Dr. Wm. Giles Parrott arrives at Eliasville

The first doctor to arrive in Eliasville was Dr. Wm. Giles Parrott and his wife, Mary (Stover) Parrott. They came from England originally and then to North Carolina. The Parrott family then joined the westward migration, first to Tennessee and then to Montague County, Texas and then finally to Eliasville by 1880. The move was to aid his wife’s asthma. The couple had four boys, which included Richard L. ‘Dick’ Parrott, who became the wagon boss for the Childress-Parrott Cow Outfit for several years. He made the last cattle drive before all the fencing went up to separate each rancher’s land.

‘Dick’ Parrott married Josephine Morrow, who was orphaned at age 12. They owned land about three miles northwest of Eliasville and had six children. Later, they sold the farm to John Roach, but kept the mineral rights to the land, which was unusual, but fortuitous for the Parrotts, since oil was struck on that land. Parrott went on to purchase other ranch lands in Throckmorton County and oil was struck there as well. Another son, Lige Parrott, moved on to also purchase land in Throckmorton County.

Dr. and Mrs. Parrott lived on a farm at the northern edge of Eliasville and then moved to Woodson and purchased more ranch land there.

Dr. Parrott was buried in the Eliasville Cemetery along with two infant sons. Unfortunately, when his wife Mary died, the river had risen in a flood and she had to be buried on the opposite side of the river. All this was confirmed by a great-grandson, Jack Parrott.

Another settler, King Smith, lived on land halfway between Breckenridge and Ivan, which became the Smith brothers, Don and Dean Smith. Don is deceased and Dean retired back here to Stephens County with his wife after a successful Hollywood career as a stunt man and lives on the land originally purchased by King Smith. He also has written a book about his escapades as a stuntman in Hollywood and his running abilities that got him to the Olympics and a Gold Medal. All of that is in his book, which a copy is needed here at the office of the Breckenridge American Dean Smith. Thank you.

One of the earliest settlers at Eliasville was the family of George Wesley and wife, Alice Dorinda (Masters) Pratt, who arrived in a caravan of wagons about 1876 from Baldwin, Mississippi. Their son, Larry, established the large Larry Pratt Ranch in Young County, with the ‘L’ brand on the left hip. He first married Willie Reeves and later married Molly Coon. His daughter, Willie Pratt, married I.L. (Hob) Still and they continued to live on the Larry Pratt Ranch.

A granddaughter, Hettie, had one child, Geraldine, who married C.T. Hill and they had two sons, Given and Joe Hill, part of the Hill brothers’ descendants.

Another early pioneer settler to this area was Isaac S. Lacy and Georgia (Allday) Lacy, who arrived in Eliasville in 1888 from Bass County. He had 100 head of cattle and hogs and purchased 640 acres of land two miles west of Eliasville in the upper Mississippi Bend of the Clear Fork. Lacy was in partnership with his son-in-law, Jim W. Young. It is recorded that Lacy bought the first registered shorthorn bull at Waco, which was said to be good producing beef steers and for milk. Lacy also had been in the lumber business in Case County and continued to sell lumber in Eliasville. Later, Young bought the west half of the ranch, 320 acres, which he later sold to W.W. Cuningham. Subsequently, Lacy sold out his half of the ranch and moved into Breckenridge. The McCharen family

The McCharen family arrived with the Newell family in 1893. William Edward McCharen and Elizabeth (Jernigan) Mc-Charen were married in Miss. and then came by wagon to Eliasville. He was a cotton gin operator and also operated the threshing machine. McCharen set up the first irrigation pump in the Clear Fork Valley and raised cotton, three miles east of the river. The couple had 10 children and he made a major impact in Eliasville with his great mechanical skills. One of their children, Kimmons McCharen, married Mary Frances Donnell after his first wife Willie (Allege) McCharen, died.

The family of Dr. David J. Newell and wife, Henrietta (Alexander) Newell, came to Eliasville with the McCharen family. His mother and Mrs. Newell’s sister also lived with them. Additionally, the music teacher, Miss Lucy Mary, also lived with them. The couple also had five children, but only one lived to adulthood, Lois, who married William Dennis Peveler, part of one of the earliest families to settle in Picketville and later in Eliasville.

Later, a brother, Dr. John Newell, lived with them for a time and practiced both medicine and dentistry, on the main street of Eliasville. The brothers also opened a drug store in town. John left for a short period but returned in time for the oil boom era.

There were a few more who arrived prior to 1880 and some in the 1890s, which included the Hefner and McGlamery families who both had a tremendous influence on Eliasville history and development.

Next week we go back to Caddo and pick up the baseball teams of that era from Caddo, Necessity, Wayland and other rural towns that had baseball teams at the turn of the century. Caddo had a list of names and a photo as did Necessity. So, if any other historians out there have additional photos, get in touch with Jean Hayworth at office@breckenridgeamerican.com.