A twentieth century history and biographical record of north and west Texas, Volume II, Part 72

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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Barton H. Starr was but a little child when brought by his parents to Tarrant county and upon the homestead farm near Grapevine he was reared, acquiring his education in the ear- ly subscription schools of that locality. In the school of experience he has also learned many valuable lessons which have made him a practical business man and worthy citizen. When not busy with his text books he assisted in the work of tilling the fields and caring for the stock and has since engaged in general agricultural pursuits and stock-raising on his own account. He has found this work a profit- able source of income, owing to his capable management and keen business discernment and since 1880 he has resided at his present place of residence, where his good land is now highly cultivated and well improved.

In 1900 Mr. Starr was called to public office by his fellow townsmen, who recognized his worth and ability and elected him commis- sioner of Tarrant county, in which position he served for two years. His fraternal affilia- tion is with Grapevine lodge, No. 402, I. O. O. F.,

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in which he has filled all of the offices. He is an earnest champion of Democracy and aside from party association he is recognized as a public-spirited citizen, whose aid can be count- ed upon to further every movement for the general good.

On the 22nd of July, 1875, Mr. Starr was married to Miss Emma A. Proctor, a native of Missouri, and a daughter of William Proctor, late of Tarrant county. By this union seven children have been born: Minnie, the wife of Dr. C. E. Walker, of Grapevine; Ida, the wife of D. D. Wall, also of Grapevine; Willie, wife of Bradley Winfrey ; Bertie, John, Barton and Emma, all at home with their parents.

DANIEL CLEAVER BRANT. Scattered amongst the great mass of the miscellaneous population of the Lone Star state are now and then a representative of original families of the old Republic and we find in them still the ster- ling elements which dominated their fore- fathers in establishing a new state and guided them in their wise course in the creation of a commonwealth that is most appropriately termed "the Empire State of the West." In the person of D. Cleaver Brant of this review one of the pioneer families of the Republic is represented, for a head-right was issued to his grandfather in those early times which he laid on Office Branch in Denton county where the Texas history of this worthy family begins.

Archibald Brant, our subject's grandfather, migrated to Texas from Benton county, Mis- souri. His head-right of six hundred and forty acres was laid on Office Branch, as noted, and there passed, in the stock business, the remaining years of his rather short life. Their trip into the state was, of course, made in wagons and from 1845 to 1860, the founder of the family was busy with the work of unconsciously per- forming a part in the building of a great state and in rooting his family permanently into the soil thereof. He was born in the state of Missouri.

Archibald Brant, our subject's father, grew up in Denton county, Texas, whither he was brought in infancy from his native place in Ben- ton county, Missouri. His birth occurred about 1843. and when he reached the age of usefulness he rode the range until the war came on, when he entered the ranks at seventeen years old and sol- (liered for the Confederacy until its cause went down in defeat. His command was a part of the Trans-Mississippi Department, and he was once wounded. For some years subsequent to the war he was engaged in freighting from

the head of navigation at Jefferson to outlying towns and also as a hand on the cow trail from Texas to Baxter Springs, Kansas, one of the shipping points for the southwest. He seems to have established himself on a farm in Dallas county in 1860, and was there a farmer and stockman until his advent to Jack county, in 1881. He located on Jim Ned mountain, on the old Speer place, where he pursued his vo- cation till 1902, when he moved to Oklahoma and is now a trader and farmer at Walters, in Comanche county.

The intimate relations of the Brants and the Myers date from the marriage of Archibald Brant and Harriet Myers. Mrs. Brant was a daughter of the pioneer David Myers, who lo- cated a head-right on Will branch, five miles east of Carrollton, Dallas county, where he reared his family, maintained himself a useful, active and honored citizen and died there at about six- ty-five years of age. Grandfather Myers was an emigrant from Illinois, and chose for his wife Miss Laticia Radish, who bore him: Sarah, wife of Andrew Clark; Mrs. William Barnes, Mrs. Arch Fike and Mrs. David Nix; Rev. J. M. Myers, a Baptist minister; B. Cleaver ; George, and Thomas, now deceased. A strong believer in the promotion of the interests of the church, Grandfather Myers organized the first Baptist church ever organized in Dallas county, called "Lonesome Dove Church," situ- ated ten miles from Grapevine, and with its affairs he was associated as long as he remained on earth.

The children of Archibald and Harriet Brant are : Annie, wife of A. A. Ashford, of Dallas ; Mary, wife of John T. Laird, of Jack county ; Daniel Cleaver, our subject ; Effie, who married C. H. Gray and resides in Walters, Oklahoma; Bertie, wife of William Chancellor, of Gaines- ville ; Jeff, of Walters, and Charles and Sallie, who both reside in Walters, near their parents.

Daniel Cleaver Brant was born in Denton county, Texas, December 14, 1867, and was fourteen years of age when his life began in Jack county. The primitive log school house was in evidence even in his modern day and some of his few months of schooling were passed within its rude walls. At seventeen years of age he undertook the care and respon- sibility of himself. He worked two months for a pony and traded it in on a bunch of one hun- dred sheep which he pastured a year and sold for five hundred dollars. He bought one hundred yearlings with this money and in two years sold them for one thousand five hundred dollars. Since then he has continued to trade in

MR. AND MRS. DANIEL C. BRANT

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HISTORY OF NORTH AND WEST TEXAS.

and raise cattle with a success akin to his first efforts. In 1901 he came to Lost creek where he bought the "Buskskin Hole" ranch of Judge Horton and has two thousand acres leased as a portion of his thirty-one hundred acre prop- erty. One hundred acres being cultivated to feed-stuff and the ranch is amply stocked, range and beef cattle comprising his herd, and of the latter he ships weekly to the best market at his command.

In December, 1891, Mr. Brant married, in Jack county, Mary I. Stephens, a daughter of D. L. Stephens, a cattleman of New Mexico, who came into Jack county from Lamar in 1886. Mr. Stephens married Martha Hokit and their children are: Alice, wife of Henry Robin- son, of New Mexico; Mrs. Brant, born Decem- ber 2, 1868; W. Benjamin, of Jack county ; Agnes, wife of J. L. Duerson, of Beaver county, Oklahoma; and Ira, who married Thomas Buckner, of New Mexico. Mr. and Mrs. Brant's children are: Carl, Winnie and Archie.

Mr. Brant is one of the younger element of cattlemen who has achieved constant and grati- fying success. Without timidity undertaking the battle of life and with courage pursuing his career toward a satisfactory conclusion, he is an example of that self-made contingent of our citizenship whose success is ever achieved by surmounting obstacles and overcoming difficul- ties. In politics he and his forefathers worship at the shrine of Democracy and he is a Master Mason, of Bridgeport.

DANIEL W. WRISTEN. Like many other pioneers of the great state of Texas, Daniel W. Wristen started out in business life at the bot- tom of the ladder. His first savings were from scanty wages earned in the routine work of range and trail. It is a rule of universal appli- cation that the most prosperous men are those who in their several lines of labor have worked their way upward by the sheer force of industry and will, utilizing the opportunities which all might employ. The life of Mr. Wristen may be accepted as a fair example of this class and it contains many elements worthy of emulation.

He is a native of Hopkins county, Kentucky, his birth having occurred about four miles south of Madisonville, October 21, 1839. His parents were also natives of that state. His father, Elijah Wristen, was born near Hopkins- ville, in Christian county, and his mother, whose maiden name was Leona Sisk, was a native of Hopkins county, where she made her home up to the time of her death. Mr. Wristen, however, left Kentucky and founded a tempor-

ary home in Missouri, purchasing land near the lower line of New Madrid county. After living there for nearly two years among the swamps and lowlands of that district, he sold his pos- sessions there and continued his journey to the southwest, settling in Parker county, Texas, in 1852. The county had just been surveyed and soon after their arrival the county seat was es- tablished at Weatherford. The whole country was comparatively open, with only a few set- tlements added here and there. The Indians were still very numerous and many times were so troublesome as to cause the settlers great concern as to the safety of their families. A more extended account of the Indians and the many atrocious crimes and depredations they committed will be found in another part of this work. In 1863, during the Civil war, the Wris- ten family, with the exception of Daniel and his brother Frank, had to seek refuge and safety in Arkansas, where they remained until peace had been established.

Daniel W. Wristen was thirteen years of age when his father removed to the Lone Star state. Later, when settlers were more numer- ous, a little school was organized for the bene- fit of the children in that locality, but many times it was broken up by the Indians, who ap- peared at unexpected moments and spread ter- ror among the pupils. The most successful work which Mr. Wristen ever did in the school- room was during one winter spent at Weather- ford. After he was eighteen years of age he was on the frontier, where excitement ran high, but he gained thereby an experience ob- tained only by those who braved the dangers, trials and depredations incident to the life in the early days of the pioneer district. The most lucrative occupation perhaps in which he en- gaged was that of freighting. Fitting up prop- er conveyances he hauled freight from Houston to Dallas and other points along the frontier, engaging in that business for about nine years.

In the meantime, in 1862, Mr. Wristen was married, the lady of his choice being Miss Mary J. Moore, of Parker county. He had also es- tablished a farm there, whereon his family re- sided, but on many occasions, because of busi- ness interests he was obliged to be away from home. Cattle raising was a large industry in this country then, as it is now, and many times has he taken herds of cattle across the plains into Kansas. On some of these occasions In- dians would be encountered and whenever they desired meat they would ride up to the men and say "beef," with the result that one was taken from the herd and given them. Not long

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HISTORY OF NORTH AND WEST TEXAS.

after the Civil war was inaugurated Mr. Wris- ten offered his services to the cause of the south, enlisting in Company K, Fifth Texas Mounted Volunteers, first commanded by Colo- nel Tom Green. He continued in the service as a Confederate soldier until the close of, the war and participated in all of the engagements of his regiment except for a short interval when he was home on detail service. In 1876 Mr. Wristen engaged in merchandising about ten miles south of Weatherford, near Horseshoe Bend on the Brazos river, and at the same time he ran a gin, and conducted a flouring mill. In 1879 he removed his stock of merchandise to Taylor county and opened a store at Buffalo Gap, which was then the county seat. When the Texas & Pacific Railroad was built, the county seat was changed to Abilene and the bulk of the business of the country became cen- tered in the new town. There seeking a chance to better his condition and to keep in touch with the progress of the country Mr. Wristen again moved his stock of goods in 1882, becoming one of the early merchants of Abilene, where he continued successfully in business until 1900, when he disposed of his mercantile interests. His attention is now largely concentrated in the supervision of his landed and other inter- ests in the community. He is regarded as one of the representative business men, his enter- prise and labor proving the foundation for his splendid success.

In 1900 Mr. Wristen was called upon to mourn the loss of his wife, who died on the 17th of June of that year. She was the mother of ten living children, six sons and four daughters. His present wife, to whom he was married in October, 1902, was formerly Miss Nettie Thornton, a native of Illinois. Mr. Wristen has been a Mason for more than eighteen years, having taken the various degrees of lodge, chapter and commandery, so that he is now a Knight Templar. He has always been actively interested in public affairs, especially in the growth and development of Western Texas, and his efforts have been far-reaching and ben- eficial. He has served the city of Abilene as mayor for nine years, being the incumbent for five terms, the first of one year, while the others are of two years each. In the summary of his life work we can class him with the most suc- cessful business men of this section of the state. His is the character that creates, de- velops and utilizes. He is generous, enter- prising and energetic, and with him accomplish- ment is paramount to acquisition and whole- some utilization the supreme creed of his na- ture.

HON. DAVID G. HILL, recognized as one of the political leaders of the state and one of the oldest members of the bar of Abilene, was born in Fayette county, Texas, August 12, 1858, his parents being M. H. and Mary (Knox) Hill, both natives of Missouri. With other promi- nent families of that state they became early settlers of Texas, arriving here about 1840, at which time they established their home in Fay- ette county. They reared a family of two sons and five daughters, all of whom are yet living. The father, however, died in 1888, having long made his home there and reared his family upon the ranch. He was a farmer and dealer in stock and his business grew to extensive and profitable proportions. His widow survived until 1902 and passed away in San Angelo at the home of her daughter, Mrs. C. H. Powell.

David G. Hill was reared upon his father's farm, where he remained until about eighteen or nineteen years of age. He was educated in the private schools of the country and at Trinity, Limestone county, Texas, where he pursued his studies for about three years, entering in the fall of 1875 and remaining there until 1878. His literary education having been completed he entered upon the study of law at Brenham, Texas, reading with different attorneys there, and in 1880 he was admitted to the bar at Brenham.

Judge Hill began practice in LaGrange, Fay- ette county, where he continued for about a year, and in September, 1881, came to Abilene, where he opened a law office in connection with S. W. Johnston. The partnership continued for only about six months, however, after which Judge Hill was in practice alone until the No- vember election of 1882, when he was elected county attorney for a term of two years. In the fall of 1884 he was elected district attorney for the forty-second district, comprising thirty- two counties, only fourteen of which were regu- larly organized, however, at that time, the others being attached for judicial purposes. He continued to fill that position until the summer of 1886, when he resigned because of ill health. When the county seat of Taylor county was removed from Buffalo Gap to Abilene, a city form of government had not been developed, and Judge Hill took care of the first ordinance and served for about six or eight months as alderman. This was before an election could be held and he acted in that capacity until the town government had been so directed that an election of officers could be had. After re- signing the district attorneyship he resumed the practice of law, in which he continued until elected to the county bench in 1890 and with the exception of a period of six months he has

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continuously served from that time to the pres- ent, covering fifteen years. In 1900 he declined to be a candidate and C. M. Christenberry was elected but died in office about the Ist of May, 1901, at which time Judge Hill was appointed by the commissioner of the court to fill out the unexpired term, and in 1902 he was again elect- ed, since which time he has occupied the posi- tion. During each successive year of his ad- ministration he was appointed by the commis- sioner of court to the office of county superin- tendent of public instruction and with the 'ex- ception of one year has served continuously in that position.

Judge Hill was in Abilene when it was a city of tents and has seen it develop to its pres- ent prosperous condition, having every modern convenience and every indication of an . ad- vanced civilization. He has been before the city almost constantly in public office and his record is one over which there falls no shadow , or suspicion of evil. He has been one of the stockholders of the Citizens' National Bank of Abilene and is also interested in ranching, hav- ing valuable landed holdings in the southwest of Taylor county, devoted to the raising of cattle. His fraternal relations are with the Odd Fellows and Elks, belonging to both lodges in Abilene.

On the 4th of December, 1884, Judge Hill was married to Miss Lucerne Campbell, of Tuskegee, Alabama, and they have six chil- dren, three sons and three daughters.

Judge Hill is well known as one of the prom- inent Democratic leaders of the state and his interest in political matters is deep and sin- cere. He has a statesman's grasp of affairs and is thoroughly informed concerning the great issues which divide the two parties. He was a delegate to the Democratic state convention in Dallas, in 1896, and served as a member of the platform and resolutions committees which settled the differences between the Clark and Hogg factions of the party. He is to-day one of the oldest members of the Abilene bar, a man of sound judgment, well versed in the law and a speaker of superior oratorical power and force. His decisions are notable examples of judicial soundness, based upon a careful understanding of the points in litigation and of the law applicable thereto and it is seldom that his opinions are reversed by the higher courts. The cause of education has ever found in him a champion and he has taken an active and helpful interest in the schools of the coun- ty which have prospered under his guidance, and rank with the best in the state. His con-

stant aim is for improvement and he strives to obtain and maintain a spirit of harmony among the educational friends of the county.

JOHN D. PARR. The farming interests of Montague county find a worthy representa- tive in John D. Parr, who was born in Grayson county, Texas, July 22, 1860. His parents were Jesse C. and Rachel R. (Fisher) Parr. The father was a native of Tennessee and the moth- er of Harrison county, Texas, in which locality they were married, Mr. Parr having come to this state in 1850. His father, Berry T. Parr, was likewise a native of Tennessee and devoted his attention to farming there until after the birth of his eight children. In 1831 he removed to Washington county, Arkansas, which was then a new country sparsely settled, and in the work of improvement and progress there he took an active and helpful part. The locality in which he made his home became known as Parr Prairie, and there he opened up a farm, which he successfully cultivated. He belonged to the Cumberland Presbyterian church, in which he was a minister and regular circuit rider, devoting the greater part of his atten- tion to his religious duties, while employing others to care for his farm. He remained in Washington county until 1837, when he re- moved to Missouri, settling in Barry county, where he bought land and improved a second farm. Again he became a pioneer minister and farmer and soon had regular charges to fill. His labors were valuable in the material and moral development of the community and he left behind him the priceless heritage of an untarnished name and a memory which is en- shrined in the hearts of all with whom he had come in contact. He was a stanch Democrat and served as justice of the peace, but cared little for office. His death occurred in April, 1849, and his wife passed away in 1852. She was also a worthy member of the Cumberland Presbyterian church. Their children were: John O, who came to Texas in pioneer times and died in this state after devoting many years to religious work as a regular minister of the Cumberland Presbyterian church: Eliza, the wife of R. Price; Jesse C .; Elzira, the wife of L. C. Botton, a Cumberland Presbyterian minister: James H., of Erath county, Texas; A. J., who died in Arkansas; Z. H., who died in Denton county, Texas ; Pressley O., who died in Montague county ; Mrs. Martha M. Jarrett; Berry T., ex-county treasurer of Montague county ; and Alvina T., the wife of M. A. Sap- pington.

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HISTORY OF NORTH AND WEST TEXAS.

Jesse C. Parr, the father of our subject, was born and reared in Tennessee and after his marriage became a resident of Harrison coun- ty, Texas, but within a short period removed to Grayson county, where he bought land and developed a farm, becoming a prosperous agri- culturist. At the time of the Civil war, how- ever, he put aside all business and personal considerations and entered the army, serving in the frontier department as a patrol and guard against the approaches of the red men. In this way he had some lively skirmishes with the Indians and he continued in that service until the close of the war. In the fall of 1865 he sold his property in Grayson county and purchased a farm in Denton county, which he conducted for a number of years. There his wife died and later he married again. He spent three years on the farm, after which he re- turned to the old homestead, passing away in Denton county, Texas, in 1879. He was a de- voted member of the Cumberland Presbyterian church, taking a very active part in its work and in the extension of its influence. He filled various offices in the church, was a good talker and exhorter and a most devoted Christian gen- tleman. He also belonged to the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. His first wife died in 1870. She was a representative of an honored pioneer family of Harrison county, and was the youngest of a family of four children, the others being: William, of Dallas, Texas; Lewis, who in 1845 went to California, where he lost his life; and Taint, who went to Cali- fornia in 1849.

Mr. and Mrs. Jesse Parr had a family of eleven children: Lou, the wife of J. Arm- strong ; David T., a farmer ; Julia, who died in infancy ; Mattie B., the wife of J. N. Burden ; John D .; Maggie C., the wife of I. C. Holder ; Dixie L., the wife of F. Chenoweth ; Minnie, the wife of G. Holder; William E., deceased ; Zula, the wife of Lee Young; and Julia, who became Mrs. Bowman. After losing his first wife the father married again, his second union being with Mary Wade, and they had two chil- dren: Sally, the wife of H. Robinson; and Nancy, who lives in Childress county, Texas.

John D. Parr is a native son of Texas, thor- oughly identified with the people and interests of the state and imbued with the progressive spirit which is bringing a rapid development here. He remained under the parental roof until he had attained his majority and in 1881 was married to Miss Nellie H. Lynch, who was born in St. Louis county, Missouri, June 15,

1865, and who has proved to him a faithful companion and helpmate and an excellent ad- viser. She is a daughter of Thomas and Mary (Murphy) Lynch, the former a native of Ire- land and the latter of Missouri, their marriage having occurred here at St. Louis. The father was a railroad man and died in St. Louis, Mis- souri. His only child was Mrs. Parr. The mother still survives and is now the wife of Pressley O. Parr of Tennessee, an uncle of our subject, who in an early day came to Texas. After the Civil war, however, he went to Mis- souri, where he married. Later he returned to Texas, where he successfully carried on farming in Montague county up to the time of his death in April, 1900. His children were: George L .; Mrs. Ella Crump; Joe C .; Adda, the wife of R. Hanley; Eva M., the wife of Richard Hanley; and Edgar Z. The mother is still living at the age of sixty-six years and is a faithful member of the Cumberland Pres- byterian church.

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A twentieth century history and biographical record of north and west Texas, Volume II, Part 72

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