J F Strickland Wedding Gifts

Found this article from the Waxahachie Enterprise. There is a file at Sims Libray that someone put together about J F Strickland (President of the Texas Electric Railwayand first President of the Texas Power and Light), articles in the Waxahachie Enterprise. I found the listing of he and his wife's wedding gifts that were listed a couple days after their August 28th 1889 wedding . A few doubles and toiletries seemed to be a big thing. Also notice that future investor/promoter of the electric interurban railway ,Osce Goodwin, was a bearer of gifts. I wonder if J.F. Dunlap was related to the former JOP of the county, O.E. Dunlap. Also Oscar Dunlap became the President of Citizen's Bank .

9-6-1889 Strickland-Martin.
The following is the list of presents received by Mr. J. F. Strickland and Miss Sallie Martin at their marriage, August 28th, which we were unable to obtain in time for publication last week: Groom to bride, watch and chain studded with diamonds; Mother of bride, antique oak bed room suit; U, T. Buckner, china dinner set; Murr Martin, of Sherman, silver tea service and tray;: Miss Pat Martin, decorated toilet case; Mr. and Mrs. E. C. Tatum, of .Sherman, elegant French mirror with brass frame; Mr. A. C. Kirkpatrick, of Dallas, silver water set Mrs. W.C.Eubank, of Sherman, solid silver card case; Dr. S.D.Moore, of Van Alatyney willow rocker; Mr. Jos. Linz, of Sherman, silver syrup pitcher and plate; Dr. S.W. Moore-and lady, of Van Alstyne, candelabra and individual castor;-, Mr. and Mrs. K.B.Kirkpatric of Dallas, toilet set and jewelry case combined;-. Miss Mary Gregg, of Sherman, silver cake basket; Mrs. M. Kirkpatrick, of Dallas, decorated pin cushion;; Mrs. C.R.Carrick, of Dallas peach blow water set;: Master Jack Kirkpatrick, of Dallas, handkerchief holder; Mr. and Mrs. W. G, Williams, decorated wash stand set;- Messrs. W.J.McDuffie, W.A.Gaither and E. Wallace, smyrna rugs; Mr. and Mrs. C.D.Pickett, antique oak table; Mr. and Mrs. T.A. Ferris* cut glass berry bowl set in silver;; Mr. and Mrs. J.C.Woodlief, silver butter dish;: Mr. and Mrs. H.E.Pickett, smyrna rug;. Graves, Beale & Co., walnut table; Mr. and Mrs. J. J. Metcalf, solid silver spoong; Mr. and Mrs. E.L.Barkley, silver card receiver; Mr. and Mrs. J. W. •Gibson, silver and gold bonbon tray; Mrs. Robt Stacy., hand painted toilet set; Mrs. A. M. Lee, silver sugar spoons; Dr. A.A.Thompson and daughter, silver card receiver and bouquet holder}-. Mr.'J.B.Boone and sister, Maggie, percelain ice pitcher set in silver; Misses .Mollie and Kate Briggs, silver berry bowl; Miss Ruth Parker, pin cushion and sachet bag combined}' Mr. J. Fain, silver pickle castor;- F.P.Powell, E.L.Huffman and T.J.Cole, silver syrup pitcher} G.L.AdkLsson, J.F.Dunlap and Osce Goodwin, complete set of toilet articles; Ed Williams, S.W.Spencer, J. L. McCartney and B. M. Howard, solid silver castor and fruit -stand, combined; J. E. Lancaster, B. L Davis, S. P. Skinner and F. M. Maxwell, silver tea service;- Walter and Lee Penn, willow rocker; Mr. H.B.Kirkpatrick, of Dallas, tow handsome oil paintings; Mrs. Calfee, bridal bouquet; Mrs. M. Smith, of Louisville Ky., silver knives with pearl handles; Mr. Lee Gotten of Waco, silver tooth pick holders lined with gold.

Decendants of Ennis namesake visit train museum

The decendants of Cornelius Ennis came through town to vistit the Railroad and Cultural Heritage Museum at 105 NE Main street. As far as anyone could remember, it is the first time a relative to anyone featured in the museum has came to visit . Interesting facts were given about Cornelius in the article. Apparenly according to journals he was a blockade runner during Civil War much like the character Rhett Butler in Gone with the Wind. Also the article gives emphasis to how important City Lake was to keeping the railroad head quarters in Ennis.

Medicine Crow

Medicine Crow

Little known music group from Ellis County circa 1989-90. Members Andy,Barry,Bryan, Brian, and Charlie all from Ellis County. Main reason is they only put together one Album Stomp'n in the Churchyard. The band tried an experimental folk rock formula. Using banjos, mandolins, casio keyboards,hardwood floors, drum machines,harmonica and the cello along with the standard acoustic guitars(6&12strings,electric guitars (bass 6string). Technology of the time only allowed lo-fi 4 track tape recording. Medicine Crow didn't have the luxury of digital recording.

After Medicine Crow

Andy(guitarist/vocalist/songwriter) also performed at DBU with his friend Russel in a group called Swahili Monkey Brothers. Later graduated from DBU and married having one son they moved to New Mexico. Still involved in church functions and playing his guitar and singing in the fashion of Dylan. The Lord took Andy beyond the stars in the Mid 90's. His wife has continued their dream of being missionaries and with their son teaches in China.

Barry (Guitars,mandolin,vocals,keyboard)went to East Texas State in Commerce with Bryan and Brian. Do to lack of funds dropped out and returned to Ellis County and played with a band called Hung by Vigilantes. Currently Barry manages a business in Ellis County.

Bryan (Drummer,vocals,keyboard)graduated from East Texas State and joined the Airforce. From the University to the Air Force Bryan learned the trade of radio/tv and became a video editor for Nasa. Bryan was responsible for any video released by Nasa on the Hubble Telescope. In Circa 2006 Bryan resigned from Nasa and joined Michelle Malkin at the conservative political hotspot blog Hotair.com. He resigned from Hotair.com in March 2008 and was hired to produce the Laura Ingraham show a nationally broadcasted conservative radio show in over 300 radio stations where he is currently employed.

Brian (Vocals,Banjo,harmonica) went from East Texas State to Denton where he obtained his degree in art from North Texas State University. He later worked security for an art museum in Ft. Worth for a stint. He also was involved in the set up of exhibits while at the museum. During this time he was highly involved in his video art. Presenting his art in exhibits all over Texas. Eventually all over the United States and to Europe. Later he got a job moving high end residences that usually involved moving art. Currently employed by a wealthy individual in Dallas to work on a metal project (not his art).

Charlie (Bass,background vocals,tech,mixer) is highly involved in his Waxhachie Bible Church. Always running their website, working on their computers, running their sound board or playing the bass. Over a year now Charlie has fulfilled his life's calling to be a missionary to Equatorial Guinea, Africa. He and his wife Bridget along with their children Briana and Micah(who was in the womb during the album's recording. we feel he may have suffered some damage to the exposure of the music :)) live in the Coastal jungle. His wife a student of Southwest Assemblies of God college has taken her English teaching skills and are working on translating the new testament into the native language, Fang(pronounced like Fawng). Suffering from malaria and separation from the Western comforts they keep moving forward with the good work.

Ellis County Sheriffs and 08 Run-Off

April 8th we will have a Run-Off for Ellis County Sheriff. It will be between James Ledbetter and Johnny Brown. The primary results were Johnny Brown 4,652 James A. Ledbetter 3,812 Steve Mckinney 3,481. It's my understanding that since Johnny Brown did not recieve more than 50% of the vote he must have a run-off with the candidate with the second most votes. The Blog For Ellis County Texas History endorses candidate Johnny Brown. He is a younger candidate with creative ideas and has always voted Republican. Here's his Myspace. Though from what I understand we will be in good hands no matter what candidate wins. Ledbetter according to his Myspace page has ran two prior unsuccessful campaigns for Ellis County Sheriff. One against Sheriff Gage and one against current Sheriff Stewart. If you are a Brown supporter get out and vote April 8th because it appears Mckinney supporters lean towards Ledbetter. That's 3,481 potential votes for Ledbetter. The irony is even though Mckinney lost his voters will decide the winner.


Blog discussions of the April 8th run-off

Newspaper discussions of 08 run-off

Here are Ellis County's past Sheriff's


Ellis County Sheriffs


WILLIAM H. H. BRADFORD: elected August 5, 1850; resigned January 14, 1851.

HARVEY W. YOUNG; appointed February 7, 1851; elected August 2, 1851, and served until December 1852.

JONATHAN E. PRINCE: appointed December 31, 1852; elected August 7, 1854; served until August 4, 1856.

JAMES W. CARTNEY; elected August 4, 1856; resigned February 7, 1858.

JOHN G. WILLIAMS: appointed February 27, 1858; elected August 2, 1854; served until August 6, 1860

ALBERT A. FOSTER: elected August 6, 1860; resigned April 1861.

JOHN KING: appointed April 6, 1861 served until August 4, 1862.

M. B. LANKSFORD: elected August 4, 1862; re-elected August 1, 1864; served until August 31, 1865.

MATTNEW SKEIN: appointed August 31, 1865; served until June 25, 1866.

GEORGE B. SWEATT: elected June 25, 1866; resigned December 1866.

CHARLES FOSTER: appointed December 24, 1866; served until July 1867 when moved out of the county.

PETER W. WILLIAMS: appointed July 3, 1867; served until Sept. 16, 1869 when removed by order of Gen. J. J. Reynolds.

JAMES YARBOROUGH: appointed September 16, 1869 by Gen. Reynolds Special Order; did not qualify.

JOHN T. KING: elected December 3, 1869; served until February 17, 1870; may have been removed by military order.

C. K. GOODWYN: appointed February 17, 1870 by special order Gen. J. J. Reynolds; served until December 2, 1873.

JOHN T. KING: elected December 2, 1873; served until February 15, 1876; moved away for a time but returned and died near Britton.

W. D. "Wash" RYBURN: one of most colorful men elected; served February 15, 1876; re-elected November 5, 1878; November 2, 1880 and served until November 7, 1882; native of Kentucky and a veteran of the Civil War; ran for office again after turn of century, but lost.

JOHN BRALY: elected November 7, 1882; served until November 4, 1884; native of Arkansas and Civil War veteran.

W. P. WATT: elected November 6, 1888; re-elected November 4, 1890; served until November 8. 1892; native of Alabama.

JAMES M. MEREDITH: elected November 8, 1882; served until November 6, 1894; first native of county to hold office; died in Austin.

W. J. McCUE: elected November 6, 1894; re-elected November 3, 1896 and served until November 8, 1898; twice married; no known descendants; died near Henrietta, Texas.

GEORGE C. SWEATT: elected November 8, 1898; re-elected November 6, 1900; served until November 8, 1902.

JOE P. MINNICK: elected November 4, 1902; re-elected November 8, 1904 and served until November 6, 1906; was constable at Palmer prior to term as sheriff.

W. H. FORBES: elected November 6, 1906; re-elected November 3, 1908 and served until November 8, 1910; ran again in 1926 but was defeated by Joe Loe by only five votes.

A. W. WILSON: elected November 8, 1910; re-elected November 5, 1912; served until November 3, 1914.

HENRY DEARBORN: elected November 3, 1914; re-elected November 7, 1916; served until November 5, 1918 native of Missouri; twice married; was superintendent of Odd Fellows Old Folks Home at Ennis at one time.

GEORGE C. SWEATT: again elected November 5, 1918; re-elected November 2, 1920 and served until death February 4, 1921. Sweatt held many offices during his life, as well as his terms as sheriff.

W. H. FORBES: appointed February 26, 1921; elected a second time November 2, 1922 and served until January 1, 1925.

JOE LOE: elected November 4, 1924; re-elected November 2, 1926 and served until January 1, 1929.

JOHN DAVENPORT: elected November 6, 1928; re-elected November 4, 1930 and served' until January 1, 1933; native of Tennessee.

DAVE FEARIS: elected November 8, 1933; re-elected November 6, 1934 and served until January 1, 1937.

J. E. ROY: elected November 3, 1936; re-elected November 8, 1938 and served until January 1, 1941.

JESS L. CARIKER: elected November 5, 1940; re-elected November 3, 1942, November 7, 1944; November 5, 1946 and served until January 1, 1949. Served as president of the Texas Sheriff's Association in 1944.

EDWARD BURL WHITE: elected November 2, 1948; re-elected November 7, 1950; November 4, 1952, November 2, 1954 and served until January 1, 1956.

WAYNE McCOLLUM: elected November 6, 1956; re-elected November 8, 1960, November 3, 1964, November 5, 1968, November 7, 1972 and served until January 1, 1977. His twenty years of service is the longest in County history.

BARNEY BOYD: elected November 2, 1976; re-elected November 4, 1980; and November 6, 1984 and served until January 1, 1989.

JOHN GAGE: elected November 8, 1988; served until ? [was lawman for thirty-three years.]

NOTE: RAY STEWART is the present sheriff of Ellis County (2004).


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LLEWELLYN'S GRAVE

I found the grave of Joseph Llewellyn by surfing on the Internet. He died at 5 years old on May 9, 1875. Local Historian Wilma Caddel gave me exact directions to the grave. I had actually passed this spot the week before going off an Internet direction. If you come off Buena Vista(1446) from Waxahachie you take a left on Hoyt. It has a sign at Hoyt and 1446 that points to the Fri-Tex Dairy Farm and Hoyt runs beside the abandoned SSC buildings. The road goes straight to the entry to the Dairy Farm but you take the curve to the left and travel about a half mile. Inside a barbed wire fence on the left not to far from the road is the grave with an iron fence around it and a tree next to it. It is on private property and it looks like they keep it up. It appeared nobody was there so I didn't bother to ask to get inside fence. The location is approximately here.

The story on the internet goes as follows.

LLEWELLYN GRAVE

Located 6 miles West of I35 on Buena Vista Rd., Right at SSC Lab to Fri-TEX Dairy; .5 miles West of Dairy. Grave is on the left. (There is a story that this grave is that of a child who was riding with his family on a wagon train, and was killed by Indians. The grave is that of Joseph Llewellyn who died May 9, 1875; he was age 5 years 5 months.)

(ECGS Volume 11)

Now, I'm thinking the Joseph's body was carried to this spot maybe at the end of their journey. There were not many skirmishes with Indians in Ellis County, especially by 1875. This fact makes me think the skirmish happened somewhere else on their journey.



Another link is here

Bessie Coleman 01/26/1892-04/30/1926

Born in Atlanta, Texas, on January 26, 1892 Bessie Coleman took an arduous path to becoming the world's first licensed African-American pilot. Her journey started when she moved early in her life with her family to Waxahachie, Texas. She lived within her Father's boundaries of a sharecropper's life. Growing up in Waxahachie she helped around the house and walked 4 miles to school. It was an everyday life in the Jim Crow South. Suddenly in 1901 her Father, George Coleman, left the family and moved to Oklahoma. He did try to convince his family to come with him but they would not. Soon after, her brothers also went there own ways and left their Mother, Susan, to raise 4 daughters on her own. "Susan found work as a cook/housekeeper for Mr. And Mrs. Elwin Jones." Bessie soon started taking care of the Coleman household near Mustang Creek. At the age of twelve she was accepted to the Missionary Baptist Church. Though all activities were interrupted during cotton pick'n season she eventually saved her money working as a laundress and attended Colored Agricultural and Normal University in Langston, Oklahoma. After one year she ran out of money. Eventually she moved to Chicago with her brother Walter at the age of 23. Her brothers John and Walter had served in WWI. John use to tell Bessie about the French women pilots. This got her inspiration going. She eventually applied went to France and obtained a flying license. On June 15, 1921 became the first African-American licensed pilot. She returned to America soon after but returned to France for advanced training. She returned again to the US an expert pilot.

"Her first appearance was in an air show on September 3, 1922 at Curtiss Field near New York City." "On June 19, 1925, Bessie made her flying debut in Texas at a Houston auto racetrack renamed Houston Aerial Transport Field in honor of the occasion."

She performed shows in San Antonio, Richmond, Waxahachie, Wharton,and Dallas. She always requested that the audience be integrated. On the occasion she performed in Waxahachie she had disappointingly found that Jim Crow still ruled in Waxahachie which it would until the late 60's. She had requested that the everyone was to enter the same gates. To her disappointment when she flew over in her Curtis JN-4D she saw a chain separating the blacks and whites after the gates. At that moment she probably understood a little better why her Father had left Waxahachie.

"At the end of April in 1926, Bessie's Jenny arrived in Jacksonville. On the evening of April 30th, she and her mechanic took the plane up for a test flight. Once aloft, the plane malfunctioned and the mechanic, who was piloting the plane from the front seat, lost control of the plane. Bessie fell from the open cockpit several hundred feet to her death."

10,000 people filed passed her coffin. She's had streets,a day, Bessie Coleman Aero Club(An African American flying school) and a US Stamp named in her honor and Legend.

LaRue Kilgore-Miller

LaRue Kilgore-Miller will have the new Midlothian Elementary named after her. Mrs Miller has taught three generations of students at Midlothian ISD. This wonderfull career may have never happened if not for the cottonseed oil mill in Midlothian back in 1906. The oil mill was where cottonseeds were pressed and the oil is collected. Cottonseed oil is mainly used as salad oil, cooking oil, and found in many baked goods.

Before the Cottonseed oil mill, Blacks were not allowed to live in Midlothian and were definitely not allowed after dark. But the oil mill needing more workers changed things and Buck Kilgore became one of the first Blacks to live in Midlothian. 9th street became the street that the Black folk lived. Little LaRue Kilgore grew up with her Dad Buck and Mother Amanda at 511 n 9th street. The great perk of living there was that the Black school Booker T Washington was right next door with it's playground.

LaRue enjoyed her school but it was only for 1st to 8th grade. After 8th grade was High School and the only black High School was in neighboring Waxahachie. I believe she went to Oak Lawn School on Wyatt street. Originally the school was located on aiken st next to the future location the Joshua Chapel A.M.E. Church. So LaRue and her classmates would catch the bus at 6:30 am and ride to Waxahachie and get bused back around 3:00 pm. Unfortunately they could not stay for after school activities.

LaRue Miller graduated High School and went to Paul Quinn college in Dallas. Where she met Arthur Miller. She graduated in 1949 and then Married Arthur in 1950. Arthur Miller's brother has claim to fame. Doris (Dorie) Miller received the Navy Cross for his bravery at Pearl Harbor. He fired a 50 caliber Browning anti-aircraft machine gun at the Japs until it ran out of ammo. He was not trained to fire the gun. He also carried injured men to safety.

Mrs LaRue Miller began to teach at her old school Booker T Washington. Though at first the principle was afraid that since the students knew her so well she would not be able to discipline the children. Everyone knew her as Baby Ruth. But it all worked out. She taught there until 1967 when the school's became integrated.

At the time of integration Mrs LaRue said that she couldn't remember a problem. She began at J R Irving where the teachers were very nice and helpful. She didn't even remember a student fight. Mrs. Miller being use to hand me downs from the white schools began using more up-to-date materials to teach. She taught in Midlothian ISD until she retired in 1994. She still substitutes and is involved the Midlothian Education Foundation. LaRue Miller Elementery sounds like a school doesn't it? Well deserved!

Note: majority of this post was obtained from the cover article in the Feb 2008 Midlothian NOW magazine written by Betty Tryon.