COMMISSIONER’S COURT MINUTES VOL. 5

May 14, 1907

Order Declaring results of School Trustees Election.

Be it remembered that on the 6^th day of April, 1907, an election was held throughout Bowie County to elect School Trustees for the ensuing year, and returns having been duly made, the Commissioners Court on this 14^th day of May, 1907, proceeded in open Court to proceed and canvass said returns; and we the said Court do find and declare that the parties securing the highest number of votes are written opposite their District Number and are duly elected as Trustees of their respective District.  In Districts where no election has been held we recommend that the County Superintendent appoint suitable men as Trustees to serve until the next regular election.

District No. 1, No election

District No. 2, G. A. Richmond & S. G. Morrow

District No. 3, W. C. Strickland and Jack Starks, white

District No. 4, Spencer Reed & Cubit Payton, Colored

District No. 5, No Election

District No. 6, No Election

District No. 7, No Election

District No. 8, D. A. Atchley & J. H. Hillis, white

District No. 9, J. P. & B. W. Garland, negores

District No. 10, W. A. Jones & L. S. Edwards, white, John McCoy & Charley  Love, Col.

District No. 11, No Election

District No. 12, E. C. Kirby & R. C. Mauldin, White, A. J. Harden & E. F. Neely, colored

District No. 13, No Election

District No. 14, No Election

District No. 15, J. P. George, G. K. Grimes, white

District No. 16, J. R. Calloway & W. J. Russell, whites

District No. 17, R. H. Jones, L. F. Duke, white, N. B. Dozier & Bob Graves, Col.

District No. 18, J. W. Smith & L. B. Rolmon

District No. 19, No Election

District No. 20, E. S. Foster, Miles Fowler, white.  Wilbar Wilson, Isaac Williams, Col.

District No. 21, No Returns

District No. 22, T. T. Irby, J. W. Berry, white.  Dan Mathews & Jim Harrison, Col.

District No. 23, W. C. Allen & C. R. Coleman, white

District No. 24, J. R. Stewart, W. A. Austin, white

District No. 25, W. A. Jones, T. W. Atchley

District No. 26, C. D. Jones and P. M. Musgrave

District No. 27, E. D. Snider and J. H. Collom

District No. 28, R. M. Autrey & P. C. Beauchamp, whites, Tom Hunter, Amos Williams,  Negores

District No. 29, J. W. Latham, W. A. Dean

District No. 30, Tobe Barnes, J. W. McAlnulty

District No. 31, G. H. Coffman, W. D. Walker

District No. 32, No Returns

District No. 33, Alford Durham, j. C. Slider

District No. 34, J. T. Foster, j. L. Higgenbotham, white, M. H. Scott & Henry Green,  Negores

District No. 35, No Election

District No. 36, H. C. Torrans, T. G. Eubanks, white, N. J. Oliver, colored

District No. 37, J. A. Johnson, J. H. Spencer

District No. 38, E. T. Fountaine, J. M. Lynch

District No. 39, No Returns

District No. 40, No Returns

District No. 41, A. J. Hatchel, W. B. Hardy

District No. 42, W. A. Lyles, B. M. Mitchell

District No. 43, W. C. Calahan, D. Campbell, colored

District No. 44, John Gurley, C. W. Wyatt, colored

District No. 45, No Election

District No. 46, No Election

District No. 47, No Election

District No. 48, No Election

District No. 49, J. A. Ricahrdson, D. W. Ballew, white

District No. 50, W. N. Williams, C. C. Hollis, white

District No. 51, No returns

District No. 52, P. B. Boyce, Tom McCrarty, colored

District No. 53, No Returns

District No. 54, J. N. Randolph, L. E. Harkey

District No. 55, D. L. Atchley and M. P. Braswell

District No. 56, R. M. Johnson, N. N. Black, white

District No. 57, Wm. Patty & R. C. Cooper, white

District No. 58, C. O. Gaither, J. L. Nowell, white

District No. 59, No returns

District No. 60, Henry Thompson, J. M. Parsons

It is therefore ordered, adjudged and decreed by the Court that the above named parties be and are hereby declared duly elected as Trustees of their respective Districts, and that commissions issue to them, upon their taking the oath of office as required by law.

May 15, 1907

Order allowing Confederate Pension (Widow’s)

This day came on to be heard and considered the application of Evera A. Maxey for a Confederate Pension, and it appearing to the Court that said application is in due form, and supported by sufficient testimony justifying the granting of said application.

Sep 3, 1907

In Re:  Concrete walks for Court House Walks.

On this the 3^rd day of Sept, 1907, came on for consideration the bids for putting in concrete walks for the Court House yard, and it appearing to the Court upon examination of all bids that the bid of J. F. McGee, to do said work at 14 cents per square foot is the best and cheapest bid for the same, it is therefore the order, judgment and decree of the Court that said contract be and the same is by the Court awarded to the said J. F. McGee, at and for the amount of 14 cents per square foot.

Sep 4, 1907

In RE:  Application to sell school house in Dist. No. 8 (Malta)

This day came on to be considered the application of the Trustees of School District No. 8 to sell the School House now located therein, and the Court having been advised as to the reasons for wishing to make said sale, is of the opinion that said sale should be made.  It is therefore ordered by the Court that the Trustees of said District No. 8 be and they are hereby authorized to sell said School House, and make report to this Court of amount received for same, and upon the confirmation of said report by the Court said sale shall become valid and shall be affirmed to all parties concerned.

Oct 1, 1907

D. A. Atchley, et al.  Report of sale of School House, Dist. No. 8

Now comes D. A. Atchley and I. N. Hillis the only Trustees of School District No. 8 and show to the Court that in obedience to the order of this Court made on the 4^th day of September 1907, for sale of old school house they now show that on the 14^th day of September 1907 they made sale of said property to W. M. Solley at the sum of Fifty ($50.00) Dollars which they represent is a fair and reasonable price for same, and they respectfully ask that said sale be approved by the Court, Respectfully submitted, D. A. Atchley and I. H. Hillis.

Oct 1, 1907

On this day came on for examination and approval by the Court of the report of sale by the Trustees of School District No. 8, the old school building in said district, and it appearing to the Court that said sale was made in accordance with law and with a previous order of this Court and for a fair price.  It is the order of the Court that said report be and the same is hereby approved, and said sale confirmed.

Nov 11, 1907

Application for Confederate Pension

This day came on to be heard and considered by the Court the application of J. J. Fielding for a Confederate Pension, and it appearing to the Court that same should be granted.

It is therefore ordered by the Court that the application of J. J.Fielding for a Confederate Pension be and the same is hereby granted.

Feb 10, 1908

Report of sale of School House

On this day came on for examination and approval the report of W. A. Liles, Trustee of the Pleasant Grove School, District No. 42 of the sale of the old School House building to L. M. Day, for the sum of $33.00 and it appearing to the Court that said money has been deposited in the Texarkana National Bank at Texarkana, Texas, as school money, and it appearing upon examination that the same is correct and should be approved.  It is ordered, adjudged and decreed by the Court that said report be, and the same is hereby in all things approved and ordered recorded.

Feb 11, 1908

Butchers Report

This day came on to be heard and considered before the Court the examination and approval of the Quarterly Report of P. M. Daniel as a Butcher of Bowie County, Texas; and it appearing to the Court that said report is in legal form.  It is therefore ordered, adjudged and decreed by the Court that said Report of P. M. Daniel as a Butcher of Bowie County, Texas, be and the same is hereby in all things approved.

Oct 8, 1908

In Re:  Joe Telford

Whereas, it has been made known to us that our brother Commissioner, Joe Telford, has lately sustained an irreparable loss in the death of his daughter, Mrs. Howard Ruddle, who departed this life on the 3^rd day of October A. D. 1908, leaving surviving her an honored and respected father, a devoted mother, and a loving and affectionate husband.

Therefore, We, the members of the Commissioners Court of Bowie County, Texas, extend to our brother, Joe Telford and his family and to the bereaved husband and his family our sincere sympathy, and tend to them in their great loss the condolence of the members of the Commissioners Court of this County, and order that this be spread upon the Minutes of said Court.

May 13, 1909

Application for Confederate Pension

This day came on to be heard the application of J. H. Gerdes for a Confederate Pension, and it appearing to the Court after a careful investigation that said applicant is worthy and entitled to the pension.  It is therefore ordered and adjudged that said application be granted.

Aug 9, 1909

W. R. Copeland, et al.  Petition to change school house.

On this day came on to be considered the petition of W. R. Copeland et al, to move the School from Carpenters Chapel on the Richmond Road to what is known as Oak Grove Colored School, and after considering same is of the opinion that same should be granted.

It is therefore ordered that the trustees be allowed to move the School from where it is now located to where the petition calls for same at what is known as Oak Grove Colored School.

Nov 8, 1909

Order Granting the petition to consolidate.

On this the 8^th day of November A. D. 1909 came the petition of W. L. Thomas, D. E. Marbut, J. T. Garrett, H. F. Terrell, E. B. Luckey and M. F. Garrett, Trustees of School Districts 31 & 62 in Bowie County, Texas, for permission to consolidate said Districts and the petition having been approved by the County Judge and the County Superintendant it is therefore ordered by the Court that the two Districts, No’s 31 and 62 be consolidated and the consolidated district to be number Sitxty-Two (62) and W. L. Thomas, H. F. Terrell and D. E. Marbut will serve said consolidated District as Trustees until their successors are elected or appointed and qualified.

Nov 8, 1909

Agreement.  Order to remove school house.

On this the 8^th day of November A. D. 1909 came the agreement of G. C. Chapman, C. H. Copeland and H. D. Collom, Trustees of School District No. 23 in Bowie County, Texas, granting permission to citizens in School District No. 15 in Bowie County, Texas, to remove what is known as the Water Valley School House from District 23 to School District No. 15, and the said agreement having been approved by the County Judge and County Superintendent it is therefore ordered by the Court that the action in this matter of the trustees of School District No. 23 be approved.

May 9, 1911

Order on failure of officers to make report as required by law.

On this the 9^th day of May A. D. 1911 it appearing to the Court that some of the officers of Bowie County, Texas, have failed to make a quarterly report as is required by law to the Commissioners Court, it is therefore ordered adjudged and decreed by the Court that all officers failing to make the said report as is required by law be and they are each hereby fined $5.00 for such failure, and the Clerk of this Court is hereby directed to furnish each officer failing to report a copy of this order, citing them to appear at the next regular term of this Court in August, and show cause why said amount of $5.00 should not be made final, and collected from each officer.

Aug 16, 1911

Order creating voting box no. 26, Minton School House.

On this the 16^th day of August A. D. 1911, came on to be considered the petition of W. K. Fisher, et-als, for a voting Precinct at Minton’s School House out of what is known as the Redwater voting box, and the Court having examining the same, is of the opinion that said Box should be granted, and upon motion of Bartlette seconded by Telford, that said Box be created, motion put before the Court and carried by unanimous vote of all commissioners.

It is therefore ordered, adjudged and decreed that a voting Precinct be and the same is hereby granted said Precinct to be VOTING PRECINCTY NO. 26, at MINTON’S SCHOOL HOUSE, and described by metes and bounds as follows:

Beginning at the S. W. Corner (a point on Sulphur River) of the Minton School District No. 34.  Thence north with the West boundary line of Minton School District to the North west corner of same; thence on North with the West boundary line of Redwater Independent School District to Big Creek; Thence in an Easterly direction with meanderings of said Big Creek to Sulphur River, Thence in a Westerly direction with the meanderings of said River to the South East corner of the Maud Independent School District, same being the S. W. corner of Minton School District, the place of beginning.

Apr 16, 1912

TO THE COMMISSIONERS COURT OF BOWIE COUNTY TEXAS

We, the undersigned resident citizens and qualified voters of Bowie County, Texas, do hereby petition this Court to order an election to be held throughout the County, at the various voting boxes therein, by the qualified voters of the County, to determine whether or not the sale of intoxicating liquors shall be prohibited in said Bowie County, Texas.

Apr 16, 1912

Sale of intoxicating liquors

The Commissioners Court of Bowie County, Texas being regularly in session on this the 16^th day of April A. D. 1912 the Court having adjourned its regular session which convened on Monday April 8^th, 1912, to this date, and came regularly on to be heard the petition of more than two hundred and fifty qualified voters of the said County praying that this Court make an order for an election to be held in and for said County at the various voting boxes therein to determine whether or not the sale of intoxicating liquors shall be prohibited in said County.

And the Court after inspecting the said petition finds that the same is in due and legal form and that the same is signed by the number of qualified voters of said County required by law.  It is therefore the order of the Court that the said petition be granted.

It is therefore ordered by the Commissioners Court of Bowie County, Texas, that an election be and is hereby ordered to be held in and for Bowie County, Texas, by the qualified votes thereof, at the regular voting places in said County and in accordance with the laws regulating such elections on the 11^th day of May A. D. 1912 for the purpose of determining whether or not the sale of intoxicating liquors shall be prohibited in said Bowie County, Texas.

May 22, 1912

Be it remembered that the Commissioners Court of Bowie County, Texas, met in special session at the Court House of said County on the 22^nd day of May A. D. 1912, for the purpose of canvassing and counting the votes and the returns of a special election held in said Bowie County, Texas, on the 11^th day of May A. D. 1912, at the various voting precincts in said County for the purposes of determining whether or not the sale of intoxicating liquors shall be prohibited in said County, with Hon. Joe Hughes, County Judge, present and presiding, ………………….. Commissioner Precinct No. One; R. A. Bartlett, Commissioner Precinct No. Two; and Joe Telford, Commissioner Precinct No. 3 and H. A. parker, Commissioner Precinct No. 4, of Bowie County, Texas, when the following orders, decrees and judgments were had and ordered spread upon the Minutes of the Commissioners Court of Bowie County, Texas.

Wednesday, May 22^nd, 1912.

On this day the Commissioners Court of Bowie County, Texas, met in special session at the Court House in said County, present and presiding Honorable Joe Hughes, County Judge of Bowie County, Texas, and the following named commissioners:  R. A. Bartlett, Joe Telford, and H. A. Parker, for the purposes of opening the polls and counting the votes of an election held in and throughout Bowie County, Texas, in all of the various voting precincts of Bowie County, Texas, at the regular voting places in said voting precincts on the 11^th day of May A. D. 1912, in pursuance of the former orders of this Court, for the purpose of determining whether or not the sale of intoxicating liquors should be prohibited in Bowie County, Texas, and the Court having opened the polls and counted the votes cast thereat, found as the result of such count that at said election a total of 4195 votes were cast, of which 2211 votes were cast for Prohibition and 1974 votes were cast against Prohibiting, making a majority of 237 votes were cast at said election for Prohibition.

It is therefore ordered, adjudged and decreed and declared by the Court that the result of said election was, that the majority of the votes cast thereat were for prohibition, and it is further ordered, adjudged and decreed by the Court that the sale of intoxicating liquors be, and the same is, hereby absolutely prohibited in Bowie County, Texas, except for the purposes and under the regulations specified in Title 69 of the Revised Civil Statutes of the State of Texas, until such time as the qualified voters of Bowie County, Texas, may, at a legal election held for such purposes, by a majority vote decide otherwise.

It is further ordered, adjudged and decreed by the Court that this order shall take effect and be enforced from and after the publication of the same for the time and in the manner prescribed by law.

08/20/2005