A twentieth century history and biographical record of north and west Texas, Volume II, Part 81

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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HISTORY OF NORTH AND WEST TEXAS.

watch charm by the officers and employes in the state office at Jacksonville in recognition and appreciation of his splendid services for the alliance.

In 1892 because of ill health Mr. Wilson re- signed his position in New York and spent nearly two years in traveling, being for about one-half of that time in California. In 1894 he returned to Texas and has since made his home per- manently in this state. He was in the publishing and printing business at Galveston when the storm and flood of September, 1900, came and wiped away his business and his home, leaving him with-' out a dollar. He then located at Houston and on the advice and with the co-operation of Colonel Morse, the general passenger agent of the South- ern Pacific railway system, he established and was the editor and publisher of the "Texas Industry," which has since been changed to the "Rice In- dustry." It was Mr. Wilson who called the meet- ing at which the rice growers of Texas were organized. One of the first important questions that he discussed in the columns of his paper and through other channels was the matter of obtain- ing government aid for promoting the agricul- tural development of Texas, particularly the to- bacco industry. In the interest of tobacco grow- ing he formulated and carred out an aggressive campaign at congress and among the officials of the agricultural department at Washington for the purpose of securing an appropriation to the agricultural department in order that he might carry out his plans for the development of the tobacco industry. He spent five weeks in arduous campaign work in the capital city and in the face of many obstacles and discouragements he finally succeeded in bringing about the desired appropri- ation of half a million dollars, being aided in these efforts by Congressman John Sharp Williams of Mississippi and by Milton Whitney, the chief of the division of soils in the agricultural depart- ment, and one or two others prominent in public life.

Mr. Wilson's work at Washington having been brought to the attention of Hon. James Wilson, the secretary of agriculture, he was offered by Secretary Wilson a good position in his depart- ment as special field agent for Texas, Arkansas, Indian Territory and Oklahoma. This position he accepted and filled with great efficiency but later he asked to be relieved of the duties of traveling and accordingly the department gave him the position of statistical agent for the gov- ernment, involving only office duties. This posi- tion he still fills.

Another work which Mr. Wilson has done that has awakened the admiration and gratitude of

thousands of agriculturists in the south and which alone would entitle him to distinction as one of the prominent men of this state is in con- nection with the cotton growing interests. The increasing ravages of the boll weevil and the extremely low prices of cotton in the fall of 1904 awoke the cotton growers of the south to the necessity for organization and also of the need of a remedy to relieve the distressing situation. Accordingly a National. Cotton Convention was held at Shreveport, Louisiana, from December 12th to 15th, 1904, and in this Mr. Wilson took a very prominent part. As a result of the con- vention the National Cotton Association was or- ganized, of which Mr. Wilson was elected secre- tary with E. S. Peters of Calvert, Texas, as presi- dent. Immediately on the adjournment of the convention he returned to Fort Worth, which has been his home since 1903 and entered upon the duties of the secretaryship in carrying out the plans of the association, which, briefly, consist of reducing the cotton crop at least 25 per cent and the' diversification of crops. To carry out this plan the cotton growing states have been organ- ized into school-house and precinct organizations, the intention being to have every cotton grower a member. Perhaps the extent and scope of the work, which is largely under his immediate super- vision, may be best indicated by incorporating the report of the National Cotton Convention held at Shreveport. The resolutions adopted read as follows :

"The effects of the ravages of the boll weevil in Texas may be summarized as follows :

"I. It has during the past five years caused a loss of at least $80,000,000.

"2. It has increased decidedly the area re- quired to produce a bale of cotton.

"3. It has practically destroyed the credit of the small farmer who has been in the habit of depending upon cotton, although farmers who have diversified their crops are still able to obtain necessary credit.

"4. It has had the effect of driving large num- bers of negroes from the cotton lands of the state. Negroes lend themselves poorly to the modifications in the system of producing the staple which are necessary on account of the ravages of the pest. Intensive cultivation, to which negroes can be brought only with great difficulty, is one of the great essentials in pro- ducing a crop.

"5. It has afforded a diversification of crops, and in this way is considered by many as a bene- ficent influence. While this may be the ultimate result of the work of the boll weevil, the depres- sion that comes from the changes necessary be-

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fore a complete system of diversification may be followed is apparent to all who have investigated the matter in Texas."

A plan for organizing all the cotton growers of the south to combat the boll weevils, introduced by Oswald Wilson, statistical agent of the United States department of agriculture of Fort Worth Texas, was received and incorporated as a part of the resolutions. It is as follows :

The result of experience of all the scientists and practical farmers in the boll weevil area up to the present time is that cotton can be made, even under boll weevil infection, if the farmers are properly organized. This means the adoption of what is known as the cultural methods.

Until some remedy is found which will destroy the boll weevil and eliminate him from the cotton fields of the south, to make a cotton crop will depend upon the individual efforts of each cotton farmer, and without this organization the govern- ment can not aid the farmers as it should. As 72 per cent of the cotton farmers are tenants, it is absolutely imperative that they and their land- lords be organized. As 50 per cent of the cotton farmers are negroes, it is more important that they should be organized, as the boll weevils will affect the tenants and negroes more than land- lords, or those who own their own farms.

In order that every farmer in the south may have the benefit of this cultural method, we recommend

I. That a permanent organization be effected and that the president of this convention shall select five members who, with himself and the secretary, shall constitute the national executive committee.

2. That the vice president of each state shall select six prominent men from his state, who shall constitute a state executive committee.

3. That state executive committee shall or- ganize each county in their respective states by appointing a chairman who, in turn, will select an executive committee to assist him.

4. The county executive committee will en- roll the names of all the cotton farmers of their counties, sending the same to the state executive committee, who, in turn, report to the national executive committee.

5. We recommend that each state raise a sufficient fund among the cotton farmers, mer- chants and bankers to carry on this work.

6. We recommend that the various state legis- latures and department of agriculture, through the bureau of plant industry, and the division of entomology, co-operate in the campaign of edu- cation, with the national, state and county execu- tive committee to reach each individual planter,

as they have done in Texas, and that sufficient appropriation be made by congress to provide the necessary legislation and instructions to carry out the cultural methods and other recommenda- tions of this convention.

Resolved, That this convention indorses and recommends for adoption by the legislature of the cotton states a law relative to the importation of the boll weevil in any of its stages of growth. Be it further

Resolved, That a vigorous campaign of pub- lic education should be inaugurated ; first, through the farmers and pedagogical institutes of the sev- eral cotton states ; second, through the press par- ticularly by means of prepared copy on stereo- typed plates furnished free to the rural press by the departments of agriculture of the cotton states ; third, through the public schools from the kindergarten up to the higher colleges by means of illustrated lectures and through every other agency that may contribute in creating an enligh- tened sentiment and thus make possible the exe- cution of the cultural methods, diversification, re- strictions, salutary laws or rules of action ap- proved by the scientists and indorsed by this body.

Whereas, We have learned through the farm- ers of the boll weevil infested district of Texas that commendable progress has been made in combatting the cotton boll weevil in their dis- tricts and that a cessation of the great work so auspiciously begun might prove to be a calamity to this great wealth-producing section ; therefore, be it

Resolved, I. That we extend our sincere thanks to the department of agriculture for the timely assistance it has afforded in efforts to overcome this menacing evil through the bureau of plant industry instituting the farmers' co- operative demonstrative work, and that this de- partment, headed by Dr. S. A. Knapp, has faith- fully carried into effect what appears to be the most effective methods yet used in checking the ravages of the boll weevil.

2. That we thank the division of entomology, headed by Dr. L. O. Howard, through his as- sistant, Dr. W. D. Hunter, which has accom- plished excellent results in educating the people regarding the nature and habits of the boll weevil and other insect pests, and for the well conceived plans and work of experiment along this line.

3. That we desire the departments to con- tinue their work in the infested districts, as well as to closely watch other sections which might become endangered by the boll weevil, and that we invoke a continuance of national aid whenever and wherever it may be asked.

4. That we heartily approve the methods

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HISTORY OF NORTH AND WEST TEXAS.

already employed as being both scientific and practical and that we emphasize the idea of thorough preparation of the cotton lands, a reduc- tion of acreage, the rotation of crops and inten- sive cultivation and diversification with efforts to secure early maturing cotton for all the boll weevil districts.

5. That cotton planters throughout the dis- tricts infected by the boll weevil and the south are hereby urged to co-operate with the general government in the plan for overcoming this de- vastating pest.

"First-Burn every stalk in the fall while still green. This exterminates the hibernating wee- vils.

"Second-Plow deeper. This helps force the cotton.

"Third-Harrow your ground all winter. This keeps up the work.

"Fourth-Plant early.

"Fifth-Use early maturing seed.

"Sixth-Use fertilizers.

"Seventh-Plant the cotton in wide rows, a little wider than the cotton grows high, and with the stalks wide apart, this lets the sun in, and the sun kills the weevil.

"Eighth-Use a tooth harrow as soon as the cotton appears. This breaks the earth crust and helps the cotton grow.

"Ninth-Keep cultivating the cotton and agi- tate the squares to knock off the weevils.

"Tenth-Pick up the fallen squares and burn them. This is extremely important.

"Eleventh-Control too rapid growth of the plant by barring off or plowing the ridges away from the growing rows, leaving ridges between the rows.

"Twelfth-Select your seed for future crops from the earliest and largest bolls. Don't get any weevils in your seed.

"Thirteenth-Rotate crops; plant cotton one year, cow peas and corn the next. Never let cotton succeed cotton in the same land.

"Fourteenth-Plant legumes freely between the cotton rows. It improves the mechanical condi- tions of the soil."

Whereas, The wholesale destruction of insec- tivorous birds, their eggs and young, is annually removing from the plane of militant action in- numberable natural enemies of the boll weevil; therefore, be it.

Resolved, That it is the sense of this conven- tion that the legislatures of the cotton growing states be memorialized to enact stringent laws for the protection of all insectivorous birds, their eggs and young, whenever such laws are not already in operation, and where they do exist to

strengthen their punitive provisions and provide for their enforcement when enacted.

Resolved, That it is the sense of this national convention that in the early fall the destruction of all cotton stalks in the boll weevil infested areas of Louisiana and Texas is an absolute necessity. Burning the stalks will destroy many weevils and will prolong the hibernating period to such an ex- tent as to destroy a large portion of those weevils attempting hibernation.

Resolved, That it is necessary for the stalks to be uniformly destroyed by counties and par- ishes to secure the full benefit of fall burning ; therefore, it is the sense of this convention that we commend to the legislative body of any infected district the urgent necessity of taking measures under the proper authorities to burn the cotton stalks of next year systematically and at once be- hind the pickers.

Resolved, That it is the sense of this conven- tion that the use of paris green is, in the opinion of many, very useful, and we recommend the con- tinuance of the use of poisons when advisable.

The work that the National Cotton Association has been doing is bearing fruits in more ways than one and it has secured the co-operation of people of all classes who are anxious for the best development of the state. Mr. Wilson has been carrying forward the work with great energy and not the least of his efforts are toward getting the farmers, the bankers, the merchants and business men generally to co-operate in this matter, all working toward a common goal and having a ten- dency to abolish whatever antagonism there may be in agricultural classes against other classes. Only through such a systematic, well organized work could be accomplished the object for which the asociation is striving and to Mr. Wilson in large measure is due the credit. Mr. Wilson also originated the map of the cotton crop of Texas, which has since been adopted by the agricultural department at Washington. He has unselfishly and at the sacrifice of his own private interests labored for many years to advance the agricul- tural development of the south and to promote the organization of the agricultural interests. His services in this direction have brought great results and have been generously commended and appreciated by the most prominent men of the south and by the press of this portion of the country, as having been the means more than any other one agency of developing southern in- terests.

The home relations of Mr. Wilson are very pleasant. Unto him and his wife have been born two sons, Frank and Harold.

NOTE .- Since the above was written Mr. Wil-

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son has severed his connection with the various interests and positions he held in Texas and is now in Zacatecas, Mexico, where he has large and very valuable mining interests, which he is developing and which are now on a producing basis.

HON. H. R. JONES, judge of the thirty- ninth judicial district of Texas, was born in Warren county, Mississippi, about ten miles from Vicksburg, on the 29th of December, 1854. His father, Thomas J. Jones, was a Mis- sissippi planter and was a native of that state, in which he died in April, 1868. The family is of Welsh lineage and the parents of Thomas J. Jones removed from South Carolina to Mis- sissippi, where they established their home at an early day. The mother of our subject bore the maiden name of Tamsey Whatley, and was also of Welsh descent. Her people settled in Alabama at an early period in its development. Mrs. Jones died in 1874. She was the mother of ten children, four of whom were born by a previous marriage and six of her marriage to Mr. Jones. She was Mrs. Vaughan, a widow, at the time she gave her hand to Thomas J. Jones.

H. R. Jones, whose name introduces this review, was reared on the plantation owned by his father, who prior to the Civil war was a wealthy planter and slave owner but like thousands of others in the south his financial circumstances were greatly reduced owing to the loss of his slaves and most of his personal property. This made it necessary for H. R. Jones, like many other young boys of the period, to earn his own living. He was able to attend the country schools of the neighbor- hood for a limited period but by far the greater part of his education was received through ex- perience, observation and study in his leisure hours. He has planned for his own advance- ment and has accomplished it in spite of diffi- culties and obstacles and to-day he occupies an honored position as a representative of the bar. He began his law studies when about twenty-four years of age, obtaining books and pursuing a private course of reading which covered quite an extended period. He arrived in Texas in 1886, reaching Haskell on the 15th of February of that year. Soon after he ar- rived here he secured a license entitling him to practice in Texas courts and immediately afterward entered upon his chosen life work. He formed a partnership with R. C. Lomax under the firm name of Lomax & Jones, attor-

neys and land agents. This partnership con- tinued until September, 1891, since which time Mr. Jones has been alone in practice. He soon gained a distinctively representative clientage, manifesting his ability to cope with the intri- cate problems of jurisprudence. In the fall of 1891 he was elected county judge of Haskell county and served for one term of two years and in 1902 he was elected district judge of the thirty-ninth judicial district, which position he now fills. The district is comprised of seven counties, as follows: Haskell, Jones, Fisher, Throckmorton, Kent, Scurry and Stonewall. Judge Jones' career on the bench is in keeping with his record as a man and lawyer, being dis- tinguished by the utmost fidelity to duty and a masterful grasp of every question which is presented to him for solution.

Judge Jones was married February 15, 1891, to Miss Connie Killough, a native of Washing- ton county, Texas, who had been reared, how- ever, at Brenham, this state, her father, C. P. Killough, having been an early settler of that locality.

While living in Mississippi before coming to Texas Judge Jones served for several terms as justice of the peace in Warren county and was also supervisor of the county for a number of years, acting as president of the board during a part of that time. During the cotton exposi- tion held in New Orleans in 1884 he was ap- pointed an honorary member of the state board of commissioners by Robert Lowry, governor of Mississippi. In political matters he has always taken an active interest and is a firm supporter of the Democracy. He is a member of the Odd Fellows and Knights of Pythias fraternities and belongs to the grand lodge of the former and has served in two sessions as a member of the committee on legislation for the state of Texas. His superior intellectual force, native ability and developed talents have made him a valued representative of the legal pro- fession in western Texas and his position in the public regard is one given only in recogni- tion of genuine personal worth as well as pro- fessional ability.

WILLIAM ROBERT FREEMAN. A little more than a year subsequent to the founding of the Freeman family in Montague county the subject of this personal sketch was born. As told in the sketch of Richard Freeman, William Freeman, the father, was a pioneer of the earliest time and was for a third of a century a leading and active spirit in the industrial and

WILLIAM R. FREEMAN

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HISTORY OF NORTH AND WEST TEXAS.

pastoral affairs of the county. Robert Freeman was his second child and was born October 27, 1858, in the pioneer habitation pointed out in recent years as the spot where the career of the Freeman family was launched. Like many another son of pioneers Robert Freeman came to maturity with a very limited knowledge of books. The family circumstances were adverse to the acquirement of an education and if he excelled in anything it was as a youth in the saddle, for from his earliest years the back of a pony was his home and his father's well-stock, ed ranch his playground.

When his father brought ranching to a close, by the sale of his stock, Robert Freeman was of that age to become most useful to his parents on the farm. At the age of seventeen he mar- ried and established his first home on the family homestead, and a most humble and unpreten- tious home it was. The young couple traveled the long and lonely road from dependence to independence without murmur or complaint, relying on their combined industry to work out their destiny on the farm. From their primitive home of the early days they established them- selves in their new home on the side of the mountain near Montague Springs, where their children are fast reaching their majorities and taking their stations in the affairs of real life.

Mr. Freeman owns some six hundred acres of land on the waters of Denton creek, nearly three hundred of which yield abundantly to the touch of the industrious husbandman and the cotton, corn and other grain which constitute the annual crop of his farm add much to their already independent condition year by year.

In August, 1875, Robert Freeman was united in marriage with Miss Margaret Johnson, a daughter of Allen Johnson, who came to Texas prior to the war, from Mississippi, and fought the Indians on the western border of the state. Mr. Johnson settled in Young county, where his son Reuben was killed by the Indians and where he himself passed away. His widow, who was Miss Nancy Bragg, still survives and is a resident of Montague county. Mrs. Freeman was born in Young county, Texas, in 1858.

Mr. and Mrs. Freeman's children are: Ella, Robert, Lon, Thomas, Eva, Sam, Bessie, Vi, and Vent, all of whom remain with the family circle and contribute of their industry toward the maintenance of the family prosperity and independence.

In the quiet performance of his every day affairs Robert Freeman has acquired his envi- able reputation as a citizen. Content with his hon- orable lot as a tiller of the soil he has year by

year added new successes to his achievement and he is now numbered among those who have helped in the internal development of the county, but who has reared an honorable pos- terity and clothed it with the material things of life. His ambition has led him only in the paths of agriculture and while he votes with the Democrats it is the result, largely, of custom rather than from a conviction that there is nothing good in any other political party.

WILLIAM M. REA has been chief of police in Fort Worth for the past seven years, and has made himself one of the most popular and at the same time most efficient men ever in- cumbent of that municipal office. The adminis- trative departments of law and order of Fort Worth and Tarrant county have in various ways been served by and felt the influence of William Rea for the past quarter of a century, and he probably holds a record for long con- tinued and excellent service. He went on to the police force of Fort Worth on January I, 1879, being the fifth man to be placed on the force, at a day when the police department was comparatively insignificant in numbers and importance as contrasted with to-day. In the spring of 1883 he was elected city marshal, and re-elected in 1885. In 1887 he took a position in the county sheriff's office, where he was employed until 1897, in which year he became a candidate and was chosen to the office of chief of police. He has been holding this office ever since with credit to himself and the com- munity.

Mr. Rea was born at Abingdon, Knox county, Illinois, in 1850, a son of Thomas and Elizabeth (Cannon) Rea., His parents were both born in Ohio, and came to Illinois in the early year of 1831, and were again pioneers when they arrived in the state of Texas, in 1859. They settled in Tarrant county, seven miles west of where Mansfield now is, there being no town there then. The country was all wild then, ranching and cattle-raising being the industries of those settlers who were already there. Thomas Rea pre-empted government land and went into the cattle business, which he continued until his death in 1878.

Mr. Rea was nine years old when the family made the trip from Illinois to Texas, and that journey of course made a permanent impres- sion on his youthful mind. From then on until he was grown he lived on his father's ranch, and when he had reached maturity he engaged in the cattle industry for himself, following it

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A twentieth century history and biographical record of north and west Texas, Volume II, Part 81

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