USA > Texas > Burleson County > History of Texas, together with a biographical history of Milam, Williamson, Bastrop, Travis, Lee and Burleson counties. Pt.2 > Part 19
USA > Texas > Travis County > History of Texas, together with a biographical history of Milam, Williamson, Bastrop, Travis, Lee and Burleson counties. Pt.2 > Part 19
USA > Texas > Bastrop County > History of Texas, together with a biographical history of Milam, Williamson, Bastrop, Travis, Lee and Burleson counties. Pt.2 > Part 19
USA > Texas > Lee County > History of Texas, together with a biographical history of Milam, Williamson, Bastrop, Travis, Lee and Burleson counties. Pt.2 > Part 19
USA > Texas > Williamson County > History of Texas, together with a biographical history of Milam, Williamson, Bastrop, Travis, Lee and Burleson counties. Pt.2 > Part 19
USA > Texas > Milam County > History of Texas, together with a biographical history of Milam, Williamson, Bastrop, Travis, Lee and Burleson counties. Pt.2 > Part 19
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47 | Part 48 | Part 49 | Part 50 | Part 51 | Part 52 | Part 53 | Part 54 | Part 55 | Part 56
Mr. Jefferson Davis in his book on the the rise and fall of the Confederacy says, there is no parallel in ancient or modern war- fare to the victory of Dowling and his men at Sabine Pass, considering the great odds against which they had to contend. Sabine Pass will stand perhaps for all time to come the greatest military victory on the Ameri- can soil, if not in the world, and will stamp with undying fame the name of all who were members of the Davis Guards. The men
548
HISTORY OF TEXAS.
who composed the company were all born in Ireland, that land that has given to liberty's canse so many brave and noble men, whether at home or on foreign soil. Of the forty- three only three are now living, two in Texas and one in Illinois. Captain Dowling died when Mrs. Robertson was but a child. Cap- tain and Mrs. Dowling had two children, R. S., of New Orleans, and Annie, wife of our subject. Mrs. Dowling after the death of Captain D., married W. R. Daniel, a native of Mississippi. By her last marriage she had four children: Walter, Edward, Rosa and Robert. Mr. and Mrs. Daniel reside in Austin, Texas.
On March 6, 1889, the anniversary of the independence of the republic of Texas the citizens of Honston, the home of Captain Dowling from boyhood to the day of his death, through Judge W. P. Ilamblin their representative in the Twentieth State Legis- lature of Texas, then in session in the capitol at Austin, in one of the most eloquent speeches ever made in the capital, presented to Mrs. Roberton a handsome gold medal with diamond setting. as a token of their as- teem for her father and as an expression of their high appreciation of the distinguished services he rendered the " Lost Cause," and especially the people of Texas in saving their fair State from invasion by the Federal army September 8, 1863. The medal has on one side the inscription, " Presented to Annie Dowling the daughter of Our Hero," and on the other side " From citizens of Houston." The presentation took place in the hall of the house of Representatives at an hour set by the house for the purpose and in the pres- ence of both branches of the Legislature, the heads of the different departments, and a large concourse of citizens and friends, ex- Governor Frank R. Lubboek an old-time
friend of Captain Dowling, accepted the medal for Mrs. Robertson in a neat, appro- priate speech.
Mrs. Robertson is a lady of culture and refinement, a lover of books, music and home.
Mr. Robertson is a member of the Mystic Circle, takes an active interest in political inatters, and is a man of liberal views.
H E. BAINE, a physician of Lee county, is a son of Moses and Cecelia T. (En- goldsby) Baine. The father was born in County Armagh, Ireland, in 1800, but when a young man emigrated to Amner- ica, landing at Baltimore, Maryland, where he remained several years. While there he was married, and in 1830 or 1831 they came to Texas, locating at San Felipe, at the month of the Brazos river. With his family he afterward moved to Washington county, where the father died in 1864, and the mother in 1861. After locating in this State the father followed farming and stock-raising, took part in the early conflicts that threw off the Mexican yoke, and occupied a high place in the esteem of the citizens. Mr. and Mrs. Baine were the parents of ten children, viz .: Sarah and George, deceased; Alice, wife of H. Levinson, of Weatherford, Texas; Mary, wife of M. P. Kerr, of Laredo, this State; Eliza, now Mrs. O. H. Crazier, of Brenham; William, who served as a private in Nelson's regiment during the late war, and was killed at the battle of New Hope Church; Parthenia, wife of C. H. Carlisle, of Brenham, Texas; Cecelia, wife of T. A. Low, also of that city; Moses, deceased; and II. E., our subjeet.
Harry E. Baine was born in Washington county, Texas, June 6, 1854, and attended the common schools and the Baylor Univer-
549
HISTORY OF TEXAS.
sity of Washington county. In 1872 he be- gan the study of medicine in the office of Dr. J. T. Norris, at Brenham, and from that year until 1875 attended the Medical Department of the University of Kentucky, at Lonisville, graduating at that institution in the spring of 1875. Dr. Baine then began the practice of his profession at Welcome, Austin county, but three years later came to Lexington, Lee county. In addition to his medical practice, he owns a well- stocked drug store, and is also Postmaster of the city.
At Welcome, Austin county, October 6, 1877, Dr. Baine was united in marriage to Ellen Barnhill. They have two children, El- len and Harry. Politically our subject is not a partisan, and, although he opposes the doc- trine of free trade, never allows the ties of party to break the ties of friendship. In his social relations, he is a member of the Legion of Honor.
M M. RAGSDALE, a representative farmer of Milam county, is a native of Texas, having been born in what is now Fayette county, November 25, 1835. His parents, James C. and Rebecca (Moss) Ragsdale, were early settler of Texas, moving here in 1833. The father served in the war by which Texas won its independence, being a member of that glorious band of pa- triots that won imperishable honors for them- selves on the field of San Jacinto. In 1850 the senior Ragsdale moved to Milam county, where he died in March of the following year. Ile was an industrious farmer and a patriotic citizen. Ilis wife, who was a daughter of Mathew Moss, another of Milam county's worthy pioneers, survived her husband a min- ber of years, dying here in 1878. She and
her husband were members of the Cumber- land Presbyterian Church, and under the in- fluences of that church as well as in all cor- reet ways of living they raised their family of ten children, most of whom are yet living and filling useful places in society. These are: Sinith, who has been a teacher for over forty years, residing now at Llano, this State; Sarah, the widow of L. E. S. Williams, of Milam county; Mathew Moss, the subject of this notice; Andrew R., who was killed in the Confederate army in 1862; Harriet C., now the wife of Joseph Westmoreland, of Hardeman county, this State; Milton, a teacher of Dallas; Caroline, who was married to C. J. Harris, both of whom are deceased; James Madison, who resides in Waxahachie, Ellis county, Texas; Elizabeth R., now Mrs. Manguin, resides at Tacoma in the new State of Washington . and Alice, the wife of George L. Adkison, of Waxahachie, Texas.
M. M. Ragsdale was brought up as most boys were a half century ago in Texas, on the range and farm. His father knew the ad- vantages of an education and used his utinost endeavor to give his children good training in this respect; but Texas during the first fi :- teen or twenty years after it threw off Mexi- can anthority had graver problems pressing on it for solution than the school question. Such school advantages, however, as existed in the community where the Ragsdale family lived were enjoyed by each member of that family and the subject of this notice got at least the rudiments of a good English educa- tion. Accompanying his parents to Milam county, in 1850, he married here nine years later and branched out innnediately after- ward in the stock business for himself. In 1862 he entered the Confederate army enlist- ing in an independent company commanded by Captain Armstrong, Ford's regiment, and
550
HISTORY OF TEXAS.
served with the command on the southwest frontier of Texas during the remainder of the war. Returning home he took up agricul- tural pursuits which he has followed steadily and successfully since. He owns a farm of somewhat over 200 acres, most of which is in cultivation, and furnished with suitable improvements necessary for carrying on pleasantly and profitably the business of farming and stock-raising.
In 1859 Mr. Ragsdale married Miss Eliza- beth Harris, a daughter of Reuben and Dacey (Mynatt) Harris, who moved from Tennessee to Texas in 1844, but after a year's residence re- turned to Tennessee, where they died in Jan- uary, 1858. Mrs. Ragsdale is a native of Tennessee, born July 2, 1841. She in one of eight children and came to Texas in company with an older brother in 1858. Mr. and Mrs. Ragsdale have never had any children, but an adopted daughter, Maud A. Harris, a niece of Mr. Ragsdale, has been a member of their household since infancy and in all things is as near to thein as a daughter conld be. Mr. Ragsdale is a member of the Presbyterian Church and his wife is a member of the Mis- sionary Baptist Church.
D D. THOMSON, a farmer of William- son county, is a son of W. D. and Permelia Ann Thomson. The family are of Scotch descent, and located in Georgia in a very early day. The grandfather of our sketch, Alexander Thomson, moved in the early part of the present century, to Giles conty, Tennessee, where he was one of the early pioneers. Ile subsequently came to Texas, with what was then known as Robert- son's Colony, located a headright in what is now Burleson county, and remained there un-
til his death. IIe was one of the fonuders of Methodism in Texas. The father of our sub- ject was born and raised in Tennessee, was married in Manry county, that State, in 1831, to Permelia A. Evans, and came to Texas, and enlisted in the cause of the new Re- public of Texas, joining Samuel Houston's army, and serving as Quartermaster. Mr. Thomson brought his family to this State in 1838, locating at old Nashville, Milam county, and remained there thirty years. During that time he represented his county in the Legislature, and also held many county offices. He died at the old homestead in Burleson county, in 1866; the mother de- parted this life in 1889. They were the parents of seven children; Alexander C., of Santa Anna, Texas; Daniel D., our subject; Roxanna, wife of Colonel J. G. Gordon, of Williamson conuty ; J. Mack, of Belton, Texas; Bettie J., wife of John O. Johnson, of Austin; Lncinda L., yet nninarried; and Fremont K., of Cleburne, Texas.
D. D. Thomson, the subject of this sketch, was born iu Maury county, Tennessee, June 2, 1834, and came with his parents to Texas at the age of three years. He remained in Milam connty until the close of the late war; lived several years in Bosque county, and iu 1875 came to his present location- He owns 450 acres of good land, all under feuce, and 200 acres of which is cultivated. Politically Mr. Thomson votes with the Democratic party, and religionsly is a steward and an active worker in the Methodist Church.
In Burleson county, October 25, 1859, he was nuited fu marriage to Mary J. Easeley. They had five children; Annie C., wife of W. A. Rutledge, of Williamson county. De- Witt D., of Stephens county, Texas; Edgar E., of this county; Bettie A .. wife of L. L. Tomlinson, of Williamson county, and Mollie,
551
HISTORY OF TEXAS.
now Mrs. W. P. Wales, and a resident also of this county. The wife and mother died in Burleson county, May 19, 1871. Sep- tember 30, 1875, in Williamson county, Mr. Thomson married Mollie C. King. They have had seven children; Lamar, Ora K., James D., Lillian May, W. A., J. M. and Melville G.
R OBERT J. PRICE, a farmer and stock- raiser of Bastrop connty, Was born in Marion county, Alabama, in 1832, a son of Robert J. and Annie (Moore) Price, natives of Virginia and Alabama, re- speetively. The parents were married in the latter State. The father was a minister in the Methodist Episcopal Chnreli, and both he and his wife died when onr subject was small, leaving four children: Robert J .; Mary, who died in Mississippi, was the wife of William Hodges; Abigail, also deceased in that State, married Moses Hodges; Martha, who died in Bastrop county, Texas, was the wife of Miller Hubbard.
Robert J. Price, the subject of this sketcli, received a limited edneation, and in 1850 came to Bastrop county, Texas. He came with an unele, T. C. Moore, loeating in this city, where he was employed as clerk in a dry- goods store three months, receiving $20 per month and board. He was next engaged as a farm hand, and in 1854 purchased 400 acres of land on Cedar creek, eight miles south of Bastrop, one-half of which tract was timber land and the remainder prairie. Mr. Price's son pnt the latter under cultivation. He also owned a number of slaves, and, in company with Major Moore, now deceased, was the first to import Durham cattle to this county, in 1857. In 1859 he brought the first Berk-
shire and Poland-China hogs to Bastrop county. After the close of the war Messrs. Price & Moore became the largest importers of cattle in this county. Mr. Price was mineh in favor of secession, and at the call for troops enlisted in Company L, Eighth Texas Regiment, under Colonel Terry. After the first battle of Corinth he entered the Tennes- see army, where he was engaged only in heavy skirmishing, the principal one being at Blair's Landing, at Winchester, Tennessee. Mr. Prinee was discharged in the fall of 1862, returned home, and in the same fall joined Company A, Thirty-second Texas Cavalry, under Colonel Woods. He afterward served in the Trans-Mississippi Department, and took part in all the battles from Blair's Land- ing to Yellow hayou, participating in thirty- two engagements. He was discharged at Honston, May 15, 1865.
After returning home, Mr. Price resumed farming and stock-raising, and remained on his farm until 1890, when he purchased a place and moved to Bastrop. In the same year he traded lis farm to his son, Robert E., for one on the Colorado river, consisting of 264 aeres, with 250 aeres nnder cultiva- tion. Mr. Price is still interested in the stock business, and at present is engaged in breeding Holstein and Durham cattle. In company with his son, Robert E., he was the first to import to this county Holstein eattle, of which he now owns abont thirty-five head. In 1876 Mr. Price received the Democratie nomination for Representativo of Bastrop and Fayette counties in the Fourteenth Legisia- ture of Texas, and Governors Coke and Hnb- bard were the chief exeentors of the State at that time. That was the first Legislature after reconstruction. Since his retirement from that position, in 1878, he has never sought political preferment, but in 1880 was
35
553
HISTORY OF TEXAS.
selected as Chairman of the Democratie Exe- entive Committee of Bastrop county and held that position until 1892.
In 1854 Mr. Price was united in marriage to Miss Sarah Mitchell, a native of North Carolina, but reared in Mississippi, and a danghter of Elijah P. and Frances (Morris) Mitchell, natives also of North Carolina. The father located in Tippah county, Mississippi, in an early day, and in 1855 came to Bastrop county, Texas. He died in the following year at the home of his daughter, Mrs. Price. IIis widow afterward removed with her fam- ily to Eastland prairie, where she died in 1868. Mr. and Mrs. Mitchell were the par- ents of seven children, four of whom grew to years of maturity: Sarah B., now Mrs. I'rice; Robert P., a resident of Aberdeen, Mississippi; Max, of Waco, Texas; and Mat- tie, who married Major R. H. Wells, but both are now deceased. Mr. and Mrs. Price have had eleven children, six now living, and all in the county, viz .: Robert E., Joseph B., James W., Charles M., David S. and Wesley W. Mr. and Mrs. Price are members of the Methodist Episcopal Church Sonth, in which the former is a Steward. Socially, he affiliates with the A. F. & A. M., Gamble Lodge, No. 244, and Bastrop Chapter, No. 95.
MOORE, a successful farmer and pio- neer citizen of Williamson county, Texas, is a son of L. and Priscilla (Thornton) Moore. The grandfather of our subject, Joseph Moore, was a native of Ire- land, but when a young man came to the Colonies. He raised a large family in North Carolina, and was a soldier in the Revolu- tionary war. The father of our subject sub- sequently moved to South Carolina; in 1818
went to Tuscaloosa county, Alabama, and four years later to Fayette county, that State, where he died in 1851. Mr. and Mrs. Moore reared a family of eleven children, three now living: Catherine, who married a Mr. Har- kins, now deceased; Elijah, of Coryell county, Texas; and L., our subject. The mother died one month previous to the father's death. The latter was a minister in the Primitive Baptist Church for about forty years.
L. Moore, the subject of this sketch, was born May 16, 1824, six miles west of Fayette courthouse, Fayette county, Alabama, where he grew to manhood. In 1848 he came to Texas, spending the first four years in Bas- trop county, and during one year of that time was a member of the State rangers. In 1852 he returned to Alabama, but in 1854 eame again to Texas, settling where he now lives, two miles north of Florence, Williamson county. Mr. Moore now owns 500 acres of land, 130 acres of which is under a fine state of cultivation. In 1862 he enlisted for serv- ice in the late war in a cavalry company com- inanded by Captain Peace. In the spring of 1863 he entered Company G, Seventeenth Texas Infantry, as a private, took part in the battles of Mansfield and Pleasant Hill, was taken prisoner at the latter place, but was soon afterward exchanged.
Mr. Moore was married in Fayette county, Alabama, Jannary 9, 1853, to Eppie H. Thornton. They have had nine children, viz .: Alice, wife of Robert Triple, of Salado, Texas; William E. and Jolin D., of Young county, this State; Susan, who with another lady was killed by falling lamps while at- tending church; Jefferson D., of Indian Ter- ritory; Gaines H. and Battie, at home; Mark, of Young county, Texas; and Murray, who was killed by a runaway mule in 1892. Po-
553
HISTORY OF TEXAS.
litically, Mr. Moore votes with the Demo- cratie party, and socially is a member of the Grange and the Sons of Temperance. He is a Deacon in the Missionary Baptist Church.
R OBERT HANNA, one of the oldest and most respected residents of Will- iamson county, is a son of Charles M. and Mary B. (Patton) Hanna. The first of this family to come to America was James Hanna, great-grandfather of our sub- ject, who located in York district, South Carolina, where he raised his family. The grandfather, Robert Hanna, served in the Revolutionary war when only cighteen years of age, and several of his brothers were also soldiers in that struggle. After the close of the war he married, and also raised his family in York district. Charles M. Hanna was married in the district of Spartanburg, bnt soon located in York district, where he in turn raised his family. He practiced medicine there until 1834, and in that year located in Pontotve county, Mississippi, where he died in 1862. Mrs. Hanna departed this life in 1859.
Robert Hanna, the only survivor of his parents' eight children, and the subject of this sketch, was born in York district, South Carolina, April 5, 1817. When a lad of seventeen years he moved with his parents to Mississippi, where he remained until 1854, and in that year located in Williamson county, Texas. In the following year he settled on 480 acres of his present farm, to which he afterward added 632 acres more, but now owns abont 750 acres. The farm is located on Running Brushy creek, eight miles west of the town of Round Rock. By patient toil and industry Mr. Hanna has succeeded in
gaining a competency, and his well-tilled fields and overflowing granaries attest his snecessful husbandry. A Whig before the late war, his teachings led him to strenu- ously oppose secession, and after the close of the struggle he voted a few years with the Republican party, but, not agreeing with their monetary legislation, has of late years favored no partienlar party.
Mr. Hanna was married in Pontotoe coun- ty, Mississippi, December 27, 1843, to Miss Sibby Harrison, who was born in Abbeyville district, South Carolina, a daughter of Rev. John and Margaret (Stuart) Harrison. The father was a native of Spartanburg district, Sonth Carolina, and was a minister in the Presbyterian Church, as were also several other members of the Harrison family. After marriage he located in Abbeyville, later in Jackson county, Georgia, where he lived and died. Mr. and Mrs. Hanna have had seven children, four now living: Charles, of Anstin; Andrew and Robert, farmers of Williamson county; and Thomas S., a surveyor of this county.
HOMAS CULVERWELL, farmer and stock raiser of Milam connty, is a native of England, having been born in Somersetshire July 21, 1851. In 1855 his parents imigrated to America and settled near Norfolk, Virginia, where the subject of this sketeh was reared. His father died when the subject of this notice was in his tenth year and most of the family pos- sessions having been swept away by the ravages of the late war, his education was limited. In 1872 he came to Texas and for three years was engaged in driving cattle from this State to Wyoming. He located in Milam county in 1875, where he en-
564
HISTORY OF TEXAS.
gaged in the sheep industry. For ten years he followed this sneeessfully, when having purchased some land he turned his attention about 1885 to farming. He owns at this time a splendid traet of land, consisting of 1,281 aeres, most of which is devoted to stoek raising. He is an enthusiastic and intelligent breeder of fine stock and is doing a great deal to raise the grade and improve the strains of stock in his locality. Mr. Culverwell is devoted strietly to business pursuits, never having taken any part in publie matters. He married in Milam county on the 20th of July, 1876, Miss Martha T. Knight, who was born near Fairfield, Free- stone connty, Texas, Deecmiber 11, 1856. She was reared an orphan and unfortunately has come into possession of bnt little infor mation relative to her parentage. Mr. and Mrs. Cnlverwell are members of the Metlo- dist Church in which he is a Steward and both are zealous workers. Mr. Culverwell's course in life has been such as to eommend him in a marked manner to the esteem and confidence of his fellow-eitizens. Upright in his dealings, generous and public-sprited, he has exerted a good influenee in the eom- munity where he lives and furthered all pur- poses calculated to upbuild the moral and religious elements of society. In this labor he has been enconraged by an excellent wife, a lady of many splendid qualities of head and heart, and one who has sneceeded in drawing around herself the best social ele- ments of the community.
OHN M. MCCLANAHAN, of Lee county, Texas, is a son of Colonel Mil- ton and Dorothea (Keys) McClanahan. Two brothers of this name, William and
James, came from Scotland to Botetourt county, Virginia, in Colonial times, and took part in the Revolutionary war, serving six months alternately. It was then a common occurrenee when two of a family were in ser- vice for one to serve six months, and then re- turn home and the other would take his place. William McClanahan was the great- grandfather of our subject. The family con- tinned to reside in that connty until the early part of this century, when the grand- father of onr subject. James McClanahan, moved with his family to Blount county, Tennessee. Milton MeClanahan was born at that place July 5, 1796, went to Alabama when a young man, was there married, and then located in Lawrence county. In 1846 he came to Burleson connty, Texas, where he died October 30, 1861. While in Alabama he was a member of the Legislature from 1834 to 1846, in both the lower house and the Senate, having resigned his seat in the latter to come to Texas. Politically, he was a Democrat; religiously, a member of the Baptist Church, and was a man of good in- fluence. He recieved his title of Colonel for service in the State militia during the war of 1812. The Keys family were origin- ally from Virginia. The grandfather of our subject, George Keys, subsequently moved to Georgia, where Mrs. MeClanahan was born March 14, 1802. At the age of fonr- teen years she went with her parents to Ten- nessee, afterward to Alabama, and was mar- ried in Lawrence county, that State. She died in January, 1892, at the age of ninety years. Mr. and Mrs. MeClanahan had nine ehildren, six now living: Harvey, a farmer of Lee county; John M., our subject; Frances, wife of G. W. Moore, of Milam county ; Susan, wife of F. M. Parks, of Hale county; Martha, now Mrs. Thomas Adkins, of Lee
555
HISTORY OF TEXAS.
county; and Henry, a farmer of this connty. John M. Mcclanahan was born in Lawrence county, Alabama, May 30, 1832, and came with his parents to Texas in 1846. He be- gan farming at the age of twenty-one years, and, in 1857, immediately after his marriage, located on his present farm. He now owns 300 acres of land, 120 acres of which is under a good state of cultivation. During the late war he was engaged in detail service in Wall's division, commissary department. In 1884 Mr. McClanahan was the Democratic nominee for the State Legislature, for the district composed of Burleson and Lee counties, and was elected by the largest ma- jority ever given any candidate in this local- ity. He held that office by re-elections until 1888. Socially, he is a Royal Archi Mason; and religionsly a Clerk and Deacon in the Missionary Baptist Church.
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.