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 1845 - 1927 (81 years) Submit Photo / Document
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| Name |
William Tomlin "W T" Eustace |
| Born |
24 Aug 1845 |
Lancaster County, VA  |
| Gender |
Male |
| Died |
13 Jan 1927 |
| Buried |
Athens Cemetery, Athens, Henderson, Co., TX |
| Notes |
- Athens Weekly Review
Jan. 13, 1927
Captain W. T. Eustace Veteran Citizen, Passes Away at 12:30 Thursday
Captain W. T. Eustace beloved citizen of Athens and know affectionately as "the grand old man" passed away at the family home at 12:30 Thursday. Death came peacefully to the Old Veteran as he was partaking of some nourishment. His wife who had been his tinder and constant companion during his long days of illness was at his side assisting him in taking his nourishment when he suddenly breathed his last. There was no murmur of pain as the old veteran crossed the last battle line.
Captain Eustace had been in ill health for the past year or more. He had been confined to his room for some months and the last time he ventured out was to participate in the primary election. He had been gradually growing weaker for the past few months and when Dr. J. K. Webster made his customary morning call Wednesday he told Mrs. Eustace then that he could not last longer than from twenty-four to forty-eight hours.
It is doubtful if there has ever been a citizen of Henderson county held in higher esteem than Captain Eustace. Truly he was the friend of every man, woman and child of the county.
The old veteran had held many positions of trust in the county. As a lawyer he early entered politics and he retained his interest up until his death. He was a staunch admirer of the late President Wilson and in his younger days he was tower of strength to the Democratic party.
The deceased veteran was a staunch member of the Methodist church and an active member of the board of stewards for many years. Three years ago he was elected an honorary member of the board for life. Captain Eustace was an active Mason, having taken the Master Mason, Royal Arch Chapter and Knights Templar degrees. In early life he joined the Episcopal church but upon coming to Texas and finding no church of that denomination here he affiliated with the Methodist church.
The deceased traced his ancestry back to England. In the early days of Virginia, his grandfather, John Eustace came to this country form London and settled in the village of Kilmarnock, Lancaster county. he married there and reared one son, William Conway Eustace, father of the deceased. Captain Eustace was the youngest of four children.
He was born in Lancaster county, Virginia, August 24th 1845. His father was an extensive planter and slave-holder so that his childhood was surrounded with affluence. Captain Eustace was educated in the Upperville Military Academy. He was an advanced student in that institution when the war began. he at once left school and enlisted in his country's cause in the 47th Virginia regiment. After two years he was transferred to the 1st Richmond Howitzer, where he remained until the surrender at Appomattox. He served through the entire war and was in all the principal engagements of the Army of Northern Virginia. He served under Beauregard, Johnson and Lee.
After the war the negros were freed and the family fortune swept away, and Captain Eustace as with a thousand others was left on his own resources. He surveyed the field and determined to come west.
He landed in Shreveport, La., May 1865 and remained there two years. He then moved to Tyler where he lived for only a few months, coming thence to Henderson county where he established himself for life. Early in life he became a teacher and taught successfully for eight years. Many of the older citizens now living in Athens received their early instruction under him.
In 1875 he had his first taste of politics and was elected district clerk. In 1880 he was elected county clerk and in 1888 he served as county superintendent after being elected to that office.
In 1890 his sight became enfeebled and he withdrew from public life and entered the practice of law. Later, however, he again accepted office, this time serving the city as assessor and collector and later as city recorder.
In his early law practice he was associated with the late Dr. J. B. Bishop and Judge Joe A. McDonald.
Although he retired from politics on his own volition, at the insistence of friends he entered the race for Congress when the late Gordon Russell was elevated to the Federal bench and resigned that position. He was defeated by a very small margin by Judge Lively of Van Zandt county but the captain carried Henderson county solidly with the exception of one lone vote. His friends always contended that this vote against him was simply an error on the part of some citizen.
Captain Eustace was twice married, the first time to Miss Margaret Davis, who died in 1881. His second marriage was to Miss Mattie Mitcham, who survives him. Her devotion to him during his long illness is one of the beautiful examples of a truly happy life.
A large number of nephews and nieces survive the captain. Among them Captain Lowe of Virginia.
Captain Eustace has been honored on many occasions. When the T. & N. O. railway was built through this section due recognition was given the captain by naming a town for him.
A Virginian by birth the captain inherited the characteristic Chesterfieldian bearing of one from that noble state and it was a joy to meet him and receive that ever welcome handshake.
Honorary pall- bearers consisted of members of the Athens Bar, board of Stewards of the Methodist Church and all city and county officials. They were as follows:
County Officials: Grover Curlee, J. W. Ballow, Victor Garner, R. C. Faulk, Henry Meredith, John Wood, Joe Hutcheson, W. R. Thomas, Judge B. F. Dent, Earl Adams, Judge W. R. Bishop, James Morrow, Jeff Davis, Charley Pharris and J. M. Pinkerton.
City Officials: Jno A. Spencer, Braughton Gauntt, A. M. Newbill, J. I. Wofford.
Attorneys of Athens Bar: J. J. Faulk, Sam Holland, W. D. Justice, H. A. Justice, Earnest Landman, Richard Sigler, W. J. Garrett, Alf Coker, Tom P. Faulk, Toddie Lee Wynne, Grover Curlee, W. R. Bishop, W. A. Thomas.
Members of the Board of Stewards of Methodist Church: Miss May Dixon, E. N. Robinson, Joel Baker, E. L. Watson, C. M. Weekly, Geo. M. Scroggins, A. M. Barnes, E. J. Prince, Mrs. D. T. Broom, S. M. Cain, R. T. Craig, J. J. Faulk, John Moosberg, Tom P. Faulk, E. M. Henderson, Mrs. S. R. LeMay, H. C. Moseley, N. T. Barber, Knox Henderson, Earl Jones, Mrs. R. C. Faulk, John A. Spencer. [1]
- http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=27628857 [2]
- EUSTACE, TX
EUSTACE, TEXAS. Eustace, on U.S. Highway 175 some ten miles northwest of Athens in northwestern Henderson County, was on the J. M. Beltram survey. In 1900, when the Texas and New Orleans Railroad extended its line eastward from Kemp to Athens, the area reportedly had only one inhabitant, who occupied a rented log cabin. Businessmen from nearby communities moved to be closer to the new railroad line. The town that developed was first called Moseley by W. L. Moseley, who had sold the railroad right-of-way across the Beltram survey and who had sold the first lots in the town. It was also called Jolo in honor of Joe L. Pickle, the town blacksmith. A post office for Jolo was established in 1900, but that same year the name was changed to Eustace, for Capt. W. T. Eustace, a popular Confederate Civil War veteran. Captain Eustace came to Henderson County from Virginia in 1867 and settled at the county seat, Athens, where he was active in local and county politics. By 1901 the name Eustace began to appear on deed records. The 1900 census reported a population of 150 at the community, and by 1904 the town had three churches, two general stores, a grocery store, a blacksmith, a restaurant, a saloon, and a cotton gin. Eustace was incorporated in 1926. Its population grew slowly, from 450 in 1940 to 541 in 1980 to an estimated 662 in 1990 to 798 in 2000. The early economy of the town was based primarily on cotton, but later its economy, along with that of other East Texas towns, gradually shifted to livestock raising and small-scale truck farming. During the 1970s and 1980s the local economy was given a boost by the discovery of oil and the production of petroleum products. In the late 1980s, however, these resources were being rapidly depleted. The town also benefited economically from nearby recreational areas, including Cedar Creek Lake (established 1964) five miles southwest, and Purtis Creek State Recreation Area (established 1988), four miles north. In 1989 the town comprised twenty-six small businesses, five churches, and a school with a total enrollment of some 1,000 students (kindergarten through high school grades).
BIBLIOGRAPHY:
Eustace Historical Committee, A Brief History of Eustace, Texas (Eustace, 1986). J. J. Faulk, History of Henderson County (Athens, Texas: Athens Review Printing, 1926). Winnie McGaughey Reynolds, The History of Henderson County (M.A. thesis, East Texas State Teachers College, 1952).
Rebecca Reynolds Gartrell
Rebecca Reynolds Gartrell, "EUSTACE, TX," Handbook of Texas Online (http://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/hle30), accessed April 24, 2013. Published by the Texas State Historical Association. [3]
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| Person ID |
I954 |
Extended Families of Childress |
| Last Modified |
8 Jun 2020 |
| Family 2 |
Margaret Davis, b. 19 Aug 1847, d. 19 Oct 1881, Henderson Co., TX (Age 34 years) |
| Last Modified |
8 Jun 2020 |
| Family ID |
F6032 |
Group Sheet |
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| Event Map |
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 | Buried - - Athens Cemetery, Athens, Henderson, Co., TX |
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| Sources |
- [S38] Athens Weekly Review, 13 Jan 1927.
- [S524] Findagrave.com.
- [S1809] A Brief History of Eustace, Texas.
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