COPEVILLE
ON THE WING
Daily Courier Gazette, June 20, 1912
contd
Copeville.
W. T. Craft is a
blacksmith by trade and for some years was located at Rhea's Mill ten miles
northwest of McKinney. Eight years ago, however, he moved to this town and keeps
busy. Renews for the Democrat-Gazette for which he will accept our thanks.
Mrs. N. C. Craft
came to this town eleven years ago from Rhea's Mill and where, for that length
of time, she has been conducting a boarding house. Has been a reader of the
Democrat-Gazette for many years and will not be without her favorite paper.
J. D. Cope has
been a subscriber and reader of the Democrat-Gazette for many years. Mrs. Cope
and her daughter, Miss Myra, are highly pleased with it.
Mrs. C. E.
McIver said she liked the Democrat-Gazette because it published all the news of
the county and home each week.
J. F. Cotner was
married in 1901 to Miss Alice Edwards and only three children make home
interesting and happy. Has a splendid corp of corn and cotton on his father's
farm and subscribes for the Daily Courier-Gazette.
J. W. Nowin is a
young man who lives with his mother and cultivates only a part of his big farm.
Has been a subscriber to the Democrat-Gazette for quite a while and like it very
much.
L. W. McMillen
is a native of Arkansas (don't laugh. Lewis was not consulted as to where or
when he should first look up to the moon) but came to Texas just s soon as he
could find it convenient and it's not on record that he shook hands with the
sheriff before leaving either. Anyway, he's here, and until two years ago was a
confirmed bachelor, but about that time Mrs. Roxie Keesee of Culleoka heard a
wail from Copeville. No buttons on his trousers and his socks full of holes. She
could sew and darn. With two hundred acres of land and no one to disturb his
morning slumber, he thinks it pay to read a good county paper and aware that the
Democrat-Gazette was the very best of its class handed us a dollar and told us
to get busy.
T. F. and J. D.
Putman both read and like the Democrat-Gazette. Were mowing weeds along fences
and ditches destroying harboring places for grasshoppers. They are eating cotton
where more convenient.
Mrs. G. J.
Johnson likes the Democrat-Gazette and has been a reader for many years. Once a
week is too slow; wishes it were semi-weekly.
Mrs. E. B. Seay
said the Democrat-Gazette has been a regular visitor to her home for a long time
and would continue to be if she could raise the money.
Mrs. E. T. Smith
don't read much, but in her opinion the Democrat-Gazette was better than any
county paper that she ever read.
Mrs. J. E.
Mitchell in the absence of her husband said that the Democrat-Gazette was the
best of all family papers and that they could not do with out it.
C. s. Stafford
is a Tar Heel and don't care who knows it. Came to Texas in 1887, married in
1893 to Miss Lena Cotner, daughter of Marion Cotner, an old settler of this
section. A wife, four children and Democrat-Gazette one year will keep him
mighty busy.
H. G. Watkins in
1895 made enough good promises to Miss Adna McBee, daughter of "Uncle Ike" McBee,
to induce her to leave home and his air castle at that time is a reality now for
his bread acres of land with growing crops of corn and cotton; oats already
harvested and stored for safe keeping in a big barn; six chubby children in
whose faces glow the color of health, will sit beneath his feet and with smiling
faces ask "what's the news, papa?" Removing the wrapper from a certain paper he
will reply "listen while I read to you the happenings of the county and our own
neighborhood in the Democrat-Gazette which I ordered through their field man
last week."
Miss Eva Watkins
will read the Democrat-Gazette and we take pleasure in adding her name to our
list in that community.
C. L. Martin two
miles east of town says the Democrat-Gazette is an excellent paper because it
gives so much county and home news. Has large crops of oats and wheat but thinks
people too sanguine of a big yield; is rather conservative himself and will be
satisfied if the yield is much less than some imagine.
Contd
INTERESTING FACTS ABOUT COPEVILLE AND ITS SECTION OF COUNTY
Daily Courier
Gazette, April 16, 1938
Gleaned by
Representative Of Daily Courier-Gazette And Weekly Democrat-Gazette - Origin
Of Name - "Tarheel" Jones Noted Early Settler and Big Merchant - His
Daughter Is Present Postmaster.
by Mrs. O. S.
Scott
The writer was in Copeville
at the time of the recent funeral of Mrs. George M. Hall, a beloved old lady of
that section of our county. She was the widow of the late Rev. G. M. Hall, a
pioneer Presbyterian minister of Southeast Collin. She first settled at
Copeville, in 1880, where she had resided for nearly sixty years. After the
death of her husband , some years ago, she made her home with her son, Joe Hall,
and family, in Copeville. As a mark of respect to her memory, all business
houses in Copeville, were closed during funeral services. Mrs. Hall was the
mother of ten children, five of whom preceded her in death. The five surviving
children are: W. A. Hall, manager of the Pepsi-Cola Bottling Works, Oklahoma
City; James Hall, an engineer on the Santa Fe Railroad, out of Cleburne, Texas;
Joe and George Hall, truck farmers of the Copeville community. She is also
survived by one daughter.
As most of our readers
perhaps already know, Copeville is a peaceful little city of some 300
population, located about sixteen miles southeast of McKinney. It is located on
the Santa Fe railroad and derives its name from a Mr. Cope, who used to live one
and a half miles west of the present little town. At that time, the place was
served by a Star Mail Route from Farmersville to the home of Mr. Cope, who took
it upon himself to distribute the mail to his neighbors, who came for it. This
was in the midst of a fertile and growing farming area. As stores were
established and a business center sprang up, the place took the name of Mr. Cope
with "ville" added— hence, the name Copeville. The little village is reached by
a hard-surfaced all-weather highway, extending from Farmersville through
Copeville, southward to Wylie, Garland, on to Dallas and other parts of the
state. A number of well-improved farms surround the town over the countryside.
Mrs. Lizzie Pearce is the
postmaster of Copeville and is serving her tenth consecutive year in the
position. Her assistants are Miss Mildred Hall and W. I. Seay, Mrs. Pearce was
the former Miss Lizzie Jones, daughter of the late J. E. (Tar-Heel) Jones. She
was born and reared in the Copeville community. Her father J. E. Jones, was a
native of North Carolina, the "Tar-Heel State, to which he was steadfast in his
loyalty - hence his cognomen, "Tar-Heel" Jones, by which he became generally
known throughout Collin County. He first settled one mile east of Copeville.
Miss Nancy Bumpass, daughter of a noted East Collin and East Texas family,
became his bride and to their union, nine children were born - four sons and two
daughters survive. They are A. B. (Tip) Jones of Quanah, Texas; Dave Jones of
Paducah, Texas; W. M. Jones, Houston, Texas; R. D. Jones, Lubbock, Texas; and
the present Copeville Postmaster, Mrs. Lizzie Pearce. The son, Tip Jones, served
as Sergeant-at-Arms of the State Legislature for several terms and is widely
known and influential over the state. One of the daughters, Mrs. Walter Yeary,
passed away about a year ago. It is interesting to note that J. E. (Tar-Heel)
Jones, who gave the right-of-way for the Santa Fe Railroad and depot, at
Copeville, in 1887, became one of the largest general merchants of Collin
County. When he settled at Copeville, the country was mostly, a dense Bois d’Arc
wooded country. For years Bois d’Arc posts and Bos d’Arc timber was cut in large
quantities and shipped by carload from Copeville, to different parts of the
state and other states.
The little village now has
many city conveniences an important railroad line, paved and hard-topped
highways, rural electric lines by which the stores, churches, residences and
other buildings are brilliantly lighted.
Copeville has a substantial
brick school building, whose four teachers this year, are: Prof. J. H. Jackson,
Superintendent and coach for boys; T. I. Williams, coach for the girls; Mrs. H.
J. Baxter and Mrs. Morris Montgomery. A good school like Copeville has in an
indispensable asset to any town or community. The Copeville School has an
enrollment of 96. School buses from Nevada and Farmersville convey the Copeville
High School grades of children to their respective schools, according to their
choice when transferring.
Rev. A. W. Cunningham is
pastor of the Baptist Church and Claud S. Handy is Sunday School Superintendent.
Mrs. Lizzie Pearce is Director of the B. T. U. with an enrollment of eight-six
members and average attendance of seventy-five through the winter months. Mrs.
Pearce also has the honor of holding the position of Zone B. T. U. Director of
Southeast Collin. Miss Nora Jones is Superintendent of the Methodist Sunday
School, while Rev. Mr. Howell is pastor of that church.
The Daily Courier-Gazette and
Weekly Democrat-Gazette have the cooperation of Mrs. Lizzie Pearce as their
local Copeville correspondent. She is well-located and in a position to cover
the news from her little Southeast Collin home town and surrounding country to
the very best advantage. We might here observe that Mrs. Pearce is the proud
mother of five sons, all school teachers and esteemed young gentlemen. They are
Prof. James Pearce, who is teaching at Lucas; Prof. Jones Pearce, a teacher at
Celeste, Hunt County; Prof. Hailds Pearce, who is Principal and Coach in the
Celina High School and Prof. Joe Jack Pearce, teacher and coach of the high
school at Edna, down in South Texas. Melville Pearce is a student in the Sam
Houston State Teachers College at Huntsville, who expects to secure his Bachelor
of Arts Degree this summer. He is planning to secure his Smith-Hughes
Certificate by June 1939. These fine boys are a joy and an honor to their proud
mother, whose ideals and culture has typed their character and stamped them as
useful, worthy and influential young men in their respective communities and
destined to render service to mankind for their natural lives. Such a fortunate
mother has much to be proud of.
While sojourning in Copeville
we had the pleasure of meeting Claude Neal, who now lives near Farmersville. He
is a son-in-law of Prof. R. L. Wilson, a former widely known school teacher of
this county, but now retired and living with his daughter and Mr. Neal, her
husband. It was while teaching at Copeville that Mrs. R. L. Wilson met a tragic
death at a railroad crossing just west of town. This fatal auto-train crash
occurred on the same date that the Lindbergh baby was kidnaped. Prof. Wilson has
two daughters — Mrs. Neal, who is teaching at Josephine and Miss Jane Wilson,
teacher at Frisco. Both are college graduates, having received their Degrees
from the North Texas State Teachers College at Denton.
Copeville has the following
stores and business concerns: C. D. Watson, groceries; E. G. Wingo, groceries;
Rexroat grocery store. W. E. Garber, general merchandise; Rexroat filling
station; Rexroat lumber and hardware company, Wingo Cafe, Seay’s garage,
Farmer’s Cotton Oil Gin, A. R. Watkins manager; Denton-Watson Grocery Store and
Service Station. Copeville’s only barber shop is owned and operated by C. M.
Parris, son of W. M. Parris of McKinney.
As a pastime for a good part
of the year, Copeville has a Croquet Club of fifteen or more members. It has an
ideal croquet ground, electrically lighted, where many interesting games are
played, especially during the warm months of the year when it is pleasant to be
out in the open during the late afternoons and evenings. Sometimes the games run
until midnight or even later.
Most of the staple crops of
North Texas are grown on the farms in the Copeville community such as cotton,
corn, oats, sorghum and in recent years, onions are grown in a commercial way
and shipped by the carload. Some of the most widely known family names
throughout the county live in and around Copeville where they settled in an
early day and where numerous descendants are still living.
Communities Index
- Recommended
citation:
"Copeville - Collin County
Communities," Collin County, Texas History and Genealogy Webpage by
Genealogy Friends of Plano Libraries, Inc., <http://www.geocities/genfriendsghl>
[Accessed Fri February 13 13:37:28 US/Central 2004 ].
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