Dallas County, Texas - The whole text, 1892 (part 12 of 32)

William Kelley received his education in the leading schools of Wisconsin. February 6, 1862. at the age of twelve years and thirty-seven days, he enlisted iu Company D, Seventeenth Wisconsin Infantry, and remained in the service of the Union until the war was practically over. He was probably the youngest soldier in the Federal army. Tall, mature-looking, wiry and tough, with a nature bold and daring, frank and generous, he combined physical strength and powers of endurance, and was thus equipped with soldierly traits possessed by few. He participated in many of the principal engagements of the war, was never wounded or imprisoned, and after leaving; the service returned to New York, reaching that city on the Saturday following the assassination of President Lincoln. After remaining in Xew York about a mouth, he went to Chicago, thence to St. Louis, and from there to Little Rock, Arkansas. At the latter place he clerked in the Quartermaster's Department for a time, after which he was employed by the Government to exhume the dead Union soldiers and remove them to the cemetery at Little Rock.

Leaving the Government service, Mr. Kelley was engaged as passenger agent on a line of boats (also had charge of the mail) between Little Rock and Memphis, being thus employed three years. The following two years he clerked in the railway station at Little Rock, after which he was captain of a ferry boat three years. After that he took a course in a commercial college of that city, and at the same time was engaged in buying cotton on the streets on a commission.

Mr. Kelley dates his arrival in Texas in .1876. He clerked in a grocery in San Antonio for nearly a year, after which he canvassed for various articles in several cities. In 1877 he engaged iu his present business in Dallas. As a merchant he has been very successful, and has also made some money in the real-estate business.

Ileiny (Tiiyer, of Little Rock, Arkansas. Her father died in St. Louis wiien she was nine years of age. Her mother passed away in Little Rock, in 1890. Mr. and Mrs. Kelley have three children: Elsie, Thomas J., and Stafford E. He is a Catholic, wliilo his wife is a member of the Lutheran Church.

H. LINDSAY, of the firm of Lindsay & Reid, contractors and builders, Dal- * las, have a stone yard on Pacific avenue and Broadway, where they dress and prepare building stone of every description. Among the principal structures furnished with stone by this company are the Guild and the Jones buildings, the Dallas Clubhouse, F. M. Cockerell Imilding on Main street, the Sanger building, theliaptist Church on the corner of Patterson avenue and Ervay street, the Barton building and the Simpson, Hutfinan & Ardrey building - all in Dallas, besides a bank building at Waxahachie; and they have contracted for the courthouse in Limestone county, Texas. Mr. Lindsay also did the stone work on the patrol station, in Dallas, on the (/. T. Rowan building, on Main street, etc., etc., besides a vast amount of trimming on business blocks, public buildings and residences. He first came to Dallas in 1883, at first working by the day on the Windsor Hotel and the Merchants' Exchange building. About 1887 he formed his present partnership.

Mr. Lindsay was born in Edinburgh, Scotland, in June, 1862, the eldest child in a family of four sons of David and Sarah Lindsay, natives respectively of Scotland and England. He was very young when his mother died; but his father, also a stone mason by trade, is still living, in Edinburgh. Mr.

Lindsay was reared in the city of Edinburgh, learning his trade there. In 1881 he went to London for a while, following his vocation; then returned to Scotland, and in March, 1882, he sailed from Glasgow to America, landing at New Y'ork. For a time lie worked at Cleveland, Ohio, and towns in the vicinity, and visited LaFayette, Indiana, and came thence to Dallas.

Mr. Lindsay votes with the Democratic party, but is not active in political circles. Socially, he is a member of Dallas Lodge, No. 70, K. of P., and of Cceur de Lion Division, No. 8, of the Uniformed Rank. He and his wife are members of the Second Presbyterian Church. He has always been identified with the best interests, both material and moral, of the city of Dallas.

fC. GARISON was born in l*ooue county, Missouri, August 22, 1844. 'His father, W. C. Garison, a native of North Carolina and of Irish ancestry, went to California in 1850, and died there in 1852. The mother was a native of Missouri and a daughter of William Huff, who went from Tennessee to Missouri among the pioneers of that country. The Huffs were of English ancestry.

When J. C. Garison was nine years old he was left an orphan, and at that age was thrown upon his own resources. In 1859 he started across the plains to California, assisting in driving a large herd of cattle and being from May until the following November ill making the journey. After arriving in California he worked at various occupations for eight years; attended school two years of the time; returned to Missouri, and in 1869 came to Texas, locating in Lisbon, Dallas county, where he engaged in farming. He was married July 9, 1874, to Miss Sally Pallord, a native of Virginia and a daughter of T. J. and Elizabeth Pallord, early settlers of Dallas county. After his marriage he lived near Lisbon for one year, then moved to Cedar Creek, near Oak Cliff, where he lived fourteen years, and in 1888 sold out and purchased his present farm. Here he owns 314 acres of improved land, 200 acres of which are under cultivation.

Mr. and Mrs. Garison are the parents of three children : Nellie, Ida and Clyde. Mr. Garison is associated with the Masonic fraternity, being a member of the Tannehill Lodge. Mrs. Garison is a member of the Cumberland Presbyterian Church.

fW. EDMONDSON, a prominent farmer and stock-raiser, has been identified ® with the interests of Dallas county since 1850. He is a native of Tennessee, born in Shelby ville, November 17, 1839, the oldest son of W. T. and Sarah A. (Davis) Edmondson. "When he was eleven years old he with his father's family started for Texas and after spending one season in Louisiana arrived in Dallas. Here he was reared and received his early education, completing his studies at Baylor University, Independence, Texas. In 1860 he went to Tennessee to attend school, but the war came on and he returned to Texas, and in 1861 enlisted in Company C, Colonel Dannell's Reo-iment. He served in the Indian Nation, in Arkansas and Louisiana, and at the close of the war camehome with the rankof Captain.

December 23, 1865, Mr. Edmondson married Miss Bettie H. Miller, a daughter of William B. Miller, prominent mention of whom is made on another page of this volume. After his marriage Mr. Edmondson settled at Cedar Springs and remained there one year. Then he located on the old place where Mrs. Edmondson departed this life September 5, 1872, leaving one child, John Franklin, born September 24.1867, who now holds a position in the Ninth National Bank of Dallas. After the death of his wife Mr. Edmondson moved to his present farm and built the home he now occupies. Here he owns 825£ acres of land, which is devoted to general farming.

^ENJAMIN L. BRANSON, a member of one of the pioneer families of Dallas county, is a farmer and stock-raiser and lives in Precinct No. 5, his postoffice being "Wheatland.

Mr. Branson was born in Sangamon county, Illinois, October 7, 1850, son of Thomas and Louisa (Cole) Branson, of whom mention is made elsewhere in this volume. When he was three' years old he was brought by his parents to Texas, and was reared on a farm in Dallas county. His education was obtained in the common schools and completed at Mansfield, Tarrant county, this State. His father died in 1864 and the following year his mother ])assed away. He, however, continued to reside on the old homestead until 1875, at which time he engaged in farming for himself on a part of the land his father had owned. He now has a farm of 280 acres of well improved and highly cultivated land, on which he is engaged in general farming. He also owns twenty-five acres of timber land.

Mr. Branson was married, November 14, 1886, to Miss S. K. Davis, a native of Tennessee. Although born in Tennessee, she was reared in Tarrant county, having been broutfht here in 1858, wlien an infant, by iier parents, P. G. and Caroline Davis. Their union has been blessed with three children: Carrie Louise, Tom and Ada Mozelle. Mr. and Mrs. Branson are members of the Methodist Episcopal Church South. Fraternally he is associated with the A. F. & A. M.

fAYETTE R. ROWLEY, a prominent citizen of Dallas, was born in New York State in 1840, son of Robert S. and Sophia (Taylor) Rowley. His father, a native of Connecticut, moved to Ohio early in life, was married there and returned to New York and afterward to Ohio again. He finally died in Texas, in 1885, at the age of seventy years. By occupation he was a farmer and stock-raiser. His wife, a native of Ohio, is still a resident of that State.

Mr. Rowley, whose name heads this sketch, received a good education, followed clerking for a while, taught scliool two years, and in 1876 came to Dallas as a representative of Russell &('o., of Massillon, Ohio, with headquarters here, having as his territory the States of Te.xas and Louisiana, Indian Territory and old Mexico. In his extensive travels in the interest of his company he saw many queer and startling scenes in pioneer life. His engines and threshers were often moved over 100 miles by eight or ten yoke of oxen, that had brought in loads of buffalo hides. Ill health at length compelled him to abandon his hard, itinerant work. In 1889 he was unanimously chosen by the City Council of Dallas as Auditor, which position he filled with greater fidelity, perhaps, than they had ever before. He had three and a half years experience as Alderman, being Chairman of the Committee on Finance and Municipal Affairs. In the discharge of his official duties he was careful, conscientious and energetic.

For his home he purchasetl eight acres of the Eakin tract, adjoining the city park, and on that lovely spot built an elegant residence, which he now occupies. The premises are embellished with flowers and furnished with all that culture could dictate. It is indeed an ideal home - one of the kind that trains the best class of citizens, and to which his children will ever turn with pleasure.

Mr. Rowley has been a member of the Masonic order for twenty-eight years, and of the order of the Knights of Pythias for ten years; he has represented the last named several years in the grand lodge. On national questions he is a Republican, but locally he votes for the " !)est man."' No man in Dallas county is more popular than Mr. Rowley.

He was married in 18G2 to Miss Maria S. Ensign, of Ohio, a woman of sterling worth, than whom no one is more highly esteemed. The children by this marriage are: Robert E., who died at the a^e of thirteen years; Sophia E., now Mrs. P. G. Gordon, of New York; Emma E.;Mary E., who died in infancy, and Fayette Robert, Jr.

W. FLEMING, farmer and stockraiser, Dallas, Dallas county, Texas, * dates his birth in Knox county, east Tennessee, September 2, 1827. He is the ohlest of the family of eight children born to Washington S. and Ruth (Brown) Fleming, natives of Tennessee and Virginia respect- ivelj and of English and Scotch ancestry. When he was fourteen years old his parents removed to Montgomery county, Illinois, where he was reared on the farm and educated in the subscription schools, held in primitive log schoolhouses, remaining a member of his father's household until he reached his twenty-fifth year.

In 1854 Mr. Fleming came to Texas, traveling through with teams and being thirty days en route. For two years he rented land, after which be went to the western part of the State and spent one year in what is now Jack county, then unexplored and inhabited chiefly by Indians and wild animals. From that place he came back to Dallas county and purchased ninety-six acres of wild land, at once beginning to make improvements on it. He was married September 30, 1856, to Miss C. J. Britain, daughter of Joseph Britain, of whom prominent mention is made elsewhere in this volume. After his marriage he settled on his present farm, which, from its wild State he has brought to a high standard of development. An attractive feature of his place is a flne grove of shade-trees which he planted. As a curiosity we may mention here that Mrs. Fleming adorns her house with a beautiful hair wreath, consisting of locks of hair taken from 117 different members of five generations of the family.

To Mr. and Mrs. Fleming, three children were born, two of whom are still living: Eachel Anna, the eldest daughter, was born December 5, 1857 in 1881, was united in marriage to Mr. C. E. Logan (son of Dr. A. R. Logan), of Davenport, Iowa; live children blessed this union, four of whom are still living: three girls and one boy. Mrs. Logan is a member of the Christian Church. Lee Fleming, second child, a sou, born December 25, 1866, in Dallas county, Texas, died in Pana, Illinois, July 13, 1868, aged one year and seven months; Shular V. Fleming, the youngest son, was born in Dallas county, Texas, April 9, 1871, and resides with his parents on the old home place.

Mr. and Mrs. Fleming have twice made the trip back to Illinois with teams since they took up their abode in Texas. In politics he is independent. Mrs. Fleming is a member of the Christian Church.

In connection with the history of Mr. Fleming's parents, it should be further stated that his father died in 1864, aged sixty-one years, and his mother is still living, in Illinois, having reached the advanced age of eighty-six years. She retains her mental and physical powers to a remarkable degree. Seven of their eight children still survive. She has forty-six grandchildren, twenty-eight of whom are living, and she has twenty-four great-grandchildren, of whom twenty-one are iOSES GOODFELLOW, of Dallas county, was born in Meigs county, Ohio, January 12, 1820, a son of Peter B. and Annie (Crow) Goodfellow. The father, a native of New York, moved to Meigs county, Ohio, at an early date, later to Mason county, Virginia, and in 1841 to Randolph county, Missouri, where he died in 1869, at the age of eighty-five years. He was a soldier in the war of 1812, for which he received head-warrants in Arkansas. Mr. and Mrs. Goodfellow were married in New York, and the wife accompanied her husband in all his moves, sharing his fortunes, and survived him eight years, dying in Randolph county, Missouri, in July, 1877, at the age of eighty-four years. The children of Mr. and Mrs. Goodf'ellow are: MelancthoTi, Snsan, Moses, John, Peter, Adam, James and Mary. All tlie ciiildren are now deceased e.xcept the subject of this sketch and a sister, Susan, who is now the widow of Francis Wolf, and resides in Ilandolph county, Missouri.

Moses, the subject of this sketch, settled in Missouri when a young man, and in the fall of 1860 he came to Dallas county. Before coming to this State he traded for 205 acres of land in Dallas county, and to this he has since added until he now owns 276 acres on Grapevine Prairie, about one-half of which is in cultivation, and the remainder in pasture. Mr. Goodfellow also owns ninety acres of timber land near his homestead, and forty-live acres on the West Fork of the Trinity. He has done all the improving on his home place, having fenced the entire tract, cultivated about 100 acres, set out a fine orchard, and erected a comfortable, two-story frpine house.

Mr. Goodfellow was married in Missouri, November 25, 1846, to Nancy Beale, who was born in Boone county, Kentucky, December 16, 1828. She was taken by her parents, Thomas and Lncy Beale, to Missouri when ten years of age. Jlr. and Mrs. Goodfellow have reared a large family of children, all of wiioin are now grown, and most of whom are married. They are as follows: Urillia, born February 7, 1848; Lucy Ann, January 20, 1850; William B. May 16, 1852; Sarah Nancy, June 29, 1854; John James, August 11, 1856; Thomas Peter, February 15, 1859; Mary Frances, August 26, 1801; Mosettie, March 12, 1864; and Robert, ilarcii 26, 1867. Lucy Ann died October 11, 1870; Sarah Nancy, September 17, 1880; Marv Frances, October 22, 1882. William B.

married Sarah E. Jasper, of Dallas county; John James was married Deceml)er20, 1882, to Lou Swan, of Tarrant county; Mary Frances was the wife of Isaac D. Houston, of Tarrant county; Jfosettie was married to William Lucas, of Dallas county, October 20, 1886; Thomas Peter was married February 27, 1889, to Idelia Burgoon; and Robert married Fannie Foster, of Coleman county, Texas, March 26, 1891. Mr. and Mrs. Goodfellow are members of the Missionary Baptist Church, the former having been baptized at Sweet Springs Church, Randolph county, Missouri, October 12, 1849, and the latter at Bear Creek Church, Tarrant county, July 27, 1875.

fOHN B. MAY was born in Bowling Green, Kentucky, November 1, 1847, and was seven months old when his parents emigrated to Texas. They tirst settled in Bonliam and after remaining there two years moved to McKinney. They soon afterward located in Dallas county, and there John B. was reared on a farm and received a common-school education. When a boy he was full of energy and push, and since grown has been engaged in various enterprises, always making a success of whatever he undertook. After his marriage, which occurred January 6, 1869, he engaged in farming. He subsequently turned his attention to the grocery business and conducted a store two years. He afterward ran a market house at Dallas. Next we find him in Palo Pinto county, west Te.xas, conducting a cattle ranch. In 1881 he returned to Dallas, fanned one year and then sold groceries two years. In 1884 he moved to Farmers' Branch, where he has since remained and is now the leading merchant and produce dealer of the place. During the season of 1890 he bought about 400 bales of cotton, fully one half of all that was sold at this market. The grain crop of 1890 being a failure, he shipped corn from Kansas and sold to fanners here for their stock. Mr. May Las recently built a line residence. He also owns his store building.

His father, Andrew J. May, was a native of Kentucky. He taught school in his early life, and after he was able to buy a farm he gave his attention to agricultural pursuits. After an active and useful life he died, near the city of Dallas, in Fel)ruary, 1863. During the war he served from 1861 until the time of his death. He was detailed to important branches of the Confederate service, his duty being chiefly in the vicinity of his home. His wife was before her marriage Miss Mary White. Her father was one of the earliest pioneers of Texas. After his death his daughter returned to Kentucky, where Mr. May met and married her, and they then came back to Texas, as above stated. Their union was blessed with seven children, three sons and four daughters, all of whom are living and filling honorable positions in life. Their names are as follows: John B., the Bubjeet of this sketch; Eliza J., wife of B. F. Junes, an ex-SherifF of Dallas county; Benjamin A., who resides in Dallas; Bell, wife of J. B. Slanter, resides in Colorado City; Davis W., who is engaged in the realestate business in San Antonio; Lulu, a resident of Dallas; and Sally, who married Thomas Scurlock and is now livino- at Cleburne, Johnson county, Texas.

John B. May married Miss Sally A. Thompson, daughter of M. M. Tiiompson of Tennessee. Her father came to Texas before the war and was prominent in many enteprises here. His death occurred in 1886. This happy union has resulted in the birth of eight children, seven of whom are still living. Their names are Byron, Allie, Mitinie, Jennie B., Lela, Edward, Lee and Annie May. Lee died in 1889, at the age of two years; Allie is the wife of M. W. Cox, a Dallas county farmer. The others are all at home with their parents.

IW^^ONTIOLLION SHAWVEK,afarmwWWi e"* of Precinct No. 3, also interested -^5^^ in a large cattle ranch in Baylor county, Texas, was born in Missouri, a son of John and Caroline (Walker) Shawver, natives of Virginia and of English parentage. The father came to Missouri in an early day and settled in Macon county, eight miles from the city of Macon, where he engaged in farming. He served as Justice of the Peace of his precinct, and became prominently identified with the growth and development of his county. The parents had ten children, namely: Benton, deceased; Amanda, the wife of L. C. Ebrite, of Mesquite; Daniel, deceased; Elisha, deceased; John, who resides in Baylor county, Texas; George, a resident of this township; Nannie, the wife of Richard Mathews; Montiollion, our subject; Lora, in Dallas county; and Robert, who resides in Baylor county. The father came to this State in 1869, locating north of Dallas fur two years, and in 1871 bought 260 acres of land east of Mesquite, paying from $5 to $10 per acre. His death occurred in 1880, at the age of eighty years, and his wife died in 1872, at the age of fifty years.

for liimself. He remained on his father's farm until 1S83, when he removed to Baylor county, and in company with his brothers, Robert and John, conducted a ranch, owning one section of land. Thirty acres of this land is improved, and part is sown in Johnson grass and the remainder is in pasture. The brothers also own about 4,200 head of cattle of all ages.

Mr. Shawver was married in 1881, to Linnie Rowe, a da\ighter of William and Emily (McDaniel) Kowe, natives of Tennessee and Illinois. T!.e parents came to this State about the same time, where they were married, in 1845, and the next year settled on the place now owned by our subject, consistingof 100 acres. Mr. Rowe tirst erected a log house, not having built a frame dwelling till after the war. Before the war he owned 550 acres of land, one of the tinest farms in the county, where he erected good buildings, etc. He died July 21, 1888, at the age of sixty years, and his wife died in 18S9. They were the parents of three children: Linnie, wife of Mr. Shawver; W. S., of Dallas; and Emma, the wife of A. F. Cross, also of Dallas. Mr. and Mrs. Shawver are the parents of three children: Emma L., M. R. and Veda C.

UDOVIC C. LEEDS, one of the most enterprising and energetic of Dallas city's business men, was born in New York city, in 1842, and is a son of Alexander and Susan E. Leeds. The father is a native of Hartford, Connecticut, but was reared to agricultural pursuits. He emigrated to Michigan, and for many years held offices of honor and trust in Berrien county. He still resides there, and is one of its most highly respected citizens. The mother of our subject was born in the West Lidies, and was the daughter of a physician. She died in 1860. They reared a family of three children, all of whom are living at the present time.

Ludovic C. was educated in the common schools and began life as a clerk in his father's otMce. He remained there three years and then enlisted in the Twenty-fifth Michigan Volunteer Infantry, Company C, August 8, 1862. He saw service in Kentucky, Tennessee, Georgia and North Carolina, and was with General Burnside on the Knoxville campaign, and was with General Thomas at Nasiiville, Tennessee. He was in many forced marches, and participated in some of the most noted battles of the war.

After the declaration of peace he returned to Michigan, and went thence to Omaha, Nebraska, where he secured employment with the Union Pacific Railroad Company. In 1869 he came to Jefferson, Texas, and opened a hotel, which he conducted until 1875. In that year he came to Dallas and embarked in the lumber business. He began at the bottom of the ladder, and mastered every detail of that industry, profiting by the experience of older heads. After several years of service under the direction of excellent business men he formed a partnership with Mr. Conkling, under the fii-m name of Leeds & Conkline, and purchased the plant of one of tiie oldest and most reliable firms in the county. They do a general lumber business, and have conducted their affairs with much success. They have met with some adversities, the most severe being the destruction of their mill by fire. They have rebuilt, however, and are fairly re-e-stablished with their old customers.

Mr. Leeds was married in 1875, to Miss Mattie Bartholomew, of Michigan, and they are the parents of six children: Alexander B,; Ludovic; Mary, wiio died at the age of one year; Will L., and Jessie M. and Carlos W., twins. Our subject is an active member of John A. Dix Post, Grand Army of the Republic, and holds one of the offices of the post. He belongs to the Methodist Episcopal Church, and takes an interest in all the enterprises that have for the object the elevation of humanity.

SILLIAM E. BEST, who is actively engaged in mercantile trade in Dallas, Texas, has been a resident of the city and prominently connected with her commerce since 1874 The lot where his handsome residence stands was then in the suburbs. He purchased this land and a small grocery store located on the corner of Caroline and McKinney streets, where he had his first experience in mercantile life; he continued in business there until the end of eighteen months when he tbund his quarters were too small for the growing demands of his trade, and established himself in the commodious quarters he now occupies at 161 Ross avenue. Here he has by fair means, indnstry, and an intelligent comprehension of the conditions of the markets, built up a trade of which any man might well be proud. Mr. Best is an American citizen by adoption, his native land being the Emerald Isle, county Armagh, where he first saw the light of day May 26, 1839. He is the second of a family of nine children born to Robert and Sarah (Thompson) Best, natives of Ireland; the father was a land owner in that country, residing in county Armagh; he died in 1867, and his wife survived him two years. In 1854 our worthy subject bade farewell to home and friends and native land, and crossed the sea to America, landing in New York city; he started West at once, and stopped in Hillsboro, Illinois, where he remained until the beginning of the Civil war. In September, 1862, he went to Springfield, Illinois, and there enlisted in defense of the flag of his adopted land. He joined Company A, Ninty-seventh Volunteer Infantry, and was transported to Vicksburg. To trace the Ninety-seventh through all the varying fortunes of warfare would be an oft-told tale. Sutiice it to say, that Mr. Best bravely and gallantly participated in the engagement at Arkansas Post, the siege of Vicksbnrg, the attack on Fort Gibson, at which place he was commissioned First Lieutenant, the battle of Edwards Station, Black River Bridge, Jackson, Mississippi, and many of less note. Mr. Best was mustered out of the service at Galveston with the rest of the Ninty-seventh in August, 1865, and honorably discharged at Springfield, Illinois.

In January, 1865, during the war, he was united in marriage to Miss Isabella Otway, a daughter of John A. Otway, of New Orleans. Mr. Otway was the owner of a tine line of steamers on the Mississippi, and he was otherwise interested in the transportation lines of New Orleans. He was well known in business circles throughout the South; his death occurred in New Orleans in 1876.

After his return from the war, Mr. Best settled down to the more peaceful pursuit of agriculture, cultivating his farm near Hillsboro, Illinois. There he lived until 1871, when he removed to Louisiana; he purchased a plantation near St. Martinsville, and made it his home for three years. Not being satisfied with the results of this operation, he sold out and moved with his family to Dallas county, Texas; he settled near the present city on rented land, and in one year moved into Dallas. lie lias been one of the energetic workers in commerce, and has larirely aided in establishing the present reputation of Dallas as a business center.

Mr. an<l Mrs. Best are the parents of nine children: Katie, the wife of Dr. Hicks; Florence is the mother of one son, Hugh; Philip K., Maud, Zoe, Bessie, Willie, Robert, Edward and Jatnes.

fOHN HENRY BROWN, of Dallas, protniuent in the annals of Texas as a pioneer, legislator, soldier and citizen, was born in Pike county, Missouri, October 29, 1820, live months before that Territory became a State. His parents were both natives of Kentucky, being, at the time mentioned, well-to-do, owning a good farm, slaves and tine stock in horses and cattle.

The family is essentially one of patriots and historical worth. The originator of the family in this country came across the ocean in the time of Lord iialtimore. The father and trrandfather of Colonel Edward Brown were born in Maryland, where the Colonel was born, in 1784. who commanded a Maryland regiment in the Revolution, married Margaret Durbin, of the same State, removed to Kentucky in 1780, where he died in 1823. His sou, Caleb Brown, was also boi-n in Maryland, in 1759, was a soldier in the Revolution, and married, int hat State, Jemima, daughter of Colonel Henry Stephenson, an officer in the Maryland line, and died in Kentucky in 1837. Captain Henry S. Brown, the father of the subject of this sketch, was born in Kentucky March 8, 1793, and won a fine reputation as a youthful soldier in the war of 1812, serving against the Indians in Missouri and Illinois. From the close of the war till 1824 he traded on the Mississippi to New Orleans. In 1814 he was married, in St. Charles county, Missouri, to Mrs. Margaret Jones, widow of Mr. Richard Jones, of Maryland, and a daughter of Elder James Kerr, of Danville, Kentucky, her mother being a daughter of Colonel Richard Wells, of Maryland, a Revolutionary officer. Her elder brother, James Kerr, for whom Kerr county was named, was well known as the first American settler of southwest Texas (in 1825), as the surveyor of De Witt's and De Leon's colonies, and as a representative man of great talent and patriotism. He died in 1850, aged sixty years. In December, 1824, Captain Brown entered Texas as an Indian and Mexican trader, in which capacity he was chiefly engaged for ten years. He often commanded companies against the Indians, first defeating them where Waco now stands, in 1825, north of San Antonio in 1827, on the Nueces in 1828, at the mouth of Pecan bayou in 1829, and on the Medina in 1833. June 26, 1832, he commanded the largest company in the battle of Velasco, where Colonel Domingo Ugartechea, of the Mexican army, surrendered the fort and 150 men to 130 Texans. He was a member of the conventions of 1832 and 1833, and served iu the latter year as a member of the ayuntamiento of Brazoria. lie died suddenly in I>razoria, July 20, 1834. Brown county, created in 1856, was named in his honor, at the request of many old citizens. His talented and devoted wife survived him until April 30, 1861, when she expired at her home in Lavaca county, Texas.

John Henry Brown was but four years of age when he heard, with all the intensity of earnest childhood, of the charms of Texas, than which no other place, except his childhood's home, has engaged his ati'ections, thjs partiality having increased with the flight of years, until now, at sixty-four, it is rendered sacred by a thousand ties. After working on the farm until he was twelve years old, he entered a printing office in his native county town, under the protection and guidance of the afterward distinguished A. B. Chambers, who so long and ably edited the St. Louis Refubican. In that nolile-hearted gentleman and his wife he found akind and considerate father and a wise, ever tender and model mother. Under such auspices, in the purest moral atmosphere, his pupilage was passed, iirst through the printing office in the country, and next in St. Louis, whither the family removed. Under the influence of this honored and beloved couple his mind was directed to the acquisition of useful knowledge - much from books - and much from association with them and the educated and re^ fined circle in which they moved.

His first residence in Texas was with his uncle, Major James Kerr, on the Lavaca river, where he mingled with the young men of the country and acquired practical knowledge of Texas border life.

When Austin was laid out, in 1839, as the new seat of government, he, being then nineteen years of age, repaired to that place in search of employment on one of the two newspapers to be established there. He was fa%'orably introduced to President Lamar, Vice- President Burnet. General Albert Sidney Johnston, Dr. Branch T. Archer, Secretary of War; Judge Abner S. Lipscomb, Secretary of State, and neaidy all the prominent men at the capitol, and had the good fortune to obtain their good will, and ever after to retain their esteem.

In the winter of 1839-''40 he was one of a company of volunteers who pursued the Indians, who had made a night raid on Austin. Early the following summer he returned to his uncle's, on the Lavaca, where he joined in the "Archer campaign,'' after which several other expeditions followed in quick succession, all in defense of the raided frontier. After one of these, with his brother, Rufus E. Brown, he aided in opening a farm for their mother in what is now Lavaca county, which was the outside house in that immediate section and entirely open to Indian raids. In 1841 he was First Sergeant of a company of "minute men," which made several expeditions. The winter of 1841-'42 was comparatively quiet, proving to be the "calm before the storm." He was one of the volunteers who, under Captain John C. Hays, in chief command, evacuated San Antonio, after which he served as a scout and a picket against Mexican and Indian surprise, west of that city, under the same commander. He participated in the battle of Salado, on September 18, 1842, in which Lieutenant Brown received a wound in the hip joint, which he did not then regard as serious, but which has annc^yed him more or less ever since. He also participated in a severe skirmish with the Mexicans on the 22d. He afterward participated in the unfortunate Somervell expedition, in which the returning volunteers suffered greatly from hunger and the inclemency of the weather, reacliing San Antonio January 7, 1843, where they were honorably discharged. Lieutenant Brown, with a single companion, reached his mother's home late at night, barefooted and nearly naked, after traveling all day in a cold, wet norther, and would have perished had not shelter been soon found.

After assisting in planting the crops the following spring, Mr. Brown left, on the 4th of April, 1843, on a trip to Missouri, and at his native place met, and on the 9th of July married, Miss Mary Mitchei, of Groton, Connecticut, an educated and accomplislied young lady of one of tlie oldest and most hii^lily respected families of New England. The next winter was spent in Missouri, where Mr. Brown lay at ileath's door with the malignant disease called "black tongue," which fastened upon iiis lungs and rendered liini unfit for active labor for several years, and the effects of which yet manifest themselves under exposure. Returning to Texas he remained for a time at his mother's, where his iirst child, Julius Kufus, was born, on the 1st of February, 1846.

Later in the same year, when the Victoria Advocate was started, he removed to that place and was employed on that paper, assisting in its editorial department.

When the militia of the new State was organized in 1846, al)out the commencement of the Mexican war, he was appointed Brigade Major of the Southwest, with the rank of Colonel, which position he held four years.

In February, 1848, he removed to the new town of Indianola, and until 1854 was an active and zealous worker in the interests of that place, holding various positions of trust. ile also founded and edited the Indianola Bulletin, a widely circulated and influentia} journal. During this time he was a contributor to De Bow's Review, under the general title of "Early Life in the Southwest."

During the time from annexation in 1845- '46 to 1854 he became a thorough disciple of Slates' rights, as held by the great sage and apostle of liberty, Thomas Jefferson, which beliefs were the corner stones of his political actions from that time until seceseipn occurred.

the founder of the paper and an able writer, held the j)osition of United States Customhouse Collector, and the chief editorial labor devolved on Colonel Brown, lie manifested such ability that he was nominated for the House of Representatives, and began his career as a public speaker with such effect that he was considerably the foremost man when the votes were counted.

Colonel Brown was an active, laborious and conscientious worker in the Legislature - never speaking over five minutes and only on subjects on which he could throw light - always watcliful for the interests of his constituency, yet an attentive listener, anxious to understand the bearing of every question discussed upon the permanent good of Texas. That his course was eminently satisfactory to his constituency was proven by his unanimous nomination before his return home and his triumphant election a few days after his arrival, as Ma^'or of the city, a position he neither sought nor desired.

Under liis first year's administration the streets were improved, the laws of the city revised and published, so that each voter could have a copy, many abuses were corrected, one of which was giving the mayor a fee of $2.50 for each conviction before him, and none for acquittal, of which he had never heard, and which he denounced as a bribe, refusing to touch money thus received, and induced the council to strike this law from the municipal coile.

At the ex|)iration of his term in March, 1857, he was re-elected without opposition. During his second term public improvements continued. His editorial labors continued during all this period, though his health remained precarious* as it had been for tiiirteen years. As the time approached for another election, he was unanimously nominated by

About the tirst of ^November he resigned the mayoralty and took his seat for the third time in the Legislature, and throughout its long session was so occupied with its labors that he was but twice in the business portion of Austin. During the session he received an injury from a fall, destined, several years later, to require a surgical operation. His health continued to decline, and on returning home in March, 1858, he sold his interest in the Civilian and his home in Galveston and removed to Belton. with the view of converting his means and recovering his health in stock raisiDff.

About the last of 1859 the Belton Democrat was founded, and Colonel Brown became its editor and so continued until secession was accomplished, in February, 1861. He was elected a delegate to the secession convention from the district of Bell and Lampasas, without a sinf^le vote being cast against him. The convention met and organized on January 28, 1861, and on February 2 the ordinance of secession was passed. He continned an active member of this body until final adjournment, March 25.

By this time he was in such a condition from the injury previously mentioned that a surgical operation was performed, in Belton, in July, and late in August he left for the headquarters of General Ben McCulloch, in the southwest comer of Missouri, and served on the general's staff through the fall and winter, until the death of the general. He was immediately appointed Adjutant General on the staff of General Henry E. McGulloch. Owing to ill health he returned to his home in Texas, in 1863. In

Soon afterward he removed with his family from Austin to Mexico, and was appointed chief Commissioner of Immigration by the Imperial government. He received a similar commission in March, 1866, to explore and report upon the country along the Panuco river. In the spring of 1S69, he visited Texas, proceeding thence to Xew York and to New England on a mission in relation to the purchase of improved arms for the Mexican government. On his return he remained nine mouths in Mexico. In March, 1S70, he left Mexico by steamer, rejoined by his family in New Orleans, and two months later they proceeded to Indianola, Texas. He was occupied from April until November in delivering over 100 addresses in the Northern States and Xew England in aid of the reform society in Mexico, from which a liberal amount was raised in aid of the cause. He declined further service for the cause, and rejoined his family in Indianola, in January. 1871. On July 17, 1871, he located in Dallas.

In 1872, he was unanimously nominated by the Democratic party for the House of Representatives from the district of Dallas, Collin and Tarrant, and was elected by a maiority of over 2,000. It was said bv his associates that he never seemed to sleep, during the session of the Legislature, being ever at work for the good of the country. He returned home, careworn and wearied, but relieved of a long-felt anxiety, on the 7th of June, 1873, to find his eldest son, Julius, recently returned from Mexico, very sick, and witnessed his death .on the 9th. This first death in the family was a shock from which he was long in recovering, and he withdrew

In 1875, he was brouglit forward as a candidate for the constitutional convention for the counties of Dallas, Tarrant and Ellis, and was elected by a large majority. As in former deliberative bodies Colonel Brown was a laborious worker in this, and wasted no time in useless debate. A constitution was drawn up, which was ratified l)y a majority of the people, and went into effect April 18, 1870.

The death of his other son, on May 19, 1876, was anotiier severe blow to him and he again withdrew for a time into seclusion. In 1877 and again in 1879 he was on the frontier, his wife and daughters accompanying him in the former year, in 1880-'81 he was employed as revising editor of the " Encyclopedia of the New West." In the autumn of 1881 he was appointed by the Governor, Commissioner to superintend for the State the survey and location of school lands, and entered on his duties in 1882. In 1884 he was Alderman and Mayor pro tem. of Dallas. In 1885-'86-'«7 he was Mayor of that city and in 1888-'89 and 1890 was a local judge.

During all this time his pen has never been idle, and his productions will be scrutinized in vain to find a deliberate utterance antagonistic to public or private virtue, or unfaithful to the glory of Texas. lie has labored to cultivate fraternal feelings between the North and South, to encourage immigration, and, holding the negro blameless, has championed all his rights under the amended coiKstitntion.

The result of his life work is now in press, and may be published before this history is issued. It consists of two works: first, the history of Texas from 1685 to 1892. This is a large work of two volumes. Secondly, a large and handsome volume entitled " The

Indian Wars and Pioneers of Texas." In the latter at least 3,000 names of early pioneers who largely clothed, fed and iti war mounted themselves, for their unpaid services will appear, to prove that no country was ever settled, reclaimed, populated and defended by a braver, more unselfish and patriotic people.

iERY REV. DR. JOUN F. COFFEY, of Dallas, Texas, was born in the province of Untario, Canada, April 5, 1855, a son of Thomas and Bridget (Mc- Keogh) Coffey, both natives of Tipperary county, Ireland. The father was a grain, provision and lumber merchant of Ottawa, Canada, and held various offices of public trust. He was one of the leading men in the liberal party in his part of the province, and was foremost in all the good works of the church. His wife has ever been a good help- mate for such a worthy man, full of energy, ready for every good word and work, and possesses many of those qualities that are beautiful and amiable anong women. Their children are: J>ridget, wife of the late Fatrick Kelly, and now rebides with her seven children in Ottawa, Canada; John F., our subject; Charles, who resides with his mother, engaged in looking after her estate; Thomas died in 1889, at the age of thirty years. He held a responsible position in the Government, in the department of the Indian affairs, and his death was a very severe blow to the friends as well as the family; Patrick is Registrar of Deeds in Carleton county, being one of the youngest persons in the country ever appointed to that responsible ofKce. At the age of eighteen years he was secretary of the Liberal Association. His wife was Mary A. Tierney, a

Dr. Joha F. Coffey was educated in the University of Ottawa, and was the first to receive the degree of A. B. at that university, which was in 1871, at the age of sixteen years. He then studied law for a brief period, and since his sixteenth year he has been connected with the press, religious and secular. Having studied theology in the university, our subject was ordained priest by the Most Rev. John Walsh, Archbishop of Toronto, December 19, 1877, and immediately afterward was appointed to important pastorates, such as Onslow and Almonte. Dr. Coffey subsequently cesigned his pastoral charges to take editorial charge of The Catholic Record, published at London, Ontario. This paper was almost worthless when he took charge, and it soon became the leading Catholic journal in Canada. Later, he resigned that position to become editor of the The Canadian Freeman, published at Kingston, Ontario. In 1888, at the request of leading public men of Canada, he founded the journal known as United Canada, but his advocacy of liberal principles incurred for him the enmity of influential persons, and, seeing little hope of the downfall of Canadian Toryism in the early future. Father Coffey decided to retire forever from Canadian editorial and public life. In 1891 he resigned his editorship of the Z7?^^ie(^ Cawada, and, at the invitation of the Right Rev. Bishop Brennan, came to lend his energies to the building up of the Catholic interests in northern Texas. He immediately assumed the editorship of the Texan Catholic, which had just been founded by Bishop Brennan. A few weeks later Dr. Coffey was appointed Secretary to the Right Rev. Bishop, and now has charge of several important missions in the diocese. He enjoyed the esteem and friendship while in Canada of such sterling men as Hon. Edward Blake, Sir Richard Cartwright, Hon. Wilford Laurier and others. He received the degree of LL. D. of Manhattan College, New York, in 1885. Father Coffey is a man wide awake to the interests intrusted to him, is in the prime of vigorous manhood, has a level head and a large warm heart, and is evidently the right person in the right place for the times and territory. On the twenty-first day of July, 1892, the Right Rev. Bishop Brennan appointed him Vicar General of the diocese of Dallas, the highest honor a Catholic bishop can bestow on one of his clergy.

}SAAC C. WEST, M. D., is an honored member of this profession and is worthy of the space that has been accorded him in this record of the progressive and successful men of Dallas county. He is a native of Maryland, born in 1843, a son of Isaac C. and Nancy H. (Derickson) West, natives of the State of Delaware. The father was a blacksmith by trade. The mother of the Doctor still survives. Dr. West has been a student all his life, and there are few professional men who have devoted more time to painstaking research then he has. He received his literary education at Dickinson College, Carlisle, Pennsylvania, where he took the degrees of A. B. and A. M. Afterward he studied law, and was admitted to the bar. He abandoned the law because of a throat trouble which interfered with speaking or reading aloud, and took up the study of medicine, under the preceptorship of his tered JeflFerson Medical College, Philadelphia, where he graduated ia 1868. lie practiced for some time before he located in Baltimore, Mar^'land, and remained there until 1877. In that year he came to Texas, believing there were greater opportunities in the Southwest than existed in the East. He settled in Ovilla, Ellis county; while living there he attended a course of lectures at tlie University of Lonisiana, and later removed to Waxahaohie. The success of the homeopathic school attracted liis attention, and he determined, with the disposition of a true scientist, to investigate the system. Fortius purpose he went Chicago, and entered the Ilalinemann Medical College, and was graduated from that institution. He then returned to Texas, and located in Dallas, where he lias won large patronage, and met with marked success. lie is a member of the Homeopathic Medical Society, and is deeply interested in the success of the entire brotherhood. In his political opinions he adheres to the principles of the Democratic party, but he is wholly independent in his voting. He belongs to the Methodist Episcopal Church, and has been a member of the 1. O. O. F. for a number of years.

The Doctor was married in 1870, to Miss Mary E. Slay, a native of Delaware. Their marriage was celebrated in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. One child was born to them, Sadie G.

fM. FUKGARSON, retail grocer. - Nothing so visibly shows the strength * and prosperity of Dallas' trade as the number of large concerns engaged in handling the staple necessaries of life. Prominent among them is the pushing grocery house of Mr. Furgarson, which is located in

West Dallas. He was born in Carroll county, Missi.ssippi, July 2, 1846, being the eldest of nine sons and four daughters born to J. T. and Sarah (Stovall) Furgarson. J. M. Furgarson was reared on a farm in the county of his nativity and remained with his parents until the war-cloud burst in 1861. On the 4th of May, 1862, he enlisted in Company E, Fourth Mississippi Infantry, Sears' Brigade, French's Division and Stewart's Corps, and served under General Joe E. Johnston in the Georgia and Alabama campaigns, participating in the battle of New Hope Church, Atlanta, Lovejoy, Kenesaw Mountain, Franklin, Tennessee, and others of less importance. He was wounded at Franklin, Tennessee, and was disabled for sixty days, this being the only time he was off duty during the war. He served until the close, and honorably surrendered at Fort Blakely, Florida, in April, 1865. After the war he returned to his Mississippi home and for a short time thereafter attended school and assisted in tilling the old homestead. His marriage to Miss Ruby C. Lane took place December 29, 1870. She was a native of (Carroll county, Mississippi, a daughter of Simon T. Lane, who was from North Carolina, and Caroline M., nee Marshall, both of Scotch ancestry. For one year after his marriage Mr. Furgarson resided on a farm in Choctaw county, the three subsequent years being spent in his native county. At the end of this time he went to Le Flore county and there remained until he came to Texas, in 1878, locating near Wheatland, Dallas county, where farming occupied his attention until August, 1885. He then purchased his present home in West Dallas, containing two and seventenths acres. November 13, 1886, lie became Deputy SlierifF under W. H. Lewis and served as such for three years. In 1890 he made the race for Sheriff but was beaten by about 130 votes. March 3, 1891, he opened a grocery and feed store in West J Dallas and in this short time has built up a trade and founded a reputation ranking him in every way but in age witli the oUlest liouses of the city of West Dallas. A family of six children has been born to himself and wife, live of whom are still living: Sarah Alice, Willie Hugh, Montague, Homer and Robert Ohappell. Lonnie died at the age of thirteen months. Mrs. Furgarson is a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church, an exemplary Christian and a noble and thoughtful wife and mother. In his political views Mr. Furgarson affiliates with the Democratic party.

flLLIAM H. BENNETT was born in Franklin county, Georgia, April 30, 1825, son of Hiram Bennett, who was also a native of Georgia, born in 1798. The senior Mr. Bennett went from Georgia tQ Tennessee when he was a young man, and after remaining there a while returned to Georgia and married Dosia Dobs. She was born in Georgia, in 1805, and died in camp soon after their arrival in Texas, in 1845, aged forty years. She bore him nine children, namely: J. Madison, who died at the age of sixty-eight years; Delilah, wife of Redrick Manning, and after his decease in 1843 married John U. Barlow; Sarali A., wife of James Cole; W. H.; Clark and Elisha, both deceased; David; Josiah; and Mary J., wife of William Cole. For his second wife Mr. Bennett married Sarah Dougan, in 1846. Following are children of that union : John C; Solomon M.; Emily E., wife of Isaac Wilkinson; Martha N.; and A.Stephenson and Alfred L., twins; - all now living in Texas excepting the twins. Hiram Bennett moved from Georgia to Alabama in 1833, to Arkansas in 1840, and to Texas in 1845, settling on Mesquite creek east of Dallas city; then moved to Eagle Ford on Elm fork of the Trinity river, next to Arkansas again and finally back to Texas.

William H. Bennett, the subject of this sketch, was married in Arkansas, September 29, 1843, to Miss Sidney Manning, who was born to Redrick Manning, in Fayette county, Georgia, January 3, 1827. Her father, Redrick Manning, died in Arkansas in 1843, at the age of sixty-two years; her mother, whose maiden name was Sarah Wiliford,died in 1837. The three children of Mr. and Mrs. Manning are Sidney, wife of W. H. Bennett; Sarah A., wife of Benjamin Meral; and Travis. Mr. Manning's second wife was, before her marriage, Miss Delilah Bennett, and by her he also had three children, Dosia, Bennett and Elizabeth, all deceased.

l^miCHAEL T. CONE. - The beautiful Emerald Isle lias contributed to '^i^^ America some of her most loyal citizens, among whom we find the subject of this brief biographical sketch. He was born in county Galway, Ireland, in 1858, and in his youth emigrated to the United States with his parents who settled at Maysville, Kentucky. In 1875 he came to Dallas, Texas, and secured employment with the companies then constructing railroads over the State. While serving these corporations he tilled many positions of trust guiding his conduct by the strictest principles of honor and integrity. When the work of construction was finished he embarked in the grocery business.

umler the firm name of Cone & Co. and carried on the husiness for five years. At the end of tliatjperiod he went into patentroofiDg bnsiness with Mr. King, his brotherin-law. They liave liad contracts over the whole State, and every transaction has added to their business and list of personal friends.

In 1888, without his personal knowledge or solicitation, Mr. Cone was nominated for Alderman from the Sixth ward, was elected and was almost immediately appointed chairman of one of the important committees, the one on Sewers and Drains. With his usual energj lie disj)atched the business of this department. In 1890 the citizens of Dallas further testified to their confidence in his al)ility by requesting a continuance of his services in the same capacity. There is no member of the council more devoted to the interests of the city than he, and none have iriven more serious thoucrht and attention to the business under their control.

Mr. Cone was married in 1885 to Miss Mollie Riley, of Louisville, Kentucky. They are the parents of two children : Thomas King and Nellie Agnes.

Our subject affiliates with the Democratic party, and is a stanch adherent to all its principles. He belongs to the Uniformed Rank K. of P., and is a member of the Catholic Church.

(EORGE THOMAS BULLOCK, a prosperous farmer of Dallas county, was born on a farm in this county, January 19, 185(5, a son of Washington C. and Caroline Bullock, a sketch of whom appears in this work. George T., our subject, was reared in his native place until the age of ten years, and then on the farm where his mother now lives. In 1883 Mr. Bullock bought 100 acres of land on the prairie adjoining Grapevine creek, and has since added to this purchase until he now owns about 800 acres, 100 acres of which is under a fine state of cultivation, lie is engaged principally in stock-raising, is a good trader and hunter, and an active, energetic citizen.

Mr. Bullock was married in Dallas county, November 1, 1883, to Laura, a daughter of Conda S. and Margaret Dunagan, then of Tarrant county, but who now resides in the Indian Territory. Mrs. Bullock was born in Vernon county, Missouri, and is one of six children, namely: James T.^ David N., Robert Lee, Laura and Snow. Mr. and Mrs. Bullock have had five children: Dora L., Minnie F., Maggie, William T. and Ben H. Politically, Mr. Bullock is identified with the Republican party.

ENJAMIN F. GALLOWAY, a farmer of Precinct No. 3, was born in Sullivan county. East Tennessee, in 1833, the ninth of twelve children born to James and Sarah (Barns) Galloway, natives of Virginia and Tennessee, and of English and Irish parentage. The paternal grandfather of our subject, Marshall Galloway, served seven years and seven months in the war for independence, and participated in numerous engagements. James and Thomas Galloway were both in the war of 1812, and the latter served in the battle of New Orleans. The maternal grandmother was stolen from Ireland when a little girl, while playing on the wharf, was induced on board the ship and brought to America. She afterward married Mr. Marshall. James (Talloway was a successful farmer, and a workman in wood, iron and stone, who died in 1855. Of their twelve children all lived to be grown, and the mother witnessed the raarriao;e of all but our subject. The eldest, Amanda, now deceased, was the wife of William Spurgin, of Missouri; William is deceased, but his family now reside in Tennessee ; Eliza is the widow of A. H. Beard ; Jane is the wife of Jesse Crouch, of Tennessee; James H. is deceased, and his family reside in Tennessee; John M., deceased, whose family also reside in Tennessee; Thomas resides in Washington county, Tennessee; Sarah, deceased, was the wife of J. R. Smith, of Phelps county, Missouri; B. F., our subject; Mary, deceased, the wife of Rev. William A. Keen, of Tennessee; George W. resides in Virginia; and Nathan, of Washington county, Tennessee. George W. was a Lieutenant in the late war, was twice severely wounded, once in the back and again in the eye, and after surrendering he was supposed to liave been shot the last time by a neighbor boy, with whom he had attended school. The mother died in 1870; she was a member of the Baptist Church.

Benjamin F., our subject, received his education in the common schools, and also, when twenty-one years of age, attended the Boon's Creek Seminary for twenty months, when his eyes failed and he was obliged to quit school. At the age of twenty-three years he cotnmenced farming on rented land, whicli occupation he followed until the breaking out of the war. He enlisted in Company G, Nineteenth Tennessee Regiment, under Colonel Cummins, and participated in the battles of Murfreesboro, Atlanta, Jonesborough, Franklin, Chickamauga, Missionary Ridge, and numerous skirmishes. He surrendered with Joseph E. Johnston, after which he came home on foot, but found his place a wreck. Mr. Galloway continued farming in Tennessee until 1870, when lie traveled for three months, and afterward sold goods for two years. He was married October 8, 1872, at 11 o'clock, and three hours later started for Texas, with a two-horse wagon, and December 10 landed at the east side of this State. He came to this county in January, 1873, where he rented laud for about two years, and in 1874 bought his present place of 101 acres, with no improvements. He has since added 117 acres, and now has 100 acres under a line state of cultivation. Mr. Galloway pays much attention to the rearing of mules, and also horses and cattle, but is now reducing his herd of cattle.

His wife, Eliza Fletclier, was a daughter of Reuben Fletcher, of Washington county, Tennessee. To Mr. and Mrs. Galloway have been born four children, two of whom are now deceased. The living are Bedford F. and Nathan L. The mother died in 1883, at the age of twenty-nine years, and in 1887 Mr. Galloway was married to Amanda J. Miller, of Washington county, Tennessee. Both Mr. and Mrs. Galloway and eldest son are members of the Baptist Church, and the former has been a member of the A. F. & A. M. since 1868, and also of Cyane Lodge, No. 295.

ANIEL M. BAKER, Chief Registry Clerk in the Dallas, Texas, postofiice, was born in the State of Tennessee, in 1840. His father was born in North Carolina, and removed thence to Tennessee at an early day. In 1852 he went to Pope county, Hiinois, where Daniel M. grew to manhood, and received his education. He had just attained his majority when he enlisted in Company F, Twenty-ninth Illinois Infantrj', United States Army, and entered upon a long and severe term of service in a cause which he esteemed of the highest importance. He participated in tlie battles of Fort Doiielson, Sliiloh, Corinth, and the siego of Vickshiirgand Mobile. Early in 18(55 he was transferred to Texas, and in November of that year he was honorably discharired. lie enlisted as a non-commissioned officer, and was promoted successively from post to post until he was made Caj)tain, and was discharged with this title. When the war was ended, be became a member of the revenue service at Galveston, Texas, and served eighteen years. In 1887, he removed to Dallas, ajid after engaging in railroad business for several months, was appointed Chief Registry Clerk, a position which he has ably tilled to the present time.

Politically Mr. Baker adheres to the principles of the Republican party, and is one of the leaders in this county, lie is Commander of John A. Dix Post, G. A. R., and takes a deep interest in the organization.

?C. FISHER, who is engaged in farming in Precinct No. 3, Dallas county, ' Texas, dates his birth in Benton county, Missouri, November 1, 1849. His parents, James M. and Eliza (Bennett) Fisher, natives of Barren county, Kentucky, wont to Missouri at an early day, and settled on a farm in Benton county. Of their ten children, the subject of our sketch is the seventh-born. Their names are as follows: G. W., deceased; Sarah, wife of Alexander Holmes, St. Clair county, Missouri; Nancy, wife of H. B. Lightfoot, of Polk coutity, Missouri; Amanda, wife of Jacob Job, of Moniteau county, Missouri; Mary E., wife of R. Thrower, of California; Margaret E., wife of a Mr. Foster, of

California; J. C; Eliza, deceased; and William G., deceased. The father died in Polk county, Missouri, in 1868, and the mother died the following year in Nebraska, where she was living with one of her children.

J. C. Fisher was educated in Polk county, and at the age of twenty- one commenced life for himself as a farmer, which vocation he has since followed. He moved from Polk to Vernon county, remaining at the latter place three years. In 1875, he came to Texas, and at first farmed on rented land. In 1883, he purchased the farm on which he now lives, thirty-six and two-thirds acres, for which he paid $25 an acre. It is all prairie land and at the time of purchase was nearly all under cultivation. Being choice farming land, it is now valued at from $50 to $60 an acre.

Mr. Fisher was married, April 10, 1871, to Miss Mary A. Morris, of St. Clair county, Missouri. ller parents. Ham and Susan (Dallas) Morris, had six children, viz.: Nancy M., wife of Jefferson Durhatn, of Cedar county, Missouri; Hilda, wife of A. T. Mullins, of Cedar county Missouri; Mary A.; the next born is deceased; Snodon, a resident of St. Clair county, Missouri, and Hugh, of Palo Pinto, Texas. To Mr. and Mrs. Fisher were born seven children, five of whom died when small. Those living are L. S. and Minnie P., both residing with their father. Mrs. Fisher was born November 30, 1851, and departed this life February 27, 1884. Siie was a member of the Missionary Baptist Church.

fOHN T. HAND, SuperintcTident of Public Schools of Dallas city, Texas, is a native of Georgia, born in February, 1835. He is a son of Isaiah and Hannah I,. (Henderson) Hand, natives of South and

North Carolina respectively, of Irish extraction. The father was a planter by occupation, but he served a long and honorable term as Probate Judge. He died in 1867. The mother still survives, and lives in Alabama. Both were consistent members of the Primitive Baptist Church. John T. attended school until he was fourteen years old, and then began to meet the world, relying upon his own resources. He was desirous of continuing his studies, and by industry and economy he managed to enter Mercer University at Macon, Georgia, where he was a student three years. He was graduated in the class of 1856, sharing the honors with Governor McDaniel. He then taught one year in Georgia, removing at the end of that time to Tyler, Texas, where he entered upon the duties of educator, which did not end for seventeen years. The next scene of his labors was the A. & M. College at Bryan, Texas, where he taught the dead languages until they were cut from the course. He then went to Brenham, Texas, and for three years had charge of the public schools in that place. He next went to Corsicana, Texas, and for live years the public schools there reaped the benefit of his wide experience. In 1887, when he came to Dallas, he he found the schools in great need of systematic organization. He at once went to work with that vigor and assurance which characterizes the touch of the master, and did not diminish his efforts until the schools of Dallas took rank with the leading schools of the southwest.

Prof. Hand was married in 1858, to Miss Helen J. Spurlin of Georgia, a lady of rare intelligence and tine attainments. Four children were born of this union: Flora Philo, the wife of J. W. Lambard; Lulu Corinne, wife of Jack Baker; Barton Bee, a resident of Cleburne, Texas; and Lillia Belle, wife of Sam. M. Kerr. The parents are members of the Missionary Baptist Church. Prof. Hand belongs to the Masonic fraternity. Politically he is an independent Democrat.

ILLIAM H. W. SMITH is a truly representative Texan, although a native of the State of Alabama, l)orn in 1855. His father. Captain W. S. Smitli, was a native of South Carolina and a lawyer by profession. After removing to Alabama he gave his attention to agriculture. He married Jane Hillhouse, of South Carolina, and they had born to them ten children, of whom Willliam H. W. is the fourth in order of birth. At the age of fourteen years he went to Mobile, Alabama, and there secured employment in a hardware store, which he held until coming to Dallas in 1873. There he followed the same business until he was appointed Deputy Sheriff in 1878. He discharged his duties with so much promptness and ability that he won the entire contidenco of the community, and in November, 1882, he was elected Sheriff. He had a strong opponent in Benjamin Jones, Esq., and the race was a close one. He served to the end of the term, and was re-elected in 1884, defeating W. P. Cochran by the largest majority ever given any county official. He was especially successful in the administration of his office, and reflected great credit upon himself and his constituency.

Mr. Smith was married in Texas, in 1876, to Miss Fannie P. Sharp, granddaughter to the Hon. Robert Y. Hayne, South Carolina's gifted orator. Mr. and Mrs. Smith are the parents of three children, two were sons and one was a daughter, but only one son survives.

Mr. Smith is a prominent Mason, and lias held hiojli official positions in the lodge. In hia religions views he snl)S(!ril)es to the doctrines of the Preshyterian Church. Politically he is an ardent Democrat. When Oak Cliff was incorporated he was chosen Marshal, and has been twice selected to fill that office. He has been Assessor and Tax Collector of this subnrb of Dallas, and has aided very materially in the growth and improvement of the place. He is a man of attractive personality, and is very popular with all classes of citizens. Frank and out-spoken, true to iiis friends, e.xact and honorable in all his business transactions, his name is worthy of preservation in the records of his county.

Mr. Mills was born in Daviess county, Kentucky, September 30, 1849, son of William Holmes Mills and Sally Ann (Estes) Mills, his wife, both natives of Kentucky and of English ancestry. Robert J. was reared on a farm and received his early education in the common schools, finishing with a course of study at the Baptist Institute, at Owensboro, Kentucky. He made his home with his parents until he was twenty-two years old. Then for two years he taught in the schools of his native State. In the spring of 1873 he came to Texas, and for one season was engaited in herding cattle. After that he engaged in farming near Dallas, renting land on shares for two years with Mr. Bumpas.

September 27, 1874, Mr. Mills married Miss E'fieda Ellis Coorabes, a native of Dallas county, Texas, and a daughter of Isaac Nelson Coombes, of whom mention is made elsewhere in this volume. After his marriage Mr. Mills settled on his present farm of 159 acres, which he has improved and on which he has since been engaged in agricultural pursuits. Six children have been born to them, namely: Allen, Ruby, Annie Holmes, Henry, Lilian Ivy (who died at the age of one year), and Lou Ellen. Mr. and Mrs. Mills are both active and earnest members of the Christian Church, and in politics he affiliates with the Democratic party.

K. WRIGHT AND SON, contractors and builders of Dallas, have erected * some of the principal buildings of this city, among which may be mentioneil the Third Ward School, three churches, the Jones building, Ryan building, and many others. They also erected the Dilley residence of Maple avenue. They employ on an average ten or fifteen men the year around, and do an extensive business.

N. K. Wright was born in Franklin county, Vermont, in 1833, a son of Benjamin and Phoebe (Whitney) Wright, natives also of Vermont. The father moved to Minnesota in 186G, where he died ten years later. Our subject left home in 1852 and went to St. Paul, Minneapolis, where he worked at his trade. In 1861 he enlisted in the ^''irst Minneapolis Regiment for three months, and at the ex|)iration of that time he returned to St. Paul, in 1862 went to Peoria, Illinois, and engaged in contracting and building, and in 1876 came to Dallas. Mr. Wright was married in St. I'aul, in 1855, to Mary E. Hunter, a native of Indiana, and daughter of William F. Hunter, who went to Minnesota in 1852, and remained there until his death in 1873.

Mr. aad Mrs. Wright had three children: Lewis R., who lias been connected with his father in business since 1886; Wiley, a Presbyterian minister of Mishawaka, Indiana, and Jennie, at home. The parents are members of the Presbyterian Church at Dallas, and socially, Mr. Wright is a member of Tannehill Lodge, A. F. ife A. M., and was a Mason in Minnesota in 1854, is a member of George H. Thomas Post, No. 6, G. A. K., of Dallas. Politically, he affiliates with the Republican party.

L. R. Wright, who is associated with his father in business, spent two years studying architecture, and the firm is now prepared to draw their own specilications. He drew the plans for thirty-five buildings built by the firm in 1890.

After the above was written Newel Wright departed this life, November 11, 1891. His sickness, heart-t'ailure, dates from February, 1891, when he was prostrated with an attack of la grippe. He was buried under the auspices of the Masonic order.

F. BRANDENBURG is a farmer and stock-raiser, and is one of the well- ® known citizens of Dallas county, his postoffice address being Duncanville. In brief, a review ot his life is as follows :

B. F. Brandenburg was born in La Fayette county, Missouri, October 27, 1842, the seventh son and ninth child of Absalom and Nancy (Barker) Brandenburg, natives of Kentucky. Grandfather Samuel Brandenburg was probably a native of Virginia, and his father, Solomon, was a native of Germany. Samuel Brandenburg moved to Kentucky, settled on a farm and reared four sons. One of these, Absalom, married a daughter of James Barker, a native of Kentucky and of English descent. In 1827, he emigrated to Missouri and located in La Fayette councy, where he improved a farm and resided twenty years. In 1847, with his wife and eight children, he started for Texas, his outfit consisting of four wagons - two drawn by horses and two by oxen - and a spring wagon, landing in Dallas county in the fall of that year. Of Calvin G. Cole he purchasad 257 acres, a part of which is now included in the city of Dallas, He improved that property and purchased other lands until he owned 277 acres, on which he was engaged in farming until his death, which occurred in 1872, at the age of eighty-one years. His first wife died in 1863 and he was subsequently married to Mrs. Patton, by whom he had one child.

The subject of our sketch was five years old when he came to Texas. He was reared on his father's frontier farm and remained with him until the breaking out of the Civil war. He enlisted in February, 1862, in Company C, Sixth Texas Cavalry, followed the fortunes of the Army of the Tennessee and served until the close of the war. He then retui'ned to Dallas county and engaged in farming. He was married March 26, 1868, to Miss Sarah Josephine Merrifield, a native of Dallas county, Texas, and a daughter of William and Catherine (Hickman) Merrifield. Her parents came from Kentucky to this place in 1849 and purchased 320 acres of wild land and resided here the rest of their days. They had eight children who grew to maturity and seven are still living. Mr. Merrifield died in November, 1880 and his wife in 1882.

to the Merrifield place. He lias a farm of 575 acres of improved land, all in a liigli state of cultivation. His chief products are wheat, oats and corn. Mr. and Mrs. Brandenburg are the parents of nine children: William Henry, Hurbert Walter, Charles Lee, Lilly Catherine, James Franklin, Jesse James, Oscar Merrion, Maud and Alma. Politically, Mr. Brandenburg is a Democrat. His brothers, James and Tlioma.-*, were killed in battle during the late war, the latter being in command of his company at the time he was killed.

[EORGEW. SONNEFIELD,of thefirm of Sonnetield & Emmins, contractors and builders, Dallas, arrived here in the winter of 1885 and formed their partnership in 1887. Among the principal buildings erected by tiiese gentlemen are the Leachman, on Live Oak street, the Blakeney building on Camp street, the C. W. Guild building on Elm, street the patrol station on Commerce street, the Hinckley cornice factory on South Harwood street, the Pabst beer and storage room, the Texas State Fair building and music hall, W. J. Lemp's storage and bottling house, Grant's and Drake's residences, and many other dwellings, etc., in Dallas and Oak Cliff, as the J. T. Dargan residence, Armstrong's two residences, etc. The firm employ on an average about tifteen men.

Mr. Sonnefield was born in Clay county, Indiana, in 1860. the eldest son in a family of ten children of J. S. .and E. (Wagner) Sonnelield, natives of Indiana. His father has for a long time resided in Terre Haute, where he was for many years contractor and builder. Mr. Sonnetield was brought up in that city, learning his trade of his father, with whom he first formed a partnership for two years. He made his first visit to the South in 1879, going to New Mexico, where he worked at his trade. A year or so afterward he went to El I*aso, that State. Returning to Indiana, he was married, in Terre Hante, in 1884, to Anna Dodson, a native of that State and a daughter of Elijah and Jane Dodson. Mr. Dodson, a pioneer of Indiana, died in 1885, aged ninety-live years: his widow is still living. Mr. Sonnetield has one child, Eva by name.

He has taken some interest in the political welfare of the country, by voting with the Democratic party. He began life for himself a poor man, and he has also been pnblicspirited and benevolent, and done his share toward building \ip his chosen city. Fraternally, he belongs to Dallas lodge, No. 70, K. of P., and he is also a member of the Uniformed Rank of that order, Lodge No. 18. He is also a member of the Builders' Exchange.

fOM CADE, one of the oldest voters in the First Ward, was born in London, England, in 1834. His parents were William and Mariah Cade, both natives of England, where they were reared, married and reared a family of fourteen children and are there buried.

Tom was educated in his native country and was apprenticed to the carpenter trade, at which he worked for many years. He later was a contractor and did the carpenter work on the road from Bryant to Corsicana, Texas. He also built several of the finest residences in Dallas, at that time. His residence in Dallas dates from 1871, but he has done very little carpenter work since 1872.

lirst ward and as far as is known is one of tlie oldest voters. He has never turned benedict, preferring the freedom of bachelor life. In religion he is an Episcopalian and a representative of the Established Church. He takes but little interest in politcs, but votes with the Democratic party.

Mr. Cade is a pioneer of this city and has always been regarded as one of its most honored and respected citizens. He has gained the respect of all his fellow citizens by his honesty and good work.

I^OBEET H. LAWS. - This gentleman J^k is one of the rising young men of Dal- ^^ las, and is the proprietor of a new and nicely equipped board and sale stable. He is a native of Texas, and dates his birth at Dallas, July 27, 1860. He is the youngest of a family of three children born to George W. and Martini E. (Record) Laws. His father was born near Lewisburgh, Marshall county, Tennessee, October 20, 1829, and was reared in that State as a farmer and trader. Emigrating to Texas at an early day, he settled near the spot where Dallas now stands. Becoming dissatistied with the West, however, he returned to the land of his birth in 1847, where he remained until October 5, 1854. At that time he was married to Miss Martha E. Record, a daughter of George W. andMahulda(Hedsperth) Record. Her father, a well-to-do farmer, moved to Texas in 1857, and was prominently identitied with the settlement and development of Dallas county. His death occurred in 18(39. Her mother was born in 1828, and died in 1855. Mr. Laws' father again took up his residence in the village of Dallas, and was closely connected with northern Texas and Dallas county in every step of her prosperity. He at one time embarked in a commercial enterprise, and, in company with Captain McGovern, purchased a steamboat, the '- Sallie Haines," which he loaded with a carjro of cotton and other products for the lower river trade. Unfortunately, at a point below the city of Dallas, they struck a snag, the boat sank, and they lost their entire cargo.

Mr. Laws was elected to the office of County Clerk, which position he tilled with entire satisfaction to his constituents for a term of two years. His death occurred February 8, 1881. He bore the enviable reputation of being his worst enemy, which is a eulogy that few can have pronounced over their graves. His virtues were always great enough to be always prominent. His faults were always small enough to be excused. The mother of our subject died April 25, 1861, and her untimely death was a source of much bereavement to her family and many friends.

Deprived of a mother's loving care at a tender age, Robert H. Laws was early in life thrown upon his own resources, to a certain extent, although he was reared by kind friends. He began life as an office boy in a livery and sale stable, and in 1883 he engaged in business for himself. His first venture was a livery, board, and sale stable, located at 308 and 310 Elui street, he being in partnership with T. O. Hargis. This partnership lasted only two months, T. O. Hargis retiring and Mr. Laws continuing at the same place for three years. He then disposed of his interests in this establishment, and became associated with Clark & Cable, at the same time being engaged in buying and selling stock of all kinds. He was made superintendent of the C. & C.'s large sale stable, and this position beheld for a number of years. Severing his connection with B.

E. Cable, lie opened up the business he is now successfully conducting. He is the only survivor of his family, and is noted for his generosity, hosjiitality, and hearing of the true Soutlierii gentleman. Ilis early education was obtained in the district schools of Dallas county. Later in life he attended the preparatory school at Culleoka, finishing his education at Swanay, Greene county, Tennessee. He is a member of the Coeur de Lion Lodge, No. 8, K. of P. His political views are in harmony with the Democratic principles.

C. WILLIAMS, a retired farmer, and one of the most widely known and highly respected citizens of Dallas county, has been associated with its best interests since December, 1845, making at that time his first appearance on its scene of action.

He was born in Williamson county, Tennessee, on April 1, 1819, being the son of Jesse E. and Elizabeth Ann Smith (Greeg) Williams, both of whom were natives of Virginia, and both of Welsh ancestry. His parents were married in the Old Dominion, shortly afterward moving to Williamson county, Tennessee, in which latter place our subject was born. Subsequently they removed to Bedford county, the same State, when our subject was quite small, and it was there that he was reared. His parents had six children, all reaching adult years, three being still alive. Our subject w^s the only son and the oldest child. After his father's death, and when he was about twelve years of age, his mother married Colonel William Burnett, our subject remaining a member of his stepfather's family until he was grown. Ilis youth was spent on a farm, and he received his education in Dixon Academy, at Shelbyville, Tennessee.

On June 24, 1841, he was married to Miss Sarah M. Hughes, who was born in North Carolina on March 24, 1819, a daughter of William and Elsie Hughes. Her parents moved from North Carolina to Tennessee when she was quite young, where she was reared, receiving her education at Columbia Ft male College, Maury county, of the same State. After his marriage Mr. Williams settled on a farm in I'edford county, Tennessee, where he remained until he came to Texas, making the journey overland with horse teams. On arriving in Dallas county he first located on a headright in Beters' colony, where he resided until 1855, thence removing to Cedar Springs. At this latter place he purchased land and followed farming for over thirty years, remaining there until 1887. Mr. Williams taught the first school in Dallas county for one term, and his wife has the distinction of having been the first female teacher in the same county.

He and his wife were members of the Methodist Episcopal Church. His wife died on January 20, 1869, leaving to him the care of six children. They had had ten children: George E., born April 5, 1842, died November 1, 1857; Archolaus Madison, born May 10, 1844, died December 25, 1848; William Hughes, born September 3, 1846, died October 15, 1848; Alice Ann Elizabeth, born January 3, 1849, is the wife of Captain J. S. Dowell, of McKinuey, Te.xas; Thomas JeflFer^ son, born January 2, 1851, died September 28, 1887; Sarrenar Margaret Oleria, boru September 17, 1853, died September 10, 1854; Mary Jane, born June 20, 1855, is the wife of J. S. Hughes, of Dallas county, Texas; Ben Hester, born May 18, 1857, is now a resident of Kaufman county, Texas;

Politically Mr. Williams affiliates with the Democratic party. During the war he served eight months in Colonel Nat. M. Burtbrd's regiment, being discharged on account of ill health. -He was twice elected to the position of Assessor and Tax Collector of Dallas county, to which office he was appointed during the war by the Comptroller of State. When he was elected to that office the county was in debt, and county scrip was worth only 50 cents on the dollar, but during the four years he served as Collector the county liquidated all debts and built a ^4,000 courthouse, besides having a surplus in the treasury. This of itself is sufficient encomium upon the fidelity and integrity of the subject of our sketch, had he never done anything else worthy of esteem. Mr. Williams also took the first scholastic census of his county, which was ably done.

His unswerving fidelity and unfaltering integrity are matters of comment in this day of uncertainty, while his uniformly cordial and courteous manner have only served to adorn his more rugged qualities and endear him to the community at large, and enlist for him the affectionate regard of his family and a host of personal friends. It would seem that he had earned all happiness and that misfortune and deatli would lay their hand gently on him; but such is the mutability of human affairs that the great and good suffer alike with the ignoble and poor.

The subject of this sketch, Thomas C. Williams, is the only survivor of the seven brothers-in-law who married sisters, daughters of William and Alcy Hughes, in Tennessee, and who emigrated to Dallas county,

Texas, in an early day in the order in which they are named, to wit: William M. Cochran, Isaac B. Wel)b, Thomas C. Williams, O. W. Knight, John B. Bachman, George W. Record and Levi R. Dennis, - all of whom were prominent members of the Methodist Episcopal Church South, two of whom were ministers of the gospel, to wit: John B. Bachman and Levi R. Dennis. All of the above named were leading citizens of Dallas county in their day, none of them ever having been arraigned in the courts or charged witli any dishonorable act. In fact, the characters of all seven were above reproach and worthy of emulation.

On September 28, 1887, Mr. Williams had the misfortune to lose his son, Thomas J., aged thirty-seven years, who died at Eureka Springs, Arkansas. He was a young man of great promise and much beloved, as is shown by the resolutions of respect, and an article "In Memoriam," which we subjoin:

Eesolutions Of Respect

We, your committee, appointed to draft resolutions relative to the deatii of our esteemed brother, Thomas J. Williams, respectfully submit the following:

Whereas, It has pleased the Great Architect of the universe to take from our midst our beloved brother, Thomas J. Williams, and to transplant his spirit to that house not made with hands, eternal in the skies; and as we desire to give expression to the confidence and love with which we cherish his memory; therefore be it resolved,

First, That in the death of Thomas J. Williams the community has lost one of its most trusted and useful citizens, society one of its purest and best members. Masonry one of its most faithful supporters, who by his daily walk and conversation constantly

Second, That while our hearts are filled with grief at the loss of our brother, yet we recognize in this affliction the hand of our Supreme Grand Master, who doetli ail tilings well, and we bow with humble submission to his will, trusting and believing that our loss is our brother's jjain.

Tliird, That we offer our sincere sympathy to the family of our deceased brother in this their great bereavement, and assure them that their sorrow is our sorrow, that we mourn and mingle our tears with theirs.

Fmuth, Tliat tliese resolutions be spread upon the minutes of the lodf^e, and that a copy of them be sent to the family of our deceased brother, and to the Wichita Herald for publication. W. E. J^rotuebs,

Died, at Eureka Springs, Arkansas, Septeml)er 28, 1887, Thomas J. Williams, aged thirty-seven years. The deceased was born in Dallas county, Texas, January 26, 1850; was one of the earliest settlers in Wichita county, and at the time of his' death one of her best known and most highly respected citizens. He was elected a member of the first Commissioners' Court when the county was organized, was reelected and served two years, declining running again in 1884, but was elected a member of the present court in 1886, and served until last July, when he resigned on account of his health.

To those who knew him it is unnecessary to speak any words of praise in behalf of his memory, for his genial, kindly nature, his fidelity and unswerving honesty in every position of life, both public ami private, secured for him the love and esteem of all who knew him, and the entire community united, during hie last illness, in their efforts to allay his sufferings, and to testify their appreciation of and respect for him. Mr. Williams died at Eureka Springs, Arkansas, where he had gone with the hope that his health might be restored, but Providence has decreed otherwise. His remains were brought to Wichita Falls, and interred on October 2, in the presence of his family and friends, and the number in attendance at his funeral was only another evidence of the high esteem in which he was held by the entire community. He became a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church about two years ago, and the members of his family, his relatives and friends, sorrow not as those who have no hope; they are consoled by the promises made by the ascended Savior to those who trust in ilim. W.

ENJAMIN S. WATIIE?^. - As a civil engineer of rare skill and much experience, this gentleman lias rendered valued services throughout the South, and is well and favorably known here. There is probably not another man in the State who has a better knowledge of the topography of Texas than he. Mr. Wathen was born in Marion county, Kentucky, and in that county received an academical education. In 1862 he joined the Eighth Kentucky Cavalry, and served during the war, much of the time under that matchless leader, General J. II. Morgan. He took part in that historic campaign that is the romance of the war - Morgan's Raid. He enlisted as a private and served with Morgan, excejit while he was imprisoned. He was with the general in the Indianapolis and Ohio raid and was captured at Salineville, Ohio. Was imprisoned for a time and was in Virginia when the war closed.

At the close of the war he turned his attention to civil engineering, and until 1869 was on the Louisville & Nashville railroad in Kentucky. He then came to Texas in

Eistout Of Dallas Count T.

1869, and as a builder of railroads began a career that is not equaled by any man's in the South. The International & Great Northern, Missouri, Kansas & Texas, Texas & Pacific, and Cotton Belt and several others are some of the great roads that he has helped to construct. He also helped to build some of tlie lirst railroads in Mexico, viz., the Mexican, Oriental, Interocean and the International. Ever since 1874 he has been chief engineer of some important branch of railroad building. At this writing he is president engineer of the Texas & Pacific. He has had an office in Dallas the past six years, though his home is in Hender son, Texas.