SUMMER HILL SELECT SCHOOL, OMEN, SMITH COUNTY, TEXAS
Address by Nat W. Brooks, at annual re-union.  (Date unknown)

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Copied from the files in the East Texas Family Research Center
Ralph W. Steen Library, Stephen F. Austin University, Nacogdoches, TX
Summer Hill Select School, Omen, Texas, Records, 1878-1968 - B-1
Copied by Mary Love Berryman - 15 Jul 2000

Address by Nat W. Brooks, at annual re-union.  (Date unknown)

Names of ex-students of Summer Hill Select School who became lawyers
that I personally knew, and who have now passed on:

Acting upon the suggestion that we make this meeting in part an 
informal memorial service, and responding to the request that I take
part in the program, I have concluded to pay tribute to those 
exstudents of Summer Hill Select School who became lawyers, whom I 
personally knew, and giving a short statement as to each one.  In 
doing this, I do not mean at all to suggest that these are entitled to
special attention above any other ex-students who have passed on, nor 
to any more sincere tribute then many, many others who served in 
different capacities as citizens and in public service.  But it would
be entirely impossible to take the time to list and mention all 
deserving public tribute and commendation.  They run into the hundreds.
Having, myself, chosen the legal profession, I confine my part of this
program to paying tribute to those lawyers whom I have personally known 
who have passed on.  So, I name them, with my short comment, as follows:

W. T. ADAMS:  Mr. Adams came to this school from Cherokee County, Texas,
in 1889.  He was an intensive student, and won the Chilton Medal at 
the close of the term in 1890.  He later taught in this school, and
thereafter became superintendent of the public schools of Tyler.  Later
obtained license to practice law and practiced in Houston a short while.
He then became chief clerk in the State Agriculture Department at Austin 
where he served until shortly before his death.

JOHN R. ARNOLD:  Mr. Arnold attended this school in the early 1880's.  
He became a lawyer and practiced at Henderson in Rusk County, becoming
one of the most prominent lawyers of that county. At one time he was 
Grand Master of the Masonic Order of Texas.  (Incidentally, he was an 
uncle of my wife.)

ORAN A. ARNOLD:  Oran Arnold taught in the school at Omen in 1904-5, 
later he obtained license to practice law, and practiced some at 
Pitsburg and later in Tyler.  His principal business however centered 
on land title abstracting.  (He was a brother of my wife.)

A. S. BASKETT:  Albert Baskett was reared east of Troup in Smith 
County.  Attended this school in 1889-1890, and was Salutatorian of
the class of 1890.  He taught school a while, having taught in the 
community where my family lived at one time and roomed at our home.
I went to school to him there.  Later he became a lawyer, and practiced
at Hillsboro a while, then moved to Dallas where he became widely known 
as a successful lawyer.  So far as I know he never held public Office.

P. O. BEARD:  Judge Beard attended this school about 1889.  I do not 
have the exact date.  He was from Rusk County, became a lawyer and
held the office of County Attorney of his county.   He later moved to 
Marshall, Texas, where he became District Judge and served in that
capacity about twelve years.  After retiring from that office he
practiced law in Marshall until his death.

GEORGE CHILTON:  George Childton was the son of United States Senator
Horace Chilton and was reared in Tyler.  He attended this school about
1893-94; became a lawyer and practiced in Beaumont, Texas until he
retired on account of ill-health.  He served one time as a special
Judge on the Court of Civil Appeals at Beaumont.

M. N. CRESTMAN:  Marion Crestman was from near Grand Saline.  He roomed
in the same home of my mother.  He became a lawyer and was connected
with a prominent law firm in Dallas where he attained quite an extensive 
reputation as an able lawyer.

GEORGE W. CROSS:   Judge Cross attended this school about 1888.  He was 
from Mt. Sylvan in Smith county.  He taught school a while became a 
lawyer and served as County Judge of Smith County in the middle 1890's
and for several years.  He later moved to Paducah, Texas, where he 
served as county judge for several years.

HENRY C. GEDDIE:  Henry Geddie was from either Wood or Van Zandt County.
I am not sure which, but do know that he lived in both.  He attended 
this school about 1890, became a lawyer and practiced at Mineola, 
Texas. He was a candidate for Congress at one time.  Later he moved to 
Van Zandt County some years ago where he practiced law until his death.

WM.H. HANSON:  Will Hanson was reared in the northeastern part of Smith
County.  He attended school at this place and his family later moved to
Omen.  He became a lawyer, served as Justice of the Peace at Omen;
later moved to Tyler for some time and then moved to Houston where he
engaged in the practice of law until his death.  He was at one time a
candidate for the Court of Civil Appeals at Galveston.

H. H. HANSON:  Harrison Hanson attended this school, and later obtained
his license to practice law.  He practiced in Longview for a while.  
Later he sustained an accidental injury which disabled him for a long
time and took him out of the practice.  He was elected to the 
Legislature of Texas from Smith County at one time, where he served
actively.

JOHN B. HOWARD:  John Howard came to this school from Longview where
his father was sheriff for a long time.  He attended this school about
1894-95.  He was a fluent speaker, and won the Orator's Medal.  I do
not have the date giving the exact date.  John Howard later moved to
El Paso where he practiced law until his death.

WEBSTER JARVIS:  Web Jarvis attended this school about 1888, and 
resided in Omen with his mother.  He became a lawyer and practiced
in Troup and later became an assistant county attorney of this county,
and then later became county attorney.  After that he served as 
justice of the peace in Tyler.

R.M. JOHNSON:  Mr. Johnson came to Omen from Palestine and attended 
this school in 1894-95, if I remember correctly.  He became a lawyer 
and practiced in Palestine.  He was elected to the Legislature from
Anderson County, and was later a candidate for Lieutenant Governor.

A. S. JOHNSON:  Sid Johnson came to this school from near Winona in 
this county and attended about 1893-94.  He became a lawyer and served
as county attorney of Smith County.  Later he served in the Legislature.  
He retired to his farm after that and engaged in farming until his 
death.

WALTER E. JONES:  Walter Jones came from Gregg County and attended this
school about 1896.  He taught school, became a land surveyor of his
county. He was a candidate at one time for State Commissioner of the
Land office.  He became a lawyer, and practiced in Longview up to his
death.  (He had an idea he could sing.)  Was a splendid fellow.

BEN KELLEY:  Ben Kelley came to this school about 1886, or 87.  He 
married Miss Jennie Wright, became a lawyer and lived in the 
Panhandle for a while where he was District Attorney. His wife died
and he later married Miss Alberta Persons and moved to San Antonio
where he practiced law until his death at the hands of woman who
was connected in some way with a lawsuit he was handling.  My
understanding is that she was adjudged insane after this incident.  
Ben was a capable lawyer, and splendid gentleman.

JOHN A. MOBLEY:  John Mobley came to this school from Athens about
1896.  He was an intensive student and hard worker.  He became a 
lawyer, served his county as county attorney, was elected to the 
Legislature, and later became an assistant attorney general.  After
that he practiced in Houston until his death.

W. W. MOORE:  Wright Moore came to this school from Henderson, Texas,
became a lawyer, served his county as county attorney, was elected to
the Legislature, and later became an assistant attorney general.  After
that he practiced in Houston until his death.

NED B. MORRIS:  Ned Morris attended this school from Henderson in its
early years.  I do not have the data, but much later I knew him well.
He practiced at Henderson, and later at Palestine and then at Houston.
He was general attorney for the I. & G. N. Railroad Company at the 
time of his death.  At one time he was an Assistant Attorney General
of Texas.

PORTER NEWMAN:  Porter Newman came to this school from Crockett in 
1895-96.  He became a lawyer, moved to Oklahoma and there served as
Distict Judge for a number of years.  He was later a candidate for
Governor of Oklahoma.  He died in Oklahoma, I believe at Durant.

JESSE F. ODOM:  Jesse Odom came to this school from Garden Valley 
community in Smith County, and attended in 1889-90 and was 
Valedictorian of the Class of June 12th, 1890.  He became a lawyer
and practiced at Lindale.  later he was elected County Attorney of
Smith County, and later was county judge.  After serving as county 
judge, he went into private business. 

W. R. PETTY:  Bob Petty came from Palestine and attended this school
about 1894-95.  He became a lawyer and practiced in Palestine until 
his death.  He was a "plodding" sort of fellow and a hard worker.  I
know that he was a candidate for county attorney in his county two
or three times, but I do not now recall whether he ever served as 
such.

SAWNIE ROBERTSON:  Sawnie Robertson came to this school about 1893-94,
from Tyler, where he was reared.  He was a grandson of Judge John C.
Robertson, and a first cousin to Stewart and Robert E. Smith 
mentioned in these remarks.  He became a lawyer and practiced in Tyler 
until his death.  He served at one time as Assistant County Attorney of
Smith County, and at the time of his death was married to Miss Pearl
Gilliam, who still survives him and resides in Tyler.

W. C. SHOULTE:  Croff Shoults came from Gregg county and attended this
school about 1896-97.  He became a lawyer and practiced in Longview,
where he served as county attorney.  He died in Longview.

STEWART R. SMITH:  Stewart Smith came to this school from Noonday in 
Smith County, about 1890.  He taught school a while, one session in the
community where I lived, and I went to school to him there.  He lived
in our home while he taught that school, which was my first 
acquaintance with him.  He later became a lawyer, practiced in Tyler, 
was District Attorney at one time.  Later he moved to Beaumont where
he attained quite a splendid reputation as a lawyer, and weilded 
quite an influence in public affairs.  He married Miss Ida Jarvis of
Omen.

ROBT. B. SMITH:  Bob Smith came from Noonday, and attended this school 
about 1896.  He was a younger brother of Stewart R. Smith mentioned
above.  He became a lawyer and practiced in Tyler and later at Beaumont,
where he devoted much of his time to real estate in-vestments.  He
died in Beaumont.

CLIFFORD STONE:  Clifford Stone came from Rusk County and attended this
school in the latter part of the 1890's, as I now recall.  He served 
as sheriff of Rusk County, became a lawyer and was an Assistant 
Attorney General of Texas.  Later he returned to Henderson and engaged
in the practice of law there until his death.

JEFF STRICKLAND:  Jeff Strickland's parents moved to Omen before he 
was grown and he attended this school.  Later he moved to Palestine
where he was elected State Senator for that district.  After that he
engaged in the practice of law, he having theretofore obtained his
license as a lawyer.  He resided in San Antonio at the time of his 
death.

FRANK STRICKLAND:  Frank Strickland was a brother of Jeff Strickland 
and lived in Omen with his parents and attended this school.  He
became a lawyer and moved to Mission, Texas, where he engaged in 
the practice of his profession until his death.  He had a lucretive
and extensive law practice in South Texas.

WALTER C. STRONG:  Walter Strong came from Rusk County, and attended
this school about 1893-94.  He became a lawyer and served as county
attorney of Rusk County, and also served as district attorney, if my
memory serves me correctly.  He later moved to the panhandle and
practiced law there for some time.  Later he served as a member of 
the State Board of Pardons and Paroles, then returned to Henderson and 
engaged in the practice of his profession until his death.

LEE L. WALLACE:  Lee Wallace came from the Garden Valley community in
Smith County and attended this school about 1890.  He taught school, 
then became a lawyer and moved to Kerrville, Texas where he was county
judge for about twenty years, and later District Judge for about six
years.  Thereafter he practiced law in Kerrville, Texas, until his 
death.

JAMES YOUNG:  James Young came from Rusk County and attended this school 
about 1890.  He became a lawyer, moved to Kaufman, Texas, where he 
married into a prominent family, and practiced law at Kaufman for a 
number of years.  He was elected to Congress from this district and
served in that office for ten years.  He was a prominent candidate for
Governor of Texas after his service as a member of Congress.  He 
afterwards moved back to Henderson, Texas, and engaged in the practice
of law there until he had to retire on account of ill health.  I 
believe he died in Dallas where he had gone when his health failed.

This constituts the names of those ex-students of Summer Hill Select
School at Omen that I personally knew who became lawyers and who have 
since passed on.

Much more than I have said could properly be said of each of them, and
much of it would be interesting, I think, to those of you who recall
them as students.

I pay this modest tribute to each of them.  They all stood for good
government, good schools, good churches and for the best interests
of the people where they lived and served.  Not a bad man or
undesirable citizen among them.

There are a number of ex-students who became lawyers of distinction
who are still living, but practically all of them either live too far
away, or have reached the age that prevents them from attending this
meeting.

I have confined my tributes to the lawyers who have passed on.  There
are many, many ex-students who have passed away, who lived and served
in different capaciaties, who weilded a great influence for good in
their communities and in the State and who deserve our commendation.
Others may speak for some of them, if they desire.  I have never known
of an exstudent of Summer Hill Select School who was not, or is not 
now, if living, a good citizen.