40 TEXAS AND TEXANS FIFTY YEARS AGO.
forced by the howls of the crowd, that the voice of the colonel was
completely drowned and he was forced to conclude his speech. Colonel
Durant was a member of the Legislature of his native State,
and during the Civil War he was elected to the State Senate from
Leon county. He was one of the most charitable and generous men
that the writer has ever known. In the relief of the needy he
would stint himself. He was independent and outspoken, having
always the courage of his convictions. From Leon county he
removed to Alvin, in Brazoria county, where he died a few years
ago. He has a son and two daughters who reside in Alvin. He
was a useful citizen, and did much toward the upbuilding and
development of the country in a material sense. By example and
influence he was ever found on the side of morality, religion, law
and order.
* * *
THOMAS W. BLAKE, a member of the Leon county bar, is an old
Texan. He came to Leon county from Nacogdoches at an early
day. He was a man of fine appearance, pleasing address, a good
lawyer, a ready and eloquent speaker. He and Bill Scurry ran
for Congress at the same time. Blake was a man of deep religious
feeling, and, under the impression that he could be of more service
to his fellowmen in the pulpit than at the bar, he entered the ministry.
After retiring from the bar he removed to Grimes county
and settled near Plantersville on a farm. He has seen Texas
develop from a puny republic to a mighty State of the American
Union. He is still living, making his home with a son in North
Texas.
* * *
JAMES GREGG, a brother of General John Gregg, settled in Centreville,
Leon county, Texas, for the practice of law in the early
fifties. He was a young man of solid parts, who gave great promise
of a successful and brilliant career as a lawyer. He died in a year
or two after locating in Centreville. He left a son, who is a resident
of Palestine, Anderson county, a distinguished lawyer and
State Senator from that district.
* * *
F. L. BARzIZA was a member of the Robertson county bar in the
early fifties, and resided in Wheelock, the then county seat. He
