Bios: John Graham Teagle, Winn Parish, LA Submitted by Deanna Simmons Hess, RR 9 Box 1548, Livingston, TX 77351-9009 ********************************************** Copyright. All rights reserved. http://usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm http://usgwarchives.net/la/lafiles.htm ********************************************** Enterprise News American, July 8, 1932 (Reprinted Enterprise News American, November 13, 1985) A Biographical Sketch of John Graham Teagle by Judge Robert Wade Oglesby On of the first men I met when I landed in Winnfield was John G. Teagle who told me that he was a native of Tennessee. This fact established a bond of friendship that lasted to the end. In addition to being a native of my state, he was likewise a Confederate soldier and that was enough to give him a warm place in my heart. At the time he was running a livery stable right where the L. L. Bryan home is now (the 1985 site of the home of Mrs. Joe H. Emerson, 205 West Main Street). The present generation does not know what a livery stable was, but in those days every small town had one or two of those institutions which were favorite places to congregate and swap jokes and horses. Uncle John had been a very successful farmer and in addition had a small county store which he ran in connection with his farming operations until he moved into town. He kept his land and sold a lot of timber at the peak of prices and about 1919 when oil was struck in the Homer Field and leases were being taken all over the country, he cashed in for a very large sum for a lease on part of his land. The family still has the land and the probabilities are that some day it will be worth millions, for a big oil strike is sure to take place right in Winn Parish - the place that has caused more speculation than any other part of the state where oil has actually been discovered. Mr. Teagle was a very striking figure. He was tall and angular and went well dressed. He was friendly in disposition and was loved and respected by all his acquaintances. His children honored him and stood ready to answer every beck and call. Nothing was too good for him and his wife who preceded him to the grave only a few years. In the good old days, we hired a three seated hack from him to go to Ebenezer Camp Ground down near Montgomery. We started early in the morning, and it took us all day to get there. Now you can drive there in thirty minutes. He was very careful with his horses and cautioned those who drove them in hot weather. On that trip we respected him and the horses and made many stops to let them cool. How in the world people endured the hardships of travel, the present generation cannot understand. The truth was that they were not in a hurry and really had more pleasure when they did go than they have now when they are continually on the go. Then they stayed at home. Now home is a place to snatch a few hours of sleep and eat a few bites. Uncle John keenly enjoyed the Confederate reunions. Up until a few years before he passed away, he never missed one. Before the 18th amendment was passed, at one of the reunions here, Sheriff Heflin sent off and got a keg of wine for the old boys. To keep them from getting too much, he selected Uncle John as custodian. In order to be sure that they did not get too much, Uncle John took a drink every time they did. He was the first to drop out of the picture. The ladies served dinner in the old Wright building which stood on the corner by Swanson's Restaurant (editors note: 1985 site of First Federal's parking garage). Uncle John started home and when he got in front of this place, he didn't even turn his head toward the door. He said the very smell of dinner made him sicker. He went home and the girls met him at the gate and asked him what was the matter with him. He told them that he was sick. He told me afterwards that they never did suspicion the trouble. The truth of the matter was that they knew exactly the trouble but respected him too much to even let him know that they knew. I knew that he enjoyed a drink, but this was the first time I ever knew him to get too much. Somehow the people overlooked this failing of so many of them. The first summer I came to Winnfield, I bought a milk cow from Uncle John. The cow was out at his farm about five miles, and one hot July afternoon, he and I went on horseback to bring the cow in. She had a young calf and when it got hot, it went to the bushes. I was almost prostrated but the calf wouldn't budge an inch. I was ready to give up when Uncle John suggested that I get Steve Cole, who lived nearby, to drive them in. For a small consideration, Steve very kindly consented to do the job and with a little head work had no trouble. He tied the calf to the cow's neck with a rope and with another rope drove the cow along without any trouble. Steve got paid for what he knew and not for what he did. The calf had no alternative but to go where the cow went, just where Steve told her to go, and I was mortally ashamed for not having as much sense about driving a cow as an ignorant country negro, but Uncle John had more sense that both of us by letting us do the work. That was one of his greatest assets. He used his head and let the other fellow do the hard work. He lived beyond eighty, but his mind was keen and active to the last. He knew when to say "no" and didn't mind it. He absolutely refused to go on anybody's note or bond. When he made one, he either put up collateral, or got a bonding company to make his bond and paid for it. In doing so he was under no obligations, consequently, he never had to pay any security debts. He attended strictly to his own business and let other people attend to theirs. He was easy to trade with because he knew his own mind. He had a price and you could either take what he had to sell, or let it alone and he would not misrepresent it. It seemed to me that the Civil War developed more men of this type than any other period of our history. They started without anything except a will to succeed and the native ability to overcome all obstacles. I have never known a more honorable and upright citizen that John G. Teagle and am glad to have been numbered among his friends. Submitted by Deanna Simmons Hess, great granddaughter of John G. Teagle.