USA > Texas > Tarrant County > Fort Worth > History of Texas : Fort Worth and the Texas northwest edition, Volume IV > Part 73
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John Purvis Daggett was born April 23, 1855, on the Northwest corner of a 320 acre tract of land east of the packing houses, this land having been given to his father as a re- ward for this military service. The Daggett farm included the site of Mt. Olivet cemetery and John P. Daggett at his request was laid to rest in Mt. Olivet on the very same lot where he was born.
In the boyhood days of John P. Daggett Fort Worth was a cattle town, without rail- roads, and as a youth of sixteen he had a thrilling escape from the Indians when they made their last raid in this territory in June, 1871. The Indians on this raid came upon Mr. Daggett and his companion John B. York now of Breckenridge, Texas, and pursued the two young men for miles but were unable to overtake the young Texans. Mr. Daggett had only such education as could be acquired in the poorly equipped schools of his boyhood and as a youth he entered the cattle business, working as a cowboy on his uncle's ranch near Fort Worth, and later going into Stephens County and he continued in the ranch business the remainder of his life. He owned a large amount of ranch property and was also owner of the John P. Daggett Livestock Commission Company with offices in the Ex- change building. Mr. Daggett was also a
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grandson of Capt. Isaac Ferguson, who was also a Texan soldier and whose body rests in the National Cemetery of Mexico City.
In 1892 at Erie, Pennsylvania, John P. Daggett married Miss Stella Zahn. Mrs. Daggett survives her honored husband and resides at 2700 Hemphill street.
CAPT. B. B. PADDOCK. With thousands of other Texans the publishers, appreciating how vitally the name of Captain Paddock is identified with the remarkable era of history to which this publication is chiefly devoted, assume a delightful responsibility in publish- ing here a brief story of the life and career of Captain Paddock. It is only fitting that one who has done so much for his community, both in practical affairs and also in preserving the records of other worthy pioneers, should have some similar recognition. The following article therefore is offered as a trustworthy. though somewhat brief, account of his varied and versatile activities and experiences.
If the city of Fort Worth wished to express through the character of one citizen the spirit and ideals which have actuated its progress and development during the past forty years no one could so broadly and fully represent the city as Capt. B. B. Paddock. Ever since locating in Fort Worth in 1872, when it was a mere village on the hill overlooking the Trin- ity and out on the western frontier. Captain Paddock has exhibited that kind of public spirit which constantly plans for community welfare and is prodigal of personal time, energy and means in getting the plans carried out. The friend who writes these lines of biography and appreciation knows as a matter of fact that there is hardly a citizen of con- sequence in all North or West Texas who is unacquainted with the personality and work of Captain Paddock and who has not a kindly admiration both for what he has done and for what he is.
While the late Col. Peter Smith is re- garded as "the Father of Fort Worth" it has been given to Captain Paddock to foster the child through its village and city development and to live to witness in later times the fine fruition of the plans and enterprises that en- gaged his earlier associate.
Captain Paddock was born in Cleveland. Ohio, January 22, 1844, a son of Boardman and Margaret (Buckley) Paddock. The father was a native of Vermont and the mother of Ireland. His family moved to the then ter- ritory of Wisconsin in 1845, where Captain
Paddock was reared till the age of fifteen. His mother died when he was less than five years of age, and his boyhood was spent on the northwestern frontier, chiefly in the lum- ber camps and among the Indians.
While he impresses one as a man of broad knowledge and thorough education, . he was indebted neither to school nor college for his early training, and, as a matter of fact, has gained his knowledge of both books and men by self-tuition and varied experience.
In 1861, responding to the spirit of adven- ture (a dominant quality then as afterward). he went to Mississippi and volunteered in the Confederate Army in Col. Wirt Adams' Regiment of Cavalry. Gallantry and dash in action gave him promotion in July, 1862, when he was put in command of a company of scouts, being at that time the youngest com- missioned officer in the Confederate Army. When first appointed chief of scouts under General Adams his company was composed of forty-eight men picked from the brigade. which he recruited to 110. His service took him into Alabama, Tennessee and Louisiana. The Yazoo River was the scene of one of his most daring exploits. It was made the subject of an interesting article in the Philadelphia Ledger, the facts having been obtained from men on both sides in the army who were par- ticipants in the adventure. A Federal gun- boat, known as one of the Mosquito fleet under General Elliott, getting out of coal, tied up to the bank, unaware of the fact that there were any Confederate troops in the vicinity, and proceeded to demolish a rail fence for fuel. Its presence and the conditions were discovered by Captain Paddock, and he took thirteen men and swam the river and boarded the boat. The crew was taken so completely by surprise that no defense was possible. The entire crew was captured and the boat dis- mantled and burned.
Notwithstanding the fact that the troop was in every engagement of the regiment and in innumerable skirmishes on its own account not a man in the company was killed or wounded during the time of actual hostilities. In an engagement on the Sipsey River near Tuscaloosa, Alabama, several days after the surrender, and before this fact was known, two men were killed and two wounded, Cap- tain Paddock receiving a slight flesh wound in the thigh, which, however, did not disable him. He and his men came to have the feel- ing that they bore charmed lives and were immune from injury. This feeling led them
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to unusual deeds of daring. This troop was the last under fire east of the Mississippi, and he believes his flag was the last to be swung to the breeze in battle. The achievements of this company and its many exploits furnished the basis in part for the fiction narrative built up by George W. Cable in one of his most inter- esting novels, "The Cavalier."
After the war Captain Paddock settled in Fayette, Mississippi, and while working for support studied under a private tutor, took up law and was admitted to the bar. He prac- ticed with considerable success for eight years, but finding that his temperament was unsuited for the career of a lawyer he abandoned it for journalism.
In October, 1872, he moved from Mississippi to Texas, settling in Fort Worth. At that time Fort Worth was a frontier town on the northwest edge of the rapidly advancing wave of settlement. The first railroad did not reach the town for four years and he was a leader among those who sustained the faith and helped carry out the plans which in a few years made Fort Worth a city. He purchased the Fort Worth Democrat and edited and pub- lished that paper for ten years, until it was merged with the Gazette, of which he was the managing editor for two years. After that he was teller in the First National Bank. He resigned in November, 1885, in order to pro- mote the Fort Worth and Rio Grande Rail- way. He was the president and manager of this road for five years. He then turned his attention to the promotion of a road to the northwest, in which he spent several years and many thousands of dollars, but was not suc- cessful. While his efforts added one road to those radiating from Fort Worth, it is possible to say, without successful contradiction, that no one man by his newspaper and personal efforts did more to promote Fort Worth as a railroad center, and his enthusiasm has been one of the mainstays of the city in the times of depression as well as prosperity.
In 1892 Captain Paddock was elected mayor of the city, which position he held for four successive terms, a period of eight years. He then engaged in the investment securities busi- ness until December. 1909. when he retired from active business of every kind.
He organized and promoted the first water works system for the city and secured the capital for its construction. He was one of the organizers and promoters of the Texas Spring Palace. the most unique and attractive place of amusement ever built. He was the
president of the company and managed its affairs with success.
It was largely through his efforts that the Masonic School and Home, under the auspices of the Masonic Fraternity of the state, was secured for Fort Worth. He was one of the stockholders and promoters of the first stock yards and packing houses in the city, through which the firms of Swift & Company and Armour & Company were induced to locate in Fort Worth. These are a part of the activities in which he was engaged for the upbuilding of the city.
Politically Captain Paddock is a sound money Democrat of the Grover Cleveland type. He declined to follow his party into the Free Silver Camp of the Populists and was presi- dential elector on the Palmer and Buckner ticket. He was a member of the Legislature in 1881-83 and again in 1913-15. He was the organizer of the Fort Worth Board of Trade, the predecessor of the present Chamber of Commerce, and was its secretary until he re- tired from active business.
Seldom has a citizen lived to see his prophe- cies fulfilled as has Captain Paddock. Many of his predictions of the future of the city have been verified in his lifetime and a partici- pant in their fruition. On his seventy-fifth birthday the people of the city, many hundreds in number. gave a dinner in his honor, at which a handsome silver loving cup, suitably inscribed. was presented him. Seldom has a citizen been so honored in his lifetime. When he retired from business the Chamber of Com- merce, in recognition of the services rendered the city in various ways, made him "Honorary President for Life." In recording this dis- tinctive honor the Fort Worth Star said : "The action of the Chamber of Commerce is per- haps the most signal honor that has ever been conferred upon a citizen of Fort Worth. Sec- retary of the Board of Trade at a time when the city made its greatest stride, he was per- mitted to resign from the post when he de- clared the time had come for him to retire from participation in public affairs. At that time he was jokingly declared the 'official town loafer' with power to prevent anyone else from loafing.
"He has been one of the few men to live to see their dreams realized. In his mind many years ago he pictured Fort Worth as the cen- ter of a group of great railway systems and the center of the cattle industry of the south- west. There was but little to base the dream upon but the convergence of cattle trails at
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the spot where the 'panther laid down.' With the co-operation of other pioneers, with keen insight, he soon witnessed the extension of the Texas and Pacific to Fort Worth and in turn the other great systems that have now reached the city. His views of a great packing center have also been realized during his life, the record of the Fort Worth market with greater receipts for its age than Chicago as a market, Kansas City or St. Louis, showing the keen- ness of his town building views. Interurbans. factories and wholesale houses all have sprung up as he pictured them in his mind and in the columns of the Fort Worth Democrat."
In February, 1915, as another recognition of his work for the public, the County Com- missioners of Tarrant County christened a million dollar bridge across the river at Fort Worth the "Paddock Viaduct."
Captain Paddock is a Mason. a Knight of
Pythias, an Elk, senior past master of the Fort Worth Masonic Lodge; past chancellor of the Knights of Pythias, past exalted ruler of the Elks, and has been made a life member of the Masonic Lodge and of the Elks. He is one of the organizers of the Fort Worth Club, the Carnegie Library, and has lent his aid and assistance in the support of the Y. M. C. A., in the building of the churches of the city, the Coliseum, and all other public enter- prises and institutions.
Captain Paddock was married at Fayette. Mississippi, December 10. 1867, to Miss Emmie Harper. Their children are: Mary Hermine, born March 3, 1869, and died August 22, 1870; Wirt Adams Paddock, William B. Paddock, and Virgile Paddock, the latter being the wife of Guy Richardson Pitner. The three latter children are still living, prosperous and happy.
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