USA > Texas > Burleson County > History of Texas, together with a biographical history of Milam, Williamson, Bastrop, Travis, Lee and Burleson counties. Pt.2 > Part 28
USA > Texas > Travis County > History of Texas, together with a biographical history of Milam, Williamson, Bastrop, Travis, Lee and Burleson counties. Pt.2 > Part 28
USA > Texas > Bastrop County > History of Texas, together with a biographical history of Milam, Williamson, Bastrop, Travis, Lee and Burleson counties. Pt.2 > Part 28
USA > Texas > Lee County > History of Texas, together with a biographical history of Milam, Williamson, Bastrop, Travis, Lee and Burleson counties. Pt.2 > Part 28
USA > Texas > Williamson County > History of Texas, together with a biographical history of Milam, Williamson, Bastrop, Travis, Lee and Burleson counties. Pt.2 > Part 28
USA > Texas > Milam County > History of Texas, together with a biographical history of Milam, Williamson, Bastrop, Travis, Lee and Burleson counties. Pt.2 > Part 28
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now in Georgetown. In the latter part of 1849 Mr. Taylor came to Georgetown, pur- chased $250 worth of goods of A. J. Mckay, increased the stock, and did a successful bnsi- ness until 1860, when he sold his store and went to Waco. In 1851 he erected at George- town the largest store then in the county, the store now being known as the Breneke & Company building, which has been three times moved. While in Waco onr subject also conducted a wholesale grocery store, supplying the trade in Burnet, Lampasas, Llano, San Saba, and the connty of Coryell, covering a distance of 100 miles to the north and west. At that time there were no towns between Georgetown and Waco. In 1865 he sold his store in that city and opened a whole- sale grocery store in Galveston.
At that time money was very scarce, owing to the ravages of the Civil war. Mr. Taylor was a man universally admired for his strict honesty and his many noble and sterling qualities of head and heart. His word was as good as a bank note, and liis promise to pay, was always equivalent to the cash in hand. The following is an example of the confidence placed in him. In 1865 he went to New York, with but little more money than was actually necessary in paying his expenses, and while there saw some of the merchants with whom he had previously had dealings. They met at the Astor House, where he told them of the impoverished condition of his people. Several of the men offered to let him have goods on ninety days and 120 days' credit, but he still wanted more time. At this juncture J. II. Brower, of the firm of J. II. Brower & Co., said: " Mr. Taylor, I would buy such goods as I wanted, would buy them wherever I could do the best, buy as many as yon care to, pay for them when you get ready, and the firm of J. H. Brower & Co. will
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A.w. Carpenter
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honor yonr draft." The enigina was then solved. Mr. Taylor bought abont $100,000 worth of goods for his wholesale store, and every dollar of the money was forthcoming within a few months, and before two years had passed Mr. Taylor favored J. H. Brower in a similar manner, for which he was obliged to sell his store in Galveston. Ilis death oc- enrred Angnst 18, 1868, at La Grange, he liav- ing been taken suddenly ill while on his way to Georgetown. The physicians prononneed his disease congestion, but as the family, who were then at home, had the yellow fever, and his symptoms strangely resembled that dis- ease, it was thought by many that his death was caused from that malady.
Mr. Taylor was married to Miss Catherine Lee, and they had six children, viz .: Clem- ency Ann, wife of J. M. Brandon; Emzy, the next in order of birth; Mary. Cerethana, of Waco, married the late Rufns C. Majors; Florence Isabel, deceased in 1887, was the wife of Travis S. Jones; Kate, wife of Travis S. Jones, of Waco; and Euphrates, of George- town. Mrs. Taylor, born in 1820, died in 2 1856. Both she and her husband were mem- bers of the Christian Church for many years. It was not only in the family circle that this most estimable lady was missed, but she had endeared herself most affectionately to the hearts of her associates, which feeling extended to all who knew her. Mr. Taylor's second mar- riage was to Mrs. Caroline Rose, widow of Dr. Rose. She now resides at Sewanee, Tennessee. Mr. and Mrs. Taylor had one son, W. J., born December 29, 1859. Ile was educated in Holly Springs, Mississippi, and in New York, also taking a course in eivil engineering in the University of the Sontli, of Tennessee. Mr. Taylor, the subject of this sketch, was a liberal, enterprising and public-spirited citizen, and was a man of
kind, generons and praiseworthy impulses. Ile gave liberally to the poor, and those in distress always found in him a valued friend. Until his death no church in the county was built withont his contribution. His life was one of honor, nsefulness, integrity and a good snecess.
A W. CARPENTER, the prond position of Texas among her sister States naturally leads ns to seek for the secret of her wonderful advancement, and it is soon discovered to consist in the intelli- gence, energy and morality of her inhabitants, prominent among whom is the subject of this sketch.
He comes of an old Sonthern family, whose ancestors were Americans as far back as their records go. William Carpenter, grandfather of the subject of this sketch, was a farmer in Alabama, who, as his children were growing up, began to look about for a location where opportunities were more favorable for their advancement than were afforded by the older States. Hearing glowing accounts of the rich fertile land in Texas, which was to be obtained at a low price, he at once coneluded to avail himself of the opportunities offered here. Consequently, in 1836, the year that Texas gained her independence from Mexico, he re- moved with his family to the Republic, and cast his lot with the few brave pioneers who had preceded him to " the promised land." He settled in what is now Caldwell connty, where he and his family experienced all the hardships and privations to which the carly settlers of Texas were subjected. Indians and wild beasts were then tronblesome, and a high degree of conrage was developed in withstanding their depredations, and Mr.
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Carpenter and family, with many others, passed through this dark time and sowed the seeds of civilization which their posterity now enjoy. A man of intelligence, good judg- ment, progressive and public-spirited, Mr. Carpenter was frequently called upon to fill positions of honor and trust. Of high moral character, he won the confidence and esteem of all by his upright dealings and correct liv- ing. He was an active and consistent mem- ber of the Methodist Episcopal Church, con- tributing of his means and influence to the advancement of its cause. He married Mary Long, and they had eight children: Andrew, deceased; Isaac, deceased; Joseph Asbury, who died in the Confederate army during the late war. Wiley, the present clerk of Cald- well county; Calvin, deceased; Amelia, wife of J. R. Fleming, a minister of the Baptist Church; Bettie, widow of B. F. Fry, who died in the army; and John, who also died in the Confederate service.
Of these, Joseph Asbury Carpenter was the father of the subject of this sketch. He was born in Alabama, October 23, 1829, and was seven years of age when his parents re- moved to the Lone Star State. Owing to the newness of the country and consequent scarcity of schools, he enjoyed but limited educational advantages, but of a naturally qnick intelligence and observing disposition, with a reflective turn of thought, he became well informed. while his character was molded to habits of industry and truth by enlightened and God-fearing parents. His youth was passed in helping his father clear and improve wild land for their frontier home. On reach- ing man's estate, he was married to Elizabeth May, daughter of A. G. and Margaret (Cald- well) May, prominent pioneer settlers and re- spected residents of Texas, mention of whom is made in this volume. After marriage,
Mr. Carpenter was overseer of a plantation for a time, but finally purchased a tract of land, on which he erected a residence and was beginning to clear his farm when the omin- ons clonds of war began to overshadow the country, and an appeal was made to the patriotic men of the South to go to war in defense of her time-honored institutions. Mr. Carpenter was one of the first to respond to the call, and enlisted in 1861 in Company K. of Colonel Allen's regiment, being assigned to duty in the Department of the West. In 1862, he was detailed to the recruiting ser- vice and returned to his home county. While here he was taken ill with a severe attack of measles, but, being ambitions to faithfully perform his duty to his country, he did not wait to recover, but arose from his bed and accompanied his recruits to the seat of war. He arrived in camp on the White river, near Little Rock, Arkansas, but disease was still lurking in his system, and he was soon after- ward stricken with pneumonia, from which he never recovered. He died in camp, No- vember 14, 1862, and filled a soldier's grave, away from his loved ones and all most near and dear. Mrs. Carpenter was thus left in the early days of the war, with five children, the oldest of whom was but eight years of age, and in almost destitute circumstances in a country where nearly all the able-bodied men were in the war and everything in an unsettled condition. This brave woman, however, courageonsly struggled with poverty, enduring all hardships with Christian forti- tude, and made a home for herself and little ones, rearing her children in such a manner that they have all become useful members of society and a blessing to her name. These children were: A. W., whose name heads this sketch; Joseph A., also of Williamson county; Mary, wife of T. W. Kelley, of Travis county;
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HISTORY OF TEXAS.
John, of Williamson county; and Amelia, wife of Jacob Glenn, of Travis county. Mrs. Carpenter was married again, November 15, 1866, her second husband being John B. Jeffery, and they had three children: Annie, who married Milton Davis, died in 1892; Bettie, wife of Columbus Hammock, of Williamson county; and Margaret, wife of William Inman, also of Williamson county. Mrs. Jeffery died November 28, 1885, after a long and useful life, leaving her family and many friends to mourn her loss.
A. W. Carpenter, the subject of this sketch, was born in Caldwell county, Texas, Septein- ber 3, 1854, and thus his youth occurred at a time when the country was in a most unsettled condition, owing to the ravages of war. Be- ing deprived of the loving and providing care of a father and being the oldest of the chil- dren, he was early obliged to assist his mother in the support of the family, and thus had no opportunity to secure an education, other than what he seenred by self-application from books and papers, which he read by the light of a brush fire. With the exception of three months in school, this is the way in which he secured his literary knowledge. By expe- rience, observation and reflection, he became well informed, securing a practical knowledge of affairs which with the high teachings of industry, honesty and morality learned from his parents, have contributed to his present success.
When sixteen years of age, Mr. Carpenter began for himself the life of a farmer, which he followed conseentively until he was twenty- four. He was then, for twenty-seven months, employed as clerk in the store of Mr. Speegle, of Williamson county, after which he accepted a position as clerk in the Grange store at Round Rock, where he was employed for five years. During this time, by practicing strict
economy and by close attention to business, he accumulated a small amount of money, which he invested, in Jannary, 1886, in the mercantile business, in HIntto, in partnership with Messrs. S. M. Woolsey and J. W. Ship- man. The last named gentleman has now re- tired from the firm and the business is con- dueted under the name of Woolsey & Car- penter. They are extensively engaged in gener- al merchandising and rank among the most prosperous firms in the State. In connection with their mercantile pursnits, these gentle- men also conduct the only bank of Hutto, which they established in 1892. Their store house and bank are among the best buildings in the place, being large, two-story, brick structures, provided with all modern im- provements and conveniences. They also own considerable real estate, including four brick store-honses, and are among the leading men of the community.
November 2, 1881, Mr. Carpenter was married to Miss Mattie C. Edwards, danghter of H. D. and Eliza (Smeltsen) Edwards, well known pioneers of Texas, where her father is a farmer. She was one of seven children: Lon, wife of J. T. Noble; Lizzie, married to Green Noble; Samnel, a resident of William- son county; Nathan, who died in the Con- federate service; Rebecca; Amanda, wife of H. C. May; and Mattie C., wife of the snb- ject of this sketch. Mr. and Mrs. Carpenter have five children: Vida, Grace, Walker, Gertrude and Alına.
Politically, Mr. Carpenter is a Democrat. He is an active member of the Methodis Episcopal Church, of which his father and grandfather before him were prominent ad- herents. Ile is essentially a self-made man, having started in life with nothing but a strong arm and willing heart, but has, by energy, perseverance, economy and right deal-
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ing, acenmulated a comfortable income. Ile contribntes liberally to all worthy enterprises caleulated to benefit the community and lends his influence to the advancement of religion and morality, being justly regarded as a pub- lic-spirited and worthy citizen.
C 'A. KING, one of the enterprising and leading citizens of Elgin, Bastrop conn- ty, was born in Cobb county, Georgia, December 16, 1842, a son of Barrington and Catherine (Nephew) King, natives also of that State. The father was a son of Roswell King, a native of Connecticut, who was the first to engage in the gold mining business in North Carolina. He afterward moved to Georgia, where he followed farming, and next took up his residence at Roswell, Cobb con- ty, that State. That city was named in his honor, as was also the Roswell Manufactur- ing Company. His death occurred in Cobb county. The father of our subject was the pioneer cotton manufacturer of Texas, and the machinery for his mill was hanled by wagons 150 miles. He continued that occu - pation until his death, which occurred in 1868, and the mother survived him until 1886, dy- ing at the age of ninety years. They were the parents of twelve children, viz .: Charles B., a Presbyterian minister; William N., a physician by profession, served as a surgeon in the army; Thomas E., who was killed at the battle of Chickamanga, while serving on General Smith's staff; Barrington S., who was a member of Wade Hampton's command in the late war, and was killed in North Caro- lina, while in service; Nephew, deceased; Ralph B., of New York; Susan, deceased; C. Evaline, wife of Rev. W. E. Baker, a Presby- terian minister of Roswell, Georgia; Joseph
11., who was wounded in the war, is now en- gaged in raising oranges in Florida; C. A., onr subject; and the youngest died when in infancy.
C. A. King, the subject of this sketch, re- ceived a liberal education at the Georgia Military Institute, and was engaged in the cotton business in early life. He entered the late war from his native State, was appointed Sergeant Major of the Third Georgia Bat- talion, served principally in the army of Ten - nessee, but on account of ill health, he was subsequently put on staff duty at Vicksburg. At the close of the struggle he was on Gen- eral Hardee's staff, in North Carolina. He was captured at Vicksburg, paroled, and after the close of the war he returned home. In 1861 Mr. King came to Texas, first locating in Terrell, but in 1888 came to Elgin, Bas- trop county, where he has since been engaged in the cotton business. He is the largest cotton buyer and shipper of the city, hand- ling about 4,000 bales annually. It was principally through his efforts that the town of Elgin was incorporated; he was elected the first Mayor after the incorporation, which po- sition he still holds; assisted in establishing the water works; and is a stockholder in a valuable and extensive brick manufactory. They are now agitating the erection of a cot- ton oil mill.
Mr. King was married in 1864, to Miss Mary Hardee, a daughter of Noble A. Hardee, and a niece of General Hardee, of United States and Confederate armies. The former was engaged in cotton factorage and commnis- sion business at Savannah for many years, but subsequently went for his health to Rich- field Springs, New York, where he died in 1869. Our subject and wife have had seveu children, viz .: Clifford A., engaged in the cotton business in Monroe; John II., of Chi-
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cago; William II., Barrington, Charles, Mamie and Noble, at home. Mr. King has taken the Red Cross degree in the Masonic Order, and is Noble Grand in the I. O. O. F. Both he and his wife are members and com- municants of the Episcopal Church.
M S. PARK, junior member of the firm of Kerr & Park, general mer- chants of Davilla, Milam county, is a native of Texas, having been born in Washington county, January 4, 1844. Ile was reared in his native county and in the city of Galveston, receiving his education in the schools of the latter place and at the Bastrop Military Institute which he was attending at the opening of the late war. He entered the Confederate army in 1861, enlisting in Company A, Waul's Legion, with which he served until the surrender. A late history speaking of this command says: "These troops served with credit throughont the war. General Waul knew thoroughly the topography of Mississippi, and by virtue of the knowledge and his ability as a cominander he was assigned to ardnous and responsible positions. Ilis legion and the gallant Second Texas,. commanded by that brave soldier, Colonel Ashbel Smith, erected a fort at a vital point on the Yazoo near the junction of the Yalobusha and Tallahatchie rivers, and repulsed the iron-clads commanded by the Federal general. At Vicksburg it also served with distinction suffering heavily during the siege." The reputation thus gained was fully sustained in the subsequent operations in which it took part west of the Mississippi, notably at Mansfield, Pleasant Hill, Yellow Bayou, and Jenkins' Ferry. Mr. Park was with this command, and shared its fortunes
from first to last. At Vicksburg he received several slight wonnds, but was never dis- abled for any considerable length of time from duty. He was at Galveston at the close of the war, and as soon as he received his discharge he secured a position as clerk in a general mercantile establishment at Honston, from which place after a year's residence he returned to Galveston. Mr. Park clerked and was in business for himself in that city until 1870, when he moved to Ocean Springs, Mississippi, where he engaged in mercantile pursuits until 1881 when he moved to Milam county, settling at Davilla, where he engaged in merchandising, which he has fol- lowed at that place since. He is also inter- ested in the live-stock business, giving special attention to the improvement of horses. He takes a leading part in matters of interest relating to his locality, especially to school and church work. He is one of the solid, reliable citizens of Davilla, and is justly regarded by his neighbors and associates as a man of strong character.
Mr. Park is a son of Moses and Sarah (Ayers) Park, his father a native of Tennessee, who came to Texas about 1835 or '36, locating in Washington county. Sarah Ayers was a native of New York, born November 12, 1822, and was bronght by her parents to Texas in 1833. Her father, David Ayers, did a large and successful mercantile bnsi- ness in the State at an early day. He was one of the "Pioneers of Methodism" in Texas, and gave largely of his means toward building churches, and establishing Sunday- schools. Ile and his wife are buried in Galveston. Moses Park and Sarah Ayers were married in Washington connty in 1840, and in 1849 moved to Galveston, where he died in 1855. The widow is still living. The parents were married by the Rev. Robert
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Alexander, a pioneer preacher of the Method- ist Church in Texas, and an uncle of M. S. Park. Mrs. Park, mother of M. S. Park, has taken an active interest in missionary work, devoting her entire time for the last several years to the work of the Woman's Missionary Society. She supervised the build- ing of a school at Laredo several years since, and spent a greater part of the year 1892 in Mexico, superintending the building and establishing of a school at Sabtillo, State of Chihuahua, to be conducted under the aus- pices of the Methodist Church.
The children of Moses and Sarah Park are: 'Robert A., who died at Galveston in 1882, from wounds received in the Confede- rate army during the war, he was a member of the celebrated Hood's Texas Brigade, and received a terrible wound at Sharpsburg; Moses Sinith, the subject of this sketch; Annie, who was married to A. H. Kerr, and resides at Davilla, Milam county; and Frank A., who is a business inan of Galveston.
M. S. Park and Mrs. C. S. Huke, widow of E. A. Huke, and daughter of Dr. James Angell, of Galveston, were married on April 13, 1870. Mrs. Park's parents were natives of London, England. She is a native of Wilkinson county, Mississippi, moving to Galveston when a child. Her father died in 1885, and her mother, eighty-eight old, lives in Galveston with another daughter. Mr. and Mrs. Park are the parents of five children: Frank Ayers, Wilbur, David, James, and Lottie. He and his wife are members of the Methodist Church, and actively interest themselves in everything relating to the welfare of their church as well as the general cause of Christianity.
Since the above sketch was written, Mr. Park has sold his interest in the mercantile business at Davilla, and purchased a new
home in the famous "Panhandle" of Texas. He is now comfortably settled upon a ranch, sitnated within seven miles of Amarillo, Potter county, which is his postoffice. He has now found a place, where he can indulge his favorite passion for raising and develop- ing fine horses, as it is now conceded that that the "Panhandle" country will grow the finest horses in the State.
(ESSE W. WOMACK, a member of the firin of Womack & Sturgis, wholesale and retail dealers in groceries and dry goods in Taylor, was born in Washington county, Alabama, in 1849, a son of Frank and Nancy (Grimes) Womack. The father came to Texas in 1845, while it was yet a Republic. He devoted his life to agricul- tural pursuits, and was successful in that vocation until the opening of the late war. In 1863 he joined the Confederate army, and served until the close of hostilities, when he found himself stripped of all his possessions except his land. Consequently he was ob- liged to begin life anew, with the additional expense of educating his children. Mr. Womack died in 1875, at the age of fifty- nine years. His wife departed this life in 1888, at the age of sixty-six years. They were the parents of seven children: Mary, deceased; John F., deceased; William G., of Montgomery county; Fannie A., deceased; J. W., our subject; James B., also of Mont- gomery county ; and one deceased in infancy. J. F. and W. G. were soldiers in the Con- federate army, and were members of Colonel Ehnoe's regiment. Mrs. Womack was a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church South, and her husband was identified with the A. F. and A. M. The maternal grand-
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father of our subject, William Grimes, was one of the pioneer settlers of Harrison county, Texas, and his brother, Jesse Grimes, was the first to locate in Grimes county, this State, that county being named in his honor. He was one of the best known politicians of the State in an early day, and was often a member of the Senate of both the State and Republic. He served in both wars with Mexico.
Jesse W. Womack, the subject of this shetch, was educated in the schools of Mont- gomery county, Texas, and also attended a commercial school in New Orleans, where he graduated at the age of twenty-one years. After returning to the former county. where his parents had moved when he was a babe, he was employed as bookkeeper by a firm in Montgomery. At the age of twenty-three years Mr. Womack embarked in the mer- cantile business in that city, under the firm name of W. T. Nobles & Co., Messrs. Wo- mack and Sturgis composing the company. In 1877 they sold their interest in the busi- ness, and in the fall of the same year opened a mercantile store in this city, with a capital stock of $3,000. They erected a wooden store building, whichi was burned in 1878, and they then built a one-story brick, which they tore down in 1888. Their present magnificient two-story brick building was then erected, 120 x 52} feet, the front of which is now occupied by their large stock of dry goods. The rear portion of the building, separated by an archi, is 40 x 52g feet, and is devoted to the retail grocery trade. The retail grocery department handles and sells abont $200,000 worth of goods annually, and employs abont sixteen men, besides ontside help. In 1889, the firm of Womack & Stur- gis erected another fine two-story brick build- ing, fronting Broad street, and attached to
the main building. It is 60 x 125 feet, with a basement sixteen feet square, the latter of which is used as the wholesale grocery de- partment. In this department they generally carry a stock amounting to $60,000. Messrs. Womack & Sturgis are members of the Tay- lor Hardware Company, and are also inter- ested in the First National Bank of Taylor, of which Mr. Sturgis is Director and Vice- President. They are largely interested in the Cotton Seed Oil & Gin Company. The firm also own a block of land on the Inter- national & Great Northern Railroad, where they have a large warehouse for corn, hay and oats, in which they are extensive dealers, and also handle abont all the hides used in the city. During the cotton season of 1890 and 1891 the firm handled 10,000 bales of cotton, and during the past year they bought abont 13,000 bales. They also own a fine stock farm of 714 acres, where they will soon engage is raising mules and cattle.
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