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.

Blucher Haynes Erskine (1849-1929)

Portrait from Personnel of the Texas State Government, 1889.

    After several weeks of profiling a number of unusually named New England political figures, we journey south to Frio County, Texas, and Blucher Haynes Erskine. A farmer and stockraiser, Erskine represented Frio County in the Texas House of Representatives for three terms beginning in 1889. A lifelong Texas resident, Blucher H. Erskine was born in Guadalupe County on August 10, 1849, the eldest son of Andrew Nelson (1826-1862) and Annie T. Erskine (1826-1914). 

   Erskine attended schools local to Guadalupe County and was left fatherless at just thirteen years of age, with Andrew Erskine losing his life at the Battle of Antietam. Blucher Erskine married in May 1872 to Ada Cotton (1850-1939) and would have four sons, Andrew Nelson (1873-1954), John P. (born 1875), Blucher Haynes Jr. (1880-1963) and Fredrick Paul (1885-1958). 

  After entering young adulthood Erskine began a career in milling and stock-raising, first in Guadalupe County and later in Frio County. Following his removal to the latter county, he became one of that area's leading cattlemen, and in 1884 journeyed to St. Louis to take part in the First National Convention of Cattle Growers of the United States. A representative from the Frio County Stock Association to that meeting, Erskine served on the committees on Credentials, Permanent Organization, and Resolutions during the convention proceedings.

  In November 1888 Erskine was elected to represent Frio County (and the rest of the 21st district) in the Texas House of Representatives. Taking his seat at the start of the 1889-91 session, Erskine was named to committees on Finance, Internal Improvements, Lands and Land Office, Public Debt, Stocks and Stock Raising, and Roads, Bridges and Ferries. He would also chair the committee on Irrigation. Erskine won his second term in the house in November 1890 and during that legislative session held a number of new committee assignments, including Finance, State Asylums, and chairing the committee on Claims and Accounts.

  Erskine's third win at the ballot box occurred in November 1892, and during his final stint in the legislature chaired the committee on Public Lands and the Land Offices, as well as serving on the Finance and Military affairs committees. Following his time in government Erskine returned to raising shorthorn cattle and was acknowledged as a "liberal contributor to stock journals of the country." Sadly, Erskine encountered financial hardship in his later years, and in July 1919 wrote the following letter to the Shorthorn World cattle journal:

"Years of drouth [sic] and financial misfortune forced me completely out of the cattle business and I reluctantly parted with my Shorthorns in 1918 after over forty years--1875-1918 as a Shorthorn breeder. I felt like a man suddenly jerked from near the top of the ladder. I had to rub my bruises awhile before trying to mount again. Although nearly 70 years old, I am going to try in a small way, as my little money left will allow me to enter the ''ranks" again and when the final call comes, die a Shorthorn breeder."

   Erskine's last years were spent in Cometa, Crystal City, Texas and during this time was an avid researcher of his family's history, work that would see him author a piece on his father's exploits (published in the June 1927 issue of the Frontier Times Magazine) as well as compiling a 116-page biography entitled "Life of Andrew Nelson Erskine, 1826-1862". Blucher Haynes Erskine died at age 80 on December 20, 1929, with burial occurring at his ranch in Crystal City, Texas.

From the Personnel of the Texas State Government, 1892.

Delphos Green Harned (1872-1949), Delphos Washburn Harrington (1867-1941)

Portrait from the 1912 Oklahoma Red Book.

  We continue our stay in Oklahoma for a peek at the life of Delphos Green Harned, a transplant to that state from Breckinridge County, Kentucky. A farmer and clothing merchant following his resettlement, Harned served as a member of the Oklahoma Constitutional Convention of 1906-1907, helping to frame the laws of the then-newly admitted 46th state. Born on January 11, 1872, in Hudson, Kentucky, Delphos G. Harned was one of several children born to Henry Clay and Martha Jane (Green) Harned.

   Little is known of Harned's life in Kentucky, except notice of his marriage in Breckinridge County to Euzada Americus "Zada" Board in January 1895. The couple's fifty-four-year union saw the births of six children, Wallace Elbert (1896-1911), Owen Gilbert (1898-1983), Wilbur Lee (1901-1970), Edith Irene (1904-1997), Velma Beatrice (1907-1988), and Harle Cruce (1911-1983).

  By the late 1890s Delphos Harned had moved to Oklahoma and after establishing roots in the town of Ringwood farmed and raised stock. In 1906 he was elected as a Democratic delegate from the territory's 9th district to the Oklahoma Constitutional Convention. Taking his seat in late 1906, Harned served on the committees on Education, Enrollment, Privileges and Elections, State and School Lands, Liquor Traffic, and Public Health and Sanitation.

From the Breckinridge News, February 20, 1907.

  Sometime following his service in the state constitutional convention Delphos Harned resettled in Durant, Oklahoma. Here he would establish Harned's, a store that sold men and women's clothing, including shoes, hats, undergarments, and suits. Little is known of Harned's life after this point, except for mention of his residing in Guthrie, Oklahoma in the early 1920s. Harned died in Stillwater, Oklahoma on April 7, 1949, at age 77. His wife Zada survived him by one year, and following her death in December 1950 was interred alongside him at the Fairlawn Cemetery in Stillwater.

Portrait from the Texas Bar Journal, 1941 (Vol. 4.)

   On October 7, 2017 (just three months following the above write-up on Delphos G. Harned) another "Delphos" was discovered--Delphos Washburn Harrington of El Paso, Texas. A lawyer for nearly four decades, "Del" W. Harrington briefly served in the Texas House of Representatives, having been elected to that body to fill a vacancy in late 1914. A native of Pike County, Illinois, Del W. Harrington was born in that county on May 14, 1867, being the son of Daniel Webster and Emmeline (Shelly) Harrington.

   Harrington's early schooling occurred in the county of his birth and he later attended the Northern Illinois Normal School in Dixon. Early in his life, he moved to Texas, and following his settling in the town of Dalhart was engaged as an insurance salesman and newspaper editor. Admitted to the Texas bar in 1903, Harrington married the following year to Mary Stringer (1874-1933), with whom he would have two daughters, Laura Katherine (1905-1966) and Mary (1907-1980). Harrington's residency in Dalhart saw him win election as Dalhart's mayor, serving in that post from 1905-07.

   Several years after establishing himself in Dalhart Harrington removed to Amarillo to continue his practice, and in September 1914 was elected to fill a vacancy in the Texas House of Representatives from the 125th legislative district. This vacancy had been occasioned by the August 18th resignation of Hilton R. Greer, and Harrington officially took his seat in the legislature on September 11th. He served through the remainder of the 1914-15 session (which concluded on January 12th of the new year) and declined renomination, preferring to return to his law practice.

  Following his brief stint in state government, Del Harrington moved his practice to El Paso in 1915, joining the firm of Davis and Goggin. Shortly after his resettlement, he was retained as counsel for the El Paso Cattleman's Association and later became a member of the El Paso and Southwestern Railroad Company's legal staff. He retired from that position in 1938, and in the following year was returned to political office when he was elected as a justice of the peace, a post he would hold until his death.

  Widowed in 1933, Del W. Harrington died at age 74 on August 19, 1941, having suffered a heart attack while at work in an El Paso courtroom. He was later interred alongside his wife at the Concordia Cemetery in El Paso. 

From the Dalhart Texan, August 20, 1941.

Decimus et Ultimus Barziza (1838-1882)

Portrait from the Southwestern Historical Quarterly, April 1963.

   This wonderfully named political figure is Decimus et Ultimus Barziza, a 19th-century Texas resident who gained distinction as a soldier, author, lawyer, and member of the Texas State House of Representatives. When I first stumbled across this intriguingly named man several years ago, there were very few resources online that mentioned him at any great length. I'm pleased to report that the above fact has now changed, and one of these newly discovered resources (an archived April 1963 edition of the Southwestern Historical Quarterly) gives an excellent overview on Barziza's short life and how he received his odd name.
   The story behind Barziza's unique name begins in Williamsburg, Virginia, where he was born on September 4, 1838. He was the son of an Italian immigrant and Viscount named Filippo Ignacio Barziza and his Canadian wife, Cecilia Amanda Bellett. Decimus's father settled in Williamsburg, Virginia around 1820 and thereafter had a family that consisted of 9 children. In 1838 a tenth child was born, and after doing some celebrating with friends, Filippo realized that he had no idea what to name his newborn son. A friend who was with him humorously suggested the name of "Decimus et Ultimus" (which literally translates to "tenth and last" in Latin) and the elder Barziza decided to bestow that very name upon his son!
   Young Decimus studied at the College of William and Mary in Virginia and graduated from here in 1857. He removed to Texas with three of his brothers shortly after leaving college and once settled, began the study of law at Baylor University. He earned his law degree in 1859 and shortly thereafter moved to Owensville in the hopes of opening a law practice.
  Barziza's career as a lawyer was put on hold at the outbreak of the Civil War. Soon after the hostilities broke out, he joined up with the Confederate Army and served with the Fourth Texas Infantry. He later became a first lieutenant and served under the command of Gen. John Bell Hood. Barziza eventually became a Captain under Hood and saw action at the Battles of Manassas and Gettysburg. On July 2, 1863, he was wounded at the latter battle and was captured by the Union Army, spending the next few months as a prisoner of war in a camp hospital in Ohio. In 1864, Barziza and a number of other Confederate prisoners were being transferred by train to Point Lookout, Maryland, when he made good his escape by leaping through one of the train's windows.
  In the weeks following his escape, Barziza gradually made his way to Canada and would eventually manage to sneak back into the United States. After resettling in Texas in 1865, he published a memoir of his wartime experiences, entitled The Adventures of a Prisoner of War, and Life and Scenes in Federal Prisons: Johnson's Island, Fort Delaware and Point Lookout. One should also note that Barziza didn't publish these memoirs under his own name, but rather under the pseudonym "An Escaped Prisoner of Hood's Texas Brigade".

            This 1870s portrait of Barziza appears on the Legislative Reference Library of Texas website.

   In the years following the war, Barziza established his law practice and within a few years became known as one of the leading attorneys in his area. He made his first jump into politics in 1873, winning election to the Texas State House of Representatives from Harris County. Barziza proved to be busy as a first-term legislator, being named to the committees on Asylums, Commerce and Manufactures, Congressional Districts,  Constitutional Amendments, Education, Internal Improvements, Judicial Districts, State Affairs, and the Texas Central Railroad. He would also chair the committee on Public Lands and Land Office. Barziza was reelected to the legislature in 1876 and served until August 2nd of that year when he resigned his seat due to a clash with the House's majority party over a piece of legislation. 
  Barziza continued with his law practice in the years following his stint in the legislature and was also one of the founders (and later chairman) of the Houston Land and Trust Company. In 1878 he name was boosted by the Houston Age as a potential candidate for Lieutenant Governor, but nothing came of it. He died of an undisclosed illness in Houston, Texas on January 30, 1882, at age 44, and was subsequently buried in the Glendale Cemetery in Houston.
  

    This Ripley's Believe It Or Not write up on Barziza was published in 1965 in the Albuquerque Journal.

Memucan Hunt Jr. (1807-1856), Memucan Hunt Sr. (1729-1808)

  The intense-looking gentleman above is Memucan Hunt Jr., a North Carolina native who became one of the pioneering politicians in the Republic of Texas. He was born on August 7, 1807, in what is now Vance County, North Carolina, the grandson of North Carolina State Treasurer Memucan Hunt (1729-1808). Hunt is recorded as attending schools local to the Hillsboro, North Carolina vicinity and was later involved in various business and planting interests in the North Carolina and Virginia areas.
  While still a young man, Memucan Hunt Jr. moved to Mississippi to take over the ownership of a family plantation. While living in Mississippi, Hunt joined a group of volunteers headed to Texas to take part in the ongoing revolution. Within a few months of his arrival, Hunt was promoted to Brigadier General by then-Texas President David Gouverneur Burnet (1788-1870.)
  Hunt was named to his first major political office when Burnet appointed him as the Texas Republic's Minister to the United States in 1837. During his few months in that post, Hunt drew up a proposal for the possible annexation of Texas, but this was effectively squashed by the U.S. Senate.
  

                                 This portrait of Hunt appeared on a 19th century carte de visite.

   Towards the end of 1838, the new Texas president, the curiously named Mirabeau Buonaparte Lamar, named Hunt as Texas Secretary of the Navy, and he served just six months in office. Three years after this, Hunt was nominated as a Texas Vice-Presidential candidate with the aforementioned David Burnet but lost the election to the famed Sam Houston.
  Memucan Hunt married on Valentine's Day 1850 to Galveston native Anne Taliaferro Howard (1832-1916). The couple is recorded as being childless during their marriage. One can also note that Hunt was twenty-five years older than his eighteen-year-old spouse.
  Hunt was later elected to a term in Texas State Legislature in 1852 where he served for a year. He spent his last months in Tipton County, Tennessee, dying at age 48 on June 5, 1856, at the home of his brother. Hunt's body was subsequently returned to Texas a few days after his death and he was buried in the Montgomery New Cemetery in Montgomery County, Texas. Anne Hunt later remarried three times and died in 1916 at age 83. She is interred along with Memucan at the above-mentioned cemetery.

  The grandfather of the preceding gentleman, Memucan "Muke" Hunt Sr. was born in 1729 in Virginia. He migrated to North Carolina in his youth and in 1773 was elected to the North Carolina General Assembly. He continued to serve here until 1779 when he was elected to the state senate. 
 In 1784, the North Carolina General Assembly established the office of North Carolina State Treasurer and Memucan Hunt Sr. was selected as the first man to hold the post. He served in office until 1787, when he was defeated by John Haywood (1754-1827.) Haywood went on to become the longest-serving state treasurer in North Carolina history, serving for forty years, until his death in 1827.
  Memucan Hunt Sr. died at age 79 in 1808, a year after the birth of his grandson. The origins of the name "Memucan" stem from a figure with that name in the biblical book of Esther. This ancient Memucan is listed as being a vice regent and adviser to Ahasuerus, a Persian King.