A twentieth century history and biographical record of north and west Texas, Volume II, Part 55

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

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Daniel M. Smith accompanied his parents on their removal to Arkansas and afterward re- turned to Tennessee. There through his indus- try and capable management he acquired a good education. Subsequently he returned to Arkan- sas, where he engaged in teaching school for six years, making an excellent record as an educator because of his ability to impart clearly and read- ily to others the knowledge that he had acquired. In the meantime he took up the study of law and

was admitted to the bar at Little Rock, Arkansas, in 1879. Subsequently he practiced his profes- sion in Harrison, that state, where he also con- ducted the newspaper and was likewise editor of a paper at Valley Springs in Arkansas. In 1883, however, he closed out his business in that state and came to Montague, Texas, where he resumed the active practice of his profession, in which he has since continued, a distinctively representa- tive clientage being accorded him that connects him with the most important litigation tried in the courts of this district.

Mr. Smith was married in Texas in 1885 to Miss Dixie Hart. who was born in Marshall, this state, and is a lady of culture and intelligence. Her father, John A. Hart, of Mississippi, was one of the honored early settlers of Texas, who devoted his attention in early life to mechanical pursuits and afterward followed farming. He served through the Civil war as a Confederate soldier, meeting with the usual hardships and ex- periences which fall to the lot of those in mili- tary life. Both he and his wife were consistent and faithful members of the Cumberland Presby- terian church and took an active interest in its work. Mr. Hart died in Texas at the age of seventy-five years, and his wife passed away in this state when sixty-seven years of age. They had six sons and one daughter: Ed, Walter, John, Robert, Dixie, Thomas and George. The home of Mr. and Mrs. Smith has been blessed with six children: Carlisle ; Emory, who is read- ing law; Dewitt, who is an apt student in the public schools; Lillie; Fay; and Clark, who was born on the Ist of March, 1905.

In his political affiliation Mr. Smith is an earnest Democrat, who keeps well informed on the questions and issues of the day and is able to support his position by intelligent argument. He takes an active and helpful part in campaign work and has twice served his county as assist- ant county attorney. Soon after taking up his abode in. Montague he became correspondent for several newspapers, including the Dallas Herald, with which he was connected until the establish- ment of the Dallas News. He then became cor- respondent for that paper, and is one of its oldest

SAMUEL B. CANTEY

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representatives in this connection. The greater part of his attention, however, is given to his law practice, and he stands as a leading repre -- sentative of the bar of Montague county, hav- ing a comprehensive knowledge of the prin- ciples of jurisprudence, while in the trial of a case he presents his cause with great clearness and force. Both he and his wife are faithful members of the Methodist church and he also holds membership relations with the Knights of Honor and Woodmen of the World. Their . home is a commodious residence in Montague, justly celebrated for its gracious and charming hospitality, and Mr. Smith also owns a farm near the town. It is not flattery to say that Mr. Smith has an ideal family, and that with his assistance his boys will be among the leading citizens of their locality. His only daughter, Lillie, now about fifteen, is the idol of the home, and has already reached that accom- plishment in music to attract attention by all who know her.

SAMUEL B. CANTEY, member of the firm Capps and Cantey, lawyers, of Fort Worth, is easily one of the most successful young law- yers at the Fort Worth bar. He studied law in this city, was admitted to the bar here, and his career has been one of unprecedented suc- cess. He is not only a good lawyer, but a bril- liant speaker and splendid manager of his cases at the bar, and socially a most lovable char- acter. During the course of the last twenty years the history of Fort Worth will show that Mr. Cantey has been identified with practically every important enterprise undertaken for the welfare of the city and its institutions.

He is a member of one of the old and prom- inent families of the south, one that devoted all it possessed to the lost cause of the Con- federacy. He was born in Russell county, Ala- bama, July 31, 1861, being a son of General James and Martha E. (Benton) Cantey. His father was a native South Carolinian, while his mother was of the well known family of Colonel Benton of North Carolina. James Cantey joined the famous "Palmetto Regiment" of South Carolina for service in the Mexican war, and became adjutant of that regiment. He af- terward became a wealthy planter and slave owner in Russell county, Alabama, where he had a large estate, but he sacrificed his entire fortune to the maintenance of the Confederate cause, and was a poor man when he came out of the army. At the beginning of the war he raised and organized the Fifteenth Alabama Regiment, of which he became colonel in com- mand. For awhile he was in the division com- manded by Stonewall Jackson, and he served

throughout the civil conflict with distinguished ability and bravery, and before its close was promoted to the rank of brigadier general.

Mr. Samuel B. Cantey was reared to man- hood in Russell county, Alabama. He received some of his early education in the Annia-ana Classical Academy in northern Georgia, and then finished at the Alabama Agricultural and Mechanical College, where he graduated in 1880. He had also in the meantime been pre- paring for the legal profession. He came to Texas in 1880, and to Fort Worth in 1881, and continued his legal studies in the office of Ma- bry and Carter, being admitted to the bar in Fort Worth on September 19, 1881, the day of Garfield's death. He has enjoyed a large and successful practice ever since, and has a repu- tation as both a pleader and counsel.

Mr. Cantey was married in Fort Worth on November 18, 1885, to Miss Italia Brooks, a daughter of W. C. Brooks. They have four children : Craig, Marguerite, Martha and Sam- uel B., Jr., all at school at present.

RUFUS BOOTH. The pioneer element of the citizenship of Wise county is represented by the gentleman whose name introduces this article and his active life has been busy with the promotion of its agrarian interests. Few have lived longer in the county than he and many have achieved less substantial results when the measure of value is strictly applied.

The Booths were not only among the early settlers of Wise county, but they entered the state of Texas when its most eastern border was scarcely off of the frontier and Tarrant county, where they first stopped, was as un- marked by civilization as any portion of the commonwealth today. The year of their ad- vent to the state also marked their departure from Oktibbeha county, Mississippi. Benja- min Booth, our subject's father, was the fam- ily's domestic head, and from 1852 to the year of his death he dealt with primitive conditions on the Texas frontier. His life was altogether rural and he was known nowhere but as a farm- er. Upon his entry to Wise county he located his pre-emption of a quarter section of land in the immediate neighborhood of his son's pres- ent home and lived a plain, quiet and indus- trious life. In matters of government he was a follower of the faith of Jefferson and his re- ligious obligations he performed as a member of the Missionary Baptist church.

Benjamin Booth was born in North Carolina in 1808 and was of colonial and revolutionary stock. His father was Lewis Booth and he was one of four children, namely : Henry; Patsy, wife of Elijah Stallings, of Lamar county,

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HISTORY OF NORTH AND WEST TEXAS.

Texas; Fannie, who married a Mr. Brantlett, of Mississippi, and Benjamin. For his wife the last named married Elizabeth McCewen, who died in Wise county in 1868. The original home of the McCewens was in the state of Mississip- pi, while that of the Booths traces back to old Virginia, the mother of presidents and appro- priately called the "Old Dominion State." Of the issue of Benjamin and Elizabeth Booth, James died in Cooke county, Texas ; John died at Little Rock, Arkansas, during the war, leav- ing a wife and child; William died in Camp Douglas, the Federal military prison at Chi- cago; Lottie died in Wise county in 1890 as Mrs. G. I. Morrow ; Sarah, of Jack county, wife of S. C. Morrow; Rufus, of this sketch; Mar- garet E., who died in Wise county as the wife of E. J. McKee ; Malinda, of Wise county, wid- ow of J. W. Phillips, and Matilda, who passed away unmarried.

The subscription schools of Wise and Tar- rant counties provided the means for educating Rufus Booth, and the only Wise county teacher he had was a German, Moses Myers. Mr. Booth had reached the age of eighteen years unable to read or write, and it was by hard persuasion on the part of the German teacher that he consented to become a pupil in his Sandy neighborhood school. Notwith- standing his nationality and his eccentricities Mr. Myers proved a good instructor and his school really laid the foundation for Rufus Booth's success and made it possible for him to pass through life an intelligent and inde- pendent man.

Beginning life at twenty-five Mr. Booth. pre- empted a tract of land west of Chico and a second eighty he bought with the money earned by driving ox teams consisting of twen- ty-four head of cattle for wages ; and the quar- ter section he sold for $600 and bought a part of his present homestead with the money. He struck the first licks upon the farm where he resides and reared his family and the clap- boards which covered his box house were de- rived from the forest of oak at hand. This humble cabin home served him some fifteen years, when it gave place to his modern-day residence, capping an incline some eighty rods from the Chico and Decatur road. In his boy- hood days Mr. Booth had some experience running cattle on the range, but when he set up an establishment of his own he gave his at- tention to the cultivation of the soil. His suc- cess as a corn, cotton and grain man has en- abled him to increase his acres from two hun- dred and forty, as at first, to three hundred and forty-three, one of the valuable farmsteads of the county.

January 20, 1876, Mr. Booth married Estel- la A. Phillips, a daughter of James Madison Phillips, who died in the Union army during the war. Mr. Phillips was born in Ohio and was married in Randolph county, Indiana, to Miss Martha A. Thompson. He was the father of Josephine, deceased wife of Clark Eaton; James Willard, deceased; Mrs. Booth, born in Whitney county, Indiana, February 19, 1859, and J. H., of Healdton, Indian Territory. Some time after her husband's death Mrs. Phillips married J. L. Barker and in 1872 they came to Texas and she died at our subject's home Feb- ruary 25, 1905, at seventy-four years of age. By her union with Mr. Barker two children were born: S. Clarence, of Lubbock county, Texas, and Benjamin Edward, who died when he was four months old.

Mr. and Mrs. Booth's children are: Jesse V., John M., George E. and Benjamin F. are still with the parental home; Alta E. is the wife of E. H. Ross, of Jones county, Texas; Alvin Leroy, Mr. Booth's oldest child, died January 28, 1878, having been born July 2, 1877. Jesse V. is attending the State Univer- sity at Austin ; John M. is attending school in Chico.

In the matter of politics Mr. Booth has fol- lowed somewhat in his father's footsteps, ex- cept that the latter did once serve as a com- missioner of Wise county, while the former has no political or official ambition to gratify. When politics governs the choice of candidates he takes the Democrat, but when local condi- tions prompt another course he pursues it in the interest of efficiency and competency in the public service. Mr. Booth had a great deal of trouble in the early days on account of the In- dians stealing horses. After one such raid he got together a posse and going in pursuit rez covered the stolen animals by main force. His father could not keep horses to do his farm work, and had to place dependence entirely on ox teams, from which he lost both money and efficiency in producing his crops.

MRS. SARAH PUCKETT, one of the es- teemed ladies of Nocona, is the widow of the late Lorenzo D. Puckett and both are descended from honored pioneer families of the republic of Texas. Mr. Puckett was born in Vigo county, Indiana, April 20, 1825, and was a son of Thomas Puckett of North Carolina, who became a pioneer settler of the Hoosier state. He served through- out the Blackhawk war and was prominently and actively connected with events that aided in fram- ing the early history of Indiana. He built the

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HISTORY OF NORTH AND WEST TEXAS.

first log cabin at Terre Haute and assisted in the development and upbuilding of the new town and county. He became an extensive land owner and prosperous farmer and was regarded finan- cially as one of the substantial residents of that part of the state. He also assisted in organizing the first bank at Terre Haute, owned much of its stock and was one of its directors. An enterpris- ing and public spirited man, he was found re- liable in all business transactions and was energet- ic and industrious in everything that he under- took, whether it was an enterprise for individual profit or a movement for the general community. In 1839, on account of the health of his wife, he removed to Texas, hoping that she would be benefited by the more genial climate of the south. He took up his abode near where the city of Austin is located and there purchased a large tract of land, which he improved. He carried on general agricultural pursuits and also cattle raising. The state at that time was without a .per- manent capital and Mr. Puckett was instru- mental in the movement which resulted in making Austin the capital city of Texas. Many wanted Houston the capital, but Mr. Puckett and his as- sociates prevailed in their work and Austin be- came the seat of government for Texas. As the years passed Mr. Puckett became the owner of much land in different counties in Texas and was widely and favorably known for his unstained in- tegrity in business affairs and his far-sighted judgment. In 1869 he drove a herd of cattle to Illinois for sale, and while in that state he died at Tuscola. He was a consistent member of the Methodist church. In his family were the follow- ing children: Mrs. Irene Garrett, Mrs. Hannah Hodgkiss, Lorenzo D., Cyrus, Elijah, Chancey, Miranda and Enceba.

Lorenzo D. Puckett, born in Indiana, was brought to Texas by his father in 1839. After reaching manhood he engaged in the cattle and stock business and located a ranch in Karnes county. He was then married in 1854, and took up his abode upon his ranch, where he followed farming to some extent and also got a good start in the stock business. He remained there for eighteen years, and was among the prominent and extensive cattle growers of the locality. During the period of the Civil war he was de- tailed for frontier service to look after the war troops and also to secure beef cattle for the army. He drove large herds of cattle to the eastern and southern states, to Louisiana and other places for the Confederate troops. He was paid in Confed- erate money, which at the close of the war was worthless and thousands of dollars were thus lost. During this period Mr. Puckett was en-

rolled with the Home Guards for frontier serv- ice, and he was in many raids and some hotly con- tested engagements with the Indians. To keep the horses the settlers were obliged to chain them so that the Indians could not cut them loose and run them out.

In 1872 Mr. Puckett sold out and removed to Williamson county, where he purchased a farm and carried on general agricultural pursuits. Later he built and operated a cotton gin and was quite successful in the conduct of his farming and ginning interests. He remained in William- son county for eight years, when he disposed of his interests there and removed to Tom Green county, where he again gave his attention to the raising of stock. He thus got a good start, but on account of the drought he had to move his stock, mostly horses, to New Mexico. There, however, a disease spread among his horses and many died, so that Mr. Puckett was a heavy loser. He remained in that state, however, for five years, but finally sold his stock and then came to Mon- tague county. Here he purchased two tracts of landand engaged in farming. He had succeeded in getting a good start and was again doing well when he became ill. He lingered on for some time and finally, to be near a physician, removed to Nocona, where he remained until his death on the 29th of March, 1900.

Mr. Puckett had been married to Miss Sarah Forbes, who was born in Tennessee, February 19, 1834. She was a devoted helpmate to him during the tempestuous days of the rebellion, and she afterward remained with him while he met the deprivations and hardships of frontier life among the Indians. She is a daughter of Collin and Mary . (Robertson) Forbes, the former a native of Georgia and the latter of Tennessee. Her paternal grandfather, John Forbes, was a son of Collin Forbes, a native of Scotland and a pioneer resident of Georgia. His father was a member of the House of Lords in Scotland and belonged to a wealthy and aristocratic family connected with the nobility. Collin Forbes, however, married against the will of his parents, which incurred the hostility of his father and he was therefore disin- herited, so that with his bride he left his native heath and sailed for the new world. He had been reared in the Presbyterian church and never de- parted from that faith. His son, John Forbes, was reared in Georgia and became a prominent planter and Presbyterian minister. He was draft- ed for service in the war of 1812 and was pro- ceeding to join Jackson's army at New Orleans when hostilities ceased. He was a well known man, highly respected for his genuine worth, and he died in Mississippi, his death regretted by all

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who knew him. His wife survived him for some time and afterward came to Texas, where she died. She was a descendant of an honored early family of Texas connected with the Hawthornes. In the family of John Forbes were four sons and two daughters: Collin, the father of Mrs. Puck- ett; Arthur, who died in Mississippi; John, who came to Texas; Robert, a physician who also made his home in this state; Margaret, deceased ; and Mrs. Mary Howard.

Collin Forbes was born in Georgia and spent the greater part of his youth in Tennessee, where he was married. He afterward became an active minister in the Presbyterian church and followed that profession for some years in connection with general agricultural pursuits. He was a busy man and was always actively engaged in some work or another. He was strongly solicited to come to Texas during the days of the republic, but refused to leave the United States. Soon after the annexation' of this state, however, in 1845, he removed to Texas and eventually made a permanent settlement in Travis county not far from Austin. He was a very busy and careful man, and he improved a good farm. He also engaged in teaching school and was a pioneer preacher, being one of the first to advocate Presbyterian doctrines in this coun- try. He was closely associated with both intel- lectual and moral progress of the communit- and he organized many churches throughout Tex- as, becoming a noted minister of his day and a famous Bible student. He had entire sympathy with the teachings of the Presbyterian church and was a most faithful follower of the principles of life inculcated by that denomination. He died in Williamson county at the ripe old age of eighty-three years, while his wife, who bore the maiden name of Mary Robertson, died at the age of ninety years. She was a daughter of John Robertson of Scotch descent, who was a native of Virginia and was a wheelwright and farmer. In the family of Collin Forbes were ten children : Elizabeth, Allen, Cynthia J., Mary, Gipson, John, Sarah, Margaret, Harvey and Emily.

Mr. and Mrs. Puckett were blessed with a family of twelve children, all of whom attained adult age and are still living, as follows: Thomas C., who makes his home in Brownwood, Texas ; Elijah, of Sherman, this state; Mary, the wife of L. Hudson; Lorenzo D., who is with his mother ; Mrs. Emma Payne; William, of New Mexico; George, also of New Mexico; Milton, who is liv- ing in Crockett county, Texas ; Mrs. Sarah Chis- holm; Irene, who is with her mother; Robert, who follows farming, and Benjamin, of Arizona.

Mrs. Puckett is a consistent and worthy mem-

ber of the Cumberland Presbyterian church, while Mr. Puckett was faithful to the teachings of the Methodist church, in which he long held mem- bership. He likewise affiliated with the Inde- pendent Order of Odd Fellows. He was a broad- minded and intelligent business man, well known and highly respected, and was enterprising and public spirited. In his younger days he under- went many hardships and privations incident to frontier life, but in his later years enjoyed the advantages which came as the result of his earn- est and persistent labor and his honorable deal- ings. He was never known to take advantage of the necessities of his fellow men in any business transaction and his life was straightforward in all of its relations.

J. D. EVANS, the pioneer merchant of Saint Jo, Texas, is a native of the Lone Star state. He was born in Titus county, Texas, January 4, 1850, son of Henry and Lennie (Smith) Evans, natives respectively of Kentucky and Missouri, who came to Texas in early life and were married here. John Evans, the grandfather of J. D., was a native of Kentucky, of Welsh descent. In 1850 he moved from Kentucky to Texas and settled in Titus county, on lands which he bought and improved, and where he became a prominent and influential citizen, and passed the rest of his life and died. He was a slave owner and brought his slaves with him to Texas. His wife, a most es- timable woman, was a member of the Primitive Baptist church. Their children in order of birth were: Samuel, Isaac, Edward, Henry, Lewis, Mrs. Ellen Brodis, Mrs. Nancy Jones, John, Vard, Perry and Mrs. Lizzie Crawford. All the sons served through the war in the Confederate army. Henry and Edward came to Texas to- gether and got a homestead grant of land from the republic of Texas, and each improved a farm in Titus county, where they remained for many years. In 1870 Henry sold out and moved to Up- shur county, whence, a year later, he went to Grayson county, bought land and improved an- other farm, on which he lived six years, and then sold out and moved to the Cherokee Nation, where he died in 1876. He was a Royal Arch Mason, a good neighbor and true friend, and had the respect of all who knew him. His wife, Len- nie, died in 1863. She was a daughter of A. Smith, one of the early settlers of Texas, who at one time owned a portion of the land on which Dallas now stands, which he sold for a trifle and afterward moved to Titus county. A farmer by occupation, he was a plain, honest, much respected man. His children were: Isaac, Len- nie, Adeline, Mary and Charles. To Henry and

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Lennie Evans were born five children, namely : Mrs. Ellen Hudnell, J. D., Murlweather L., Henry and Edward, all of Texas. The father had a second wife, who died without issue, and by his third marriage, to a Mrs. Culpepper, he had four children, Miles, Rhorsa, Media and Thomas.

J. D. Evans was reared a farmer boy, with edu- cational advantages limited to the common schools. He remained in his father's home until 1870, when he married and settled on a farm in Grayson county. Two years later he came to. Montague county and pre-empted a claim of one hundred and sixty acres, about four miles from Saint Jo, which he developed into a good farm and where he lived six years, at the end of that time selling out and moving into the town of Saint Jo. Here for awhile he ran a restaurant, but had sickness and other reverses and lost what he had saved. Then for four years he was em- ployed as a marble salesman and traveled ex- tensively. In 1882, in partnership with a Mr. Cunningham, he engaged in mercantile busi- ness, and continued the same for five years, sell- ing out to the Alliance, after which he was en- gaged in the grocery business one year. His next venture was in farming and stock-raising in Wil- barger county. Two years later he sold out and returned to Saint Jo, and in 1891 engaged in gen- eral merchandising, carrying dry goods, cloth- ing, boots and shoes and millinery, which he has since continued successfully, catering to a trade that extends over a wide territory. He owns the brick building which his store occupies and also a beautiful home in Saint Jo, surrounded by ex- tensive grounds, ornamented with trees and shrubbery.

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A twentieth century history and biographical record of north and west Texas, Volume II, Part 55

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