Desoto Shelton Hollowell (1870-1951)

Portrait courtesy of the Texas Legislative Reference Library. 

  One of a number of oddly named Texas state representatives to be profiled here on the site, Desoto Shelton Hollowell briefly represented Milam County in the state legislature, and prior to his election was affiliated with a Farm Labor Union in his region. Born in Mississippi on January 14, 1870 (or 1871, depending on the source), Desoto "D.S." Hollowell was the son of Henry Harrison and Sarah (Foust) Hollowell. Removing to Texas during his youth, Hollowell resided in Davilla and later settled in Salty in Milam County. Hollowell married there in 1894 to Alice Safronia Williams (1878-1955), who survived him upon his death. The couple had three daughters, Annie (1898-1957), Ruth (1902-1979), and Myrtle (1906-1979).

  After a period in Salty Hollowell and his family relocated to Rockdale, where "D.S." spent the remainder of his life. A longtime farmer in that region, Hollowell was active in forming the Farmer-Labor Union of Milam County in the 1920s. He was elected as the union's secretary in 1922, and was influential in the "building and operating of the Farmer's Union Warehouse."

  Elected from Rockdale to the Texas house of representatives in November 1924, Hollowell took his seat in January 1925 and was named to the committees on Agriculture, Examination of the Comptroller's and Treasurer's Accounts, Labor, and Livestock and Stock Raising. Hollowell served less than a year, having resigned in December 1925, and was later succeeded by Sam Hefley, in a special election to fill the vacancy.

  Hollowell continued to farm in Milam County until health concerns compelled him to retire. He died at his home in Rockdale on March 2, 1951, aged 81, and was survived by his wife and daughters. Hollowell was interred at the Salty Cemetery in Milam County.