A twentieth century history and biographical record of north and west Texas, Volume II, Part 29

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 29

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HISTORY OF NORTH AND WEST TEXAS.

short time in 1863 when he brought his family as refugees to Paris, Texas.

At the close of the war he returned to his family at Paris, and has been a resident of Texas ever since. He lived a while in Hunt county, then a short time in Lamar county, after which he went into the mercantile busi- ness at Ben Franklin in Delta county, where he continued as a prominent and successful merchant for twenty-seven years. Considera- tions for the health of some members of the family led him in 1892 to transfer his residence to the high plains country in the Panhandle, and in that year he located at Canyon City, the county seat of Randall county. In 1895 he was appointed to fill the vacant, county judgeship, and in the following year he was the candidate for and was elected justice of the peace and county commissioner of precinct No. I, serving in this office four years. He has been notary public ever since coming to Canyon City. When he first came to Canyon City he took charge of the Victoria Hotel and was its propri- etor for some years. He and his son Isaiah now have a fine ranch seven miles and a half south of Canyon City.

Judge Van Sant was married in Crawford county, Arkansas, to Miss Susan J. Foster, of a South Carolina family. They have four chil- dren, all married, as follows: Josie, wife of R. B. Redfearn, the county treasurer ; Gertrude, wife of W. R. Redfearn; Isaiah L .; and Mrs. Eddie Jennings. Judge Van Sant is an active member of the Christian church, and is promi- nent in Masonic circles, having attained the Royal Arch and Knight Templar degrees.

JAMES KYLE WESTER. In the per- son of the subject of this review we are to pre- sent the life work and family history of one of the well known and proficient educators of Northern Texas and a gentleman whose po- litical as well as his educational achievements have placed him among the representative men of his locality. Twenty-eight years a citizen of the state and twenty-six years an active teacher in its public and normal schools and for six years a public official, outlines, briefly, the scope of his work and indicates the nature of his usefulness and his general character as a citizen.

Like many of his predecessors from Tennes- see, Mr. Wester first stopped in Grayson coun- ty, Texas, where, at Kentuckytown, he began his educational work in the Lone Star state. From 1878 to 1884 he was connected with the schools there and then was called to Jacks-

boro as vice president of the Jack County Edu- cational Institute, and in this position he con- tinued his work for seven years. For the next few years he was in politics to the exclusion of anything else and he did not return to teach- ing again until 1895, when he came to Bellevue, Clay county, and took charge of the schools here. He remained with the work three years and then accepted the superintendency of the Jacksboro schools and taught there five years, returning thence to Bellevue, where he is com- pleting his second year.

James K. Wester is a native son of Granger county, Tennessee, his birth occurring No- vember 28, 1855. His father, John H. Wester, was born there February 22, 1825. In his ear- ly life the latter was more or less in county politics and was an officer of the county him- self. He served two years in the Confederate army, in time of the rebellion, being a public official when the war came on. He was a de- nominational Christian and a member of the Baptist church.

Rev. W. E. Wester, father of John H. Wes- ter, was a Baptist minister and went to the vi- cinity of Rutledge, Tennessee, from about Asheville, North Carolina. He was born in 1800 and married a Miss Helton, who bore him elev- en children, all of whom reared families. He died in 1872 and his wife passed away in 1881.

John H. Wester was his father's second child and he married Nancy McAnnelly, who yet survives in Rutledge, Tennessee, while her husband died July 14, 1903, at the age of seven- ty-eight. Their union was productive of: James K., of this sketch ; William E., of Port- land, Oregon; Albert, deceased; John R., of Lebanon, Missouri; Lula, wife of Charles Brewer, of Granger county, Tennessee; and Robert, of the same county.

In the district school James K. Wester ac- quired his early training and Tazewell College, Tennessee, and Madison Academy, at Rut- ledge, gave him his advanced training and equipped him for his most proficient school work. He engaged in teaching at the age of eighteen and followed it intermittently while acquiring his education. He entered the pro- fession regularly at the age of twenty-one and taught two years near home prior to his advent to the West. In addition to his work in the school- room in Texas he has been either an instructor or a conductor in county normal work for twen- ty years, twelve years of which time he has filled the position of conductor. He devotes eleven calendar months of each year to the school room and his face is a familiar one in

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HISTORY OF NORTH AND WEST TEXAS.

district and county teachers' meetings. He in- sists that the work of the graded schools is the only efficient educational work done, below our advanced institutions of learning, and the high character of the schools in Jacksboro and in Bellevue testify to the efficiency in the work of the graded school.

While in Jack county Mr. Wester became interested in politics and, in 1891, was appoint- ed sheriff of the county to fill an unexpired term of twenty months, and in the fall of 1892 he was elected to represent Jack and Clay counties in the legislature. Two years later he was again elected and as a member of the house had committee assignments as follows : committee of education, state affairs, finance, public lands and land offices and was chairman of the committee on contingent expenses dur- ing his second term, all other committee assign- ments remaining the same. He introduced in House of Representatives and secured the passage of an act establishing the office of presi- dent of the State University and secured the passage of several educational measures tending to a greater convenience and efficiency in school work.

Mr. Wester was first married in Grayson county, Texas, in December, 1881, to Miss Mary Weber, who died in July following, and August 22, 1886, in Jacksboro, he married a teacher, Miss Mattie Hughes, a daughter of John and Nancy (Smith) Hughes, the father an old Tarrant county school teacher and coun- ty surveyor of Jack county for many years. These parents' children were: Lona, wife of Will Harughty, of Jacksboro; Ollie, who mar- ried Charles Whipp, of New Mexico; Mrs. West- er, born August 31, 1869; Emma, wife of Charles Patton, of Jacksboro. Mrs. Hughes died, and for his second wife Mr. Hughes married Nannie Broad, whose only child is Miss Lutie May Hughes.

The issue of Mr. and Mrs. Wester are: Fred C., Rolly E., Woody, Maydell and Lina Irene.

Mr. Wester is a member of the blue lodge, chapter and commandery, A. F. and A. M. at Jacksboro, and his educational work prompts his membership in the Northwest Texas Teach- ers' Association.

WILLIAM HURN. A gentleman, widely esteemed in Clay county and most worthy to be mentioned in a work of representative biog- raphy, is he whose name introduces this per- sonal record. His going in and out, as it were, among the citizenship of his county for the past quarter of a century has established him

as a thrifty, successful and substantial farmer and a sincere and worthy man. His daily life has been an open book to be scanned at will and the results of his daily toil are shown in the extent of his earthly possessions.

In Monmouthshire, England, June 23, 1844, William Hurn was born. He was a son of a coal miner, Robert Hurn, and his mother was Harriet Williams, of whose seven children are mentioned-Rachael; William was the second ; Maria, John, and Louise.

At the tender age of eight years William Hurn went into the shaft of an English coal mine to work. He was deprived of good school advantages and his mind received its best train- ing at the family fireside and by private read- ing as he approached manhood's estate. Tir- ing of his life of drudge and being determined to eventually discard it he brought his young wife and small family to the United States. He left old County Durham in 1869 and sailed from Liverpool on board the ship Nebraska bound for New York. After fifteen days of uneventful voyage he landed at Castle Garden on the day that General Grant was inaugurated president the first time. He located near Wilksbarre, Pennsylvania, first and, as seemed natural, sought employment in a coal mine at once. He remained in the Wyoming valley, gradually improving his finances, and in 1878. he came to Texas to ultimately win him a home. He passed two years in Tarrant county and when he drove into Clay county it was with a team, twelve head of cattle and two hundred and thirty-five dollars in cash. While becom- ing acquainted with the soil and conditions he rented one year and then bought a tract of Angelina county school land, northeast of Hen- rietta. He hauled the lumber to build his shan- ty from Gainesville and the first year's crop was housed in one of the two rooms of his resi- dence. He paid one dollar a bushel for corn and brought other of his supplies from Gaines- ville. The first year his eighteen acres of cot- ton yielded him one bale and to provide for the wants of his family till another crop he hitched up his mule and horse and did some freighting "to keep the pot boiling." There were times when the severest and most rigid economy was necessary to make the supply equal the family demands and it was no unusual sight for Mr. Hurn, on his return home, to find the wolf lying around dangerously near his cabin door. He threatened at times to leave the country but he couldn't get away and it is well that he could not, in view of his suc-

MR. AND MRS. JAMES H. TADLOCK

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HISTORY OF NORTH AND WEST TEXAS.

cesses afterward and his substantial condition now.

Mr. Hurn's first real estate was a tract of one hundred and sixty acres, now substantially and attractively improved, and he devoted his en- ergies to mixed farming and stock. He has since added to his possessions until he owns about nine hundred acres and his material in- dependence is universally recognized.

January 1, 1865, William Hurn and Mary Elms were married. She was a daughter of Francis and Dorcas (Chivers) Elms and is one of seven children. She is the mother of Robert, who died at the age of twenty-three; Joseph, Elizabeth, Hattie, Helen, Frank and Myrtle.

The establishment of the postoffice of Hurn- ville and its naming was due to Mr. Hurn and in his honor. It came into existence in 1891 and has now a store, a church and a school. Mr. Hurn became an Odd Fellow at eighteen years of age and belongs to both the subordinate and the encampment, having taken those de- grees.

JOSEPH H. GARRISON, ex-county clerk, president of the Randall County Land and Ab- stract Company and otherwise prominent at Canyon City, has been a resident of the Pan- handle for the past ten years, and has taken a foremost rank among the enterprising and pub- lic-spirited citizens of Randall county.

Mr. Garrison comes of a good Virginia stock, and inherits the best traditions and ideals of the south. He was born in 1861 at Middlebrook, Augusta county, Virginia, in which part of the state his good old father is still living. His parents, Jacob S. and Rebecca (Fix) Garri- son, were both Virginians .by birth, and throughout his active life his father was a man- ufacturer of wagons, buggies, etc.

After receiving his education in the schools of Middlebrook and Staunton Mr. Garrison learned the trade of painter in his father's shop, and in 1884 he came to Texas to follow this oc- cupation. He spent the first four years in Erath county, and in 1888 came to the plains country. Locating at Plainview in Hale coun- ty, he prosecuted a successful business in paint- ing, not only at Plainview but also took con- tracts for work all through that section of the country. Since 1895 he has been a resident of Canyon City. In November, 1900, he was elected county and district clerk of Randall county, was re-elected in 1902, and served until the expiration of his second term, in the latter part of 1904. In the meantime, in partnership with C. N. Harrison, he had established the

Randall County Land and Abstract Company at Canyon City, to which business, as its presi- dent, he now gives the larger part of his time. The firm has the complete abstract books of Randall county, and does a large business in real estate and insurance. Mr. Garrison is the possessor of one of the nicest ranches in the Panhandle, and although it makes no claims to distinction in the matter of acreage, since it comprises only six hundred and forty acres. yet it is a model as far as management and pro- ducts are concerned. It is situated twelve miles southwest of Canyon City, in Randall county, on a most eligible location on Terra Blanco creek. Mr. Garrison makes a specialty of and has established a reputation for his thor- oughbred registered Durham cattle, with which he has had fine success.

Mr. Garrison affiliates with the Masonic or- der and with the Knights of Pythias. He was married in Dickens county, this state, to Miss Adra Canan, and they have two children, Will- iam Lloyd and Beatrice Erlene.

JAMES HENDON TADLOCK. Among those Wise county farmers who have added their quiet but positive force to the wonderful work of internal development which has gone on here for the past thirty years and whose substantial position stands as a monument to their energy, in- dustry and sobriety is James H. Tadlock, of Chi- co, mentioned as the subject of this sketch. Pass- ing from an unknown and untried quantity from the beginning to one tested and approved by the fires of time and with influence limited only by the bounds of his acquaintance, he is the peer of his fellows and the example of his achieve- ments stands out conspicuously that the future may read, know and emulate.

He came west from Perry county, Alabama, where his birth occurred April 12, 1842, and where his father, Albert G. Tadlock, settled in 1832. His father was born in Edgefield dis- trict, South Carolina, in about 1808, and was of Scotch and Irish blood. He married in Alabama about 1833, Malinda, a daughter of James Boyles, a Methodist preacher of Irish stock. Like his father-in-law, he held to Methodism, was an officer of his church and a class-leader, and as a farmer he was successful in making and accumulating property, but the Civil War swept much of it away and he passed away in 1874, aged sixty-one, possessed of little estate. His wife followed him two years later and their chil- dren were: Adaline, wife of Henry Herring, of Scott county, Mississippi; Cynthian, who died in Scott county, Mississippi, in 1903, as the wife

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HISTORY OF NORTH AND WEST TEXAS.

of James Atherton; Flavela, wife of William M. Manley, of Grayson county, Texas; William died in the Confederate service in 1862; James H., of this notice ; Cannon, Webster and Martha, of Scott county, Mississippi, the last the wife of Nathaniel Chestnut ; and Elisha T. and Josephine and Robert, all of Scott county, Josephine being the wife of William Moore.

While growing up in his native county James H. Tadlock acquired only a meager knowledge of school books and he enlisted in the army of the Confederacy before his twentieth birthday. In June, 1861, he joined Company K, Eleventh Alabama Infantry, under Col. Moore and went with his regiment to the Army of Northern Vir- ginia. He reached the field of operations the day after the Manassas fight and from Yorktown to Petersburg he passed through the horrors of war. Among the historic engagements of this fighting army were: Jamestown, Seven Pines, from Gaines' Mill to Malvern Hill. Sharpsburg, Fred- ericksburg, Gettysburg, Spottsylvania, Chancel- lorville, Cold Harbor, Wilderness, the de- fense of Richmond, and, in the works at Peters- burg, he received his first wound, a musket ball through the left foot. In the winter of 1864 he returned home and was not with the army during its last stand and surrender at Appomattox.

For several months after the war closed Mr. Tadlock was not able to take up civil pursuits but when he did it was as a modest farmer with a new wife, a mule, a sow and pigs and some few household effects. He had merely laid the foun- dation for a start when, in 1868, he drove through to Mississippi, and remained there two years. He then took up the journey toward the setting sun and settled in Butler county, Kansas. He entered a tract of the public do- main near Augusta and was occupied with its reduction and improvement until 1876 when he made his final move, to Texas, driving through with team and wagon. He stopped first on the east side of the county of Wise, but soon after- ward located on Sand Flats on the west side of the county. There he opened up a new farm and the fourteen years that he lived there made much substantial progress toward the culmina- tion of his career.

When he arrived in Wise county Mr. Tadlock owned a fair team, had a wife and four children and not as much cash as he needed, for it devel- ops that he borrowed money to pay for the one hundred and eighty acres of land which he bought. He began by raising cotton and corn and as he got a spare "five" he invested in a yearling. In time he had a bunch of cattle and his familiar brand, a combination of the capitals

"J. H. T.," came to be known over the communi- ty of Sand Flats and the west part of Texas. Save for the loss of some forty cows during one winter of short feed-a misfortune which set him back materially-his career has been on- ward and upward to the last. Without enum- erating the many landed accessions to his estate his real holdings amounted to one thousand acres and his home on the Bullock survey was estab- lished in 1891.

November 2, 1865, Mr. Tadlock married Nan- cy Stephens, a daughter of Gideon Stephens. Mr. Stephens was a North Carolinian and mar- ried a South Carolina lady, Ellen Arendal, came to Texas in 1874, and died in Grayson county, in April, 1879, his wife having passed away April 24, 1863. They were the parents of Andrew, of Alabama; Martha, who died in East Texas as the wife of Frank Crow; Elizabeth, of Anderson county, Texas, wife of Hugh Henderson; Fran- ces married Minor Crews, of Alabama; Lewis, of Montgomery county, Arkansas; Mrs. Tad- lock, born, June 19, 1848; Arra K., wife of Tim- othy Sexton, of Augusta, Kansas; Sidney T., of Wise county, Texas; James died unmarried and David resides in Cleveland county, Oklaho- ma ; Alice, who married Lewis Clark and resides at Augusta, Kansas. Mr. Stephens was married a second time, his wife having been Flavela Tad- lock, who bore ten children, only four of whom survive, viz: Wesley, of Wise county ; Margaret, wife of Alfred Heath, of Grayson county ; and Nathaniel and Richard of the same county.

Mr. and Mrs. Tadlock's children are: Wil- liam, who died when fifteen months old; Albert, of Chico, married Miss Delia Perry, her people being from Mississippi, and they have two chil- dren, James M. and Sidney; Walter married Della Blanton and died at twenty-five; Charles, of Tarrant county, married Mary Golden and has children, Geneva Bell and C. C .; Marcus lives on Sand Flats, married Minnie Whatley and has issue, T. Grady, Marvin W., and James Hershell; Marvin and Margaret, twins, the lat- ter deceased and the former a graduate of the Fort Worth Medical College and in charge of St. Joseph's Hospital in Fort Worth.

In politics the Tadlocks are Democrats and in religion Methodists. Mr. Tadlock is a trustee of the Chico church and has served it in other official capacities, and is a Master Mason.

Ten years ago Mr. Tadlock went blind and had an operation by which an eye was saved.

T. G. and J. H. CURLIN. T. G. and J. H. Curlin constitute the firm of Curlin Broth- ers, ginners of Nocona. T. G. Curlin was born

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HISTORY OF NORTH AND WEST TEXAS.

in Tennessee, January 4, 1848, his parents be- ing J. V. and Amanda (Baty) Curlin, the for- mer a native of North Carolina and the latter of Georgia. Their marriage, however, was celebrated in Tennessee. The paternal grand- parents were John and Dolly (Perkins) Cur- lin, who were of Scotch-Irish descent. John Curlin served in the war of 1812 and was a prominent farmer of his locality. He removed from North Carolina to western Tennessee and there spent his remaining days as an honest, upright agriculturist and a devoted member of the Baptist church. In his family were five children : J. J., a farmer ; W. H., who followed the same pursuit ; John V .; Mrs. Sophia Chand- ler; and Mrs. Betsey Jones, who after the death of her first husband became Mrs. Brown.

John V. Curlin was reared in Tennessee, where he remained for a long period. He was a mechanic who thoroughly understood the workings of machinery and was connected with the operation of a saw mill and a threshing and ginning business. At the time of the Civil war he believed in the Union cause but when the southern states determined to secede he en- tered the Confederate service and was detailed for duty in the commissary department. He was also on General Pemberton's body guard at the siege of Vicksburg. He owned many slaves prior to the war and the loss of his prop- erty was a great financial blow. He was an intelligent man, efficient in business life and at all times was found true to every trust reposed in him. In politics he was a Democrat and used his influence for the success of the party but never aspired to office. He held member- ship in the Missionary Baptist church and died in that faith in 1893 at the age of seventy years. He was married four times. His first wife, the mother of qur subject, was Amanda Baty, a daughter of Warren G. and Elvira (Bache- lor) Baty of Georgia, the latter a daughter of Alexander Bachelor, a prominent citizen and slave owner of that state. Warren Baty was also a leading and successful agriculturist and owned a number of slaves. He removed from Georgia to Tennessee, where he spent his re- maining days. He held membership in the Baptist church. His children were twelve in number, namely : Mrs. Amanda Curlin ; Cicero, a farmer; John, who died while serving as a soldier in the Civil war; Thomas, who also died in the army; Cob, who was killed at Shiloh; Warren G., who was likewise in the army; Frank, who served throughout the war; Eva- line, the wife of Dr. Jones; Lucy, the wife of

C. Mulharen; Mary, the wife of T. Raynor ; Elvira and Posey, who followed farming.

John V. and Amanda Curlin became the parents of three children: T. G. of this re- view; and William A. and Mary, who died in childhood. The wife and mother died in 1854 and Mr. Curlin afterward married Nancy Bri- ley of a prominent family of Tennessee and a daughter of John Briley of North Carolina, who removed to Tennessee, where he became well known as a planter, owning a large tract of land and many slaves. In his family were eight children : Benjamin, a farmer who served in the Confederate army; Mrs. Nancy Curlin ; Mrs. Eliza Coburn ; Lottie ; Jesse, a farmer who was also in the Civil war; John, who like- wise carries on agricultural pursuits ; Mrs. Mattie Walder; and Joseph, a farmer.

To John V. and Nancy Curlin were born two children: John H., who is in partnership with his brother, T. G. Curlin; and Mrs. Sally Cook. The mother died in 1863 while the father was rendering active service in the Civil war at Vicksburg. In 1864 he married Anna Rawls, a daughter of Dr. Rawls, a capable physician. There were nine children by that marriage: Dolly, Joseph V., Julia, Charles R., Amanda, Frank and three who died in childhood. In fact Amanda is the only one now living. Following the death of his third wife Mr. Curlin married Mrs. Carr, a widow.

T. G. and J. H. Curlin were reared under the parental roof and assisted their father in masonry work. The former remained as a partner of his father until thirty years of age and to some extent they followed logging and ginning. In 1884 T. G. Curlin returned to his own home neighborhood and was married to Miss Mary J. West, an estimable lady who was born in Tennessee and was a daughter of John and Sarah Ann (Dickenson) West, the former a native of North Carolina, while Mrs. West be- longed to a prominent and honored family of western Tennessee, the Dickensons being wide- ly known and highly respected. John West was reared in the Old North state but was mar- ried in Tennessee and in order to provide for his family followed the occupation of farming. His death occurred in Tennessee. He had served throughout the Civil war in the Confederate army and he was a devoted member of the Primitive Baptist church, his life being in har- mony with his professions. In his family were five children, namely: Mrs. Mary J. Curlin ; Mrs. Emma Compton ; Mrs. Ada Barnes ; Musa, the wife of James Curlin ; and Henry, a farmer and ginner. In 1887 Mr. Curlin of this review

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A twentieth century history and biographical record of north and west Texas, Volume II, Part 29

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