 Charles Simon Cobb A man who would make significant
contributions to
Denison, Texas, was born in Jamaica, Windham County, Vermont, in 1856.
His
father, Roswell Lyman
Cobb ((1817–1901),
and his mother, Ellen
Sophia Howard
(1822–1891), along with several children, worked together on the family
farm. After the Civil War, the Cobbs moved to a different farm, in
Andover,
Allegheny County, New York. There they stayed while son Charles, in
1873, went
off to Ithaca to enroll at Cornell University. After completing his Bachelor of
Science degree at
Cornell in 1877, Charles went to law school at the University of
Michigan,
earning his law degree in 1879. That year he was admitted to the bar in
Michigan, and he practiced law in Eaton Rapids, Michigan, from 1879 to
1884. He
married Icy Jane Van
Vleck (1854–1920)
in West Schuyler, Herkimer County, New York, on December 21, 1880, and
brought
her back to Eaton Rapids. Charles left the practice of law and went
into
banking there from 1884 to 1890. It
seems likely that, at this point, Charles moved
his family south to Denison, Texas. The 1891 Denison City Directory
listed him
as president of the National Bank of Denison. He was living on the
south side
of West Woodard Street, between Perry and Tone avenues. The National
Bank of Denison
was the town's earliest chartered bank, being established shortly
after Denison was founded in 1872. At the end of 1873, Harrison Tone
said the
bank was the only national bank within 200 miles. By 1881, J. M. Ford
was heading
the bank and built a fine new edifice at 231 West Main Street, at the
northeast
corner of Rusk Avenue. Initially the structure was called the "First
National Bank" or "Ford Building." One source says the bank was
reorganized in 1882. A promotional brochure written by
Lee Linn in 1887
said that this bank was one of two in town, noting, "The First National
was reorganized a short time since and its capital stock increased from
$50,000
to $150,000. In its newly organized state, the First National affords a
notable
illustration of the confidence Eastern capitalists are exhibiting in
Denison
enterprises." Maybe it was a good time for new leadership. By 1896, Cobb was living in a nice home at 1105 West Bond Street. He and Icy were to have three daughters—Myra V. Cobb Ousley (1881–1950), Abbie Willis Cobb (1883–?), and Icy Ellen Cobb Violet (1887–1975). Myra graduated from Denison's Educational Institute in the Class of 1899, while Abbie was in the Class of 1900. Abbie attended Cornell University, her father's alma mater, and became a teacher in St. Louis, Missouri.  1105 West Bond Street Home of Charles S. Cobb, president of the National Bank of Denison
Source: "Industrial Denison" (1909), p. 76. Robinson, Frank M., comp. Industrial Denison.
[N.p.]: Means-Moore Co., [ca. 1909]. Heavily illustrated with
photographs.  Charles's mother died in 1891 and
his father in
1901. Both were buried under imposing markers in Fairview Cemetery in
Denison. Between 1890 and
1913, Charles Cobb was listed in
the City Directories of Denison, Texas; Muskogee, Oklahoma; and St.
Louis,
Missouri. He seems to have had business interests in a number of
places. In
Denison, in 1901 he was listed as president of both the National Bank
of
Denison and the Denison Driving Park and Fair Association. Two years
later, he
was president not only of the bank
but also of the
Denison Grocer Company; and treasurer of the Denison Trust Company.
It seems likely that John B.
McDougall was an associate of Charles S.
Cobb in some of his Denison ventures. In 1905,
McDougall was a founder of the Denison Bank and Trust. He also joined
Walter S.
Hibbard in creating the Denison Grocer Company; the 1907 City Directory
listed
McDougall as the firm's vice president. In addition, McDougall helped
found the
State National Bank, 300 West Main Street; and Southwestern Surety
Insurance
Company. In 1909,
the Denison City
Directory listed James Boyd and his wife Sallie also living at 1105
West Bond
Street. Boyd continued to live there until his death in 1927. This may
suggest
that the Cobbs began to disengage from Denison around 1909. Following his wife's death in 1920, Charles seems to have left Denison for good, moving to Des Moines, Iowa. He remarried (to Bess W. Martin), traveled to Europe, then settled in St. Louis. He died there on January 15, 1939.  1105 West Bond Street ca. 2005 Charles Simeon Cobb Source: The
Book of St. Louisans: A Biographical
Dictionary of Leading Living Men of the City of St. Louis and Vicinity,
Cobb,
Charles Simeon,
president, Southern Surety Co. Born, Jamaica, Windham County, Vermont,
May 25,
1856. Son of Roswell Lyman and Ellen (Howard) Cobb. B.S., Cornell
University,
1877; LL.B., University of Michigan, 1879. Married, West Schuyler,
N.Y., Dec.
21, 1880, Icy Van Vleck. Children: Myra (wife of Dr. J. W. Ousley, of
Kansas
City, Mo.), Abby, Icy. Admitted to bar, 1879; practiced at Eaton
Rapids, Mich.,
1879–84. In banking business at Eaton Rapids, 1884–90; president,
Southern
Trust Co. (bank stock investments), Atoka, Okla., since 1904;
president,
Southern Surety Co. since 1907. Also chairman of board, National Bank
of
Denison, Tex.; treasurer, W. C. Belcher Land and Mortgage Co., of Fort
Worth,
Tex. Member Business Men's League. Republican. Unitarian. Clubs: St.
Louis,
Noonday, Normandie Golf. Recreation: chess. Office: 4th floor, New Bank
of
Commerce Bldg. Residence: 5700 Bartmer Avenue. [St. Louis, Missouri]  Biography Index Susan Hawkins © 2024 If you find any of Grayson CountyTXGenWeb links inoperable, please send me a message. |