A twentieth century history and biographical record of north and west Texas, Volume I, Part 91

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 91


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on commercial paper. In financial circles he is well known and he is now the vice-president and one of the directors of the Farmers & Merchants National Bank of Cleburne, which is capitalized for one hundred thousand dollars and has a sur- plus of fifty thousand dollars.


In 1873 Mr. Kennard was united in marriage to Miss Virginia Pinson, of Anderson county, Texas, a daughter of T. L. and R. A. Pinson, in whose family were three children: Lourissa E., the wife of G. F. Holmes; Virginia A., now Mrs. Kennard; and Nathan M. Mr. Pinson was twice married, his second union being with Mrs. Gamble, by whom he had two children : Ida, the wife of J. T. Wright; and J. J. Pinson. The marriage of Mr. and Mrs. Kennard has been blessed with five children: Larissa E., Marcus Earl, Sadie, Anthony Drew and Sterling Allen. The wife and mother died December 10, 1891, and Mr. Kennard has since wedded Miss Ola Holmes, the eldest daughter of Lourissa E. and G. L. Holmes. The children of this marriage are Ranald Reagan and Douglass Pinson, but the latter is deceased.


Mr. Kennard is recognized as a man of much activity in business, of keen discernment and laudable ambition, who, through the utilzation of opportunities has gained a position of promi- nence as a representative of agricultural and banking interests. He has so directed his labors as to win success and is justly numbered among the representative men of western Texas.


CAPTAIN J. H. WILLIAMS is the owner of a valuable farm of four hundred acres, much of which he rents and in his farming operations he has met with the success that results from close application. He was born in Fayette, Howard county, Missouri, in 1834, a son of John T. Williams, whose birth occurred in Virginia. The mother bore the maiden name of Sally Porter and was a native of Kentucky. Both parents have now passed away, Mr. Will- iams dying in Missouri in 1847, while his wife departed this life in California in 1870 at the age of seventy years. They were the parents of thirteen children, twelve of whom reached adult age, while six are yet living, as follows : Newton, a resident of Oregon ; Nancy E., who


is the widow of James M. Wilson and resides in Preston; Harriet, the wife of P. H. Russell, of California; Caroline, the wife of Jesse L. Cravens, of Fayetteville, Arkansas; J. H., of this review; and Joseph P., who is also living in Oregon. In early life the father removed to Missouri and there conducted a hotel up to the time of his death.


Captain Williams, whose name introduces this record, was a youth of thirteen years when he went from his native county to Jasper county, Missouri, where he was living at the time of the outbreak of the Civil war. Espous- ing the cause of the south he joined the Con- federate army in April, 1861 and was made captain and adjutant of a regiment under Gen- eral Price with the division of Missouri. In 1862 he joined the Confederate forces under General Hinman and was adjutant in Lewis' Missouri brigade with the rank of captain. He served throughout the entire period of hos- tilities and participated in many engagements, including the battles of Oak Hill and Car- thage, Missouri, Prairie Grove, Arkansas, Gin- ger Ferry on the Saline river in Arkansas, the battle of Mansfield, Louisiana, and many skir- mishes, but though often in the thickest of the fight he was never wounded nor taken pris- oner. When the war was over he returned to Howard county, Missouri, where he re- mained for a year, acting as a clerk during that period. He then came to Texas in 1867, settling first at Sherman, where he was en- gaged in merchandizing until 1869. In that year he came to Preston Bend, and engaged in farming and cotton raising. He has since been very successful in his business under- takings. He manifests keen discrimination and enterprise in his business affairs and his labors have brought him a measure of suc- cess. When he first took up his abode in this locality it was a typical frontier district, in which wild animals were frequently seen, while the Indians occasioned serious trouble to the settlers, committing many depredations in run- ning off stock and also rendering life to a large degree unsafe. Captain Williams, however, had no trouble with the red men.


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In 1898 the captain was married to Miss Belle Smith, a native of Alabama. He is one of the public spirited men of his district, enjoy- ing the confidence and trust of his fellow citi- zens and is accounted one of the representa- tive residents of Preston. He belongs to the Masonic order, to the Fraternal Union of America, and in these organizations as well as in social and business relations is held in the highest esteem by all with whom he comes in contact.


JOHN CALDWELL, of El Paso, is a native of Newberry, South Carolina, and a son of George W. Caldwell, who was also born in that state, and was of Scotch lineage, tracing the line backward to ancestors who were related to Oliver Cromwell. When seventeen years of age John Caldwell left home and went to Shreve- port, Louisiana, where he took up his abode in 1853. He continued a resident of Shreveport for over forty years, or until 1895, with the ex. ception of about nine months spent in Jefferson, Texas, in 1854. He was a successful and pros- perous citizen of Shreveport, where he engaged in the cattle, livery, hotel, and stage contracts and planting business, owning extensive inter- ests in that city and vicinity. In all of his busi- ness affairs he displayed careful management and keen discrimination, which, combined with his unabating energy, brought him a creditable measure of success.


At the time of the Civil war, however, Mr. Caldwell put aside all business and personal considerations and served throughout the period of hostilities with the Trans-Mississippi depart- ment in Denison's Louisiana cavalry. He was in active service in Louisiana, Arkansas and Missouri, being ordered to the last-named state for his first service at the beginning of hostili- ties, and was wounded at the battle of Oak Hill, the first engagement of the war in that county. Later he was in many other battles and skir- mishes, including the engagements of Pine Bluff, Helena, Arkansas Post, Poison Springs and Prairie de Anne, where he was again seri- ously wounded by a sabre thrust. Subsequently,


being partially disabled, he was assigned to the ยท quartermaster's department and was engaged in that service with the train of supplies between Mexico and San Antonia, when the war closed.


Leaving Shreveport in 1895, Mr. Caldwell re- moved to El Paso, Texas, where he has since made his home. He has for some time been president of the International Stock Yards & Stable Company, conducting a livery, feed, live- stock and commission business. He also holds the position of live-stock inspector under the Mexican government by appointment of Presi- dent Diaz, which position involves the inspec- tion of all live stock and meats coming into Mexico from the United States through the port of El Paso.


In 1873 Mr. Caldwell was married to Miss Julia Lattier, a member of a French Creole family of Shreveport, and during their residence in El Paso they have made many friends. Mr. Caldwell served, for one term of two years as a member of the city council at El Paso, repre- senting the first ward, and he is also adjutant of John C. Brown Camp, No. 468, United Con- federate Veterans. His genial manner, kindli- ness and deference for the opinion of others have made him popular with a large circle of friends, and in his business life he has gained a creditable measure of prosperity.


EDWIN M. BRAY. Edwin M. Bray, pro- prietor of the El Paso Smelter Store at El Paso, Texas, was born at La Harpe, Hancock county, Illinois, and is a son of T. S. and Emma (Lea- vitt) Bray. The father, now deceased, was a native of Pennsylvania, but spent the greater part of his life in Illinois, where the mother still resides. She was born in that state but came of New England ancestry. At the family home in Hancock county Edwin Bray remained until eighteen years of age, when he came to New Mexico, locating at Socorro, where for several years he was engaged in merchandising. In 1895 he came to El Paso, where he embarked in the same line of business, and here he has since made his home. He is now the owner and pro- prietor of the El Paso Smelter Store, located at


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the immense works of the El Paso Consolidated Kansas City Smelting & Refining Company, which constantly employs over fifteen hundred men. The store is a general one, in which he carries a large line of clothing and dry goods, as well as groceries and meats. His patronage is extensive and the business has reached a large figure so that Mr. Bray is now deriving a good income from his investment. He is also promi- nently connected with the business life of El Paso in other ways and has been the promoter of many measures which have had tangible effect upon the upbuilding and development of the city. He was formerly president of the El Paso Chamber of Commerce, and he is now the president of the El Paso Young Men's Christian Association, which has already raised forty thousand dollars for the erection of a new build- ing and is now engaged in an effect to raise twenty thousand dollars more.


Mr. Bray was married to Miss Fannie Spauld- ing, a representative of a prominent Maine fam- ily, and they have two children, John Spaulding and Vonia. The parents are members of the Presbyterian church of El Paso and Mr. Bray is prominent in Masonry, being past commander of the Knights Templar and he has also attained the thirty-second degree Scottish Rite. His in- terest in his city and the welfare of his fellow men is deep and sincere and while carefully con- ducting his business affairs he has also found time and opportunity for co-operation in those movements, which uplift mankind and advance the intellectual and moral growth of the city.


J. E. WILFONG, now serving as county at- torney of Haskell county, has perhaps resided in this western country longer than any other citizen now here, for he has made his home in this locality for twenty-two years, arriving in the county in February, 1883. He has therefore been a witness of its entire development, noting its growth as the country-side became a cattle rarge and later was claimed for farming as well as ranch purposes. He has watched the build- ing of towns, the introduction of the church and the school-house and of all the evidences of a modern civilization. In the work of progress


he has borne an active and helpful part, and as a public official has made a creditable record through seven terms of service in the office of county attorney.


Mr. Wilfong is a native of Catawba county, North Carolina, born on the 30th of June, 1856. His father was Calvin A. Wilfong and his mother bore the maiden name of Martha A. Wilson. Both were born and reared in Catawba county. The Wilfong family is of German extraction and was established in America at a very early epoch in the colonization of the new world. The Wil- sons are of Scotch descent and they too are of an old family in the southern states. Calvin A. Wilfong was a farmer by occupation and always resided at the old home place in North Carolina, where he died March 8, 1894, at the age of sixty- nine years. His wife passed away in the fall of 1883 at the age of fifty-nine years. In their fam- ily were three sons and five daughters and five of this number are now living, all being resi- dents of Haskell county, Texas, with the excep- tion of one daughter, who still resides in North Carolina.


Joseph Edward Wilfong was reared in the state of his nativity upon his father's farm until thirteen years of age, after which he spent five years in the home of a brother-in-law. Subse- quently he attended school and also became a clerk in a mercantile store. In February, 1877, he went to Mississippi and for one year occupied a position at Friars Point on the Mississippi river. Later he crossed the river into Arkansas, spending a year in various parts of the state, after which he returned to North Carolina, con- tinuing his residence there until January, 1883, when he came to Texas.


Mr. Wilfong arrived in Abilene on the 27th day of that month and on the 17th of February, 1883, came to Haskell county, where he began work on the Lil ranch, the brand being L I L, owned by M. O. Lynn, an extensive cattle dealer. Mr. Wilfong was employed to stay on the ranch and act as its superintendent. A great deal of the time he was alone. Sometimes three weeks would pass before he would see a human being. On occasions he would have a number of visitors who were in the country and would call at his place for entertainment. This was


J. E. Wiefong


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one of the pleasant features of his experience on the ranch, for hospitality at that time reigned supreme in western Texas and every visitor was given a hearty welcome. The nearest camp was about seventeen miles distant. During the day Mr. Wilfong would enjoy himself with his horses, dogs and guns, for game was plentiful and hunt- ing formed a pleasant diversion. In this way he spent his time until the middle of July, when he entered the employ of G. W. Johnson at his ranch at the mouth of Big Croten creek, a tribu- tary of the Brazos river. There he was engaged in working cattle on the range, a part of the time "riding lines"-a term used by cattle men to express the work of keeping cattle from going beyond certain confines where they were held. There Mr. Wilfong continued from July until the following March, when he changed his line of work by going off on the different roundups of the country, covering a territory from Throck- morton county west to the plains and from the Wichita river in the north to the Colorado on the south. In October Mr. Johnson sold his stock and Mr. Wilfong came to Haskell, where he remained until the following spring. He then began work for the Ennis Land & Cattle Com- pany, with whom he continued until July, when he again took up his abode in Haskell. Here he became ill and for forty days was confined to his room. After recuperating his health he spent some time in hunting coons, possums and turkeys and enjoying life in general, while re- cuperating after his illness. He remained on Paint creek. ten miles south of Haskell, until March, 1886, when concluding he had had enough of the rough side of life such as comes in the experience of the cowboy on the plains he took up his abode in Haskell and began read-' ing law with Arthur C. Foster, an old attorney of this place, continuing in his office until the October term of court in 1886, when he obtained a license to practice.


On the 19th of December of that year Mr. Wilfong was united in marriage to Miss Clara B. Owsley, a native of Missouri and a daughter of B. H. Owsley, an early settler of the county. Following his marriage Mr. Wilfong entered upon the practice of law and also owning a tract of land near by he began making improve-


ments thereon, removing to that place. He opened up the first farm north of Haskell and there resided until October, 1888, when he again settled in the city and in November of that year he was elected to the office of county attorney, serving in that capacity for two years. In the fall of 1890 he was a candidate for the office of district attorney and was defeated by thirteen votes in a district containing thirteen counties. The office of county attorney then being vacant he was appointed to fill out the unexpired term of Sam Woods, who left the country shortly after he was elected. At the next regular elec- tion Mr. Wilfong declined to again become a candidate and returned to his farm in the fall of 1892, but continued to serve until the new officer had qualified. In the fall of 1894, how- ever, he was elected again, this time at the ur- gent solicitation of his friends, who compromised by agreeing to accept Mr. Wilfong's proposition to serve as county attorney and attend the regu- lar terms of court if he could have some one to look after the other business of the office while he was absent. He did not wish to leave the farm and, his fellow townsmen accepting his proposition, he was elected to the office and dis- charged its duties for another term of two years. In the fall of 1898, not making any canvass for the office, he was defeated by his assistant, Oscar Martin, who was elected by three votes. In the fall of 1902 Mr. Wilfong was again a candidate against Mr. Martin, and although the former made no canvass and did not solicit a single vote he was nevertheless elected by a handsome majority. In the general election of 1904 a new order of things was instituted in Haskell county. Up to that time no primaries had been held, but that system was introduced and politics took on a more active and exciting feature. While Mr. Wilfong made a good canvass in the campaign he was defeated for office, but his opponent, not having obtained a license up to that time, and even after the election unable to get one, could not qualify for the position. In consequence Mr. Wilfong was appointed by the commissioners' court to the position which now makes his in- cumbency in the office for the seventh term. No higher testimonial of his capability and fidel- ity could be given. He is prompt, fearless and


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faithful in the discharge of his duties and his labors have been attended with excellent results in behalf of law and justice.


Unto Mr. and Mrs. Wilfong have been born five daughters and a son, who are yet living and they also lost one daughter in infancy. Mr. Wilfong has recently sold his farm which he owned and occupied for so many years and pur- chased one near the town, situated about a mile and a half from the corporation limits of Haskell. As a pioneer settler he has been closely asso- ciated with the development and progress of the town and county for many years and his mind bears the impress of its early historic annals. He cast the second vote in Haskell county after it was organized in 1884, while his brother, Frank C. Wilfong, cast the first vote and was the first man married in the county. Mr. Wil- fong of this review has a very wide acquaintance, and his labors have been attended with a meas- ure of success that enables him to rank with the substantial residents of this part of the state, while his worth as a citizen is widely acknowl- edged. Mr. Wilfong has been a Mason about seventeen years, and is a member of the Modern Woodmen of America.


JOHN Y. WADLINGTON. Among the representatives of the builder's art in El Paso John Y. Wadlington is numbered, and since 1883 has made his home permanently in this city. He was born in Caldwell county, Ken- tucky, and was reared to farm life, early becom- ing familiar with the duties and labors of field and meadow. He remained in the county of his birth until twenty-five years of age and during that time also gained a good knowledge of the carpenter's trade. Attracted by the possibili- ties of the new and growing southwest, he came to Texas in 1867 and located in Sherman, which was then a small village. The era of railroad building had not been begun in the state, and for about four years Mr. Wadlington was exten- sively engaged in freight teaming and hauling goods, principaliy from Jefferson, Texas, the head of navigation on the Red river, continuing westward through the northern counties to Sherman, Gainesville and as far west as Weath-


Herford, Texas. Those were the days of the In- dian troubles in Cooke, Palo Pinto, Parker and surrounding counties when life was constantly endangered and when the red men committed many depredations among the stock. Mr. Wad- lington also made two trips with his freight team to and from Sedalia, Missouri, through the Indian Territory.


When he ceased to engage in freighting Mr. Wadlington turned his attention to the cattle business, making his headquarters for several years at Gainesville, which for a long time in the early days of the cattle industry was the headquarters of some of the largest cattlemen of the country. He had his cattle over the range from Gainesville to the foot of the plains in the Panhandle and he also had a good ranch near Gainesville. His transactions in the cattle business amounted to thousands of dollars an- nually and he became one of the prominent rep- resentatives of the industry in this state. From Texas he transferred his field of operations to the state of Chihuahua, Mexico, where he was also in the cattle business until 1883, when he located permanently in the new town of EI Paso. He is not interested in the cattle indus- try at the present time but is the owner of a thousand acres of land which includes a fine alfalfa farm in El Paso county down the Rio Grande valley. All this land will come under the new government irrigation canal, making it an exceptionally valuable property. For sev- eral years past Mr. Wadlington has been ac- tively engaged in contracting for stone, sand, etc., in building operations in El Paso, in which he is highly successful and many important con- tracts have been awarded him. He also owns valuable realty in El Paso, including his own recently completed residence, one of the finest in El Paso.


Mr. Wadlington was married in Gainesville to Miss Paralee Moss, and they have four chil- dren, John, Frank, Joe and Mary. Mr. Wad- lington belongs to the Masonic fraternity and is in hearty sympathy with the principles of the craft, which is based upon mutual helpfulness and brotherly kindness. He has intimate


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knowledge of the history of Texas from pioneer times down to the present and has been a factor in the development which has been carried steadily forward as the years have gone by until today Texas is represented by every known business interest, while in the development of its natural resources it has been found to con- tain all the varied resources whatever known to the entire country, including mineral and oil wells, horticultural and agricultural products. As El Paso has grown and expanded, becoming an important center of trade, Mr. Wadlington has continued his contracting operations and his labors have been attended with a gratifying measure of success that places him with the sub- stantial citizens of this part of the state.


ISAAC C. McCOY, M. D., a distinguished physician and surgeon of Fort Worth and an inventor of several devices of great value to the profession, was born at Columbus, Georgia, a son of Henry Reese and Saletha (Cheney) McCoy. The father was born and reared at Columbus, which town was founded by his father, Jeremiah McCoy, in 1828. The McCoys are of a Scotch family, noted for strong consti- tutions and longevity, but the mother of our subject was of French ancestry. The paternal grandfather and both the parents of Dr. McCoy all died in Sherman, Texas, having removed to. this state in 1878.


Dr. McCoy acquired his literary education in the schools of his native city and his profes- sional training was received in the medical de- partment of the University of Georgia, at Au- gusta, from which he was graduated in the' spring of 1870. He located for a short time at Thomaston, Georgia, and in the summer of that year went to New Orleans with the intention of joining a party going to Honduras. He changed his plans, however, and came instead to Texas, locating in Elizabeth, Denton county. That was then a better town and in a better country than Fort Worth. It required twenty- one days for Dr. McCoy to make the trip up the Red river to Shreveport, for there was then no convenient rail transportation. He practiced


general medicine at Elizabeth, and was married there to Miss Maggie Kelsey, by whom he has one son, Olan McCoy. Subsequently he re- moved to Denison, Texas, and in 1884 came to Fort Worth. About that time he began to limit his practice as a specialist in genito-urinary and rectal diseases, to which branch of the profes- sion he has since confined his attention with eminent success. He is the oldest genito-uri- nary specialist practicing in the south and rec- ognizing the needs of the profession in that di- rection he has invented and placed upon the market several devices and instruments that have greatly facilitated the practice and pro- motcd the success of the treatment of diseases in these special branches. He stands very high in his profession and his labors have been at- tended with gratifying success.


Dr. McCoy was for five years president of the board of medical examiners and for three years was president of the United States pension ex- aminers, while for three years he served as trus- tee of the public schools of Fort Worth. He has always been interested in local progress and the city has benefited by his efforts in its behalf, for his labors have been far-reaching and beneficial. He is a prominent member of the Odd Fellows lodge, in which he has served as past grand, and his prominence is none the less the result of an irreproachable private life than of marked skill in the field of his chosen endeavor.




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