Carol C Taylor Blog

Look for the Audie Murphy American Cotton Museum entrance sign as you travel east or west along Interstate 30 east of Greenville.

With the Christmas holidays upon us, I thought I might offer a suggestion for a local outing. Go to the Museum, specifically the Audie Murphy American Cotton Museum, located on Interstate 30 between Collin Street bakery and the bridge over Cow Leach Creek. It’s in the middle of a very interesting, but little known, area of town. However, that’s a completely different story.

As you drive into the museum grounds, you will see the Ende-Gaillard Home. The lovely white frame Greek Revival house was originally located about two blocks north of the courthouse on Stonewall Street. Fred Ende, whom I mentioned a couple of weeks ago, was a German immigrant arriving in New Orleans in the 1840s. After an exploratory journey up the Mississippi he arrived in Greenville in the 1850s, decided the town needed a good general store, and started in business on the southeast corner of Johnson and Washington Streets.

The Ende Gaillard home located on the grounds of the Audie Murphy American Cotton Museum is carefully restored and furnished to its mid 19th décor.

Ende had the house built in 1857 for his new wife Amelia, a very talented woman who did her best to gentrify the community. Amelia put up Greenville’s first Christmas tree in her home that year. Christmas has been celebrated here forever after.

On the other side of the museum road is an old log cabin built by Thomas Jefferson Mays about the same time. The cabin was originally located near Commerce. In the late 1990s it was disassembled and moved to Cooper Lake State Park. When the park closed, it was once again disassembled and moved to the Museum grounds. The two structures seen together give a clear picture of Hunt County history.

Inside the museum are all sorts of wonderful artifacts. I love the real bale of cotton on display. Imagine trying to lift it. There’s a fox pelt, perfectly preserved that can be touched. The tenant farmer’s back porch will make you shudder on a cold day. How did the occupants survive in such flimsy quarters? Walk into the World War I trench. Image the stench, the noise, and the fear of the men who occupied such a spot. Listen to the man and wife as they read letters written during World War II. I bet you can’t walk away with dry eyes.

Visit the Wall of Honor dedicated to Hunt County Veterans who have given their lives for their country.

If you notice some construction on one end of the building, take a quick glimpse and move on. It’s a new exhibit that will be fabulous. We have always known that after the first train arrived here in 1880, Greenville became a market center. Multiple rail lines and excellent quality of cotton to export gave the town an economic boom for years. With the markets came stores and services. Museum Director Susan Lanning and her Assistant Director Linda Owens are creating downtown Greenville in the early 20th century. It will open to the public in January.

After enjoying the museum stroll around the grounds. There are a wide variety of farm implements, the statue of Audie Murphy, and the memorials to all Hunt County citizens who died for their country from the Civil War to present.

In fact, I may just take this little break myself. See you there!

The W. Walworth Harrison Public Library is located at #1 Lou Finney Lane in Greenville, Texas. The facility opened in the summer of 1996 and contains an extensive collection of genealogical materials. Copies of at least three Greenville newspapers from the fall of 1894 through the present can be viewed on microfilm.

Some of you may follow me on Facebook. For two years now I have posted a brief sentence or two about something that happened either here in Greenville or out in the county. A few times I have posted international news, especially if it related to World War I.

Surprisingly, no one has ever asked me how I gather that news. No, I don’t make it up but I do have several sources I consult. The W. Walworth Harrison Public Library here in Greenville has a wonderful collection of newspapers from the fall of 1894. So, if I have time I use those. Some months are missing, so occasionally I come home empty handed.

How those newspapers came to be at the library is an interesting story. In the early 1980s there were two delightful ladies from Commerce who strongly believed in preserving Hunt County History. Dorothy Moore and Jeanne Brannom discovered that the County Attorney’s office had that collection of old newspapers stored in the old jail in the courthouse. The ladies told the County Commissioners they would be responsible for having the newspapers moved and microfilmed if the commissioners would release them to the Hunt County Historical Commission. The commission followed through and today the films are available to the public at no cost.

My second source is a website, GenealogyBank.com. It is a subscription site, but since I use it very often, I can justify the cost. While it was intended for family history, I have learned how to maneuver the search engine to find articles pertinent to specific locales, using advanced search. One of the interesting features of GenealogyBank is their collection of African-American newspapers. The Freeman was published in Indianapolis, Indiana from 1888-1916. However, it was a national newspaper with reporters throughout the country. One such reporter happened to own the Past Time Theater here in Greenville. One or two times a month I can find articles pertaining to persons here.

Then there is Ancestry.com. I have used this site for several years; it is available at the Harrison Public Library at no cost, and probably one of the most used genealogy websites available. They also have old newspapers digitized and available online. Both Ancestry.com and GenealogyBank.com use Optical Character Recognition (OCR) to make finding names of persons and places easy.

There are no Greenville papers available online at either site, but Ancestry.com has the weekly Commerce Journal. It’s pretty much news from the northeast part of the county, but they did cover the courts here in Greenville diligently.

Here are a few offerings for December 1915. On December 2, the Mother’s Club met at Ross High School and matters of much interest to the mother, teacher, and child were discussed. This club is doing much for the schools of our city. On December 10, the Matrons Social Club met with Mrs. Rosa Brooks. The following menu was served: chili and crackers, fried chicken, cream potatoes, hot biscuits, coffee, whipped cream and fruit jelly with cake. Both of these came from the Freeman.

From Commerce came the news that Prof and Mrs. T. C. Martin were hurriedly called to Cameron last Saturday to see his brother, who is very ill.

And of course, from Greenville came the news that at the closing event of the fall term’s work at Wesley College, students’ banquet was held on Friday night at which the students were seated according to their county clubs.

The Texas State Historian lives in Sherman. He told me last fall, the news I reported could have easily happened there as it did here in Hunt County. Sometimes the news is tragic, sometimes humorous, but usually very interesting.

A gutta percha topped walking cane used in the mid-19th century. Congressman Preston Brooks of South Carolina gave Senator Charles Sumner an almost deadly beating with a similar one in May 1856.

This week I learned I need root canal surgery.  As the dentist was explaining to me the process for such an ordeal, he mentioned that he would fill the canals of my tooth with Gutta Percha.  I was amazed!  I had encountered gutta percha while working on my Masters degree in History, but never having anything to do with teeth.

What I knew was that in the mid-19^th century men carried canes partially made of gutta percha.  The staff of the cane was usually a fine wood topped with an elaborately carved top.  The carving could be a dog, a beautiful woman, a noted Greek figure, or anything else that might be considered refined.  An artist carved the object from gutta percha, a hard substance made from the sap of plants in Indonesia and Malaysia.

Politicians, bankers, business, and others who considered themselves refined and important strutted about with such a cane, whether needed or not.  Most senators and congressmen in Washington sported such a fashion accessory.  In May of 1856, Massachusetts Senator and vocal abolitionist Charles Sumner delivered a two-day oratory “The Crime Against Kansas” after events in that state.  The prime target of the speech was fellow Senator Andrew Butler of South Carolina.

A distant cousin of Senator Butler served in the US House of Representatives from South Carolina.  Congressman Preston Brooks was highly incensed by the perceived insult to Senator Butler.  Two days later Brooks walked into the Senate Chamber and began to beat Senator Sumner with his gutta percha topped cane, wreaking extreme injury on the Massachusetts politician.  Brooks’ blows were so strong he literally broke the unbreakable cane.

It took Sumner years to recover but he remained in the Senate for eighteen more years often not attending a single session during his term.  Brooks on the other hand was fined but not ousted for fear of provoking war between the North and South.  Brooks resigned and went back to South Carolina where he died shortly after.  Ever since that time, historians link gutta percha with the beating of Senator Sumner.

But the amazing material from trees in South East Asia has had a wide variety of uses over the years.  Necklaces and ornaments were carved from the hard rubber-like substance.  From 1845 to 1900 golf balls had gutta percha cores.  It was used as an insulating material for underwater cables like the Trans-Atlantic telegraph wires were encased in.  Pistol grips are still made of the substance.

While medical teams experimented with gutta percha in various ways, it wasn’t until 1959 that the first trials occurred using the substance in root canals.  By 1976 gutta percha met International Standards.  In a few weeks or months I will be able to tell you how successful it is.

The Texas Midland Railroad Depot in Greenville in the 1900’s

Probably one of the wealthiest men associated with Greenville at the beginning of the twentieth century was a tall, robust New Yorker named Edward Howland Robinson Green (1868-1936). Born in London to very wealthy parents, Green was educated in New York and studied law in Chicago. At age 24, his mother Hetty Green, frequently referred to as “The Witch of Wall Street” bought her son the Houston and Texas Central railroad, then sent him to Texas to run it. E. H. R. Green became president and general manager of the newly formed Texas Midland Railroad in 1892. The initial capitalization of the company was $500,000.

While Green presided over his railroad and numerous business, social, and political activities from his headquarters in Terrell, his influence reached into Hunt County. His business plan was fairly simple, to link short line railroads to transcontinental routes. He planned to build a franchise to the Red River, eventually covering only 100 miles of track. Green also intended to acquire better and more luxurious equipment along with the expansion of rail lines.

In 1895 track connected Roberts to Greenville was completed through the new town of Quinlan. Two years later track reached Paris through Commerce. Heavy rails were used on all new tracks. Green paid cash for rights-of-ways and asked for no donations as earlier rail lines had done. At first the Midland used the Cotton Belt tracks from Greenville to Commerce until 1921 when the Midland built its own tracks.

Green and his railroad owned only six locomotives and 196 cars in 1895. By 1926 he owned 16 locomotives and 233 cars. At that time, annual passenger revenues amounted to over $67,000 with revenues from freight at more that $704,000.

Instead of obtaining long routes, the Midland became the first to use electric lights on engines and in coaches in Texas. Green experimented with air-conditioning in passenger cars. He was one of the early railroad executives to use steel boxcars and high-speed gas and electric railcars. These motorcars were powered with dynamos driven by high-speed gasoline engines. Each car was 70 feet long, all steel with a seating capacity of 100 persons. The cost for every car was $26,000. Amazingly the cars were only used in passenger travel from Paris to Dallas through Greenville. On the last leg of the trip, riders travelled along the Texas and Pacific tracks to Dallas.

A century ago E. R. H. Green drilled the first oil well in Hunt County. Naturally it caused a tremendous amount of curiosity and excitement, even if the well was not a big producer. Green sponsored rail excursions to Texas for Northern farmers to inspect and purchase farms. A large contingency arrived in Greenville before the onset of World War I. He brought the first automobile to Texas and supported experimental farms in Kaufman County.

E. H. R. Green sold his railroad to Southern Pacific in 1928, even though Greenville newspapers reported rumors of the intended sale as early as 1915.

He and his wife moved to New York where he controlled his mother’s business empire. When Green died in 1938 his estate was valued at 40 million dollars. An interesting anecdote revealed that Green had an artificial leg. As was the custom of the day, his amputated leg was buried at a cemetery. At his death his widow had it exhumed and buried with his body.

The LovKnit Manufacturing Company was located on the site of the old Wesley College campus on south Sayle Street.

Ask almost anyone about the 1930s and the reply will probably be about the woes of the Great Depression. True, times were incredibly difficult financially for everyone. But here in Greenville at least two new manufacturing concerns opened for business and managed to continue for quite a few years.

In the spring of 1930 T. C. Glassman started the Glassman Manufacturing Company to make a high-grade line of rayon underwear for women. By April Glassman had announced that the plant was in full operation in the A. B. Jones Building at the northeast corner of Lee and St. John Streets above Fashion Shoe Store. The facility produced only one line of apparel that enabled them to turn out a uniform garment at a most satisfactory price, reported the owner. The type of garment was not mentioned in the article as those words were not printed in the press.

Glassman installed special electrical machinery for production. Merchandise sold to the public under the trade name “Madelyn”. Special representatives worked the field taking orders daily. By 1941, Glassman Manufacturing Company moved to 2716 Travis Street.

Eight years later the Greenville Evening Banner again reported on another new industry in town. This time C. A. Iliff, owner of Greenville Shoe and Leather Company, announced the hiring of Art Fresh, master of shoe cutting and fitting. When Fresh came to Greenville directly from International Shoe Company he had seven years experience making baby shoes. Now Mr. Fresh would devote his expertise to making Baby Texan shoes as the assistant to manager W. R. Smallworth in the cutting and fitting room. Officials stated they felt extremely fortunate in securing the service of Fresh.

The Greenville Shoe and Leather Company was Greenville’s newest industry, and since it was founded a short time previously, it increased the Greenville payroll in growing proportions. Lauded by civic organizations Greenville stores responded with enthusiasm by purchasing Baby Texan shoes for children.

However within two years, Mr. Iliff was dead and both Mr. Smallworth and Mr. Fresh had moved on the bigger and better shoe making. Yet, the manufacturing plant, now using the name Greenville Baby Shoe Manufacturing Company, was located in LovKnit Park with R. B. Love president and F. E. Shirey, vice-president. Must have been one of the earliest start-up industries we hear so much about today.

Lov-Knit Park also has an interesting past. It was built on the site of the old Wesley College that moved here in 1911 from Terrell. Even before that the area was known as Mineral Heights, a real estate development that never really took off. When Wesley College closed in 1938 Greenville Shoe and Leather Company started up. The area was home to LovKnit Manufacturing Company, Greenville Baby Shoes Company, Inc., and LovMe Manufacturing Company as well as the Lov-Knit Hotel. Needless to say, the local Love family owned the enterprises.

The entire area of south Greenville on both sides of Poplar Street and west of Wesley Street was part of the old Wesley College campus before becoming part of Lov-Knit Park. Businesses and homes were built after the park was laid out. However, none of the streets had names and no buildings were numbered until after World War II. Owners were listed alphabetically at first. Later, names were listed in the City Directory with either ss or ns attached. SS, of course was south side of street, and NS was the north side.

England, 1951, British actress Margaret Rutherford is pictured in a scene from the film “The Magic Box.” She was considered the definitive Miss Marple, the famous sleuth in Agatha Christie novels.  (Photo by Popperfoto/Getty Images)

I love to read Agatha Christie novels. They are not great literature, but when you have spent the day reading about the causes of World War I or about the economic policies leading up to October 1929, a good murder mystery is just the thing to lull one into a deep sleep.

One of my favorite Christie characters is Miss Marple, the maiden lady in St. Mary’s Mead who is so very insightful. She knows all the dirt in the village. As I was looking through my Greenville files, I realized how much Miss Marple was like newspaper editors here in the early 1900’s. They knew all and told all.

More than 100 years later, I find myself asking, “How could they print that?” The answer is simple. That was all the news to print, plus it’s what the readers wanted.

For example, in 1906 we learn that Charles C. Nix received the appointment as state organizer for the Journeymen Barbers’ International over Oklahoma and Indian Territory. So how did that get in the Greenville Messenger? Nix and his wife were from Wire Grass south of Greenville.

The same year all Kentuckians in Greenville and Hunt County organized a county organization at City Hall. What was the purpose of such a fine group? Who knows?

Then there are the lawsuits filed against the railroads. G. R. Lasater filed suit against the Katy for $25,000 damages, alleging personal injury at Emory while working as a car repairer with the wreck crew. D. W. Farris filed suit against the Katy for $10,000, alleging injury to his son two years ago in a collision. John Ames filed suit against the Cotton Belt for $20,000. He claimed his wife was thrown from her seat and injured while that train was switching at Noel Junction.

One of the best claims was from J. A. Baer, who was thrown from his cultivator and hurt some weeks ago west of Clinton. He sued the Cotton Belt for $10,000 damages, alleging that their train frightened his mules, causing the runaway. He suffered a broken collarbone and a jaw hurt with his false teeth and otherwise bruised up.

Often it was the railroad that brought suit against the county. In the case of Santa Fe vs. Hunt County, a decision was rendered in favor of the county. Many farmers throughout Hunt County were kept here several days as witnesses in this case. The railroad objected to paying tax on the full value of their intangible assets and tried to show that Hunt County property was not rendered at full value.

William Bacon, cotton buyer and city booster urged the member of the Hunt County Fair Association to change its name to the North Texas Fair Association. The group agreed believing the new name would better represent the larger territory represented by the successful fair. Both Bacon and his wife were strong supporters of the cotton industry.

Mr. Smith was fined in city court for peddling jewelry without license. S. S. Kamal was fined for obstructing the sidewalk. M. C. Wolfe was in town advertising the mineral red water of Mt. Pleasant. He urged everyone to take advantage of Saturday excursions on the Cotton Belt to visit the wells. Round trip was $1.00.

This Texas Historical Marker was recently dedicated at the birthplace of Lt. General Claire Chennault. The new marker is written in both traditional and contemporary Mandarin Chinese and is a first for Texas.
Photo: Jared Horn Texas A&M University-Commerce

I have attended two wonderful historical marker dedications recently. On Sunday, October 11, the good people at New Hope Baptist Church unveiled a marker honoring Mary Jim Morris. Mrs. Morris was a longtime African American lady, an accomplished teacher and principal, and an exemplary advocate for minority children’s educations in a time before the idea of advocacy was even known.

As I listed to people who knew Mrs. Morris, I better understood what Mrs. Morris meant to Greenville. Every town, all the time, needs a Mrs. Morris to discipline and encourage its citizens.

On October 14, I attended the unveiling of the first historical marker in the State of Texas to be produced in another language besides English. In 1968 the citizens of Commerce dedicated to Claire Chennault, a child born there in 1893 that went on to lead the Chinese Army Air Force in defense of that country from the Japanese in the late 1930s. Commerce citizens unveiled an identical marker with the very same wording, but this one is written in the old form Mandarin and New Mandarin.

Claire Chennault did not spend much time in Commerce. His father worked for the railroad and was transferred to Louisiana when Claire was still a baby. Growing up in rural north Louisiana, Claire liked to hunt and fish, often going on two or three day outings alone. He attended Louisiana State University briefly and then graduated from a small college with a teaching certificate. The knowledge and skill of teaching were to help him through great challenges in his life.

Chennault joined the American Expeditionary Force in 1917 hoping to become a pilot. Instead he was put on a horse for the duration. After the war he finally received his wings. However, Chennault had ideas that were not the same as the hierarchy. In 1937, Chennault resigned from the Army Air Corps to begin training Chinese pilots to defend their country, using his teaching techniques he learned in college.

Chennault’s granddaughter was at the celebration to give a summary of her grandfather’s career. Against overwhelming odds, Chennault and his men shot down a record number of Japanese aircraft to ensure the survival of the Chinese government, which at that time included both mainland China and Taiwan.

When the United States entered the war, Chennault returned home to take command an aerial support group that carried materiel, food, and other goods from India over the Hump into China for relief purposes. The Hump referred to the Himalaya Mountains, the highest in the world.

Otha Spencer, later a journalism professor at East Texas State Texas College, flew the Hump under General Chennault. It was Dr. Spencer who brought the general to the attention of Commerce residents. Today’s celebration was spectacular with dignitaries from all over the state and some from China and Taiwan. They say that Chennault saved them from the Japanese.

Nell Callaway, Chennault’s granddaughter, spoke of the trust between the two countries, and challenged Americans to encourage a peaceful relationship between the two great countries.

I challenge every one of my readers to tell at least one person about Mary Jim Morris and Lt. General Claire Chennault. It’s time Hunt County knew about both of them.

An unusual obelisk found at East Mount Cemetery in Greenville, Texas. Usually the hand and finger are pointed upward toward Heaven, but this indicates a woman holding a wreath full of mourning flowers.

November 1st was All Saints Day or Dia de Muertos. It is a time to honor those who are dead, hence the name Day of the Dead. At Kavanaugh Church here in Greenville, someone will read the names of those added to our Golden Book of the Dead. A red rose will be placed on the altar in the person’s honor. In Mexico it is a special time to visit cemeteries, much like we do on Memorial Day. It is a time to remember our family and friends who have departed in the past year.

Many communities hold Cemetery Walks at this time of the year. Usually, several people in the community are asked to portray one of the earliest settlers, a noted resident, or the sweetest lady who ever lived in the town. The portrayers sit beside the tombstone of the person they represent. When a group stops at the grave, the portrayer stands and gives a short talk about their person and then sits down. At that point the group moves on to the next site.

Costume apparel for the time period and a short scripted speech are created either by the portrayer or some local person. It is a unique and interesting means of presenting local history to the community.

I went on a Cemetery Walk in Franklin, Tennessee, on a hot July day a few years ago. Franklin was the site of one of the last Civil War battles. It was at one time a small town south of Nashville on the Natchez Trace. The guide was an interesting entrepreneur who made a business of treating tourist to an unusual piece of history.

While it is an excellent way to spread local history to both citizens and residents, I personally prefer to view a cemetery as an outdoor sculpture exhibit. Look closely at late 19th and early 20th century tombstones. They are truly works of art.

Traditionally a hand pointed upward indicated the hope of arrival in Heaven. Recently I found a most interesting obelisk at East Mount Cemetery. It shows a hand, probably female, holding a wreath of flowers. But instead of pointing up, the index finger on the hand is pointing down. Hmmm!

One tombstone rarely seen in this part of Texas is Life Cut Short. Again, a simple, unadorned obelisk in found at the grave. But the top of this obelisk appears to be broken off, indicating “a life cut short.” One of the earliest of these markers can be found at the grave of Meriwether Lewis, leader of the Lewis and Clark Expedition organized by President Thomas Jefferson to explore the Louisiana Purchase. Lewis died suddenly and quite unexpectedly along the Natchez Trace. Many believe he was murdered while the official thought is that he committed suicide.

Stellar example of Weeping Angel found at Old Presbyterian Cemetery in Lynchburg, Virginia. The face is even intricately carved.

At Memoryland, also in Greenville, is a version of the Weeping Angel where a feminine angel appears to weep over the headstone. At all three of the cemeteries in Greenville and numerous ones in Hunt County Geesey tombstones are evident. John Geesey made a unique type of grave marker, a sheet of cement that fit over the grave with a bronze plaque at the headstone. They are quite easy to identify.

As you pass by a cemetery, take time to look at the various old statuary found there.