TRAMMELL-WATHEN

The following bio was taken from page 429 of the book entitled "Rusk County History" compiled and edited and used with permission of the Rusk County Historical Commission.

Transcribed by Claudia Schuster

Submitted by Gloria Briley Mayfield, Rusk County TX Coordinator

Although I was never a resident of Rusk County, fond memories of Henderson were passed on to me by my grandparents, Major and Mrs. B.S. Wathen, Sr. (EdIth J. Harrison), and my mother, Lois Wathen Fore. Other descendants join me in the wish that mention of the Wathen and Harrison families be included in the history of Rusk County as both families were residents from about 1869 through 1895.

Major Wathen came to Henderson after the Civil War, in which he participated as a young man. As a civil engineer he brought the first railroad to Henderson, a short line from Overton. Working from Henderson prior to 1895, he was responsible for the establishment of important lines in the Texas railroad system, including the extension of the line from Longview to El Paso in January, 1875. As head of Corps of Engineers of the I.G. N. Railroad extension into Mexico, he was accompanied by other Rusk County citizens, including his friend, George Bird of Henderson. At the time of his death in 1930, an editorial in the Dallas News referred to him as the "outstanding railroad surveyor of the state." He was an extensive landholder in Rusk County and at one time owner of the Wathen-March Building in Henderson.

Major Wathen and his first wife, Josephine Medora Trammell, daughter of Thomas J. Trammell, a planter of Rusk County, were the parents of six children. Josephine died in 1895 shortly after the family had moved to Dallas. Their children were: Eugene, Neal, Cliff, Wickliffe, Lucille and Bessie. Neal Wathen, now age ninety-two, was married to Blanch Rogers of Henderson.

My grandmother, Edith Josephine Harrison, a niece of Medora Trammell, married Major Wathen after the death of his first wife. Their children were Edith, Lois, and Benjamin S. Wathen, Jr. Her parents, Joel A. Harrison, and his wife, Susan Trammell Harrison, lived on a farm near Henderson and later in a house on East Main, which was still standing until recent years. Other children of the Harrison family were: Mamie, Trammell, Porter, Loraine, and Susan, now age ninety-nine. Loraine married Thomas J. Moore of Dallas and had two sons, Thomas J. and Morris. Thomas J. has revised and collected much of the family history and has found that many other family members were involved in early Texas railroad history.

Rusk County is indeed a beautiful part of our state and we, as descendants of the Wathen, Trammell, and Harrison families, are proud to be a part of its heritage.

Submitted by Mrs. Loyd A. Wright and Mrs. Thomas J. Moore