A twentieth century history and biographical record of north and west Texas, Volume II, Part 83

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 83

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HISTORY OF NORTH AND WEST TEXAS.

good. He was a prime factor in the organiza-, father until 1872. In March of that year he went to California, having just five dollars left after buying his ticket. The trip was attended with various difficulties, because the train was snowbound on the way, and he reached his desti- nation with twenty-five cents in his pocket, which sum was expended for a breakfast. He then started for the country, where his brother- in-law, Columbus Orr,was then living, his home being in Napa county. Soon afterward he ob- tained employment with a neighbor of Mr. Orr tion of the Snyder independent school district in 1900 and for some years was one of its trustees. As a result of the united forces on the part of enterprising citizens of this place a handsome school building was erected and this is now one of the best schools in the state. Dr. Person is an Odd Fellow, having been made a member of the order in Enterprise lodge, No. 44, at Wilson, North Carolina, in 1880. He was one of the organizers of the lodge in Sny -. der, being appointed special district deputy , named Wilson. He worked for his board for grand master for the purpose of organizing Snyder lodge, No. 485, which lodge has since had a prosperous existence. He is a devoted member of the Methodist church, with which he has affiliated since 1877, when he joined the denomination at Fremont, North Carolina, having, however, made a profession of religion some years before. He has since been actively interested in religious work and it has been a matter of earnest endeavor to exemplify his belief in his daily life.

G. G. WILLIAMSON, owner of ten hundred and eighty acres of valuable Texas land in Scurry county, is engaged at the present time in general farming, having five hundred acres un- der cultivation. He was born in Springfield, Ohio, September 12, 1850. His father, James Williamson, was a native of North Carolina, born in 1808, and became one of the early settlers of the Buckeye state, to which he emigrated in 1836. He had removed from North Carolina to Virginia when a young man of twenty-one years and in the Old Dominion had educated himself for the ministry, becoming a preacher of the Christian church. When the division occurred in that denomiation he was one of the organizers of the New Light church. In Springfield, Ohio, he edited a paper called the Christian Herald, continuing its publication for several years. He was married in the Buckeye state to Miss Phoebe Monfort, a native of Ohio, and in 1857 he removed to Iowa, where he began farming. His death occurred in Columbus City, Iowa, in 1886, while his wife died in the town of Tribune, in Greeley county, Kansas, in 1890, having made her home with her daughters in that place. In their family were five children, three sons and two daughters: Francis, who is a resident of Renfrow, Oklahoma; P. M., who is living in Como, Colorado; Annie Maria, the wife of Co- lumbus Orr, of Greeley county, Kansas; G. G., of this review ; and Elizabeth, deceased.

Gilbert Gordon Williamson was born in Springfield, Ohio, and made his home with his

two weeks, at the end of which time he secured a position in a dairy near Napa at a salary of thirty-five dollars per month and board. He worked there for three months, after which he was employed in connection with a steam thresher outfit, carrying sacks at three dollars per day and for one hundred consecutive days he was thus employed at threshing in the service of a Mr. Hubbel. Later the firm of Hubbel & Williamson was formed and they rented land from Mr. Wilson, for whom Mr. Williamson had first worked when he went to California. They put in a crop of wheat of one hundred acres in the fall of 1872, and from that planting har- vested five thousand bushels or an average of fifty bushels to the acre. This gave Mr. Wil- liamson a start in business and he then pur- chased a half interest in a steam thresher, Mr. Hubbel being his partner, and together they operated a thresher through the summer and fall, or until November, 1873.

By this time Mr. Williamson had accumu- lated quite a comfortable competence, and he de- cided to make a trip back to Iowa to visit his people in that state. This he did, remaining there until March, 1874. He spent the winter in Iowa but the climate proved too severe for his comfort and he again started for California, where he once more followed threshing and farming until 1879. When he sold out his threshing business he accepted a position as agent at the State Insane Asylum at Napa, Cal- ifornia, at a salary of forty dollars per month and board, but eventually was given a salary of forty- five dollars per month and placed in charge of the largest ward in the building, containing from one hundred to one hundred and twenty pa- tients. He was thus engaged until March, 1882, and while there he met the lady who afterward became his wife. She bore the maiden name of Miss Mima Henry, and was an attendant and nightwatch in the asylum for seven years. After his marriage Mr. Williamson went to Las Vegas, New Mexico, where he purchased a

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HISTORY OF NORTH AND WEST TEXAS.

flock of sheep of twenty-six hundred head, which he drove overland to Texas. He was accom- panied by a Mr. Grigsbee, who also bought two thousand head, They bunched their sheep and drove them through together, leaving , Las Vegas on the 28th of July and arriving at Colo- rado, Texas, about the Ist of September. There the two men divided their sheep and Mr. Wil- liamson brought his flock to Scurry county, ar- riving where Snyder now stands about the Ist of October. He decided to locate here, for look- ing over the country he was pleased with its natural resources and its possibilities for future development. He settled on section 146, Scurry county, the land being surveyed by Judge Loony, of Colorado, Texas. The place origi- nally comprised fourteen hundred and forty acres, but at a recent date Mr. Williamson sold a small tract and now has ten hundred and eighty acres of good land, of which five hundred acres is under cultivation. It is situated on the road between Colorado and Snyder, two miles north of the village of Dunn. After surveying the place he hauled lumber from Colorado and put up a house fourteen by twenty-eight feet, doing all of the work himself. On the 3d of November he met his intended wife, Miss Mima Henry, at El Paso and they continued their journey on to Colorado, where they were married on the 4th of November, 1882, in the Baptist church, which was the first house of worship erected in that city. The young couple removed to the new home on the hill and there began housekeeping. Their nearest neighbor was three miles distant and there was not a half dozen families in the county at that time. Here Mr. Williamson has since made his home and has been an active factor in the development and progress of the county along various lines. He was one of the first commissioners of Scurry county, which was organized in the summer of 1886, and in the fall of that year he was elected for a full term and was re-elected in the fall of 1888, thus serving until 1890. In 1896 he was again nominated and was elected to the same position, continuing in the office until 1900.

Unto Mr. and Mrs. Williamson have been born five children, three sons and two daugh- ters, all of whom are living. In the long period of his residence in this county, covering twenty- three years, Mr. Williamson's bills for medical attendance have not exceeded seventy-five dol- lars-a fact which indicates the remarkably healthful conditions of the country. The chil- dren are Gilbert De Witt, Annie Maude, James Gordon, Jennie Varena and Edward Henry.

As the years have passed by Mr. Williamson has prospered and yet there have been many hard and difficult experiences in his life. He has, however, persevered in his work and is now numbered among the successful men in the county. He has probably sunk as many as two hundred wells in different parts of the county. He continued in the sheep-raising business until 1890, when he began digging wells and the same year he started in the cattle business, in which he continued until 1905, when he sold his cattle and is now giving his entire attention to farm- ing, which he finds to be a profitable industry, the productive soil of Texas responding readily to irrigation and cultivation. He is a member of the Methodist church and also belongs to the Odd Fellows and Woodmen societies, having been identified with the former for twenty-six years and the latter for six years. He has had an eventful career but on the whole has made consecutive progress and is today accounted one of the prominent and influential residents of his community because of the part which he has taken in advancing material, intellectual, social and moral progress here.

J. M. SMITH, vice-president of the First National Bank of Snyder, is a native son of Texas, his birth having occurred in Burnet county on the 16th of November, 1857. His father, James G. Smith, was a native of Dixon county, Tennessee, born about 1822 and was reared in that state, devoting his time and energies to farming and stock raising. In 1850 he came to Texas, locating first in Williamson county and afterward removed to Burnet county, where lie located in 1856. He was married in the latter county to Miss Sarah James, a native of Arkansas. He was there during the Indian troubles, for during the pe- riod of the Civil war the red men were espe- cially hostile in that country. Mr. Smith in- stead of entering the Confederate service was engaged in active duty at home associating himself with the rangers for the purpose of fighting the Indians, running them out of the country whenever they appeared and thus pro- tecting families and property at home. He continued his residence in Burnet county up to the time of his death, which occurred in 1902. His widow is still living on the old homestead in that county at the age of about sixty-five years. In their family there were eight chil- dren, seven sons and a daughter: George W., recently of Scurry county but now deceased; Lon, residing in Scurry county ; Ozro, also of

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HISTORY OF NORTH AND WEST TEXAS.

the same county ; Dolphus, living in Burnet county, Texas; Edgar and Elzy, also of Bur- net county ; Laura, the wife of David Sims, of Kent county ; and Jackson Monroe Smith.

In taking up the personal history of Jack- son M. Smith we present to our readers the life record of one widely and favorably known in Scurry county because of his active connec- tion with business interests and his support of progressive public measures. He was reared in Burnet county, making his home with his parents.until the time he attained his majority, Since old enough to ride a horse he began tending cattle for his father and he spent a portion of his time in the country schools. In 1878 in connection with his brothers George and Lon he went to Coleman, Texas, where they engaged in the stock business on their own account. They took a herd of stock with them and herded them on the free range. In 1881 the brothers transferred their stock to Kent county and about this time developed a formal business organization under the firm style of Smith Brothers, the relation between them being maintained for ten'or twelve years, their brand being the ". which was a noted brand in the country. After dividing their interests, J. M. Smith established the L O X brand, which he still maintains. By this time the country was pretty well under fence. Mr. Smith pur- chased land in Kent county and has made quite extensive additions to his landed hold- ings. His ranch now comprises fourteen thou- sand acres, most of which lies in Kent county with about two thousand acres in Scurry county. His herds are mostly Herefords with some Dur- hams, having some fourteen hundred head of finely bred, high grade cattle.

Mr. Smith made his home in Kent county until his marriage, which occurred February 12, 1889, Miss Lillian Napier a native of Bur- net county, Texas, becoming his wife. About this time he removed to Snyder, where he has since resided and the home has been blessed with three children, Neil E., Nellie C. and Leslie O.

In October, 1900, Mr. Smith became one of the organizers of the First National Bank of Snyder, which was capitalized for thirty-five thousand dollars. The first president of the institution was his brother, George W. Smith, who served until his death, while J. M. Smith was made vice-president. The present bank building was erected at a cost of six thousand dollars and is well equipped. The officers at the present writing are: J. Dodson, president ;

J. M. Smith, vice-president; T. F. Baker, cash- ier; and Lee Boren, assistant cashier. Mr. Smith is a typical cattle man of Texas and has experienced all of the vicissitudes attendant upon life on the plains. His knowledge of the cattle business is not excelled by that of any other man and in this calling he has won a very gratifying measure of success and is rated with the best business men of the country. He has been a member of the Masonic fraternity for the past fifteen years and is a charter mem- ber of the lodge in Snyder.

HON. ARTHUR YONGE. No history of business development in Snyder would be complete without mention of this gentleman and it is with pleasure therefore that we pre- sent to our readers his life record. He comes of English ancestry, the line of descent being traced down from Henry Yonge, who emigra- ted from England sometime between the years 1800 and 1812, settling in the West Indies, where he became a sugar planter. From there he afterward went to Florida when it was under Spanish rule and again he conducted a plantation. He was in that state at the time of its occupation by the United States troops and he had a large amount of property confis- cated by the soldiers while this country was engaged in war with England in 1812. He spent much of his time at St. Augustine and Tallahassee, but his last years were passed in Georgia, where he died about 1834. He was twice married, his second union being with Miss Cox, of Washington county, who was a lady of some prominence in social affairs of that part of the country.

The youngest child of the second marriage was William Penn Chandler Yonge, who was born in Georgia about 1822. Henry Yonge died when his son William was about twelve years of age and the latter obtained no prop- erty from his father's estate and from that early age made his own way in the world. Having arrived at years of maturity he wedded Miss Mary Anne Godwin, of Girard, Alabama, the wedding being celebrated about 1846. Mr. Yonge was living in Girard at that time, being engaged in merchandising there. He had pre- viously been a clerk at Columbus, Georgia, for the firm of Mulford & Adams, dry goods merchants. In 1849 he went to California, spending eighteen months in that state, during which time he traveled extensively over the gold fields and was reasonably successful in his search for the precious metal. In 1851 he

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returned to Alabama with the intention of go- ing again to California but while in Columbus, Georgia, he was shown a piece of raw lime stone rock by a negro brick layer. His atten- tion was thus called to the fact that there was valuable lime stone in Russell county in'east- ern Alabama from which good lime was being made on a small scale. He became interested in the matter and after investigation organ- ized what was known as the Chewacla Lime Works, admitting to a partnership Charles T. Pollard, of Montgomery, Alabama, and Samuel G. Jones, also of Montgomery. Mr. Yonge was actively in charge of the enterprise as superintendent. The company was chartered under the laws of Alabama with a capital stock of one hundred thousand dollars and he suc- cessfully conducted the business until 1872 or 1873. During the war he manufactured the large amount of lime that was used in fortifi- cations for the Southern Confederacy. He also owned what was known as Spring Villa in Lee county near the Chewacla Lime Works, where he maintained his home. This was known as the finest country home in that part of the south because of its proximity to the lakes, its beautiful flowers and splendid or- chards. William Penn Chandler Yonge was a man of excellent financial ability and keen business insight as. was manifest in his capable control of the lime works, but he spent much of his money in lavish entertainment at his country home and died in 1879 in limited finan- cial circumstances. He was small of stature, weighing perhaps from one hundred and twenty to one hundred and twenty-five pounds and his educational privileges were extremely limited, for owing to his father's death he had to rely upon his own resources from an early age. He had not the opportunity for an edu- cation that other members of the family en- joyed, yet he gave people the impression of being a well educated man, possessing a Ches- terfield manner. His knowledge had been ac- quired through reading, observation and ex- perience and was largely supplemented by a natural adaptability. He was of an impulsive nature, generous in the use of his money, and entertained his friends very liberally. He was also public spirited and gave freely to every enterprise that promised to be of benefit to the community at large.

William P. C. Yonge was united in marriage to Miss Mary Anne Godwin, who was with one exception the eldest child of John Godwin, of Girard, Alabama, formerly from Cheraw,

South Carolina, in which place Mrs. Yonge was born. Her father was an architect of considerable reputation and owned a crew of negro mechanics with Horace King as fore- man. He built the first bridges across the Chattahoochie river at Columbus, Georgia, and also many of the finest residences of that city are standing today to remind the citizens of his ability as an architect. He also built the present capitol of Alabama at Montgomery- the building in which Jefferson Davis was pro- claimed president of the southern Confederacy. Horace King, before referred to, was manumit- ted by John Godwin before the war but re- mained with him as foreman of his mechanics until Mr. Godwin's death in 1861. While the latter was at one time worth a large sum of money he divided it among his children before his death and when his demise occurred had but little property. The Columbus (Georgia) En- quirer said, "All that remains of John Godwin are the shade trees around the place where his beautiful home has long since been burned and the lonely graves on the little hill top a half a mile distant that mark the spot where he and the greater number of the members of the family lie buried. On a tombstone are engraven these words, 'John Godwin, born October 17, 1798, died February 26, 1859.' This stone was placed there by Horace King in lasting remembrance of the love and gratitude he felt for his lost friend and former master." This tombstone is in Girard, Alabama, one mile west of Colum- bus, Georgia. Mrs. Penn Yonge is still living, making her home with one of her sons in El Paso, Texas. By her marriage she had four sons: Arthur, Claude and Charles, who are residents of El Paso; and Joseph, who died in Spring Villa, Georgia, when twenty-one years of age.

Arthur Yonge, born August 15, 1852, at Girard, Alabama, was only about two years old when his father removed to Russell county, that state, which county was afterward divided, Lee county being set off. The family lived alternately at Yongesboro and Spring Villa, Mr. Yonge remaining with his parents until the Ioth of April, 1869, at which time, having become fascinated by tales of western life in Texas, he came to this state, making his way at first to Jefferson. When he left home he was in his seventeenth year and he never saw his father alive again. He gradually drifted westward and engaged in the business of driv- ing cattle, generally in the employ of others, spending his time between Texas, Indian Ter-

MR. AND MRS. GARRETT H. GOWAN

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HISTORY OF NORTH AND WEST TEXAS.

ritory, Kansas, Nebraska and Colorado until 1879, at which time he returned to his native state on account of the death of his father and in order to look after his mother's interests. There he remained until November, 1884, when he came again to Texas. At that time he en- gaged in the railroad business, first at Toyah as agent of the Texas & Pacific Railway, and he was afterward employed in the same capac- ity at Baird, where he remained until the fall of 1889, at which time he was made train mas- ter of the eastern division of the Texas & Pacific Railroad Company with headquarters at Marshall. This position he filled until the spring of 1890, when the office was abolished. Mr. Yonge was offered other positions with the railroad company but in the meantime he had acquired some cattle and other interests at Baird, Texas. His health had also become quire seriously impaired and he left office work and gave his attention to the cattle business and merchandising until April, 1893. In the meantime he also began reading law and in the month of April, 1893, was admitted to the bar at Baird, where he immediately afterward entered upon the active practice of law, there continuing until September, 1901. He has since been in the practice of law at Snyder, Scurry county, and he also owns a fine and complete set of abstract books, being the only abstract books compiled in this county. In March, 1905, the county judge having resigned his office, the same was tendered Mr. Yonge by the commissioners' court without any solici- tation on his part. He accepted the position but will not be a candidate for the office on the expiration of his present term.

Judge Yonge was married in Alabama, in 1882, to Miss Amanda Cordelia Edwards and they became the parents of two children, Mabel and Ellen. The wife and mother hav- ing died, Judge Yonge afterward married Miss Edna Teeple in Baird, Texas, in 1891. By the second marriage there are six children, four sons and two daughters: Arthur, Philip, Anne, Louise, Charles and Rienzi.

Judge Yonge is regarded as one of the most prominent, influential and valued residents of Scurry county. He is a director in the Snyder National Bank and he confines his practice to civil law, being connected almost entirely with land litigation and land titles. While he has managed some important cases in the courts yet the greater part of his business is con- nected with the law relating to propertv and to examining and perfecting titles. In the early

days he met with some of the experiences usual to the cattle man on the plains and as the years have advanced he has progressed in keeping with the development of the state which has made rapid strides in the business world and in the assimilation of all of the ad- vantages and improvements known to the older and more thickly settled districts of the south and east.

GARRETT H. GOWAN. Among the early settlers of Clay county who, with brave hearts and willing hands, accepted and overcame the dangers and hardships incident to pioneer life, contending successfully with the trials that inevitably meet the pioneer in all new countries, none is more worthy of mention than the sub- ject of this sketch ; a brave, good man whose sterling honesty, upright bearing and manly conduct won and retained the respect of all, while his untiring industry and unrivaled busi- ness acumen have been rewarded by a hand- some competence which, being honestly ac- quired and wisely used, naturally places him in the foremost rank of the citizenship of the county.

Mr. Gowan was born in Smith county, Mis- sissippi, and there his youth was spent. His father, Richard Gowan, while a young man, had settled in Simpson county, Mississippi, and there met and married Susan Peacock, a native of the formerly well known Peacock family of Louisiana. Nine children were born of this union, viz : Matilda, wife of John Young, of Blooming Grove, Texas; Samantha, who died as Mrs. G. W. Thomason ; Garrett H., our subject ; William, who died in early life; Ter- ry, wife of Capt. J. V. Hodges, of Blooming Grove; Richard R., of Seattle, Washington ; John W., near Lawton, Oklahoma; Alice, now Mrs. J. B. Jones, of Georgetown, Texas, and Mississippi, who passed away in early life.

The father having peculiar business ability and tireless energy soon became one of the wealthiest planters of Smith county, owning many slaves and having a large amount of land- ed and other property. He was largely inter- ested in the breeding of blooded stock and it was while with him that our young planter acquired the thorough knowledge of the cat- tle business which paved the way and proved the groundwork of his future success. He was a student of Sylvareno Academy, in his native county, when the war of the rebellion came on, was among the first to enlist there at the age of sixteen and left the county with the first company it furnished to the Confederate

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A twentieth century history and biographical record of north and west Texas, Volume II, Part 83

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