Memorial and biographical history of Dallas County, Texas, Part 78

Author: Lewis publishing company, Chicago, pub. [from old catalog]
Publication date: 1892
Publisher: Chicago, The Lewis publishing company
Number of Pages: 1128

USA > Texas > Dallas County > Memorial and biographical history of Dallas County, Texas > Part 78

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HISTORY OF DALLAS COUNTY.

didate for President of the United States in 1860, and he has ever since been an ardent and constant Democrat. While in the service he was appointed as guard of the Hannibal & St. Joseph railroad; then he was ordered to Louis, Missouri, as Hospital Steward at the Fifth Street Hospital; shortly afterward he was detailed to take charge of the hospital on the steamer Warsaw and proceeded with the steamer to Bird's Point. He was with the regiment at Shiloh, taking part in the battle at that place, and was seriously wounded twice. Though not fit for service, he was appointed Hospital Steward in the United States army, and ordered back to Ben- ton Barracks, where he took charge of all the hospitals, with Colonel B. L. Bonneville in command. While on duty he met and made the acquaintance of Miss. Emma Wilmans, and on September 26, 1862, in St. Louis, they were married. Miss Wilmans was the daughter of Caleb Wilmans, of Fairfield Illi- nois, one of the early pioneers and manufact- nrers of that State; her mother was a Miss Ridgway of Philadelphia, and cousin of Hon. Thomas Ridgway of Illinois. While in charge of the hospital he was presented with a beautiful sword, which, however, during the excitement and confusion of war was lost, and was not found for twenty-five years, when it came to hand through the instru- mentality of Captain Brown, an old friend. His sister, having obtained a clue to its whereabouts, sent to her brother in Texas, George Brown of the Texas Pacific Railroad at Fort Worth, who returned it to the owner. It is a priceless heirloom.

From Benton Barracks Mr. Wylie went to Memphis, Tennessee, but the old wound was so painful that he resigned and entered the grocery business there. Soon, how- ever, a call came from the Government for |

reinforcements; and he was appointed Lieu- tenant Colonel of the Second Regiment of Militia for the protection of the city of Memphis. After a short residence there he went to the mouth of White river and in connection with Dr. Wilmans opened a plant- ation, and also established a wood-yard to supply United States boats. General Rey- nolds with a foree occupied the premises and destroyed both wood-yard and plantation. He then moved to Shreveport, Louisiana, where he was Justice of the Peace and Police Magistrate, and two years acting Mayor, and also took a leading part in the affairs of State. He was appointed by the Shreveport Board of Trade, and city of Shreveport, to represent that city at Washington to obtain Federal aid in improving Red river, and especially to remove that fatal obstruction to navigation, the great " Raft." For this purpose he spent years in Washington, finally succeeding. It is therefore due to his tact and skill that that river was opened to navigation and com- merce. The ten years while he was in Wash- ington were especially fruitful of legislation in the interests of the Sonth, in all of which he aided. He was instrumental in organizing the Shreveport & Southwest Railroad Com- pany, of which he was secretary. After get- ting its construction under full headway he sold it to the Houston & Texas Central Rail- road Company.

In 1880 he returned to Washington, and in his room there the Chicago, Texas & Mex- ican Central Railroad Company was organ- ized, and he came to Dallas to help build it, after successfully inaugurating its construc- tion, when the road was purchased by the Gulf, Colorado & Santa Fe Railway Com- pany. Then he returned his attention to real estate; but the Santa Fe railroad system soGn claimed his services, and he was em-

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ployed in that enterprise two years. Then he was manager of the right of way for the Cot- ton Belt. Next, with a number of Dallas capitalists, he built the West Dallas railroad, having previously, in connection with his as- sociates, made large purchases of real estate along its line.

Thus it may be briefly seen how active and efficient he has been in some of the promi- nent enterprises inaugurated for the develop- ment of the New South, and he has been likewise active, from the very close of the war, in movements for the reconciliation of the North and South, beginning in this noble work long before the voice of the eloquent and immortal Grady of Atlanta was heard for national amity. He was Sergeant-at-Arms for the Senate Committee to investigate the negro exodus, and his voice and pen were busy in bringing to light the truth.

In 1885 he organized the Department of Texas of the Grand Army of the Republic, and was its first Commander. Although he is fearless in the advocacy of his principles, the veterans of the Southern army hold him in grateful and honored respect for his efforts in bridging over the " bloody chasm." As an orator he is eloquent and forciable, having great magnetismn to draw his hearers quickly into sympathy with him. His language is clear, diction faultless, and his services are in constant demand for all public occasions. He is loyal in his friendships, steadfast in his devotion to his convictions, unflinching in his personal integrity, and is a type of perteet manhood. He has a charming home at Oak Cliff, where he freely and unostentatiously dispenses hospitality. He has a happy family. His children are named: William D., Jr., Harry W., Robert Augustus, Joseph W., Emma, now the widow of J. M. Ballard of Dallas Texas, with two children, -- Emma

and John M., Jr .; and Nellie, now the wife of Thomas S. Holden, who is one of the firm of the Schnider & Davis, wholesale grocery com- pany, of Dallas, Texas. The eldest son, W. D. Wylie, Jr., is at present assistant ticket agent of the Gulf, Colorado & Santa Fe Rail- way Company at Dallas; the second son, Harry, is in the printing business at Dallas, Texas; Joe, the third son, is now the private secretary of the Texas car exhibit under the management of Major W. B. Slosson: they have two cars with their exhibit traveling over the United States, showing the vast re- sources of the State of Texas. Recently Mr. Wylie has been appointed Land and Tax Commissioner of the St. Louis Southwest- ern Railway Company (the Cotton Belt).

ILLIAM B. GRIBBLE is a son of Joseph Gribble, who was born in England in 1817. Coming from England to America in 1859, his father lo- cated in Cooper county, Missouri, where he remained two years, and from there went to Moniteau county, same State. In 1881 he moved to Texas, and here died in 1883. He was engaged in the insurance business after the war till coming to Texas, prior to which time he was engaged in speculating in live stock, having been successful in all his various undertakings. He was liberal almost to a fault. Socially, he was a member of the Masonic order; politically, a Democrat; re- ligiously, a member of the Methodist Episco- pal Church South. He was a liberal sup- porter of the church and a prominent and active member. At the time of his death he was a contractor on the construction of the Kansas City, Fort Scott & Memphis railroad. In 1844 Joseph Gribble married Miss Eliza-

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beth Curtis, who was born in England in 1816. She, too, was a member of the Meth- odist Episcopal Church South. She was a very nnpretentious woman, but was always to be relied upon in times of need or distress. She and her husband were the parents of seven children, of whom only the subject of this sketch reached adult age. The mother died about three months after the father, apparently of a broken heart.

William B. Gribble was born in Devon- shire, England. In 1848 he went to Cardiff, Wales, where he remained until 1859, when the family came to America. He remained with his parents until he was twenty-four years of age, but engaged in the furniture and lumber business at the age of twenty- one, in Monitean county, Missouri. At the age of twenty-four he left the parental roof, went to Indian Territory, and for two years and a half was engaged in farming there. He then moved to Dallas county, Texas, set- tled about four miles south of Wheatland, remained at that place three years, thence to a point about two miles south of Wheatland, and from there, in 1883, to Wheatland. At the latter place he engaged in the general merchandise business. Notwithstanding he has met with heavy loss by fire since locating here, he has again established himself in business and now has a thriving trade.

In 1871 Mr. Gribble was married to Miss Nancy M. Spence, daughter of Elijah and Nancy M. Spence, and their union has been blessed with four children: Samuel J., Charles M., Fannie L., deceased, and George L.

Mr. Gribble is in comfortable circum- stances. He has not made it the goal of his ambition to accumulate a fortune, but rather to do right; consequently, he has the unlim- ited respect of the entire neighborhood. Both he and his wife are members of the Method-

ist Episcopal Church Sonth. He is a Stew- ard and Trustee of the church and secretary of the Sabbath-school. For a number of years he has been a member of the Masonic fraternity, and is now Postmaster.

ROF. JAMES REID COLE, A. M., has a national celebrity as a teacher, for, be- sides being a scholar in every sense of the term, he is also a fine disciplinarian, and the institutions of which he has had the manage- ment have been models in their way. He was born in North Carolina, in November, 1839, son of William Carter Cole, a native Virginian, who became a resident of the Old North State, where he was called from life. He was a soldier in the war of 1812, bnt after the war he was a planter, a magistrate and a minister of the gospel, and was very earnest in his labors for the good of humanity. His second wife was a Miss Murphy, of Vir- ginia, in which State she breathed her last. He was of English descent, his ancestors coming to Virginia about 1660. The subject of this sketch was the youngest of his par- ents' children, and attained to man's estate in North Carolina, his education being obtained in private schools and the Caldwell Institute, then under Prof. Holbrook, of Harvard Col- lege. He entered Trinity College of the Methodist Episcopal Church South, in which institution he remained four years, taking the degree of A. B. In 1866 he took the degree of A. M.

After his graduation in 1861 he joined a military company as a private, but afterward became a member of the Second North Caro- lina Cavalry, was transferred to different com- mands, being promoted until he reached the rank of Colonel, for meritorious service. A

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brother, who held the rank of Colonel, was killed while in the service. After the close of the war Prof. Cole returned to Greensboro, North Carolina, his home, where he taught school for one year. In 1866 he came to Texas as professor of ancient languages in Mckenzie College in Red River county, which was under the auspices of the Methodist Epis- copal Church South. In 1867 he went to Grayson county and took charge of an insti- tute there. In 1869 he was elected to the State Legislature and served four sessions, being on the Committee of Education and giving his attention especially to the educa- tional interests of the State. In 1873 he was elected to serve as Clerk of the Senate, and at the Democratic State Convention of that year a majority of the delegates offered to nominate him as Superintendent of Public Instruction, but he declined. In 1876 Prof. Cole was elected president of the North Texas Female College, the management of which institution was in his hands until 1878, after which he was elected professor of English language, literature and history in the A. & M. College, at Bryan, Texas, and there remained until 1885. He next became Superintendent of the Public Schools of Abi- lene Texas, which he organized and of which he had control for four years, during which time they were greatly improved in many ways. In 1889 he came to Dallas, Texas, and established the well known educational institution known as Cole's Select School, which is admirably conducted and which is jnstly acknowledged to be one of the leading schools of the State. The Professor's success as an educator has been marked, and he com- mands not only the respect but the affection of his pupils.

He was married in 1868, on the 5th of May, to Miss Mary P. King, a native of Ten-

nessee and a daughter of Dr. King, whose father was one of the pioneers of that State. Iler father came to Texas in 1852, and still resides on the property on which he first set- tled in Grayson county. To the professor and his wife nine children have been born. The two eldest daughters received their edu- cation at home, under their father and the best private teachers that could be procured, the one excelling in music, the other in art.

Prof. Cole is a member of the Knights of Pythias, a Royal Arch Mason, and has long been a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church South. He has always supported the men and measures of the Democratic party, and his reasons for his convictions, both po- litical and otherwise, are always clear and well defined. He is probably as fine an ex- ample of the perfect teacher as there is in the South, and his reputation as an able in- structor is well established.

OLOMON BRUNDAGE .- Ou his farm of 240 acres, lying sonth of the city of Dallas fifteen iniles and two miles west from Lancaster, can be found the subject of this sketch, one of the prosperous and repre- sentative citizens of Dallas county.

Solomon Brundage was born in Sangamon county, Illinois, April 5, 1826, son of Daniel and Mary (Kendall) Brundage, natives of Gallatin county, Kentucky. His parents lived in Kentucky until four or five years after their marriage, when they moved to Illinois and took up a Government claim in Sangamon county. At that time there was only one log cabin where the city of Spring- field now stands. Mr. Brundage at once set about improving his land, and remained there until 1856, when he sold ont his possessions

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and started overland for Texas. November 15, 1856, he landed in Lancaster, this county. He bought a farm west of Lancaster four miles, and there spent the residue of his days and died. He was a farmer, from his boy- hood all through life, and his education was such as the common schools of Kentucky afforded then. IIe was the father of eight children that lived to be grown and married: William II., J. A., Solomon, John C., Daniel H., Albert, Susan E., Annie E. and Minnie. Of these, four sons and one daughter still survive: James A. resides in Excelsior Springs, Missouri; John C., Dallas county, Texas; Daniel H., Sangamon county, Illi- nois; Susan E., wife of Lelian Moore, Se- dalia, Missouri.

Solomon lived on the farm with his father until he reached his twenty-third year. He was then married, December 12, 1848, to Julia Cambell, daughter of Thomas and Eliz- abeth (Robertson) Cambell, who went from Kentucky to Illinois. After his marriage he bought a farm and began working for himself. In 1856 he sold out his possessions and came with his father to Texas. He first bought land three miles west of where he now lives, which he at once set about improving.

His war record is an honorable one. Dur- ing the trouble with Mexico, when he was only twenty years of age, he enlisted in the Fourth Illinois Regiment, under Colonel Baker, and was in the service twelve months. He was among the first that were called ont as twelve months' volunteers. Having served his time, he was honorably discharged and returned to his home in Illinois. When the Civil war came on he enlisted, in 1862, in Warren B. Stone's regiment, but he was afterward commanded by Colonel Isham Chisam. He served three years, during which time he participated in several im-

portant engagements, being with the forces that operated west of the Mississippi river. After the general surrender in 1865 he re- turned to his home. His career, in some re- spects, has been a remarkable one. Although he has served through two wars he was never sick a day, never wounded and never lost a day from service.

In Angust, 1863, while Mr. Brundage was in the Confederate lines, his wife died. In 1864, he was united in marriage with Miss Martha J. Barrow, a native of Wisconsin and a daughter of David and Julia Barrow. He has never been blessed with children.

Mr. Brundage is a member of the Meth- odist Episcopal Church South. His political views have ever been in harmony with Dem- ocratie principles.

OBERT A. BLAIR, D. D. S., of Dallas, Texas, who has proven quite an acqui- sition to the dental profession, is worthy of a space in the annals of his adopted home. He was born in the State of Alabama in 1865. and is a son of Thomas H. and Mary J. (Colvin) Blair, natives of South Carolina and Alabama respectively. The father was a mer- chant and planter, and died at the age of fifty years. His wife passed away one year before his death. They reared six children, of whom the Doctor is the fifth-born and only son. He received his elementary educa- tion in the private schools, and at the age of fourteen years he entered the University of Alabama, and was graduated at the age of eighteen years, the youngest member of his class. At the age of nineteen years he came to Terrell, Texas, and helped to make the first brick that was used in the construction of the asylum at that place. He then turned

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to agricultural pursuits, but soon came to Dallas and began the study of dentistry. To complete his work he entered the Baltimore College of Dental Surgery, and was gradu- ated in the class of 1888, taking his degree of D. D. S. with high honors. He then re- turned to Dallas and practiced with his pre- ceptor for one year and a half. In February, 1889, he opened an office of his own in the North Texas National Bank building, which he fitted up in the most approved style, both from a professional and artistic view. He has met with remarkable success. By giving to each patron his best effort he has inspired a confidence that has already brought its re- ward by a constantly increasing patronage.

Dr. Blair is a member of the I. O. O. F., and of the Uniformed Rank of K. of P. He has a frank, generous nature, and is a fine example of the generation which has sprung into existence since the war.

S. RICKETTS, one of the enter- prising citizens of Dallas county, was born in Warren county, Ken- tucky, near Bowling Green, a son of Zede- kiah and Margaret (Dews) Ricketts, natives of Maryland and Virginia, respectively. W. S., the fourth of eight children, was born November 19, 1824, and April 6, 1847, he landed in Dallas county, with his father's family. He remained on their farm, seven miles south of Dallas three years, after which he went to California, where he was quite successful as a miner. He returned to Texas in 1853, and invested his accumulations in stock and lands, on which he has since re- sided, devoting his time principally to stock- raising. He has added to his land from time to time, until he now owns 700 acres, 150 of

which is under a fine state of cultivation. During the war Mr. Ricketts supplied the beef for the Confederate army, in which ca- pacity he served two years and six months.

Shortly after his return from California he married Miss Sarah A. Wampler, a daughter of Thomas J. and Nancy (Ray) Wampler, natives of Pennsylvania, who came to Texas in 1848. Mr. and Mrs. Ricketts are the parents of nine children, seven of whom are still living, viz .: James M., Luther W., Martha E. (deceased), Nancy J. (deceased), Mary, William A., Ruth A., Thomas Z. and David S. Having had the misfortune to lose his first wife by death, Mr. Ricketts was mar- ried the second time, July 19, 1880, to Mrs. Mary E. Baggett, a daughter of E. Bryson, of Ellis county, Texas, and they have two sons, Jefferson S. and Lonzo B. Mr. Ricketts is a member of the Christian Church, and is an ordained minister of that church. He has lost his second wife; has two sons and one daughter living at Clayton, New Mexico; the other members of the family are living in Dallas and Ellis counties, Texas.

AMES RUSSELL, Lisbon, Texas, has been a resident of Dallas connty since 1880, and is thoroughly identified with its best interests. A brief biography of him is herewith given.

James Russell was born in Blount county, Tennessee, March 22, 1822, a son of Heze- kiah and Margaret (Gouger) Russell. His father was born in Carter county, Tennessee, a son of Mr. William Russell, the former a native of England and the latter of Scotland. William Russell came to America with his parents when he was a boy, and pre- vious to the Revolutionary war, their family

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being among the pioneers of Carter county, Tennessee. The mother of our subject was a native of North Carolina. She was married to Mr. Russell in North Carolina, and soon afterward they settled in Tennessee. In 1830 they removed to Morgan county, Illinois, where they resided until death. They reared a family of eleven children, five of whom are still living, James being the seventh-born. He received his education in the subscrip- tion schools, held in the primitive log school houses, attending about three months each year, and remained with his parents until he was twenty-four years old.

January 4, 1849, Mr. Russell wedded Miss Elizabeth Pridmoore, a native of Virginia. born in Grayson. She is a daughter of Thomas Landreth and Martha (Burton) Pridmoore, members of old Virginia fami- lies and of English and Welsh descent. They moved from Virginia to Indiana, and subse- quently to Illinois. After his marriage, the subject of our sketch located on a farm in Clay county, Illinois, where he resided seven years. He then returned to Morgan county, Illinois, and continued farming operations at that place until 1865; thence to Buchanan county, Missouri, where he farmed for two years; returned to Illinois and spent the win- ter, returning the following April to Mis- sonri and locating in Knox county; two years later moved to Barry county, same State; in 1877 came to Texas, spent one year in Dallas and one year in Grayson county ; re- turned to Barry county, Missouri, and two years later came again to Dallas county, and here he has since resided. He purchased 400 acres of improved land in precinct No. 5, on which he is engaged in agricultural pursuits.

Mr. and Mrs. Russell have had seven chil- dren, five of whom survive, namely: Eliza- beth, wife of John Howard, is deccased;

Margaret, wife of Jacob Long, is deceased; Hezekiah, Nathaniel, of Montague county, Texas; James B. and Thomas P., both of Dallas county : and Susan E., wife of David H. Long, of the State of Washington. Mrs. Russell is a member of the Christian Church.

Politically, Mr. Russell is a Democrat. During the Mexican war he served one year under General Wool, and participated in the battle of Buena Vista. Reared to habits of industry, and possessing keen foresight and good judgment, he has prospered in a finan- cial way. Besides his home farm he owns 640 acres of land in Presidio county and 320 acres in Polk county, Texas.

SAAC CARTER, one of the early settlers of Dallas county, was born in Surry county, North Carolina, in 1813, a son of John and Nancy (Williams) Carter, also natives of North Carolina. The parents both died in their native State, the father about 1846, and the mother a few years after- ward. Isaac was reared on a farm in North Carolina nntil twenty-three years of age, when he went to Jackson county, Missouri, and engaged in the milling business. In 1848 he removed to Cass county, same State, and followed farming until coming to Dallas, Texas, in 1851. Mr. Carter first set- tled near Cedar springs, where he bought a partly improved farm, and he made his home there until 1888, and in that year he moved to the city of Dallas. During the late war he was in MeKinzie's company, Smith's regiment, and served in Texas about eigh- teen months.

Mr. Carter was married in Cass county, Missouri, in 1843, to Jane Preston, a native of Tennessee, and a daughter of George and

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Anna (Roddy) Preston, also natives of Ten- nessee. At an early day the parents moved to Cass county, Missouri. They died in Texas many years ago. Mr. Carter lost his excellent wife by death in Dallas county, in 1874. Politically he is identified with the Democratic party.

C. WOODSIDE, a contractor and builder, residing at 165 State street,

0 Dallas, came here in 1871, since which time, with the exception soon to be named, he has followed the business mentioned, resi- dences being his speciality. He is now erecting the Thomas block and a Presbyte- rian church, and a residence at Oak Cliff, a brick residence in East Dallas, and also the Bentley building. In 1876 he moved to Gainesville and engaged in general merchan- dising. Next he moved to Abilene, Texas, where he owned a brick-yard, and under con- tract erected some important buildings there. In 1886 he returned to Dallas.

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Memorial and biographical history of Dallas County, Texas, Part 78

Author: Lewis publishing company, Chicago, pub. [from old catalog] Publication date: 1892 Publisher: Chicago, The Lewis publishing company Number of Pages: 1128

Author: Lewis publishing company, Chicago, pub. [from old catalog]
Publication date: 1892
Publisher: Chicago, The Lewis publishing company
Number of Pages: 1128