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CHAPTER XXVIII. MRS. LUCY HOLCOMB PICKENS-MRS. MARY MERCER ORD.
MRS. LUCY HOLCOMB PICKENS .- A very graceful wri- ter of Texas reminiscences, in recalling the incidents of pioneer life in the young Republic, speaks of his com- panions in the primitive schoolhouse of that day, among whom he refers, by name, to four charming pupils of the little girl class as "a quartette of the most noted beau- ties and loveliest women Texas has ever produced." He also describes Adelaide McCord, "one of the most fam- ous women of modern times, known to fame as Adah Isaacs Menken," whose life, it may be mentioned, we have presented in this, our gallery of Prominent Women. "But," continues the writer of the reminiscences, after passing this bright array in review, "the loveliest, purest and best of all this brilliant coterie of early schoolmates, was the stately and matchless beauty, Lucy Holcomb, who stands without a peer in magnificent Texas womanhood." This incompara- ble woman, this woman " without a peer," was destined to a career as splendid in the country's history as had been her brief reign among her rustic companions in the wilds of pri- meval Texas. In 1856 she married Colonel Pickens, member of Congress from South Carolina, and was at once crowned queen of Edgewood, her husband's ancestral home in Edge- field County of that State. In the year following her mar- riage, her husband was appointed by President Buchanan, minister to represent the United States government near the imperial court of St. Petersburg. She there became a favor- ite, and was recognized as a particular star in the diplomatic constellation of the bright capital. Her only child was born in the midst of the resplendent trappings of royalty, for the Empress had provided apartments for the interesting event
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in the imperial palace of Romanoff. Still further to testify her affection, the Empress assumed the duties of the baby girl's god-mother and gave her the name of "Douschka," which, interpreted from the Russ, signifies " a little darling." Both the powerful sponsor and her sovereign lord, the Czar, though confessing allegiance to no other power, never fal- tered in the loyalty of their love for Douschka, the petted scion of American democracy. On leaving the Russian capi- tal for her home two years later, the Emperor conferred upon her a medallion, bearing his own effigy, and in the years that followed her departure the imperial family cele- brated each birthday anniversary with loving greetings and tokens of costly value.
In 1860 Colonel Pickens resigned his mission, having been elected Governor of South Carolina. That year and that State are both conspicuously memorable in the history of the country. Then and there were initiated the measures that culminated in the greatest civil revolution of modern times. On entering his new service Governor Pickens' official home was Columbia, the State's capital, and there, in the ex- ecutive mansion, Mrs. Pickens discharged with inimitable grace and dignity the social functions belonging to her hus- band's high office. Her life was devoted to the Southern cause, and her zeal gave her lasting prominence among the patriotic women of the South. She was honored equally by soldiers and civilians, and, in compliment to her fervor, her picture was engraved upon the currency of the Confederate States.
By invitation of General Beauregard, Governor Pickens went from the capital to Charleston to witness the first act of the great war. He took his family with him. On the 12th of April, 1861, at the hour of 4:30 in the morning-a day and hour never to be forgotten in the military history of Amer- ica-the General took little Douschka in his arms, and placed in her tiny hand the lighted match that fired the first gun of the Confederate war. The little maiden gave the impulse that, for four years, was felt on every sea and in every land of the earth. The sequel is matter of history. Fort Sumter,
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on which Douschka's gun was trained, after short resistance, surrendered to the Confederates who held it to the end of the contest, then abandoned it "a pile of ruins." When that end came little Douschka's Columbian home was also laid in ruins, and all then left of South Carolina's capital was the charred skeleton of a city standing in the midst of desolation to mark the fierce vengeance of the Attila of the North. That gloomy end of the fruitless struggle was also witness of the first heart sorrow of Douschka's life-the death of her father.
After the death of the Governor, Mrs. Pickens continued to live at Edgewood where, after some years, her daughter Douschka was married to Doctor Dugas, of Augusta, Geor- gia. On this occasion the bride received from the Czar of Russia a silver tea service, in token of the continued affection of the imperial family. Her married life was comparatively brief; she died in 1893 while on a visit to her mother at the old homestead, and left for the solace of their grandmother two interesting little children. The funeral was attended by people of every class; her pall-bearers were former slaves of her father, and all the other surviving slaves were present as mourners. To these colored friends the grief-stricken mother, standing by the body of her beloved dead, addressed a touch- ing acknowledgment of past faithfulness and devotion, and invoked their continuance to herself and the little ones of their young mistress. Her splendid tribute on this sorrow- ful occasion reveals alike the fidelity of the servants and the confidence of the mistress-they, by their acts, reflecting her gentleness and generosity, she, by hers, their gratitude and loyalty.
Mrs. Pickens lives in resigned contentment at the once happy Edgewood where, under the burden of her sorrows, she is distinguished for the same affable grace that made her be- loved by the cheerful throng of the great, or at the gay cere- monial of a brilliant court.
MRS. MARY MERCER ORD, the widow of Gen. E. O. C. Ord. of the United States army, had resided many years in San
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Antonio previous to her recent death in that city, and had so fully identified herself with the social life of the State as to entitle her to a place among the prominent women of Texas. She was the daughter of Judge Robert A. Thompson, who moved to California in 1848, and was afterwards chief justice of his adopted State. On the boat that bore Judge Thompson and his daughter to California were Ulysses S. Grant, W. Tecumseh Sherman and Phil. Sheridan, all lieutenants in the United States army at that time.
›. It will be remembered that Mrs. Ord was a Southerner by birth, having three brothers who fought in the Confederate army, and she belonged on the maternal side of her house to the old Slaughter family of Virginia, who were active Con- federates during the strife. She was married to General Ord in 1854, and was hence on the Federal side of the line during the war. She was with her husband much of the time while he was in active service, and witnessed several battles. She was the first lady who entered Richmond after its fall. The flames consuming the magazines and storehouses of the Con- federates were still burning as she rode into the city beside her husband, who was at the head of his command.
In 1875 General Ord was assigned to the command of the department of the United States army, the headquarters of which were at San Antonio. His wife accompanied him, and has lived in that city much of the time until her death, although her husband left her a widow in 1880. Her three Confederate-soldier brothers who survive her, are: Mr. Frank Thompson, formerly city assayer of San Francisco ; Reginald Thompson, member of Congress from Louisville, Kentucky ; and another, who was late minister of the United States to Brazil. Her three sons are: Lieut. E. O. C. Ord, of the Arkansas Military College; Lieut. Garsche Ord, of the United States army, stationed at Fort Sam Houston; and Mr. James Ord, of Monterey, Mexico. Her daughters are Mrs. Lucie Ord Mason, and Mrs. Frederick Ord Hillcourt. She had also a son-in-law, General Trevino, of Monterey.
Mrs. Ord's home in San Antonio was an interesting resi- dence decorated with rare taste, bric-a-brac, curios, antiques,
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and, what was of more value and interest to every visitor, sacred trophies of the war greeted the eye at every turn. Among many interesting relics the writer recalls a large silk flag, American of course, and of unusual historic interest, while in the back parlor of the Ord home hung Ben Butler's tattered and bullet-riddled "Lone Star" ensign. It was the flag that floated over Butler's headquarters during his never-to-be-forgotten residence in New Orleans. As it hung in Mrs. Ord's parlor it was much dilapidated. A large piece was torn from the lower corner, and the flag had many si- nificant holes, all over it, made by dangerous, deadly, minie rifle balls. General Ord succeeded Butler in New Orleans and that is the solution of how Mrs. Ord came in possession of the flag.
The most famous and valuable of the relics which had been in Mrs. Ord's house was not there at the time of her death. It had passed from her possession into that of Mr. Gunther, a wealthy confectioner, of Chicago, who bought it for one thousand dollars. It was, or is, only a little table, a very ordinary piece of cabinet work of cheap material with a marble top, but on that table General Lee and General Grant signed the paper which surrendered the Southern army and virtually ended the war.
Mrs. Ord parted with this souvenir with much regret. Mrs. Grant and Mr. Fred. Grant both wanted it. General Ord had prized it highly. He was present when the surrender was signed at Appomattox Courthouse, and, knowing what its future value would be, set it aside.
In one corner of the marble top of the table is a nick about one inch long and probably a quarter of an inch deep. This was made by the hilt of General Lee's sword striking the table when he rose after signing the paper. When the marble chip fell on the floor General Sheridan picked it up and put it in his pocket.
Mrs. Ord is also my authority for stating that the table which Mrs. General Custer has, and which she thinks is the one upon which the articles of surrender were signed is not the one it is purported to be, but that it is of great historic
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interest and value also, as it is the one upon which General Gibbon wrote the order which was afterward signed by Grant, announcing Lee's surrender. General Custer was present at the time, and, after the other gentlemen had left the room seized the table and handed it out of the window, telling one of his men to take care of it for him.
It would require a long chapter to enumerate and relate the stories of the war relics that were in the Ord house in San Antonio. In that home Mrs. Ord was the living expo- nent of them all, her every movement and gesture indicative 1. dignity and grace, her every word significant of the culture of "the lady. Her face beamed with the kindness and benevo- lon'e of her heart. Her fine hair, touched with silver and ar- ranged high on her nobly poised head, added to her queenly appearance and stately bearing. Her conversation was rich in historic memories, while she commanded at all times the respect due a noble woman in the autumn of life.
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CHAPTER XXIX.
THE UNCROWNED QUEEN OF THE WEST.
MRS. RICHARD KING .- The landed estates of the widow of Capt. Richard King consist of about 2,000 square miles in Southern Texas. Richard Harding Davis, in one of his in- teresting sketches, says truly : "It is difficult to imagine a solitary family occupying an area large enough to support, in the East, a State capital, with governor, legislature, numerous towns, and competing systems of railways."
Imagine, if you can, a castle, removed from the Rhine, the classic and beautiful river which moves gently on and ever under the enchanting wand of romance. A castle but the enchanter's wand reaches not over the silver-gray waves, the close-cropped lands, the stunted growth, the rifled vine- yards, the square-cut villages of Germany, but the broad, wild, ocean-like, undulating, magnificent expanses of this im- mense State. Texas is larger than New England, and larger
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than many a principality over which crowned heads lift their scepters, and Mrs. King owns 1,250,000 acres within it and rules a little world of her own. Her employes are virtually controlled by her; she is to each one of them a generous friend, and they are pleased to execute such plans as she de- vises for the general good. Thus it is that one representative in the next Congress will be nominated and elected by a woman, without casting a vote herself or caring for the right of suffrage. Her palace at Corpus Christi is her home for several months of the year. Here may be found all the lux uries of the East, every modern appliance for comfort, or ina- the gratification of æsthetic tastes in art, literature or for mestic economy. Its substantial walls combine the soli. of the old world with the grace and freedom of the new.d' As handsomely and thoroughly equipped as any white marble mansion that lifts its costly, aristocratic front on 5th Ave- nue, New York, this surprise in architecture is set against the background of the golden-gated West. Corpus Christi is the terminus of a railway, and the continuous stream of wagons that once bore ice and every other luxury and necessity to the ranch is now replaced by a branch railroad of her own. Long cattle trains leave Corpus Christi to carry Mrs. King's cattle to the East. Her home on the ranch stands, like a baronial castle, on an eminence, while around it are the well- tilled fields and gardens, the homes of her dependents, cluster- ing around the central chateau. She who reigns over that magnificent territory of 1,250,000 acres and all of its indus- tries, is a generous, wise and good woman who has reached the meridian of life, a benefactress to all who find employ- ment within her domain.
By examining the records of the land-office at Washing- ton City, there will be found some startling and interesting facts relative to that immense country which extends from Southern Texas into that pathetically beautiful country of Mexico, where Maximilian was executed and poor Carlotta went mad for love of him. On the mapit seems to terminate at the Rio Grande, whose murmuring waters so soon hide away the red drop of human blood that tinges the stream
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with melancholy. This vast region, larger than New Eng- land, with her five strong States, is owned by four families- the Kings, Kennedys, Collinses and Armstrongs. Their names show their nationalities. An old-fashioned, though picturesque stage route carries you over this section from Brownsville to Alice in about forty hours. You may pass on unconscious of the beauty and romantic surroundings, but if you are poet or artist you will be alive to your oppor- tunities. The old-time stage carries mail for a large part of Mexico.
This vast territory over which you have been asleep, or perchance grumbling, or happily wide-awake to its attrac- tions, belongs to the Mrs. King of whom this sketch is writ- ten. The cattle grazing upon these thousands and tens of thousand acres, are all her own. The ranch is called Santa Gertrudes and is the largest in the world. It is bounded by Corpus Christi Bay for a distance of forty miles, and the barbed wire fences on the land side, extend a distance of three hundred miles. You would indeed be unappreciative if you passed over so grand an expanse without involuntarily paying homage to the uncrowned possessor of this vast es- tate, who deserves the honor in her personal worth as well as property.
Remember the power this position gives, and she has not abused it. From her front door to her front gate is thirteen miles. The Duke of Norfolk can ride from beautiful old Arundel Castle to London on his own lands. Mrs. King can pass over 2,000 square miles without trespassing upon an- other's premises. Among the herds that feed on the green pastures of the prairie lands are 200,000 cattle of improved and imported breeds. The current expenses of her ranch consume more than $100,000 per annum; 300 cowboys are employed, 1,200 ponies being furnished them. She is the good Lady Bountiful to her people.
When the first Presbyterian minister who ever crossed the Rio Grande, went into the wilderness, staff and Bible in hand, to preach the Gospel to the descendants of the Aztecs, to the Indian lord of the forest, to the untraced mixed races that
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had gathered there, how little had he, save his faith and courage, and how remote from him was the dream that to a greater multitude his own little daughter was to come after him, in his own footsteps, a teacher, a guide, a benefactress, the veritable Queen of the Plains, where the turf was the has- sock whereon he knelt, and the blue dome his only temple for worship. It is most fitting that she, his daughter, should reign there; that her children and grandchildren should in- herit her grand possessions. One of her daughters is the wife of Robert J. Kleberg, her general manager, and though his position is one of great responsibility, Mrs. King's is greater still.
For every twenty miles of fencing one man is employed, to see that no break is made, and, of course, he must have his assistants. Besides, there are the shepherds, the cowboys, the maids, the hostlers, the gardeners, the farmers, the families that find employment and earn a good living.
Power involves responsibility. Mrs. King is not to be en- vied save in the power of doing good.
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CHAPTER XXX.
MRS. J. C. WALKER-MRS. JOHN C. WEST-MRS. MARY C. BILLINGS.
MRS. WALKER, wife of Hon. James C. Walker, is of Irish parentage. Bound by hereditary custom, she adheres to the tenets of the Catholic Church with which she has been promi- nently identified. During a residence of twenty-four years in Waco, she has helped to build three Catholic Churches. The first one was condemned and had to be taken down; the second, a small one, soon became inadequate for the uses of an enlarged membership. The present cathedral, with its stained windows and handsome pictures, gives evidence of her enthusiasm and talent.
She has shown an intelligent sympathy with every move- ment in the world of art and literature, and her home has
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been the center of attraction for men and women distin- guished in those fields of effort.
Her executive ability and her energies find expression in religious, philanthropic, literary and social channels.
MRS. JOHN C. WEST .- The story of benevolence in Texas cannot be fully told nor the measure of its relief fully realized without embracing in the narrative a record of the good works and unselfish devotion of Mrs. John C. West.
She was born in South Carolina, and came to Texas in 1858, first living in Austin, then, in the following year, moving to Waco, where she has since resided. Her grand- father, Robert Stark, was among the earliest settlers of Co- lumbia, the capital of her native state, and the old home- stead is there still owned by the family, who revere it as the patriarchal seat of their house. This ancestor was a noted solicitor of South Carolina, and is distinguished in her judi- cial annals for the vigor and ability with which he enforced her criminal laws.
Mrs. West is an active member of The Home, a pros- perous charitable institution of Waco, also President of the Ladies' Auxiliary of the Y. M. C. A., and also closely identified with every organized work of benevolence instituted by her church. The duties she assumes are arduous and ex- acting, yet none are overlooked, neither does she relax in the domestic attentions that make her home the abiding place of cheerfulness and hospitality. Martha was "careful" and given to the service of the household, Mary sat at the Mas- ter's feet "and heard his word." Happy is she who unites in her daily life the duties of both the sisters of Bethany !
MRS. MARY C. BILLINGS, Evangelist. While nearly all women are religiously inclined, and very many are more or less close observers of church discipline and practice, but few are actively engaged in the duties that appertain to the clergy. Of this number is Mrs. Mary C. Billings, an ordained minister in the Universalist Church, doing mis- sionary work in Texas, and associated with her husband,
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of the same congregation, who is superintendent of its missions in the State. Her labors are among a people who are easily accessible through the medium of a faith that appeals to their sense of human infirmity and to their reli- ance upon the saving grace of a divine compassion. This faith teaches that the sacrifice of the cross was a perfect, and not a conditional atonement, an expiation whereby the guilt of all men was extinguished through the obedience of the Great Sufferer. In this belief the Universalist, of course, re- jects the doctrine of eternal punishment, and embraces that of a perfect reconciliation after death between the Creator and his human children. In some non-essentials the Univer- salists differ among themselves, especially in regard to the future state; some believe in a remedial punishment of lim- ited duration after death; others believe that all will be happy immediately after the dissolution of the body, but in different degrees ; and still others believe that this happiness will be equal and alike among all the multitude of the re- deemed. But, differ as they may upon points of less vital interest, they are united upon the fundamental doctrine of the final and perfect happiness of all mankind. In this belief, Mrs. Billings, like her co-religionists, imputes to human weakness every sin, and fills her heaven with all the human race. Her mission, therefore, binds her closer to the univer- sal brotherhood that is to live and love unbroken through the eternal eons of the future. It draws her nearer to her fellow-man on earth, and opens up channels of sympathy through which her godly lessons find access to his heart.
Though Mrs. Billings has largely given her life to clerical work, she has displayed great activity in other fields of use- fulness. She has written two books, one a work of fiction, entitled "Emma Clermert," and the other a holiday publica- tion, known as "The Wonderful Christmas Tree." Both were well received and were flatteringly commended by the press. While abroad, some years since, she wrote "Thither- side Sketches," which were serially published in the Ladies' Repository, a Boston monthly, running through two years of that publication. Mrs. Billings has also been, and still is,
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a prolific writer for northern journals and periodicals. These productions are both in prose and verse, and from each have been culled specimens of choice composition to be compiled in book form for literary readers. Among these compila- tions may be mentioned "Poets and Poetry of Printerdom," " Women in Sacred Song," and "Our Women Workers." Mrs. Billings is a member of The Texas Woman's Press Associa- tion, and of The Woman's State Council, in both of which bodies she takes an active and intelligent interest.
Mrs. Billings' wedded life has been twice overshadowed by a wife's greatest sorrow. In her present nuptials she is united to a husband who is a companion in its truest sense- holding the same faith, working in the same vineyard, hoping for the same reward. Mrs. Billings has no children. Epam- inondas, too, was childless. It is related of him that hear- ing some one regret that he had no children to inherit his honors, he replied that his deeds were his children and they would survive him. Like the Theban patriot, Mrs. Billings may well feel that her good works are her children and that they will live after her.
CHAPTER XXXI.
REPRESENTATIVE WOMEN.
MRS. W. L. PRATHER-MRS. THOMAS J. WILLIAMS-MRS. L. W. GOODRICH-MRS. H. C. STONE- MRS. EVA L. BARDEN.
MRS. W. L. PRATHER'S dignity, graceful ease and fin- ished culture are appreciated in the best circles. A Virginian by birth, she belongs to one of the oldest families in that State. Her father, Dr. Kirkpatrick, a distinguished minister of the Presbyterian Church, was for many years the professor of moral philosophy at Washington and Lee University. His daughter, Miss Fanny, was married in 1875 to Col. Wm. L. Prather, a prominent member of the Texas bar, a man whose broad humanity and learning fit him for a splendid
P. W. of T .- 12
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public career. The Prather home, one of the most elegant and desirable in Waco, is the center of a polished coterie, where are welcome not only the statesman and scholar, the gifted and the distinguished, but the less fortunate, who stand in need of sympathy and encouragement. The recep- tion extended her guest by Mrs. Prather is that of a kind hostess and an accomplished gentlewoman.
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