The Gilmer Mirror (Gilmer, Tex.), Vol. 91, No. 33, Ed. 1 Thursday, August 15, 1968 Page: 61 of 70
This newspaper is part of the collection entitled: The Gilmer Mirror and was provided to The Portal to Texas History by the Lee Public Library.
- Highlighting
- Highlighting On/Off
- Color:
- Adjust Image
- Rotate Left
- Rotate Right
- Brightness, Contrast, etc. (Experimental)
- Cropping Tool
- Download Sizes
- Preview all sizes/dimensions or...
- Download Thumbnail
- Download Small
- Download Medium
- Download Large
- High Resolution Files
- IIIF Image JSON
- IIIF Image URL
- Accessibility
- View Extracted Text
Extracted Text
The following text was automatically extracted from the image on this page using optical character recognition software:
THE GILMER MIRROR, Gilmer, Texas Aug. 15, 1968—3
They Left Their Footprints Here
William A. Hart
R. B. Nelson
In the days when Derby
hats were stylish R. B. Nel-
son was' a young school
teacher at Glenwood. His
wife, the former Nannie
King of Essex (.Rosewood)
also taught in the school.
They remained in Glenwood
for six or seven years then
taught in East Mountain a
year before moving to Gil-
mer in 1908. Here he en-
gaged in the general mer-
chandise business on the
south side of the square.
When the Gilmer State Bank
was organized he became
President' and served in this
position until the bank
merged with the First Na-
tional Bank.
R. B. Nelson then bought
out the Dyke wholesale feed
business which he operated
until his death in 1942. He
had one daughter, Mrs. Cro-
ley Cook who lives in Gilmer.
C. T. Culpepper
A man of influence and
active in the affairs of Up-
shur County was Charles
Thomas Culpepper. Born on
a plantation near Abbeville,
Ala., he came to Texas with
his parents in 1882 and set-
tled in the Gum Creek area
in what was later to be
known as the Stamps com-
munity. He was married to
Lula Ferguson, a native of
Upshur County in 1891 and
had four daughters, Mrs. L.
B. Winters and H. C. Carr
of Tyler, Mrs. Hugh McClel-
land of Marshall and Mrs.
Morgan Henderson of Long-
view. He died in Tyler in
1961.
: ■ ■ : ■■
Gov. O. M. Roberts
Oran M. Roberts made his
first footprints in Upshur
County when this area was
just a part of the fifth dis-
trict of the Republic of
Texas and he was the At-
torney General. He would
stop at the Wm. H. Hart
home to visit and settle
court matters.
When the State of Texas
was organized in 1846 he was
appointed District Judge by
Gov. J. P. Henderson. That
was when he designated the
log cabin Hart home as a
temporary Court House until
a suitable court house could
be “carefully located.”
In 1868 he moved to Gil-
mer so that his children
could attend the famous
Looney School. He lived here
three years and taught law
and bookkeeping at the
school. He would teach his
law classes for two or three
hours in the morning, and
having a successful law
practice would devote the
balance of the day to his of-
fice and law business.
Among the lawyers he prac-
ticed with in the Upshur
County Courts were Col. La-
Fayette Camp and David B.
Culberson, father of Charles
A. Culberson.
Judge Roberts moved to
Tyler after the Looney
School closed and was ap-
pointed Chief Justice of the
Supreme Court of Texas. He
was serving on this court
when he received the Demo-
cratic nomination for Gover-
nor in 1878.
He served two successful
terms as Governor of Texas
and initiated numerous re-
forms in state finances and
school laws and also the ad-
ministration of public school
lands.
Gustavus E. Warren
Gus E. Warren holds the
distinction of having the
longest tenure in elective of-
fice of any man in Upshur
County. He was County
Clerk for 14 years, 1852-62
and 1865-69. The four-year
skip was the time he served
as Captain of the 35th Texas
Cavalry Regiment of the
Confederate Army. G. E.
Warren was a faithful
Methodist and was the first
Sunday School Superinten-
dent. He was married in 1859
to Arietta Rush of Tyler, and
brought her to a new home
on Tyler Street, Gilmer. She
lived in this house until her
death in 1923.
They were the parents of
nine children, Laura Hart,
J. R. Warren, Etta McCallan,
Sallie B. Stapp, Lula Ander-
son, G. E. Warren, Will War-
ren and Mittie Barnwell.
Gov. Charles Culberson
Charles Allen Culberson
was the oldest son of David
B. Culberson and came with
his parents from Alabama to
Texas in 1856 and first re-
sided in Gilmer. The family
moved to Jefferson in 1861
but a few years later he
came back to Gilmer to at-
tend the Looney School. His
cousin, Miss Achsa Culberson
was a teacher in the school,
and married M. L.. (Bud)
Looney.
His father David B. Cul-
berson was elected to Con-
gress in 1876 and Charles A.
completed his education at
the Virginia Military Insti-
tute and the law school of
the University of Virginia.
He served two terms as
Governor of Texas 1895-
1899, and was elected to the
United States Senate in
1899 serving in this body for
24 years.
Thomas C. Mitchell
T. C. Mitchell was a farm-
er, cattleman and for many
years ran a cotton gin in Gil-
mer on Titus Street. At his
gin plant he developed the
first power plant to generate
electricity and for more than
a year supplied local users
with electric power. He then
sold the plant to Tom Barn-
well, J. F. Croley and other
stockholders.
In 1866 T. C. Mitchell, then
a four-year-old boy, with
his mother, Mrs. Fannie C.
Mitchell and little sister
moved to Gilmer from Dade-
ville, Ala. Mrs. Mitchell was
a music teacher and came
here to assist her uncle J.
B. Norman in the music de-
partment of the Looney
School. They boarded at the
home of Dr. George Ford,
which later became the T.
C. Mitchell residence, after
he had married Mary Eliza-
beth Grimmer.
The same home now re-
modeled and modernized is
occupied by his son Tommie
Mitchell. Mr. and Mrs.
Mitchell were the parents
of twelve children, four of
whom survive: Mrs. Nell
Scales, Mrs. Berry Glass and
Tommie Mitchell of Gilmer,
and Mrs. O. O. Boyd of Oil
City, La.
John O'Byrne
John O’Byrne came to Up-
shur County about 1874 or
1875 shortly after his mar-
riage to Miss Evaline Moore
of Panola County. Here he
acquired a large tract of
land, built a sawmill, grist
mill, blacksmith shop, cot-
ton gin and commissary
store. The settlement became
known as O’Byrne’s Mill.
About 1880 he built a
beautiful two-story home
that now bears a Texas State
Historical Medallion. A s
there were no public schools
in this section of the county
O’Byrne built a log cabin
school which was taught by
Miss Sue McCoy.
He was born in Limavady,
County Derry, Ireland, Sept.
19, 1848. “My father was a
rebel in 1848 and 1861, we
were always rebels,” he once
told a Gilmer Mirror re-
porter. John O’Byrne left
Ireland in 1867 because the
British were after him for
taking part in a demonstra-
tion against British rule. He
landed in New York but did
not like the city and as soon
as he could afford the trans-
portation made his way to
Texas.
He was a Catholic and
brought his children up in
the Catholic faith. Eventual-
ly he built a nice frame
chapel near his home and
deeded it, and one acre of
land, to the Catholic Diocese
of Dallas. Father L. L.
Meyers of Longview came
out once a month to hold
mass for the family. That
was the first and only
Catholic Church ever built
in this county.
• He predicted oil was under
his land and advised his
children never to sell. He
did not live to see the de-
velopment of the East Texas
Oil Field and the oil wells
on his land as death came in
1929. He is buried at Union
Grove Cemetery. Many of
his descendants still live
here,
Capt. A. B. Boren
Captain A. B. Boren was
a prominent and able lawyer
in the post-Civil War era of
Gilmer. Several of the young
lawyers of the late nine-
teenth century earned their
law degrees by studying and
reading law under his guid-
ance.
He was born Oct. 21, 1830
in Macon, Georgia, but
moved to Gilmer sometime
before the Civil War. He
volunteered for the Confed-
erate cause and served as a
Captain with Co. F, 35th
Texas Calvary.
On Oct. 5, 1864 he wrote
to the Acting Adjutant Gen-
eral, Capt. Masterson, asking
leave to go home for 60
days: “being desirous of re-
cuperating my health which
has been seriously impaired
by long service, and espec-
ially in Louisiana the past
two months I have had two
attacks of billious inter-
mittent fever, and its effects
still continue in such a de-
gree as to render me unfit
for duty.”
The application was ap-
proved and forwarded by G.
E. Warren, Captain Com-
manding the Regiment, Tex-
as Calvary Camp near Exer-
green, La. Captain Warren
was also from Gilmer.
While Capt. Boren was
home on leave he must have
recuperated his health rapid-
ly, as on this same leave he
married Sallie Elizabeth
Johnson. The bride was born
in Troup County, Ga., and
came to East Texas with her
family in a covered wagon
when she was 12 years old.
The Johnsons lived east of
Gilmer near the present
Tillman farm.
Capt. Boren and his wife
had several children, among
them a daughter named
Daisie. When she grew up
she married James Rush
Warren, a son of the Capt.
G. E. Warren, who had ap-
proved Boren’s 60-day leave
to come home.
Vivacious Sallie Elizabeth
Johnson Boren and her
daughter Daisie Boren War-
ren were women of out-
standing personality and
leaders in all women’s ac-
tivities of their era in Gil-
mer. Mrs. H. L. Goodson of
Gladewater and Danley War-
ren of Gilmer are among the
descendants.
Robert Jarrel Hogg
R. J. Hogg came to Tex-
as from Troup County, Ga.,
in the early 1850’s. He did
not buy land on first arriv-
ing here, but in a few years
bought a large tract in the
Coffeeville community and
engaged in farming there.
He married Ann McNairy,
daughter of Upshur County’s
first member of the Texas
Legislature.
In 1862 he enlisted in the
Confederate Army under
Capt. W. L. Coppedge and
had his first training at
Camp Talley near Coffee-
ville. Later he fought in the
battles of Mansfield, La., and
Vicksburg, and was wounded
and returned home.
Jarrell Hogg was active in
county affairs during his
lifetime. He was the father
of Mrs. S. J. (Fannie Hogg)
Moughon, Robert J. Hogg.
Will B. Hogg, Charlie C.
“Buster” Hogg, and Noble
Hogg. Many of his descend-
ants still live in this county.
He died in 1897.
William Allison Hart, was
born in Shelby County, Re-
public of Texas, on Decem-
ber 4, 1842, the son of one of
the first settlers of Upshur
County, Wm. H. Hart.
As a young man, 20 years
old, he joined the Confede-
rate Army and served in
numerous engagements. He
was knbwn as an expert
rifleman, and was wounded
at the Battle of Chicka-
mauga. He was taken pris-
oner by the Union forces and
sent to a military prison in
Chicago. Very ill and suffer-
ing from his wounds, he was
rescued from the prison by
a Miss Ella Bailey, a kind-
hearted Chicago woman who
induced prison authorities to
let her take him to her home,
where she nursed him to
health.
After being away from
home four years there was
much rejoicing when the
young soldier returned. He
took up school teaching as
an occupation and met Miss
Mary Elizabeth Lamb, of
Lamar County, whom he
married. They lived in Quit-
man for several years and
while there he was admitted
to the bar to practice law.
They moved back to Gil-
mer in 1898 and first lived
on Montgomery Street and
then later at their home a
mile north, of town which is
now known as the “Hart
House,” a Texas Historical
Medallion home and the
present residence of Mr. and
Mrs. Joe Ammar.
Mr. Hart’s daughter, May
(Mrs. Walter Marshall) still
resides in Gilmer and num-
erous grandchildren and
great-grandchildren reside
here and other cities.
Walter C. Barnwell
One of the earliest advo-
cates of diversified farming
in Upshur County was W. C.
Barnwell. He owned exten-
sive acreage about two miles
north of Gilmer on the
Cherokee Trace, and here he
ran his farm on the diversi-
fied plan with some acreage
in cotton, some pasture and
large fields devoted to fine
Puerto Rican yams. He
taught many Upshur County
farmers the careful methods
necessary in digging, grad-
ing and handling No. 1 yams.
He was the first president
of the East Texas Yamboree
Assn., and worked for the
interests of the Yamboree as
long as he lived. Early in the
20th Century he joined the
Farmers and Merchants Na-
tional Bank and served this
organization as vice-presi-
dent and cashier for a num-
ber of years. He worked for
the betterment of the schools
and churches and was a
member of the Board of
Stewards of First Methodist
Church and Sunday School
Superintendent. His wife,
Mittie Warren Barnwell, was
church organist for many
years. They had one daugh-
ter, Mrs. Evelyn Hapgood, of
Henrietta.
He was the son of Robert
Barnwell, a pioneer settler
from Georgia for whom
Barnwell Mountain east of
Gilmer is named.
Milton Page Mell
M. P. Mell came to Gilmer
in the 1880s from the Glas-
gow University, Glasgow,
Ky., to teach Latin and
Greek in the Lone Star
Academy in Gilmer. While
he was teaching he spent his
spare time reading and
studying law in some of the
local law offices, and passed
his bar examinations. In
1894 he was elected County
Attorney and served two
terms. In Feb. 1902 he was
appointed County Judge to
fill out an unexpired term
but he did not seek election
for this office. He was active
in Democratic politics and
served as Precinct Chairman.
He also worked actively for
the prohibition cause.
He was on the Board of
Trustess of the Gilmer Inde-
pendent School District when
the new High School was
built on Trinity Street in
1915.
He married Eugenia Greer
of Wills Point in 1898 and
they had two children, Mil-
ton Greer Mell and Mrs. D.
M. Snapp of Tyler.
Judge R. W. Simpson
Judge Robert Walton
Simpson was the desecend-
ant of two pioneer families,
the Waltons and Simpsons of
Upshur County. He served
as a District Judge from
1905 for at least four years,
and then resumed his law
partnership with D. A. Buie.
Judge Simpson was inter-
ested in the development of
the Marshall & East Texas
Railroad, and had the town
of Graceton in eastern Up-
shur County, with a station
on this railway, platted and
laid out in town lots. He
gave it the name Graceton
in honor of his daughter,
Grace.
He moved to Tyler about
1914 to form the law part-
nership of Lassiter and
Simpson. When his son
Gordon finished the Uni-
versity of Texas law school
he joined this firm. Unfor-
tunately Judge Simpson did
not live to see the outstand-
ing achievements of his son
in the legal profession; first
a District Judge, Justice of
the Supreme Court of Texas
and Judge Advocate in the
Nuremburg Trials of Ger-
man war criminals.
Death came to Judge
Simpson Nov. 12, 1924 in a
Dallas hospital. He was
buried in the family plot at
the Gilmer Cemetery. His
other two children beside
Judge Gordon Simpson were
Tully Simpson of Gilmer and
Mrs. Joe Roberts (Grace) of
Tyler. His wife, the former
Adeline Fuller, lived until
1963, aged 92 years, and his
mother Georgia Walton
Simpson died in 1937 at the
age of 95. Judge Simpson
was only 55 years old at his
death.
Dr. H. J. Childress
Steven P. Williams
S. P. Williams of the Rose-
wood community was one of
the influential citizens that
helped develop the western
section of Upshur County. In
his younger days he bought
timber for sawmills and had
the foresight to visualize the
day when all this land
would be cut over, so he
reserved some 3,000 acres to
grow timber as a later in-
vestment.
This land was sold just
two years ago and gave a
sizeable inheritance to his
twelve children.
He was a progressive
farmer, ran a sawmill, and
worked for the development
of schools, roads and any
other improvements for his
section. He was married to
Minnie McKinney and their
twelve children were Pack,
Alma, Exie (deceased), Mrs.
P. B. Ralls, Mrs. C. E. Logan,
Mrs. Onie Childress and Mrs.
Vola Boggs, Paul and Moody
Williams, Mrs. Lawson So-
well, Mrs. Tommie Mitchell
and Mrs. Osborne Powers.
The Shepperds
of Upshur County
Elvie (Anderson) Shep-
perd, widow of William
Shepperd, came to Red Rock,
Upshur County, Texas from
Montgomery County, Ala-
bama in 1846. Accompanying
her were four married child-
ren and their families.
Hundreds of descendants
of this pioneer family have
been leaders in agriculture,
business, church and public
affairs.
Among the thousands of
babies delivered by the late
Dr. Childress probably the
most widely known is “Chill”
Wills, the TV and movie star.
That was back in 1902 when
the young doctor was prac-
ticing at Seagoville. The
Wills boy was named Child-
ress Laney Wills, the Laney
being for the town editor. Its
no wonder he achieved such
fame in later life. Another
event of 1902 seemed far
more important to Dr. Child-
ress and that was his mar-
riage to Miss Ethel Ballard
of Seagoville.
A short time after their
marriage they moved back to
Stamps in Upshur County
where Dr. Childress was the
“sawmill Doctor.” In 1908
Dr. and Mrs. Childress and
their three daughters moved
to Gilmer. He had studied
medicine and been licensed
to practice, but he felt the
need for more training so his
wife and children stayed in
Gilmer while he went back
to Tulane University at New
Orleans for further training.
He received his medical de-
gree there in 1909.
He established a practice
in Gilmer and in 1914 erect-
ed Gilmer’s first hospital, a
two-story frame building on
Buffalo Street, the Oak Lawn
Sanitarium. In 1920 more
surgical equipment was pur-
chased and a complete ope-
rating room set up. A notice
published in the Gilmer Mir-
ror stated, “Complete surgi-
cal equipment with the fol-
lowing surgeons: H. J. Child-
ress, M.D., T. S. Ragland,
M.D., B. W. Wood, M.D.,
and J. C. Winn, M.D.”
Later, about 1938 or ’39
the frame building was re-
placed with a brick hospital,
all on the ground floor. This
hospital continued to operate
until Dr. Childress retired
from practice. He died Jan-
uary, 1953. His daughters
still live in Gilmer. They are
Mesdames Kathleen Quin
Turner, Abner (Christine)
Waghalter, Bob (Leone)
Reed Gates.
W. 0. Stamps
William Oscar Stamps for
whom the Stamps commun-
ity in Upshur County was
named was born in Alabama.
His father, a schoolmaster
died when he was five years
old, and his mother, the
former Sophronia Webb of
Jefferson came to Texas
with her two small sons.
W. O. Stamps lived in
Leesburg and after his mar-
riage moved to Simpsonville
where he had a sawmill.
About 1901 he bought exten-
sive acreage in the Gum
Creek area where he em-
ployed many people. He had
sawmills, ribbon can syrup
mills, canning plants and
other farming interests.
He donated the lumber
and materials for Stamps’
first church and school and
the people of the community
helped erect it. It was a
large two-story building and
was also used as a W. O. W.
hall. In Ore City he owned
and operated a gin and a
variety store. He was one of
the founders of the Security
State Bank and on its first
Board of Directors. He was
elected to the Texas Legis-
lature in 1909, and served
for two terms. Also serving
at the time he was in the
House were Sam Rayburn
and President Johnson’s
father. Gov. O. B. Colquitt
appointed him head of the
Texas Prison System and
this place he held until Jim
Ferguson was elected Gover-
nor and he came home to go
into private business.
W. O. Stamps was married
to Florence Corine Rosser of
Leesburg, a sister of the late
Dr. Charles Rosser, famed
surgeon of Dallas. They had
six sons, Oscar, Charles,
Hampton, Virgil, Frank and
Fred. Fred Stamps of Hous-
ton is the only surviving son.
Frank Douglas Futrell
F. D. Futrell was born in
1854 in Rich Square, North-
hampton County, N.C. He
came to Upshur County as
a young man to work in the
sawmills here. After work-
ing in the mills for several
years he went into the gen-
eral merchandise business
with his brother-in-law J.
M. Marshall. Their store was
located on the south side of
the square.
Later Mr. Futrell was in
business alone in the corner
building on the west side of
square and Tyler Street. He
was married to the daughter
of Capt. Walter Boyd, Ala-
bama Texana (Ana), and at
that time the Futrell home
was on Titus Street.
Mr. Futrell was a success-
ful merchant and a thrifty
one. He believed in saving a
good portion of every dollar
he made to use for future
investments, and these he
placed wisely. He helped or-
ganize the first bank in Gil-
mer, which was known as
the Gilmer Bank, located on
the west side of the square
where Douphrate Hardware
is now located. This was the
forerunner of the First Na-
tional Bank in which he was
a major stockholder and
Director. He was also a large
stockholder in the Farmers
and Merchants National
Bank.
He and his family were all
members of the First Baptist
Church and he gave gener-
ously of his time and means
to the church. His children
were B. D. Futrell and Mar-
garet (Mrs. Frank Jones),
who still live in Gilmer and
Frank L. Futrell, deceased.
He died in 1906 at the age of
52.
Upcoming Pages
Here’s what’s next.
Search Inside
This issue can be searched. Note: Results may vary based on the legibility of text within the document.
Matching Search Results
View one place within this issue that match your search.Tools / Downloads
Get a copy of this page or view the extracted text.
Citing and Sharing
Basic information for referencing this web page. We also provide extended guidance on usage rights, references, copying or embedding.
Reference the current page of this Newspaper.
The Gilmer Mirror (Gilmer, Tex.), Vol. 91, No. 33, Ed. 1 Thursday, August 15, 1968, newspaper, August 15, 1968; Gilmer, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth1037945/m1/61/?q=%22william+oscar+stamps%22: accessed June 3, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Lee Public Library.