USA > Texas > Indian wars and pioneers of Texas, Vol. 2 > Part 51
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He was selected by Governor Roberts to make the initial move that resulted in the great granite capitol, that stands at the head of Congress avenue, in the city of Austin.
The constitution of 1876 provided for the erec- tion of a new State capitol and set aside 3,000,000 acres of public land for that purpose. The loca- tion and survey of so large a section became a matter of importance, and required special abili- ties. The trust was confided to Col. Norton, who, accompanied by the surveyors and a small detail from the frontier battalion of rangers. made sur- veys embracing nearly all the vacant and unappro- priated public domain in the counties of Dallam, Hartley, Oldham, Deaf Smith, Palmer, and Castro, as well as a large portion of Bailey, Lamb, and Hockley. Prior to this examination and survey the Llano Estacado, or " staked plains," were gener- ally accepted at the estimate placed on them by geographers, viz., as " The Great American Des- ert," a region unsuited for civilized habitation and valueless except as territorial expanse.
Col. Norton took a different view, and in his re- port to Governor Roberts placed a high estimate
upon the capabilities of the soil, and expressed a belief that enterprise and energy would there achieve good results at no distant day. Time has already more than justified these statements and opinions.
The plains are being settled and cultivated, and many stock men regard them as among the best grazing grounds in the State. Aside from the in- telligent observation evinced in this really able re- port, the faithful labor shown in the long tabulated annex. giving number of leagues, location, descrip- tion, topography, adaptation, etc., was especially gratifying to the authorities and the public. The law providing a Capitol Board and Building Com- missioners named the Governor, Comptroller, Treasurer, Commissioner of the General Land Office and the Attorney-General as the members who should compose the former, and this board elected the Hon. Joseph Lee and N. L. Norton as the men to compose the latter. The relations of Judge Lec and Col. Norton were ever of the most pleasant and fraternal character, and the survivor, Col. Norton, speaks of his friend and follow-worker in terms of tenderest regard. The board had executive and discretionary powers, while the commissioners were to be guided solely by the law and the contracts made thereunder ; yet, upon all deliberative ques- tions they practically constituted one body, and the freest discussions and exchange of views prevailed among them, and, as an example of their joint labor, this entire body held a continuous session of thirty-five days in preparing and adopting the form of contract and detailed specifications under which the work was finally done. Much of this time the designing architect was also present aiding and consulting. Plans having been solicited, a selec- tion was made upon the advice of Mr. N. Lebrun, a distinguished architect of New York City, ap- pointed by the Governor upon the authority of the Legislature. Pending the usual notice to bidders, the commissioners began the search for material suitable for construction. From their first prelim- inary report on the subject, dated June 1st, 1881, it is clear that they already realized that this was a difficult and responsible task. They had found stone in abundance, sound and strong ; but stone sound, strong and durable, of uniform color and texture (such as filled the requirements of both the law and the contraet ), of proper thickness of strata for the massive building blocks and heavy columus and pilasters in sufficient amount, had not been found. The following is from the eighteenth sec- tion of the enabling act: "The interior and ex- terior walls of the capitol shall be of the most durable rock accessible, which shall sustain a
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pressure at least equal to that used in the construc- tion of the Travis County Courthouse." The Travis County Courthouse is limestone, and none other had hitherto been deemed "accessible." The report contained the following on this subject : " There are reasons to cause us to doubt the pro- priety of adopting any ordinary material for an extraordinary structure. It will be time to con- front the difficult problem of constructing a first- class house with second-class material when all hope of procuring the best shall have been aban- doned." It was argued that the limestone used in the Travis County Courthouse was the standard created by law and, therefore, its use in the capitol by the Commissioners was an imperative duty. This view was irreconcilable with the spirit of the law, which demanded that the " best accessible " material should be used, and in a later paper, July 18th, they reported an extended examination, in- cluding several counties, and presented eighteen different samples of stone. Among them was red granite from Burnet County. Some of these samples, marble and limestone, as well as gran- ite, on being subjected to mechanical and chem- ical tests at the Smithsonian Institute, were indorsed as suitable. Such indorsement was deemed sufficient and the contract was let, the contractors taking the risk of a supply of the standard shown in the Travis County Court- house. The quarries at Oatmanville were selected by them as sufficient for all demands, and indeed there could be no doubt of its fitness for founda- tion and other unexposed work. Its character had been established by mechanical tests at the Rock Island arsenal and chemical analysis by Prof. Mal- lett, of the Texas University. The Commissioners, however, said as follows : " Experience, acquired through means of extensive labor and observation, shows a marked lack of uniformity in most, if not all, the deposits of stratified rocks in this country, and the quarry at Oatmanville is no exception to the general rule. These variations include color, texture and quality. The texture usually differs with each separate stratum, while the eolor often changes in the same stratum wheu no variation of texture or quality is perceptible." They reported the impractieability of literal compliance with the clause in the contract stipulating that the stone should in " no respect differ from the sample." The board declined to consider the matter except in its relation to the foundation aud basemeut wall. For this purpose only the Commissioners were author- ized to accept such dimension stone as, after satis- factory test, should prove " not inferior in quality to the sample." The delicacy of the situation was
apparent. The contractors, evidently believing their quarry capable of meeting all the varied re- quirements of the contract, had, at much expense, built a railway connection thereto, while the repre- sentatives of the State could not see their way elear except through a substantial compliance with the contract, which required uniformity of quality, tex- ture, color, etc. The work was completed to the grade line above which covers the five-feet belt- course, or water table, prescribed in the plans by the architect and already covered by the contract. This stone was furnished free of charge to the cou- tractors by Messrs. Westfall, Lacy and Norton, who had previously purchased the Granite Moun- tain property in Burnet County. The basement story thus completed was pronounced by the Com- missioners "entirely sufficient," and lasting for any kind of material that may be used above.
What that material should be was unsettled and the same old embarrassing conditions still existed. Nothing meeting all the requirements or proving satisfactory to all concerned had been found. There was an evident indisposition on the part of the board to be unjust to the contractors or force them to unreasonable costs, but quite a strong purpose to secure the "best accessible " material. Work was temporarily suspended, but interest in and discussion of the situation continued. The contract was, as has been showu, on a limestone basis. The contractors expressed a willingness, even an anx- iety, to use the best of that class and asked only to be shown such as would be satisfactory. At this juncture the second biennial report of the Commis- sioners was submitted, which had the effect of prac- tieally eliminating native limestone from further consideration and convinced all parties that granite was the only Texas material fit for the great struc- ture. The following is taken from this report : - "In this connection the offer made before the inception of this work is renewed as follows :-
" AUSTIN, TEXAS, November 6, 1884.
" We, the undersigned, owners of Survey No. 18, in Burnet County, Texas, and known as the William Slaughter east half-league, upon which is the granite deposit whence the material for the water-table of the new State capitol was recently taken, hereby tender to the people of the State of Texas, free of all or any charge, all the granite stone required to complete the entire superstructure of the building.
" Witness : " JOHN HANCOCK, G. W. LACEY, "O. M. ROBERTS, W. HI. WESTFALL, "N. L. NORTON.
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.
" It will be seen that one of the Commissioners is joint owner in the above property and an equal associate in the proposed donation.
" Although this is an absolute gratuity, and not an effort to sell or otherwise speculate on the State, yet, to avoid all doubt of the propriety of such con- tribution from a public servant, he prefers to sever all connection with the work. If the proposition to give this material shall incite others to greater lib- erality, by which the State may be more benefited, it will be more gratifying to none than to those who make the offer, their sole purpose being to secure for Texas at a minimum expense a monu- mental capitol, worthy of her resources and her people."
Thus closes the report, and soon after Col. Nor- ton's connection with the work of building the capitol ended.
Happily, through mutual concessions, a satisfac- tory solution of a vexed question was arrived at, and a new contract, providing for the use of granite and a modification of the exterior of the building to equitably compensate the contractors for the extra cost entailed upon them by the change, was entered into, and the noble edifice subsequently constructed of Texas granite.
The Granite Mountain property has passed into other hands and the old company, so liberal and loyal to Texas, has been dissolved; but, while a pillar of the capitol stands, or a notch in an ashlar remains, their names and generosity will be indis- solubly associated therewith. Soon after the dedi- cation of the new capitol the Texas Legislature gracefully acknowledged their services to the State by a formal vote of thanks, and, at a subsequent session, the same body set apart for their use and occupancy during life one of the rooms of the great building. A distinguished State officer, long a member of the capitol board, referring in conver- sation with the writer of this article to the building of the State House, said : --
" Col, Norton's services were invaluable. ITis
discharge of the duties of commissioner was marked by zeal, fidelity and ability and his reports were models of their kind."
Dr. Westfall, of Burnet, who from the inception of this enterprise took a most active interest and rendered every practical aid, in a paper, now be- fore the writer, says it was Col. Norton who first suggested the use of granite for the capitol.
" One main purpose of the purchase of the gran- itc mountain by Westfall, Lacey and Norton was that the State of Texas might be assured in advance of a home material for this building, of the very best quality, and that without cost. No other consider- ation was ever brought to bear on their action and they never received or desired to receive any other compensation. While Governor Ireland and the capitol board are justly entitled to the credit of the final contract, modifying the design and substi- tuting granite, to Col. Norton more than any other person, Texas is indebted for the magnificent structure that adorns capitol hill."
Col. Norton is still a very busy man and, when not actively engaged with his farming interests in the country, he may be found at his elegant home in the city of Austin and generally at his desk. IIe has written much for the press but his chief pleas- ure is found in books and in correspondence with the friends of " auld lang syne." His family con- sists of his wife, his daughter-in-law, Mrs. Annie Lee Norton, and her child, little Onida, of whom he is very fond, his only children, Mrs. Katie Spencer Adair and Hiram Price Norton, having both died within a few years.
He has been a mason sinee May, 1851, and is now a member of Colorado Encampment Knights Templar and Ben Hur Temple of the Ancient Arabic Order of the Mystic Shrine. He is plain, without pretense or self-assertion, a man of broad and lib- eral views and of the tenderest sympathies. He has a profound respect and toleration for the opinions and faiths of others and is most charitable in his estimate of his fellowmen.
WILLIAM HADEN THOMAS,
DALLAS.
W. H. Thomas, president of the American Na- tional Bank, of Dallas, and for many years past a Icading finaveier and prominent eitizen of that place, was born in Allen County, Ky., on the 11th
day of March, 1829, and received a good country school education for that day and time, which he has since enlarged by study and observation until he is now considered one of the best informed and
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INDIAN WARS AND PIONEERS OF TEXAS.
most accomplished gentlemen in Texas. He came to this State in the fall of 1852, making the jour- ney on horseback, and located in Dallas County. September 29th, in the following year, he was united in marriage to Miss Mary Skiles, daughter of J. C. Skiles. She was born and reared in War- ren County, Ky., in which members of her family have long been prominent.
Mr. Thomas secured a position with Gold & Don- aldson, merchants at Dallas, and continued with them until the fall of 1855, and then, on account of failing health, settled on a traet of land on
& Co., the first banking institution established in Dallas, composed of T. C. Jordan, J. P. Thomas, and W. H. Thomas.
In 1872 he and W. H. Gaston organized the banking firm of Gaston & Thomas at Dallas. In . 1878 Gaston & Thomas bought the stock of the Exchange Bank, chartered under State law, and merged their bank into the Exchange Bank of Dal- las. He was elected president, and held that posi- tion until 1883 and then sold his stoek.
In 1884 he, with others, organized the American National Bank of Dallas. He was elected presi-
WILLIAM HADEN THOMAS.
Duek creek, Dallas County, and opened a small farm.
In 1858 he was elected County Surveyor of Dal- las County and was continued in that position by sneeessive re-elections, with the exception of the period spent by him in the army, until removed by Governor E. J. Davis in 1866 as an impediment to reconstruction. He enlisted in the Confederate army as a private in Company 1., Thirtieth Texas Cavalry, and was transferred to the Brigade Com- missary Department in the field in the Trans-Mis- sissippi Department, and so continued until the end of the war.
In 1871 he was one of the firm of T. C. Jordan
dent of the institution, and has been continued in that position by successive annual re-elections to the present time.
His wife died November 13, 1887. They reared two children, a daughter, May, who married F. A. Miller, and a son, Robert B., who married Miss Eula Hatcher.
Mr. Thomas is not a member of any ehureh, but is an ardent believer in Christianity and has always been a moral man. He has attended strictly to his business interests, and by careful management has accumulated a good estate, and has made the bank- ing institution he eontrols one of the most success- ful in the South.
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INDLIN WARS AND PIONEERS OF TEXAS.
ROBERT N. WHITE,
CORSICANA.
The subject of this sketch was born in South Carolina, in December, 1810. When he was a child his parents moved to Green County, Ala., where they resided a few years. He then moved to Chickasaw County, Miss., from whence, in the year 1845, he moved with his family to Texas, first locating at Dresden. A short time after, in 1847, the town of Corsieana was located and again the family moved, taking up their residence at that place.
Robert N. White was married in 1840, in Ala- bama, to Miss Juliet Means, a native of South Carolina. He followed farming after settling at Corsicana. When the county of Norman was organized, in 1847, he was elected County Clerk and held the office for a period of ten years. At the expiration of his term of office he retired from
active business, having accumulated a comfortable fortune through his farming and other financial operations.
He died May 25th, 1891, leaving a wife and six children, all of whom are living. The children are all married, except one sou, who is now living with his mother at the old homestead, No. 208, Third Avenue, in the town of Corsicana.
The remaining children, with the exception of one son residing and in business in the Indian Territory, are living in Texas.
Mr. White was never a politician, but was trusted and honored by his fellow-citizens, as is shown by the fact of his having been elected to fill the important office of County Clerk for such a long period of time. His death was deeply mourned by his surviving family and acquaintances.
THOMAS HENRY MATHIS,
ROCKPORT.
No one who has been at all conversant with the southern coast of Texas for the past twenty-five years, can have failed to hear the name of Thomas Henry Mathis. His manly form, well chiseled features and vigorous step, form a fitting index to the volume of his good deeds. Under any circum- stances he must have been prominent, and, indeed, the sequel to this narrative will show that he has developed a fine character, not under the favor of plain sailing, but despite the buffetings of Dame Fortune. Such a success as he has achieved could not have been accidental. Accidents do not occur on such a colossal scale.
He was born in Stewart County, July 14th, 1834. His parents were James and Isabella Mathis, the former of whom died in 1864, and the latter in 1876. They were both highly esteemed for their sterling religious character. Thomas received his early education in the country schools of Tennessee and Kentucky, and, being raised on a farm, he was taught the value of a dollar by digging for it early and late. As a boy he was proud to " hoe his own
row," and as a youth to swing his scythe with the foremost. At the age of nineteen he resolved to strive for higher education, and this marks a turn- ing point in his life, as he was thenceforth thrown entirely on his own resources. Ardently as his father longed to encourage his aspirations, he could not do so in justice to his other children. But nothing daunted, Thomas left the paternal roof to enter the school of Dr. J. T. Mathis in Southern Arkansas. At the end of the second session here he negotiated a loan of $1,000 from his father, to be paid back by him, or deducted from the estate on final settlement of the same. With this aid he continued another session at school. At the expir- ation of this time he took a school at Warren, Brad- ley County, Ark. In conjunction with a lady teacher, he conducted his school successfully one year, and then went to Bethel College, where he finished his education, in 1857. In 1858 he removed to Murray, Ky., where he assisted Dr. J. T. Mathis in teaching one session.
In 1859 he went to Southwest Texas, where his
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carcer as a business man commenced. His very first enterprise was frauglit with extreme peril, from which men of less courage shrank. It was on the 3d of February, 1859, that he left Gonzales, Texas, with a party of eighteen, to make a trading tour into Mexico.
Any one familiar with border troubles and border characters, even at this late day, can have some conception of the hazards of this trip in the next decade after the Mexican War. On reaching Rio Grande City the party was informed that it was out of the question to think of crossing over into Mexico, as the country was full of robbers and brigands. Of the party of eighteen, only T. H. Mathis and his cousin, J. M. Mathis, had the nerve to eross the Rio Grande. Two young Alabamians, who were not of the original party, also crossed with them into the kingdom of the Montezumas, together with a Mexican guide. As they lay in camp on San Juan river, at China, the first night after reaching Mexico, the custom-house officer demanded of them a duty of six per cent of all their money on the penalty of being imprisoned and having all they had confiscated. They sent their interpreter to tell the officer that they were buying stock in his country, and would leave all their money there; but that if he persisted in de- manding the six per cent he might come and get it, that there were four of them well armed with shotguns and six-shooters, and that many of the Mexicans would bite the dust in the attempted rob- bery. It is needless to say that Mathis and his party were left unmolested. They remained in the country six weeks, camping at night and throwing out pickets like a regular army. But for this, they would doubtless have been robbed or murdered. Though this trip was quite successful, it was never deemed prudent to repeat it. After making an- other business trip to the Texas side of the Rio Grande, Mathis temporarily left the stock business and opened a five-months school in Gonzales County in the spring of 1861. In the summer of that year he removed to Victoria and extended the scope of his business transactions, but was com- pelled to close his business in the fall of that year, on account of the closing of the Gulf ports at the outbreak of the great Civil War. He then went to Kentucky and Tennessee and bought a large lot of tobacco, the price of which was rapidly rising in Texas. He barely succeeded in getting out with wis commodity from Paris, Tenn., before the town fell into the hands of the Federal troops. He shipped this tobacco to Alexandria, La., and to it added another lot purchased in New Orleans. Meantime he sold the whole in Texas for one dollar a pound,
in Confederate money. In the spring and summer of 1862 he was busily engaged in forwarding sup- plies from Texas to the Confederate soldiers of the Trans-Mississippi Department. In the fall of the same year he joined Duff's regiment, Company E., and fought for the Confederacy till the close of the war. He is not ashamed of the cause he espoused, nor of the part he played in it. Yet when the flag of the Confederacy was furled, he realized that the war was over indeed. The same magnanimous spirit with which he now treats the " boys who wore the blue " enabled him to speedily forget the bitterness of the struggle and, though with reduced resources, to recommence his business career. He again engaged in the tobacco trade between Ten- nessce and Texas, in which he continued a year. In February, 1867, he settled on Aransas Bay, and selected the site on which the thriving little city of Rockport now stands. The firm of J. M. & T. H. Mathis built the first wharf which was established there, and chartered the first steamship, "The Prince Albert," that ever entered Aransas Bay for commercial purposes. After this was lost at sea, they induced the Morgan line to run their ships to Rockport, and became their agents. This part of our narrative deserves to be emphasized. The sub- ject of this sketch was the founder of Rockport in a sense in which no one else can claim that honor. In 1869 the Mathis firm expended $5,500 for the improvement of Aransas bar, thus blazing the way, like hardy pioneers, of the future highway of com- merce. It was about the same time that they built the Orleans Hotel, and erected a number of other buildings in Rockport. They also built bridges, made good county roads, and aided in securing many other public improvements. Later on, T. H. Mathis contributed liberally toward bringing the Union telegraph to Rockport, and to the building of the first telephone line to that part of the State. He was also a liberal contributor to the establishment of the first cold storage meat refrigerating plant in Texas. He was also one of the first men in the State to introduce blooded cattle and horses into Southwest Texas, and he is said to possess the banner ranch of his portion of the State, with regard to the quality of his stock. When the Aransas Pass Railroad was built into Rockport, in 1888, he was one of the principal pro- moters of the enterprise, and it is one of the best additions to the city which bears this name.
When, in 1872, the firm of J. M. & T. H. Mathis was enlarged to that of Coleman, Mathis & Fulton, again the progressive spirit of the subject of this narrative was felt when the firm of which he was from the beginning a member, built the first
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