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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