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TXGenWeb Robertson County Books & Master's Theses |
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H E A R N E O N T H E B R A Z O S |
Century Press Of Texas, San Antonio, Texas
© 1958 by Norman Lowell McCarver
Lone Star Printing Company, San Antonio, Texas
Used with permission of Norman Lowell McCarver, Jr. These electronic pages may not be reproduced in any format by other organizations or individuals.
Biographical Sketches - E
EASTERWOOD, HENRY
BASCOM was born in
Lowndes County, Mississippi February 17, 1856, the son of William C.
Easterwood
and Martha G. Easterwood. The parents of
Henry Bascom Easterwood came to Texas in 1858
and after a brief stay in Bell County, Texas settled on a farm at Port
Sullivan
in Milam County on the Brazos River.
He
attended school at Port Sullivan and at the age of 18 years in 1876 he
began
clerking for his elder brother, William E. Easterwood, in a store at
Port
Sullivan. Later, he opened two more
stores for his brother in Milam County.
In
March 1880 he moved to Hearne, and on borrowed capital of $2200 he
engaged in a
grocery business of his own. He soon
secured a good trade, and with the growing prosperity
of Hearne extended his line of operations into the largest general
mercantile
establishment in Hearne. A two
story brick building on the corner of Market and Fourth Street was
built to
house the Easterwood Mercantile Co.
Mr.
Easterwood acquired considerable outside properties and interests, such
as three
farms which he operated, purchased and improved a number of town lots,
ran a
cotton gin, was vice president of the Hearne Building & Loan
Association,
helped organize a local cotton compress, served as president of the
compress,
president of the Brazos Valley Lumber Company, a stockholder and
secretary-treasurer of the Hearne & Brazos Valley Railroad.
He also helped to organize the First National Bank of Hearne and
served
on the Board of Directors and also served on the Hearne City Council.
As an old saw has it . . . "he stood ready at all times to honor
sight drafts on his time and services in behalf of good government-,
the
building up of local schools, and the promotion of all those things
that tend to
elevate, adorn or improve the society in which he moves."
In
1879 he was married to Miss Lillian Gohlman, daughter of S. L. Gohlman
of
Houston. Eight children were born
to Mr. and Mrs. Easterwood; H. Goblman Easterwood, Floyd W. Easterwood,
Vernon
Easterwood, and Clarence Easterwood; daughters were: Clara Easterwood
Klopp,
Lillian Easterwood Beckham, Lucille Easterwood Kempen, and Evelyn
Easterwood
Hansard.
Henry
Bascom Easterwood died June 5, 1919. Lillian
Gohlman Easterwood; who was born May 13, 1863, died December 28,
1933.
ELY,
HOSEA ALBERT was born October 11, 1875, the son of Lafayette Ely and Susan
Frances Fowler
Ely, pioneer citizens of Milam County. He
lived and worked on the family farm during his boyhood. On May 20, 1896
he was
married to Miss Emma Lucille Tabor at the Methodist Church in
Cliriesman, Texas.
Mr. and Mrs. Ely had two daughters: Pansy, who died at the age
of 19
months, and LaFayette Lucille Ely who was married to J. Bryan Peel.
Mr. and Mrs. Ely came
to Hearne in
1901 where Mr. Ely was associated with his brother William Henry Ely
for 56
years in the cattle and farming business, and this firm accumulated
large cattle
and land interests. The Ely brothers name
was prominent in the cattle and farming
business in this area of the state.
Mrs. Ely was a charter
member of the
Hearne Garden Club, a member of the First Baptist Church, a member of
the Hearne
Shakespeare Club, a member of the Daughters of the Republic of Texas
(San
Jacinto Chapter of Houston), a member of the United Daughters of the
Confederacy
(Jefferson Davis Chapter of Houston), and many other civic and
religious
organizations. Mrs. Ely's
grandfather was a minister in Texas when Texas was a part of Mexico and
she
later owned a farm that was deeded to her grandfather by the Mexican
Government.
Grandchildren of Mr.
and Mrs. Ely
are Hosea Bryan Peel and Emma Jane Peel Thomason, wife of Dr. Maurice
Thomason.
Hosea Bryan Peel married Jean Haynie.
Hosea Albert Ely died
April 5, 1944
and Mrs. Ely died October 31, 1952.
ELY,
JAY GOULD,
son of LaFayette Ely and Susan Frances Fowler Ely, was born at Gause,
Texas, May
14, 1883.
During
his early childhood he attended school at Gause and worked on the
family farm
and ranch in Milam County.
On
November 8, 1903, he was married to Miss Mary Lillie Purvis, daughter
of Gavin
Purvis and Mary Amanda McCain Purvis. Mr.
Purvis was born in Scotland and was graduated from the University of
Glasgow and
Edinburg. He was a schoolteacher
and the Purvis family lived at Burton in Washington County, Texas where
Mrs. Ely
was born November 15, 1885.
In 1912, Mr. and Mrs.
Ely moved to
Hearne. During their early
residence in Hearne, Mr. Ely was associated with his two brothers,
William Henry
Ely and Hosea Albert Ely, in ranching, farming, and meat market
business.
Jay Gould Ely also owns ranching and farming interest of his own
and has
been associated in this type of business during his entire lifetime.
Both Mr. and Mrs. Ely
have been
associated with the business and social life of Hearne during their
entire
residence and both are long-time members of the Baptist Church, being
very
active in this religious organization.
Mr. and Mrs. Ely have
three sons:
Hudson Purvis Ely, Hosea Will Ely, James Carroll Ely; and one daughter:
Mary
Frances Ely Howard.
ELY,
ROY 0.,
son of William Henry Ely and Myra Walker Ely, was born at Gause, Texas,
February
7, 1895. When he was seven weeks
old, his parents moved to Hearne and he has continued to live in Hearne.
He attended the Hearne
Public
Schools and was graduated from Tyler Commercial College in July 1914.
After finishing his education, he was employed by the Planters
and
Merchants State Bank of Hearne as a bookkeeper (this position also
included such
details as sweeping the bank floors and emptying the spittoons at that
time).
During World War I he
was in the U.
S. Armed forces for almost two years. After
receiving his military discharge in 1919 he returned to Hearne to
resume
employment there as Cashier, later becoming Vice-president.
He held these positions for over twenty years.
In 1949 he assumed the duties of President of the Planters &
Merchants State Bank. He has also
been connected with the Hearne Building & Loan Association and now
serves as
director of this organization. His
first connection with the Hearne Building 8c Loan Association began in
1914.
He has a son, William
Stephen Ely,
who was born in Hearne and attended public school and graduated from
Hearne High
School and Oberlin College.
Roy 0. Ely is a
member of the
Baptist Church and the Hearne Masonic Lodge and also holds membership
in the
Scottish Rite of Austin and his Shrine membership is at Waco, Texas.
He has served as President of the Hearne Welfare Council,
Treasurer of
the Hearne Chamber of Commerce, a former member of the Rotary Club, a
former
member of the Hearne School Board, a member of the Hearne Golfer's
Association,
and a charter member of the Miles Scriviner American Legion Post.
ELY,
WILLIAM HENRY,
son of Lafayette Ely and Susan Frances Fowler Ely, was born near Milamo
in Milam
County, Texas, January 25, 1865.
In
1885 he was married to Miss Myra Walker who was born February 14, 1870.
He and Mrs. Ely moved to Hearne in 1895 and he engaged in the
business of
cattle raising, farming, and meat market owner.
In 1902 he was elected
as County
Commissioner and served in this capacity until 1912.
He also served as a member of the Hearne School Board for 6
years.
Elected to the Hearne City Council in 1919 he served in this
capacity for
two years and then was elected Mayor in 1921 and served until 1937. Mr. Ely was a tireless worker in any
progressive movement for
Hearne and during his service as Mayor many public improvements in the
city were
accomplished.
Mr. Ely aided in the
organizing of
the Planters & Merchants State Bank and the Hearne Building &
Loan
Association. At the time of his
death he was serving as vice president of both organizations.
During his many years
in the
business life of Hearne, Mr. Ely was associated with his brother H. A.
Ely in
the cattle and farming business and accumulated vast land and property
holdings
in this area.
The following children
were born to
Mr. and Mrs. Ely: Arna L. Ely, Roy 0. Ely, Elsie Ely, Willie Ely Erwin,
Frances
Ely Bluestein, Ruby Ely Stephens, Katie Ely Thames, Addie Ely Moss, and
Eleanor
Ely Lincoln.
Mr. Ely died
March 5, 1948
and Mrs. Ely died February 5, 1949.
EVANS,
EUGENE P. "HOG"
was born in Columbia, Tennessee July 17, 1882, the son of John R. Evans
and
Judith Brown Evans.
He
came to Texas with his parents when he was a small boy and was a
resident of
Hearne and vicinity for more than 50 years.
Mr.
Evans was married to Miss Jessie Mathews on October 16, 1907. Mrs. Evans was born September 11, 1882. Three children were born to Mr. and Mrs.
Evans: Eugene P.
Evans Jr., Agnes Evans, and Robert E. Evans.
A lover of outdoor life
and sports,
Mr. Evans chose farming as his first work when he grew to manhood.
He was a plantation manager in the Brazos Botton in the days of
big crops
and good prices for cotton and other farm products and also farmed on
his own at
different times.
For twelve years he
served on the
police force of the City of Hearne, retiring from this work in 1937.
"Hog" Evans was loved by the young and old alike and took a
great interest in hunting, fishing, and following local athletic teams.
During his younger days, he was quite a semi-pro baseball player
and his
interest in the sport was never lost. His
son E. P. Evans Jr. is division superintendent for the Southern Pacific
Railroad
and his other son, Robert E. Evans, was an outstanding baseball player
for the
University of Texas and later was a football coach at the University of
Houston.
Eugene P. "Hog" Evans
died
January 11, 1942 and Mrs. Evans died May 15, 1951.
*
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