Coleman County, Texas - Obituary: MILTON M. MOSELEY *********************************************************************** USGENWEB NOTICE: These electronic pages may NOT be reproduced in any format for profit or presentation by any other organization or persons. Persons or organizations desiring to use this material, must obtain the written consent of the contributor, or the legal representative of the submitter,and contact the listed USGenWeb archivist with proof of this consent. Files may be printed or copied for personal use only. The submitter has given permission to the USGenWeb Archives to store the file permanently for free access. *********************************************************************** Submitted by: Jay Moseley May 7, 2001 ======================================================================= MILTON M. MOSELEY MILTON M. MOSELEY, one of the earliest registered architects in the State of Texas, 5626 Byers, a native of Bell County and a resident of Fredericksburg and Fort Worth, on Tuesday, August 22. Survivors: Wife, Johnnie Pearce Moseley; daughter, Anne Moseley Ferguson; grandchildren, W.B. Ferguson, IV, Anne R. Ferguson, Clay M. Ferguson, John W.R. Ferguson. The remains of Mr. Moseley will lie in state from 6 p.m. until 10 p.m. Wednesday at All Saints' Episcopal Cathedral where a Eucharist of Christian Burial will be offered at 10 a.m. Thursday. The Rev. Canon James P. DeWolfe, Jr. and the Rev. John C. Worrel, Con-Celebrants. Private entombment. Should friends desire, memorials may be given to the Scholarship Fund at the Architectural School, The University of Texas at Austin. Arrangements THOMPSON'S Harveson & Cole 336-0345 OBITUARIES ---------- Milton M. Moseley, architect who restored buildings, paintings BY George Smith Fort Worth Star-Telegram Milton M. Moseley, a longtime Fort Worth architect who was noted for his work in the restoration of many Fredericksburg landmarks, died yesterday at a Fort Worth nursing home. He was 85. The body will lie in state from 6 to 10 tonight at All Saints Episcopal Cathedral. Mass of Christian burial will be at 10 a.m. tomorrow at All Saints Episcopal Cathedral. Entombment will be private. Harveson & Cole Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements. Mr. Moseley and his wife became involved in the restoration of old buildings in Fredericksburg in 1956, when they purchased a house on Main Street and restored it. Mr. Moseley was semi-retired at the time and wanted to paint, but after seeing how old houses were being torn down, he turned to restoring them. The house the Moseleys purchased and restored, the "Little Rock House," later was honored with a National Burlington Mills award as the best restored house in the unusual dwellings category. Lady Bird Johnson presented the award to the Moseleys. Mr. Moseley also was the architect for the restoration of the old county courthouse in Fredericksburg, now known as the McDermott House after the Dallas couple who backed the project. The old courthouse is now a library. Mr. Moseley was in demand as a consultant in restoration throughout the state. He and his wife restored a total of 20 19th-century rock and stone houses, many bearing historical markers. Mr. Moseley was born in Bell County add grew up in Santa Anna, Coleman County. He was a graduate of John Tarleton Agricultural College in Stephenville and attended the University of Texas at Austin, where he was a member of the first graduation class of the School of Architecture in 1928. He won a scholarship to the Beaux Arts School of Architecture in Paris but declined the scholarship. While at UT, he was a member of the Longhorn Band, in which he played the saxophone, and was a champion tennis player. After graduation, Mr. Moseley worked in Kansas City, Mo., for a privately owned cabinet shop where he designed art deco woodwork that European cabinetmakers installed in upscale department stores such as Herbert Wolfe and Sol Dreyfuss. Neiman Marcus stores also used some of his designs. On Dec. 29, 1929, Mr. Moseley and Johnnie Pearce, also from Santa Anna, were married, and in 1931 they moved to Fort Worth, where he opened his architectural office. During his 46 years in the business, Mr. Moseley designed many homes, churches, hospitals and commercial buildings around Fort Worth. He designed the first Federal Housing Administration home constructed in the city and many homes in the Monticello, Crestwood, Richland Hills and East Side areas. He also did some work for Elmer Withers, who designed the Will Rogers Complex in the 1930s. Mr. Moseley was interested in art and began painting as a hobby in the l930s and l940s. During this time he received private instruction from two of the most prominent portrait artists of the time, and he learned early techniques of restoration of he old masters. Through the years, he enjoyed working on and restoring paintings for his friends. During the l930s, Mr. Moseley conceived the idea of pre-drawn plan books for his clients -- lumberyards, contractors and the public. He advertised his first book in House Beautiful magazine and received hundreds of orders. Magazine executives said the ad received more replies than any that had ever run, and executives came to Fort Worth to visit him and look at his drawings. By 1956 he had published seven books of plans. In 1973, the Moseleys returned to their Fort Worth home from Fredericksburg and had since also maintained their home in Fredericksburg. The family suggests memorials be made to the scholarship fund at the School of Architecture at the University of Texas at Austin. Survivors: Wife, Johnnie Pearce Moseley; one daughter, Anne Moseley Ferguson; and four grandchildren. (published in the Fort Worth Star-Telegram on 24 Aug 1989)