A twentieth century history and biographical record of north and west Texas, Volume II, Part 137

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: 972

USA > Texas > A twentieth century history and biographical record of north and west Texas, Volume II > Part 137

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Although a native of Murray county, Geor- gia, Choice Boswell Randell was reared in Caleb county, that state, receiving a common school and collegiate education, which was obtained principally by his own exertions. After an earnest preparation for the profession of the law he was admitted to practice in the spring of 1878, in Georgia, and in the following year, in January, located in Denison, Texas, but since the 3d of March, 1883, he has been numbered among the practitioners of Sherman.

While - residing at Denison, March 12, 1879, he was elected captain of the Gate City Guards, Texas Militia, and in the following May was made colonel of the Fourth Texas Regiment, commissioned by Governor O. M. Roberts. By reason of his strong intellectuality Mr. Randell has also become a leader in political circles,

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HISTORY OF NORTH AND WEST TEXAS.

and at the November election of 1882 was elected county attorney of Grayson county, continuing in that office for six years, on the expiration of which period he retired to his large private prac- tice. Still higher honors awaited him, however, for in 1900, he was made the Democratic repre- sentative to the national congress, to which po- sition he was re-elected in 1902 and again in 1904. In his profession he spares neither time nor labor in his investigation and preparation, and is thus able to discuss legal questions with marked clearness of illustration, strength of argument, and fullness and variety of learning.

In the city of Natchez, Mississippi, on the 29th of October, 1879, Mr. Randell was united in mar- riage to Miss Anna Marschalk, a native of Bel- ton, Bell county, Texas. Their eldest son, An- drew, who was born in Denison, Texas, August 15, 1880, attended the Sherman public schools, the Austin College at Sherman, the State Univer- sity of Texas, and in June, 1903, graduated at the University of Princeton. Thus equipped with an excellent education as a foundation for future success, he entered upon the study of law at the University of Virginia, and is now taking a two-years' course in the law department of the University of Texas. The second son, Choice Marschalk, born in Denison on the 16th of April, 1882, died at Sherman in the following year, on the 19th of June.

In his social affiliations Mr. Randell is a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fel- lows, the Knights of Pythias, the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, the Improved Order of Red Men and the Modern Woodmen of America. In the ranks of the Democracy he is recognized as an active and efficient worker. He ranks high at the bar and in political circles, and Sherman numbers him among her leading and influential citizens.

CAPTAIN A. C. THOMAS, a veteran of the Confederate army and one of the early settlers on Wolf Ridge in Cooke county, Texas, is now classed with the practical, prosperous and pro- gressive farmers of his locality. He was born in Covington county, Mississippi, April 15, 1829, and was reared to farm pursuits, while in the common schools he acquired his education. His parents were Samuel and Flora (McCurry) Thomas, the former of Welsh and the latter of Scotch descent. Samuel Thomas was a son of Ira Thomas, a native of Wales, who came to America when this country was still numbered among the colonial possessions of Great Britain. He served through the war for American inde-

pendence with the patriot army and at the close of hostilities returned to his home in North Caro- lina, where he spent his remaining days. He was a leading and influential farmer of the neighbor- hood in which he lived. He had no aspiration for office, but his genuine personal worth won him the respect of all with whom he came in contact. In his family were eight children.

Samuel Thomas was reared to manhood in North Carolina, where he was married in 1816. Two years later he was taken to Mississippi, where he made a permanent settlement and be- came a prominent planter and slave owner. His parents both died when he was young and he was bound out. His father's estate was squan- dered and he was thus forced to make his own way, steadily working upward to prosperity through good business ability, indefatigable labor and untiring purpose. He was indeed a self- made man in the truest and best sense of the term and he became one of the influential as well as one of the substantial citizens of his part of the state. He owned a large number of slaves and an extensive plantation and his ambition in life was to provide a good property for his children. He lived through the period of the Civil war to see his slaves freed and his life's earnings thus taken away from him. When the war was over he at once began the work of re- constructing his fortunes to get what he could from farming operations, but the hopes of his life had been thwarted and many sad hours came to him. His wife had died in Mississippi in 1857. She was a member of the old school Presbyterian church and was a devoted com- panion and helpmate to her husband. Following her death he determined to get away from for- mer associations and in 1869 he sold his property and came to Texas, settling in Johnson county, where he purchased a farm, making his home thereon until he was called to his final rest in 1876. In his younger days he was a natural mechanic and could model iron to any purpose. He followed blacksmithing, and at Harper's Fer- ry, Virginia, he made one thousand 'guns that were used in the war of 1812. He was a worthy and loyal member of the Methodist church, ex- emplifying in his life his Christian faith, and his integrity and honor made him a man worthy of the uniform respect which was extended to him. Following the death of his first wife he married Mrs. Margaret French, a widow, by whom he had one daughter, Mary A. D. Thomas. By the first marriage there were seven children: Sarah; Jane; John, who served through the war and is yet living at the advanced age of

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HISTORY OF NORTH AND WEST TEXAS.

eighty-four years; James and Nathan, both de- ceased; A. C., of this review; and Flora.

Captain A. C. Thomas was born and reared in Mississippi and as before stated early became familiar with agricultural pursuits, while in the common schools he pursued his education. In early manhood he was married and began farm- ing on his own account. He was making sub- stantial progress in his business life when the Civil war was inaugurated. He owned a good plantation and had a large number of slaves and everything about his place indicated contentment and happiness, but in 1862 he entered the army as a private, joining the Thirty-seventh Missis- sippi Infantry under command of Colonel Mc- Lane. The regiment was assigned to General Price's command and he soon afterward went to the front. The first engagement in which he participated was at Iuka and the second at Cor- inth. Following that battle he was pronounced unfit for further duty and was honorably dis- charged, but his loyalty would not allow him to leave while the struggle was still going on and he remained with the army, refusing to go home, so that later he was detailed as forage master with the rank of captain, in which capacity he * continued until the close of the war. In that po- sition he passed through several hotly contested battles and was in the siege of Vicksburg, where the Confederate troops, hemmed in by the Union forces and having no outside communication, were forced to eat mule meat. All of the nard- ships, trials and deprivations of war were known to him from actual experience. He was near Smithford, North Carolina, at the time of Lee's surrender and he gave up his arms at Raleigh, that state, after which he returned to his once happy and prosperous Mississippi home to find that the work of devastation had wrought ruin, the farm property having been largely destroyed, the slaves freed and in fact all that was left was the land. The battle of life was resumed by the family and he employed his former slaves to do the work of the fields. He began reconstructing his farm and fortunes, but after raising one crop in Mississippi he sold his farm there and in 1866 removed to Johnson county, Texas, where he first rented a tract of land .. Later he bought a farm, upon which he remained successfully en- gaged in general agricultural pursuits until 1881, when he sold that property and came to Cooke county. Here he purchased a tract of raw prairie land, upon which he yet resides. At that time it was a stock country and but few people re- siding in this part of the state. There were only three houses between him and Gainesville. He

was the first man on Wolf Ridge to fence his farm with wire. He has made good improve- ments and he has a commodious frame house, a substantial barn, good outbuildings, a windmill and water for all purposes. The land is a fine black soil and the farm comprises about three hundred and eighty-six acres under a high state of cultivation. He raises the various crops adapted to soil and climate and he is a practical and successful agriculturist, who has built up a good estate since the war.

In 1853, Captain Thomas was united in mar- riage to Miss Mary A. D. Keyhea, who was born in Mississippi in 1837 and was an estimable lady, who proved to him a worthy wife and helpmate. Her father, George J. Keyhea, was a native of North Carolina and was an early settler of Mis- sissippi, taking up his abode there in 1819. He was a prominent mechanic, planter and slave owner and he lived through the war to see his slaves set free and other property destroyed. He died in 1879 at the very venerable age of one hundred years. He was a consistent Methodist and his life was at all times honorable and up- right. His children were: John, Martha, Chris- tian, Pleasant, Malinda, Caroline, Irene, Mary A., Preston and Melissa. His sons served through the war as advocates of the Confederate cause.

Unto Mr. and Mrs. Thomas were born ten children : Adora became Mrs. Harrell and after the death of her first husband became Mrs. Rob- erts; Samuel A. died leaving two children; Isa- belle married a Mr. Armstrong, while her sec- ond husband was Mr. Glazier; Flora is the wife of James Crow; Ella, died at the age of three years; George is a farmer; John died at the age of three years; W. S. is farming the old homestead; Irene died at the age of four years; and J. R. also follows agricultural pursuits. In 1880, Mr. Thomas was called upon to mourn the loss of his wife, who died on the 13th of July of that year. She held membership in the Mis- sionary Baptist church, was true to its teachings and helpful in its work. Moreover, she was a de- voted wife and mother and her loss in the house- hold was most deeply felt. Captain Thomas has ever remained true to her memory.

In politics he is a stalwart Democrat but with- out aspiration for office, preferring to give his undivided attention to his business affairs. Fra- ternally he is a Royal Arch Mason and since 1855 he has been a member of the Missionary Baptist church, to the teachings of which he is most true and loyal. There are many excellent traits of character exemplified in his daily life

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HISTORY OF NORTH AND WEST TEXAS.

and at all times he is found reliable and honor- able, so that he enjoys in large measure the respect, good will and confidence of the entire community.

WILLIAM J. HOWARD, sheriff of Wichita county, with residence at Wichita Falls, is a pioneer of this town and county, in fact came here before either had a corporate existence, and has been most prominently identified with the public affairs and material progress ever . since. He is by nature a pioneer, loves to head the vanguard of civilization to a new country and follow closely under the star of empire as it takes its westward way. Perhaps no other man in Northwest Texas has had more experi- ence with the rough elements and the pioneer affairs of the country than Sheriff Howard, and he is therefore all the more a model officer in his present position and has made a high record for efficiency and straightforward conduct.

Mr. Howard was born in 1844, so that he is at the present writing sixty years of age, but still a hearty and vigorous specimen of native Ameri- can manhood. The place where his career began was Calhoun county, Alabama. His parents were Francis and Irena (Jones) Howard, and his father was a planter and, though born in Georgia, spent most of his life in Alabama, where both he and his wife died. Mr. Howard spent his boyhood days on the Alabama farm. The stirrings of ambition and desire for ad- venture were early manifest in him, and when hardly seventeen years old, in January, 1861, before the great rebellion was dreamed of by many people and some weeks before a single southern state had seceded, he went to Pensa- cola, Florida, and enrolled himself for three months in the Confederate cause when the ap- proaching conflict should become a matter of fact. When these three months were up he re- enlisted, this time in the Tenth Alabama Regi- ment, and was sent into Virginia. He was a Confederate soldier, brave and loyal, through- out the remainder of the war, being in various regiments, and wound up his service as a trooper in Forrest's cavalry.

The storm and stress of war by no means ameliorated his venturesome spirit, and he had not long been a private citizen before he felt the longings for the strenuous life. Some time after the war he was married, at his old home place, to Miss Louisa Davis, and shortly after- ward they started west. They lived in Louisi- ana one year and then crossed the state line into Texas. They located at old Springfield, then the county seat of Limestone county (the

name of this town now being Groesbeck). After farming there for two years he followed up the frontier to a point further west, and in 1880 ' located in what is now Wichita county, at the young settlement of Wichita Falls, neither town or county being organized until 1882, and his being the thirteenth family in the county. He helped organize the county, and was the first man elected to the office of justice of the peace and was the only justice in the county for six years. His first office was in a tent occupied jointly with Robert E. Huff, now the president of the First National Bank.

For many years Mr. Howard served as deputy sheriff, and the duties of that office took him much among the desperadoes and bad char- acters that were wont to infest Texas frontier towns. The "bad men" were in the habit of raiding the towns and surrounding country, and it required much coolness and bravery as well as tact to deal with these fellows. The disturbers were usually either cowboys who came with the purpose of "shooting up the town," or the villainous gangs that infested the Comanche country, in Indian Territory, across the Red river. Such frontier life has always ap- pealed to Mr: Howard, and he settled down permanently in Wichita Falls only that he might have a home for his children and afford them the advantages of education. In Novem- ber, 1902, he was elected sheriff of Wichita county on the Democratic ticket, the position of tax collector forming part of this office. Having devoted some years already to the duties of the shrievalty, his experience was such as to make him an unusually well equipped officer, and the people of the county greatly appreciate his efficiency and his sterling personal qualities. He is deeply concerned in the welfare of the town and county in general, and is very popular among all the citizens. For some years he was engaged in farming and raising stock in this' county and at one time was hide and animal inspector for the county.

Mr. Howard affiliates with the Masonic order, and he and his wife are members of the Baptist church. There are seven children in their family, as follows: Charles C., Dean, Mrs. Irene Tucker, Mrs. Texie Hawkins, Arthur, William and Josie.

CAPTAIN WILLIAM S. GRANT, one of the highly esteemed men of Grayson county, owns and operates four hundred acres of valu- able land, whereon he is engaged in the cultiva- tion of crops and fruit and the raising of cattle. He was born in Hall county, Georgia, in 1839,

MR. AND MRS. AMOS L. THORNBERRY

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HISTORY OF NORTH AND WEST TEXAS.

a son of William B. and Elizabeth (Smith) Grant. The parents were both natives of South Carolina and the father followed the occupation of farming and was also a miner in Georgia in later years. He died at the age of sixty years, while his wife passed away when about sixty- five years of age.

In their family were nine children, of whom Captain Grant was the second in order of birth and is the only one living in Grayson county, Texas. He was reared to manhood in the place of his nativity and assisted his father in farm- ing operations until after the outbreak of hostili- ties between the north and the south. He served with distinction under General Pat Cleburne in the Confederate Army of the Tennessee, becom- ing second sergeant of his company and render- ing active and able service to his command until the war was over. He then returned to his old . home in Georgia, where he followed farming, and he also conducted a small store there, re- maining in Georgia until 1867, when he started for Texas, reaching his destination on the 12th of September of that year.

He located first in Sherman, Grayson county, and soon afterward removed to a farm three miles northwest of the city, where he remained for two years. He then came to Preston, near the Red river, and in 1870 bought his present farm, which at that time comprised one hundred and sixty acres of land, but to this he has added as his financial resources have increased until it is now a valuable property of four hundred acres. He has placed all of the improvements upon his farm and it is a fine place, the fields be- ing under a high state of cultivation and devoted" to diversified crops. He also has two orchards upon his place and some fine stock, including high grade red polled and shorthorn cattle. All branches of his farm work are proving profitable by reason of his practical methods, systematic effort and untiring diligence.

Captain Grant was married in Georgia in 1865 to Miss Julia Campbell, a native of South Caro- lina and a daughter of Zilron and Jane (McKin- ney) Campbell. They had one child, Elizabeth, who was born in Georgia and died in Washing- ton territory when twenty-one years of age. Captain Grant is a Democrat in his political views but is without aspiration for office, pre- ferring to devote his time and energies to his business pursuits. He has lived in western Texas from an early period in its development and progress and can well remember the sale of town lots in Denison in the early '70s. He re- garded it as very foolish of northern men to pay

such high prices for property there, but land values have greatly appreciated as the city has rapidly grown. Year by year Captain Grant has carefully and systematically managed his busi- ness affairs and his prosperity is attributable en- tirely to his own efforts and to his business hon- esty, which stands as an unquestioned fact in his career.

JUDGE LEIGH CLARK, corporation lawyer of El Paso, is a native son of Mississippi, his birth having occurred in Sharkey county. His parents were John M. and Eliza (Leigh) Clark, both of whom are now deceased, and the father was a planter. The son was reared upon the home plantation in the vicinity of Vicksburg, Mississippi, and attended school in that city. He also entered upon the study of law there in the office of Buch & Clark, the junior partner being his brother, Judge Edward D. Clark. Af- ter thorough preliminary reading Leigh Clark was admitted to the bar at Vicksburg in 1876 and practiced law in that portion of his native state until 1884, when he came to El Paso and has since been identified with the bar of this city. El Paso was then in an embryonic condition, there being only three houses here at the time he es- tablished his home in Texas. He has served for one term as city attorney. His equipments and legal attainments were such that he soon be- came connected as attorney with the railroads and other large corporate interests and he is now general counsel in El Paso for the El Paso Elec- tric Railway, which owns the street railway and the electric lighting plant here. This company is the successor of the International Light & Power Company. In addition to his interests as a corporation lawyer Judge Clark also has a good, general private practice and is well versed in the principles of jurisprudence.

Mrs. Clark was in her maidenhood Miss Fan- nie E. Echols and is a representative of an old and prominent family of Georgia. Unto Judge and Mrs. Clark has been born a daughter, Fran- ces, and the attractive home of the family is cele- brated for its gracious and warm hearted hospi- tality.

AMOS L. THORNBERRY is proprietor of a stock ranch and farm at Thornberry, Clay county, Texas. He is recognized as a man of good business ability who follows progressive agricultural methods and in the management of his stock-raising interest displays excellent discernment and ability. He was born in Greenup county, Kentucky, in 1845, a son of

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M. A. and Nancy (Rawlins) Thornberry. His father was a native of Virginia and on removing from the Old Dominion settled in Kentucky, making his home in Greenup county for many years. He devoted his energies to agricultural pursuits and there died in 1870. His wife was a native of North Carolina.

Amos L. Thornberry was reared in the usual manner of farmer lads, working in the fields through the summer months and attending the public schools through the winter sea- sons. When in his fifteenth year, however, he put aside the plow and his text books and re- sponded to the call for troops to aid in the preservation of the Union, enlisting in 1861 as a member of Company E, Fourteenth Kentucky Infantry. His first service was in the Army of the Tennessee in eastern Kentucky and west- ern Virginia. The regiment was largely com- posed of large, strong men, typical of eastern Kentucky, and they did effective and valuable service. Perhaps the most strenuous service in which Mr. Thornberry engaged was that of the year 1864, when the regiment became a part of Sherman's army. He participated in many battles of the Atlanta campaign and took part in the siege and battle of Atlanta and was there wounded. He also took part in the battle of Missionary Ridge and after the fall of Atlanta he returned with General Thomas' army to Tennessee and participated in the engagement at Franklin and in the battle and capture of Nashville. This was the last important battle of his active service. When the war was over he received an honorable discharge and re- turned to his home with a most creditable mili- tary record, for at all times he had been loyal to the cause he believed and had proven his valor in many a hotly contested engagement. For a year after the war Mr. Thornberry en- gaged in farming in Kentucky and then turned his attention to merchandise in Carter county, that state. Subsequently, however, he returned to Greenup county, where he conducted a mer- cantile enterprise for several years, being altogether identified with that line of business for sixteen years. In 1881 he came to Texas, locating at Henrietta, the county seat of Clay county, where he conducted a store for two years. On the expiration of that period he sold out and turned his attention to the real estate business, in which he continued until 1886, when he began farming and cattle-raising. He is today one of the foremost representatives of this great southern industry. He now has about twenty-three hundred acres of land, a part of which is devoted to pasturage for his

stock, while the remainder is used for general farming purposes. He raises wheat, oats, barley and corn, and annually harvests good crops. He is very progressive in his methods, practices the rotation of crops and conducts all of his farm work along modern lines. His place is at Thornberry, the postoffice being in the western part of Clay county, twelve miles northeast of Wichita Falls.

In Greenup county, Kentucky, in 1870, Mr. Thornberry was united in marriage to Miss Cynthiana Thompson, a daughter of A. M. and Mary Thompson, whose home in Greenup county was not far from Portsmouth, Ohio, and in that city Mrs. Thornberry acquired her education. She belonged to a family of wealth and the children were afforded every advan- tage. The home of Mr. and Mrs. Thornberry has been blessed with five children: Martin A., Andrew L., Thomas C., Mary Agness and Harry T. The parents hold membership in the Thorn- berry Methodist Episcopal church and take an active part in its work Indeed, Mr. Thorn- berry was one of the leading movers in the building of the house of worship there and con- tributed most generously to the building fund. The church was completed in 1903 and is a beautiful structure, being exceptionally fine for a country district. In his political views Mr. Thornberry is a stanch Republican, unfaltering in his advocacy of the party and its principles. He is a man of affluence and his home and ranch have an air of prosperity that betokens experienced management. He is also an in- fluential citizen prominent in his section of Texas and he well deserves mention in this volume. He is today as true to his country and her welfare as he was when he followed the old flag on southern battlefields in defense of the Union.

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A twentieth century history and biographical record of north and west Texas, Volume II, Part 137

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: 972

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: 972