USA > Texas > Burleson County > History of Texas, together with a biographical history of Milam, Williamson, Bastrop, Travis, Lee and Burleson counties. Pt.2 > Part 48
USA > Texas > Travis County > History of Texas, together with a biographical history of Milam, Williamson, Bastrop, Travis, Lee and Burleson counties. Pt.2 > Part 48
USA > Texas > Bastrop County > History of Texas, together with a biographical history of Milam, Williamson, Bastrop, Travis, Lee and Burleson counties. Pt.2 > Part 48
USA > Texas > Lee County > History of Texas, together with a biographical history of Milam, Williamson, Bastrop, Travis, Lee and Burleson counties. Pt.2 > Part 48
USA > Texas > Williamson County > History of Texas, together with a biographical history of Milam, Williamson, Bastrop, Travis, Lee and Burleson counties. Pt.2 > Part 48
USA > Texas > Milam County > History of Texas, together with a biographical history of Milam, Williamson, Bastrop, Travis, Lee and Burleson counties. Pt.2 > Part 48
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aeres of the farm is under a fine state of enl- tivation, and the remainder in timber land. Hle also has a good gin on the place. In his politieal relations, Mr. Stubblefield affiliates with the Democratie party; socially, is a Master Mason, a member of Liberty Hill Lodge, No. 443; and is a member of the Methodist Church.
In 1850, in Yazoo county; Mississippi, our subject was united in marriage with Eliza Russell. She died in 1852, and in the same year he married Sarah Russell, a sister of his first wife, and they have had eleven children, seven now living,-Clayton, withi his father; Marlin, of Williamson conuty; Fannie Amada, wife of George Lincecnmn, also of this county; Zelina, wife of W. G. Griffiths, of Williamson county; W. Oscar, of Yazoo county, Mississippi; Elizabeth, wife of L. G. Linceeum, of Williamson county ; and Sadie, at home.
A LPHEUS S. MASON, a successful farmer of Williamson county, was born in Mecklenburg county, North Carolina, April 27, 1839. The Mason family located in Virginia in early times, and continued to reside in thatState nntil the grand- father of our subject married and moved to North Carolina, making a settlement on tlie Catawba river. There Colonel C. C. Mason, the father of our subjeet, was born in 1818. IIe was married to Margaret Carothers in 1836, and continued his residence in that State until 1850, when the family removed to Tennessee. The following year they came to Texas, and for two years resided in Austin, when a final settlement was then made on the Bagdad prairie. Colonel Mason died there May 5, 1865. Ile was a man of strong per-
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sonality, and did much for the comunity in which he lived. He was a liberal supporter of the Presbyterian Church, and a member of the Masonie fraternity. Mr. and Mrs. Mason had five children: David, deceased; Alpheus S., onr subject; Lon, wife of Dr. A. N. Graham, of Lampasas; John B., deceased; and C. C., of Travis county. The wife and mother died in North Carolina, in 1848, and in 1850 the father married Mary J. Carothers, who still survives. They had seven children, viz .: J. N., a resident of Leander, Texas; Margaret J., wife of J. H. Fanbion, also of that city; Addie B., deceased; Pinekney, de- eeased; Naney, deceasrd; Gussie, deceased; and Belle, wife of Dr. T. H. Loeke, of Lean- der.
Alphens T. Mason, the subject of this sketch, has followed merchandising quite ex- tensively in this county, but his chief ocen- pation has been that of farming. In 1866 he located on the site of his present home, where he has 800 acres, 200 acres of which is under a good state of cultivation. In addition to the home tract, he also owns other farms, ag- gregating 1,000 acres. Mr. Mason answered to the eall of his country in 1862, and en- listed as a private in Company A, Morgan's Battalion of Cavalry, and served in the Trans-Mississippi Department. During the last year of the war he was a member of the Quartermaster's Department. He participat- ed in the battles of Pleasant Hill, Yellow Bayon, Mansfield, in Bank's expedition, and saw the lamented General Greene, of Texas, killed. In his political relations, Mr. Mason is identified with the Democratie party. He is an active member of the Methodist Epis- eopal Church, and for a number of years has served as Superintendent of the Sunday- school.
In Williamson county, September 15, 1859, he was united in marriage with Mar. garet J. Carothers. They had six children, viz .: Clabe S., a farmer of Leander, Texas; Della, wife of L. F. Chapman, a hardware mereliant of Georgetown; Thomas, telegraph operator for the Austin & Northwestern Railroad, at Fairland, Texas; Nora, Lon and William, at home. The wife and mother died November 15, 1889. She was a zeal- ous Christian lady, and devoted to her hus- band and children.
C. C. Mason, a brother of A. S. Mason, and a resident of the same neighborhood, was born February 25, 1847. He was too young to participate in regular service during the late war, but was a member of the State mil- itia. Mr. Mason owns 300 acres of land in this county, 110 acres cultivated, where he is engaged in general farming and stock-rais- ing.
He was married January 1, 1867, to Sarah J., a danghter of M. J. Wells. They have had ten children, namely: Martin J., deceas- ed; James N., engaged as clerk in the gen- eral mercantile store of Jesse Humble; and F. Crotis, S. Zora, C. Carl, E. Fay, Lorenzo, D. Maggie and D. Ernest, at home. The wife and mother died February 9, 1891. She was a member of and an active worker in the Presbyterian Church, and was a woman of many graees of character. Mr. Mason is also a member of that church, and affiliates with the Democratic party.
W ILLIAM W. MORRIS, the leading merchant of Corn Hill, Williamson eonnty, was born in Arkansas, No- vember 1, 1856, a son of Rev. Samnel and Virginia (Wade) Morris, the former a native
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HISTORY OF TEXAS.
of Arkansas, and the latter of Alabama. The father was engaged as a Methodist minister many years, and his last charge was in Mc- Lennan county. The parents reared a family of four children: William, our subject; Lucy, wife of G. W. Kinchelo, a merchant of Bruceville, Texas; Emily, wife of C. G. Brat- ton, a merchant of Coosa; and John, a West- ern Union telegraph operator at Kansas City.
William W. Morris, the subject of this sketch, came with his parents to Texas in 1868, locating first in Cherokee county, where his mother died in 1870. In the same year he went to Hill connty, where he at- tended the common schools, and completed his education at Georgetown. In 1878 Mr. Morris returned to Hill county, where he improved a farm, but in the following fall he sold his place and came to Corn Hill, Williamson county. He continned farming and stock-raising here until 1887, when he embarked in the mercantile trade, and is now the oldest and leading merchant of the place. Since residing in this county he has served as Depnty Sheriff four years.
Mr. Morris was married in the fall of 1878, to Alice King, who was born in Corn Hill, February 17, 1858, a daughter of Judge J. E. King, of Belton, Texas, and a grand- daughter of Isaac Bunker. The latter ob- tained the certificate of the league of land on which Corn Hill is now located, for services rendered the State before annexation. J. E. King married a Miss Bumker, purchased the interest of the remaining heirs, and came in possession of the above mentioned land, where he made a large farm and laid off and named the town. He moved to Salado, Texas, in 1873, to educate his children, and five years later returned to his farm. Since 1890 he has resided in Belton. Mr. King is a public-spirited man, has given land for
churches, colleges, etc., and has served as County Judge and in many other positions.
Mr. and Mrs. Morris have six children: Joseph K., born September 18, 1881; Samuel D., February 24, 1883; W. W., June 18, 1885; Alice S., October 5, 1887; John E., in January, 1889; and Jackson, March 1, 1891. Mr. Morris affiliates with the I. O). O. F., and is a Democrat in his political views, and both-he and and his wife are mem- bers of the Methodist Church.
A NDREW HAMILTON, a successful farmer of Williamson connty, is a son of Ninian and Sarah (Woods) Humil- ton. The grandfather our subject, Ninian Hamilton, was a native of Scotland, and came to this country before the Revolu- tionary war, in which he served as Captain of a company. After the close of the struggle he located in Kentucky, where the father of our subject was born and raised. When a young man the latter went to Missouri, was among the early pioneers of that State, was married in St. Louis connty, in 1802, and his death occurred there in 1845. His wife de- parted this life in 1870. Mr. and Mrs. Hamil- ton were the parents of fifteen children, all of whom are now deceased but the subject of this sketch and one brothers, Thoma W., of Rockport, Texas.
Andrew Hamilton was born in St. Louis connty, Missouri, February 21, 1827, and re- inained at home until reaching manhood. In 1853 he located on his present farm of 400 acres in Williamson county, Texas, situated at the head of Dry Brushy creek, four miles west of Leander, where he has 200 acres under good cultivation. Mr. Hamilton is engaged in general farming and stock-raising.
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In his political relations, he affiliates with the Democratic party, socially, is a Master Mason, and religionsly, a member of the Methodist Episcopal Clinrch.
In St. Louis county, Missouri, October 16, 1851, our subject was united in marriage with Elizabeth J. Schilling, a native of Ger- many, who came to America at the age of twelve years. They have had nine children : Thomas T., of Leander, Texas; Sarah, deceas- ed, was the wife of Thomas C. Gaines; Jolin G., who resides near his father; Louisa, widow of a Mr. Sperlin, and she is now at home; Elizabeth, wife of James Williamson, re- sides near her father; Christopher C., of Leander; Andrew G , and Emmett at home.
H UGHI K. McDONALD, one of the pioneer citizens of Bastrop county, was born in North Carolina, February 8, 1816, a son of John McDonald. When about five years of age, our subject accom- panied his father to Tennessee, and was raised in Maury and Giles counties, that State. In 1851 he came to Texas, and for the following sixteen years was engaged in running a ferry, saw and gristinill at Bastrop. During the Civil war he was not engaged in active ser- vice, but spent most of the time in buying cattle, etc., for the Confederate army. After the close of the struggle Mr. McDonald was exclusively engaged in the sawmilling in- dustry for some time. Ile sold his ferry in 1867, his mill in 1871, and in 1868 came to his present location, on Hill's Prairie, where he has 500 acres of land. Mr. McDonald never sought public preferment at the hands of the people, although he was for many years one of tlic city fathers of Bastrop.
In 1842 he was united in marriage with Miss Elizabeth A. Gill, a daughter of Thomas
and Sallie (Williams) Gill, pioneer settlers of Tennessee. Mr. and Mrs. McDonald had seven children, viz .: J. T., the eldest in order of birth; Mary C., wife of H. W. Brown, of Bastrop county; James K. P., deceased; Samuel II., of this county; IIngh K .; and two who died when small. The wife and mother died in 1881, having been a member of the Christian Church. Mr. MeDonald affiliated with Gamble Lodge, No. 244, and was also a member of Bastrop Chapter, No. 95. He departed this life March 16, 1893, at the age of seventy-seven.
John T. McDonald, a son of the above, and a farmer and stockman of Bastrop county, was born in Marshall county, Mississippi, December 6, 1843. He received his educa- tion in the schools of this city. During the late war he was a member of Company F, Seventeenth Texas Infantry, under Captain E. P. Petty, and in the regiment commanded first by Colonel Allen and afterward by Col- onel G. W. Jones. He served in the Trans- Mississippi Department, participated in the battle of Milliken's Bend, Louisiana, and many skirmishes, and was discharged at Hempstead.
After returning home Mr. McDonald was engaged with his father in the ferry and saw- mill, later followed farming, and in 1870 embarked in the mercantile business at Hill's Prairie. He continued that occupation fifteen years. In 1887 he came to his present farmi of 215 acres, 130 acres of which is under a fine state of cultivation. In 1890 Mr. Mc- Donald was elected County Commissioner of Precinct No. 2, Bastrop, and re-elected in 1892 by the people of the same precinct.
Ile was married in 1868, to Miss Ella P. Petty, a daughter of Captain E. P. and Mar- garett E. (Pinner) Petty. The parents re- moved from Tennessee to Texas in 1851, lo-
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cating in Bastrop county, where the father was a prominent attorney. Before the war he was engaged in the practice of the legal profession with ex-Congressman G. W. Jones. Captain Petty was killed at the battle of Pleasant Hill, Louisiana, in 1864. His widow now resides with her son, Van A. Petty, of Hardin county, Texas. Mr. and Mrs. Petty had four children: Ella P., wife of our sub- jeet; Cyr Frank, of Louisiana; Don G., a resident of Boyce, Louisiana; and Van A. The sons are engaged in the sawmill business in this State and Louisiana. Mr. and Mrs. McDonald have had eight children, viz .: Petty, W. T. (deceased), Idel, Mary E., Hugh A., Frank G., James E., and one deceased in infancy. Mr. and Mrs. McDonald are mem- bers of the Christian Church, and the former affiliates with the A. F. & A. M., Gamble Lodge, No. 244, and Bastrop Chapter, No. 95.
W ILLIAM BRYMER, a successful farmer and stock-raiser of Burleson county, Texas, residing near Hooker- ville, was born in Bradley county, Tennessee, in 1838. His father, A. R. Brymer, also a native of that State, was born in 1813, and was a son of William Brymer, who was like- wise born there in 1774, where he died at the age of seventy-five. The latter was the father of seven children: John; A. R .; William; Joseph; Elizabeth, who married John Hooper; Elvina, who became the wife of a Mr. Stub- blefield; and James. A. R. Brymer, father of the subject of this sketch, was reared in Tennessee and was a farmer by occupation. In 1847 he removed to Texas and settled, first, in Titus county, where he made one crop, and afterward in Burleson county, lo- eating in the vicinity of Hookerville, where he resided until his death. He was a success-
ful man, and left at his death a small estate to hischildren. He filled the office of County Commissioner in Burleson county for a num- ber of years, and made an honest, capable and faithful official. In politics he was a Demo- crat, and for the greater part of his life was a member of the Baptist Church. His wife's maiden name was Vashti Hopkins. She died after the family moved to Burleson county, having been for many years a consistent member of the Baptist Church, and a pious, good woman. The children of this worthy couple were: Sarah Caroline, who married N. M. Thornton; Rhoda, who became the wife of J. W. Browder; Dialtha, married Jack Albright; William; John; and Mary, wife of Mr. Bowdenhammer, of Burnet connty, Texas; Ellen, who married Jim Siddal; Ten- nessee, who married Dr. V. P'. Armstrong, of Louisville, Kentucky.
William Brymer, the subject proper of this sketch, was a lad of eight when his parents moved to Burleson county, and his youth was passed on a farm in this county. . For a few years after growing up he was engaged in freighting from Houston to interior points in central and northern Texas, going as far as Fort Worth, which was then one of the fron- tier towns of the State. But his chief pur- suits in earlier as well as in later life, were farming and stock-raising. At the beginning of the late war, he entered the Confederate army, enlisting in Company A, Seventeenth Texas Infantry, with which he served, mainly in the Trans-Mississippi Department,in Texas, Louisiana and Arkansas, and took part in most of the larger battles that were fought in those States, among which were the engage- ments incidental to Banks' Red river cam- paign, except the fight at Jenkins' Ferry, where, on accomit of temporary disability, he was serving on detail.
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On the close of the war, Mr. Brymer re- turned home and engaged in farming. He began by renting land, but, as soon as he was able, he purchased a small tract, consisting of 100 aeres, to which he has added from time to time until his holdings now amount to 850 aeres, about 100 acres of which is under eul- tivation. Mr. Brymer gives some attention to stock-raising, and is an industrious, thrifty and well-to-do farmer.
In 1861 he married Miss Frances Lncas, a danghter of the Rev. William Lucas, a well- known and higlily-respected Baptist minister of Burleson county. They had four children : William E., Eula Lee; Leonard, deceased, and Fannie. The devoted wife and mother died in 1875, followed by the regret of all who knew her, her many estimable qualities hav- ing gained for her universal respect and affection. In 1877 Mr. Brymer was married to Miss Frances Hilliard, daughter of John Hilliard, of Trinity county, east Texas. The children of this marriage are: Wade, Mabel, Bertie, Ethel, Grace, Garnet, Myra and Dnd- ley P.
Mr. Brymer is a Democrat in politics, and a member of the Missionary Baptist Church. He is deeply interested in the welfare of his community, and is prompt to aid any meas- ure tending to its advancement, either ma- terially or morally.
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B ROOK C. DUVAL, a farmer of Bas- trop county, was born in Robinson county, Tennessee, December 1, 1848, a son of James C. and Mary R. (Wilkins) Duval. The Dural family were among the very early settlers of Virginia, where the father of our subject was born. Ile was a graduate of Lexington Medical College, of
Lexington, Kentucky, and immediately began practice in Tennessee, where his father had moved when a boy. In December, 1855, Mr. Duval came to Bastrop, Texas, where he abandoned the practice of medicine and en- gaged in farming and stock-raising. Ile continued the latter occupation until death, which occurred in 1888, at the age of seventy years. During the Civil war, Mr. Dnval es- ponsed the cause of the South, and in the early part of that struggle joined the Texas State troops, where he served until the war closed. Of the eight children born to Mr. and Mrs. Duval, all lived to years of matur- ity: Mary A., wife of C. L. Morgan, of Lam- pasas, Texas; Brook C., our subject; Mel- vina, wife of W. T. Higgins, of Bastrop; Bettie H., who married James H. Robinson, of Corsicana; Annie L., of Bastrop; Amer- ica, wife of John Carroll, of Hubbard City; and Wilkins and Ella, of Bastrop. Mrs. Duval died in 1891, at the age of sixty-three years. She was a member of the Christian Church for many years, and always took an active interest in church affairs.
Brook C. Duval, the subject of this sketch, attended the schools of Bastrop, and at the age of nineteen years entered Baylor Univer- sity, of Waco, graduating at that institution in 1869. Since that time he has been en - gaged in farming on his father's farm, and he now cultivates 300 acres of Colorado river bottom land. He gives special attention to the raising of cotton and corn.
In 1881 onr subject was nnited in mar- riage with Miss Mary B. Higgins, who was born in Bastrop, Texas, in 1861, a danghter of Jacob C. Iliggins. Mr. and Mrs. Duval have had three children, only the youngest of whom is now living, Hugh H., born March 1, 1884. Our subject and wife are members of the Episcopal Church. Mr. Duval takes
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HISTORY OF TEXAS.
an active interest in the political issues of the day, is a stauch Democrat, is an honored and respected citizen, and has been a consistent Christian from childhood.
W T. STARNES, Justice of the Peace of Georgetown, was born in Frank- lin county, Tennessee, November 19, 1849, a son of Benjamin C. and Temper- ance J. (Knight) Starnes, who were born, reared and married in that State. The father, a farmer by occupation, was a soldier under General Scott in the Mexican war, served as a private twelve months, and was in many of the leading battles under that general. While in the army Mr. Starnes contracted a disease from which he died in 1857, aged thirty-four years. He had been a member of the Methodist Church for many years. Mrs. Starnes is still living, aged sixty-one years. She came to Texas in 1882, and has been a resident of Georgetown since 1887. She has been a member of the Methodist Church since sixteen years of age, and her life has reflected the power and beauty of a Christian character in relation to her family, the church and the different communities in which she has lived. Mr. and Mrs. Starnes had five children, three of whom died in infancy. One son, John A., is engaged in the grain and feed business in Georgetown.
W. T. Starnes followed farming in Ten- nessee until twenty-one years of age, when he located on a farm in Travis county, Texas. Four years later he returned to Tennessee, and took charge of his grandfather's farm, Benjamin B. Knight, eighteen months after which he located on a farm in Williamson connty, Texas. In 1887 Mr. Starnes began reading law under W. O. Baker, of this city,
was achnitted to the bar in July, 1888, after which he immediately began the practice of his chosen profession. In November of that year, he was elected Justice of the Peace, re- elected in 1890, and again in 1892.
In 1884 our subject was nnited in mar- riage with Miss Mary E. Ray, a daughter of Ezekiel M. Ray, a fariner living south of San Gabriel. To this union have been born four children: Calvin Ray, William Lovett, Mert H. and Mary Beulah. Mr. and Mrs. Starnes are members of the Methodist Church. The former is also Junior Warden of the Masonic order, and Past Grand of the I. O. O. F. He takes an active interest in the Democratic party, and is numbered among the highly es- teemed and valned citizens of the county. Since coming to this county Mr. Starnes has been identified with its development and progress, and is now one of its prominent and prosperous citizens.
JOSEPH W. ROBERTSON, an attorney, a member of the firm of Makemson & Robertson, of Georgetown, and a mem- ber of the State Democratic Executive Com- mittee, was born in Roane county, Tennes- see, October 6, 1849. His parents were Dr. James R. and Mary A. (Hunt) Robertson, who were born, reared and married in Wash- ington county, Tennessee. The father was a physician and a local minister in the Metho- dist Episcopal Church South. He had an extensive practice in Roane county, Tennessee, for many years, and was well-known and highly respected in several counties in that portion of the State. As a minister he did inch good, having been not only talented, but was a man of signal devotion and piety. He was a man of intellectual force, pure life,
HISTORY OF TEXAS.
and exerted a wide influence for good wherever he was known. Mr. Robertson died April 13, 1861, the day Fort Sumter was bombarded, aged fifty-one years. ITis wife, born November 1, 1814, is still an honored resident of Taylor, Texas. She lias been a member of the church for nearly half a century, and with eyes undimmed and voice unbroken, she still remains a working mem- ber now as in former years. They were the parents of eight children: Colonel John W. Robertson, formerly an attorney of Austin, died June 30, 1892, aged fifty-one years; he was a member of the Presbyterian Church; his wife now resides in Randolph county, Missouri; Maggie T., who died in Johnson county, Missouri, in 1879, was the wife of George W. Webster; she was a devoted member of the Methodist Episcopal Church; Joseph W., our subject, was the next in order of birthi; James H. is an attorney practicing in this State, but at present is Judge of the District Court; has hield the office of District Attorney four consecutive terms; he married Miss Susie Townsend, of Austin, Texas; Nannie E., wife of Daniel Moody, of Taylor, Texas, is a member of the Methodist Epis- copal Church; William F., an attorney of that city, married Miss Anna Dowling; Mary R., is married and resides in Austin, Texas; she also is a member of the Metli- odist Episcopal Church, Southi.
Joseph W. Robertson, the subject of this sketch, attended the country schools of Ten- nessee, and also an academy at Sweetwater, that State. After leaving school he began the study of law, and was admitted to the bar in 1872, and immediately began practice in Sweetwater. In 1884 he came to Will- iamson county, Texas, and in June, 1886, was appointed to fill the unexpired term as County Attorney, having been elected to the
same office in the fall of that year. He held that position until November, 1888, since which time he has attended to his profession. Mr. Robertson is a member of the State Democratic Executive Committee for the Twentieth Senatorial district. In 1890 he . entered into partnership with Colonel W. K. Makemson in the practice of law. Mr. Robertson is a member of the Methodist Church South, of the Masonic order, and takes an active interest in politics and the public welfare generally.
He was married January 7, 1875, to Miss Amelia E. Spillman, of Monroe county, Ten- nessee. Her death occurred in Georgetown, Texas, October 24, 1888, at the age of thirtys three years. She had been a devout mem- ber of the Methodist Church South for many years. Our subject is one of the leading at- torneys of the county, has worked his own way through life, is a faithful student, well read, and is a member of a leading law firm of this portion of the State. He deserves much credit for the position he has reached in his profession. Among the attorneys of the of the State who possess business ability, energy, integrity, enterprise and good know- ledge of his profession, Mr. Robertson well merits a place.
C APTAIN WILLIAM A. YOUNG, one of the leading farmers of Bastrop county, was born in Winchester, Franklin county, Tennessee, December 25, 1831, a son of James W. and Isabella (Trigg) Young, natives of Loudoun county, Virginia, and Lexington, Kentucky. They were married in Tennessee. The father was a slave-owner and farmer in that State, and his death occurred in Texas, in 1885. His
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