Grayson County TXGenWeb

First Born Citizens of Denison

The first baby born in Denison was Texana Denison McElvany on Saturday, November 2, 1872.

The above clipping from the Denison Daily News reported at the time that Texana was about six months old when the property was transferred to her. Her birth preceded by 29 days that of Sam Hanna, Jr., who was born December 1, 1872. He still holds the distinction of being "the first white boy born in Denison." Texana was not the first baby born after the City of Denison was officially chartered by the Texas Legislature on March 7, 1873. [Chapter XIX of the Special Laws of Texas, passed at the session of the 13th legislature, section 156.] She was instead the first baby born after the first lots were auctioned on September 23, 1872. TheDenison Daily News correctly recognized her as simply "the first child born in this city."

An article written by Claud Easterly in January 1967 in The Denison Herald tells about the first baby born here being the daughter of John G. and Lizzie McElvany. Her birth was officially estimated by records of property transfer in Grayson County. It seems that James P. Dumas, who developed Denison's earliest residence additions, gave a vacant lot at 318 East Shepherd to Texana Denison McElvany in recognition of being the first child born here.
Alice Bryant of Tone Abstract Company, made the discovery back in 1967 when she was checking the abstract on the property at that address owned by E.T. Lewis. On one of the early pages in the abstract, she found a note of Dumas' action. She went to the courthouse in Sherman and found the original deed, written in longhand by Dumas and dated May 1, 1873, thus the benchmark of Texana's birth was established.

There was a baby named Sam Hanna born in Denison in 1872, but this was before the Texas Legislature officially chartered the City of Denison on April 19, 1873.
An item in the Denison Daily News on September 25, 1873 mentioned that "Sam Hanna Jr., son of our esteemed fellow citizen Sam Hanna Sr., was born December 1, 1872. He is now a plump, rosy-faced fellow, the picture of health."

Sam's funeral in an updated clipping believed to be from 1938 said that Sam was a member of "one of Denison's earliest town building families, who was reputed to be the first white boy born in Denison." He died of a heart attack at age 74.

However, there are documents that place James Porter Keithly in Denison and born on November 17, 1872. The 1880 census lists lists James P. Keithly as a 7-year-old boy living with his parents and an older brother on Walker St. in Denison and lists his birth place as Texas. In the 1876-1877 Denison City Directory John Keithly, the father, is listed on the north side of Walker St. between Austin & Houston Avenues, proving the family was in Denison before 1877. By 1900 James P. is married and has moved to Houston. The 1900 census lists J.P. Keithly as a 27-year-old male, born in Texas, and more importantly, gave his date of birth as November 17, 1872. In 1917 he registered for the draft and gave his birth date as November 17, 1872.

As an adult Keithly operated a wholesale plumbing supply business with offices in Houston, San Antonio and Waco.

Plumbers' Trade Journal
November 1, 1918
pg.548

The 1876-1877 Denison City Directory, the 1880 & 1900 Texas census and his draft registration along with his death certificate are all consistent with his place of birth and date of birth, thus making him the earliest yet known boy born in Denison, Texas.

A girl may have been the first child born in Denison, but a boy had the distinction of not only being the first boy born here, but was given the name of the new town for his own.
Little Denison Nelson was better known in his day as "Den".....Information provided about Den, as taken from his sister's Bible, give his birth date as November 4, 1875, which means there must have been a long dry spell for baby boys in the early days on the young town.
LIttle Denison Nelson was born to Mary Taylor Nelson and Little Berry Nelson, who were divorced after Den was born. Mary then married Jim Durham and they had three children, Anna Durham Sandlin, born in Indian Territory before Oklahoma was a state, and Dude and Jim Durham. Anna graduated from Denison High School in 1900.
Mr. Nelson also married again and had a daughter, Sue Nelson, who lived here until her death in about 1944. She also graduated from high school here around 1900. She and Den, her half-brother, were active in the First Presbyterian Church and are said to have left a sizeable amount of money to the church in their wills. She made fashionable hats and Den owned a meat market here at 931 West Main, current location of American Bank of Texas.
Den operated the meat market there for a number of years and in 1945 it was the Grace Lutheran Church...."In the construction of building.

December 6, 1912

The meat market was in the 400 block of West Main. The above photograph was taken the year before the 1914 Denison High School building was erected. Hanging on the wall behind the young man identified as the iceman, is a poster saying, "Remember Election for Bonds for New High School Building, Friday, December 6." The calendar on the right wall identifies the date of this picture.

Standing, left to right:
The iceman, dressed with his heavy gloves and turtle-neck sweater along with his "robber hat"
Standing next to the scales wearing a white apron is Little Denison Nelson (His WWI draft registration bears the notification that he "has lost the power of speech.")
"Granny" Mary Taylor Nelson Durham (Forest Park heir)
James A. Durham (Supt. DNS Electric Railway)
Jack Bowlby Durham and James Feland Durham
The last two unknown

Mr. Nelson had taken the steps and other materials from the first free public school in Texas" that was replaced by the 1914 Denison High School that now too has been demolished.

Source: Donna Hunt."Yesterday", Herald Democrat, June 2, 2009

Farewell

Classmates, it's time to bid adieu,
But we will always think of you.
The years we've spent together,
At our work and play
Just a jolly band,
Carefree and gay.
Classmates, the time has come at last
When we can look into the past
You know our hearts are bending
To see our school days ending
Farewell, Dear Old Classmates true.

Den's brother, J.F. Durham, better known as Dude, lived at 1011 West Chestnut....Lillie and Dude were very hard of hearing, therefore Dude talked very loudly. Lillie was softer spoken....Dude was a tall, thin man....his great-niece....remembered brick walls in the dining room, possibly because of at least part of the house being "early Denison."....Dude was a stagehand at one of the movie houses here during the days of silent movies.....He died in December 1969.
Denison Nelson was married in 1915 to Miss Mary Ollie Beard for about four years; Mary died in 1919 at age 49. He died in 1945 and is buried in Oakwood Cemetery between his two half-sisters.

Source : "A Look at the First Born Residents of Denison", by Donna Hunt; Herald Democrat, June 21, 2013