Hall County GaArchives News.....Howard Lathem: Tale of a Gainesville Man turned Texas millionaire January 28 1990
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File contributed for use in USGenWeb Archives by:
Iris Fry IrisAngelLink@aol.com January 21, 2005, 5:26 pm

The Times
By Sybil McRay, OUR HERITAGE

I seem to remember that sometime ago there would occassionally appear a column 
in a newspaper that featured "something I found when searching for something 
else." 
This may not be the exact title, but I have the same experience. When 
researching names, dates, places and events for the second volume of the 
Pictorial History of Hall County. "Windows of Memory", " I found in formation 
on other things that were very interesting.
I had often been told of some local families who left here for Texas or other 
western ststes and became millionaires. The discovery of oil or land ventures 
and cattle brought financial success to a number of former Hall Countians.
In 1854, according to our local newspaper, one of those former Hall Countains 
returned for a visit. Howard Lathem (I believe his name to be William Howard 
Lathem) left for Texas in 1893 at the age of 19.
The heading of the article stated that the "Hall County Native, now Texas 
millionaire, Returns to see Red Hills of Georgia." According to ages given, he 
would have then been 80 years of age. The things he remembered about 
Gainesville when he lived here are interesting.
"Howard Lathem leaned back in his chair, cast appraising eyes about and 
remarked:
" Yes, sir, when I left Gainesville in 1883, the courthouse was located in the 
(center) of the square where you have the park now. None of the streets were 
paved and horse and buggies were continually being stuck and needing help to 
get out of the mire.
" I can remember the ld narrow gauge railroad, as we called it, which ran to 
Athens and other points around here. I believe it's called Gainesville Midland 
Railroad now."
Mr. Lathem has been away from Gainesville for around 60 years.
He had heeded the advice of Horace Greely and went west as a young man of 19. 
He landed in Grand View, Texas, and farmed there for seven years. He was 
married in 1898 to Ruth Hambright and a son, Clyde, was born to the couple in 
1889. In 1900, the family decided to move to Odessa, Wash., and there they 
raised wheat until 1907.
"Texas called again, but this time Lathem settled in Dalhart, a northwest Texas 
town of some 7,000 people. He ought a cattle ranch there but moved to town 
within a year leaving the managership chores to a hired man."
He set up an insurance and realty office in Dalhart and also dabbled a bit in 
oil. Lathem mentions casually that his first gusher brought 5,000 barrels. He 
gave up his oil ventures in 1920 to devote his full time to insurance and real 
estate.
When lathem visited Gainesville in 1954 he owned a 15,000 acre ranch with some 
400 head of registered Hereford cattle, which was run by his son, Clyde, who 
had been managing the place since his graduation from school.
Also, there was a private race track on his ranch. In Texas he was certainly 
rated as a millionaire.
Lathem was accompainied by his daughter, Mrs. Irene Nelson, and he ststed that 
he had returned to Gainesville as a part of a Southern swing to renew 
acquaintaces with old friends and to see "the red clay hills of North georgia 
before they were inundated by the waters of Buford Dam. " Lake Lanier too, of 
course."
Among the aquaintances he knew before heading west were Robert "Bob" Hope, the 
Hulsey's, Mrs. Will Johnson,Mrs. W.L. Robinson, Mr. and Mrs. Tabor Robinson and 
mr. and Mrs. Arthur Roper.
Remarking about Gainesville's growth, he said, "When I left in 1893, it had 
only a small cotton mill and a brick firm for industry. Now the poultry 
industry has moved in and made a growing town into Gainesville..... It faces a 
great future.

Sybil McRay is a Hall County genealogist and historian. 





Additional Comments:
"Uncle Howard", as our family calls him became the groom to my great aunt, 
Cynthia Garner Shackleford in 1954, sister of Henry Alexander Garner of Hall 
County." While, as Uncle Howard put it in the article above about making a 
swing through to reacquaint with old friends, he took his childhood sweetheart 
for his bride and took her back to Texas where they had several years of 
happiness before their deaths.

Submitted by:
Great-Grandniece:
Iris Thompson Fry

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