USA > Texas > Indian wars and pioneers of Texas, Vol. 2 > Part 7
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In 1861 Mr. Nimitz raised the Gillespie Rifles. but two months later was appointed by the Con- federate States Government, enrolling offieer for the frontier distriet, and served in that capacity until the close of the war. Mr. Nimitz is a devout men- ber of the Catholic Church. He is a Democrat, true and tried, and has for years been a delegate to nearly all conventions, and an active worker for the success of the party. He has been a school trustee, school examiner and member of the board to examine teachers in the county, and in 1880 was elected to the Twenty-second Legislature, from the Eighty. ninth Representative Distriet, composed of Gilles- pie, Blauco and Comal counties.
He was a member of nearly all the important House committees and made a record of which he and his constituents have reason to be proud.
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NEWTON WEBSTER FINLEY,
DALLAS.
Hon. N. W. Finley, one of the most widely in- fuential men in public life in Texas, and a lawyer whose abilities have won for him the distinguished position of Judge of the Court of Civil Appeals, was born in Lauderdale County, Miss. (near the famous Landerdale Springs), July 31, 1854, in which year his parents, Rev. Robert S. and Mary H. Finley, moved to Texas. They first settled on a farm near . Kickapoo, in Anderson County, and
Soon after securing license Judge Finley formed a connection with H. G. Robertson, Esq., and en- gaged in practice in Smith County. Afterwards, Hon. Horace Chilton, now a United States Senator from Texas, became a member of the firm, which, under the style of Chilton, Robertson & Finley, continued the practice at Tyler until 1885, when the firm dissolved. Judge Finley afterwards formed a copartnership with Messrs. Marsh & But-
N. W. FINLEY.
afterwards lived at various points in Texas. They now reside at Tyler. Rev. Robert S. Finley was licensed as a minister of the Methodist Episcopal Church South, when twenty years of age, and now although eighty years of age still preaches occa- sionally. DJe is well known to all old Texians and no minister of the gospel in this State is so widely and generally beloved.
N. W. Finley was educated in the common schools of this State, and began reading law while etill a pupil at school. He received law lectures from Gen. Thomas J. Jennings, then living at Tyler, and was admitted to the bar in June, 1876, by Judge William H. Bonner, at Quitman, Texas.
ler, a connection that lasted until Judge Finley was appointed to the bench of the Court of Civil Ap- peals at Dallas, Texas, by Governor James S. Hogg, in 1893. Judge Finley did not seek the appoint- ment. He was elected to the position in 1891, and is now filling it with eminent satisfaction to the pro- fession and the people at large.
He was elected chairman of the State Democratic Executive Committee in 1888 and was re-elected in 1890. During his term of service in this highly important position, two of the most famous politi- cal campaigns ever fought in Texas took place and he managed the Democratic forces with a consum- mate skill that resulted in an overwhelming victory,
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made his name a household word and won for him the lasting gratitude of the rank and file of the party. In 1884 he was nominated and elected. Presidential Elector from his district.
He was married in June, 1877, to Miss Alma Louise Woldert, of Tyler. Two children were born of this union: Alma Ophelia, and Mary Louise.
Mrs. Finley died in February, 1883.
January 28th, 1886, Judge Finley was united in marriage to his present wife, nee Miss Minnie Lee Sims, of Fort Worth, Texas. Three children have been born to them: Nora Warena, Horace Web-
ster, and Nannie Lee. Horace W. died January 2, 1893, aged about four years.
Judge Finley is an active member of the Metho- dist Episcopal Church South, and hokls the office of steward in the Church, and takes great interest in Sunday school work. He is a member of the Masonic, I. O. O. F., and K. of P. fraternities, holding the degree of Knight Templar in Masonry.
There are few lawyers in Texas capable of so truly adorning a position upon the civil court of last resort. He possesses a fine judicial mind and that learning and experience which render his ser- vices in the position he holds invaluable.
H. K. WHITE,
BRYAN.
After the revolution of 1835-6 the tide of im- migration, which it was supposed would pour into Texas upon the establishment of a republican form of government to be administered by Americans, was slow in arriving, and even that which came made but little perceptible change in the condition of things, on account of the immense area of ter- ritory over which it was diffused. For a number of years the lower Brazos country, and particularly Washington County, which was then considered the Goshen of Texas, received most of the intending settlers. Some, however, who placed the health of their families and security from attacks by the Indians beyond all other considerations, took up their residence further to the east, helping to swell . the population of the ancient counties of Liberty, Harris and Montgomery, and the newer counties which were carved out of these. One of this num- ber was James White, who settled within the pres- ent limits of Grimes County in 1841. He was from Sumter County, Ala., and brought to Texas a numer- ous and respectable household of children, upon whom devolved the labors incident to the new set- tlement of a new country which he, on account of advancing age, was soon forced to abandon. Three of these children, sons, now themselves well on in years, are living, viz .: David and Joseph, in Grimes County, and Henry K., in Bryan, Brazos County.
Henry K. White was born in Wilcox County, Ala., January 19, 1828. He was just thirteen when his parents came to Texas. Ilis youth was
spent in Grimes County at the old homestead, five miles west of Anderson, the county seat. He re- mained with his parents until after he attained his majority and then left home and went to Louisiana, where he spent four years engaged in various pur- suits, chiefly agricultural. He then returned to Texas and, taking up his residence again in Grimes County, there, in 1853, married Miss Amanda B. Noble, a daughter of Judge G. B. Noble, an old Texian, who for many years was a resident of Houston. From 1858 to 1862 Mr. White was Treasurer of Grimes County, during which time and previous thereto he was engaged in farming, on a small scale, in that county. He was exempt from military service during the late war on account of physical disabilities.
He lost his wife in 1863 and in 1869 married Miss Hattie E. Davis, of Waco, a native of South Caro- lina and daughter of Dr. Jas. B. Davis.
In 1873 Mr. White moved to Ellis County ; but, two years later, receiving from Governor Coke the appointment of superintendent of the penitentiary at Huntsville, he changed his residence to that place and lived there for three years. He then settled in Burleson County, where he purchased land and engaged in farming. While residing there ; he represented Burleson County in the Eighteenth Legislature. Moving to Bryan, Brazos County, he was elected, as soon as his residence therein made him eligible, to a seat in the Twenty-third Legisla- ture, during both of which terms of service he met the expectations of his constituents and added.to
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H. K. WHITE.
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his reputation as a man of sound sense and business capacity.
Mr. White bas always been identified with farm- ing interests and, in fact, has made agriculture his chief study and pursuit in life. What he has, he has made from this source, and what he is, he at- tributes to the training obtained while so engaged. Hle owns a large body of land in Burleson County, over 2,000 acres of which are in cultivation, and has some property, also, in Brazos County. He is an enterprising, public-spirited citizen and, while giving his attention diligently to his own affairs, still finds time to interest himself in everything of a general nature going on around him, especially if it is calculated to stimulate industry, add to public convenience or reflect credit upon the community in which he lives. As president of the Burleson & Brazos Valley Railroad he is at this writing exerting
himself to arouse an interest in a much-needed enterprise, this being the construction of a railroad from Pitt's Ferry on the Brazos river to Clay's Station on the Gulf, Colorado & Santa Fe Railway, which will open, in a way never attempted hereto- fore, a large and rich section of the Brazos country. In politics Mr. White is a Democrat. He has voted the straight Democratic ticket since he was twenty-one years old, and has attended as delegate every Democratic State Convention, with one ex- ception, that has been held in the past fifteen years. He is a firm friend of education and favors a system of schools liberally supported out of the public funds. He was a member of the Committee on Education while in the Legislature and did good service for the cause of education.
Mr. White has no children. A daughter, the issue of his first marriage, died at the age of seventeen.
JUDGE JAMES JACKSON,
DOUBLE BAYOU.
The subject of this sketch is a very old Texian, having lived on Texas soil continuously since 1823. His father was Humphrey Jackson, a native of Ireland, born near the city of Belfast, who came to America early in the present century, quitting his native country on account of his par- ticipation in some revolutionary troubles. He
was accompanied by his two brothers, Alexander and Henry, and all three settled in Louisiana. There Humphrey married Sarah Merriman, a native of Louisiana, of English and Scotch ex- traction. Accompanied by his wife and four chil- dren he emigrated to Texas in September, 1823, and settled in what is now Harris County about a half mile west of the present town of Crosby, where he died in 1833, being killed by a falling tree while engaged in clearing land -aged forty- Uiree.
He was a plain civilian, aeted for a time as Alcalde after settling in Texas, and opposed the revolution- ary troubles which culminated in the affair at Anahuac. His wife died the year following the family's removal to Texas, that is, in 1824.
The four children of Humphrey and Sarah Mer- riman Jackson were: (1) Letitia, who was married Erst to Meredith Duncan and after his death to Andrew H. Long, and died in Chambers County
in 1881; (2) Hugh Jackson, who died in Liberty County in 1854, having served for a number of years as surveyor of that county; (3) John Jack- son, who died in Chambers County in 1877- a successful farmer and stock-raiser; (4) James Jackson, the subject of this sketch.
James Jackson was born on Vermillion bayou in Vermillion Parish, La., February 15th, 1822. He was an infant when his parents moved to Texas. His childhood and youth were passed in the wilder- ness.of old Harrisburg Municipalty and Liberty County, his advantages in consequence being much restricted. He was too young to take part in any of the stirring scenes preceding and incident to the revolution of 1835-6, but retains a distinct impres. sion of those scenes, and remembers seeing the smoke and hearing the guns on the battle-field of San Jacinto.
December 23d, 1847, he married Sarah White, daughter of James T. White, Sr., who moved to Texas in 1826 and settled on Turtle bayou, where he subsequently lived and died. Mrs. Jackson was born in Old Liberty, now Chambers County, July 13th, 1832. Her family was one of the first settled families in that locality. Her parents died there of cholera in 1852, the father on March 4th, and the mother' on March 10th. The ohl White homestead
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INDIAN WARS AND PIONEERS OF TEXAS.
was about six miles from the old Mexican military post of Anahuge and Mr. White gave succor and assistance to the settlers in their struggles against Mexiean authority. Mrs Jackson was one of a family of four sons and three daughters who lived to be grown: (1) Elizabeth, (2) John. (3) Par- melia, (4) Robert, (5) Joseph, (6) James, and (7) Sarah. But three of these are now living, Robert, James and Sarah ( Mrs Jackson).
In 1844, Judge Jackson took up his residence in Chambers, then Liberty County, where he now lives, moving to his present place in 1855, and has thus been a resident of that locality for the past fifty-one years. He and his wife have had eleven children, nine of whom are living: (1) Sarah E., (2) Hum-
phrey T., (3) Mary P., (4) Alice L., (5) Robert T., (6) James Edward, (7) Humphrey H., (8) John C., (9) Raphael S., (10) Guy C., and (11) Eula J.
In 1861 Judge Jackson was elected Judge of Probate in Chambers County and held this offiee during the war. He has never held any other pub- lic position, but has devoted his time and attention to his personal affairs.
He is a large stock-raiser and owns several thou- sand acres of land in Chambers County.
He favored annexation in 1846 and opposed seeession in 1861, and was always a great admirer of Gen. Houston.
ED. CHRISTIAN,
AUSTIN.
Mr. Christian came to Texas in 1851. He was a native of Virginia, and was born at Apomattox Court House, January 10th, 1833. Ilis father, Judge Samuel Christian, was a lawyer of that town, a substantial man who stood high in his profession and in the esteem of the public. He moved with his family to Mobile, Ala., about the year 1844. There the family of children grew up and the parents died when our subject was yet a youth. Ile immediately set about life's work, and by perseverance and industry gained an edu- cation, and, being of a mechanical turn of mind, learned the earpenter's trade at about fifteen years of age. From Mobile he went to Montgomery, and there met Simon Loomis, who, while several years his senior, was yet a young man and also a carpenter. Between the two there proved to be a social affinity, and they came together to Texas, stopped about one year at Bastrop, and worked at their trade, and the following year, 1852, came to Austin. They formed a copartnership as carpen- ters, pooled their earnings, and accumulated a little money, and entered the lumber business under the firm name of Loomis & Christian, which bus- iness relation was harmonious and successful in the broadest sense of the term, and covered a period of about thirty years. Upon the breaking out of the great war between the States, Mr. Chris-
tian promptly volunteered in defense of the Con- federate cause and served during the prolonged and bitter conflict as a private soldier in the ranks of Company G. (Capt. Fred. Moore), Sixteenth Texas Infantry. After the break-up he returned to Austin, broken in pocket, but not in spirits, gathered up the fragments of a disorganized bus- iness, and the firm started in anew, as it were. In 1867 they erected a planing mill and extended their lumber yards, and from that time the business prospered, and it soon became one of the most ex- tensive in its line in the State, and one of the most useful.
In 1873 Mr. Christian married Miss Matilda Horst, a daughter of the lamented pioneer, Louis Horst, for many years a resident and leading citi- zen of Austin. Mrs. Christian, the third daughter of the family, was born and reared in Austin. Mr. Christian was a worthy member of Milam Lodge, Independent Order of Odd Fellows. He was a man of domestic tastes, and delighted in the society of his wife and children. He was there- fore a valuable citizen, and had a wide circle of friends. He died at his home in Austin, April 14th, 1888, leaving a splendid estate and an hon- orable name as an inheritance to his family. Mrs. Christian and three children, Miss Nannie, Miss Margaret, and Ed Loomis Christian, survive.
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A. H. BARNES,
LAMPASAS.
Alexander Hamilton Barnes was born in Xenia, Ohio, February 14, 1816. His father was John Barnes, a native of Virginia, and his mother bore the maiden name of Rachel Black and was a native of Kentucky. Both patents were reared in Ken- tucky, married there and moved thence early in the present century to Ohio. The boyhood and youth of Alexander H., were passed partly in Obio and partly in Kentucky, his education being mostly obtained in private schools in the latter State.
In 1836 young Barnes, still under age, came to
opening of the Civil War. In 1861, he entered the Confederate army, enlisting in Company C, Thirty- third Texas Cavalry, with which he served till the close of hostilities. He again returned to Anstin after the war and resided there till 1871, at which date he settled at Lampasas, where, having pur- chased a considerable tract of land adjacent to the original town-site, he devoted the remainder of his life to real estate matters. He had large property interests in Lampasas and in other sections of the State, and was one of the first men in Texas, after
A. H. BARNES.
Texas with a view of locating in the country, but for some reason did not remain. He returned to Ohio, and later going to New Orleans, there spent the latter part of the succeeding ten years. IIc came again to Texas in 1846 and located at Austin, which had but a few years previous to that become the seat of government and was the center of con- siderable activity. In April, 1847, he enlisted at Austin in Capt. Samuel Highsmith's Company for service in the war with Mexico, and his command be- coming part of Col. Jack Hay's Regiment (Sixth Texas Cavalry), he was with that distinguished frontier soldier during the remainder of the war. He then returned to Austin and again taking up his resi- dence there, he made that place his home till the
the War, to direct attention to real estate values. He was in a sense the father of Lampasas, having built for that place more houses than any other half dozen men in it. The idea of building and develop- ing was firmly embedded in his mind, and as he sold off his property, he put the proceeds in im- provements, thereby adding thousands of dollars to the taxable wealth of the community and affording homes to hundreds of families. He never held his property waiting for it to be enhanced in value by the efforts of others, nor put prices on it that placed it beyond the reach of buyers. On the contrary, he took the initiative in inaugurating improvement- and was always ready to dispose of any of his hold- ings at a reasonable figure. It is often menti . . ...
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greatly to his credit, that though he sold hundreds of lots and built scores of houses, on many of which he of necessity retained liens, he was never known to foreclose against any one who manifested the slightest disposition to pay. He was liberal in his contributions to public enterprises and extended a helping hand to whatever was calculated to bene- fit the community in which he lived. He was never in politics to speak of and held no official positions of any consequence. His social instincts sought expression through the medium of two or three orders, notably the Masonic and Odd Fellows, while his sympathies took practical form in many ways suggested by the necessities of his struggling fel- low-creatures. He had a brusque, off-band way about him that might be taken by those not familiar with him as indicative of a reserved, austere nature,
but he was at heart kind, obliging to his friends and indulgent as a husband and father. He was noted for great energy, constantly busying himself with his personal affairs down to his last days on earth.
Mr. Barnes married late in life, his marriage tak- ing place at Lampasas, Angust 3, 1871, and was to Miss Ellen Hopson, a native of San Mareas, this State, and a resident of Lampasas since early child- hood. The issue of this union was a son, William Alexander, and a daughter, Ella, both of whom reside with their widowed mother at Lampasas.
Mr. Barnes' death occurred at Lampases, March 15, 1891, and his remains were laid to rest, with proper tokens of respect, at that place. As an old Texian he had served his adopted State honorably in two wars, besides taking part in a number of Indian campaigns and the ill-fated Chihuahua expedition.
EDWARD H. R. GREEN,
TERRELL.
. The little town of Terrell, Texas, is now the home of Edward H. R. Green, one of the most suc- cessful business men in the United States, and one of the many-times millionaires who stand monu- mental of the prosperity of our country.
Mr. Green is the only son of Mrs. Hetty II. R. Green, who has for years been acknowledged as one of the ablest financiers who have battled with the brightest minds of two hemispheres upon Wall street.
Her son has received a practical education, and, untainted by the pride of wealth, has entered the ranks of the toilers. Mr. Edward Green is now the youngest railroad president in the world. He was born at the Langham Hotel, London, England, on the twenty-second day of August, 1868. He attended the public schools of New York City, the High School at Bellows Falls, Vt., and later grad- uated from Fordham College.
After graduating he studied law, making a speciality of branches relating to real estate and railroads. He then accepted a position as clerk in the office of the Connecticut River Railroad, and when only twenty-one years of age was elected a director of the Ohio and Mississippi Railroad. Mr. Green came to Texas in 1893, and purchased a branch of the Houston & Texas Central, one of the largest systems of railroads in Texas, and formerly
controlled by his mother. During the same year he took the Texas Midland Railroad out of the hands of receivers, and was subsequently elected its presi- dent and general manager. Through his untiring efforts and thorough knowledge of railroading the road has made wonderful progress, being at present entirely out of debt and paying a good dividend. Mr. Green is not in the least afraid of work; he dous his blue overalls and jumper and mingles with his numerous employees. He is kind to them, and they in turn idolize him.
Mr. Green frequently takes a trip on an engine, and can manage it as perfectly as any skillful engineer. Hc is so enthusiastic over the progress of his road that he visits the towns on the line and personally interviews the merchants in reference to freights, etc.
Mr. Green is interested in many railroads through- out the United States, and owns blocks of houses in the best business streets in Chicago.
Hle owns the controlling interest in the Texas Midland Railroad.
Mr. Green is socially a man of the hail-fellow- well-met class, and is immensely popular. He is a member of many clubs, among which are the Union Club of New York City, the Union League and Chi- cago Athletic Club of Chicago, and the Dallas Club of Dallas, Texas. He is exceedingly fond of athletic
E. H. R. GREEN.
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DR. J. J. LUMPKIN.
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"ports, and is himself a very fine specimen of athletic training.
These last named qualities he perhaps inherits from his father, who is devoted to New York club life, and spends most of his time in a quiet way at the various clubs of which he is a member.
His sterling business qualities come direct from his mother, who has by her own efforts become the
richest woman in America. Mr. Green, besides the large fortune he now possesses, will inherit something like sixty million dollars from his mother.
His is a sterling, pushing, virile personality that is certain to make its influence felt in the develop- ment of the varied resources of Texas and the great Southwest.
EDGAR P. GRAY,
BEAUMONT.
County Judge of Jefferson County, Texas. Born in Canton, Madison County, Miss., Septem- ber 7, 1848. Parents, Judge E. A. M. and Miria Gray.
Came to Texas in February, 1852, with his par- ents, who located at Beaume, where he grew to man- hood and acquired a fair English education in local schools. He was elected County Assessor of Jef- ferson County in 1880 and served the people in that capacity until 1892, when he was elected County Judge, the office that he now fills. Noticeable features of his administration have been the im- provement of public roads, the building of bridges, and the clean and able administration of the affairs of the county.
His discharge of his official duties has met with hearty indorsement of his fellow-citizens. He ranks as one of the ablest county judges in the State.
Married Miss Eliza Jiron, of Beaumont, Texas, February 2d, 1870, and has seven children: Dixon M., aged twenty-five ; Nettie (deputy county clerk of Jefferson County), aged twenty-three; Earl, aged twenty-one; Myrtle, aged eighteen ; Dora, aged fourteen; Fleta, aged twelve; and Judith, aged eight years, all living at home with their parents.
Judge Gray is one of the leading and most widely influential men in the section of the State in which he lives.
JAMES J. LUMPKIN, M. D.,
MERIDIAN.
Dr. James J. Lumpkin, the leading and oldest practicing physician in Meridian, Bosque County, Texas, was born in Fairfield District, S. C., in 1852 ; after the war he was a student at the Wafford Col- lege, South Carolina, and Transylvania University, Lexington, Ky., completing his literary education at the latter institution ; graduated from the Charleston (S. C. ) Medical College in 1876 ; had charge of the Charleston hospital for two years and then came to Texas and located at Meridian, where he has since :esided and has for a long time enjoyed a large and lucrative practice. For a number of years he in-
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