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Biographical Sketches - A

AALEN, MILTON IGNATIUS, son of Frederick Albert Aalen and Frances Elizabeth Neyer Aalen, was born April 13, 1922 at San Antonio, Texas.
    He attended school in San Antonio; Baltimore, Maryland; and Manila in the Philippine Islands.  He was graduated from Central Catholic High School in San Antonio Texas with the Class of 1939.  He enrolled at Texas A. & M. College and received his B. S. Degree in Accounting.
    He enlisted in the U. S. Air Force in 1943 and served during World War II until he received his discharge in 1946.  He served on a B-24 Bomber and flew 35 combat missions in the European Theater of Operations as a Radioman.
    From 1949 to 1953 he served as an Internal Revenue Agent with the U. S. Treasury Department in Houston, Texas.  In 1953 and 1954 he was an accountant with the Standard Oil & Gas Company at Houston.
    In October 1954 he was appointed Administrator for the Hearne General Hospital and moved to Hearne, Texas to make his home.
    On September 4, 1948 he was married to Mary Bernadine Wright, daughter of George Dave Wright and Viola Mae Hickey Wright of San Antonio, Texas.  Mary Bernadine Wright Aalen attended the public schools of San Antonio and was graduated from Harlandale High School in San Antonio with the Class of 1940.  After finishing high school she attended Draughon's Business College in San Antonio and graduated from this school in 1941.  Three children were born to Milton Ignatius Aalen and Mary Bernadine Wright Aalen: James Milton Aalen, Diane Elizabeth Aalen, and Gary Wright Aalen.
    Milton Ignatius Aalen and Mary Bernadine Wright Aalen are communicants of St. Mary's Catholic Church.  She is a member of St. Mary's Altar Society; a member and Treasurer of the Hearne Parent-Teachers Association; a member and Treasurer of the Green Thumb Garden Club of Hearne.  Milton Ignatius Aalen is a former member of the Hearne Rotary Club; a member of the Robertson County A. & M. Club; a member of St. Mary's Catholic Church Men's Club; a member of the District Committee of Boy Scouts of America; and a member of the Air Force Reserve. 

ABRAMS, JAKE, was born in Bremond, Texas, August 16, 1902, the son of Frank Abrams and Celia Bibergall Abrams.  His father was a native of Russia, having been born in that country in 1868; his mother was born in 1880 in San Francisco, California.  During the 1890's his father came to America and was an itinerant merchant, traveling over a large territory on foot, selling his goods, wares and merchandise.
   In Bremond, his father owned and operated a hotel during the booming railroad days in that town, but later, in 1908, the family moved to Caldwell where his father continued in the hotel business.  The family later moved to Mart, Texas where his father was also in the hotel business.
   He attended public school in Mart and was graduated from high school in that town in 1920 and then entered Texas A&M College.
   After college days, he was employed by the International & Great Northern Railroad Company at Mart, Houston, and Fort Worth.
   In 1925 he moved to Hearne and in partnership with his brother Meyer Abrams, he established The Famous Dry Goods Company.  In 1927 he sold his interest in this business to his brother and established a retail dry goods store for himself at Stamford, Cameron, and Georgetown.  He returned to Hearne January 1, 1940 and opened the Jake Abrams Dry Goods Company on Magnolia Street, and later purchased the Famous Dry Goods Company from his brother.  This business was operated in connection with his main store for several years.
   He was married at Waco, Texas to Miss Rose Goldberg, daughter of Ben Goldberg and Sonia Roddy Goldberg of Temple, Texas, October 20, 1927.  Mr. and Mrs. Abrams have a daughter, Carolyn Abrams; she was married to Stanley C. Simon of Memphis, Tennessee.  Mr. and Mrs. Simon have two sons; Mark Phillip Simon and John Mathew Simon, grandchildren of Mr. and Mrs. Abrams.
   Both Mr. and Mrs. Abrams are affiliated with the Jewish Temple in Waco.  Mr. Abrams is very active in the business and civic life of Hearne, being a member and Past Director of the Hearne Rotary Club; a member and former President of the Hearne Chamber of Commerce; a member of the Hearne Golfer's Association; and a member of the Hearne Housing Authority.

ADAMS, RUBY, known to his friends as "Rube" Adams, was born August 19, 1906 at Madisonville, Kentucky, the son of William Lee Adams and Susan Pearl Barnes Adams.  His father and mother were pioneers of the state of Tennessee.
    In 1910 his family moved into the New Mexico territory and his father and mother set up homestead rights on a section of land (640 acres).  As was the custom of the day, his father constructed a half dugout for the Adams family to live in on this homestead property.
    Ruby Adams attended the public schools of Portales, New Mexico and was graduated from Elida High School in New Mexico with the Class of 1925.
    After completing his high school education he became a contract painter.  He was employed by the Humble Pipe Line Company, September 11, 1926 at Ballinger, Texas and for the next twelve years he worked for this company in West Texas.  He moved to Hearne, Texas December 17, 1938 and was employed with this company in the painting department.  Later he served at station work, gauger, engine oiler, and station engineer.
    Ruby Adams married Elsie Mae Stokes, daughter of John Wesley Stokes and Mary Emma Brookshire Stokes of Tyler, Texas, September 23, 1933.  Elsie Mae Stokes Adams moved to Hearne, Texas in 1929 and made her home with her brother J. B. Stokes.  A son, Thomas Wesley "Rusty" Adams, was born to Ruby Adams and Elsie Mae Stokes Adams, April 12, 1939.  Thomas Wesley Adams attended the Hearne public schools and was graduated from Hearne High School with the Class of 1957 and enrolled at Baylor University.  During his grade school and high school days he was a member of the Senior Band for seven years.
    Ruby Adams is a member of the Golden Rule Masonic Lodge of Hearne; a member of the Order of the Eastern Star; a member of the Humble Employees Federation; a member of the Hearne Parent Teacher Association; a member of the Hearne Band Parents Association; and a member of Grace Methodist Church.  Elsie Mae Stokes Adams is a member of the Hearne Garden Club; the Hearne Band Parents Association; the Hearne Parent-Teacher Association; and a former member of the Hearne Study Club. 

ALDREDGE, JUDGE GEORGE N. was born in Lee County, Georgia, April 14, 1846.  His father was Dr. J. F. Aldredge and his mother was Mary Oglesby Aldredge, daughter of George S. Oglesby of Russell County, Alabama.
    He entered the Confederate Army at the age of 16 years in 1862 as a volunteer in Walker's Division, Randall's Brigade, Clark's Regiment.  After serving two years, he was transferred to Chisholm's Regiment serving in the Cavalry until the war was over, participating in all engagements of this command.
    After the Civil War, he returned to Texas and entered McKenzie College in Red River County for two years, later reading law under Judge 0. M. Roberts at Gilmer, Upshur County, Texas.  After being admitted to the bar he practiced law for one year with Colonel John L. Camp at Gilmer, one year at Dallas and one year at Waxahachie.  He returned to Dallas then for his permanent location.
    In 1875 he was elected County Attorney of Dallas County and served in this office until 1878 when he was elected as District Judge of Dallas County and remained on the bench through 1888.  When he retired from the District Judge position, he practiced law in Dallas with A. T. Watts and J. J. Eckford.
    Judge Aldredge made speeches throughout the state and nation and was especially famous for his great speech at Atlanta, Georgia on October 16, 1895 before the American Bankers Association on the subject of "Sound Money."  This speech was published in pamphlet form for general distribution by the Sound Currency Committee of the New York Chamber of Commerce.  This speech in part was later printed in the Congressional Record on January 31, 1896.
    In 1869 Judge Aldredge married Miss Betty W. Hearne, daughter of Horatio Ransome Hearne.  Three children were born to this union: George E. Aldredge, H. R. Aldredge, and Sawnie R. Aldredge. 

ALEXANDER, SILAS JAMES was born October 19, 1882, near Palestine in Anderson County, Texas, the son of Christopher L. Alexander and Alice A. Alexander.
    His academic education was received in the public schools and the Texas State Teachers College at Denton, Texas.  His medical education was obtained in the Medical Department of Southwestern University, Dallas, from which he was graduated in 1909.  After serving an internship at St. Paul's and Parkland Hospitals in Dallas, he then practiced for one year at Terrell, Texas in association with his brother.  He then moved to Hearne in 1911 and this was his home for the remainder of his professional life.
    He was a member of the State Medical Association and American Medical Association from 1912 to 1937 inclusive, first through the Dallas County Medical Society, and after his removal to Hearne, the Brazos-Robertson County Medical Society.  During his medical career he regularly took post-graduate work in clinical centers in New Orleans and New York City.  He served as vice-president of the State Medical Association for the year 1924-25.  At the time of his death he was serving as a member of the Texas State Board of Health, which body adopted a formal resolution expressing its sympathy at his passing.
    He was a member of the Methodist Church and served on the Board of Stewards; was a member of the Masonic Lodge and had served as an associate patron of the Eastern Star.  He was a charter member of the Hearne Rotary Club and served as President of the Hearne School Board.  Dr. Alexander had served the City of Hearne as Health Officer for many years.  He was beloved by the citizens of the Hearne community for his tenderness and attention to his patients and friends in the time of need.  Dr. Silas James Alexander died October 31, 1937.
    He was married to Miss Mavis Cole of Franklin, Texas, November 18, 1914 and the following children were born to Dr. and Mrs. Alexander: Alice Alexander Thomas, Mavis Alexander Knox, and a son, Silas James Alexander Jr.
    Mrs. Alexander was a native of Wheelock, Texas.  She was born January 4, 1892, the daughter of Dr. Elcain Dulaney Cole and Stella Yardley Cole.  Her father died in 1895 and she then lived in Franklin, Texas with her mother and grandparents, Mr. and Mrs. W. F. Yardley.
    After the death of Dr. Alexander in 1937, Mrs. Alexander maintained her home in Hearne until 1941 in which year she moved to Austin.  She was married to Dean J. Anderson Fitzgerald, dean of the college of business administration at the University of Texas in 1946.  In her earlier days, Mrs. Alexander attended Mary Hardin-Baylor College, the University of Texas, and the University of Chicago.  She died November 28, 1949.
    In 1935, the Alexander family donated a one acre tract of land on the Bryan highway as a Memorial Park to Mrs. Alexander's Mother, Mrs. Stella Cole.

ALLEN, CLARENCE JOPLIN, son of George Washington Allen and Rachel Catherine Garrison Allen, was born December 12, 1891 at Hempstead, Texas.  He attended the public schools at Hempstead.
    During World War I he served in the U. S. Army.  After his discharge from military service he returned to his home in Hempstead and engaged in farming and ranching.
    On August 9, 1922 he moved to Hearne, Texas and went to work for the H. & T. C. Railroad Company as a car inspector in the Hearne yards.  He retired from railroading January 4, 1957 after completing 34 years of service.
    He was married to Ollie Nora Bennatt, daughter of Fulton Ellison Bennatt and Irene Bell Bennatt, February 16, 1918 at San Antonio, Texas.  Ollie Nora Bennatt Allen was born October 18, 1901 at Hempstead, Texas.  She attended the public schools of Hempstead.
    Two children were born to Clarence Joplin Allen and Ollie Nora Bennatt Allen: a daughter, Jewel Allen Henderson, born at Hearne, Texas, July 30, 1922; and a son, Clarence Joplin Allen Jr., born at Hearne, Texas, December 18, 1923.  Clarence Joplin Allen and Ollie Nora Bennatt Allen have two grandchildren: James Richard Henderson and Harrison Joplin Allen.
    Clarence Joplin "Bubba" Allen Jr. attended the Hearne public schools and was graduated from Hearne High School.  Later he attended Texas A. & M. where he was graduated.  He entered the automobile business in Hearne after finishing his education and later served several terms as a member of the Hearne City Council.  He also was a member of the Hearne Chamber of Commerce, the Hearne Lions Club, and the Miles Scriviner American Legion Post.  He served in the armed forces during World War II as a commissioned officer and rode the first jeep through Brenner Pass in Italy when that area was captured by the U. S. forces.
    Jewel Allen also attended the Hearne schools and was graduated from Hearne High School.  She received her college degree from Baylor University. Jewel Allen married Richard Henderson, son of Richard P. Henderson and Maude Wallace Henderson.
    Clarence Joplin Allen is a member of the First Baptist Church, a member of the Miles Scriviner American Legion Post, and a member of the Brotherhood of Railroad Carmen of America.  After his retirement from the railroad in 1957 he continued private business operations in Hearne. 

ALLEN, JAMES PAYNE, son of Robert Alexander Allen and Beulah Mansell Allen, was born June 3, 1902 at Normangee, Texas.  He attended the public schools of Normangee and was graduated from Normangee High School with the Class of 1917.
    After completing his high school education he attended Sam Houston State Teachers College at Huntsville, Texas.  He later attended Tyler Business College at Tyler, Texas.
    He completed a business course in telegraph and railroad station work and then accepted employment in December 1922 with the Southern Pacific Railroad Company at Jacksonville, Texas.  He worked for this railroad at various locations until December 1926 when he was employed by the Humble Pipe Line Company.  On December 18, 1926 he moved to Hearne, Texas and remained in continuous service of this company until July 31, 1958 at which time he accepted an early retirement offer rather than move away from Hearne.  He was employed by the Humble Pipe Line Company for nearly 32 years.  During his years in Hearne, James Payne Allen, has had various business interests in addition to his employment with the Humble Pipe Line Company.
    James Payne Allen married Willie Serena Wood, daughter of William Albert Wood and Addie Priscilla Greenhaw Wood of Mabank, Texas, May 2, 1923.  A son, Robert Wood Allen, was born to James Payne Allen and Willie Serena Wood Allen, December 21, 1925 at Richland, Texas.  Robert Wood Allen married Maribeth Rhodes, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Cecil T. Rhodes of Hearne, Texas.  A daughter, Janet Gail Allen, was born to Robert Wood Allen and Maribeth Rhodes Allen.
    James Payne Allen and Mrs. Allen are members of Grace Methodist Church of Hearne and Mrs. Allen is a member of the Hearne Garden Club. 

ALLEN, ROBERT AARON was born in Cabarras County, North Carolina in 1840.  He was the son of Alexander Allen and Serena Townsend Allen.  His father died in Hearne in 1890 at the age of 82 years.
    His parents moved to Tennessee when he was a small child and there he was reared.  Brothers of Robert Aaron Allen were: William Crawford Allen Sr., Samuel Allen, James Allen and Marshall Allen.  Two of his brothers, James and Marshall did not come to Texas but later moved to California to make their home.
    Robert Aaron Allen was married to Miss Alice Cyrus of Bryan, Texas, and a son, Robert Cyrus Allen was born to them November 4, 1871.
    During the Civil War, he served first in a company organized in Searcy, Arkansas in 1861 and afterwards in the Eighth Arkansas, Army of Tennessee, participating in the battles of Corinth, Chicamuga, and Perryville.  He also participated in the one hundred days fighting of the Georgia campaign from Dalton to Atlanta, and then followed General Hood on his return into Tennessee; taking part in the battles at Franklin and Nashville.  Later he was with General Johnston in the last fight at Bentonville, North Carolina, and surrendered at Greensboro, North Carolina.  He served a great part of the time as a private, but held the rank of First Sergeant at the time of the surrender.  His parents came to Texas during the war, so he came to Texas immediately after the surrender and settled with his parents at Lancaster in Dallas County.  He made a crop there in 1866 and in the fall of that year went to Millican, then the terminus of the H. & T. C. Railroad and secured a clerkship.  He remained there until the railroad construction pushed north to Bryant at which place he formed a co-partnership with W. R. King under the firm of Allen & King, and was engaged in business until 1873 when he moved to Hearne.  In Hearne he organized the firm of R. A. Allen & Son, dealers in hardware, furniture and saddlery and built one of the largest businesses in Hearne.  His son, Robert Cyrus Allen was associated in this business.  He also interested himself in some outside enterprises such as the Hearne & Brazos Valley Railroad.  He was public spirited, broad minded and was very generous with his means.  He began his business career without a cent.  A friend paid his way to Texas and on his own initiative he built one of the largest businesses between Dallas and Houston.  He died in 1898. 

ALLEN, ROBERT CYRUS was born in Bryan, Texas, November 4, 1871, and was the only son of Robert Aaron Allen and Alice Cyrus Allen, the former a native of Raleigh North Carolina and the latter a native of Fairfield, Texas.
    When their son was two years of age, Mr. and Mrs. Robert Aaron Allen moved to Hearne from Bryan and built their cottage home on the same lot where the Allen home now stands on the corner of Cedar and Second Streets.
    It was here that Robert Cyrus Allen was reared.  Educated in private schools of Hearne, and a Boston, Massachusetts College, he assumed charge of the R. A. Allen & Son business interests at the death of his father in 1898, and in the same building erected by his father in 1891, continued to operate the business up to the time of his death.
    There were few changes other than enlargement of the stock to include furniture and funeral supplies, and the establishment operated for many years after R. A. Allen's death as R. A. Allen & Son, later being changed to Allen Hardware Company.
    Robert Cyrus Allen served as Mayor of Hearne for two years, was for a time connected with the First National Bank as president, and was actively interested in civic affairs until his health began to fail.
    He was married to Miss Florence Blair, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. T. A. Blair of Waco, Texas, November 18, 1901.  Children born to Mr. and Mrs. Allen were: daughters, Florence Allen and Alice Allen; a son Robert Cyrus Allen Jr.
    Mr. Allen was a member of the Golden Rule Masonic Lodge, Consistory No. 4, Austin, Texas; Ben Hur Temple AAONME, Austin, Texas, and a member of the Presbyterian Church.  He died March 19, 1933. 

ALLEN, WILLIAM CRAWFORD JR. was born at Austin, Texas, in 1878, the son of Mr. and Mrs. William Crawford Allen Sr.
    He was reared in Hearne in the home of his uncle, Robert Aaron Allen and was employed during young manhood in the R. A. Allen & Son Hardware Store, one of Hearne's oldest and most substantial business institutions.
    When the Planters and Merchants State Bank was organized in Hearne, father and son were among the original stockholders, and W. C. Allen was employed by the bank as assistant cashier for two years.
    Later he became associated with his father in the dry goods business, this firm being located on the corner of Fourth and Magnolia Streets in Hearne.  W. C. Allen continued to operate this business in the name of W. C. Allen & Company until the middle 1930's.
    He was married to Miss Mary Boyd, sister of Alfred B. Boyd, a pioneer druggist of Hearne.  Four children, Ann Boyd Allen and Mary Will Allen, who died at an early age, and Mae Bell Allen Redden, and William Crawford Allen III were born to Mr. and Mrs. Allen.
    On May 5, 1935, Mr. Allen's appointment as Hearne Postmaster became effective.  He continued in this position up to the time of his death in 1945.
    Throughout many years in the business life of Hearne, William Crawford Allen was a valued citizen, taking part in all civic and public activities of the city.

ALTIMORE, CHARLES M., son of Mr. and Mrs. Martin Altimore, was born in Brazos County, Texas, December 10, 1904.
    With his mother and father he moved to the Hearne Brazos Bottom when he was five years of age and has continued to make Hearne his home.  He attended the Hearne Public Schools.  During his young manhood he was engaged in the grocery and cafe business.
    He was married to Miss Edith Faye Murphy, daughter of Mr. And Mrs. Mike Murphy, in 1924.  Mr. and Mrs. Altimore have two children: a daughter, Frances Altimore Pierce; and a son, Charles Martin Altimore Jr.
    Mr. Altimore is a member of Grace Methodist Church and is one of Hearne's most active business men as manager of the Hearne Electric and Appliance Company.

ALTIMORE, SAM, son of Martin Altimore and Frances Salvaggio Altimore, was born at Hearne, Texas, May 16, 1919.  He attended elementary school at Hearne and attended Hearne High School and Robert E. Lee High School at Baytown, Texas.
    From 1937 through 1941 he was employed as assistant manager of the Red & White Grocery in Hearne.  In February 1942 he enlisted in the U. S. Army and served during World War I1, receiving his discharge from military service November 8, 1945 with the rank of Staff Sergeant.  He served in the Pacific area with the First Cavalry Division in the Philippine Islands and Japan.  From 1946 to 1950 he engaged in farming and cattle raising and also owned and operated an automobile agency.  During 1950 through 1952 he engaged in farming and ranching.  In 1953 he again entered the automobile business and continued his farming and ranching activities.
    Sam Altimore married Betty Jane Sisk, daughter of Leonard Park Sisk and Edna Mae Grable Sisk of Joplin, Missouri, July 1, 1943.  Betty Jane Sisk Altimore attended school at Joplin, Missouri.  Two children were born to Sam Altimore and Betty Jane Sisk Altimore: Martin S. Altimore and Carol Ann Altimore.
    Betty Jane Sisk Altimore is a member of the Calvary Baptist Church; a member and Past President of the Women's Auxiliary of Miles Scriviner American Legion Post; a member and Past President of the Women's Auxiliary of the Veterans of Foreign Wars Robertson County Post No. 4132; serves as Sunday School Superintendent for Girls at Calvary Baptist Church; and is active in Girl Scout work.
    Sam Altimore is a member of Calvary Baptist Church; has served as Commander and Adjutant of the Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 4132 of Robertson County; has served as Commander and Adjutant of the Miles Scriviner American Legion Post of Hearne; served as Committeeman of the Department of Texas V. F. W. Un-American Activities and is a member of the Hearne Lions Club. 

ASTIN, WILLIAM E. was born in Brazos County, the son of James H. Astin and Celia Allsbrook Astin.  His father was born in Marion County Alabama in 1833 and fought in the Civil War in Company 1, Fourth Texas Cavalry, Hood's Brigade and served until severely wounded at the Battle of Chicamuga.  He first came to Texas in 1854, remained a short time, then went to California and followed the life of a miner until 1859.  After the Civil War, James H. Astin returned to Texas and settled in Navarro County.
    Brothers and sisters of William E. Astin; James Robert Astin, John E. Astin and Joseph P. Astin.  In 1874, Celia Allsbrook Astin, mother of William E. Astin died.  In 1878 his father, James H. Astin married Miss Ona Ward of Bryan and the following children were born to this union: Irwin Astin, Daisv Astin, and Roger Q. Astin.
    When W. E. Astin's father and mother moved to Bryan in 1865 his father followed various occupations for two or three years and then rented a small farm in the Brazos Bottom.  His sole earthly possessions at that time being a wagon and a team and $10.  He rented this farm for ten years and then in 1877 made his first land purchase.  Buying land from time to time, he built up a plantation acreage of 7,000 acres with 6,000 in cultivation.  He produced about 5,000 bales of cotton annually and was considered one of the wealthiest planters in this section.
    All of the Astins have been cotton planters in the Brazos Bottom country for many years.  William E. Astin owned and operated a large cotton plantation in the Brazos Bottom about six miles south of Hearne.  His father was one of the original projectors of the Hearne & Brazos Valley Railroad and was a stockholder in the company.

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