Texoso

Frances Cooke Lipscomb Van Zandt and Isaac Van Zandt

Although her husband Isaac Van Zandt is probably better known, Frances Cooke Lipscomb Van Zandt’s pioneer story is interesting. She was born March 4, 1816 to William Lipscomb and Ann Day Cooke Lipscomb. Isaac was born July 10, 1813 in Franklin, Tennessee to Mary Margaret Isaacs Van Zandt and Jacob Van Zandt. Isaac’s ancestry was Dutch, but both his grandfathers had participated in the Revolutionary War.

Acknowledging Frances’ 90th birthday, she and her daughter Ida gave a newspaper interview in which they provided more details about Frances’ life in the early days on the frontier of Texas. Frances was married to Isaac Van Zandt in Franklin County, Tennessee on December 18, 1833 when she was 17 and he was 20 years old and working as a merchant in the family store. Around two years later, the couple decided to make their home in Coffeeville, Mississippi along with their daughter Louisa and son Khleber. Life was good, but only for a short time until 1837 when there was a widespread economic depression, leading Isaac to close his business. Isaac studied law and was admitted to the Mississippi bar. Then in 1838, the family decided to move to the Republic of Texas and set out to make the journey by wagon. They got as far as the Louisiana-Texas border before running low on funds. Isaac and the family stopped at an abandoned garrison known as Camp Sabine, formerly a post of the United States Army, located east of the Sabine River. There they remained for the rest of that year before moving on to northeast Texas.

Lang & Witchell Courthouses

The architectural firm was founded by Otto Lang and Frank Witchell. Otto Lang was born in Germany in 1864. He came to the United States in 1888 on a wedding trip and decided to stay in Dallas. For a couple of years, he worked for local architects who did work for Texas and Pacific Railway. One of the buildings he designed there was the Texas and Pacific depot in Fort Worth followed by the depots in Wichita Falls, Amarillo, Paris and Weatherford. Lang formed his partnership with Frank Witchell in 1905.

Lost Padre Mine

Paraphrasing Robert Louis Stevenson, there is something in a treasure that attaches itself to a man’s mind and won’t let it go. One of the persisting legends in West Texas is that of the Lost Padre Mine, or “La Mina del Padre.” Possible locations include southern New Mexico and the area around El Paso, Texas.

Lonnie “Bo” Pilgrim

Lonnie Alford “Bo” Pilgrim was born May 8, 1928 six miles south of Pittsburg, Camp County, Texas to Alonzo Monroe Pilgrim and Nettie Gertrude Gunn Pilgrim. Lonnie was the fourth of seven children born to the couple. The nickname of “Bo” was given to him when he was a boy and he went by it for the rest of his life.

He grew up near Pittsburg where his father was a merchant, operating one of the only two stores in Pine, the small community where they lived. Alonzo died in 1939 and for a time, his mother ran the store. In 1946 Bo’s brother Aubrey along with a partner named Pat Johns bought a small feed mill from W. W. Weems in Pittsburg for $3,500 and invited Bo to join them. Aubrey was in his early twenties and Bo was about eighteen years old at the time. Bo began his long career by driving the feed store truck. His rate of pay was 50 cents an hour. Mr. Johns is likely a reference to a somewhat older Thomas Jeffie “Pat” Johns also of Pine, who is believed to have sold his interest in the business early on. As the company grew, its headquarters remained in Pittsburg for a long time. The grain elevator/feed store facility is still there and has operated from time to time as part of the Pilgrim enterprises.

Dr. Charles W. Graham

Charles Wesley Graham was born on July 13, 1932 in Thorndale, Milam County, Texas to John Wesley Graham and Iva Lee Clark Graham. He was the oldest of three children born to the couple. Dr. Graham was among the fourth generation in the Graham family to have been born in Texas. As a youth, he showed livestock though FFA and 4-H. He attended Wharton Jr. College and later earned his undergraduate degrees in animal husbandry and animal science from Texas A&M (Class of 1953). After serving in the United States Army and working at a summer job for a veterinarian in Elgin, he returned to Texas A&M where he earned a Doctor of Veterinary Medicine (DVM) degree in May, 1961, graduating with honors.