USA > Texas > The encyclopedia of Texas, V.1 > Part 66
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The principal activities of Mr. Murray have been in Oak Cliff and he has played an important part in the development of this section of Dallas. There are only two business firms in Oak Cliff now that were in business at the time Mr. Murray began handling Oak Cliff property.
. In 1896 Mr. Murray was married to Mrs. Mary Cornehls. They have three children living, James, Minnie L. and John A. Another son, Roy, is de- ceased. The family residence is at 1219 Peabody.
Mr. Murray has always been actively interested in the development of Dallas as a whole and has taken a great deal of interest in civic affairs.
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B ENJAMIN S. WATHEN, engineering, Gas- ton Building, is one of the best known men connected with his profession in the state of Texas, and is the oldest Texas member of the American Society of Civil Engineers. In 1869 he left his home in Kentucky to go to Houston, Texas, where he was to work as engineer for the Houston and Great Northern Railroad. His route led him to Dallas and at that time first visited the city that was destined to be his future home. He made his headquarters in Houston for four and a half years while doing engineering for the Houston and Great Northern, having charge of the location of the route for the railroad that was later built. He has worked for every railroad in the state with two exceptions. they being the Santa Fe and the Southern Pacific, but he is thoroughly familiar with every railroad in Texas.
Mr. Wathen is a veteran of the civil war, joining the Confederate army in 1862, and serving until the battle of Appamatox. He fought under Gen. John A. Morgan, and was advanced to a major's command. On a raid into Ohio he was captured and held as a prisoner of war until he was exchanged. He then served in Southwest Virginia. After the war he returned to Kentucky and went into the railway service, starting in the engineering department of the Louisville and Nashville Railway and he has fol- lowed the profession from that day to this. After more than four years service with the Louisville and Nashville Railroad he came to Texas in 1869, where he began his work for the Houston and Great North- ern. Later he worked for the International and Great Northern and in 1874 he worked on the Tyler tap (later the Cotton Belt) as chief engineer. In 1876 he did work for the Texas and Pacific and in 1879 became chief engineer for that road, a Gould line at that time and expecting to build the line to San Diego. In 1881 the company sent him into Mexico, with headquarters in Mexico City, where he remained for three years, making surveys for a road from San Antonio to Mexico City. Sixty miles of this road was graded south of Laredo. In 1884 Mr. Wathen returned to Texas and was sent into Kansas. He returned to Dallas in 1886 as chief engineer in Texas for the Missouri Pacific, lessees of the Missouri, Kansas and Texas Railway, and held this position until 1890, when the road went into the hands of receivers. During this period he built the Dallas and Greenville railroad, Gaines- ville, Henrietta and Western Road, Dallas and Waco, Taylor, Bastrop and Houston Railroad, San Marcus and Smithville and had surveys made of other lines not constructed. The following two years he worked on various enterprises, and in 1892 he went back to the Texas and Pacific as chief engi- neer, and remained with that road for twenty-two years, resigning in 1913 on account of his failing health. Since 1914 he has been doing private prac- tice and has done some consultation work.
Mr. Wathen was born on March 4, 1844, in Marion County, Kentucky, and educated in the public schools there. His parents were William and Eliza- beth (Gibbs) Wathen. He was married in 1877 to Miss Josephine M. Trammell, a native of Texas, and to the union eight children were born. all living except one. They are Mrs. W. H. Gaston, Jr., W. Eugene Wathen, engineer with city engineers office, Mrs. S. W. Fisher, Austin, Thomas N., electrical engineer of Dallas, Robert C., traveling salesman,
Mrs. M. Ratcliff, Austin, Lois and Benj. S., Jr., th ... latter two living with their parents at 2806 South Boulevard, Dallas, Texas.
Mr. Wathen is a mem'oer of the American So- ciety of Civil Engineers and the American Assu- ciation of Engineering. When he located in Dallas he believed it was the best city in Texas and the one that had the brightest future. As he believed then, he believes now.
AMES D. FOWLER, of the firm of Koch and Fowler, electrical, civil and landscape engineers, with offices in the Sumpter Build- ing, has to his credit innumerable engineer- ing projects that have brought him recognition as one of the leading engineers of the Southwest. The firm of Koch and Fowler was organized as a part- nership in 1914, Oscar H. Koch being the other partner.
Among the many engineering projects which this concern has undertaken during the past six years are the building of the water works plant at Mans- field, Texas, drainage of the land in the suburbs of the city of Dallas for Robert Nichols, designing of the country club at Corsicana, designing of the Vernon Country Club, development of a high class residence district of Miami, Oklahoma, and many other pieces of landscape engineering. For two and one-half years during the war Mr. Fowler was in charge of government designing and construction work, fourteen months of which was spent at Fort Sill, Oklahoma, and fifteen months at Camp Pike, Arkansas. Here he was engineer in charge of water sewerage, building construction and lighting sys- tems.
Prior to his coming to Texas, Mr. Fowler was en- gaged in many responsible undertakings in Kansas. He built the water purification plant at Augusta, Kansas, the electric lighting plant at Kingman, Kansas, the electric lighting plant at Garden City, Kansas, rebuilt the water supply at Holton, Kansas, and remodeled the lighting plant there, constructed six miles of brick pavement at Holton, designed a $60,000 lighting plant for Larned, Kansas, and built the water system of Mountain Grove, Missouri.
Born in Hughesville, Missouri, on October 15, 1884, Mr. Fowler received his education in the Hughes- ville high school and the School of Mines at Rolla, Missouri, from which he was graduated in 1908 with a bachelor degree in civil engineering. He began practicing with Black and Veatch, of Kansas City, consulting engineers, and remained with them four years, being engaged in the activities above men- tioned. He was also on railway surveys for about eighteen months for the St. Louis-Kansas City Elec- tric Railway, and held a similar position with the Frisco Railroad Company. While in Kansas City he received the honor of being appointed to work with the Park Board of that city in the construction of roadways. He came to Texas in 1914 to form a partnership with Mr. Koch.
Mr. Fowler was married to Miss Bess Valentine in 1911. Mr. and Mrs. Fowler have one son, James D. Jr.
He is a member of the American Society of Civil Engineers, the Kansas Engineering Society, the Chamber of Commerce, the Jovian Order, as well as Masonic and the Technical Club of Dallas.
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ENRY EXALL ELROD, consulting engineer, since his arrival in Dallas in 1912 has be- come one of the leaders in his profession in Texas. As a member of the City Plan Commission, he is prominently identified with the big things in municipal undertakings, which were so dear to the heart of his distinguished uncle, the late Henry Exall.
Mr. Elrod is president of the Henry Exall Elrod Company of Dallas, with offices at 3124 Elm Street.
He was born in Paducah, Kentucky, the son of T. B. Elrod, a Kentucky lawyer. He attended A. & M. College of Texas, graduating in 1901 with the degree of B. S. M. E. In 1912, at Dallas, he married Miss Carrie Thompson, daughter of Judge John W. Thompson, jurist and barrister known throughout the state. Two sons, J. W. Thompson Elrod and Henry Exall Elrod, Jr., are the children.
Mr. Elrod specializes in the construction and supervising of municipal water works, sewers, sew- age disposal stations, electric lighting and power plants and street paving; also, in city planning, rate regulation work and the appraisal of public service properties.
His training and practical experience in the han- dling of engineering problems well qualify him for the critical, exacting, all important service of the expert consultant. For a year or more, he was general manager of the Union Iron Works of Hous- ton; in the same capacity he was connected, for four years, with the Bartlett Steel Company of Missouri; again, as general manager of the Houston Structural Steel Company for four years, and as chief engineer of the Mosher Mfg. Company of Dallas, for two years, his early career presents the detail of varied accomplishment, in conjunction with theoretical skill, necessary to inspire a relation of confidence between client and adviser.
Mr. Elrod is a member of the University Club, the Dallas Technical Club and the Dallas Country Club. By religious conviction, he is a Baptist.
PERRY BENTLEY, president of the Uvalde Paving Company, with offices at 1001 Main Street, Dallas, has become well known in engineering circles for his unusual work in the paving line, especially in his home city. As the president of the Standard Engineering and Construc- tion Co. he has been responsible for a large number of civic improvements, in an engineering way, in a large number of Texas cities. The Uvalde Paving Company takes its name from the substance used in its paving work-Uvalde county rock asphalt-and it has done a large amount of paving work in this city, including the following thoroughfares: Brow- der, Canty, Harrison, Kentucky and Latimore Streets; Bishop, Carroll, Oakland and Colonial Ave- nues. At the present time the Uvalde Paving Com- pany is engaged in the paving of Highland Park. The lasting qualities of the substance used by the company in its paving work is clearly illustrated by the condition of the streets with which it is paved.
Born at Westerly, Rhode Island, Feb. 22, 1880, W. Perry Bentley is a son of G. A. Bentley, a manu- facturer of Connecticut. The younger Mr. Bentley received his early training in the public schools at New Britain, Connecticut and afterward attended the Trinity College, of Hartford, where he received his Bachelor of Science degree in 1902. He then at- tended the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, where he graduated in 1904 with the degree of
Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering. His academic standing in college warranted his election in his Junior year to Phi Beta Kappa, an honorary national academic fraternity. The first year after graduation Mr. Bentley spent with the engineering department of the New York Telephone Company, and in 1906 he accepted a position with the Stone and Webster Corporation, being transferred to the Dallas branch of the company. He was superin- tendent of the construction department of this con- cern at Dallas until 1910, at which time he entered business for himself. Soon thereafter Mr. Bentley became associated with the Uvalde Paving Company and since that time has been made its president. He is also president of the Standard Engineering and Construction Company, which confines its business to municipal improvements, such as waterworks, sanitation and storm sewerage systems. This com- pany has completed the sewerage system for a num- ber of outlying Dallas districts and at the present time is engaged in building a storm sewage system for the Winnetka Addition.
On June 12th, 1912, Mr. Bentley married Miss Margaret Bonner and they are the parents of two children, Bonner and Betsy Bentley. The Bentley home is located at 4214 Swiss Avenue, Dallas.
In fraternal organizations Mr. Bentley is a mem- ber of the Delta Kappa Epsilon Fraternity. He is also a member of the Chamber of Commerce, Dallas Technical Club, Little Sandy Hunting and Fishing Club, The Thirteen Club, the University Club and the Dallas Country Club. He is also a 32d degree Mason and a member of Hella Temple Shrine. His church membership is with Unitarian, where he is a member of the parish committee.
DMOND LEON DALTON, senior member of the well known engineering firm of Dalton and Campbell, engineers and contractors, 19151/2 Main Street, is one of the best known engineers in Texas and has probably done more constructive municipal improvement work than any other one man in the state. He was connected with the engineering department of the city of Dallas from 1888 to 1908, holding the position of city engineer for eight years. During his tenure of office practically all the present paving on the down town streets was done. Mr. Dalton having intro- duced the present modern paving here and replac- ing the former Boi d'arc paving which was in gen- eral use here prior to his regime as city engineer.
Mr. Dalton's present connection was formed in 1911 and his firm specializes in the construction of sewer systems and water works. having constructed large plants at Lubbock, Memphis, Seymour and other Texas towns. They have over two hundred thousand dollars' worth of work under construction now.
A native of Missouri, Mr. Dalton was born at Kansas City and educated in the public and high schools there. He came to Dallas from Saint Louis in 1885 and has resided here continuously since that time. His training as an engineer has been gained · from practical experience and he is considered an authority on all engineering problems.
In March, 1905, Mr. Dalton was married to Miss Ethel Alice Smith. They have two sons, Murphy and Edmond. Mr. Dalton was formerly vice-presi- dent of the American Society of Municipal Engineers and was president of the Texas society.
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ENERAL J. M. COCHRAN, dealer in real estate and land, with offices at 181212 Main Street, Dallas, has the honor and distinction of being the oldest male native citizen of this city. It has been his privilege to see Dallas grow from a village of one house at the time of his birth to the greatest city in Texas. He is one of those honored and patriotic veterans of the Civil War and his has been a career of interest and con- tinuous activity Having devoted his entire life to the development of Dallas and its surrounding coun- try, Mr. Cochran is peculiarly fitted for the real estate business and for the past sixteen years has been very active in that line.
A native son of Dallas County, J. M. Cochran was born at Farmers Branch, seven miles north of the city of Dallas, on the first day of June, 1846, one month before Dallas County was officially organized as a governmental agency. He is a son of W. M. Cochran, who was one of the first county clerks of this county and was the first representative to the State Legislature that the citizens of this county ever elected. Born on the plantation of his father's located north of Dallas, Mr. Cochran had all of the privileges of the Southern boy of those days. He received his primary educational training in the country schools of this county and later attended the Mckenzie College, in Red River County. At the outbreak of the Civil War he volunteered, although only sixteen years of age and saw service in Arkan- sas, Oklahoma and Louisiana under General R. M. Gano. He was wounded twice in a battle at Rose- ville, Ark., on the Arkansas river, but served throughout the remainder of the war. At the close of the war he returned home and from 1869 to 1904 was engaged in stock raising upon his mother's farm, which has gained the title among old timers of this county as Cochran's Chapel. This farm con- sisted of three hundred acres and a part of the land which he later purchased is now incorporated into Love Field, one of the training fields for the United States Aviation Corps. In 1904 Mr. Cochran re- moved to Dallas where he became engaged in the real estate business which he has followed since that time.
Miss Bollin, a native of this county became the bride of Mr. Cochran and they are the parents of nine living children, six of whom are daughters and three sons. Mr. Cochran has been affiliated with the Masonic Lodge since 1868 and is also a member of the Tannehill Lodge. At the last meeting of the Confederate Veterans he was selected as General of the Third Division. In 1904 he served as a county commissioner of this county and has always been active in its development.
A veteran of the Civil War, a pioneer citizen of this county, an active supporter of all civic improve- ment, a former ofcial of Dallas County and above all a venerable and most highly respected Southern gentleman, J. M. Cochran is a historic figure of this state and his achievements shall forever live as a token of its glory.
HAS. E. TURNER, prominent real estate and insurance man, vice-president of Wil- liams and Ellis, Inc., was born in Dallas County, September 13, 1886. He is a son of J. E. Turner, well known official of the Frisco Rail- way Lines and for fourteen years tax assessor of Dallas county.
The education of Mr. Turner was received in the
public schools of Dallas and the high school, grad- uating in 1901. His first business venture was in the wholesale drug business and for seven years he traveled for a large drug house and in 1911, in eon- junction with other local business men, organized the Southwestern Sundries Company, handling drug- gists' sundries, holiday goods, stationery, books, etc. From 1911 to 1914 Mr. Turner traveled for the Sun- dries Company and in the latter year the business was sold to the San Antonio Drug Company.
It was then that Mr. Turner entered the real estate business, operating alone and building up a highly successful trade in Dallas realty. In the spring of 1917 he entered the first training camp at Leon Springs and was commissioned second lieuten- ant of infantry and assigned to the 90th division. He went to France with the 90th and was assigned to special duty in England where he remained for two months and then rejoined the 90th in time to participate in the San Mihiel and Argonne of- fensives. After the armistice was declared he. was with the army of occupation, being assigned to di- vision headquarters at Berncastle, Germany. Be- fore going overseas Mr. Turner was promoted to first lieutenant and while abroad was made a captain. He was liason officer of the 90th and assigned to the staff of General U. S. Alexander. He was dis- charged on April 28, 1919.
In June, 1919, he became identified with the real estate and insurance firm of Williams and Ellis and soon was in the active swing of the real estate game again. He has been largely instrumental in securing locations for several important industries, and re- located several of the best automobile agencies. His firm closed the lease for the Woolworth Company. giving that firm a long time lease on fifty feet of frontage on both Main and Elm Streets, extending through the entire block.
Mr. Turner is considered one of the best authori- ties on realty values, particularly down-town prop- erty, in Dallas. He is earnest and conscientious and an enthusiastic booster for Dallas and all Texas. He is a member of the Chamber of Commerce, the Scottish Rite, Knights Templar and Hella Temple Shrine. He is also a member of Hella Temple Divan.
EORGE R. FARRAR, head of the Geo. R. Farrar & Co., general real estate, loans and investments, 318 North Texas Building, has been in the real estate business here since January, 1911, and has been an important factor in the building progress of the city, having erected forty-seven homes in the city, many of them two- story structures. He employs four salesmen, has a large listing, including both business and residence property, handles loans and makes investments for a large number of clients, and his business is gen- erally considered one of the most successful of its kind in the city.
Mr. Farrar was formerly a railroad man, serving in the freight department of the Texas and Pacific and Missouri Pacific railways for eighteen years. During the late war he was traffic manager for the government at Camp Pike, Little Rock, Ark. He is a native of Dallas, born here October 11, 1876. His father, Geo. P. Farrar, came to Dallas from Florida in 1873, and was engaged in the music business here under the firm name of Redfield & Farrar. Mr. Farrar was married in 1896 to Miss Myrtle Savage, daughter of Lloyd W. Savage, of the Savage Grocery Company, well known in Dallas,
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and they have two sons and one daughter. The eld- est son, John A., aged 21 years, is a student at S. M. U., and during the war was ticket agent at Camp Pike, Ark. George R., Jr., a senior in the Dallas high school, had charge of the water plant at Pigs Point Camp, Va., during the war. Miss Margaret, a graduate of the high school, is now studying music. The family is identified with the Episcopal Church.
Mr. Farrar is very optimistic over the future of Dallas, and expresses the belief that within the next five years the population of the city will double and that real estate will have a steady advance.
EONARD M. DUMAS, vice-president of the Interstate Brokerage Company, with Dal- las offices at 616 Dallas County State Bank Building, has attained a great degree of personal success in executive positions, and has been instrumental in the success of more than one promi- nent business firm in Dallas.
As vice-president of the Interstate Brokerage Company he has been a potent factor in its growth from a small organization in Oklahoma city in 1900, through its rapid expansion throughout two states, to its present position as one of the most prosperous and reliable brokerage firms in either Texas or Oklahoma. The business has so progressed in the last ten years as to require a staff of twenty-five men in the Dallas office and the same number in the Oklahoma City offices, which are under the direction of C. P. Whitman, president of the company. Of- fices are also maintained in Ft. Worth, San Antonio and Houston.
Mr. Dumas was born in Calvert, Texas, in 1877. His father, C. F. Dumas, was a general merchant in McClelan County and was a native of Texas. His mother, Mollie Peeler Dumas, as well as his grand- father on his mother's side, was also born in Texas. Mr. Dumas received his education in the public schools and at the University of Texas. Shortly after leaving college Mr. Dumas was married to Miss Anita Vera, and after a brief period of business in Corsicana decided to transfer his activities to larger fields. Accordingly he came to Dallas where he was engaged in the brokerage business with the Dallas Mercantile Co. for twelve years. Prior to coming to Dallas he was manager for the E. P. Woodard Company, Corsicana, where he remained for several years.
Although having already created a successful business record, Mr. Dumas is still among the young progressive business men of Dallas who have a strong trust and a vision of a bigger business life for the city.
RANK R. BOWLES, general manager of the Dallas Consolidated Abstract Company, 905 Main Street, has devoted his entire at- tention to the abstract business through a long period of years, more than thirty-five of which have been spent in Dallas, and his position as man- ager of one of the leading title companies in the- Southwest indicates that he has made great progress in his chosen field.
The Dallas Consolidated Abstract Company was established in 1903 at 1007 Main Street and since that time it has more than doubled in size by ab- sorbing the business of three other similar com- panies. In the preparation of abstracts of titles they
restrict themselves to property in Dallas County and their knowledge of real estate affairs in that county is unsurpassed. The company also acts as agent for the Western Indemnity Company which writes title insurance covering land titles in any part of the state. For the safety of home makers and investors in real estate, the Dallas Consolidated Abstract company is rendering an essential and highly valuable service.
Mr. Bowles was born in Elizabethtown, Kentucky, April 16, 1867. His parents, John G. and Fetna (Rogers) Bowles were both natives of Kentucky. He was educated in the public schools of his native state and when he was twenty years old he came to Dallas and went into the real estate business. In 1894 he established the Bowles Brothers Abstract & Real Estate Company in which connection he re- mained until 1903 when his business was consoli- dated, along with McDaniel and Ewing, with the Dallas Abstract Company with which he has since remained.
Mr. Bowles was married in Dallas, December 15, 1915, to Miss May Cummins, daughter of James Cummins of Bowie, Texas. Mr. and Mrs. Bowles live at 707 Glendale Street.
During a residence in Dallas of nearly thirty-five years Mr. Bowles has formed a large acquaintance and has established a wide reputation as an abstract man. He has supported liberally enterprises for civ- ic advancement and during the administration of Mayor Ben Cabell he was elected as chairman of the Board of Appeals. He is a member of the Odd Fellows and the Praetorians and by church asso- ciation he is a Catholic. He is admired by his friends and deeply respected by his business associates.
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