Texas
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County Coordinator is Jane Keppler.County Co-Coordinator is Jean Huot Smoorenburg
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Used with permission of Norman Lowell McCarver, Jr. These electronic pages may not be reproduced in any format by other organizations or individuals.
Biographical Sketches - D
DAVISON,
WILLIAM HIRAM
was born at Independence, Texas, February 7, 1857, his parents being
natives of
Kentucky who moved to Texas several years prior to the beginning of the
Civil
War, settling in Washington County.
He
spent his boyhood at his birthplace, and left Independence to move to
Hearne
with his parents in 1872. Hearne at
that time was in its infancy. Mr.
Davison spent the remainder of his life in Hearne.
In 1904 he was married
to Miss
Stella Smith, daughter of Mrs. Amelia Smith, Mrs. Smith and her
daughters,
Pearl, Anna, Stella and Josie having moved to Hearne from Mexia, Texas
in 1895.
His early business
connections were
with some of Hearne's leading merchants, and in 1895 he set up a
mercantile
establishment of his own with J. H. Hartzog as partner.
This partnership was dissolved after a short time and the firm
name of
Davison used afterward with the exception of a few years when J. C.
Smith was
taken into the firm and the business was then known as Davison &
Smith Dry
Goods Company. Mrs. Davison was
active in the operation of this business for many years.
He was active in
civic
affairs and served as a member of the City Council for many years,
being upright
and honest in all his dealings with his fellowman, and true as steel to
every
friend. His nature was quiet and
unassuming, yet genial and happy at all times.
He was quick to respond to help the needy and those whom ill
fortune bad
touched. He had a great and tender
love for little children, scores of whom were listed among his many
friends.
In the passing of William Hiram Davison September 20, 1924,
Hearne and
Robertson County lost a useful and beloved citizen.
DENENA, ANTHONY, son
of Lee Denena and Maria Corona Denena, was born in Italy, January 12,
1908. With his parents, he came to the United States to make his
home when he was five years of age. The Denena family landed in
New York in 1913 and lcoated in the Brazos Bottom near Mudville in
Brazos County, Texas. He attended the rural school at Mudville,
Texas.
In 1925, with his family he moved to the
Hearne Brazos Bottom and farmed with his father.
In 1934, he began farming on his own and in
1958 his farming and ranching activities are carried on utilizing over
800 acres in the Brazos Bottom.
He was married to Rose Falsone, daughter of
Joe Falsone and Frances Labaria Falson, April 8. 1934. Her father
was born in Italy and her mother was born in Texas. The following
children were born to Anthony Denena and Rose Falsone Denena:
Leon Anthony, Joseph Falsone Denena, James Robert Denena, and Margaret
Mary Denena.
Anthony Denena and his family are communicants
of St. Mary's Catholic Church. Rose Falsone Denena is a member of
St. Mary's Altar Society and a member of the Parent-Teacher's
Association of Hearne and Mumford. Anthony Denena is a member of
St. Mary's Catholic Church Men's Club; a member of the Robertson County
Farm Bureau; a member of the Old Cotton Belt Association; a stockholder
and director of the Brazos Valley Dehydrating Company; a stockholder
and vice president of the Farmers & Brazos Gin Company; and has
been a member of the Board of Education of the Mumford Independent
School District since 1950.
DESTEFANO, CHARLES,
was born in Palermo, Italy, February 14, 1893, the son of Sam DeStefano
and Mary
Truzzeleno DeStefano.
With
his parents he came to America in 1895 to make his home in New Orleans,
Louisiana. In 1903, when he was ten
years old, his family moved to Texas and settled in the Hearne Brazos
Bottom
where his father engaged in cotton farming.
He
was married to Miss Lena Ventechola, November 28, 1914 and three
children were
morn to Mr. and Mrs. Destefano: Sam DeStefano, Anthony DeStefano, and
Mary
DeStefano.
He
has been a progressive cotton farmer in the Brazos Bottom since his
early
manhood and has been active in the civic and political activities of
his
community; serving as County Commissioner in Brazos County.
The DeStefano's are members of St. Mary's Catholic Church and
Mr.
DeStefano is a member of St. Mary's Church Men's -Club and has served
as
president of this organization.
A
former Constable of Precinct No. 3 in Brazos County, he is also a
member and
past director of the Hearne Rotary Club; a member and director of the
Hearne
Chamber of Commerce where he served as chairman of the Agriculture
Committee;
Vice President and Director of the Central Texas Water Conservation
Association;
Chairman of the Agriculture Committee of the East Texas Chamber of
Commerce; and
President of the Robertson County Farm Bureau for 18 years.
In
1934 Mr. and Mrs. DeStefano moved into Hearne to make their home but he
continues his farm activities in the Hearne Brazos Bottom.
DESTEFANO, JOE,
son of Sam DeStefano and Mary Truzzeleno DeStefano, was born November
22, 1899 in Louisiana. His parents came to America in 1895 from
their native home in Palermo, Italy and settled in New Orleans,
Louisiana. The family moved to Hearne and settled in the Hearne
Brazos Bottom in 1903. His father engaged in cotton farming.
Joe DeStefano attended the rural school at
Smetana in Brazos County, Texas and worked on his father's cotton farm.
In 1922, he moved to Grimes County and farmed
there through 1927. In 1928, he came back to Robertson County to
farm. In 1934, he purchased farm land of his own in the Hearne
Brazos Bottom and in 1958 is farming and ranching 500 acres.
He is married to Marie Cotropia, daughter of
Carl Cotropia and Beatrice Palermo Cotropia, on January 1, 1936.
The parents of Marie Cotropia DeStefano were born in Italy. Marie
Cotropia DeStefano was born December 8, 1907 and died August 10,
1956. A son, Samuel Ray DeStefano, was born to Joe DeStefano and
Marie Cotropia DeStefano.
Joe DeStefano is a communicant of St. Mary's
Catholic Church; a member of St. Mary's Catholic Church Men's Club; a
member of the Hearne Chamber of Commerce; a member of the Robertson
County Farm Bureau; a member of the Old Cotton Belt Association; a
stockholder and director of the Wood Switch Gin Company; and a
stockholder and director of the Brazos Valley Dehydrating Company.
DESTEFANO, SAM J., son of
Charles DeStefano and Lena Venteciola DeStefano, was born in Brazos
County, Texas, February 9, 1916. His father was born in Italy and
his mother was born in Louisiana.
He attended the Smetana rural school in Brazos
County and the Stephen F. Austin High School in Bryan, Texas.
In 1934, he moved to the Hearne Brazos Bottom
and in 1939 he began farming and ranching on his own. In 1958, he
farmed and ranched 620 acres.
Sam J. DeStefano married Catherine Ferrara,
daughter of Russell Ferrara and Rosa Inzenga Ferrara, October 13,
1940. Her parents were from Hammond, Louisiana. The
following children were born to Sam J. DeStefano and Catherine Ferrara
DeStefano: Andrea Renea DeStefano, born July 24, 1944; and
Deborah Kay DeStefano, born November 21, 1952.
Sam J. DeStefano and Catherine Ferrara
DeStefano are communicants of St. Mary's Catholic Church. Mrs.
DeStefano is a member of St. Mary's Catholic Church Altar
Society. He is a member of St. Mary's Catholic Church Men's Club;
a member of the Robertson County Farm Bureau; a member of the Hearne
Parent-Teacher's Association; a member of the Old Cotton Belt
Association; a stockholder in the Wood Switch Gin Company; a member of
the Knights of Columbus; and a member of the Hearne Band Parents
Association.
DILLARD,
CARSWELL LONG
was born in Leon County, Texas, February 11, 1865.
He was married to Miss Callie Elizabeth Bass in 1893 and the
following
children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Dillard: Will T. Dillard, Anita
Dillard Tysk,
Elizabeth Dillard, Madelyn Dillard Fleetwood, and Mrs. E. J. Reed.
Mr. Dillard started in
business for
himself in Hearne in the retail grocery business after having worked in
the
Easterwood General Merchandise Store. At
the time of his death he was one of the oldest active business men in
Hearne.
Always active in civic
affairs, Mr.
Dillard served over 30 years on the Hearne City Council.
He was a member of the City Council in 1911 when the city
constructed the
Municipal Electric and Water Works System.
Mr. Dillard retired from the city council in 1947.
A charter member
and one of
the mainstays of the Hearne Chamber of Commerce, he served two years as
president of that organization and was a director for nearly twenty
years.
At the Chamber of Commerce banquet in 1948, he was presented
with a
plaque in recognition of his many years of service and as an
outstanding citizen
of the community. He was also one
of the most tireless workers in the project to secure natural gas
service for
Hearne in 1927-28 and spent quite a sum of his personal funds to
further this
project. He was a member of the
Free Woodmen of the World and the Baptist Church. Mr.
Dillard died October 2, 1952 and Mrs. Dillard died
February 3, 1951. Few men have rendered
more public service than C. L. Dillard.
DORRELL,
JOHN MANTON, son of Thomas Bynam Dorrell and Emma Lou
Sheppard Dorrell, was born at Barada, Texas, September 10, 1891.
He attended the rural school in Pine Valley, Texas and was graduated
from the Blackjack High School in East Texas with the Class of
1909. After completing his high school work he attended Sam
Houston State College at Huntsville, Texas.
On May 21, 1911 he was employed by the Gulf
Coast & Santa Fe Company at Cleveland, Texas and worked in this
position until May 21, 1912 when he was employed by the Wells Fargo
Express Company. He worked for the Wells Fargo Express Company to
October 12, 1912 when he became Agent for the Gulf Coast & Santa Fe
Railroad Company at Stonam, Texas and worked on this job until April
11, 1914. He returned to his home on April 13, 1916 and worked on
his farm until September 12, 1916.
He entered military service with the U. S.
Marines April 6, 1917 and served in the Marine Corps during World War I
and received his dischage February 24, 1918.
Prior to entering military service he became
employed with the H. & T. C. Railroad Company. He moved to
Hearne, Texas, September 21, 1921 to continue his employment with the
H. & T. C. Railroad Company. He was married to Katie Bell
Henry, daughter of James Sidney Henry and Annie Clara LeFevere Henry,
April 18, 1923. A son, Henry Manton Dorrell, was born to John
Manton Dorrell and Katie Bell Henry Dorrell. Henry Manton DorrelI
married Carolyn Bayne Arnett, daughter of Bayne K. Arnett and Carrie
Ficklan Arnett of Kosse, Texas. Two sons were born to Henry
Manton Dorrell and Carolyn Bayne Arnett Dorrell: Manton Bayne Dorrell
and John Kevin Dorrell.
John Manton Dorrell is a member of the Hearne
Golfer's Association; a member of the Golden Rule Masonic Lodge of
Hearne; a member of the Brotherhood of Railway Clerks; and served as a
member of the City Council of the City of Hearne for six years.
Mr. and Mrs. Dorrell are members of the Grace Methodist Church of
Hearne where he serves as a member of the Board of Stewards and she is
a member of the W. S. C. S. Mrs. Dorrell is also a member of the Order
of the Eastern Star.
State Coordinator:
Gina Heffernan
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