A twentieth century history and biographical record of north and west Texas, Volume I, Part 74

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 74

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He was only eighteen years of age when the war ended and there is no record of any younger soldier who was regularly enlisted in the serv- ice. In April, 1866, he went to Missouri and after a brief period spent at St. Louis he vis- ited relatives in Huntsville, Randolph county.

There he also remained for only a short time, after which he came to Texas, going first to Galveston and later to Austin. From the lat- ter city he started overland to California with a company of about fifty men and a herd of cattle, but on account of the depradations of the Indians the cattle were driven to Abilene, Kansas, and sold, and the party was scattered and the trip abandoned. Captain White then went to Fort Dodge, later Dodge City, Kan- sas, where he remained for a time and in con- nection with a company engaged in trading with the Indians. While there he also acted as scout in western Kansas under General Sheridan. Coming again to Texas he was for a time, early in 1869, forage agent for the noted Ben Ficklin Stage Company, his duties being in connection with the stage line from Fort Concho to Fort Quitman in Western Texas.

On the Ioth of May, 1869, Captain White arrived in El Paso. After spending a year or so in the El Paso of that early date, he returned to the country in 1880, and is the oldest Amer- ican settler here with the exception of the gen- tlemen named above. The fort was then at Concordia in the neighborhood of where the city cemeteries are now located. About the time the railroad was built, in 1881, the town began to grow and entered upon a period of rapid and substantial development. Mr. White was elected sheriff and tax collector of El Paso county, being one of the old-time western sher- iffs, and he served in the dual capacity until 1892, when the office was divided. Later he was elected collector, and still later, under the administration of Mayor Hammett, he was made chief of police of the city and acted in that position for two years. For several years he has been more or less connected with the department of the mining industry in the coun- try tributary to El Paso-New Mexico, Arizona and Old Mexico. At the present writing he is connected with the tax and claim department of the El Paso & Southwestern Railway.

Captain White was married at Las Cruces, New Mexico, to Miss Barbara Dupper of that territory, and they have one son, James C.

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White. The life record of Captain White has

ing his plans in Mexico Mr. Aranda was hauling been an interesting and varied one. In his early .. cotton from San Antonio to Mexico. In 1865 youth he had an experience such as seldom fell to the lot of any individual by reason of his active service with the Signal Corps in the Civil war. Going to the frontier of the west he there encountered dangers and difficulties,

and he has been a factor in the history of El : Indians, who were very troublesome through Paso from the primitive past to the progressive . Western Texas in those days, constantly menac- present.

HON. MAXIMO ARANDA was born in San Elizario in the home where he is still living, in 1845, and is today one of the historic characters of the county and his name is inseparably inter- woven with the annals of this section of the state. He is a representative of a prominent Mexican family, his father, Ygnacio Aranda, having been born in the state of Chihuahua, but at a very early day be located at San Elizario, in what is now El Paso county, Texas.

In 1855 Maximo Aranda, although but a young child, was sent to San Antonio to attend St. Mary's College, where he remained until 1857. He then returned home and soon after- ward went to El Paso, where he was engaged in clerking in the store of Henry and John Gillett from 1857 until 1862. That was the first mer- cantile establishment in what is now the city of El Paso, which was then merely a stopping place for the stage and freight lines, there being no town and few settlers outside of the small Mexi- can towns, for hundreds of miles. Merchandise for the store was hauled at enormous expense by "bull freight" from St. Louis, and as an example of the prices of goods in those days Mr. Aranda recalls selling coffee for a dollar and a half per pound, calico at seventy-five cents per yard, thread at thirty cents a spool and other things in proportion. It should also be remembered in connection with this period of his life that he it was who hauled the ten million dollars in Con- federate money from Eagle Pass to San Antonio in the year 1864.

In 1862 Mr. Aranda returned to San Antonio and carried on business there and in Mexico. At the time that the Emperor Maximilian was lay-

he returned to San Elizario and became the can- didate for representative to the state legislature from El Paso county, but could not take his seat in that body from the somewhat remarkable fact that he could not get to Austin on account of the

ing life and property. It was also in 1866 that Mr. Aranda was appointed deputy collector of customs for the Paso del Norte district by Col- lector W. W. Mills, a brother of General Anson Mills, both of whom were prominent in the early history of El Paso. Mr. Aranda also served in that capacity under Collectors Tibbetts and Col- well and was connected with the customs depart- ment in connection with the public office for sev- enteen years. In various positions of political preferment he has displayed excellent ability, dis- charging his duties with promptness and fidelity that have won him high commendation. He was county judge of El Paso county at the time Judge Clark was killed in El Paso, December 7, 1870. He also took a prominent part in the events which are famous under the name of the Salt Lake war in this county in 1877, in which several persons were killed. As justice of the peace at San Ciizario, in which capacity he has served for many years, it was his necessary cus- tom to preside with two six-shooters on the bench, one at each hand. Mr. Aranda has also acted as school trustee for many years and in numerous ways has been a leading figure in pub- · lic life through almost a half century. He has always been found to conduct successfully pros- perous business enterprises as a farmer and mer- chant, being connected with interests of that character in San Elizario.

On the Ioth of January, 1867, Mr. Aranda was married to Miss Alejandra Alvillar, and they be- came the parents of thirteen children, to all of whom he has given a good English education. His eldest son, C. Aranda, is now serving as dep- uty grand clerk of El Paso county. Mr. Aranda has always been a stanch Republican and his in- fluence in political circles has been far-reaching

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HISTORY OF NORTH AND WEST TEXAS.

and beneficial. As the years passed by he care- fully controlled his interests, winning therefrom a gratifying competence, and some years ago he retired from active farming and merchandising and now attends to no active duties except those of his public offices of justice of the peace and school trustee.

THOMAS C. HALE represents one of the early families of Texas and now makes his home near Saint Jo, where he is numbered among the leading and influential citizens. He was born in Middle Tennessee, July 31, 1833, and is a son of Wilson and Nancy A. (Crutcher) Hale, both of whom were natives of Virginia. They were married, however, in Tennessee and were of Scotch-Irish descent. The maternal grandfather of our subject was Thomas Crutcher, also a na- tive of Virginia, who in pioneer days removed to Tennessee, where he became a prominent and popular planter. In 1837 he removed west- ward to Texas, settling in Bowie county, where he was elected and served for a number of years as county clerk. Subse- quently he returned to Mississippi, where his remaining days were passed. He served his country in the war of 1812 and was a man of good business ability, strong mental en- dowments and genuine worth. His wife died in Tennessee, but his children all died in Texas, save one, who passed away in Mississippi. These were: Margaret, the wife of William Sanders ; Elizabeth, the wife of W. H. Moore; Mrs. Su- sanna Baker; Mrs. Paulina McWhorter; Mrs. Anne Hale, and William. It was Mrs. Sanders who remained a resident of Mississippi.

Following his marriage, which occurred in Tennessee, Wilson Hale settled upon a farm there and was meeting with a gratifying measure of prosperity when he became ill and passed away in the prime of life. He had served as a soldier in the Seminole war and was an enterprising and public-spirited citizen, highly respected for his genuine worth. His widow afterward ac- companied her father on the removal to Texas and established her young family in the Lone Star state, believing that better opportunities

might be enjoyed here. She secured a claim, developed a farm and kept her children together, rearing them to positions of respectability. For some time she remained in Bowie county but ultimately exchanged that farm for land in Hill county. After sending three of her children to school she broke up housekeeping and went to Weatherford, making her home with a married daughter until she passed away in 1877 at a ripe old age. She was a consistent and devoted mem- ber of the Methodist church. In the family were five children: Catherine, who became the wife of William Lane; Eliza, who married Wil- liam Schockley; Harriet, the wife of J. Prince; Thomas C .; and James W., who at one time was a merchant in Jefferson, Texas, and later in Weatherford, but is now following farming in Parker county, this state.

Thomas C. Hale was reared in his mother's home and was educated by her. He remained with her as long as she kept house and then en- tered upon a four years' course in school, meeting the expenses of his tuition by his own labor. He performed the work assigned him, but acquired little education. Later he was apprenticed to the saddlers' trade in Mckinney, and after two years he established a shop of his own at Sherman, conducting it for a year. He next went to Fan- nin county and there rented a farm for two years, subsequent to which time he located in Honey Grove and resumed work at his trade, being thus employed until 1861. He then began work at a government contractor's shop, but later the entire plant was turned over to the Confederacy and he continued therein until the close of the war, under supervision of Henry E. McCullom, at Bonham.

When the war was over Mr. Hale returned to his old home, but after a short time again opened a shop at Honey Grove, where he conducted business with gratifying success for twenty years. In 1883 he arrived in Montague county and bought the old historic farm which had been developed by Dr. Gordon. On this place he has since remained. It is situated at the head of Farmer's Creek and is surrounded by picturesque mountains, constituting most beautiful scenery.

MR. AND MRS. THOMAS C. HALE

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HISTORY OF NORTH AND WEST TEXAS.

The land of the valley is very rich alluvial soil and his farm has been made productive through the care and labor bestowed upon it. Here he has erected a commodious and attractive resi- dence, which stands on a natural building site, commanding an excellent view of the surround- ing country. He has also built a number of sheds and other outbuildings and he uses the original Dr. Gordon house for a barn. At one. time it was the most spacious home in this part of the county, being a double log cabin with wide en- trance between the cabins, and it makes an ex- cellent barn. Mr. Hale has cleared and added to his cultivable land until he is now operating one hundred acres, from which he gathers rich crops. His home is pleasantly located four miles northwest of Saint Jo, and all of the modern equipments are found upon this place. He has planted an orchard, has secured the latest im- proved machinery to facilitate the work of the fields and also raises some stock.

Mr. Hale was united in marriage to Miss Frances Cagle, who was born in Arkansas in 1839, her parents being Martin G. and Susan (Barkley) Cagle. Her father was a .native of Tennessee and an early settler of Arkansas. For a number of years he operated a ferry boat and warehouse at Fulton, Arkansas, and subsequently removed to Lamar, Texas, where he developed a good farm. A number of years later he sold that property and took up his abode in Fannin county, where he purchased a fine tract of land, on which he made his home until his death. He was a leading member of the Methodist church, served as a local minister for many years and lived the life of a devoted, upright Christian gen- tleman. His political allegiance was given the Democracy. His business affairs were so capa- bly and energetically managed that he acquired a competence for old age and at all times he en- joyed the respect and esteem of his fellow men by reason of his upright business methods. His wife was a daughter of Robert Barkley, a farmer of Tennessee, who removed to Arkansas, and was killed in the Mexican war. He died in the faith of the Methodist church, of which he had long been a member. In the Barkley family

were: John, Richard and three others whose . names are forgotten. To Mr. and Mrs. Cagle were born eight children: Frances, who is now Mrs. Hale; Robert; Edward; Martha, who died in childhood; John; Martin; Susan, de- ceased ; and Mary, tlie wife of R. Russell.

Mr. and Mrs. Hale have four children : Martha F., the wife of W. M. Smith; Julia, the wife of .William H. Piner; Robert, who died and left one child ; and Thomas, who is operating the old home farm. He married Irene. McDonald and has four children : J. Robert, Henry, Lizzie and Ethel B. Politically Mr. Hale was formerly a Democrat, but is now independent with socialistic views. Both he and his wife are members of the Methodist church and are widely known in the community because of their genuine worth. In all life's relations Mr. Hale has been true to the duties and obligations that have devolved upon him and in business circles has made an untar- nished record.

COLONEL JOSEPH FRANCIS BEN- NETT, who died in the City of Mexico, July 8, 1904, was one of the best known and highly esteemed men in the southwest. The experiences of the pioneer, the miner, soldier and public offi- cial combined to make his life record, and few personal histories can equal in interest, romantic incidents and adventure that of Colonel Bennett.

He was born in Putnam county, New York, on the IIth of November, 1830, and completed his education by graduation from Milville Acad- emy in Orleans county, New York. In 1849 he went with his parents to Janesville, Wisconsin, and in 1858 by way of the isthmus of Panama went to California and to British Columbia in search of gold. He was upon the Pacific coast when in June, 1861, in response to President Lincoln's call for five thousand troops from Cal- ifornia he offered his services to the government. He was at that time in San Francisco and going up into the mountains among his old mining as- sociates he organized a company and largely at his own expense brought them to the Presidio at San Francisco. These troops became Company G of the First California Infantry and Mr. Ben-

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HISTORY OF NORTH AND WEST TEXAS.

nett was mustered in as sergeant. In the winter of 1861 he was sergeant-major of the regiment and in April, 1862, he was commissioned second lieutenant of Company I, by Governor Leland Stanford of California, and assigned by General James H. Carleton to the position of assistant adjutant general of the California column, which moved westward to drive back the Confederate troops which had come up the Rio Grande from Texas under General Baylor. The headquarters of the California column were established at. Santa Fe. Upon the recommendation of Gen- eral Carleton and General West, Joseph Francis Bennett was commissioned captain and assistant adjutant general of United States Volunteers by President Lincoln and was assigned to duty on the staff of General West as adjutant general of the district of Arizona. In August, 1863, he made his famous ride on the Journada del Muerto ("journey of death"), covering one hundred and ninety miles in thirty-seven consecutive hours, accompanied by but one man, "Cherokee Bob," recovering and bringing to district headquarters the remnants of the military mail, for the stage coach which carried the mail had been attacked but a few hours ahead of them by a band of ren- egade Apaches, and the mail and other articles thrown from the coach to enable the occupants to make their escape. He participated in many of the Indian battles against the Apaches in New Mexico, Arizona and Western Texas in 1862 and 1863. In February, 1864, under orders from the Secretary of War, he reported for duty to General W. S. Rosecrans, of the department of Missouri, headquarters at St. Louis, and partici- pated in the Price campaign and invasion of Missouri in the autumn of that year. He was twice brevetted as major and as lieutenant col- onel for "gallant and meritorious service." Early in March, 1865, Colonel Bennett was sent into Arkansas by General Grenville M. Dodge to of- fer terms of surrender to General M. Jeff Thompson, in charge of the Confederate forces there, and from him Colonel Bennett received the surrender and paroling of nine thousand men. In the following summer and fall he accompan-

ied General Dodge in a campaign against the Indians in the northwest, at the time of the com- bined uprising of nearly all tribes west of the Missouri river. Refusing a commission as ma- jor in the regular army, he was mustered out in El Paso in June, 1866. Colonel Bennett came of an ancestry noted for bravery and loyalty. His grandfather, John Bennett, was a captain of the Revolutionary army and was one of five brothers who fought through the Revolution and aided in winning independence for the nation.

After leaving the army Colonel Bennett en- gaged in mining and merchandising at La Me- silla, New Mexico, and became owner and man- ager of the overland mail and express line, run- ning from Santa Fe to Silver City, El Paso, Tuc- son and other points in Arizona. By appoint- ment of General Grant he served as consul at Chihuahua. He was also probate clerk of his county and later judge of the probate, clerk of the United States district court, commissioner of the court of claims, United States commissioner, Indian Agent of the Mescalero Apache Indians and was elected a member of the legislative coun- cil of New Mexico in 1871-1872, and introduced and had passed in that body the first public school law in the territory. He was one of the founders and builders of the now beautiful town of Silver City, the county seat of Grant county, where he lived for several years, and he was the original discoverer and locator of the famous Bennett silver mine in the Organ mountains of New Mexico. He was also at one time one of the owners of the Longfellow group of copper mines at Clifton, Arizona, and in El Paso was one of the organizers and at one time president of the El Paso Transfer Company, while in other ways he was closely associated with the early development and the history of this city. The last public office that he held was that of Vice Consul General at the City of Mexico, and after retiring from the position he continued to make his home there until his death. He was a man of strong, forceful intellectuality who left the impress of his character upon every com- munity with which he was connected, and his

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HISTORY OF NORTH AND WEST TEXAS.

capability, broad mind and public spirit made him a leader in military, political and business cir- cles.

Colonel Bennett was married in Las Cruces on the 14th of February, 1864, to Miss Lola Pat- ton, of Mesilla, and they had a family of seven children, five sons and two daughters, all of whom are still living, namely: Harry, John, Courtland O., Joseph F., H. F., Mrs. Alfred Main and Mrs. 'Rosalind Canseco, the last named the wife of the secretary of the Mexican Boundary Commission. The mother, Mrs. Lola Bennett, still lives in Mexico City, making her home with her son Harry.

Hilario F. Bennett, attorney at law and translator, of El Paso, is a native of the old town of Mesilla, New Mexico, and son of Col. Joseph F. and Lola ( Patton) Bennett. He ac- quired his literary education in the schools of Mesilla, Silver City and Las Cruces and at a col- lege in Atchison, Kansas, and as a preparation for his chosen profession he studied in the law department of Georgetown College at Washing- ton, D. C., from which institution he was grad- uated with the class of 1895. Among other mem- bers of the class who have attained distinction was George B. Cortelyou. Before entering upon the active practice of law in El Paso in 1899 Mr. Bennett held various public positions in New Mexico. He was deputy county clerk of Grant county, clerk of the Indian agency under his father and deputy district clerk of Dona Ana county, and with his earnings in those positions he met the expenses of his college course. After leaving Georgetown College he lived at Austin, Texas, for about a year and for a similar period in San Antonio, at the end of which time he be- came secretary to the consul general in the city of Mexico. He was also Spanish stenographer and translator in the auditing department of the Mex- ican Central Railroad Company and he resided in the Mexico capital until he entered upon the practice of law in El Paso in 1899. During his residence in the City of Mexico he was enabled through his thorough knowledge of Spanish to make a careful study of the laws of Mexico, which study he has continued up to the present

time, and he has today probably the best knowl- .edge of Mexican laws of any American lawyer in the Southwest. He has a liberal and distinc- tively representative clientage, indicative of his knowledge of the law and his correct application of its principles to the points in litigation, and in addition to his practice he is a translator of the Spanish language. A gentleman of broad, gen- eral culture, he has won the friendship and re- gard of many of the leading and able men of the Southwest and has made for himself a posi- tion of prominence in legal circles in this section of Texas.

ALBERT MARSHALL LOOMIS, deceased, was one of the early settlers and promoters of El Paso, whose name is inseparably interwoven with its history and is now found upon the roll of its honored dead. His activity touched many lines of progress and improvement here and was a stimulating influence in its material, intellectual and moral growth. Honesty and integrity as well as unfaltering enterprise and keen discern- ment, characterized all of his business and public connections and made him a man whom to know was to esteeni and honor.

Mr. Loomis was a native of Ashtabula, Ohio, born January 1, 1839. He went to California with his parents when twelve years of age, the family home being established in the mining country amid the mountains of Tuolumne county. As he grew to early manhood he lived in other portions of the state, notably San Francisco and in San Luis Obispo county. He was a young man of much ambition and at an early age began to engage in enterprises of importance connected with the development of California. He was the projector and builder of the waterworks system of San Luis Obispo. Moreover, he possessed a studious nature, and while devoting a part of his time to other interests he also acquired sufficient knowledge of law to secure his admission to prac- tice in the courts of the state. He never, how- ever, became an active member of the bar, using his knowledge simply in controlling his own business affairs. He was a far-seeing man, greatly interested in the future development of

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HISTORY OF NORTH AND WEST TEXAS.

the western country, its resources and possibili- ties with which he made himself perfectly famil- iar and in earlier years he advocated and pro- jected enterprises of development which have since been carried to fruition.

During the days of the construction of the Southern Pacific railroad eastward from Cali- fornia, Mr. Loomis decided that El Paso was a town that was destined to become, at some day, a large and important city because of the ad- vantage of its location. Accordingly, about the time of the completion of the railroad to El Paso in 1881, he came to this place, determined to make it his home and did all in his power to develop it as he believed it was possible to de- velop. His first enterprise here was the building of an ice manufacturing plant - the first one in the town and the object of much wonderment at the time. He later turned his attention to the real estate business, which, during the remainder of his life, was his chief pursuit, although he en- gaged at different times in various projects that were of benefit to the city, encouraging and pro- moting, often at large private expense, every enterprise tending to develop the town and sur- rounding country. He was one of the pioneer agitators of the Elephant-Butte irrigation project and was vice-president of the Rio Grande Dam & Irrigation Company - the company formed to develop the irrigation of the Rio Grande valley. The government, through fear of international complications with Mexico in utilizing the waters of the Rio Grande, stopped this project and in 1893 it was abandoned, although the work is now in course of being carried forward by the govern- ment in a manner similar to other enterprises of that character in other portions of the arid west under the irrigation acts passed by Congress at a recent date.

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A twentieth century history and biographical record of north and west Texas, Volume I, Part 74

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