Article

Contemporary biography of Harry R. Roberson
(C. Avis Catalog entry #734)
(Document ID #380b)


H. R. ROBERSON.
        
    The subject of this sketch though young in years has had considerable business experience and is filling the position of cashier of the Torrance County Savings Bank as well as though he were a veteran.
    He is a purely western product having lived most of his life in New Mexico and in the western part of Texas. He worked in a bank at Santa Rosa, New Mexico, with Mr. H. B. Jones who is president of the bank here.  Since coming to Willard Mr. Roberson has identified himself with our people as thoroughly as though he had always lived here.  Under his conservative management the bank has maintained
the high standard that it had attained under the management of Mr. Davjes. He is also popular among the young people of the town and frequently attends their social gatherings. Mr. Roberson is now secretary of the Board of Trade and always cheerfully answers any inquiries concerning Willard or the surrounding country.

Roberson family leaves to Texico
(C. Avis Catalog entry #731)
(Document ID #375a)

[The 'Times' referred to is undoubtedly the 'Wichita Daily Times' of Wichita Falls, TX where the Roberson's resided before and after Texico]

Mr. and Mrs. Mart Roberson and children left Monday for Texico, N. M., where they will reside for a short time, and then take up their residence in Amarillo.  Mr. Roberson has disposed of all his interests here. The Times regrets to note the removal from this city of this excellent family, but joins with other friends in wishing for them health and prosperity in their new location.

Farwell Times Pictorial Edition 2-13-1908, p. 9
(C. Avis Catalog entry #770)

Mr. Roberson, whose likeness we herewith produce needs no introduction on the part of the Times as he is favorably known to all of our citizens.

Mr. Roberson was born at Henrietta, Tex., August 28 1887. When but a lad he moved with his parents to Wichita Falls, Texas entering the school there and graduated with high honors in the Wichita Falls Business College on May 12, 1905. He immediately came to Texico and engaged in business under the firm name of Hopping & Roberson, Dec. 4, 1905. He remained with the firm of Hopping-Roberson Mercantile Co. last year when he was elected to the responsible position of Secretary and Treasurer of the company, which position he holds at present.

Mr. Roberson is a striking example of what a young man of energy and adaptation to business can attain, having risen rapidly to the responsible position he now holds.

Socially Mr. Roberson is a young man well liked by all his many friends and acquaintances, and especially esteemed by men in business, who by business relations come in contact with him. Truthfully we can say that should all of our young men devote themselves to business with the energy as has Mr. Roberson, the age of young men would be an age to be looked upon with pride and praise. 

Certainly we are to be congratulated upon having young men like Mr. Roberson to live and mingle with us in the daily walk of life.    

Footprints v. 30
(C. Avis Catalog entry #658)

p. 188-9

Montague County Officers During First 15 years of Organization

Chief Justices:
William Fanning
Jesse P. Quinn
M. Gilbert
Thomas L. Wade
J. A. Gordon
James M. Grigsby
M. M. Knight
W. T. Waybourn
A. J. Talley

Justices:
G. B. Crain
R. A. Green
John S. Love
Chesley Marlett
A. B. P. Mayfield
John Scanland
W. J. Wagon
L. B. White

Constables:
J. R. Fitzgerald
E. A. Hart
G. Holmes
William Murrell
George McCain
H. W. Newberry
J. T. Palmer
T. J. Parr
James Stone
A. J. Tucker
J. J. Wamick

County Attorneys:
A. L. Matlock
John Quigley
John H. Stephens
John Scanland

Sheriffs:
James R. Baggett
William Brumley
J. W. Emerson
C. C. Farris
Luther C. Glass
James H. Green
William Lavender (the first)
E. W. McCampbell
John P. Stroud

District Clerks:
William Burnes
J. M. Cox
Marion M. Hagler
William A. Hearn
Ben Kribbs
C. C. Quillen
Holloway Williams

Tax Assessors-Collectors:
Joseph Boydston
Charles H. Lavender
Richard Rigor
Alphonse Templeton
Warren G. Wilkerson

County Treasurers:
David Avis (also County Commissioner and the father of the first white child, J. D. Avis, born in Montague County)
Isaac Burnett
Wilson Gilbert

Commissioners:
J. I. Bott
Allen Bruns
Robert Edwards
Albin Gordon
Aaron Haining
Frederick Hamilton
W. M. Harper
James B. Jackson
Alexander Mayfield
Austin Morris
Archibald McDonald
W. H. Perryman
Stephen Roberts
Evan S. Singleterry
A. H. Smith
Rufus Wheeler

Justices of the Peace:
Henry Braden
H. L. Carlin
Wilson L. Fletcher
David S. Hagler
J. E. Harrell
Jolhn W. Holding
L. W. LaForce
W. A. (Bud) Morris
Littleton Nowlen
Chas. P. Quinn
L. D. Riddles
H. Spears
R. R. Thompson
J. R. Wheeler
L. B. White

Constables for the Justice Courts:
D. Booker
James M. Gibbons
J. G. Fitzgerald

County Surveyors:
Frank M. Totty
Anderson White
John J. Willingham
 

Newspaper Caption & Picture of Four Generations of Avis Family
(C. Avis Catalog entry #394)

Four generations of the family of Mrs. J. D. Avis, 1318 Tenth, a resident of Wichita County 61 years, were pictured Wednesday night during an 82nd birthday party for Mrs. Avis at her residence.  Standing, left to right, are F. P. Avis, a son; Mrs. Marvin McCullough, daughter of Avis; Marilyn McCullough, daughter of Mrs. McCullough, and Mrs. J. D. Avis.  All of Mrs. Avis' six children were present for the occasion.  They were, in addition to F. P. Avis, Dave Avis, Wichita Falls, Jake Avis, Austin, Mrs. Harry Baum and Mrs. Blair Baker, Wichita Falls, and Mrs. Fred Weeks, Tyler, a former Wichitan.  Mrs. J. D. Avis came to Wichita County from Montague County.

Article about Grandmother White's House in Baum Scrapbook
(C. Avis Catalog entry #348)

<Grandmother White was mother of James David Avis.  She married C. C. White after David Avis died>

LANDMARK PASSES IN REJUVENATION

Skillful elimination of gingerbread trim and outmoded styling have rejuvenated one of Wichita Falls landmark residences, the stately house "Grandmother" White put down $4,500 in gold to build in the 1890's at 901 Burnett, overlooking a wide part of the city.

Looking none the part of its 44-year history, the house, now a beautiful Southern colonial structure, is home and office for Dr. Paul L. Myers, Wichita Falls chiropractor for more than 22 years.  Architect E. E. Stephens directed the transformation.

It was in 1898, shortly after the death of her husband, that Mrs. M. C. White went to the offices of Moore & Richolt, building contractors and later lumber dealers here, and told them to build her a house, fulfilling the request her late husband had made in giving her the gold.

Mrs. White, whose family was early prominent in the mercantile and ranching history of the Wichita Falls sector, died in 1926.  She is survived here by one grandson, Piner Avis, 1105 Taylor.

Fertilized With Bones

The house was build on the site of a smaller residence which had been home to the Whites from late in 1883 or the early part of 1884, when they came to Wichita Falls.  Before work started, a deep trench some 40 feet long was dug on the north side, along Ninth Street, and filled in three feet deep with buffalo bones and horns abundant for the gathering over the prairie that is now Floral Heights Addition.

When the bones had been given sufficient time to fertilize the soil beneath a layer of good top covering, several tree "switches" were removed from the Wichita River bottoms and transplanted.  The beautiful hackberry trees growing north of the house evidence the care that was taken to provide them abundant nourishment.

The same attention was given to the construction of the home, apparently, for the supervising architect of the modernization reported it was "well put together."  The exterior walls were storm sheathed as well as sided, and a layer of storm paper was found in good condition between the two coats of lumber.

Despite the revolutionized appearance, few exterior changes were made.  The wide front and south side porch was removed, decorative trim cut from the eaves, a few windows changed, the chimneys sliced a foot or so.  A lean-to shed was appended to the garage, which had been built to serve as a barn and livery stable complete with hay loft ?_______?

and the high ceilings on both floors were not lowered.

Stairs Remain

The two bathrooms in the home were modernized, closet space was added, and the kitchen was brought up to date.  One of the upstairs rooms was converted into a den.  The first floor ?______?

Tall Columns

Two-story high columns at the front rising from a concrete tile grooved porch and surmounted by decorative railing; window shutters, new composition roof following the same lines of the original structure, and multi-pane window effect gained by stripping screens, are new.  Parts of the brick foundation were rebuilt, new girders run underneath the entire structure, brick piers built, and the grounds reterraced.  The level of the ground around the house was raised and a masonry retaining wall around the lot removed.

The house was white painted with green tone shutters and roofing material providing the only touch of color besides the red concrete porch.

Inside, the transformation was more widespread because of the conversion of several of the huge rooms, as big as 16 to 20 feet, into office space, treatment rooms and dressing rooms.

Seven wood burning fireplaces in the home were undisturbed except for repair and refinishing, ?________?

Transformation With Striking Results

'after' picture

'before' picture

caption:
Scenes before and after reveal the transformation that has been made in the new home and office of Dr. Paul L. Myers at 901 Burnett, remodeled out of one of the city's early day showplaces.

picture of owner

caption:
DR. PAUL L. MYERS
Opening of new offices at 901 Burnett has been announced by Dr. Paul L. Myers, Wichita Falls chiropractor since Aug. 26, 1919, when he established the Dr. Paul L. Myers Chiropractic Health Clinic.  Dr. Myers is past president of the Texas State Chiropractic Association, has held other offices of the association and holds a fellowship in the American College of Chiropractors.

Wichita Daily Times 5/15/1949
(C. Avis Catalog entry #118)

Appearances are oftimes deceiving.  Take F. Piner Avis for instance.

Not even a dude from the East would say Piner Avis looks like an old-timer.  In the first place, he's too young, and in the second place, he just doesn't look like an old-timer.

That should conclude matters, except that he has been in Wichita Falls going on 64 years and probably knows as much or more about the city than any man living.

Several times in the past few years, attorneys have sought Avis, asking to clear up property disputes.  And usually the amiable pioneer has been willing and able to oblige.  He has been offered new suits, whisky, and other attractive items for such information.  But he has maintained a strict amateur standing.

Piner Avis was born Dec. 17, 1885, in Wichita Falls.

First White Boy

His father, J. P. (Jim) Avis, was the first white boy born in Montague County.  ("My father's picture hangs in the district courtroom at Montague.")

Jim Avis came to Wichita County for a "look see" in the latter part of 1878 or the first part of 1879, said his son.  Here he met "Barefoot" Bryant, one of the biggest cattle kings in the United States.

Barefoot's 45,000 acre ranch ran right up to town and the north end covered part of the townsite.  Young Jim Avis thought the county had great possibilities, so he recommended to C. C. White, Piner's maternal grandfather, that he lend Barefoot $45,000 - a dollar for each acre to refinance his ranch.

The deal was put through, but the price of beef being what it was, dry weather caused Bryant to fall into further financial declines.

Moved to County

The end result was that Jim Avis and his pretty young wife moved to Wichita County in March, 1884, to take over this 45,000-acre ranch.  the ranch headquarters was moved to Sixteenth and Austin a couple or three months before Piner Avis came into the world.

Mrs. Avis, Piner's mother, has now attained the age of 84 and lives at 1318 Tenth.  As a youngster, Piner saw Wichita Falls spring up from a few shacks and tents into a thriving city.  As he grew up, the 45,000-acre ranch shrank as Jim Avis liquidated it, piece by piece, into cash and other assets.

The ranch has never been completely sold.  Avis runs a 4,100-acre spread which begins about four miles from Wichita Falls and lies in three counties - Wichita, Archer and Clay.

Grandfather White also helped organize the Panhandle National Bank (now the First National) and Piner worked in the institution for several years.

Quit Banking

"I finally got high enough there would have to be two or three deaths before I could go any higher, so I ended my baking career," he recalled.

Piner punched cattle most of his early life, not because he had to, but because he wanted to.  He was recognized as a top cowhand and bronc buster.  ("I could ride anything with hair on it.")

In the latter part of 1908 he bought something new to ride.  It was an Abbott-Detroit, one of the first, if not the first, automobiles owned in Wichita Falls.

Later that year it was stolen, and became the first automobile theft recorded in the state of Texas.  The thief had his troubles however.  The car high-centered frequently and was recovered.

Avis' second car was an Overland, purchased in Dallas March 21, 1910, for $1,780.  The Wichitan determined to drive it home and did so, but not without difficulties.

Stopped With Jar

Most of the roads had been made and maintained for wagon and buggy travel.  They were high in the center and deeply rutted.  In Wise County Avis hit a high center; the machine stopped with a jar.

"There was no hope of getting it off," he averred, 40 years later.  "The only person on the whole horizon was a farmer plowing a flop-eared mule.

"'Well,' he told me, 'this mule ain't never seen a automobile, and I ain't never had nothing to do with one, but I reckon we can try.'

"Forthwith we blindfolded the mule, hitched him to the car with some barb wire, and took off the blindfold.  He got the car off the high center."

Avis offered to pay his benefactor, who staunchly refused.

No Visible Effect

"Maybe," parried Avis, "you'd like a drink?"  Breaking out a quart, he watched half of it gurgle down the man's throat, without cough or visible effect.

At that point, he decided to stick around a while longer.  The farmer took another healthy drag, and Avis blinked in astonishment.  Fifteen minutes later the farmer was still upright and steady.  So Avis gave him the rest of the quart and drove off, sure that he had met a might good man, or one with a might strong stomach.

Piner Avis also gave $2.50 toward starting this city's first chamber of commerce, and J. A. Kemp gave $5.  But that is another story.

"The trouble with a lot of old-timers," Avis reported, "is that they talk too much."
 

Wichita Daily Times 5/12/1957 p. 17e
(C. Avis Catalog entry #195)

Proud of a 71-year career which takes in about everything from cowpunching to banking, F. Piner Avis, 1105 Taylor, has "seen 'em come and has seen 'em go" in the Wichita Falls area.

Mostly, he says, he's "seen 'em come," and recalls when Wichita Falls was no more than a few scattered shacks and a patch of tents here and there. He probably knows as much or more about Wichita Falls than any other person living.

In past years, he has been consulted by lawyers and others to help settle property disputes. He has been offered suits, whisky and money for such services, but has never accepted any reward for information.

Avis remembers 1907, the year that the Wichita Falls Times was established, as a "panicky" year, when the fear of depression all but closed the banks of the town.

"During four or five months of 1907 you couldn't draw more than a few dollars out of any bank here, no matter how much money you had on deposit," says Avis.

Also in 1907 the Elks Lodge was established in the city and at present Avis is the only surviving charter member of the lodge.

Piner's father J. P. (Jim) Avis, was the first white boy to be born in Montague County, and his picture still hangs on the wall of the Montague district courtroom.

Showed Possibilities

Jim Avis visited Wichita County in the latter part of 1876 said Piner, when he met "Barefoot" Bryant, one of the biggest cattle kings in the country at that time.

Barefoot's 45,000 acre spread covered some of what is now Wichita Falls and extended into three counties—Wichita, Archer and Clay. Young Jim Avis figured the country here showed possibilities, and recommended that C. C. White, Piner's maternal grandfather, lend Barefoot a dollar for each acre on his ranch for refinancing.

Barefoot got the loan, but dry weather and low beef prices forced him into further money difficulties, and the whole affair ended by Jim Avis moving to the ranch with his wife in 1884 to take over from Bryant.

Piner Avis was born about a year later on Dec. 17, 1885.

Because he wanted to, and not because he had to, Piner punched cattle most of his early life.

"I have never been thrown by a horse in my life," boasts Avis "and I rode every bronc in the community." He recalls that some of his happiest days were in the saddle.

Tried Banking

"There wasn't much water in the country some of the time," recalls Piner, and says that he used to carry a small pebble to put in his mouth when he got thirsty while riding cross-country.

After his cowpoking career, he started work in a Wichita Falls bank. Grandfather White helped organize the Panhandle National Bank (now the First National) and provided Piner with an excellent chance to enter the profession.

"I got so high in the bank that several people would have had to die in order for me to advance any further," says Avis, "so I quit my banking career."

Avis' next business venture was a hardware store.

"I'm still trying to forget that hardware store," he declares, indicating one business venture that didn't pay off.

In the past few years, Avis has been in the cattle brokerage business, and still operates what is left of the old Barefoot Bryant spread. Avis' father liquidated much of the ranch into cash and other assets, but the acreage still remains at 4,394.

Avis says he owned Wichita Falls' third gasoline driven automobile - a sporty Abbot-Detroit, which he bought in 1908. The car was stolen and became the first recorded auto theft in the state.

No Traffic Problems

"I think that was even before they made laws against stealing cars," chuckled Piner, pointing out that the only crime that really brought severe punishment in those days was horse and cattle stealing. The stolen Abbot-Detroit was recovered when the thief was unable to get it through a sandbed. The motor was badly overheated, however, and Piner still remembers that it cost him $165 to "get 'er running again."

Traffic problems weren't much trouble in those days, says Piner but there were problems. Most of the roads had been made by wagon-wheels and were rutted, causing the comparatively low slung autos to "high-center" or hang on the middle of the road.

Another "first" which Avis recalls is the founding of the first chamber of commerce in Wichita Falls. He reports that he gave $2.50 to its early advancement.

One word of warning should be made in regard to F. Piner Avis. He is usually good-natured and extremely friendly, but has made a single reservation. The amiable pioneer doesn't like for his friends to call him "Mr. Avis," and claims it sounds too formal. "My name is Piner," he'll have you know, "and associates who come around with this 'Mr. Avis' stuff are likely to get knocked over against the wall."
 

Biographical Sketches of Early Brazos County Citizens
Bryan Public Library, Bryan, Texas
(C. Avis Catalog entry #686)

James S. Mooring proprietor and manager of the Exchange Hotel of Bryan, Texas is a native of Sumter County, Ala.  He was born December 5, 1841. Lewellyn, James father was born in North Carolina in 1816, was a farmer and stock raiser, and died in 1879. His wife, whose maiden name was Sallie Wilkinson, was born in North Carolina in 1817 and is now living in Grimes County, Texas, whither she came with her husband and family in 1842.  James S. Mooring was only six months old when his parents moved to Texas. His early training and education were received in Grimes County, by attending the district school.  He worked on the farm till the beginning of the late war between the North and the South, when he enlisted in the Confederate Army, Company G, Fourth Texas regiment, Hood's brigade. He participated in many of the hard fought battles, some of which are given: Seven days fighting around Richmond, Battle of Gettysburg, Seven Oaks, Sharpsburg, Chickamauga and the battle of the Wilderness. He was wounded on the second day of the battle of the Wilderness, being shot through the left arm, the use of which he lost entirely. He was sent to the hospital, and when convalescent procured a thirty days furlough and came home. Before the limit of the furlough expired the war closed. He then engaged in the hotel business at Navasota, Grimes county, which he continued till 1880, when he came to Bryan and bought the Exchange Hotel, his present home.

Mr. Mooring was married in, June, 1865 to Miss Lucy, a daughter of Norman Talifferro, of Lynchburg, Virginia. Two children are now living as the result of this union, namely Sallie Hood and James B., Jr.  Mr. Mooring has been somewhat active in politics, and during his sojourn in Navasota held the offices of Justice of the Peace and Postmaster. He is a member of the I.O.O.