USA > Texas > A twentieth century history and biographical record of north and west Texas, Volume I > Part 68
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).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47 | Part 48 | Part 49 | Part 50 | Part 51 | Part 52 | Part 53 | Part 54 | Part 55 | Part 56 | Part 57 | Part 58 | Part 59 | Part 60 | Part 61 | Part 62 | Part 63 | Part 64 | Part 65 | Part 66 | Part 67 | Part 68 | Part 69 | Part 70 | Part 71 | Part 72 | Part 73 | Part 74 | Part 75 | Part 76 | Part 77 | Part 78 | Part 79 | Part 80 | Part 81 | Part 82 | Part 83 | Part 84 | Part 85 | Part 86 | Part 87 | Part 88 | Part 89 | Part 90 | Part 91 | Part 92 | Part 93 | Part 94 | Part 95 | Part 96 | Part 97 | Part 98 | Part 99 | Part 100 | Part 101 | Part 102 | Part 103 | Part 104 | Part 105 | Part 106 | Part 107 | Part 108 | Part 109 | Part 110 | Part 111 | Part 112 | Part 113 | Part 114 | Part 115 | Part 116 | Part 117
Robert Augustus Ragland was born September 23, 1858, at Harrisonville, Georgia. He acquired a high school education in Hogansville, Georgia, and in 1875 left that state, going with his father to Arkansas, where he worked for two years on a farm with his uncles and also upon his father's farm. He afterward spent two years as a law student in the office of Judge W. T. Wells at Monticello, Arkansas, and was there admitted to the bar in 1879. He came to Bastrop county, Texas, in that winter and taught school for two terms at Red Rock. While in Bastrop county he was granted a license to practice at the Texas bar and in the summer of 1881 he came to East- land, where he entered the office of Judge T. H. Connor, with whom he remained until February, 1882. He then came to Nolan county and soon afterward was appointed county attorney to fill out the unexpired term of F. G. Thurmond, who resigned, and later was elected to the same office in 1882, serving for the full term of two years. In 1884 he was a candidate for county judge but
was defeated by J. W. Germany. While he has not since been a candidate for office, he was ap- pointed once and was elected once to the position of county surveyor of Nolan county, and during the illness of Judge Kennedy, who was then upon tÌie district bench, Mr. Ragland served for two terms of court as district judge. Upon the death of Judge Kennedy, Mr. Ragland and James L. Sheppard were both applicants for appointment to the district bench to fill out the unexpired term and the endorsements of the two men were so equally divided that it was difficult to make a choice, so that as a result W. R. Smith, who was not a' candidate, was appointed as a compromise measure by Governor Culberson.
Since that time Mr. Ragland has not been ac- tive in politics but has given undivided attention to the practice of law and to his landed interests. For, the past seven or eight years he has grad- ually drifted away from the legal profession and devoted his energies to real estate dealing, in which he has met with good success. In 1884-85 he was a law partner of J. F. Eidson and on the Ist of January, 1886, he and Judge J. H. Beall entered into partnership under the firm style of Ragland & Beall, this association being main- tained until the junior partner was elected county judge in 1892, when the firm dissolved. Mr. Ragland was then alone in his law practice until the present firm of Ragland & Crane was formed in March, 1902, the junior partner being R. C. Crane.
On the 21st of October, 1892, Mr. Ragland was married to Miss Luella Maddox of Sweet- water, a daughter of Warren Maddox of Emin- ence, Kentucky. They have three children : Gussie Allene, born May 30, 1893; Carl M., born in 1896; and Preston M., in 1899. Mr. Rag- land is a member of the Masonic fraternity and has taken all of the degrees up to and including that of Knight Templar. He belongs to Abilene Commandery, K. T., and to Hella Temple of the Mystic Shrine at Dallas. He is an Odd Fel- low, while his religious faith is indicated by his membership in the Christian church. Mr. Rag- land is uniformly recognized as one of the able lawyers of Western Texas. He is a man of strong purpose, of undaunted courage, of great
406
HISTORY OF NORTH AND WEST TEXAS.
strength of character and keen foresight, qualities which have been manifest in his law practice, and in his other business interests, and which have also characterized his citizenship, making him one of the valued and representative men of this part of the state.
GEORGE W. POWELL. The gentleman whose name introduces this article has been identified with the domestic affairs of Monta- gue county for nearly thirty years and his pas- sage from a youth in humble circumstances to a conspicuous station in the affairs of men in his municipality at the meridian of life renders his career an interesting one and prompts the preservation of his record to the generations of the future.
Meade county, Kentucky, was the birthplace of George W. Powell and his natal day April 25, 1860. William S. Powell, his father, grew up in Virginia, where he was born. He was married in Kentucky, having settled in that state a few years prior to the war. He served out his enlistment in the Federal army during the Rebellion and passed his life on the farm. He came to Texas with his family in 1876 and located upon a new farm just south of Forest-' burg, in which vicinity he remained until 1888, when he came to Sunset, where he died in 1890, at the age of seventy-five years. He married a Kentucky lady, Eleanor E. Webb, who is a venerable resident of Sunset and is the mother of the following children-John H., of Stamps, Arkansas; Peter A. and Luther C., of Fessen- thal, Arkansas; George W., of this notice; and William C., of Childress, Texas.
A public school education was acquired by George W. Powell while in his minority and when he began his independent career in Mon- tague county he felt the embarrassment of a degree of poverty to which he was subjected After tenanting a few years he located on his father's tract of Hunt county school land, buil him a fourteen by fourteen log cabin on it and called it his first permanent home. He won a degree of prosperity from year to year and after · few years on his father's farm he engaged in trading in the horse and cattle business and followed that until 1890, when he established
himself in Sunset and engaged as a clerk witlı the mercantile firm of W. A. Nuckolls for two years, then buying out W. C. Stripling at Sun- set in 1890. George W. Powell and Brother was the style of the firm until 1901, when P. A. Powell, the brother, retired and the business has since been the property of the subject of this sketch. His average stock of ten thousand dollars supplies his large and growing trade, and his building is one of the best in Sunset. Merchandising seems his natural bent and the numerous auxiliaries which he has encouraged to enrich the profits of the store have placed him among the independent and substantial men of his community. He owns a farm of two hundred acres, the bed of old Yonkepin lake, one of the richest and most desirable tracts in the county.
On the 16th of October, 1890, Mr. Powell married Miss Mollie E. Boone, a daughter of the late Joseph L. Boone. Mr. Boone came to Texas from Marion, Indiana, as an early set- tler, was married, and both died, with Mrs. Powell an only surviving heir. Mr. and Mrs. Powell's children are: Eunice, Eula, Fern, Char- ley and Maggie.
While Mr. Powell has had little to do with the practical politics of Montague county he has ever felt his responsibility as a citizen and his faith in state Democracy has ever been maintained. His attitude toward worthy ob- jects or enterprises has been that of liberality, and like all worthy and representative citizens, he has unconsciously wielded a power for vir- tue, morality and uprightness in his commun- ity.
C. P. WOODRUFF, numbered among the leading representatives of the legal profession in Nolan county and also enrolled with the early settlers of the state, deserves prominent and hon- orable mention in this volume as a representative Texan. He comes of South Carolina ancestry. His paternal grandfather, Amos Woodruff, and his father, Thomas P. Woodruff, were both na- tives of the empire state of the south. The latter was born in Spartanburg district, South Carolina, and in 1867 came to Texas, settling in Lamar county. For a number of years he was con-
407
HISTORY OF NORTH AND WEST TEXAS.
sidered one of the foremost representatives of agricultural interests there. During the period of the Civil war he was living in Mississippi and enlisted for service in the Confederate army, with which he continued throughout the period of hostilities. He removed from Texas to Rogers, Benton county, Arkansas, about 1898, and there made his home up to the time of his death, which occurred in March, 1904, when he was seventy years of age. His wife, who bore the maiden name of Elizabeth Leatherwood, and was a native of Missisippi, died in 1902. She was the mother of nine children, five sons and four daughters, who reached adult age, and of this number three sons and four daughters are now living.
Charles Pinckney Woodruff, whose name in- troduces this review, was born in Winston county, Mississippi, January 19, 1858, and was a lad of nine summers, when, in 1867, he accom- panied his parents on their removal to Texas, the family home being established in Lamar county, where they remained until December, 1868, and then settled in Travis county. They were there during the great flood which swept over that sec- tion of the state. In August, 1869, they removed from Travis to Lamar county and the father rented land near the little village of Roxton. Charles P. Woodruff remained upon the home farm until nineteen years of age, working with his father. His educational advantages were somewhat limited, owing to the unorganized sys- tem of public instruction at that time, and when not at work his favorite recreation was hunting with dog and gun. He had ample opportunity to indulge his love of that sport, for deer and turkeys were plentiful. He was likewise a lover of good hounds and took great delight in the sport which yet has strong attraction for him. In the fall of 1877 he attended the Aikin Institute of Paris, Texas, where he remained as a student for three years. In 1880-81 he taught school in Delta county and during that period devoted his evening hours to reading law. He was admitted to the bar in Delta county in 1881, and in the following year was elected county attorney, ser- ving for one term. In 1884 he removed to Jones county and was engaged in active practice at
Anson, the county seat, until 1895. In 1888 he was elected county judge of Jones county, and in 1893 was appointed district judge of the thirty- ninth judicial district of Texas by Governor Hogg, to fill out the unexpired term of Judge J. V: Cockrell upon the election of the latter to Congress. He served through the remainder of the term of two years and in 1895 came to Nolan county, where he has since been actively engaged in the practice of his chosen profession. At the bar where advancement depends upon individual merit and results from the correct application of legal principles to the points in litigation, Judge Woodruff has won distinction. He has a thorough and comprehensive knowledge of the principles of law and is regarded as one of the best criminal lawyers in Western Texas. In the conduct of criminal cases he displays the ability of thinking quickly and taking advantage of every opportunity that is presented. He is strong in the cross-examination of witnesses and a false statement made upon the stand never escapes his attention. He is at the same time deferential to the witness and the court and fully sustains the dignity and majesty of the law. In argument he is strong and forceful and never fails to make a deep impression upon his auditors, while sel- dom failing to win the verdict desired.
On the 5th of July, 1886, was celebrated the marriage of Judge Woodruff and Miss Lula Cockrell, a daughter of Judge J. V. Cockrell. She was educated in the college at Sherman, Texas, and was a lady of excellent literary attain- ments and superior culture, and she proved of great assistance to her husband in the discharge of his professional duties and his wise counselor at all times. She passed away June 28, 1903, leaving two children, Bardeman and Jane Wood- ruff.
Judge Woodruff possesses prominence at the bar, in marked contrast to his environment in his early youth. When a boy he worked at picking cotton and splitting rails in order to earn money enough to pay his way through school. He never cared much for the pleasures that delight many youths, but found his chief source of joy in nature and made frequent and extended expeditions after wolves and other wild game, greatly enjoy-
408
HISTORY OF NORTH AND WEST TEXAS.
ing the chase and also the communion with nature in its various forms, thus strengthening his mind with an understanding and appreciation of all the beauty, form and coloring that nature dis- plays. Such a course cannot fail to influence for good any mind and his later years bear the impress of its early training. He is today fear- less in defense of his honest convictions, out- spoken in support of any measure or movement which he believes to be right and while accord- ing to others the right to their personal views he maintains the same privilege for himself. He is honored and respected in every class of society and most of all where he is best known.
JOHN LODEMAN ELBERT. In the best development of Hardeman county John L. El- bert has borne an important part at Quanah in the real estate business. He was born in Fay- ette county, Kentucky, six miles from Lexing -. ton, April 5, 1853, his parents being J. L. and Fredrica (Jacoby) Elbert, also natives of that commonwealth. In his early life the father was engaged in agricultural pursuits, but when his son John was about five years of age the family removed to Lexington, and there he was en- gaged in business until his death, in 1865, his widow surviving until 1899, when she died at the age of eighty-four years.
In the public schools of Lexington John Lodeman Elbert received his early mental training, this being supplemented by study in the Kentucky Wesleyan University at Millers- burg. In 1877 he came to the Lone Star state, at which time he took up his abode in the coast country, in Victoria county, where he remained for a year, the following year being spent in Dallas county, and at the expiration of that period returned to Kentucky. There he en- gaged in work for Rosser & Dickey, railroad contractors, as timekceper during their con- struction of the Kentucky Central Railroad from Paris to Roundstone Sink. He was later engaged with the same firm in Pennsylvania, being their timekeeper during the construction of a railroad tunnel through the Tuscarora mountains for the Southern Pennsylvania Railroad Company. In 1885 Mr. Elbert again
came to this state, locating in the new county of Hardeman, there remaining until the fall of 1886, when he moved temporarily to Vernon, in the adjoining county of Wilbarger, where he secured the position of deputy postmaster. Later he became cashier in Wood & Company's private bank, was next engaged in the real estate business there for a short time, and then returned to Quanah, this being in 1889. On his arrival he first formed a partnership with W. E. Johnson, well known here as a merchant and business man, and the firm of Johnson & Elbert platted and placed on the market the Johnson & Elbert addition to the city of Quanah. Later Mr. Johnson's interest in the firm was bought by G. W. Schrader, who in time was bought out by Mr. Elbert, the latter having since con- tinued the business individually as the J. L. Elbert Real Estate Agency. This agency is prominent and well known over the entire northwestern Texas, has been the means of bringing a great many people to Quanah and surrounding country, and Mr. Elbert has spent large sums of money in maps, literature and illustrations of an attractive sort which have been spread broadcast over the country. He has been honored with the highest office within the power of his fellow citizens to bestow, for in 1901 he was elected mayor of Quanah, and with such ability did he perform the official duties connected therewith that he received a re-elec- tion in the spring of 1903 against his own pro- test. He is director of the Oklahoma City & Texas Railroad, the technical name for the- seven miles of road from Quanah to the Red river and which is a part of the 'Frisco system, the first train over these tracks arriving in Quanah March 29, 1903. He took a very active part in the building of the road to this city, having gone to Oklahoma City to submit the proposition to the promoter which resulted in the road coming to Quanah, the deal being closed in the autumn of 1902, after which he returned home and, as the active member of a subsidy committee of three, solicited subscrip- tions to a bonus, thus raising over forty thou- sand dollars for that purpose, also handled the funds and kept the books, this requiring of Mr.
Waralbert
R.C. Orane
409
HISTORY OF NORTH AND WEST TEXAS.
Elbert a large amount of work, but all was dis- from Margaret to Quanah, was secretary of the charged with systematic skill and accuracy. . Commercial Club for thirteen years without In 1895 he successfully carried out what was compensation, was an officer of the Hardeman County Fair Association during the seven years of its existence, for six years of which period he was its president and the last year its treas- urer, and Elbert street in this city was named in his honor; he was a chain carrier in the laying out of the city. He entertained, as mayor of Quanah in 1901, the party. of prominent New Yorkers (Commercial Club members), who toured the state of Texas with a view of inform- ing themselves on the business possibilities of the state. Thus it will be seen that Mr. Elbert has labored energetically and effectively for the public good of his chosen county, and is ac- corded that recognition which is justly due the public-spirited and progressive citizen. known as the "wheat deal," a plan originated by the citizens of Quanah to raise funds to loan farmers for the purpose of sowing wheat, it having been demonstrated that fine wheat crops could be raised in Hardeman county, and it was the object of this plan to encourage the farmers to embark in this industry extensively. A large amount of money was raised for this purpose, resulting in making this the banner wheat county. He was also the custodian of this fund. He was prominent among those who raised sixteen thousand dollars to build a wagon bridge across Red river, connecting Hardeman with Greer county, now a part of Oklahoma, for the purpose of strengthening Quanah's position as a trading point. The In August, 1889, at Vernon, he was united in marriage to Miss Rosalee Brown, who up to that time had held an important position in the public schools of Fort Worth as a teacher. Her family are from Shelby county, Kentucky. Four children have been born of this marriage : Milton B., Fred J., John L., Jr., and Rosalee. Mrs. Elbert is a member of the Baptist church. Mr. Elbert affiliates with the Knights of Pyth- ias fraternity, being past chancellor of the local lodge, and in the Grand Lodge of the state served three years as chairman of the com- mittee on Fraternal Review, and also filled the position of recorder of the Grand Tribunal and other positions in the Grand Lodge. bridge was built in 1891, but unfortunately was washed away by a flood within ninety days after its completion. In speaking of this enter- prise Mr. Elbert frequently styles it his day dream of development, and this endeavor he considers the crowning effort of his life. Prom- inent citizens, in speaking of him and his ser- vices in behalf of the city, frequently state that had his valuable public-spirited service been adequately paid for he would now have money in abundance. Mr. Elbert after much arduous preliminary work, which he began in the latter part of 1903 for the purpose of irrigation de- velopment, succeeded in interesting such well known capitalists, developers and typical Tex- ans, as Hon. Cecil A. Lyon, of Sherman, and R. C. CRANE, a member of the law firm of Ragland & Crane and a prominent practitioner at the bar of Sweetwater and Western Texas, traces his ancestry back in direct line to Jasper Crane, who was one of the original settlers of tlte New Haven colony of Connecticut on the 4th of June 1639. He is supposed to have crossed the Atlantic from England with Winthrop in the ship Arabella. He was associated with Captain Robert Treat of Charter Oak fame in the estab- lishment and successful conduct of the affairs of the young colony of New Haven and was a sur- veyor and merchant as well as a magistrate. In connection with Mr. Myles he laid out most of the New Haven town plot, located grants, estab- J. S. and W. M. Rice, of Houston, who, upon Mr. Elbert's representation, examined the beau- tiful Creek valley. Here was located, by Mr. Elbert through the civil engineer, J. W. Field, the present location of the dam and reservoir of what is now known as the Hardeman County Irrigation Company. Work on this great un- dertaking was begun February 10, 1905, and the dam was completed in October of the same year. It is six thousand feet long, making it one of the largest private enterprises of its kind in the state. The reservoir covers eight hundred acres and will irrigate five thousand acres of land. Mr. Elbert was active in the county seat fight which resulted in its removal
410
HISTORY OF NORTH AND WEST TEXAS.
lished boundary lines and settled disputed titles. He subsequently became one of the first settlers of Newark, New Jersey, and in connection with Robert Treat formerly mentioned, he was one of the first magistrates of Newark, serving in that office about 1667. One of his sons married a daughter of Robert Treat, who afterward re- turned to Connecticut and became governor of that colony and won lasting fame in connection with the hiding of the colony's charter in the famous old oak. It was of the marriage of the son of Jasper Crane and the daughter of Robert Treat that the ancestry of our subject came.
His great-grandfather was an armorer at New York during the period of the Revolutionary war. His grandfather removed from Newark, New Jersey, to Richmond, Virginia, about 1812 and there subsequently established one of the leading hide and leather business enterprises of that period.
It was at Richmond, Virginia, that William Carey Crane, father of our subject, was born and reared. Having arrived at years of maturity he married Kate Sheppard, whose father came from Scotland when a youth of sixteen years and settled in Northumberland county, Virginia, where he married Rachel Moore, a daughter of Colonel James Moore, who was a major in the Revolutionary army under General Washington. Colonel Moore's wife bore the maiden name of Sally Delaney and was a daughter of Sharp De- laney, who served as first collector at the port of Philadelphia under the American government.
William Carey Crane was a graduate of Ham- ilton Theological Seminary (now Colgate University) at Hamilton, New York, and also Columbia College, Washington, D. C., and became a Baptist minister. After serv- ing in various pastorates at Montgomery, Alabama, Columbus, Mississippi, and Yazoo City, Mississippi, and acting as the head of various institutions of learning, he was induced to come to Texas in 1863 to accept the presidency of Baylor University, then located at Independence. He continued as president of the institution up to the time of his death, which oc- curred in 1885. He was one of the distinguished educators of the state. He was repeatedly called
to the presidency of the State Teachers' Asso- ciation and several times was president of the Texas Baptist State Convention. At the request of Mrs. Samuel Houston he wrote the life of her distinguished husband, which was published in 1884. Dr. Crane was one of the well known resi- dents of this commonwealth, honored by all, and he left the impress of his individuality for good upon the public life, thought and action of Texas. In the family of William Carey Crane there were eight children, six sons and two daughters, who reached adult age. W. C. Crane, Jr., the eldest, is engaged in the cotton business at Houston, Texas. Mrs. A. C. Bondies, now deceased, was a resident of Galveston, Texas; Colonel Charles J. Crane of the United States army has been in command in the district of Porto Rico for the past two years and is the senior Texan in the United States army. Gordon S. is engaged in the insurance and real estate business at Checo- tah, Indian Territory. Balfour D. is conducting a wholesale grocery house in Fort Smith, Arkansas. J. T. Crane is cashier of the First National Bank at Eufaula, Indian Territory. Royston C. is the next of the family. Mrs. Hallie B. Rippetoe is the wife of John A. Rippetoe, a druggist of Dallas, Texas.
Royston Campbell Crane, whose name intro- duces this record, was born February 16, 1864, at Independence, Texas, where he was reared and acquired his education. He completed the course which won him the Bachelor of Philosophy de- gree at Baylor University in 1884 and pursued a two years' law course in the state university at Austin, completing his study there in 1886 under the late ex-Governor Roberts and Judge Gould, both of whom had served on the supreme bench of the state and were teachers in the law depart- ment of the university. In June, 1886, success- fully passing an examination before the supreme court, Mr. Crane was admitted to the bar and in August of the same year located at Roby, the county seat of Fisher county. In the fall of 1886 he was elected county attorney of that coun- ty and served for two years, on the expiration of which period he declined a renomination. Short- ly thereafter, Fisher county being without a newspaper, he was induced to establish the first
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.