USA > Texas > Past history and present stage of development of Texas. Memorial and biographical history matter of the Lone Star state > Part 13
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On Aug. 24, 1885, he suffered loss of his right foot on account of a runaway horse, and was compelled to give up farming. He next spent five months in the then well-known Mansfield College, Tarrant county, under Prof. John Collier, a veteran educator of his day. He then engaged in barber business for two years in Mansfield and twenty years at Garland, Dallas county; was elected County Treasurer in 1905 and served two years; made race for County Clerk and of ten contestants stood fifth in race, which he entered late. In 1908 was again chosen by the people to occupy County Treasurer's office and reelected in 1910, his majority in each instance being more than 700. On July 27, 1887, Mr. Erwin was happily married to Miss Anna Alice MeNeely, who was born in Canada, her people coming to Tarrant county when she was eight years old. Three sons and two daughters have been born to them, Miss Georgia Myrtle being the only living blessing in the household at present time, the home being at 5510 Columbia avenue. Mr. Erwin belongs to the Odd Fellows, W. O. W. and Christian church. Any one visiting the Dallas county court house will readily recognize a due absence of red tape in his office, whether pleasure or business bent, and as a man of polished and pleasant approach he is never too busy to grant a courtesy or an accommodation. Mr. Erwin is one of the most popular men in Dallas county.
FRY, Maj. Edwin James
On the part of the writer it is always a pleasure to speak of Virginia and Virginians, whether they were born in or descended from that state. American liis- tory owes much to the Old Mother State for the sturdy mould of man- hood it has given to the Nation, who not only served the country well in their day and generation, but handed down a record of patriotic usefulness which abides with us today as one of the most enduring legacies of the Republic. It is said that a Virginian never ยท loses his characteristic identity, matters not how many generations he is removed from his ancestry, and in the case of Maj. E. J. Fry, banker, business man and ex-Con- federate soldier of Marshall, we are certain this familiar truism holds good. Before speaking of him individually we are going to retrace to some of his ancestry, this for the benefit of future gen- erations. Maj. Fry's paternal great-great-grandfather was a sur- veyor by profession, and his busi- ness partner, Peter Jefferson, was the father of Thomas Jefferson, the immortal statesman. His paternal grandfather, James F. Fry, was born in Albemarle county, Va., and was for forty-five years tax assessor of that county. He was a descendant of Joshua Fry, who, in 1756, was commissioned colonel by Gov. Dinwiddie and ordered to raise a regiment of soldiers and proceed against the French at Fort DuQuesne (where Pittsburgh, Pa., now stands), and George Washington (Father of His Country) was commissioned lieutenant-colonel. While en route to their destination Col. Fry died and Lieut .- Col. Washington took his place. His remains were buried near Win-
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chester, Va., where Col. Washington carved on a tree with his knife the following: "Here was buried the Noble, the Just and Generous Fry." This inscription was visible as late as eighteen or twenty years ago. T. W. Fry (father of Maj. Fry, the subject of this sketch) was born at Charlottesville, Va., and was sheriff of Albemarle county, where he died of typhoid fever in 1848, aged about thirty years.
Maj. Fry's maternal grandfather was James MeLaurine, who was born in Ireland. He was a planter and slaveholder in Cumberland county, Va., where he died in 1845. One of his daughters, Miss Sarah J. MeLaurine, was married to T. W. Fry, and is the mother of Maj. E. J. Fry. In 1855 Maj. Fry, his mother and grandmother McLaurine came to San Augus- tine, East Texas, where the elder member died in 1866, aged seventy-five years. His mother passed away at Marshall, Dec. 10, 1892, aged sixty-five years. In the final analysis Maj. Fry has experienced the rare good fortune of having seen during his lifetime nine of his grand- fathers and grandmothers combined, which distinction can be claimed by but few men on . earth, and which intelligence denotes the long life of his family relations.
Maj. Fry comes of Scotch-English-Irish blood, and was born at Charlottesville, Va .. Dec. 1, 1845. His education was obtained in common schools of Virginia and East Texas, and in 1863 enlisted in Confederate army at San Augustine, Co. E., 1st Texas Regiment of Texas Partisan Rangers, Major's Brigade, Gen. Tom Green's command, and took part in battles of Mansfield, Pleasant Hill, Yellow Bayou and other Louisiana engagements; rank of sergeant. Engaged in mercantile business at Nacogdoches from 1866 to 1872, when he came to Marshall and conducted a private banking business until 1883, when he sold same to the First National Bank, of which he has since been active vice-president. This is one of the strongest banks in Texas. In 1890 Maj. Fry helped to organize the Marshall Carwheel & Foundry Company, and has since been president of this important industry. At present time he is vice-president Marshall Wholesale Grocery Company, Southland Life Insurance Company, Citizens State Bank of Marshall, Arthur A. Everts' Jewelry Company, of Dallas ; the Texas Commercial Secretaries and Business Men's Associations, and is an honorary vice- president of the State Fair of Texas. Locally speaking he is a member of Marshall Pro- gressive League; has served as city alderman; is one of the trustees of Marshall University, and is official in Episcopalian church; has been treasurer of local Masonic Lodge for past thirty-five years, is Past Grand Commander Knight Templars, 33rd degree Scottish Rite Mason, Shriner, Elk and Knights of Pythias. In October, 1866, Maj. Fry was married to Miss Mary L. Rankin, at San Augustine, and they have two sons and four daughters, one son, Mr. E. S. Fry, being, jointly with him, one of the two vice-presidents of the First National Bank of Marshall. Personally Maj. Fry is a man of broad culture and polished presence. A leader in business and finance, he has been successful to a marked degree, and is one of the men who has made East Texas what it is. Proud of his family his elegant home has long been the center of the social activity of Marshall. Occupying a large and copious place in the hearts of his friends, he seems to enjoy life to the fullest extent every day he lives, and they have been the better for his having lived.
FIRST NATIONAL BANK, The
There never was a period in the history of the American nation when the national banks were in such splendid and strong condition. Being better organized, conducted on modern business principles and enjoying the absolute confidence of the people, hence the material service they afford the welfare and development of the country at large. It is our pleasure in this connection to speak of the First National Bank of Kaufman, Texas. It is the second oldest national bank in Kaufman county, the First National Bank of Terrell being the oldest, and was originally established in 1888, the charter calling for twenty years' privilege and $50,000 stock. At the expiration of its first charter the institution was reorganized with a capital stock of $100,000, the increase of stock being made from previous earnings, and the combined capital stock and surplus now amounts to $155,000. In the spring of 1908 the management moved into their new home on northeast corner of Court square, and, constructed on the Gothic order of architecture, they have one of the most attractive, modern and con- venient apartments of the kind to be found in the state of Texas, being richly furnished and
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liberally supplied during the heated season with electric fans. The arrangements are well nigh perfect; the walls of the fireproof vault are three feet thick and lined with steel, inside of which is ene of the latest make of Mosler screw-door burglar proof safe.
The officers of the First National Bank of Kaufman are: H. T. (Jere) Nash, president; T. S. Pyle, vice-president ; Geo. W. Smith, cashier, and E. A. Carlisle, assistant cashier. Mr. Smith, upon whom devolves the active management of the bank, was born on a farm on Manson pike, near Murfreesboro, Middle Tennessee, which little city is within one-half mile and in full view of Stone's River battlefields, June 20, 1875. His father, Win. Smith, was born and reared in that, Rutherford county, and was there married to Miss Tempie Lillard. His wife having died, he came to Kaufman county, Texas, in 1884, where he continued his vocation as a farmer and a stock man and died in 1890. Bereft of father and mother, Mr. Geo. W. Smith was thrown on his own resources at the immature age of fourteen. He railroaded with the Old Texas Trunk line, now the T. & N. O., as a clerk for three years; was Wells-Fargo express agent in Kaufman for three years, after which he went into the First National Bank as bookkeeper; was for mne years assistant cashier of same, and on Jan. 1, 1911, became cashier of this popular financial institution, his promotion being a fitting reward for his splendid business ability, faithful service and the prestige bringing to bear his wide circle of warm friends in support of the bank. Mr. Smith has served as a member of the board of aldermen of Kaufman and belongs to the K. of P. and W. O. W. secret fraternities.
FIDLER, C. C.
In speaking of Mr. C. C. Fidler, progressive citizen and cashier of the Cresson National bank, Cresson, Texas, it is altogether proper and interesting to make mention of the Fidler family, who were among the first settlers and have played a conspicuous part in making that rich and fertile section of the state what it is today. Indeed at that time there were but few people here and the wire fencing was just coming into use. Mr. F. O. Fidler, husband and father, was born in Sidney, Ohio, in 1851, and upon coming to Texas in 1876 located in the western part of Johnson county, where he laid the foundation for the family fortune, helped to fight the Indians, and has spent a busy life stock-ranching and farming, he and his family having observed the transformation of that section of the state from its frontier status to the present time. While yet in Ohio Mr. Fidler was married to Miss Lida Sturm, also of his native locality, and of the four sons and one daughter born to them only C. C. and D. W. Fidler are living. Mr. C. C. Fidler (son) was born in Ohio, has spent the major portion of his life in connection with his father in ranching, farming, feeding and shipping cattle-sometimes as high as 1,500 head-and since the Armour and Swift companies have created packing houses in Fort Worth the Fidlers market most of their cattle in the Panther City.
It was in 1907 that Messrs. F. O. and C. C. Fidler conceived the idea of giving to the people of Cresson and the wide scope of trade territory adjacent the advantages of a sound, well organized and progressive bank, with the result that they are today directing the affairs of The Cresson National Bank, as president and cashier, respectively. Its officers and Board of Directors are all local and substantial people, as follows: F. O. Fidler, president; R. C. Kinder, vice-president; D. W. Fidler, vice-president ; C. C. Fidler, cashier; Ferd Slocum, W. H. Harvey and J. T. Shirley. All of the board excepting Mr. Harvey are farmers and stock- men, and the stockholders individual responsibility of The Cresson National Bank is $500,000. The bank in question eccupies a new brick home, equipped with fireproof vault; modern National screw-door, triple time-lock safe, and does a general banking business in the inter- ests of its customers and friends, and the public at large. It is incorporated under the laws of Texas, with capital stock of $25,000; has surplus of $15,000, and deposits have run as high as $135,000. Mr. C. C. Fidler, cashier, has a record that speaks in terms of highest praise for him. Safe and conservative in all his business affairs, he enjoys the confidence of all the patrons of the bank, and there is not a better officered institution in the state of Texas than The Cresson National Bank. Mr. Fidler was married Sept. 7, 1898, to Miss Georgia Martin, whose people originally hailed from West Virginia, and they have three sons and
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one daughter. The Fidler family are Methodists; both father and son are K. of P., and the. latter is also a Mason. Mr. C. B. Bobo, assistant cashier, was born on a farm in Hood county: and is a product of Baylor University, Waco. He has been with the bank since July, 1908.
FAIN, Sidney Clarence
In producing this book there is no subject that appeals to the publisher with more arduous interest and thoughtful consideration than that of the Confederate soldier. To those brave heroes who immortalized the Southern people and honored the uniform of the Gray we owe a debt that can never be paid, and the least we can do is to make their last hours the happiest ones with many little kindnesses, expressed in love and tears. There are today less than 50,000 of them left in the country, and their ranks are fast thinning, as is plainly seen at each succeed- ing gathering of the United Confederate Veter- ans' Association. One of those that can today claim the honor of being an ex-Confederate sol- dier is Mr. S. C. Fain, who was born on a farni - -- in Shelby county, near Shelbyville, East Texas, April 18, 1839-when Texas was yet a republic. Mr. Fain's father before him was born in Geor- gia, and left the Old Cracker State while yet a young man for Missouri, where he remained for several years. Came to Texas during the early thirties and was a successful stock raiser and farmer in Shelby county. He joined the Baptist church at the age of seventy-five years and died in Hill county in 1875, at the ripe age of ninety years. Mr. Fain's mother died in Shelby county, Tex., when he was but ten years old, hence he is able to supply the writer with but little data con - cerning her. When the civil war came on Mr. Fain was among the first to enlist in the Confederate army, and joined the first company to be raised in Tarrant county-under Capt. M. J. Brinson and Col. Sims. He was detailed as purchasing agent for the Confederate government-purchasing oxen, horses, mules, wagons and supplies-with headquarters at Clarksville. North Texas, and his field of operations as far south as San Antonio-being at last named place with his ox-train when the surrender came. The war being over, Mr. Fain purchased land and settled in Hill county, this section of the state having attracted his attention during his travels more than any other, and has since been a valuable and useful citizen. Being one of the very first pioneer set- tlers, when land could have been purchased for from 50 cents to $1 per acre, the question was recently asked Mr. Fain why he did not possess the title to more land, as a result of foresight. His answer was, "That there. were thousands of others who needed homes, and he was per- fectly contented with his present fertile Black Land farm of 170 acres as a result of his life's work"-his farm being situated eight miles east of Hillsboro, in Hill county. Mr. Fain was married April 26, 1863, to Miss Sallie Gitto, of Arlington, Texas, and they had one son to die in infancy ; Thos. S. died in Hillsboro at age of sixteen, and James W., farmer and stock raiser, died at the age of thirty-six in this county-the mother having died in 1870. Mr. Fain was a second time married in 1874 to Mrs. Mary A. Weatherby, and the one son of this wedlock, Wiley M., is now a prosperous real estate and land dealer in Fort Worth. She died in 1888. As one of the early frontiersmen Mr. Fain has vividly witnessed the many marked and marvelous changes that have taken place in Texas, and his admiration and patriotismn for the grand old state is without bounds. He saw Gen. Sam Houston a number of times, and to remove the odium from the old settlers he wishes it stated that there was far less stealing and "foraging " during pioneer days, and it was following the period when the soldiers were
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returning from the civil war that unreasonable depredations were committed. He says there was as much honor among the earliest settlers of this country as ever existed among men, and that they are unjustly maligned by unauthentic historians. Mr. Fain has been a mem- ber of the Baptist church for the past thirty years, and is an old-fashioned, life-long Pro- hibition-Democrat-which means honest and moral democracy.
FAGAN, Granville Robertson
Mr. G. R. Fagan, County Treasurer of Erath county, was born on a farm in Rutherford county, Middle Tennessee, Oct. 30, 1851-not a great distance from the famous Stone's River battlefields, where more than 20,000 soldiers were killed and wounded, and which fierce engagement was viewed from the main streets of the beauti- ful little city of Murfreesboro, seat of govern- ment. Mr. Fagan's father, J. H. Fagan, was - born and matured to manhood in this same county-developing into a farmer and merchant. There was also born and grew up in this same neighborhood Miss Nancy Caroline Cox, to whom he was married. Three sons and three daugh- ters were born to them; one died in infancy, and living at present is the subject whose name initiates this sketch, and Mrs. Judge Neill, of San Antonio. The family left the old home- place in Tennessee and came to Fort Worth in 1874, and in November, 1875, came to Stephen- ville. The mother died Feb. 22, 1882, in Stephen- ville, at the age of fifty years. From the time he came to Erath county the father continued farming and stock-raising until his death, which occurred while on a visit to Bristol. in Ellis county, Aug. 16, 1892, and where he was buried. His age at the time of his demise was sixty-five years. He was a devout member of the Methodist church, a Mason in high stand- ing, and these two items, coupled with the fact that he was a man of much energy and that his word was his bond in all business transactions, is sufficient expression that he was a good neighbor and a useful citizen. When the family moved to Texas Mr. G. R. Fagan was twenty-two years old, hence he had spent his boyhood days and gained his fundamental impressions, which laid the foundation for his life, in Sunny Tennessee. For eleven years he was identified with the flour milling industry of Stephenville, and most of which time he was head miller, in which connection he gained considerable reputation as an expert in pro- ducing fine flour. We next find him engaged in the mercantile business on his own account in Stephenville for a period of seven years. After serving as Deputy Tax Collector for two years, he was elected County Treasurer of Erath county in November, 1907; and re-elected in 1909. Mr. Fagan was married Jan. 1, 1880, to Miss Mattie Santo, who was born in Palo Pinto county, but reared in Stephenville. They have two sons and two daughters, as fol- lows: Granville Richard, Ella, Kate and Hal Neal Fagan. When Mr. Fagan came to Stephenville thirty-five years ago it was a mere village of a few hundred inhabitants; today it is a little city of about 4,000 people. There was no courthouse, and two courthouses have since been built. Thirty-five years ago the county was devoted largely to ranch and stock-raising; today it is one of the most productive agricultural counties in the state, and has something like 40,000 people within its borders. Mr. Fagan has made Erath county a particularly efficient officer, is one of the most popular men in the county, and should he so desire will doubtless continue to hold his office. He belongs to the Odd Fellows, W. O. W. and the M. E. church.
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GUITAR, John
In connection with this article it is ou" pleasure to produce a splendid personal likeness of Mr. John Guitar, who is truly a man of much initiative and creative genius, and as a captain of industries has of late years played a part in the development of Texas, and especially West Texas, that is equaled by but few men. Mr. Guitar was born at Carrollton, Missouri, July 4, 1866. The Guitar family has for cecturies been prominent in the life of France-around Paris- and is possessed of a genuine coat-of-arms: The original orthographical spelling of the name is De Guitar, the prefix being eliminated by the American branch of the family. So far as is known the first of the De Guitar family to come to America was John Guitar, great-grandfather of the subject whose name initiates this sketch; and he settled in the Blue Grass section of Kentucky, near Lexington, in the earlier days of the republic, and was there married. Pushing westward, to Missouri territory, he settled in what is now Carroll county in 1820. It was here in 1833 that his son, John Guitar, was born -the latter being the father of our original snb- ject, John Guitar. The father was one of the "49-ers" to go to California in an ox-team in search of gold. Returning in 1854 he es- tablished himself in the mercantile business at Carrollton, Mo., as one of the first merchants in that town, and in which he was successful for fifty years-and remained at same location this period of time. Disposing of his goods and interests in 1905 he retired to private life; and coming to Texas in 1907, passed away in Abilene Nov. 3, 1910. He had considerable reputation for "taking boys under his care and making men of them;"' was distinctly a gentleman of the old school; was devoutly an orthodox Methodist, scrupulously honest in all his transactions, and carried his religion into his everyday walk of life. One of his two brothers, Capt. Dava Guitar, was a wealthy and retired business man of Columbia, Mo., and the other was Gen. O'Don Guitar, who was a general in the Federal army and a prominent Republican politician of Missouri. Mr. John Gnitar, deceased, fought in the Confederate army, and the closing of hostilities fond him a prisoner of war. His wife was Miss Virginia Snider, who was born at Carrollton, Mo., and to whom he was married in 1856. Of the four sons and seven daughters born of this union, all are living excepting two daughters-in Mis- souri and Texas-and the mother died in 1905, in Methodist church faith, aged sixty-three.
John Guitar, junior, never attended the public schools any more after he was twelve years of age, and from time he was eight years old was behind the counter in his father's store-being a member of the firm from 1882 to 1889. His advent into Texas was in 1890, when the great possibilities of this state unfolded themselves to him. He built cottonseed oil mills at Waco and Temple in 1890; after which he built similar plants at old Jefferson, Whitewright, Rnsh Point, La., and Ennis. His coming to Abilene was in 1898, after which he bnilt oil mills at this place, Merkel, Colorado, and also cotton compresses at Stamford and Colorado. He controls something like fifty cotton gins in West Texas, and has a plant of this character in every town on the T. & P. railway from Abilene west to Midland. During operating, or busy season, he receives daily reports from all his industries at his home office in Abilene. Mr. Guitar's landed interests are distributed in Taylor, Jones, Shackelford, Howard and Mitchell counties, which approximate 30,000 acres. Progressive in farming, as he is in all things, Mr. Gnitar is a strong believer in the dry farming process, and along
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this line is bringing into use some distinct ideas of his own. Of his land in a state of cuiti- vation, all is rented excepting 2,000 acres in Jones county personally farmed by himself, and on this he is using fertilizer with good results-he being the first man to have shipped a car- load of fertilizer into the West Texas country. He has 25,000 head of cattle cow grazing in the Otoe Indian reservation, Oklahoma; has 2,500 head of cattle grazing on a 25,000 acre tract of land he owns in Howard county, and grazing from his other lands and feeding from the products of his different oil mills, is the most extensive feeder of cattle in West Texas. He has in the past made shipment of as high as 5,000 head, which required 200 cattle cars. Mr. Guitar has on his payroll something like 500 people, which exceeds any -. thing of the kind in West Texas. On March 1, 1889, he was happily married to Miss Laura O'Rear Hudson, of Carrollton, Mo., and they have five handsome daughters and three stalwart sons. Their new palatial home on the corner of First and Beech streets is truly a modern affair. Its architectural beanty can only be improved on by the brush of an artist, and the inside finishings affect the walnut, quartered oak and mahogany fixture; hardwood and tile flooring. Some of the interior art work is expensively hand-painted. According to the recti- tude of his parents Mr. Guitar was brought up in the Methodist church, and Mrs. Guitar is a member of the Christian church. Personally, Mr. Guitar is quick as a flash at business, with keen foresight, and handles his vast interests with as much ease as would the manager of a corner grocery store. A man of unusual energy and with a great capacity for work, he believes, according to the law of nature, that one "will rust out quicker than he will wear out; "' withall of which he is one of the busiest men in Texas from Jannary to Jannary. Briefly stated, Texas has profited much from Missouri's loss of Mr. John Guitar, and it is such men as he that have made the West Texas country what it is today, and who will con- tinne to make it prosper like unto the palmiest days of France under Napoleon Buona- parte. Mr. Guitar has many friends and, naturally, a wide acquaintance.
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