USA > Texas > Dallas County > Memorial and biographical history of Dallas County, Texas > Part 86
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On the 27th of August, 1882, he married Antoinette Stoddard, of Comanche county, Kansas, she being a native of Buchanan county, Missouri, daughter of John S. and
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HISTORY OF DALLAS COUNTY.
Annie E. Stoddard, natives respectively of Maryland and Virginia. Mr. Stoddard was a well-known merchant in St. Joseph, Mis- souri, where he settled, after his marriage in Virginia, in 1854. He died in Baltimore in 1864, and his widow is now the wife of Mr. C. C Pepperd, of Cleburne, Texas.
Mr. and Mrs. Ed. M. Patterson have but one child, a lovely daughter, born in 1883 and bearing the name of Ethel.
Mr. Patterson has for years been engaged in the real-estate business, and has the re- spect and confidence of the community in which his family has resided for forty six years, being honored for their integrity and fidelity to all social and religious obligations, and his friends have every right to expect that through life he will continue to reflect credit on the memory of his now venerable parents.
He is a communicant of the Episcopal Church, and in politics an uncompromising Democrat.
ASHINGTON C. BULLOCK, de- ceased, was born in Boone county, Kentucky, a son of John C. and Mary (O'Neal) Bullock. The father, a native of Maryland, moved to Kentucky when a young man, where he married Mary O'Neal, and a few years later went to Marion county, Missouri, where he and his wife both died. Washington C. Bullock was eleven years of age when his parents settled in Missouri, and he remained in that State until 1852, when he took a trip to California, but did not re- main long on the Pacific coast. After re- turning to Missouri he came to Texas in 1855, settling on the south line of Dallas county, where he bought 320 acres of land. He sold this place in 1866, and purchased a
tract of 480 acres lying between Denton and Grapevine creeks, in the northwest part of the county, fifty acres of which was im- proved. Mr. Bullock remained on this place until his death, which occurred October 6, 1889, at the age of sixty-eight years, eight months and eight days. He was a successful farmer and stock-raiser, leaving at his death one of the best improved farms in the county, 125 acres of which was under a fine state of cultivation, and the remainder in hay and pasture.
He was married November 28. 1844, to Caroline, a daughter of George and Isabella (Ellis) Hunsaker, natives of Pennsylvania and Virginia respectively. The father settled in Union county, Illinois, in 1811, but moved to Knox county, Missouri, in 1841, where he died ten years later, at the age of ninety-seven years. The mother died in that county in 1846, at the age of sixty-four years. Both parents were members of the Dunkard Church. Mrs. Bullock was born in Union county, Illinois, January 10, 1823, but re- mnoved with her parents to Missouri when eighteen years of age. She is the fifth in a family of seven children, viz .: Catherine, the wife of Drake H. Rendleman, of Union county, Illinois; Mary, now Mrs. Samuel White, of Marion county, Missouri; Emma, who died unmarried; Sarah, who became the wife of Mr. Davie, but is now deceased; Ellen, deceased, was the wife of Mr. Imbler; and Susan, now Mrs. Andrew Hunsaker, of Washington county. Mr. and Mrs. Bullock had the following children: an infant that died unnamed; Mary Isabella, who became the wife of Peter E. Rape, of Dallas county, and died here in 1872; Saralı Susanna, who died in September, 1887, was the wife of B. B. Howell, of Dallas county; John C., a resident of Young county, this State; Drake
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W., deceased in 1882; George T., a sketch of whom appears in this work; Emma, the wife of W. T. Hyder, of Denton county, Texas; Nancy Virginia, now Mrs. John W. Oliphint, of Tarrant county; Martha, wife of Jeff. D. Harrison, of Dallas county. The last men- tioned was married October 23, 1884, and now resides with her mother at the old home- stead. Mr. Bullock served his county as a Justice of the Peace for a number of years, and was always interested in everything re- lating to the good of the county and com- munity. Mrs. Bullock is a consistent mem- ber of the Christian Church.
J. FINNIGAN is the proprietor of a wall paper, glass, oil and paint estab- lishment, and keeps constantly on hand a complete and comprehensive stock of goods, well calculated to suit the most critical taste. His place of business is located at 535 Elm street, and it is his aim to satisfy every ens- tomer, and upon this sure basis he has de- veloped a large trade which, with its constant growth, is a reflex of the growth of Dallas. He takes contracts for painting in different parts of the State, and keeps on an average from twelve to fifteen men employed during the busy season who do their work in a thoroughly artistic manner. Mr. Finnigan came to Dallas in March, 1877, and after learning the trade of a paper hauger, he en- tered the employ of K. Shields, and about 1885 began contracting for himself, and the following year opened his present establish- ment. He was born in St. Louis, Missouri, in 1852, to James and Margaret (Conley) Finnigan, natives of the Emerald Isle, who came to America in an early day, and died when the subject of this sketch was quite
young. In the city of St. Lonis, J. J. Fin- nigan was partly reared, many of his youth- ful days being also spent in Marshall, Mis- souri, where he obtained a fair knowledge of the common branches. After following farın- ing in Saline county, Missouri, for some time, he came to Dallas, Texas, in 1877, and was here married two years later to Miss Mary Isabelle Trammell, daughter James Trammell, a native of Iowa, who became a resident of Dallas in quite an early day. He and his wife now reside in Millsap, Texas. After his marriage Mr. Finnigan settled on Mckinney avenue, where he has a very con- fortable home. He and his wife are members of the Catholic Church, in which faith they are rearing their two children, Maggie and Mary J. Although Mr. Finnigan is not very active in politics, he usually votes the Demo- cratic ticket. Socially he belongs to the Catholic Knights of America. Mr. Finni- gan came to Dallas when it was only a fourth as large as it is at the present time, and con- sequently has witnessed the most of its growth and prosperity. He is a wide awake man of business, and is in every sense of the word a self-made man, for in his youth he was left fatherless and motherless and without means, but by his own efforts has successfully fonght the battle of life.
M. HURT, a retired farmer of Dallas county, was born in Grayson county,
0 Texas, in 1859, the eldest of three children born to James M. and Mattie L. (Douglas) Hurt, natives of Tennessee. The father was married in Osceola, Missouri, and about 1857 emigrated to Grayson county, Texas, settling in Sherman, where he was en- gaged as an attorney. He graduated at the
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HISTORY OF DALLAS COUNTY.
Law School of Lebanon, Tennessee, and after coming to Sherman he continued the prac- tice of law, and was prominent for many years in Grayson county. During the war he was Captain of a company in that county, and was in the Trans-Mississippi department, and at the close of that struggle he returned to Grayson county. Ile taught school for a number of months, and later resumed the practice of law, was Prosecuting Attorney of that county for seven years, was a noted criminal lawyer, and moved from Sherman to Dallas, in 1876. He is now Appellate Judge at Tyler, Austin, and Galveston, and he and his estimable wife reside in Dallas city. They reared a family of three chil- dren, viz .: R. M., our subject; E. S., who is editor and and proprietor of the Elgin Times, also a practicing attorney of Elgin; and Lulu, the wife of P. M. Stine, District Judge of Clay county, Texas.
R. M. Hurt, our subject, was reared and educated in Sherman, Texas, and at the age of seventeen years he engaged as stock man- ager for a large stock firm in the Creek and Cherokee nation, which he represented three years, and also handled ranches for firms in Texas. After his marriage he settled at Choteau, Cherokee nation, and four years later he came to Dallas, where he engaged in the grain business, under the firm name of Everhart & Hurt, and continued the same until 1890. Mr. Hurt affiliates with the Democratic party, and has been a delegate from his ward to the Democratic County Con- vention, and was one of the judges in his ward on election day. He was married in Cisco, Eastland county, Texas, in 1884, to Lizzie McKee Evans, a native of Canada, and daughter of Dr. David and Elizabeth (Tur- ney) Evans, also natives of Canada. The father was a practicing physician, and his
death occurred in Canada. The mother after- ward came to Stephens county, Texas, and then to Cisco, Eastland county, where she now resides with her children. Mr. and Mrs. Evans were the parents of five children, viz .: David, book-keeper for a lumber company at Fort Worth; John, a member of the firm of Logan & Evans, of Fort Worth; Belle, who married D. S. Williams, Postmaster at Cisco; Lizzie, the wife of our subject; Henrietta, now Mrs. H. E. Cunningham, of Palo Pinto, Texas. Mr. and Mrs. Hurt have had four children: James Mann, who died in 1889, at the age of three years; Earl E., and Eb D., twins; and R. L.
R. SEARS, a retired farmer and stock- raiser of Dallas county, was born in Allen county, Kentucky, in 1837, the fourth of nine children born to John and Frances (Hammett) Sears, natives of Vir- ginia and North Carolina. When a young man the father went to Kentucky, and in 1851 to Dallas county, Texas, where he died in 1874, and the mother died about 1870. Mr. Sears took an active part in polities in the early history of the county, was an enter- prising citizen, and a member of the Baptist Church. Of their nine children, four are now living, viz .: G. R., our subject; Robert L., a resident of Collin county, Texas; Ann Frances, widow of John Burton, in Henri- etta, Clay county, Texas; and Samuel M., a resident of the same place.
The subject of this sketch was reared to farm life, and received his education in the subscription schools of Kentucky, and also in those of Dallas, after which he farmed on the home farm. In 1861 he enlisted in Company E, Third Texas Cavalry, for twelve months, at the close of his term of service
Charles H. Durgin
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HISTORY OF DALLAS COUNTY.
he re-enlisted in the same company and regi- ment. Ile took part in the battles of Wil- son's creek, Elk Horn, and the first two years served in Arkansas and Missouri, and afterward was east of the Mississippi river. Mr. Sears remained until the close of the war, and was taken prisoner at Holly Springs, Mississippi, and later was paroled and sent home. He returned to Dallas county, where he bought fifty acres of land, which he sub- sequently improved. In 1872 he moved to Dallas, and took charge of the home farm, and he now owns ten acres just outside of the city limits, having sold the remainder of the farm in acre tracts.
Mr. Sears was married in Dallas county, in 1865, to Alta M. Smith, a native of Tennes- see, and a daughter of John W. and Susan Smith, also natives of Tennessee. Mr. and Mrs. Sears have five children : William, John, Claude, Alta and Georgie. Mr. Sears affili- ates with the Democratic party, and takes an active part in politics.
HARLES H. DURGIN, deceased, was an early pioneer of the Republic of Mexico, settling in 1842 in what is now Jefferson, Marion county, Texas, and later in San Antonio, thence to Dallas connty in the spring of 1844. He at once opened a dry-goods store at this point, which was the second to be opened in the city, and contin- ued in this business until his health failed some four years later, after which he traveled for some time. He was born in Springfield, Massachusetts, in 1821, being the second of seven children, three now living, born to Ezra and Tempa (Walter) Durgin, natives of the Bay State, who afterward became resi- dents of Rock county, Wisconsin. The father 47
died in Beloit, Wisconsin, during the Civil war, and the mother some ten or twelve years before in Rock county, that State. Charles H. Durgin was educated in Springfield, Massachusetts, and in Chieago, Illinois, and when a boy worked on the Illinois Canal, but after attaining his twenty-first year came to Texas.
Ile was married in Dallas county, this State, in May, 1848, to Miss Elizabeth B. Thomas, their license being the first to be issued in that county, and they the first couple ? to wed. Mrs. Durgin's parents, John and Han- nah (Andes) Thomas, were born in Tennessee and Virginia respectively, but their union was celebrated in Seviersville, Nevier county, Tennessee. Isaac Thomas, the grandfather, was a Tennesseean, and a Revolutionary sol- dier, as well as a soldier in a number of early Indian wars. John Thomas took an active part in the war of 1812, the Cherokee war, the Black Hawk war, and in the trouble with the Mormons. He was drawing a pension for services rendered in the war of 1812, when he died. He was a tiller of the soil, and in 1833, settled at Independence, Jackson connty, Missouri, but in 1844 moved to what is now Dallas county, Texas. He took up a headright of 640 acres, which he after- ward greatly improved. His danghter, Mrs. Durgin, now owns the part of the farm in- cluded in the old homestead, one of the best farms in the county. Ile took an active part in the political affairs of this section and was the first County Judge of Dallas county. He died about 1878, and his wife in 1875. They reared a family of nine children : Cynthia A., wife of William Jenkins, of this county; Henry, who died in Missouri, about 1841; Ellis E, who died in 1865 while serving in the Confederate army; Alexander, who died in Dallas county; Elizabeth, (Mrs. Dnrgin);
Ree p. 193
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John T., who died in Mexico, during the Mexican war; he and Alexander were both soldiers in the Mexican war; Jane, wife of Edward Hunt, died in Dallas, she was born in 1832, and died in 1856; Sarah A., wife of F. A. Sayre, resides at Bowie, Texas, and Eliza Jones, who died in Johnson county, Texas, in June, 1883.
After his marriage Mr. Durgin settled in Dallas, and became the first Postmaster of the place, becoming also the first Deputy Clerk of the county. He always voted with the Democratic party, of which his sound views made him a leader. He was a mem- ber of A. F. & A. M., and the Episcopal Church, in which faith he died in 1852, his demise occurring at the age of thirty-three years, at New Haven, Connecticut. Sinee his death his widow has been a resident of Dallas county, Texas, and is one of its most estimable ladies. She is highly intelligent, and at the present time is vice-president of the Pioneers' Association, a position she has ably filled since its organization. She has seen almost the complete developement of the city and county, for upon locating here Dal. las contained only two small houses, and within what is now the city limits there were only twelve families. She bore her husband one son, Charles M., who died at the untimely age of sixteen years.
OHN M. MERRELL .- This gentleman is one of the enterprising and prominent farmers of Dallas county. Biographical mention of him is as follows:
Eli Merrell, his father, was born in Bun- combe county, North Carolina, October 29, 1787. Ile arrived with his family in Texas in August, 1844. Taking a headright under
the Peters Colony, he improved a farm and lived on it until the time of his death, De- cember 26, 1849. He was married thrice. By his first wife he had ten children, of whom only one daughter is living-Nancy, who is now the wife of Mr. IIorton and resides near Hawthorn, Parker county, Texas. She was the first white settler west of Fort Worth. His last wife was Mary A., nee Mckay, daughter of Jeremiah Mckay. Her father, a native of Shenandoah valley, Virginia, moved to Missouri at an early day, and died there. By this marriage Mr. Merrell had six children, namely: Oliva J., wife of W. D. Webb; Julia A., wife of John W. Wright; George C .; Margarette E., wife of M. J. Diekinson, died in November, 1883; John M .; and Thomas A. Thomas A. was engaged in ranching on the Rio Grande, and both he and his wife met their death there, December 24, 1884, at the hand of Mexicans, who killed them for plunder. The mother of these ehil- dren was born February 8, 1815, and is still living. She relates in a vivid and interesting manner many incidents of their pioneer days in this State. Eli Merrell served in the war of 1812, being Lientenant of his company.
John M. Merrell was born and reared in Texas, receiving only a limited education. Arriving at man's estate, he was united in marriage with Susan J. Swetman, daughter of Sidney and Susan (Hardin) Swetman of Ken- tucky. Her parents moved to Missouri, where they passed the remainder of their lives and died. Mrs. Merrell was born in Missonri, February 2, 1852. Their marriage occurred September 26, 1872. The eight children . born to them are all living and are as fol- lows: Mary E., born October 25, 1873; Mag- gie M., September 19, 1875; Julia T., August 29, 1877; Lucy O., November 3, 1880; Ada M., July 6, 1883; Thomas C.,
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HISTORY OF DALLAS COUNTY.
January 26, 1886; John E., May 3, 1888; and Walter E., April 12, 1891.
The land on which his father settled was after his death divided among the heirs, and is still all retained in the family. Mr. Mer- rell owns 222 acres of prairie land and 107 acres of timber, 329 acres in all. Of this he has about 150 acres in cultivation, his prod- ucts being wheat, oats, corn and cotton. He has never had a total failure of all crops and has always had a plenty and some to spare.
During the war, he enlisted, in 1864, at the age of seventeen, and as a member of the Nineteenth Texas Cavalry served till the war closed. His brother, George C., was all through the war, was in many battles but was never wounded or captured.
Mr. Merrell purchased stock in the Alli- ance mill, and was one of the ten who had to saddle the debts. He was an enthusiastic member of the Alliance, believing as he did that it would promote the interests of the farmer and wage earner. He is, however, op- posed to the third-party move of the organi- zation, and thinks it can better promote its interest by keeping out of politics. He is a member of the Masonic fraternity, and also of the Methodist Episcopal Church.
L. HODGE .- Among the prominent men of Dallas, Texas, figures the genial host of the Grand Windsor Hotel, of which he has been the proprietor since January, 1891. His father, Lyman Hodge, was a farmer and gave his individual attention to his farm. Both he and his wife, Sarah (Day) Hodge, are natives of Connecti- ent, but removed to Hampden county, Massa- chusetts, where they still reside, both aged seventy-five. They have been good, hard-
working people and raised a family of eight children. The mother has been a member of the Congregational Church for many years.
Our subject is the oldest son, being born in Hartford, Hartford county, Connecticut, August 13, 1842. He was educated in the public schools of Massachusetts and assisted his father on the farm for some years. He learned the cigar business and followed it for nine years, when he went on the road as a commercial traveler and followed that busi- ness for twenty-two years, making large sales all the time he sold goods. Although he was very young when he started ont, only twenty- two, he was very successful. Part of the time he sold goods for himself and part of the time for others. In 1886 he changed his oc- cupation and engaged in the real-estate busi- ness in Dallas, having settled in that place six years before. He continued in that line of work until 1891, when he purchased the before mentioned hotel. It is the most pop- ular hotel in the city, having more than its portion of the Eastern travelers who find pleas- ant quarters with Mr. Hodge.
The hotel is a very large one, having 225 rooms, and is capable of accommodating several hundred guests. During 1891 he ran the McLeod House in connection with the Windsor, but rented the former one in June, 1891, and now gives his entire attention to the Grand Windsor. He has a restaurant in connection with his hotel, run on the European plan, and it is presided over by his son, Ilarry Hodge, who is his only child. The restaurant has twenty-five rooms and is one of the finest in the city. The able manner in which the son condnets the restaurant indicates that he has inherited a great deal of his father's push and energy.
Mr. Hodge was married in 1866, to Miss Eltha Hayes, a daughter of Milton and Alvira
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HISTORY OF DALLAS COUNTY.
Hayes of Granby, Hartford county, Connecti- cut. Milton died in 1865 and the mother in the same year, both being forty-five at the time of their death. Mrs. Hodge is one of seven children, of whom she is the fifth.
This gentleman, who is the subject of this sketch, is a member of the Elks, K. of H., and Woodmen of the World, having served as Treasurer of the last named lodge for seven years, and filled all the offices in the first named lodge.
Mr. Hodge is a public-spirited man, but has too many business interests of his own to meddle in the political affairs of the town, county, State or Union. This does not, how- ever, prevent his lending his aid, financially and otherwise, to every enterprise calculated to advance the interests of the town. If there were more snch men as Mr. Hodge in the State of Texas she would not only be the first in size, bnt the first in importance in the en- tire Union.
R. ROBERT HENRY CIIILTON, a noted specialist in diseases of the eye, ear and throat, occupies a leading place in the professional circles of Dallas county, and is entitled to a record in this history of those men who have assisted in developing the country. He was born in Cumberland county, Kentucky, in 1844, and is a son of J. Lewis and Martha (Freeman) Chilton. The parents were born in Virginia, and emi- grated to Kentucky in 1838, to engage in the occupation of farming. The mother died in 1857, and the father lived until 1889. The Doctor received his education in the common schools, and early in life developed remark- able aptitude for all literary and scientific sub- jects. Before he was twenty-one years of age he had mastered the science of medicine, and
was in general practice. Ile was located in Louisville, Kentucky, and there began mak- ing a special study of the eye, ear and throat. While a resident of Louisville he was a member of the staff of the city hospi- tal, also a member of the Kentucky State Medical Society. He devoted himself to this branch of the profession with all characteristic thoroughness, and gained such skill in the treatment of the diseases of these organs that he was soon enabled to give his whole time to that specialty. In 1880 he removed to Dallas, Texas, where his success soon brought him a fine practice. There is prob- ably no specialist in the southwest with a more profound knowledge of his subject than Dr. Chilton. Since coming to Dallas he has erected one of the handsomest brown stone business buildings in the place, and has inter- ested himself in the general welfare of the city. He is a member of the Masonic fra- ternity and belongs to the Christian Church; is also a member of the American Medical Association, and of the Texas State Medical Association. He is modest and unassuming in his manners, and has that culture and re- finement which contribute so largely to the success of a physician.
Dr. Chilton was married in 1874 to Miss S. A. Harrison, a Kentuckian by birth, and a former student at Hamilton College, Lexing- ton, Kentucky. One ehild, Bessie, was born to them in August, 1878.
E. BOUCHE, a retired merchant of Dallas, was born in Baton Ronge Louisiana, July 17, 1849. He is the youngest in a family of three children, born to Bartholomew and Mary (Legendre) Bouche. his father being a native of France. Mr. /
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HISTORY OF DALLAS COUNTY.
Bonche's paternal ancestors emigrated to America at an early day, and identified them- selves with the settlement of the Southern States. His mother died in February, 1860, in her thirty-fifth year, and his father passed away in April, 1860, at the age of fifty-six. Deprived of parental care and training at an early age, the subject of our sketch was cast upon his own resources when quite young. He began life as s newspaper carrier on the streets of Baton Rouge, and was thus em- ployed for eight months, carefully saving all the money he could in the meantime. He then accepted a position in the United States mail service as clerk in a military postoffice of that city, remaining as such two years. Next he learned the trade of baker, and was employed in that capacity three years. The following two-and-a-half years he was em- ployed in a dry.goods and grocery store. Changing his employment again, he began to learn the trade of a wheelwright, serving a full apprenticeship, after which he engaged in that business for himself. Three years from the time he began his apprenticeship, he came to Texas, arriving in the city of Dallas July 14, 1874, resuming the wheel- wright business here until he had accumu- lated sufficient means to open up a fruit and grocery store. In this enterprise he was successful, and after a reasonable length of time was enabled to retire from active bnsi- ness with an ample fortune.
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