people named Tex – Texas History Notebook

Texas Guinan

Mary Louise Cecilia Guinan (pronounced “guy-nan”) was born January 12, 1884 in Waco, McLennan County, Texas to Michael Guinan (1854 – 1935) and Bridget Cecile Duffy Guinan (1857 – 1939). Her nickname as a child was “Mamie” and she was the second of four children. Both of her parents were born in Canada and their ancestry is said to have been Irish. While living in Waco, the father was part owner of a wholesale grocery and candy business named Eagon, Guinan & Co. near downtown on Austin Street. Various articles note that she attended school at the Loretta Convent in downtown Waco. They likely lived in Waco until the early 1890s. By the time the 1900 federal census was taken, the family had relocated to Denver, Colorado. In 1900, Mary Louise was about 17 years old and was still living at home. The father’s business was listed as being the owner of a public warehouse. Her parents also owned a ranch at some point. She learned to ride horses and she was otherwise an active child. As she grew up, she studied singing and and would later be drawn to the entertainment business, including vaudeville. Along the way, as a reference to her birthplace, she began to adopt the nickname “Texas” and used it for the rest of her career.

Tex Erwin, Major League Baseball Player

Ross Emil “Tex” Erwin was born December 22, 1885 in Forney, Texas to Hiram P. Erwin and Laura Ann Boles Erwin. Tex’s father Hiram was a farmer and carpenter according to various census and newspaper reports. Hiram was also once tried and acquitted of the charge of murder in 1899. The charge was related to a downtown Dallas shooting which had occurred in 1898. Hiram had testified that the victim had threatened him on numerous occasions, which might have had an impact on the verdict. In addition, the victim had previously also had stood trial for murder and had been acquitted. During Hiram’s trial, some of his testimony was apparently used to implicate him in a somewhat related arson case, for which he was also tried. In the latter case, Hiram was convicted, received a new trial and was again convicted in the second trial. There are no other mentions in Texas newspapers of legal issues other than these. Hiram died in 1927. Laura survived him by more than thirty-five years until she died in 1964. She and Hiram are buried in Dallas.

Tex Rickard

George Lewis “Tex” Rickard was a well known boxing promoter and the founder of the New York Rangers hockey club. He was born January 2, 1870 in Kansas City, Missouri to Robert Wood Rickard and Lucretia J. Ferguson Rickard. When George was about four years old, his family moved to Texas, first settling in Cambridge, a few miles south of the Red River in Grayson County. They later moved to Henrietta in Clay County in North Texas where Robert worked as a carpenter. In the 1880 census, the family consisted of Robert and Lucretia, daughter Minnie, son George, son Merlin, son Robert Jr. and daughter Kate. Another sister named Alice was born after the census had been recorded. Robert was a veteran, having previously served four years in the Union Army during the Civil War and died of unknown causes in 1881 at the age of forty-three. Lucretia was left to raise her six children. She married Samuel C. Adams, a grocer, later in the 1880s. As the children of Lucretia and her late husband Robert matured and moved away, she and Samuel had two more children, one of whom lived to be an adult. They were living in Henrietta as of the 1900 census. Two years later, Samuel died from complications of asthma. Lucretia survived him another thirty-five years.

Tex Hughson

Cecil Carlton “Tex” Hughson was born February 9, 1916 in Buda, Texas to Cecil Hughson and Ada Rowland Hughson, a farming family. The 1920 federal census listed him as the middle of three children with an older sister and a younger brother. He grew up in Kyle, graduating from a small class there before enrolling at University of Texas at Austin. There he played baseball under Uncle Billy Disch, long time coach of the Longhorn baseball team and one of the individuals for whom the university’s Disch-Falk field is named. In 1937, Tex was named as a First Team All-Southwest Conference pitcher, earning a 9-2 record. His club went 11-6 that year and finished second in the Southwest Conference. 1937 was the only year during Disch’s last five season as head coach that his team did not win the Southwest Conference.

Tex Maule

Hamilton Prieleaux Bee “Tex” Maule was born on May 19, 1915 to 2nd Lieutenant Claude Wendell Maule (1889 – 1918) and Zelita Bee Maule (1891 – 1986). His father C. W. Maule had been serving in World War I when he contracted pneumonia and died in England after a short bout with the disease. The remains of 2nd Lt. Maule were removed for burial at Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia. Tex, one of two children of the couple, was born in Florida, though his family had lived in San Antonio for many years. His grandfather, named Hamilton Prioleau Bee, was a long time Texas resident who worked in the insurance business. The 1920, 1930 and 1940 census forms show Tex residing in San Antonio. He was single, living with his mother Zelita in the 1920 and 1930 census reports and married with no children in the 1940 census.