East Texas Historical Journal Volume 17 Issue 2 Article 1 10-1979 ETHJ Vol-17 No-2 Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarworks.sfasu.edu/ethj Part of the United States History Commons Tell us how this article helped you. Recommended Citation (1979) "ETHJ Vol-17 No-2," East Texas Historical Journal: Vol. 17 : Iss. 2 , Article 1. Available at: https://scholarworks.sfasu.edu/ethj/vol17/iss2/1 This Full Issue is brought to you for free and open access by the History at SFA ScholarWorks. It has been accepted for inclusion in East Texas Historical Journal by an authorized editor of SFA ScholarWorks. For more information, please contact [email protected]. AUG 2 2 197 VOLUME XVll 1979 NUMBER 2 EAST TEXAS HISTORICAL ASSOCIATION OFflCERS Ralph Steen ........•.....•......................•.............President Frank H. Smyrl ............•.....................•..........First Vice-President l' Ms. Marion Holt.... .. ......•.•..• _..•.•..•............Second Vice-President Ms. Tommie Jan Lowery .......................•... .. Secretary DIRECTORS Ms. Jere Jackson .......•...............Nacogdoches .....•....•...•........1979 Lee Lawrence __ Tyler .................•............1979 William R. Johnson Nacogdoches ...•......•.••.........1979 Ms. Lois Parker ........•..............Beaumont ............•...........1980 • Irvin May College Stalion 1980 Charles K. Phillips.. Nacogdoches •...•.. 1981 Ms. Willie Earl Tindall San Augustine... .......•......1981 Ms. Corrinne Crow __ Commerce 1981 James Reese __ .......•..........Nacogdoches .. .........•.•...u (ifJicio William Brophy ..... ..•............... acogdoches.. .....•....•...f'X officio EDITORIAL BOARD Allan Ashcraft. ......•.............................. .. • ..•.•.. _ Bryan Robert Glover ........•.....................................•.............Tyler Ralph Goodwin. ......................•........•.......•.... •. .Commerce Frank Jackson Commerce Archie P. McDonald.............................. ..•. •.......Nacogdoches Ms. Charles Martin. ..............•...•.........•................. .. ..Midland James L ichols..... ••••.•.•...•.................•........Nacogdoches Ralph A. Wooster ......•.••................... _.....•.•............Beaumont MEMBERSIUP INSTITUTIONAL MEMBERS pay SIOO annually. PATRONS contribute 10 the work of the Association $100 or more. SUSTAINING MEMBERS contribute to the work of the Association S50 or more. REGULAR MEMBERS pay $8 dues annually. , STUDENT MEMBERS pay 4 dues annually. A sludent enrolled in high school or college is eligible for membership. P.O. Box 6223. Stephen F. Austin Stale University. acogdoches. Texas 75962. S5.00 per copy 10 non·members 53.00 per copy to members XVII - East Texas Historical Association EAST TEXAS HISTORICAL JOURNAL Volume XVII 1979 Number- 2 CONTENTS GOVERNOR MIRIAM A. FERGUSON by Ralph W. Steen., _ Page 3 STAGECOACH ROADS TO MARSHALL b.v Max S. Lale _ Page 18 THE HOWARD ASSOCIATION OF GALVESTONo THE 1850" THEIR PEAK YEARS hy Peggy Hildreth , ., Page 33 THE FOLKLORE AND FACTS BEHIND THE LULING DISCOVERY WELL hy Riley Froh , Page 45 EAST TEXAS COLLOQUY by James M. McReynolds , Page 55 BOOK REVIEWS .................................................Page58 Archie P. McDonald, Editor STEPHEN F. AUSTIN STATE UNIVERSITY P.O. BOX 6223 NACOGDOCHES, TEXAS 75962 2 EAST TEXAS HISTORICAL ASSOCIATION BOOK REVIEWS AND ~OTES Jordan, Texas Log Buildings: A Folk Architecture, by Loon Taylor. Hardeman, Wildernen Calling: The Hardeman Family in the American Westward Muvement, by Billie B. Kemper. Lewis, The Tre((sure.~ ofGall'eSIOn Ba.v and Miller, The Eyes (~fTexll.\ Travel Guide: GuffCoasl Edilion, by David Allnutt. Porterfield, A Loose Herd of Texans, by W. Eugene Hollon. Siegel, The Poel President of Texas, by Paulinus O. Effiong. Hutson, From Chalk to Rron::.e, by Janet Jelen. Roach. The Cowgirls, by Onida L. Dean. Gipson, Cowhand: The Story of a Working Cowboy, by Ert J. Gum. Davis, The Texas Rangers: Thdr First 150 Years, by Adrian Anderson. Rosenberg, Sanger.s': Piol/ar Texas Merchants, by John O. King. Erickson, Through Time and the Valley, by Frederick W. Rathjen. Dulaney, Phillips. and MacPhelan. Speak, Mr. Speaker, by D. Clayton Brown. Ewing, GI/r EII/ing Famil.v, by Carolyn Ericson. Fischer, The Western Territories in the Civil War, by Michael L. Tate. Carter, Four Brnthers in Blue. by Richard J. Sommers. Cooper. Walter Hines Page. by Robert V. Haynes. Vorpahl, Frederic Remington and the West. by Harwood P. Hinton. Conrad, The Cajuns, by John M. McIntyre. Tullos, Long Journey Home, and Dorson. Folklore and Fakelore, by Francis Edward Abernethy. McLean. Paper.l· Concerning Robertson's Coluny, Volume V. Dooley, Why Stop? Martin. More Early Suutheast TeXll:'i Families, Dobie, Coronado's Children. Tinkle. An American Original: The Lif<> ofJ. Frank Dobie. Eaton, Jefferson Davis. Johnson, Division And Reunion. Goodwyn, The Populist Moment. Sansing, What was Freedom's Price? Haws, The Ag<' ofSegr<>galion: Race Relations in the SOllth, 1890-1945. Owens. Perspectives and frony in American Slavery. Brauer. John F. Kennedy and the Second Recon.l·truc:1ion. EAST TEXAS HISTORICAL ASSOCIAnON 3 GOVERNOR MIRIAM A. FERGUSON by Ralph W. Steen January 20, 1925 was a beautiful day in Austin, Texas, and thousands of people converged on the city to pay tribute to the first woman to serve the state as governor. Long before time for the inaugural ceremony to begin every space in the gallery of the House of Representatives was taken and thousands who could not gain admission blocked hanways and stood outside the capitol. After brief opening ceremonies, Chief Justice C.M. Cureton administered the oath of office to Lieutenant Governor Barry Miller and then to Governor Miriam A. Ferguson. Pat M. Neff, the retiring governor, introduced Mrs. Ferguson to the audience and she delivered a brief inaugural address. The governor called for heart in government, proclaimed political equality for women, and asked for the good will and the prayers of the women of Texas. The address closed with the statement; "With love for all, with malice toward none, trusting in God, I consecrate my life to my state." Several bands were in Austin for the inauguration but most attention focused on the 142nd Infantry Band, widely known as the Old Gray Mare Band. The reason for the interest was the association with the band of May Peterson (Mrs. E.O. Thompson), a star of the Metropolitan Opera. During the ceremony, the band played and Miss Peterson sang "The Eyes of Texas" as the inaugural party entered the House Chamber, "Put on Your Old Gray Bonnet" when Mrs. Ferguson was introduced, "The Star Spangled Banner" after Mrs. Ferguson's address, and "Dixie" as the inaugural party left the hall. In the governor's office, Mrs. Ferguson discovered that Neff had left a Bible for her open at Psalms J 19, verse 115: "Thy Word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path." It was a verse which became one ofher favorites. The new governor was a calm and most dignified individual and the Dallas IV ews declared that the candidate of ginghams and bonnet had been replaced by a handsomely dressed woman of charm. The path which Mrs. Ferguson followed from birth on a Bell County farm to the governor's office led her in many directions including an earlier stop at the governor's mansion. Ralph W. Steen is President of the East Texas Historical As:wciatiort, 1978-1979, and President-Emeritus afStephen F. Austin State Unil'ersit.\,. 4 EAST TEXAS HISTORICAl. ASSOCIATIO"l Miriam Amanda Wallace was born June 13, 1875 and was one of six children of Joseph Wallace and Eliza Garrison Ferguson Wallace. Her parents owned a substantial amount of land and werc looked upon as one of the more wealthy families in Bell County. At the time of Miriam's birth, a boy named James Edward Ferguson was approaching his fourth birthday on ai'arm about seven miles from the Wallace farm. Jim Ferguson and Miriam Wallace were to share much of their lives. Had he lived, the first husband of Mrs. Wallace would have been Jim's uncle. Miriam Wallace spent some time in a public school and, on other occasions, was taught by a tutor who lived in the Wallace home. She attended Salado College for two years and Baylor College for Women in Belton for a short while. Life in the Wallace family underwent a major change in 1898 with the death of Mr. Wallace, but the family was left with large land holdings and a substantial amount ofcash. Afterthe death ofMr. Wallace, James E. Ferguson who was working his way up the economic ladder in Bclton, found it necessary to visit his aunt on numerous occasions to discuss matters of finance. Other matters were discussed also and on December 31, 1899 Ferguson and Miriam Wallace were married. They lived in Belton in a white cottage with red trim, a gift of the brides's mother. Two daughters, Ouida and Dorrace, were born to the Fergusons. In 1906, the Fergusons sold their share of a bank in Belton which Jim had managed and moved to Temple where he organized the Temple State Bank and became its president. The Ferguson home in Temple, located only a few blocks from the center of town, was typical of the homes of successful businessmen of the period. It was a two-story house with nine rooms, two galleries and the inevitable cupola. Jim, who never learned that there are strangers in the world, was well liked in Temple and the bank prospered. Mrs. Ferguson, on the other hand, never learned the art of being nice to people whom she didn't like, and was noted for lack oftact and diplomacy. She took no part in club atlairs and very little part in church affairs. One reason may have been that her health was not good. A more important reason was her devotion to her borne and her children. To a woman of Mrs. Ferguson's character and lack of interest in public affairs, the decision ofher husband to become a candidate for governor must have been a great shock. James E. Ferguson, a man who had never held any political ott'ice, announced late in 1913 that he would be a candidate for governor in the Democratic primaries of 1914. His announcement elicited little response and most observers felt that he was wasting EAST TEXAS HISTORICAL ASSOCIAnON 5 his time and his money.