sherman, Texas, where he remained until 1879. He then went to Leadville, Colorado, where he was en- gaged in mining and he also did some contract work in the marble business, residing in Colo- rado until 1885. In that year he again became

tober of that year he came to Denison, where he continued in the same line of business, erect- ing many business blocks and other important structures in the city. He was thus closely connected with its improvement and upbuild- "ing until 1896, when he purchased a half inter- est in the marble works owned by Joe Cathry, of Denison. The partnership was maintained for a` time and later he purchased the interest of his partner, so that he is now sole proprietor. He conducts the plant under the name of the Denison Marble Works, the oldest established enterprise of the kind in the city. He also conducted a similar business in Sherman from 1875 until 1879, and his thorough understand- ing of the trade and practical workmanship enable him to capably direct the labors of those whom he employs. His business has now reached an extensive figure, for he receives and executes many orders annually, being a leading representative of this line of trade in his part of the state.

Mr. Chamberlin is well known in Denison and Grayson county, where for many years he has been actively connected with business in- terests. To a student of human nature there is nothing of greater interest than to examine into the life of a self-made man and analyze the principles by which he has been governed, the methods he has pursued, to know what means he has employed for advancement and to study the plans which have given him prominence, enabling him to pass on the highway of life

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HISTORY OF NORTH AND WEST TEXAS.

many who had a more advantageous start. In the history of Mr. Chamberlin there is deep food for thought, and, if one so desires, he may profit by the obvious lessons therein contained, for his success is attributable entirely to his own labors. Watchful of business opportuni- ties and utilizing the advantages that have come to him, he has gained recognition in com- mercial circles as a man of capability and en- terprise and has also won the substantial re- turn of labor, of which his profitable business is today the indication.

SAMUEL P. HARDWICKE, who has the reputation of being one of the leading criminal lawyers at the bar of western Texas, and who is one of the oldest representatives of the legal fra- ternity in Abilene, was born in Pittsylvania county, Virginia, October 18, 1858, a son of John B. and Martha (Dews) Hardwicke, who were also natives of the Old Dominion. In their family were eight children, four sons and four daughters. The father was a minister of the Baptist church and in October, 1860, he re- moved with his family to Petersburg, Virginia, and in 1864 to Fayetteville, North Carolina. Af- ter the war they went to Goldborough, North Carolina, and from 1868 until 1873 lived in Par- kersburg, West Virginia. Their next home was in Atchison, Kansas, and in 1876 they removed to Bryan, Texas.

In the public schools in these various places Samuel P. Hardwicke obtained his education and while living in Bryan, Texas, he took up the study of law and was admitted to the bar in 1880. Later he lived in Waxahachie, Texas, and since 1882 he has made his home in Abilene, where he has since remained. He had visited this section in January, 1881, before the town was started and the following year he took up his permanent abode here. Buffalo Gap was then the county seat of Taylor county and at that time there was much litigation heard in the courts there. Mr. Hardwicke soon secured a liberal share of the public patronage, and the fa- vorable judgment which the world passed upon him at the outset of his career has been in no degree set aside or modified, but on the contrary

has been strengthened as the years have gone by and he has demonstrated his power to suc- cessfully solve intricate legal problems and han- dle complex questions before the bar. On the Ist of January, 1901, he formed a partnership with his brother, A. S. Hardwicke, under the firm style of Hardwicke & Hardwicke, a relation that has since been maintained. For six years, from 1884 until 1890, Judge Hardwicke held the office of county attorney. His connection with the Abilene bar antedates that of almost any other practitioner here. He now has a clientage that is large and of a distinctively representative character. He is regarded as one of the leading criminal lawyers not only of his immediate county but of western Texas as well. He is an exceptionally fine speaker and his gifts of ora- tory enable him to present with power his log- ical deductions and to cite facts and precedents with a clearness and force that never fail to im- press court or jury and seldom fail to gain the verdict desired.

Judge Hardwicke was married in 1888 to Miss M. C. Deter, of Sacramento valley, California, and they have two children, a son and daughter. The family is prominent socially and in matters of citizenship Judge Hardwicke is looked upon as a leader, being known as a public spirited man who champions every measure that tends to promote the intellectual or material welfare of his community or uphold its legal status.

EDWARD L. SEAY, M. D., is one of the younger representatives of the medical profes- sion in Denison, but his years seem no bar to his progress nor success, for he has a practice that many an older physician might well envy. He was born in Louisville, Kentucky, in 1873, a son of William M. and Margaret (Mock) Seay. His father was a farmer by occupation, served as a soldier in the Confederate army, and was under command of General Robert E. Lee at the time of the surrender at Appomattox. He has now passed away, but Mrs. Seay is still living and makes her home in Denison.

Brought to Texas in his early boyhood days, Dr. Seay pursued his early education in the pub- lic schools of Grayson county and afterward at-

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HISTORY OF NORTH AND WEST TEXAS.

tended the Gate ( y Literary and Commercial Academy of Deni :. Determining upon the practice of medicine as a life work, he later at- tended the University of Louisville, Kentucky, from which he was graduated in the class of 1896. He then began practicing in Denison, where he has since remained, and in the nine years of his identification with the medical fra- ternity here his business has constantly grown and his success and reputation increased. He is conscientious in the performance of all his professional duties and has high regard for the ethics of the medical fraternity.

In 1898 Dr. Seay was united in marriage in Denison to Miss Nannie Mathes, of this city, and they have one child, Edward M., who was born here. In politics Dr. Seay is Democratic and fraternally is connected with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. Ever courteous and af- fable, he is highly. esteemed socially as well as professionally. His capability inspires confi- dence and his cheery presence in the sick room is a valued supplement to his professional knowl- edge and skill.

ALBERT D. BETHARD, who throughout his entire life has been connected with railroad service and has advanced through successive promotions to the position of superintendent of transportation of the Missouri, Kansas & Texas Railroad system, with headquarters at Denison, is a native son of Illinois, his birth having oc- curred in that state in 1858. His parents were D. M. and Louisa Melvin Bethard. The Beth- ards were early settlers of Ohio, in which state D. M. Bethard was born. In early life he re- moved to Illinois, becoming one of the pioneer residents there. He followed stock raising for many years, and he is still living in Illinois, but his wife died in 1870. In their family were two sons and a daughter, Albert D., Flora and William J.

Albert D. Bethard was reared to manhood in the state of his nativity and entered railroad service in the employ of the Rockford, Rock Island & St. Louis Railroad Company as tele- graph operator at Astoria, Illinois. That road is now a part of the Chicago, Burlington &

Quincy system. Later he was with the same 'road as train dispatcher at Rock Island and aft- erward became train dispatcher for the Iron Mountain Railroad at St. Louis, Missouri. His next promotion made him trainmaster and su- perintendent of telegraph for the Richmond & Allegheny Railroad at Richmond, Virginia, and he was next made superintendent of transporta- tion of that road. In 1888 he came to Denison, Texas, as chief dispatcher and trainmaster and also superintendent of the Dallas & Fort Worth division of the Missouri, Kansas & Texas Rail- road Company, with headquarters at Denison. He is now superintendent of transportation for the same road. Thus he has been advanced from one position to another until his place is now one of much prominence and responsibility.

In politics Mr. Bethard is a Democrat. In 1880, in Missouri, he married Miss Jennie Good- win, of Illinois.

FINDLEY N. ROBERTSON, who served as city attorney of Denison and as a capable mem- ber of the Texas bar, was born in Kentucky in 1846, a son of John E. and Elizabeth M. (Nally) Robertson. The father was born in Kentucky, followed the occupation of farming throughout his entire life and died in McLane county, Ken- tucky, in October, 1882, at the age of seventy years, while his wife passed away in March, . 1890, at the age of seventy-nine years. In their family were nine children, but only two are now living, Cordelia and Fannie.

Findley N. Robertson acquired his educa- tion in the common schools and the University of Lexington, Kentucky, from which he was graduated in the class of 1871. At a very early age he enlisted for service in the Confederate army and was with Morgan's division. In April following his graduation he made his way from Kentucky to Texas and entered upon the prac- tice of law in Sherman, where he remained until 1875, when he removed to the recently estab- lished town of Denison, remaining here until 1882. In that year he returned to Kentucky, where he was engaged in contract work. Later he spent some time in Mississippi and subse- quently he came again to Texas, settling in Ellis

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HISTORY OF NORTH AND WEST TEXAS.

county in 1891. There he was engaged in stock raising for some time, but later returned to Denison and resumed the practice of law here. In the spring of 1904 he was chosen city attor- ney, which position he filled until his death. As a lawyer he was capable and earnest, being very devoted to the interests of his clients, and in the preparation of his case he showed great care and precision, neglecting none of the important office work which is the preliminary to the suc- cessful presentation of his cause in the courts.

Mr. Robertson was married twice. In 1873, in Sherman, Texas, he married Alice Robinson, a native of Pennsylvania, and they had one child, Edith G., who was born in Sherman, and is now the wife of A. G. Gunn, of Denison, by whom she has a daughter, Alice Ruth. On the 13th of July, 1879, in Denison, Mr. Robertson was again married, his second union being with Miss Emma Lilly, a native of Indiana, and they had one child, Albert Duke, who was born in Denison and is now studying law.

Mr. Robertson was a member of the Knights of Honor and the Improved Order of Red Men, hav- ing been a valued representative of these organi- zations. He so utilized his powers and talents in his profession that he made a creditable name as a strong and able lawyer and was accorded a distinctively representative clientage. He was moreover prominent socially, having made warm friends in the city, with whose interests he was so long identified, for, although his resi- dence here was not continuous, he was an inter- ested witness of its development fromits pioneer days to the present. He passed from this life on the 22d of November, 1905, but with those who knew him, his memory will long be cher- ished because of his life of helpfulness and of good cheer.

ALFRED COURCHESNE, prominent among the energetic, far seeing and successful busi- ness men of El Paso and western Texas, is the subject of this sketch. His life illustrates most happily what may be attained by faithful and continued effort in carrying out an honest purpose. Integrity, activity and energy have been the crowning points of his success and his

connection with various business enterprises and industries have been of decided advantage to this section of the state, promoting its material welfare in no uncertain manner. He is today the owner of the El Paso Limestone Quarry and the president of the El Paso Ice & Refrigerator Company.

A native of Canada, Mr. Courchesne was born in the province of Quebec, on Lake St. Pater, which is an enlargement of the St. Lawrence river, and is of French parentage and ancestry. He acquired a good common school education, removing with his parents when eleven years of age to Lowell, Massachusetts, and benefiting by the excellent educational privileges afforded by that state. When about seventeen years of age he entered upon his business career as a sales- man in a dry goods store and later made his way westward to Chicago, Illinois, where he contin- ued his connection with mercantile interests, be- ing salesman in a clothing store of that city for six years. He lived altogether for eight years in Chicago and thence made his way to Colo- rado, while in December, 1887, he came to El Paso, where he has resided to the present time. Here he entered into a contract with the El Paso Smelter Company to establish a limestone quarry and furnish to the smelter all the neces- sary lime rock for fluxing purposes. He has since retained this business relation with the smelter company, whose immense plant, employ- ing over fifteen hundred people, it situated near Mr. Courchesne's quarries. In addition to the extensive output which he furnishes the smelter he also supplies lime rock for other purposes and is an extensive manufacturer and shipper of commercial lime for building purposes. His quarries are four miles northwest of the business center of El Paso on the Santa Fe Railroad and located in a picturesque district of the Rio Grande valley. Here also is his residence, to- gether with numerous other buildings including a commissary, dwellings for the help, a black- smith shop and a fine dairy farm. This district is known as the Courchesne station on the Santa Fe road. In the operation of the quarries the latest improved equipments are utilized, the drill machinery being operated by compressed air, while the machinery for the rock crusher, etc., is

Alourchesne

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HISTORY OF NORTH AND WEST TEXAS.

all of the most modern make and best material. . of the republic of Mexico. They have six chil- A pleasing feature of the district is the hand- dren : Thomas A., Olivine, Charles A., Henri- etta, Josephine and John. some and substantial character of the buildings, constituting an attractive hamlet. There are about one hundred men employed throughout the year and an average of ten thousand tons of lime rock for the smelter alone is taken out each month, beside a large output of lime. He now has the finest lime works in the west and the business has gained him prominence in indus- trial and commercial circles and brought to him a splendid financial return.

Mr. Courchesne is a man of splendid business ability, keen discernment and resourceful quali- ties and has not confined his attention alone to one line. He is president of the El Paso Ice & Refrigerator Company, owning the oldest and largest ice manufacturing plant in this section of the country. He has likewise extensive inter- ests in real estate in El Paso, making judicious investments in property which are continually advancing in value. He owns considerable busi- ness property in the city and is a large stock- holder and officer in several of the suburban ad- dition companies, while of the Altura Realty Company he is the president. He has ever had firm faith in the future of this city. Eighteen years ago he predicted that El Paso would some · substantial citizens of western Texas and at the. day be a great city and has never wavered in same time making a most creditable record for. honorable dealing. His reputation as a business man commands the respect while it excites the admiration of all, and moreover he is regarded as a man of broad general information and of liberal progressive views. In those finer traits of character which combine to form that which we term friendship he is also liberally endowed. that conviction and he now prophesies that El Paso will be the first city of Texas to reach the one hundred thousand population mark. So ex- tensive and important have his business interests become that he has been largely forced to give up his large social and outside interests in this city, yet he is an unusually public spirited citizen and has aided materially in benefiting El Paso along lines of substantial progress and improve- ment. In 1904 he was mainly instrumental in raising the fund of over thirty thousand dollars for the new Young Men's Christian Association building in this city. He was at one time a di- rector of the Chamber of Commerce and he has taken all the degrees of Masonry in El Paso, attaining the thirty-second degree of the Scot- tish rite, the Knight Templar degree in the York rite and is also an Elk.

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A twentieth century history and biographical record of north and west Texas, Volume I, Part 104

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