A twentieth century history and biographical record of north and west Texas, Volume II, Part 70

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 70

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On the farm in Georgia and in Louisiana our subject came to mature years and in the rural schools he obtained his education, concluding his school career even after the war. At the age of seventeen he enlisted at Camp Moore, Louisiana, in 1861, in Company I, Seventeenth Louisiana, Colonel S. S. Hurd, and fought at Shiloh and Port Gibson and was surrrendered by General Pemberton at Vicksburg, paroled and later exchanged and the regiment was re- organized west of the Mississippi river, but no more engagements were participated in and when the breakup came he went back to civil life on the farm. Remaining in Louisiana until 1872, Mr. Maddox then came to Texas and passed a year in Fannin county. Going then to Fort Worth he engaged in the livery business on Rusk street, the firm being W. & J. Mad- dox, and after seven years there he came to Jack county and bought land and took up the stock business on Keechi as already narrated above.

October 29, 1872, in Bonham, Texas, Mr. Maddox married Frances A. White, a daughter of Richard and Sarah (Snead) White. The father was born in Georgia, moved to Louisi- ana and was a farmer. Mrs. Maddox was born in Georgia November 1, 1849, and is one of five children and the only one living. The issue of Mr. and Mrs. Maddox: Pearl, who died in February, 1905, as the wife of E. H. Harlin ; Albert Payton, of Denton county, Texas; Maud, wife Frank E. Graham, of Jacksboro; Walter, who married Maggie Oats and resides on his father's farm, as does Richard W .; Sallie V. and John W. are at the parental home. In his political relations to Jack county Mr. Mad- dox has always taken a lively interest and in 1900 he was elected sheriff and collector and served two years. He then went into the gro- cery business in Jacksboro and later into the grain business, but is now retired.

JOHN ALSWERD HENSLEY. It is fit- ting to review the career of a native son of Jack county, whose childhood began amidst the wild scenes of frontier life and whose youthful labors and efforts of early manhood were an active force in the promotion of one of the most successful ventures conceived and brought to maturity within the limits of the county. While his efforts were active the force they propelled was a silent one for years, yet it ever

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HISTORY OF NORTH AND WEST TEXAS.

counted toward the final results and helped to make John Hensley, his father, famous as a cowman in Jack county.

As already indicated, John A. Hensley was born in Jack county and his birth occurred January 29, 1868. His father entered the coun- ty as a genuine pioneer and his record is set out at some length on another page of this work. Five miles east of Jacksboro, on Carroll creek, was the scene of our subject's childhood days and the footprints of his innocent days may yet linger along the banks of that harmless and rippling stream. His days of pupilage in the rural schools having been finished, he joined in the cow chase while he was yet far beneath his majority years. The college at Thorp Springs and the Southwestern University at Georgetown served to ground him well as a student and he cap-sheafed his college career with a course in Johnson's Business College in St. Louis, Missouri. The Hensley ranch, embracing forty-eight hundred acres, received him when his education was completed and with its affairs he is yet an active factor. In 1896 Hensley & Son, John and John A., were engaged in the hardware business in Jacksboro and disposed of their interests in 1897. In 1904 our subject was engaged in the retail meat business in the county seat, and for four years he has managed the Hensley Brothers ice and light plant in the same town. Together with Hickman and "Biff," his brothers, he is also engaged in the stock business and thus the hours of his daily life are devoted to active in- dustrious pursuits.

October 20, 1888, Mr. Hensley was united in marriage, in Young county, Texas, with Miss Emma Terrell, a daughter of the Fort Worth pioneer, Ed Terrell, of Belknap, Texas. Mr. Terrell was a merchant in Fort Worth in pioneer days, but many years since identified himself with Young county, where his sons are among the well known cattlemen of the county. Mr. Hensley is a Master Mason and a Demo- crat, and his interests are allied with the pro- gressive and moral elements of his county.

JOHN PRICE HAYTER. For more than a half score of years the subject of this review has been prominently identified with the busi- ness affairs of Decatur, and among his many achievements here the building up of the chief retail drug house on the Fort Worth and Den- ver road in Texas, the manufacture and dis- tribution of the famous Finley Eye Salve, bringing to his town the honor and distinction of the presidency of the State Pharmaceutical

Association, and his elevation to the chief mag- istracy of his favorite city are noteworthy in the beginning and serve to mark John P. Hayter as a progressive, capable and fearless citizen and man of affairs.

A native Texan, he was born near Whites- boro, Grayson county, November 23, 1862, of pioneer parents, Thomas M. and Sarah (How- ard) Hayter, who settled near Gordonville in 1856. The parents were originally from Liv- ingston, Tennessee, but emigrated from there in the early fifties and settled for a time near Walnut Grove, Missouri, and from that point came to Texas and settled on a new farm in Gray- son county. This farm they improved, reared their family upon and there died, the father in 1901, and the mother in 1902.

Thomas M. Hayter was born in 1819, laid the foundation for a good education in his youth and served in the Mexican war from his na- tive state. He was a successful farmer and when the issue of slavery divided our country he took the southern end of the dilemma, while some of his brothers in Missouri served with the Federal arms. He was not in the army himself but lent encouragement to the cause and united his influence with the Democratic party when civil affairs were restored in the state. His ancestors were subjects of the Brit- ish crown who sought America during colonial times and founded the New World branch of this worthy family. The issue of the mar- riage of Thomas M. and Sarah Hayter were : "Bud," a farmer of Gordonsville, Texas ; James M. and William M., of Spring Creek, Texas ; Annie, wife of Thomas B. Givens, of Roff, In- dian Territory; Harriett, who married J. K. Stallings, of Mannsville, Indian Territory ; John P., of this sketch ; and Robert L., of Blue Ridge, Texas.

The farm was the birthplace and playground of John P. Hayter and the country log school house his academy and college. Until twenty- four years of age he remained with the farm, at which time and with a capital of fifty-five dollars he established himself in the drug busi- ness in Gordonsville, in the neighborhood where he grew up. He was elected justice of the peace at this time and the two departures ·gave him a new and valuable experience in dealing with men. He remained in Gordons- ville three years and in Whitesboro four years and then came to Decatur and purchased the stock of J. W. Sparrow and Company, which he made the popular drug house of Decatur and one of the largest and best known in this part of the state. He conducted this establish-

XP. Hayter

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HISTORY OF NORTH AND WEST TEXAS.

ment until the month of October, 1904, when he disposed of it to devote his time more fully to the manufacture of his eye salve, its mail- order business and to the various other busi- ness matters with which he is connected.

The Finley Eye Salve, on which Mr. Hayter owns the patent, is a remedy widely known and extensively advertised, and the name of J. P. Hayter is a household word in thousands of communities all over our broad land. For sixteen years he has pushed its merits, and an almost phenomenal business has been the out- growth of his truth-telling crusade.

The fact of his engaging in the drug busi- ness brought Mr. Hayter into contact with the Pharmaceutical Association of the state of Texas. He became a member of it in 1899 and his proverbial good nature, congeniality and business sagacity prompted the association to attach him to its official family. For three years he served as its vice president, and in June, 1905, he was elected president of the as- sociation, an office entailing a responsibility over several million dollars worth of property and of vital consequence to the drug trade of the Empire State of the Southwest. He became a member of the Tri-county Retail Drug as- sociation some time since and is its secretary and treasurer. Other business enterprises find in Mr. Hayter an active aid, viz: The Wise County Home Protective Association, of which he is secretary, and the Home Protective Asso- ciation of Texas, of which he is treasurer, the First National Bank of Decatur, of which he is a director, and the Decatur Land, Loan and Abstract Company, of which he is president and manager. He is a director of the Ray Hardware Company of Fort Worth and of the S. P. Smith Lumber Company, Decatur. He is master of finance of Decatur Lodge, K. of P., is secretary of the board of stewards, Bowie District, North Texas Conference of the Meth,- odist Episcopal church and chairman of the board of stewards of the Methodist Episcopal church, south, of Decatur.

On the 22d of November, 1885, Mr. Hayter married, in Sunset, Texas, Miss Jennie Thom- ason, a daughter of Dr. W. F. Thomason, form- erly from Tennessee. This union has resulted in the following living issue, viz: Chlora, Grady, Irma, Lenella, Sallie May, J. P. Jr., and Byrne.

While our subject has apparently been well occupied in a business way he has not neglect- ed the political side of his nature. He was rocked in the cradle of Jeffersonian principles and breathed the ozone of the primary prin-

ciples of Democracy from the Texas air and he has a clear title to his claim. His political ac- tion has been such as to convince his townsmen of his absolute sincerity and honesty and they honored him with election to the mayoralty of Decatur in April, 1905. With Mr. Hayter whatever his wisdom inspires his industry ac- complishes. He has an abnormal capacity for labor and the multifarious duties of his various connections are attended to with a promptness * and expertness marking the versatility and adaptability of the man.

ALFRED T. CASEY. Among the young emigrants of nearly thirty years ago who flocked to the unbroken prairies of the Texas fron- tier and who reveled in the fine shooting of that and later years, and who feasted on the choicest game of the land and slaughtered deer and turkey and antelope as the winter sports- man of Texas now slaughters the rabbit, is Alfred T. Casey, the retired ranchman and farmer of Lost Valley, who recently took up his residence near Jacksboro and is experienc- ing a relaxation from a strenuous life of a score of years on the Jack county range. When he came to Texas he was a youth of twenty, and for a time was located in Parker county, but as the family had acquired land interests in Lost Valley and its membership was largely made up of brothers and sisters with energy and youth and fitted for the building up of a home and a business then peculiar to the fron- tier, they came hither and in 1870 possessed their Jack county land and proceeded along primitive lines to the initial work of establish- ing themselves herein. The T. R. Slevin tract, which came to the family on a bankrupt sale, was Peters colony land and it furnished the opening wedge for a career of success in the cattle business, which the brothers Alfred T. and George Casey later enjoyed.

. While the open range was indisputably ac- cessible, yet when Mr. Casey settled in Jack it was early apparent that in a few years the grazing industry would be confined only to those who possessed pastures, and while he grazed in the "open" so long as it was profit- able to do so, he was the first to fence a pas- ture in Lost Valley, when he enclosed the fam- ily estate with a wire fence and converted it into a modern-day ranch and a safe refuge for the "KC" and "Casy" brands, which their stock always carried. A box house first housed the Casey family and the passage of time saw it develop into a modest residence, convenient and suitable to the needs of a small ranch. At

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HISTORY OF NORTH AND WEST TEXAS.

its zenith the Casey ranch embraced also a thousand acres of leased land and five hundred and sixty head of cattle pastured off its grassy sward. When the brothers closed out their holdings nearly four hundred head of their familiar brand went with the ranch and farm.

Alfred T. Casey was born in Louisville, Ken- tucky, December 29, 1858. His father, William B. Casey, was a molder and a partner in the firm of Bridgeford & Co., now the largest es- tablishment of its kind in the city. The latter was Erin's native son and born about 1831. He lived in Louisville from eight years of age to his death, about 1870, and there married Mar- garet Booth, who died in Lost Valley, Jack county, in 1903, at sixty-six years of age. The issue of the marriage of William B. and Mar- garet Casey were: Alfred T., our subject ; Charles, of Los Angeles, California; William, of El Paso, Texas; Walter, whose residence is unknown; George, who died in Kansas City, Missouri, in 1904, leaving a family ; Eugenia Logan; and Alice, who married the well known stockman of Jack county, James Lilly, and left two children at her death in Jacksboro in No- vember, 1904.

Alfred T. Casey had access to the Louisville, Kentucky, schools on his way to maturity, but rather grew out of the reach of parental con- trol and preferred ball-playing to being con- fined in school or to practice with the emblems of industry in the acquirement of a trade. He had reached seventeen years of age when the seriousness of life dawned upon him, but it seems he was not able to connect himself with anything permanent until he took hold of the game-burdened situation in Jack county, and for a few years and while becoming acclimated and accustomed to western ways grew serious in quest of innocent prey. July 24, 1876, he married Jennie Carroll, a daughter of Jo Car- roll, of Louisville, well known in his day to the sporting world of the city. Carroll was an Irishman born, passed his life in Louisville, where Mrs. Casey was born in April, 1858. Mr. Casey lived for a time in Los Angeles, Cali- fornia, going to the Pacific coast for his wife's health, but the ravages of disease carried her off in 1889 and she lies buried in the tropical city, the metropolis of southern California. Three children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Casey, namely : Miss Alice and Miss Jennie, the oldest and youngest, reside with their father and preside over his domestic establish- ment, while William is with a United States surveying party in South Dakota. Mr. Casey has ever manifested an interest in local civil

affairs, has always participated with the Dem- ocratic party at the primaries and the polls and was county commissioner from precinct No. 2 for two years.

JAMES LEE HOWARD. One of the young stockmen whose operations have cov- ered in Montague county an era of about a score of years and whose substantial success is evident in the length and breadth of his grassy domain is James L. Howard, of Stoneburg. He has been intimately identified with the range since 1883, at which time he entered Montague county at the beginning of his inde- pendent career. The association which he formed at that time placed him directly in the channel of success and he has diligently pur- sued the same with few shoals or sandbars to impede the progress of his little craft.

Mr. Howard was an emigrant from Grayson county, Texas, where his birth occurred Janu- ary 20, 1864. His father, William Howard, had located in the county the year previous and set- tled near Sherman and was concerned with matters of the farm all his life. In Christian county, Kentucky, William Howard was born November 27, 1819. He grew up there, learned the hatters' trade and married and moved to Lawrence county, Missouri, in 1849, from which point he migrated to Texas. He was a son of William Howard, a North Carolinian, who died in Kentucky and was the father of eleven children to reach maturity. Our sub- ject's mother was Elizabeth G. Pool, of Chris- tian county, Kentucky, who died in Grayson county in 1880. Two years later her husband moved to Clear creek, in Cooke county, where he passed away in 1896. They were the parents of : Albert, who died at nineteen years; Linn, Sarah E., who passed away at eighteen; Bud and Andy both died in childhood; James L. In 1882 William Howard married his second wife, who was Mrs. Elizabeth Knight, yet of Cooke county, Texas, as is her son, Gregg How- ard.

James L. Howard came to mature youth on the farm and had the advantages of only a country school education. When he came to Montague county he entered the employ of Thomas M. Riley, a prominent stockman on Middle Belknap creek and remained with him until the latter's death and then taking charge of his estate, marrying the widow and finally coming into possession of the old ranch him- self.

When he first came to the county Mr. How- ard contracted for an hundred and sixty acres

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HISTORY OF NORTH AND WEST TEXAS.

of Limestone county school land and toward the liquidation of this contract he paid- his. earnings from time to time. He grew into the cattle business himself in a limited way, prior to Mr. Riley's death, but when the manage- ment of the whole estate came to him and the ranch's broad acres were left to his care he met the problem with wisdom and good business tact and has come to be known as a 'reliable and successful cowman. With his recent purchase of a thousand acres his aggregate realty holdings are twenty-five hundred and fifty-six acres, stocked with all it will carry.

May 20, 1897, Mr. Howard married his first wife, who was Mrs. Sarah M. Riley, widow of his old employer and a daughter of John Gold- smith, of Jack county, Texas, but originally from Tennessee. At his death Thomas M. Riley left his widow with a son, Cash Riley, whose welfare is in the hands of Mr. Howard, in whose habitation he finds a comfortable and welcome home. Mrs. Sarah Howard passed away September 16, 1901, and December 20, 1903, Mr. Howard married Eva, a daughter of Alfred Page, and their child is Thomas P.

James L. Howard is occupied purely with his personal affairs. The practice of sticking close to business has grown on him for many years until it has become a part of his nature and it has contributed in a great measure to- ward his successful career. He is a Democrat without personal aspirations or ambitions and holds a membership in the Missionary Baptist church, as does also Cash Riley. Mrs. Howard affiliates with the Methodist Episcopal church.

LANDON BOOTH, deceased, was recog- nized as a citizen of worth in Tarrant county and at Birdville, where he was especially well known. His loss was very deeply regretted when on the 15th of January, 1892, he was called from this life. A native of Tennessee, his birth occurred in Washington county on the 28th of May, 1856, his parents being Madison and Elzira (Brown) Booth, both of whom were natives of Tennessee. The father with his father emigrated westward in 1857, and in 1859 he came to Tarrant county, Texas, settling near Birdville, which was then large- ly a frontier district, few pioneers having yet made their way into that section of the state. There Madison Booth continued to make his home until called to his final rest in the early '8os. He was one of the first surveyors of Tarrant county and was a well known and val- uable citizen, his worth being widely recog- nized because he was the champion of many

measures which proved of practical value in the upbuilding and development of this coun- ty. Of his children two are yet living, Frank and Sadie, the latter the wife of D. L. Hunt of Wise county, Texas. Madison Booth was a Democrat in his political views and was a sol- dier of the Confederate army during the Civil war. In his death Tarrant county lost one of its pioneer settlers and a well known and rep- resentative citizen. He had been an exemplary member of the Masonic fraternity and was esteemed by all who knew him for his genuine worth of character.

Landon Booth of this review accompanied his parents on their removal to Tarrant coun- ty when a small lad and here he was reared to man's estate. He was practically a self edu- cated and self made man, having few advan- tages in his youth for the acquirement of an education and receiving little financial assist- ance in his business career. For a number of years he was engaged in general merchandis- ing at Birdville and for several years filled the office of postmaster at that place. A number of years prior to his death, however, he dis- posed of his store and, retiring from commer- cial pursuits, devoted his attention to agricul- ture and stock-raising, becoming the owner of a good tract of land and successfully carry- ing on the work which claimed his attention. In all of his business affairs he was determined, energetic and reliable and he had the force of character that enabled him to carry forward to successful completion whatever he under- took.

On the 2nd of September, 1880, Mr. Booth was united in marriage to Miss Minerva J. Johnson, a native of Tarrant county and a daughter of Moat and Sarah E. (Boone) John- son. Her father was a soldier of the Confeder- ate army in the Civil war and died during the period of hostilities. He had been one of the early settlers of Tarrant county and was prominent and influential in that county. Unto Mr. and Mrs. Booth were born five children, of whom three are living: Morton J., who is handling the home farm, and is one of the rep- resentative young farmers of this part of the county ; Leon, who is attending school at Fort Worth ; and Effie, while Byrtle and Ethel have passed away. Mrs. Booth still resides upon the old home farm near Birdville, com- prising over four hundred acres of rich and productive land devoted to general agricultural pursuits and stock-raising. She is highly es- teemed for her many noble characteristics, and is very liberal in all things.

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HISTORY OF NORTH AND WEST TEXAS.

Mr. Booth affiliated with the Masonic fra- ternity at Smithfield and was a member of the Baptist church at Birdville, to which his wife still belongs. Industry was one of the strong points in his career and his labors were guided by sound judgment. He was never known to take advantage of the necessities of his fel- lowmen in any trade transaction and when he was called away the community mourned the loss of a valued and respected citizen.

THOMAS J. OWEN belongs to an hon- ored and prominent pioneer family of Texas and made a creditable record in his business career and in his work for the improvement of this part of the state, his efforts contributing to the great work of transformation that has been carried steadily forward here. He was born in Wataga county, Alabama, November 16, 1833, but when only two years old was brought to Texas by his parents, Jesse and Carolina (Mitchell) Owen, the former a native of Prince Edward county, Virginia, and the latter of South Carolina. Their marriage, however, was celebrated in Alabama. The paternal grand- parents were Jesse and Susan (Caldwell) Owen, likewise natives of the Old Dominion, while Robert Owen, the founder of the family in America, was a native of Wales and be- came an early resident of Virginia. Jesse Owen was a representative farmer in his home lo- cality in Virginia and subsequent to his re- moval to Alabama he purchased large tracts of land and became an extensive planter. Pros- perity attended his efforts and he acquired a large estate, which he left to his descendants. His political allegiance was given to the Democ- racy and he was a member of the Primitive Baptist church. He died about 1843 at the ripe old age of seventy-seven years and his wife died in 1844. Their children were: Thomas, who was a district judge in Alabama and died in Texas; Jack, who died in Arkan- sas; Jesse, father of our subject; Tabitha ; Elizabeth; and Polly.

Jesse Owen was reared in Alabama and re- mained under the parental roof up to the time of his marriage when he began farming on his own account in that state. He managed his business affairs with success but in 1835 sought a home in Texas, settling in Nacog- doches county, where he bought land and im- proved a good farm. He took his slaves with him from Alabama and remained at his first location in Texas until 1851, when he removed to Lamar county, where he opened up a second

farm, making it his home until his death in 1875. He was a strong Democrat and stanch- ly favored the secession movement. Although he lost heavily through the exigencies of war, as did the great majority of southern citizens, he afterward largely recuperated his losses and obtained a competency for old age. He car- ried on farming and cattle-raising in his later years and his able management and keen dis- cernment brought him prosperity. He held membership in the Primitive Baptist church. His wife died in Lamar county in 1873. She was a daughter of Reiley and Nancy (Wells) Mitchell, natives of Ireland, who for many years resided in Alabama, where the father conducted a good plantation with the aid of his slaves. He served as a soldier in the Revolutionary war and was a patriotic Ameri- can. In his family were six children: James and Wilson, who were farmers of Alabama, Mrs. Carolina Owen, Margaret. Martha and Nancy. Mr. and Mrs. Jesse Owen had two sons and a daughter; William C., who died while serving in the Confederate army ; Susan, the wife of A. J. Hager ; and Thomas J.

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A twentieth century history and biographical record of north and west Texas, Volume II, Part 70

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