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PEOPLE
TEXANS
Texas without Texans
is like Antarctica without penguins -
in both cases the landscape would be barren without them.
Texans just happen to be a lot more colorful. |
The
life and times of F.W. Neuhaus by Murray Montgomery 5-8-08
The life of Mr. Neuhaus was very interesting one. From the
time he left his home in Germany until his feet hit the sand at
the old port of Indianola; F.W. Neuhaus intended to be a successful
man in Texas - indeed he was...
Susannah
Dickinson
by Linda-Kirkpatrick 5-1-08
"...Susannah picked up Angelina and followed the officer into
the courtyard. It was then that she viewed a site that history books
can never describe. The air was still and there was a deafening
hush all around. The bodies of the brave dead Texans lay stacked
in piles, later to become funeral pyres spreading smoke and history
to the sky above..."
George
Washington Brackenridge
4-28-08
The man and the statue
Peter
Ellis Bean by Archie P. McDonald 4-28-08
The American frontier produced many colorful characters, including
Peter Ellis Bean...
The
Forgotten Hero by C. F. Eckhardt 4-24-08
Who was the first—and possibly the greatest—hero of the Texas Revolution?
He’s a man you may have heard of, but not very often. Try Ben Milam...
San
Jacinto Hero Henry Millard by Mike Cox 4-17-08
Texas has 254 counties and 1,208 incorporated cities, but none are
named for Henry Millard – a virtually forgotten hero of the Texas
War for Independence.
Goodbye,
General Bill by Gael Montana 4-17-08
Eulogy for Brigadier General Bill Bacon, Ret
Old
Bill and Handsome Wolf by Clay Coppedge 4-7-08
"...I wish I had known about Old Bill Williams and the Comanche
chief Ysambanbi, otherwise known as Handsome Wolf, when I was screwloose
and fancy free in the Yellow House Canyon..."
The
Women of 1836 - Part I by Linda Kirkpatrick
4-3-08
The women who came to Texas were strong beyond means. They faced
every hardship and danger that one can imagine and still they survived.
The following stories relate the tales of a few of these women.
The first is an unnamed woman from Anahuac...
"Take
Care of My Little Boy"
by Archie P. McDonald 3-31-08
Travis wrote this last letter from the Alamo early in March 1836
to David Ayers...
Cherokee
Bill: Don't Get Him Mad
by Maggie Van Ostrand 3-27-08
By the age of 20, Crawford Goldsby, later known as Cherokee Bill,
was one of the most notorious killers prowling the western frontier...
The
adventures of John Himes Livergood by Murray Montgomery
3-20-08
In the days of early Texas, Lavaca County had its share of adventurous
pioneers, and a man from Missouri, John Himes Livergood, can be
counted as one of the best among them... Here is a story about him
in an expedition against the Indians who had killed a settler’s
wife and daughter and kidnapped his 8-year-old boy...
The
first Elvis impersonator by Bob Bowman 3-10-08
Former radio personality Norman Johnson of Nacogdoches holds a unique
place in East Texas history: He was the first known Elvis impersonator.
Goodrich
Jones: The best friend Texas trees ever had by Clay Coppedge
3-6-08
Some people might be tempted to refer to W. Goodrich Jones as the
original tree hugger. While there is no record of Jones in an arbor
embrace, he was no doubt a pioneering conservation and a profound
and lasting impact on forestry in this country, especially Texas.
A state forest in East Texas is named in his honor...
Did
Davy survive? by Bob Bowman 2-25-08
Did Davy Crockett survive the battle of the Alamo, only to be sent
to Mexico as a prisoner and forced to work in a mine? The possibility
was raised in an edition of Southwestern Historical Quarterly in
April of 1940...
The
Oryoku Maru and Lieutenant Walter A. Kelso, Jr.'s Journey by
Bill Cherry 2-18-08
"In 1944 Lieutenant Kelso became a Japanese prisoner of war,
and he passed away along with seventy-six other American soldiers
because the enemy let them die of dysentery and starvation in 1945.
Only one survived."
The
Printer Fires Both Barrels by Archie P. McDonald
2-18-08
Archer Fullingim
Kathy
Dell: A Cowboy's Sweetheart; the life of a famous unknown
by Mel Brown
2-18-08
"Dell’s true importance to the state’s music history is found
in the pioneering spirit and unconventional accomplishments of her
career... in two male dominated professions, first as a rodeo star
and then as a country musician and band leader."
Ann
Whitney
2-10-08
Texas Schoolteacher of the Year 1867
The
Killer and Me by Clay Coppedge 2-3-08
Jerry Lee Lewis once offered me a drink of whiskey but I turned
him down because I was sixteen years old and conducting my first
ever interview with anyone but myself. It happened in 1969 at the
Bigger ‘N Dallas nightclub...
Annie
Rogers and the Bank Dick by Maggie Van Ostrand
2-3-08
On a sunny afternoon in October 1901 at the bustling Fourth National
Bank of Nashville, Tennessee, Spencer McHenry looked up from his
work and saw a beautiful woman in fashionable and expensive-looking
clothes standing at his teller's window. Smiling fetchingly, she
slid a $500 stack of Bank of Montana notes across the marble counter
toward him...
"Always
Late" by Archie P. McDonald 2-3-08
"Just on the southside of the crossings sat a beer joint named
"Neva's," and there, my father said, was where Lefty Frizzell sang
about a girl who was "always late" with her kisses."
The
“Indian” bootlegger
by Bob Bowman 1-28-08
Tony Sanches, a Lufkin sawmill hand in the 1920s, not only made
some of the best bootleg whiskey in East Texas; he had the best
customers--people like singer Jimmy Rodgers, Clyde Barrow of the
Bonnie and Clyde gang--even the local sheriff...
Buffalo
Bill by Mike Cox 1-24-08
Granddad worked for Buffalo Bill Cody. No, he didn’t travel the
nation with the old scout’s famous Wild West Show...
Captain
William Coe lived criminal highlife by Delbert Trew 1-16-08
My recent column about "No Man's Land" in the Oklahoma Panhandle
brought in a great true story from Roy McClellam of Spearman. Reading
like a novel by Louis L'amour, this tale tells of a Robber's Roost
located right here in the Panhandle area....
Remembering
Claire Perry by Robert Cowser
1-15-08
I first contacted Claire Perry, the widow of the Texas writer George
Sessions Perry, when she was living in Guilford, CT in 1963...
Martin
Luther King, Jr. Birthday by Archie P. McDonald
1-7-08
Where were you on April 4, 1968, when news of the death of Martin
Luther King Jr. reached you? Having dinner, perhaps, as I was, and
watching TV...
Joaquin
Murrieta, Robin Hood or Just Plain Hood? by Maggie Van Ostrand
1-5-08
Everything about Joaquin Murrieta is disputed. He was either the
Mexican Robin Hood or the El Dorado Robin Hood. He was either an
infamous bandito or a Mexican patriot...
J.
Frank Dobie and Colonel Jack Jenkins by Mel Brown
1-1-08
Two Texans become friends in War-torn England
"The two images have never before been published or even seen outside
Jack Jenkins' family and I would like to share them - and the story
behind them - with Texas Escapes' readers." - Mel Brown
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TEXANS -
Browse by Category
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Creative
Texans
Celebrated &
Uncelebrated Texans
Actors,
athletes, musicians, photographers, singers, writers ...
|
-
The
first Elvis impersonator by Bob Bowman 3-10-08
Former radio personality Norman Johnson of Nacogdoches holds a
unique place in East Texas history: He was the first known Elvis
impersonator.
- The
Printer Fires Both Barrels by Archie P. McDonald
2-18-08
Archer Fullingim
- The
Killer and Me by Clay Coppedge 2-3-08
Jerry Lee Lewis once offered me a drink of whiskey but I turned
him down because I was sixteen years old and conducting my first
ever interview with anyone but myself. It happened in 1969 at
the Bigger ‘N Dallas nightclub...
- Kathy
Dell: A Cowboy's Sweetheart; the life of a famous unknown
by Mel Brown
2-18-08
"Dell’s true importance to the state’s music history is found
in the pioneering spirit and unconventional accomplishments of
her career... in two male dominated professions, first as a rodeo
star and then as a country musician and band leader."
- "Always
Late" by Archie P. McDonald 2-3-08
Lefty Frizzell
- Buffalo
Bill by Mike Cox 1-24-08
Granddad worked for Buffalo Bill Cody. No, he didn’t travel the
nation with the old scout’s famous Wild West Show...
- Remembering
Claire Perry by Robert Cowser
1-15-08
I first contacted Claire Perry, the widow of the Texas writer
George Sessions Perry, when she was living in Guilford, CT in
1963...
- J.
Frank Dobie and Colonel Jack Jenkins by Mel Brown
1-1-08
Two Texans become friends in War-torn England
- Urban
Landscapes of Jacinto Guevara by Johnny Stucco
10-11-07
“If this all seems mystical, trust me, it is for me too.”
- Good
Night Irene by Archie P. McDonald 10-1-07
Since Shreveport and Caddo Parish were once members of the old
East Texas Chamber of Commerce, it is appropriate for the East
Texas Historical Association to consider Huddie Leadbetter, better
known as Leadbelly, as part of our past—especially since at least
one of his prison sentences was served in this region...
- Thomas
Lovell 1852 - 1911
10-1-07
Builder
- George
Roy Clough Invents Call-in Radio by Bill Cherry 8-15-07
By the time the Federal Communications Act was established in
1938, radio broadcasting was already a big business in Galveston.
The Moody family was broadcasting over its station in the Buccaneer
hotel, and George Roy Clough was operating his first station,
KFLX out of make shift studios in the living room of his home...
- John
Henry Faulk
by Archie P. McDonald 7-30-07
Johnny Faulk had once been atop the show business ladder in New
York City, only to tumble when falsely accused during the era
of McCarthyism of being a communist...
- Robert
Leroy Ripley by Mike Cox 7-31-07
Believe it or not, Robert Leroy Ripley did not hail from Texas,
but the Lone Star State proved to be a rich source of material
for the syndicated newspaper cartoon that made him famous...
- The
Magnificent Montague by Bill Cherry 7-15-07
The Magnificent Montague I want to talk about isn’t fictional,
and he’s not white, he’s black, and he’s probably one of the most
important contributors to American black culture that has ever
lived. Someone you should know about...
- Charles
W. Pressler by Mike Cox 6-27-07
Chief draftman of the 1879 Texas-sized Texas map.
- Korley’s
Kolumns
by Bob Bowman 6-25-07
Some seventy years ago, a self-educated farmer and justice of
the peace in Henderson County starting writing letters to the
Athens Daily Review. In a few months, Cicero Witt Corley...
- Powers
of Texas by Maggie Van Ostrand 6-17-07
Surely there are more powers in the great republic of Texas than
can be listed in any single article, or even in any single book.
This is about one of them: Powers Boothe...
- What
Stanley Walker Saw by Clay Coppedge
Stanley Walker, the legendary journalist and editor from Lampasas,
was a man ahead of his time. Though he lived and worked in a time
far removed from ours, his perceptions and comments hold merit
more than 40 years after his death...
- Bring
'Em Back Alive: Frank Buck Archie P. McDonald
Before the late Steve Ervin wrestled his first crocodile, before
Jane Goodall learned to communicate with chimps, before swimming
champion Johnny Weissmuller personified Edgar Rice Burroughs'
Tarzan and Jungle Jim in movies and serials, and before John Wayne
performed in a film titled "Hatari!" about a professional trapper
of animals for zoos, Frank Buck captured American and international
audiences with tales of his adventures doing just those kinds
of things everywhere on the planet...
- Texas'
Most Civilized Soul by Clay Coppedge
Roy Bedichek has been called the most civilized soul Texas ever
produced. If that's so - and it has never been seriously disputed
- the seeds of Bedichek's civilized nature and his love of the
natural world were sown in Falls County, where he grew up...
- Enrico
Filiberto Cerracchio
Italian born Texas sculptor and his Equestrian Statue of General
Sam Houston
- Photographer
Louis de Planque by Mike Cox
Like many creative types, Louis de Planque had his eccentricities.
He expressed his artistry on the glass plate photographic negative;
he indulged his penchant for the mildly outlandish in his dress.
- Raoul
Josset (1899-1957)
"They
Might be Giants - then again, they might be the work of Raoul
Josset. The Franco-American sculptor who made larger-than-life
Texas Statues..."
- "My
Blue Heaven: Gene Austin"
by Archie P. McDonald
Gainesville, in Cooke County, gained a native son named Eugene
Lucas on June 24,1900. Lucas became one of the nation's most popular
entertainers during the 1930s, but by then he used his stepfather's
name-Austin...
- O.
Henry and the Shoal Creek Treasure by C. F. Eckhardt
Before he became known as O. Henry, a former consumptive from
South Carolina-William Sidney Porter, everybody who knew him called
him Bill-lived and worked in Austin. One of his first jobs there
was with the state's General Land Office...
- The
Babe
by Archie P. McDonald
Mildred Ella Didrikson, the greatest woman athlete of the twentieth
century, was the sixth child born to Norwegian immigrants Ole
Nickolene and Hannah Marie Olson Didriksen, in Port Arthur, Texas,
in 1911...
- Kim
Stanley: Daughter of Texas
by Maggie Van Ostrand
Kim Stanley made very few films, and was nominated for the
Oscar for nearly every one, even that of Pancho Barnes in "The
Right Stuff" though she was onscreen fewer than ten minutes. She
preferred stage acting, and electrified audiences with performances
as Cherie in "Bus Stop"...
- Conan
in Texas: The Robert E. Howard Story
by C. F. Eckhardt
"Though Howard is best remembered as the creator of Conan
the Cimmerian, mostly today called 'Conan the Barbarian,' he also
created King Kull of Atlantis, Solomon Kane, ... Bran Mak Morn,
'El Borak,' sailor Steve Costigan, and dozens of others. He wrote
in virtually every genre with the possible exception of romance,
under at least 100 different pseudonyms..."
- Steven
Fromholz Bio
- Victor
T. Hamlin & Alley Oop
by C. F. Eckhardt
Victor Hamlin was not a newspaper man at the time he created Alley
Oop. He was a cartographer for an oil company, making site maps.
He was also a cartoonist who had a mildly-successful science-fiction
strip featuring the 'mad scientist' Dr. Wonmug and his sidekick
Oscar Boom...
- The
Height of Celebrity by Maggie Van Ostrand
"Since the media harps on the public's right to know, be
it the names of secret agents, who's dating whom, or who's gender
bending, why not ease our minds and let us know who's walking
tall and who's walking small? Like former-planet Pluto, some stars
need to be downsized. To that end, help is on the way from the
Height Detective."
- Bob
Wills: The Greatest Fiddle-Player of Them All by C. F.
Eckhardt
"...He was a shirt-tail kid from Turkey, where they put both
city limits signs on the same post. He had a fiddle and a Model
T, and he pushed that Tin Lizzie to anywhere anybody would pay
$3 or $4 to hear him fiddle all night and sometimes well into
the dawn while they danced to old songs. Sixty years after that
beginning ..."
- Kris
Kristofferson and Mickey Newbury: A Texas Connection by
Dorothy Hamm
"...We knew nothing about Kristofferson then. We would come
to learn that his life was far more interesting than any song
he could ever write. Perhaps that's why he had to write them.
His story is well known, born in Brownsville, Texas..."
- Tennessee
Williams' Texas Director by Bob Bowman
Without the interest of an East Texas woman, American theater
icon Tennessee Williams might still be writing high school plays
in a small town.
- Honky
Tonk Man by Archie P. McDonald
Johnny Horton
- Pedro
Gonzalez-Gonzalez by John Troesser
A Guy So Nice - They Named Him Twice
During his career he performed alongside such actors as Glenn
Ford, Lee Marvin, Karl Malden, James Garner and James Arness.
- Freddy
Fender by Ken Rudine
"Freddy Fender is probably the greatest singer, writer and
musician of Mexican-American heritage."
- "Lady
Godiva": Adah Isaccs Menken by Archie P. McDonald
The lady on the horse
- Willie
by Dorothy Hamm
Native Texan Willie Nelson
- Norm
Cash
"Cash, a left-handed hitting first baseman, had a distinguished
career in major league baseball, with the Chicago White Sox (1958-1959)
and Detroit Tigers (1960-1974)."
- Millard
Lewis Cope by Archie P. McDonald
"Tip O’Neil reminded us that 'all politics is local.' Millard
Cope taught us that the best journalism is local, too."
- The
Quebe Sisters by Bob Bowman
"If Bob Wills were around today, the chances are good
that he would be delighted with three teenage sisters from Burleson."
- Dana
X. Bible and the Twelfth Man by Archie P. McDonald
A story about the life and contributions to Texas football
by Dana Xenophon Bible
- Hallettsville
Photographer Left a Legacy of Memories by Murray Montgomery
Henry Jacob Braunig
- John
Trlica by Clay Coppedge
"Every picture tells a story only as long as people know
the story.
A visit with Dan Martinets is in order if you want the story on
the photographs collected in the book "Equal before the Lens:
Jno. Trlica's Photographs of Granger, Texas" by Barbara McCandless..."
- The
Light Crust Doughboys are on the air! by Archie P. McDonald
"Truett Kinsey’s voice came out of Philcos and
Zeniths and other radios all over East Texas, and eventually much
of the South, each day at noon to announce the beginning of a
performance of the most popular fiddle band ever assembled..."
- Jackass
in Heaven by Mike Cox
Clay McGonagill may have been the ropingest cowboy Texas ever
produced. He’s for sure one of the Lone Star State’s least-known
characters, though cowboys still tell stories about him around
the campfire or over a cool beverage after a hard day in the saddle.
- The
Other Babe by Archie P. McDonald
"Babe" Didrikson, the outstanding woman athlete of the twentieth
century.
- Johnnie
High: People Told Him It Would Not Work by Dorothy
Hamm
- Boxcar
Willie by Dorothy Hamm
Lecil Travis Martin, known around the world as Boxcar
Willie.
- Joe
Tex by Clay Coppedge
The singer that critic John Morthland of Texas Monthly called
"by far Texas' greatest contributor to soul music."
- Casablanca’s
East Texan by Bob Bowman
Dooley Wilson, the piano player who sang "As Time Goes By"
in Casablanca
- My
Friend Morris by Bob Bowman
"Morris Frank, who gained fame for his newspaper columns
in the Houston Chronicle and his speeches throughout America..."
- James
Brown, Desdemona's Celebrity Actor by Linda Ruhl
Lt. Rip Masters of "Rin Tin Tin"
- George
Sessions Perry by Clay Coppedge
Traces of the town that George Sessions Perry knew and wrote about
in the first half of the Twentieth Century can still be found
in Rockdale.
- O.
Henry by Mike Cox
"The mustachioed young man from North Carolina hardly
seemed the martial type, but as a citizen soldier in the Austin
Grays he demonstrated the qualities of a leader – even if it was
to keep from spending the night in the guardhouse."
- The
Eerie Demise of Johnny Horton by Clay Coppedge
"Despite Johnny Horton's wild-at-heart looks and voice, he
was a man haunted for years by ominous premonitions of his own
death."
- Etta
Moten Barnett by John Troesser
November 5th, 1901 - January - 2004
"Life does not owe me one thing."
"While her birth in Weimar, Texas may have just been chance,
it's her accomplishments after she left Weimar that deserve a
closer look. When she died last year of cancer (in Chicago) at
the age of 102, Etta Moten Barnett had had a rich and full life..
She is now remembered as an actress, singer, and philanthropist
..."
- Linda
Darnell by Archie P. McDonald
The brief but brilliant life of actress Linda Darnell began in
Dallas on October 16, 1923...
- Pardner
Jones by Mike Cox
"Jones was the go-to guy for shooting hats off actor’s heads
or cigars out of their mouths. A la William Tell, he also could
make instant apple sauce, albeit with a bullet instead of an arrow."
- Mollie
Bailey by John Troesser
"Circus Queen of the Southwest"
- Never
another like Bill Pickett by Clay Coppedge
Bill Pickett invented the practice of what we know as bulldogging,
or steer wrestling....
- Katherine
Anne Porter in East Texas by Bob Bowman
"Porter apparently never forgot her life in East Texas. Many
of her short stories reflect the geography, rural traditions and
language of the pineywoods."
- Texas
Guinan by Luke Warm
She may have been Waco's Answer to Mae West - but no one remembers
the question...
- Jules Bledsoe
Ten
Thing you should know about Jules Bledsoe by John Troesser,
Photos courtesy The Texas Collection, Baylor University
His role as "Joe" in Jerome Kern's Showboat made "Ol' Man River"
an American classic.
- "The
Light Crust Doughboys are on the air!" by Archie P. McDonald
The most famous, and most successful, western swing group in Texas
in the 1930s
- Hondo
by Mike Cox
Hondo, a word made famous by Louis L'Amour.
- Gene Autry
Cowboy
Gene by Mike Cox ("Texas Tales")
Gene Autry the Singing Cowboy
- Roger
Miller by Maggie Van Ostrand
Country Music Hall of Famer
Anecdotes of Roger and friends, quotes and stories.
- Nuggets
of History Bob Bowman
Ginger Rogers, La Salle, Custer and his men...
- Jack
Teagarden from Vernon, Texas
- The
Big Bopper by Archie P. McDonald
- Lightnin'
Hopkins by Bob Bowman
- Our
Celebrities by Bob Bowman ("All Things Historical")
"... I continue to be amazed how many famous people are from
the Piney Woods..."
- Robert Howard
Barbarians
At The City Limits - Arnold is from Austria - Conan is from Cross
Plains, Texas by Brewster Hudspeth
Robert had the build and look of a fighter but the melancholy
loneliness of a poet. No one knows how this tiny town so far from
exotic places (unless you count Abilene) inspired young Robert
to write such vivid fantasy.
- Dan Blocker
The
Mighty Hoss by Archie P. McDonald
Dan Blocker's story begins and ends in DeKalb, in Bowie County,
located in uppermost Northeastern Texas, though most of it played
out in West Texas and in Hollywood.
- Dan Blocker
Ten Things You
Never Knew About "Hoss" Cartwright. by John Troesser
- Adah
Isaccs Menken: The lady on the Horse by Archie P. McDonald
12/8/02
- Sissy
Spacek and Rip Torn by John Troesser
- Roy Orbison
Wink, Roy
Orbison's Boyhood Home
- Hank
Thompson - 1999 Texas Country Music Hall of Fame
- Ol'
Rip, The Entombed Horned Toad of Eastland County
The story of Ol' Rip, the horned toad entombed in the Eastland
County Courthouse for 31 years.
- Bob
Wills, the King of Western Swing
- Baseball
Players - Shelby Edwin Cropper & Elzie Wheat 1910 photo
- Jim
Reeves
- Tex
Ritter
Crossing Paths
in Texas
- Brando
by Maggie Van Ostrand
"April 3 is Marlon Brando's birthday and, if you ask any
actor, it should be declared a national holiday..."
- Hoyt
Axton: Artist Unclassified by
Dorothy Hamm
"He could never be pinned down to one genre; he made his
mark wherever he happened to land. Record companies were unsure
how to categorize his music. One catalogue listed his music as
"Unclassified." Hoyt's friends thought it was a totally appropriate
label for the music and the man."
- The
Most Distinguished Tramp by Murray Montgomery
"...The Feb. 25, 1910, issue of the Herald had an interesting
story about old "A-No. 1" - the headline read, "The most distinguished
tramp in the world paid this city a visit Monday. Traveled 468,450
miles at a cost of $7.61". The paper told its readers to look
for the tramp's work during their travels. The article said that
"A No. 1" would always carve that name under his work, along with
the date and an arrow to show what direction he was heading when
he left..."
- Hank
Williams and Patsy Cline Still Mean A Lot by Dorothy Hamm
Although tragedies ten years apart ended the young
lives of Hank Williams in 1953 at age 29 and Patsy Cline in 1963
at age 30, they continue today as two of country music's best
loved and most enduring stars...
- Super
Comic, Super Star, Super Man by Maggie Van Ostrand
Mario Mareno Reyes was the sixth son of 15 children, who became
a world-wide cinema super star, was married to the same woman
for over 30 years, and made enormous financial contributions to
the Mexican poor. You may not think you know of him, but you do.
He was known as Cantinflas...
- East
Texas and the Black Sox by Bob Bowman
The 1919 World Series is best remembered as the most famous scandal
in baseball history, but lost in that history is an East Texas
connection to the scandal.
- Mexican
Beauty: Dolores del Rio by Maggie Van Ostrand
"Sinuous and sensual, she was widely regarded as the female
Rudolph Valentino. ... Precious few other actresses have retained
both beauty and stardom for over fifty professional years."
- Donna
Reed - Perfect Worlds by Dwight Young
"... I distinctly remember more than one afternoon when I
thought, sitting there in the plushly upholstered splendor of
the Granada, “I wish the whole world was like this.” A decade
later, Donna Reed brought that sentiment into our living rooms..."
- Maurice
Barrymore in Marshall
"Marshall was indirectly responsible for launching the Barrymore
Dynasty..."
|
- Susannah
Dickinson
by Linda-Kirkpatrick 5-1-08
"...Susannah picked up Angelina and followed the officer
into the courtyard. It was then that she viewed a site that history
books can never describe. The air was still and there was a deafening
hush all around. The bodies of the brave dead Texans lay stacked
in piles, later to become funeral pyres spreading smoke and history
to the sky above..."
- Peter
Ellis Bean by Archie P. McDonald 4-28-08
The American frontier produced many colorful characters, including
Peter Ellis Bean...
- George
Washington Brackenridge
4-28-08
The man and the statue
- The
Forgotten Hero by C. F. Eckhardt 4-24-08
Who was the first—and possibly the greatest—hero of the Texas
Revolution? He’s a man you may have heard of, but not very often.
Try Ben Milam...
- San
Jacinto Hero Henry Millard by Mike Cox 4-17-08
Texas has 254 counties and 1,208 incorporated cities, but none
are named for Henry Millard – a virtually forgotten hero of the
Texas War for Independence.
- Goodbye,
General Bill by Gael Montana 4-17-08
Eulogy for Brigadier General Bill Bacon, Ret
- Old
Bill and Handsome Wolf by Clay Coppedge 4-7-08
Old Bill Williams and the Comanche chief Ysambanbi
- The
Women of 1836 - Part I by Linda Kirkpatrick
4-3-08
The women who came to Texas were strong beyond means. They faced
every hardship and danger that one can imagine and still they
survived. The following stories relate the tales of a few of these
women. The first is an unnamed woman from Anahuac...
- "Take
Care of My Little Boy"
by Archie P. McDonald 3-31-08
Travis wrote this last letter from the Alamo early in March 1836
to David Ayers...
- The
adventures of John Himes Livergood by Murray Montgomery
3-20-08
In the days of early Texas, Lavaca County had its share of adventurous
pioneers, and a man from Missouri, John Himes Livergood, can be
counted as one of the best among them... Here is a story about
him in an expedition against the Indians who had killed a settler’s
wife and daughter and kidnapped his 8-year-old boy...
- Goodrich
Jones: The best friend Texas trees ever had by Clay Coppedge
3-6-08
Some people might be tempted to refer to W. Goodrich Jones as
the original tree hugger. While there is no record of Jones
in an arbor embrace, he was no doubt a pioneering conservation
and a profound and lasting impact on forestry in this country,
especially Texas. A state forest in East Texas is named in his
honor...
- Did
Davy survive? by Bob Bowman 2-25-08
Did Davy Crockett survive the battle of the Alamo, only to be
sent to Mexico as a prisoner and forced to work in a mine? The
possibility was raised in an edition of Southwestern Historical
Quarterly in April of 1940...
- Ann
Whitney
2-10-08
Texas Schoolteacher of the Year 1867
- Martin
Luther King, Jr. Birthday by Archie P. McDonald
1-7-08
Where were you on April 4, 1968, when news of the death of Martin
Luther King Jr. reached you? Having dinner, perhaps, as I was,
and watching TV...
- Margie
Neal Archie P. McDonald 11-26-07
Margie Elizabeth Neal of Carthage, Texas, really was the first
woman to do lots of things and do them well...
- Train
travelers owe much to service pioneer by Delbert Trew 11-20-07
Every traveler today, no matter what mode of travel he prefers,
owes a salute to the organizational genius of Fred Harvey...
- Pamelia
Mann, Tough Texan Archie P. McDonald 11-12-07
A lady of my acquaintance, active in the Daughters of the Republic
of Texas, once complained to me on the argumentative nature of
her sisters in this hereditary Lone Star sorority. My explanation:
it's in the blood...
- The
General Was A Spy—And So Was The Pirate by C. F. Eckhardt
11-2-07
James Wilkinson was Commanding General, United States Army—a rank
that no longer exists but, at the time, the highest rank in the
US Army. The equivalent, today, is Chairman, Joint Chiefs of Staff.
He was also the top spy in the US for the Spanish Empire. He was
designated Agent #1... Agents #12 and #13 were the brothers Laffite,
Pierre and Jean...
- Eyewitness
by Maggie Van Ostrand 10-31-07
Mr. Epperson... was once a newsboy and lived in Washington DC.
This does not sound all that memorable except for one fact: He
was selling newspapers at Ford's Theatre on the night of April
14, 1865...
- James
Long, Filibuster by Archie P. McDonald 10-29-07
And Jane Long, Mother of Texas.
- First
to Fly by C. F. Eckhardt 9-19-07
So far as is known, the first man-carrying, heavier-than-air craft—the
first airplane—flew not at Kitty Hawk, North Carolina in 1903,
nor in East Texas the year before. Nor did it fly in California
in the 1880s, though apparently a steam-powered monoplane was
flown there then. It flew in Gillespie County, Texas—in 1866.
Enter Jacob Brodbeck—genius...
- Sally
Skull, the Scariest Siren in Texas by Maggie Van Ostrand 8-31-07
Second only to becoming famous as one of Jack the Ripper's victims
would be gaining celebrity as one of Sally Skull's husbands...
Some say Sally didn't always wait to get a divorce, and perhaps
took the easy way out. She killed them...
- How
legends are made by Delbert Trew 8-21-07
Charles Goodnight
- The
Harrowing Life and Times of Elizabeth Ann Bishop by Maggie
Van Ostrand 8-15-07
One of the Texas frontier women who taught the wilderness to quit
howling and behave itself was Elizabeth Ann Bishop... What she
endured is testament to the strength of frontier women...
- Teresita
Woman of the Apache by Linda Kirkpatrick
8-2-07
Many accounts are told of the April 18, 1881 incident at the McLaurin
Ranch in the Frio Canyon of Texas. Many historical accounts are
linked to one another and a small glitch in history could have
changed many of the outcomes. Just one small change could have
altered the lives of many, including one Apache woman.
- Many
Places of LaSalle's Murder by Bob Bowman
7-31-07
The site of La Salle's murder has been a source of unbridled speculation.
At least eight communities have made claims as "the place were
La Salle was killed."...
- CSA
Veterans by Mike Cox 7-12-07
Doffing his sweat-stained hat, the visitor looked around the family’s
living room. His still-clear eyes stopped at the oil painting
hanging over the mantle above the Snyder family’s gas-log fireplace.
The artwork, done from life, depicted Maj. Gen. Sterling Price
in his Confederate uniform. Snapping to attention with a click
of his heels, the old-timer presented a crisp salute to the long-dead
officer...
- Haden
Edwards by Archie P. McDonald 7-9-07
Haden Edwards helped influence the Anglo settlement of East Texas
almost as much as Stephen F. Austin, but the state capitol and
a couple of universities are not named for him. Here's why...
- Deaf
Smith - Eyes of the Texas Army by Murray
Montgomery 7-5-07
During those dark days of the Texas Revolution many men came forward
and represented themselves well in the war with Mexico. When we
think of those times, the names Travis, Houston, Austin, Bowie,
and Crockett quickly come to mind. There were many others, however,
who were just as important to the Texas cause. One of those was
Erastus "Deaf" Smith... there was none more dedicated in the Texas
fight for freedom than this man.
- Did
John Wilkes Booth Live In Texas? by C. F. Eckhardt 7-1-07
Wherever and whenever John Wilkes Booth, assassin of Abraham Lincoln,
died, it’s pretty much a sure bet it wasn’t in a burning barn
in Virginia...
- Dr.
Edward Arrel Pye, A Texas Medical Hero by W. T. Block Jr.
6-16-07
Whenever the virulent yellow fever plague came to town, the townsmen
who were cautious packed up their families and belongings and
fled elsewhere. Sometimes a town’s physician did not leave; they
stayed to treat their patients and occasionally died...
- The
Republic's First President by Archie P. McDonald 6-3-07
Usually, the argument about who first served as president of the
Republic of Texas involves David G. Burnet and Sam Houston. Maybe
Richard Ellis has a claim, too...
- Price
Daniel by Archie P. McDonald 5-21-07
Price Daniel served in more political offices than anyone I know
and he did so with distinction and honor.
- Cartwright
by Bill Cherry 5-14-07
Mayor Herbie, His Time in Jail and the Big Downtown Parade that
Followed.
- Henry
O. Flipper, An Epic Remaining To Be Told by C. F. Eckhardt
5-14-07
Perhaps the most enigmatic figure in the annals of the American
West is not Johnny Ringo of maybe-suicide/maybe-murder or the
deliberately enigmatic Mysterious Dave Mather, but 2/LT Henry
O. Flipper, 10th United States Cavalry...
- Checkers
by Mike Cox 5-9-07
Even though the game has been popular in America since the 1840s,
no one seems to have compiled a list of famous Texas checker players.
If anyone ever does, one name that should be included is W.R.
(Bill) Chambers.
- Sally
Scull: Texas' Pioneer "Bad Girl" by
W. T. Block Jr. 5-1-07
Sally Scull, the pioneer Texas 'bad girl" was a combination Belle
Starr, Calamity Jane, and Annie Oakley...
- Alamo
Hero by W. T. Block Jr.
Isaac Ryan
- Sam's
Mother-in-Law by Mike Cox
"Despite the rocky beginning of their relationship, Sam Houston
treated Mrs. Nancy Lea, his mother-in-law, with all due respect.
He must have learned to accept her eccentricities as well, like
the lard incident..."
- Governor
Thomas Mitchell Campbell by Archie P. McDonald
- Richard
Ellis by Mike Cox
- Jane
McManus Storm Cazneau by Archie P. McDonald
- Tallest
Rebel by Mike Cox
The first time the Yankees soldiers saw Henry Clay Thurston charging
toward them through the clouds of black powder smoke they must
have rubbed their eyes in disbelief. This gray-clad Johnny Reb
towered over the other fighting men like a pine tree growing next
to a bush...
- Catherine
Magill Dorman: Confederate Heroine of Sabine Pass by W.T.
Block, Jr
- Temple
Lea Houston by C. F. Eckhardt
Temple Houston was probably the closest of all the sons to the
old man in temperament and abilities, but he resented being compared
to Sam. He determined at an early age that he would not be remembered
as 'Sam's boy,' but as 'Temple Houston.'
- Don
Juan de Ońate by Brewster Hudspeth
(AKA) Juan de Ońate y Salazar
"Since the name Juan de Ońate y Salazar rolls off the tongue,
Juan would probably be on the fast track to household-name-recognition
by now, if it wasn't for some pesky historical research and vandalism
to another statue in New Mexico that bears Juan's name...."
- The
Smith Brothers by Bob Bowman
Four brothers from Delta County lived with an ordinary name in
the mid-1800s, but they were far from ordinary...
- Thomas
Deye Owings of Maryland, Kentucky and Texas by W. T. Block
Jr.
"He was a colonel and hero of the War of 1812 [and] was Kentucky's
original industrialist and iron master, also holding several political
offices. He was also commissioned by Stephen F. Austin in Jan.
1836 to raise 2 regiments of Kentuckians to fight for Texas Independence
from Mexico, sacrificing as a result the life of one of his sons
during the Goliad Massacre..."
- Bowie
by Mike Cox
James Bowie trafficked in slaves, participated in land fraud and
drank too much – but he did not lack for grit...
- William
Marsh Rice by Archie P. McDonald
Everyone loves a murder mystery, especially if the
murder happened a long time ago and did not involve someone they
know. The story of William Marsh Rice's demise is such a case...
- The
Rufus F. Hardin School - Founder George Smith
- The
Rufus F. Hardin School - Educator Rufus F. Hardin
- Old
Sam Houston Song by Mike Cox
Here's a good television game show question: Name the only person
who ever served as governor of two states...
- The
8-F Crowd by Bob Bowman
"... Often referred to as the "unofficial capital of Texas,"
[Lamar Hotel] Suite 8-F ... was the meeting place for Houston's
business leaders from the late 1930s to the 1960s...."
- East
Texas Savior of the French Wine Industry
by Archie P. McDonald
Those who favor a glass of wine, especially French wine, may not
be aware of the debt they and the French owe to Dr. Thomas Volney
Munson of Denison, Texas
- Father
Margil by Archie P. McDonald
Father Antonio Margil de Jesus helped introduce Christianity to
the wilderness of East Texas, but his story began in Valencia,
Spain, where he was born in 1657.
- Fall
of the Largest Tree by Bob Bowman
"The passing of Arthur Temple -- the man some newspapers
called the last of the East Texas timber barons -- ended a link
with a history reaching back more than a century."
- Marie
Cronin and the Bartlett Western Railroad by Clay Coppedge
What the old Bartlett Western Railroad lacked in revenue,
it more than made up for in local color, history and folklore.
- Mrs.
Margaret Kinkaid by Archie P. McDonald
Kincaid School, Houston, Texas
- Three-legged
Willie by Bob Bowman
Robert McAlpin Williamson
"The Republic of Texas, which existed only a decade, had
its share of interesting characters. But few of them were as colorful
as Three Legged Willie, who passed away some 146 years ago..."
- Houston
Ring by Mike Cox
"Sam Houston's marriage had a lot going against it..."
- General
Hiram B. Granbury by Sam Fenstermacher
- Texas
Rangers and the Battle of Plum Creek
by Murray Montgomery
The Comanche attack on the South Texas coast has long been
known as the last great raid by the Indians.
- Man
with a Method by Archie P. McDonald
Littleton Fowler
- Old
Time Judge by Archie McDonald
Thomas Whitfield Davidson
- FDR
and Nine Acres by Bob Bowman
Tom Potter and FDR
- Sam
Houston by Mike Cox
- Marie
Hough Borden Vintage photos courtesy
Ruben R. Hernandez
- A.M.Aikin,
Jr. by Archie P. McDonald
"In these days of evaluating our schools—exemplary to acceptable
to whatever—and multiple special legislative sessions devoted
to figuring out how to spend more money on schools while taking
in less revenue, Texans might want to remember A.M. Aikin Jr.,
who helped drag education and Texas into modern times..."
- Norris
Cuney by Archie P. McDonald
"... Cuney technically began life as a slave..."
- Lady
Doc by Mike Cox
Dr. Sofie Herzog, first female surgeon in Texas
- George
Louis Crocket by Archie P. McDonald
Religious Leader and early Historian
of East Texas
- Price
Daniel by Archie P. McDonald
"... he had taken an oath of office pledging loyalty to the
Constitution of the United States eight times..."
- Sam
Houston's Will by Mike Cox
- Old
Three Hundred by Archie P. McDonald
- William
Thomas Scott
- William
Pinckney Rose
- Rev.
Jonas Franklin Dancer by Mike Cox
The namesake of Dancer Peak in Llano
County
- George
Campbell Childress by John Troesser
"Ten Things You Should Know About George Campbell Childress"
Author of the Texas Declaration of Independence and namesake of
Childress County
- Chief
Executives by Archie P. McDonald
"East Texas has produced its share of prominent personages
in entertainment, business, medicine, and other professions but
prominent political figures have tended to call other sections
of the state their home, especially in the last half century.
It started out differently."
- Davis
Bunting, his wife Martha Bowden Bunting, and family
by Murray Montgomery
- A.P.
and Marie Borden of Mackay, Texas
- Pass
the Biscuits, Pappy by Bob Bowman
His Texas homilies, radio broadcasts, hillbilly music and
affinity for rural Texas propelled him into the governor’s office
for two terms.
- Doris
Miller: Hero by Archie P. McDonald
African American hero of WWII
- Samuel
Arthur Robertson by Mike Cox
- Twin
Sisters by Mike Cox
When 74-year-old Dr. Henry North Graves died that summer morning
in Dallas, the solution to one of Texas’ enduring mysteries may
have died with him.
- James
Harper Starr by Archie P. McDonald
- Davy's
Widow
Elizabeth Patton Crockett
- Richard
“Dick” Dowling Edward T. Cotham, Jr.
Richard “Dick” Dowling was one of the most interesting figures
in Houston and Texas history
- The
Air Ace by Bob Bowman
Lance C. Wade, Royal Air Force of Britain, World War II
- Bet-A-Million
Gates by Archie P. McDonald
John Warne Gates, a native of Winfield, Illinois, became
associated with three of Texas’ most important items: barbed wire,
railroads, and oil.
- Wiley
Post - famous aviator Wiley Post
- William
Gerald Tobin & Chili by Mike Cox
William Gerald Tobin’s career as a Texas Ranger left
a lot to be desired. But he had an idea that left Texas, and the
Southwest, an enduring gastronomical legacy.
- LBJ
and East Texas Politics by Archie P. McDonald
Lyndon B. Johnson’s victory over Coke Stevenson for a Senate
seat by only 87 votes earned this future president the nickname
of "Landslide Lyndon." Everyone agrees that Johnson’s aides "stole"
that election by "finding" additional votes for their candidate
in Box 13 in Jim Wells County. What everyone might not know is
that Johnson had been burned by a similar tactic in a special
Senate race in 1941, and had vowed never to be caught short again.
- John
Henry Kirby by Archie P. McDonald
An East Texas timber baron
- Nice
Politics by Mike Cox
Wick Blanton and Tom Morris running for county attorney
of Wilson County
- "Bigfoot"
Wallace. by Luke Warm
"... Over the years his willingness to recount his adventures
insured he would become a genuine Texas legend. He never told
a story he couldn't later improve upon. …"
- Big
Foot Wallace and the Indian by Mike Cox
Ambush, strychnine, hanging... A tale of good and evil with a
twist.
- Buffalo
Man by Mike Cox
Hollywood has seldom – if ever – portrayed buffalo hunters as
civilized, erudite men. Screenwriters and producers of Westerns
usually have their buffalo hunters play the role as coarse, scruffy
men ready to drink or kill anything. But as the story of one time
buffalo hunter John Cloud Jacobs demonstrates, reality is not
always that simple. ...
- McDonald
Observatory - An Orphan’s Gift by Bob Bowman
Standing atop Mount Locke in the Big Bend area, McDonald Observatory
is far removed from East Texas, but without the interest and generosity
of an orphaned Confederate soldier from Clarksville, the world-famous
astronomy center might not exist today. William McDonald ...
- Beauford
Jester by Archie P. McDonald
Governor of Texas
- General
Hiram Bronson Granbury
- Albert
Thomas by Archie P. McDonald
One of the most famous photos ever made shows Lyndon B. Johnson
taking the oath as president aboard Air Force One shortly after
the assassination of President John F. Kennedy. In the photo,
a tall, trim man wearing a bow tie bends in to get a better view
of President Johnson and Justice Sarah Hughes, who administered
the oath. That man was Albert Thomas...
- Edward
Mandell House - The House That House Built by Archie P. McDonald
Edward Mandell House of Galveston and Houston rose about as high
as one can go in Texas or United States politics, yet he never
held an elective or appointive office. Instead of wanting to be
"king," House was content to be the "king maker."
- Governor
by Chance - Edward Clark by Archie P. McDonald
- Miss
Rita of Beaumont's Dixie Hotel by John Troesser
The Philanthropic Madam of Oil City
- “Godfather
of Beaumont” by Fred B. McKinley
Frank Yount and the Yount-Lee Oil Company, “the Godfather and
Financial Gibraltar of Beaumont.”
-
Painter Harold Osman Kelly - Blanket Texas' Famous Son
- Donna
by Mike Cox
Donna Hooks Fletcher, namesake of Donna, Texas
- Three
Bean Salad by John Troesser
Tom Bean, Peter Ellis Bean and Judge Roy Bean
- Ela
Hockaday More Than a School Omarm by Archie P. McDonald 8-8-04
Founder of the Miss Hockaday School for Girls in Dallas
- Pixilated
in Port Arthur & Reincarnated in Luling
Alfred Stillwell and Edgar Davis by Luke Warm
- William
Christy
A forgotten Texas hero
- Mr.
Ambassador by Archie P. McDonald
Edward Aubrey Clark of San Augustine
- Tragedy
of Chief Bowles by Bob Bowman
"Few historical figures are as tragic as Chief Bowles, the
83-year-old Cherokee Indian chief who died on a Neches River battlefield
near Tyler 164 years ago..."
- Norris
Wright Cuney by Archie P. McDonald
The most remarkable African American leader in Texas in the nineteenth
century.
- Characters
by Bob Bowman
Some people collect antiques. Others collect baseball cards. Personally,
I've always been partial to East Texas characters -- the sometimes
slightly off-center people who lived lifetimes doing things differently
than the rest of us.
- Ten
More Things Your Should Know About Judge Roy Bean by John
Troesser
The Jersey Lilly: Where "sidebar" has a very literal meaning
- Kate
by Mike Cox
Catherine "Kate" Magill Dorman -- a little known Texas heroine
of the Civil War
- "Rajah
of Swat" - Rogers Hornsby by Archie P. McDonald
- Ten
Things Your Should Know About Judge Roy Bean by John Troesser
- Richard
Kimble and Almaron Dickinson, Heroic hat makers at the Alamo
by Murray Montgomery
- The
Short but Eventful Life of Adrián J. Vidal 1840-1865 by Brewster
Hudspeth
- The
Volunteer Fire Departments of Sunray and Dumas - The Shamrock
Oil refinery explosion in the late 1950's
- Sarah
by Mike Cox
Few Texas women ever saw any worse than Sarah Creath McSherry
Hibbens Stinnett Howard. A woman with true grit, the way she came
by her long name is one of Texas' more gripping tales. Born around
1812....
- Air
Pioneer by Bob Bowman
Texas Aviation Hall of Famer. In 1921 she became the only black
pilot in the world. A year later she became the first black woman
to fly over American soil.
- Philip
Nolan by Archie P. McDonald
We can credit him and men like him with "making news" in the Untied
States that quickened the interest of other Americans about building
futures in Texas.
- The
Last Hero - John G. Pickering by Bob Bowman
The last surviving veteran of the Battle of San Jacinto on April
21, 1836, lies in an almost forgotten cemetery in deep East Texas,
his tombstone chipped and broken. It's an ignoble resting place
for a proud old soldier, John G. Pickering.
- Robert
Thomas Hill, "Dean of Texas Geology" (1858-1941) by Margaret
Waring
- Temple
Lea Houston: Son of Sam
Even with his father's fame; he made a hefty name for himself.
by John Troesser
- Ten
Things you should know about Anson Jones by John Troesser
- An
informal history of Pierce, Texas: Containing barely related facts
on neighboring towns in Wharton, Jackson and Victoria Counties.
by Brewster Hudspeth
- Ten
Things you should know about "Shanghai" Pierce. Beef - it's what's
for dinner - again. by Brewster Hudspeth
- The
Niels and Mellie Esperson Buildings - If you live in Houston,
you've heard the name; now, meet the people. by John Troesser
- A
Man to Count on in Big Spring - "An Earl and
his money are soon popular." by Brewster Hudspeth
- Thergood's
Pine by Bob Bowman (From All Things Historical) - The story
of a slave and the oldest pine tree in East Texas.
- The
Starr Family Mansion by Archie McDonald ( From All Things
Historical)
- A
Journalist's Hero by Bob Bowman ( From All Things Historical)
"Journalists are by nature a cynical lot. And because they've
seen humanity at its worst, they have few heroes. One of them
died in Tyler last month. ....."
- Ira
Eaker: From Covered Wagon to Jet-Age Air Power, Four Stars
by Bill Bradfield
"During dark days of World War II when the bitter
war was far from won, it was a Texas tenant farmer's son who took
command of the U.S. Eighth Air Force in England, playing a key
role in making the Normandy invasion possible....."
- Lyne
Taliaferro Barret by Archie P. McDonald (All Things Historical)
-
The Crusty Old Baptist by Murray Montgomery (Times Past)
- East
Texas' Mark Twain by Bob Bowman (All Things Historical)
- Allan
Shivers by Archie P. McDonald (All Things Historical)
- Two
Pilots, Three Air Forces, One Hometown:
Lt. Col. Alvin Mueller & Lieutenant Dick Campbell by John
Troesser
- Mister
Ben by Bob Bowman (All Things Historical)
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