Wood County, 1850-1900 Page: 92
201 p. : ill., ports. ; 29 cm.View a full description of this book.
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Captain WILLIAM M. GILES came to Wood
County in 1861 and enlisted in the Confederacy, which
he served for the duration of the Civil War. He was
born in Kemper County, Mississippi 12 January 1841.
At the age of 13 he came to Wharton County, Texas
where an older brother had settled.
He married Eliza Mildred Jones of Quitman in
1864, and for a number of years after the war he
managed a large plantation for his wife's mother. Later
he was engaged in the mercantile business in Quitman
with T. E. Conger. Most of Giles' spare time was
devoted to the study of law, and in 1876, he moved to
Mineola and began a law practice. He was deeply in-
terested in politics and took an active part in political
affairs. After his move to Mineola he was elected mayor
of Quitman.
In 1898, he entered the race for Railroad Com-
missioner aganist Allison Mayfield. Finding that most
people preferred Mayfield, he withdrew from the race.
James S. Hogg was a young protege of Giles, and they
were warm friends. Giles gave a great deal of his time to
the upbuilding of Wood County and at the time of his
death, 27 May 1901, he was credited with having
helped to place the county among the foremost in Tex-
as.
Source: Mineola Monitor Centennial Edition
Doctor J. B. GOLDSMITH, born 20 September
1860, near Monroe, Louisiana, married Mollie Lehnis
of Smith County, Texas 18 March 1886. Miss Lehnis
had come to Quitman to live with her uncle, Mathias
Lehnis, after her parents' deaths. She and James S.
Hogg were baptized at the same service at the First
Baptist Church of Quitman.
The Goldsmith's daughter, Stella, was born in the
Webster Community.
Soon after his marriage, Doctor Goldsmith began
the study of medicine and received his license to prac-
tice at Louisville, Kentucky, in 1888. At this time, the
family moved to the Redland Community where he
began his medical practice. His daughter told of his
performing an emergency operation on the kitchen
table by light of a kerosene lamp. A portion of the
house where he performed the operation at Redland is
still standing. Charles Oliver, son of Doctor J. B. and
Mollie Goldsmith, was born there.
In 1891, the Goldsmith family moved to Quitman
and rented a log house. Later he bought the property,
built a house and lived there until his death. His sec-ond son, B. M. Goldsmith, was born at that site.
Doctor Goldsmith was an avid reader and neverceased to study medicine. He held a number of
diplomas from Tulane University, New Orleans. Doc-
tor Goldsmith and his wife were buried at Lee
Cemetery.
Source: Wood County Democrat
LEONIDAS ROBERT (BOB) GRAHAM was the
first merchant in Mineola - 1873. He was born 25
January 1848 in Alabama, came to Texas with his
parents in 1856, settled near Henderson, Texas. His
parents returned to Alabama in 1856 leaving their son
Bob with relatives. They were unable to return to Tex-
as because of the outbreak of the Civil War.
Bob Graham joined the Confederate Cavalry
before he was 15 years old and served throughout the
war. When the war was ended he returned to Alabama
but came to Texas in 1871, then to Mineola to become
the first merchant in the small village. He married
Cornelia Luella Sparkman, a native of Georgia, whose
family had settled in Garden Valley, Smith County.
Their children were:
Evelyn, married Ernest Bruce
Louis S., married (1) Ada Halbert; (2) Hortense
Myers, (3) Rose Ropar
Edwin Douglas, married Irene Reneau
Vivian, married Joe C. Everett
Clara Lee, married G. S. Northcutt
Louise, married C. Ford Channing
Ruth, married Claude D. Wilson
Esther, did not marry
Source: Ora Bruner
JAMES M. GREEN, born 28 November 1859 in
Troy County, Alabama, who came to join his older
brothers at Starrville, Smith County, Texas, moved to
eastern Wood County in the early 1870's, in a com-
munity called Terrapin Neck. At that time some of his
neighbors were the Faulks, Sniders, Glenn and the R.
F. Green family.
J. M. Green married Emma Eddins, born 6 August
1877. The couple farmed and operated a small store in
the community.Five children were born to this marriage; one died
in infancy. Those surviving were: Emmett, married92
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Wood County, 1850-1900 (Book)
This text gives an overview of Wood County, Texas from roughly 1850 to 1900. It includes historical sketches of various aspects of life in the county as well as anecdotes. Genealogical information and documentation are also included for pioneer families in the area.
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Wood County Historical Society. Wood County, 1850-1900, book, 1976; Quitman, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth91051/m1/100/: accessed April 28, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; .