Albert Richard Thomas (1898-1966)

    Albert Thomas, legislator, son of James and Lonnie (Langston) Thomas, was born in Nacogdoches, Texas, on April 12, 1898. He attended public schools in Nacogdoches and worked in his father's store. During World War I he served as a second lieutenant in the army. He graduated from Rice Institute (now Rice University) in 1920 and from the University of Texas law school in 1926. Thomas was married to Lera Millard in 1922. After admittance to the bar in 1927, he returned to Nacogdoches to practice. He won election as county attorney that same year and served until 1930, when he moved to Houston to become assistant United States district attorney for the southern district of Texas. He held that position until 1936, then was elected to represent the Eighth District (Harris County) in the United States House of Representatives. He held that position until his death.

    Thomas was a member of numerous committees in the House, among them Irrigation and Reclamations, Pensions, Labor, Elections, Appropriations, the Independent Offices Subcommittee, and the Defense Subcommittee on Appropriations. He also served on the Joint Committee on Atomic Energy and was instrumental in the location at Houston of the Manned Spacecraft Center (later the Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center) of the National Aeronautics and Space Agency. At the time of his death Thomas had risen to eleventh in seniority in the House of Representatives. In 1949 he became chairman of the House Subcommittee on Independent Office Appropriations, was elected chairman of the Texas House delegation in 1950, and was named chairman of the House Democratic caucus in 1964. While he was contemplating retiring from office because of ill health in 1963, President John F. Kennedy and Vice President Lyndon B. Johnson attended a testimonial dinner in Thomas's honor in Houston to urge that he remain in Congress. Kennedy was assassinated in Dallas the following day, and Thomas returned to Washington on the President's plane, Air Force One, with President Johnson. The photograph in which he appears as a witness to Johnson's oath of office is one of the most memorable pictures from that historic time. Thomas was a Methodist. He died on February 15, 1966, and was buried in Houston. His widow was elected to complete his unexpired term. Source

Mall Site 1
Houston National Cemetery
Houston

COORDINATES

29° 55.828, -095° 27.080

Elijah Votaw (1817-1890)

    Elijah Votaw was born in Saint Louis County, Missouri, on February 1, 1817 and came to Texas via Arkansas with his parents in April, 1835. The Votaws settled early in what is now Grimes County. He served in the army from March 1 to July 1, 1836 and was wounded at San Jacinto while a member of Captain James Gillaspie's Company. Votaw moved often after he left the army, first settling in Oakville, then Cotulla where he remained until 1885 when he moved to San Antonio. He died there at his home on November 17, 1890 and buried in Odd Fellows Cemetery.


Odd Fellows Cemetery
San Antonio

COORDINATES

29° 25.315, -098° 28.168

Rosie Lee Moore Hall (1899-1967)

    Born in Robertson County, Texas, in 1899, Hall was a native of the community of Pin Oak, located between Hearne and Wheelock. She married Ollie Chambers at age 17 and remained in Pin Oak. She left Hearne in her late 20s when her marriage failed, losing contact with her family for 19 years. By then she had made Oklahoma City her home and was working for Quaker Oats. While working in the advertising department of Quaker Oats she learned of the search for a new Aunt Jemima. According to family and friends, she perfectly exemplified the trademark, which was why her round smiling face adorned Aunt Jemima products for almost two decades. From 1950 to 1967 Hall continued the tradition started by other Aunt Jemimas and traveled the country showing off her culinary talents by making melt-in-your-mouth pancakes. She was at her best when she was cooking pancakes. And cook pancakes she did: at world’s fairs and annually at the Texas State Fair; everywhere she went, she jovially served her syrup and buckwheat cakes. 

    During her last years at Quakers Oats, Hall told her family she was excited about a new syrup recipe she was creating. After she began the role of Aunt Jemima, her family looked forward to her annual visit home during Christmas. They would gather at the family home and sing Christmas carols, while Hall would talk about her experiences as Aunt Jemima. Her sisters say she was perfect for the job because she liked people so much. Her family never saw any of her official demonstrations, but they were always delighted when she returned home, because she would cook her famous pancakes for them. The last time she visited was Christmas 1966. Two months later she suffered a heart attack on her way to church and died on February 12, 1967. An elaborate funeral was held in Oklahoma City, and she was buried in the family plot in the Colony Cemetery near Wheelock, Texas. Although she died over a quarter of a century ago, Hall had no grave marker until 1988. A special ceremony was held May 7, 1988, and her grave was declared a historical landmark. Hall’s reign as Aunt Jemima is significant because she was the last “living” Aunt Jemima.. Source

Hammond Colony Cemetery
Black Jack

COORDINATES

30° 54.717, -096° 31.398

Nicholas Henry Darnell (1807-1885)

    Nicholas Henry Darnell, legislator and soldier, was born in Williamson County, Tennessee, on April 20, 1807, the youngest child of Nicholas and Nannie (Flewellen) Darnell. He was reared by his grandfather, William Flewellen. As candidate for the Tennessee legislature in 1835, Darnell was defeated by only eight votes. He was elected without opposition in 1837 but resigned in 1838 to move to Texas. He settled at San Augustine and was elected from that county to the Sixth and Seventh congresses. On November 24, 1842, he was elected speaker of the House. He was a member of the Convention of 1845 and ran against Albert C. Horton for lieutenant governor that year. When the ballots were canvassed, Darnell was shown to be the winner by a few votes, but he declined to take the oath of office until all the votes had been returned. Horton was elected.

    Darnell moved to Dallas in 1858. He was speaker of the House in the Ninth Legislature but resigned in 1862 to enter the Confederate Army as colonel of the Eighteenth Texas Cavalry. The flag of the regiment, made at his home, was placed in the Capitol at Austin. Darnell was assistant doorkeeper of the House of Representatives of the Fourteenth Legislature, 1874-75. He represented Dallas, Tarrant, and Ellis counties at the Constitutional Convention of 1875 and returned to the House of Representatives of the Fifteenth Legislature in 1876 as the member from Tarrant County. He served as doorkeeper and assistant doorkeeper, respectively, in the Seventeenth and Eighteenth legislatures. Darnell helped to organize the Masonic lodge at San Augustine and held all offices of the Grand Lodge of Texas, including most worshipful grand master in 1844. He and his wife, the former Isabella Cozart, had seven children. Darnell died at Fort Worth in July 1885 and was buried in the Masonic Cemetery at Dallas. Source

Masonic Section 

Pioneer Park 

Dallas

COORDINATES

32° 77.768, -096° 80.062