Peters Colony
Historical Society

of Dallas County, Texas
P.O. Box 110846
Carrollton, Texas 75011-0846
Organized September 21, 1971

 

Site Map &
Site Search


Peters Colony Historical Society


�The Peters Colony Historical Society of Dallas County, Texas, is a relatively new organization made up of citizens from the Carrollton and Farmers Branch communities plus a good many former residents. Designed to meet the particular needs of those interested in fostering a pride in local heritage particularly among young people, in preserving the history of the area in writing, picture, memorabilia, and restoration, and in tracing family lines, the Society was organized September 21, 1971. Charter officers were Georgia Myers Ogle, president; Holman Rhoton, vice president (resigned early in the first year and replaced by Joe B. Latimer); Ruth Hughes Taylor, record secretary; Dorotha Good Russell, corresponding secretary; Ollivene Patterson, treasurer; Jimmie Hall, parliamentarian; J. C. Foster, Betty Keneipp Harris, Frank E. LaRue, Jr., Vera Perry Lowrey, Mrs. M. E. Moore, Doris McKamy Ramsay, and Annie D. Baxley Thompson, directors. Charter membership, extended to all who joined the Society by January 1, 1972, numbered 103 with five more members before the end of the first year. Because of an increasing interest in matters of historical nature, the membership had swelled to 220 at the end of the fourth year. Dorotha Good Russell became president after Mrs. Ogle had served two years; then Kenneth Mjaaland followed Mrs. Russell. Lloyd Webb was elected for 1977. Popularly received is the Society's official semiannual publication, Elm Fork Echoes. begun in 1973, with Marjorie Ledbetter Yelton as the first and only editor to date. As a special Bicentennial number, Mrs. Yelton included a third issue in 1976; it was primarily a picture album with appropriate captions and was published in July. Each June the Society plans a special daytime activity for the benefit of members who are unable to attend the regular monthly meetings -primarily older members and out-of-town members. Too, the general public is invited to participate in this annual event, which has taken the form of a tour to places of local historical interest, picnics with displays, and workshops with exhibits and visiting speakers. 

Frank LaRue, a Society member, did the research for two more historical markers in the City of Farmers Branch-one for the first tanning yard owned and operated by R. J. West on Rawhide Creek and the other for Webb Chapel Methodist Church. Though these were not organizational projects, the Society as a whole and individuals within it provided what assistance they could and participated in the dedication ceremonies for the two markers. Then on November 3, 1974, the Society realized its goal in securing the first historical marker in the City of Carrollton when a marker at Highland Baptist Church was dedicated in recognition of the church, originally called the Union Baptist Church, as the first Baptist chu.ch in Dallas County. The Society was authorized to research and mark the site of the first City Hall in Carrollton. Though the site did not qualify for a State marker because of the time factor, an appropriate marker was dedicated July 4, 1975, at the newly created Pioneer Park, an idea first suggested by Mayor Tommy Standridge, who was able to attend the ceremony even though he was not able physically to participate in it. Beautifully landscaped by the City Parks and Recreation Department, this mini-park is located east of the square in a triangle formed by Third, Carroll, and Main streets at Denton Drive. 

Another project of the Society was the reprinting of George Jackson's 1908 history, Sixty Years in Texas. Mr. Jackson, who came to Texas as a small boy with his parents, Mr. and Mrs. John Jackson, from Devonshire, England, in 1848, is the only person who has lived in Carrollton to attempt a history of the area. John H. Cochran, son of pioneer William M. Cochran, who came to Farmers Branch in 1843, had written a history of Dallas County earlier.�

Excerpted from:
Elm Fork settlements : Farmers Branch and Carrollton / compiled and written by Georgia Myers Ogle ; illustrated by Sharon Marsh Cozart. (Quanah?, Texas: Nortex, 1977)
pages 403-405

From that day to this the society has been active in documenting and preserving the history and memory of the early settlers. The society has focused its efforts on preserving the history of the original colonists who received headrights from Peters Colony and their descendents. The Society has worked to preserve the history of Carrollton, Farmers Branch and the surrounding area.

The society has met in monthly meetings and published either semiannual or annual compilations of articles in the Elm Fork Echoes. These articles have presented a variety of perspectives on the history and life from the pioneers to present day

CHARTER MEMBERS 

(Joined September-December, 1971)

Mrs. Virginia Asch Jimmie J. Hall Jack Ogle
Nancy Thompson Adams Barbara Lowry Hand Esther Ogle
Jeanette Bassinger Claude Harris Peggy Perry Oliver
Claude E. Baxley Betty Harris Mrs. Lillie Patterson
Mrs. Gene Biggerstaff Robert W. Harrison Ollivene Patterson
Elwood Birkelbach Rita Colwell Haynes Thomas E. Prewitt
Charles M. Blalack Ann Honea Shirley A. Prewitt
Margueriette Blalack Beck James Doris Ramsay
Mrs. J. D. Blanton Margaret Johnston Herbert F. Ramsay
Jack Blanton Gladys Perry Kelley Ellouise C. Reed
Marian Good Blanton Ray Larner Holman Rhoton
Ruby Adylene Butler Frank E. Larue, Jr. Mrs. Holman Rhoton
Margaret McKamy Colwell Joseph B. Latimer Mary Sue Rogers
Susan Cozby Edwin B. Lewis Leon Russell
Betty Lou Dennis Mrs. E. W. Longmire Dorotha Good Russell
A. D. Duncan Mrs. Marvin Loving N. Ray Russell
Mrs. Helen Duncan Vera Perry Lowrey Leon Shaw
Patricia S. Edmiston Kathleen Nix MacFarlane Ida Mae Shaw
Laverne Elder H. W. Marsh Ravanna May Stevenson
Noma Etier Ida Mae Marsh Betty Blanton Sumner
J. C. Foster Mrs. Jack Maxfield Dorothy Symmank
Harriet Foster Fannidella Webb Meadows Weldon O. Taylor
Drucilla Garrison Reid Mrs. John Lee Mitchell Ruth Hughes Taylor
Janice Garrison Kenneth Allan Mjaaland, Jr. Annie D. Thompson
Dortha Hudler Good Mrs. M. E. Moore Col. Corbie R. Truman
James W. Good Howard Lewis Morris Frances D. Truman
Mildred Baxley Good Joyce P. Morris Christine Mayes Wallace
Marion A. Good Mrs. Sallie Myers Edith Branhaman Webb
Mrs. Marion Good Thelma I. Myers Joyce Ledbetter Webb
N. F. Good Mrs. Roy McCormick Mrs. Thomas Williams
Inez Sparkman Good R. J. McInnish J. R. Woody
Rex Good Mrs. R. J. McInnish Mrs. J. R. Woody
Mrs. Rex Good David Nix Marjorie Ledbetter Yelton
Lula Gravley H. Ray Ogle
Clifford E. (Bill) Hall Georgia Myers Ogle

 OTHER FIRST YEAR MEMBERS

(Joined after January 1, 1972)

Jonnie Lois Warner Brown William L. Furneaux Connie Hardcastle Irby
Adair Dyer Mrs. William L. Furneaux

 

Peters Colony Historical Society of Dallas County is a non-profit organization.
Copyright 2003-2007.  All rights reserved.  Contact: Edward L. Williams

This page was last updated on 06/21/2016

Web Space Provided By: Rootsweb