Biographies
Cator, James Hamilton (Jim)
BN: Sept. 4, 1852, Donegal, Ireland
Married: May 26, 1887, Dodge City, KS to Edith (Edie) Land
DOD: Oct 4, 1927, Amarillo, TX
Burial: Hansford Cemetery, Hansford County, TX
As his father, John Bertie Cator (commander of H.M.S. Intrepid in the Artic expedition to search for Sir John Franklin), did not want him or his brother, Arthur John Locke (Bob) Cator, to follow the sea, Bob & Jim came to America in 1871 to be farmers. However they found buffalo hunting more interesting. With Dodge City, Kansas, as headquarters and the buffalo in that area about gone, they decided to drop down to the Texas Panhandle to hunt the southern herd despite the danger of Indians. In late Dec., 1873, in a snowstorm, they were on the Palo Duro Creek in Hansford County. This became Jim Cator's home area. Thus he is usually given credit for being the first permanent settler in the Texas Panhandle. In 1877*, they built Zulu Stockade as a trading center. By 1878 they had gone into the cattle business and registered their brand as the Diamond C. Jim Cator was the first county judge as well as president of the first bank in Hansford Co. Jim and Edie had 3 children, Edith Marion, Louise (Louie), and James Fullerton (Jimmie) Cator.
McGee, James Harry
Born: July 1858, Lewis County, WV
Married: Dec. 28, 1885, Mobeetie, TX
Spouse: (1)Alfie Phanby Bayne
Submitted by: Dorothy Hudson, dhudson862@gruver.net
Biography: James Harry and Tom T.McGee, sons of James and Cordelia Talbott McGee, were both cowboys in the TX Panhandle by 1880. Later Harry had a ranch in Hansford Co., where he became a postmaster and the first sheriff of Hansford Co. while Tom became the first sheriff of Hemphill County, where he was killed by outlaws in 1894. Harry's wife Alfie died Jan.7,1890 and was buried at the Hansford Cemetery-the first woman to be buried there. Their 2 children are nameless. Harry did not run for sheriff again in Hansford County, but he was sheriff of Oldham County in 1898 and married to Margaret East, a sister of Jim East. By 1913, he was a carpenter in Vega, and they had 5 children, James T. b.1898, Annie, b.1900, John C. b. 1902, Margaret J. b. 1906, and Thomas T. b. 1908. Clues to these McGees end here. Some of us are trying to find his picture to hang with the other sheriffs of Hansford and Oldham Counties.
Ralston, Lillian H.
Born: Jan. 25,1888 in Rusk County, TX
Married: November 1919 in Stratford
Spouse: R. H. Ralston
Burial: Gruver Cemetery
Submitted by: Nita Bynum, prunepicker@arn.net
Excerpts from the Spearman Reporter, Front page Oct.27,1949
Funeral Services Held for Local Pioneer Citizen
Funeral services for Mrs. Lillian H.Ralston, long time Gruver resident and pioneer of the north plains, were held at 2:30 o'clock Sunday afternoon, Oct.23 in the Gruver Methodist church. Rev.W.L.Porterfield, pastor, conducted services. Burial was in Gruver Cemetery under the direction of Boxwell Brothers. Pallbearers were Floyd Cline, J.C.Harris, M.F.Barkley, Darrell Cooper, Kelly Garrett, Horce Hayes, Coy Holt and Roy Thomas. Mrs. Ralston was the wife of R.H. Ralston, prominently identified here as a wheat producer and stockman. the deceased was born Jan. 25,1888 in Rusk County. He was married to Mrs. Ralston at Stratford in November 1919. The family lived here since 1927. She was an active member in the Methodist Choir. Surviving relatives include the husband; three sons, Cecil, Orie Albert, and Roy all of Gruver; a daughter Miss Viola Jean Ralston, also of Gruver and one grandson.
Taylor, T. H. (Thomas Henry)
Born: March 25, 1864, Gordonsville, TN
Married: January 1, 1893 Lamar Co., TX
Spouse: Lula Kate Robbins
Submitted by: Dora Kate Taylor Lee, dklee@direcway.com
T. H. Taylor (Thomas Henry) was born in Gordonsville, TN on March 25, 1864. He was the second son of Granberry Jackson Taylor and Ann Elizabeth Whitley Taylor of Smith County, TN. This Taylor family line has been traced back as early as 1683 to VA, when Andrew Taylor was granted 200 acres in Norfolk County, VA.
T. H. Taylor arrived in Lamar County Texas in December 1890 and there he met Lula Kate Robbins in Detroit (near Paris) and they were married January 1,1893.
In 1898, the Taylors moved to Indian Territory, Oklahoma, and filed on and homesteaded land. With a brother- in-law, they owned and operated a general store. The Post Office, which they secured and named Texmo, was housed in the store building. The name Texmo originated from the fact that more settlers were from Texas and Missouri than anywhere. Texmo was located 5 miles south and 2 miles west of the present town of Leedy, OK.
Three children were born to this union, however the oldest daughter died in childhood. Mattie Elizabeth Taylor was born in 1900; Jackson Robbins Taylor was born in 1901 at Texmo.
The T. H. Taylor family moved to Elk City, OK, then to Pampa, TX and in 1917 they purchased a section of land 5 miles Southwest of Spearman, leased it and returned to Elk City. In 1920, the Taylors returned to Spearman and purchased a rooming house on Main Street from Hix and Ed Wilbanks. The rooming house was called Taylor Rooms, which they operated until 1926, then sold it to Ben Ooley.
The Taylors moved to their farm south of Spearman where they resided and farmed until 1941. At this time, the operation of the farm was turned over to their son, Jack Taylor, who moved his family into the farmhouse. Jack and wife Cleo Gill Taylor raised their two children, Tommy (Thomas Albert) and Dora Kate on the family farm, where Jack and Cleo lived until his health failed in the 1950s.
In 1941, Mr. and Mrs. T. H. Taylor retired and moved into their son's house in Spearman where they spent the remainder of their days. An avid domino player, Mr. Taylor spent many enjoyable afternoons playing dominoes with his friends, Dr. G. P. Gibner, Mr. Raney, Mr. Maize and others. They played in one of their homes or the downtown domino parlor/pool hall and often spent the entire afternoon engrossed in their pastime.
Mrs. T. H. Taylor devoted her retirement days to keeping house, cooking, gardening, sewing, and she dearly loved baking cookies for her grandchildren. There was usually a tin of cookies in the cabinet when the children dropped by. She often prepared a warm lunch for them on schooldays, as the school was only two blocks away. Mrs. Taylor was proficient in handwork such as tatting, crochet, embroidery and quilt tops and many of her beautiful handmade items remain in the family today.
In later years the Taylors usually spent the harsh Panhandle winters with their daughter, Mattie Taylor Hodges in Denton, Texas. T. H. Taylor died July 22, 1957 and Lula Kate Taylor died January 28, 1961. Both are buried in Rose Lawn Cemetery, Denton, TX.
Tyler, Stanley Cushing
Born: June 4, 1857, Lowell, MA
Married: Jan. 31, 1884, Charleston, MA
Spouse: Mary Elizabeth Ayers
Date of Death: Jan. 23, 1927, Guymon, Texas Co. OK
Burial: Guymon Cem., Guymon, OK
Submitted by: Nita Bynum, prunepicker@arn.net
Biography: Stanley Cushing Tyler was a Harvard student when his doctor advised him to go west to a higher, drier climate. He came to the Palo Duro Creek in then unorganized Hansford County in 1879 and became a rancher. Leasing 100,000 acres from the State and acquiring 8 sections of land, his VZ- Ranch was 185 miles from Dodge City and the railroad without a town in between. In 1886, he was appointed Justice of the Peace for his precinct in the 6 county area with the seat of government at Mobeetie. After the county was organized in 1889, he served a term as County Judge from 1892-1894 and became known a as Judge Tyler. In 1894 he began a stone mansion with stone quarried 3 miles from his new home. Two stories over a full basement, it had 7 bedrooms but no bathrooms. His 5 children were Mary Angeline, Ethel, Stanley Cushing, who died at 5 months, Oliver Stanley, and Fanny Stanley. The family moved to Guymon, OK in 1907, but did not sell the ranch until 1948.