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Grover and Stella McElrath Family Grover and Stella McElrath (or "Mr. and Mrs. Mac" as they were called) arrived in Markham during the depression in August of 1935. The McElraths came from Brazoria, where they had lived since they moved from Oklahoma in 1920. Grover Cleveland McElrath, a native Missourian, traced his ancestry to the MacElwrath Clan of Edinburgh, Scotland. Stella Lee Price, born in Arkansas, who grew up in Oklahoma says: "I'm an Arkansasian by birth, an Oklahomian by adoption, and a Texan by choice. I'm equally proud of each state and owe allegiance to all three. My paternal immigrant ancestor, John Price, came from Wales in the sixteenth century. On my mother's side, I'm English and Scottish." The McElraths owned and operated a store in Markham-Mac's Grocery for thirty-three years. Grover was a typical small-town merchant. "Mr. Mac" was a friend to the people he served. He built the first brick dwelling in the town at the corner of Canal and Broadway, and lived to celebrate their Golden Wedding Anniversary there. After a short illness, he died in 1968, and was missed by his friends and customers. Working full-time in the store did not keep "Mrs. Mac" from her favorite pastime-writing. She was news correspondent for the Markham-Clemville area for years, then wrote a historical column for The Bay City News for six years. She wrote several manuscripts and published a book, Bel-Tane, a historical novel about the early days in Matagorda County from 1829 to 1859. The three McElrath children grew up in Brazoria and finished grammar school there. Grover Lee "Dick" and Carl were graduated from high school in West Columbia in 1934. The same year Dick was employed by Groce-Wearden Wholesale Grocery Company, where he worked until his retirement forty-seven years later. Dick lived in Matagorda County for fifty years. He was married twice but left no children. He was a veteran of World War II, and was devoted to his church and lodge. He was a Shriner and gave generously to the Crippled Children's Hospital in Houston. A heart patient for many years, Dick died on May 31, 1984, and was buried in the family plot in Roselawn Memorial Park near Van Vleck. Following three years of forest work in Arizona, Carl was employed by Jefferson Lake Sulphur Company, and worked there for forty-three years before becoming a rancher. He married Lois Bishop of Victoria and lived in Brazoria. He and Lois had two daughters: Jo Beth, a teacher in Alvin; and Lizette, a medical technician. Carl and Lois had a grandson Karlan Tye, the son of their daughter, Lizette, and her husband Danny Alexander. Roberta attended high school in West Columbia for three years, and spent her senior year in Markham, where she was graduated. She married George Hall, a rice farmer, and they had two daughters. Sharon, a legal secretary, had two children: a daughter, Kelly; and a son, George Marshel Bowers. Roberta's daughter, Donna, lived in Tallahassee, Florida, and was a teacher and the wife of Dr. Joseph M. Carter. They had two sons, Earl Branden and Kendall William. Roberta was a devoted daughter, wife, and mother, but fell victim of cancer and died at age fifty. In later years, Stella McElrath "Mrs. Mac" lived in Bay City and was still active in her mid-eighties. She was an assistant teacher and class reporter for the Faithful Workers at the First Baptist Church, and member of a quilting club that supplied quilts to the needy. "Oh yes," she remarked, "I keep busy, and remember, what you are speaks louder than what you say."
Historic Matagorda County, Volume II,
pages 348-349 |
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Grover Cleveland McElrath McElrath, G. C., 78, died this morning in a Wharton hospital. He was a Markham grocery store owner. Survivors include his wife, Mrs. G. C. McElrath of Markham; a daughter, Mrs. George Hall of Bay City; two sons, G. L. McElrath of Bay City and Carl McElrath of Brazoria; a sister, Mrs. Grover Leathers of California, six grandchildren and two great-grandchildren. Member of the Markham Baptist Church and was a resident of Markham for 33 years. Funeral services are set for 3 p. m. Sunday at the Taylor Brothers Funeral Home Chapel. The Rev. R. E. Black and the Rev. William Baker will officiate. Burial will be in Roselawn Memorial Park.
Daily Tribune, April 6/7,
1968 Courtesy of Jennifer Bishop and Matagorda County
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Stella Lee Price McElrath, 98, of Bay City passed away Dec. 20, 1996 at Bay Villa Nursing Home in Bay City. She was born Feb. 29, 1898 in Viola, Arkansas to Tillman Lee and Emma Frances Hamilton Price. She was a longtime resident of Matagorda County and a member of the Matagorda County Historical Society. She is survived by one son, Carl E. McElrath of Brazoria; by five sisters, Virgie Adrian of Oklahoma, Lucille Fine of DePew, Oklahoma, Audrey Durbin of McAlester, Oklahoma, Ruby Kinnikin of Truth or Consequences, New Mexico, and Ethel Lessing of San Antonio; by two brothers, John L. Price and Sam T. Price both of Oklahoma; by six grandchildren, five great grandchildren, and four great great grandchildren. She was preceded in death by her husband, Grover C. McElrath, a daughter, Roberta Hall, and a son, G. L. McElrath. Funeral services will be held at 2 p. m. Sunday, Dec. 22, 1996 at Taylor Bros. Funeral Chapel with Rev. Joe Ramsey officiating. Burial will follow at Roselawn Memorial Park in Van Vleck. Pallbearers will be, Danny Alexander, Tye Alexander, Ron Bumgardner, Paul Hannon, Billy Taylor and Grady Quinney. Arrangements are with Taylor Bros. Funeral Home in Bay City.
The Daily Tribune, December 22, 1996 |
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Funeral services for Grover Lee (Dick) McElrath, 68, of Palacios will be held 4 pm Friday at the First Presbyterian Church in Palacios with the Rev. D. S. (Doug) Blanton and the Rev. W. D. Baker officiating. Burial will be in Roselawn Memorial Park, Van Vleck. Mr. McElrath was born Nov. 8, 1915, in Hart’s Horn, Okla., and died May 31, 1984 at Matagorda General Hospital. He was the son of the late Grover Cleveland McElrath and the former Stella Lee Price. He was a member of the Presbyterian Church and a resident of Bay City from 1934-80, when he moved to Palacios. He was retired after 47 years of Groce-Wearden. Mr. McElrath was an Army veteran of WWII, a member of the Gulf Coast Shrine in Bay City, chairman of the Palacios Medical Foundation, a member of the Palacios Rotary, a member of the parks and recreation board of Palacios, a member of the Masonic Lodge AF & AM 865 in Bay City and a member of the Palacios Chamber of Commerce. He is survived by his wife, Margaret Hill Lawson McElrath of Palacios. Other survivors include his mother, Stella Price McElrath of Bay City; three children; three grandchildren; brother, Carl McElrath of Victoria; and several nieces. Arrangements are with Taylor Brothers Funeral Home of Palacios. Photos and obituary courtesy of Faye Cunningham
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Carl E. McElrath Carl E. McElrath, 95, of Brazoria, Texas, passed away on December 25, 2011, in New Braunfels, Texas. He was born on December 15, 1916, in Hartshorne, Oklahoma. In 1919, Carl and his family traveled to Texas by covered wagon and planted roots in Brazoria. After graduating from West Columbia High School in 1934, he joined the Civil Conservation Corp (CCC) where he helped construct the first phone line across the Grand Canyon. Upon completing a three-year tour, he returned to Texas and went to work for Groce-Wearden in Bay City. There, he met and married Lois Bishop of Victoria, Texas. In 1938, he went to work for Jefferson Lake Sulphur/Occidental Petroleum Company. After 43 years of service, he retired to devote all his time to the outdoors: farming, ranching, and hunting, which he dearly loved. Carl was a founding member of the Brazoria Lions Club, served on the first City Council of Brazoria, as the Brazoria County Drainage Commissioner, and on the West Columbia-Brazoria Appraisal Board. He was also past president of the Brazoria Cemetery Association and was a former director of Lonestar Bank. As well, he was a member of the Cattleman's Association, the Brazoria Masonic Lodge, and a lifelong member of the First Presbyterian Church. The Facts, Brazoria County, Texas, December 29, 2011 Lois Elizabeth Bishop McElrath
Lois Elizabeth Bishop McElrath passed away peacefully
on May 6, 2016, in New Braunfels, TX. She was born on October 10, 1918,
in Victoria, TX, to Elizabeth Brown Bishop and William Pitts Bishop.
C. T. Baker & Sons Funeral Home, West Columbia, Texas |
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Roberta McElrath Hall, 50, died at Matagorda General Hospital Thursday morning. Service will be at 3 pm Friday at the First Presbyterian Church in Bay City. Burial will be in Roselawn Memorial Park, Van Vleck with the Rev. Joe Cooper officiating. She is survived by her husband, George W. Hall; her mother, Mrs. Stella McElrath of Markham; two daughters, Sharon Hall Bowers of Bay City and Donna Kathleen Carter of Nashville, Tenn.; two brothers G. L. McElrath of Bay City and Carl McElrath of Brazoria and three grandchildren. She was a member of the First Presbyterian Church and has been a resident of Bay City for 30 years. Arrangements under the direction of Taylor Brothers Funeral Home. The Daily Tribune, April 18?, 1969 Photo and obituary courtesy of Faye Cunningham
Funeral services for George Warren Hall, 73, of Bay City will be held at 2 pm at Holy Cross Catholic Church with the Rev. Charles Sonnier and the Rev. David Duncan officiating. Burial will be in Roselawn Memorial Park, Van Vleck. Mr. Hall was born July 22, 1914, in Miami, Fla., and died Aug 18, 1987 at Matagorda General Hospital. Survivors include: wife, Pilar Araujo Hall of Bay City; and Donna Kathleen Carter of Tallahassee, Fla., grandchildren, Kelly Kathleen Bowers of Bay City, George Marshall Bowers of Alpine, Texas, Earl Branden Carter of Tallahassee, Fla., and Kendall William Carter of Tallahassee, Fla. Also survived by Carl and Lois McElrath, Jobeth McElrath, and Lizzette McElrath, all of Bay City. He is preceded in death by Roberta McElrath Hall in 1969. He was a member of the Catholic Church, a resident of Bay City since 1937 and was named Outstanding Rice Farmer of the Year in 1968. Arrangements under the direction of Taylor Brothers Funeral Home.
The Daily Tribune,
August 20?, 1987
Courtesy of Faye Cunningham |
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Bay City—Stella Price McElrath says she wrote because she had to. “I wrote all of the time. There’s just something about it,” said the 99-year-old Bay City resident. She’s the author of two historical novels based in Matagorda County and has a manuscript of another about her family. The resident of Bay Villa Nursing Home since 1993 said she probably started writing because she “always liked to read.” “I wrote every day. I never thought anything about it. I just wanted to do it.” Her first book, “Bel-Tane” was published in 1956, and her second “Angel Madre,” in 1989. They chronicle the saga of several generations of the MacLean family in early Texas. McElrath said her fictional characters don’t represent specific people, although she wrote what she knew about. Many of the historical facts were researched from libraries and old newspapers. The first book follows a young man who left his home in North Carolina, made and lost money in Natchez, Miss., and moved to Texas to help Stephen F. Austin survey his Mexican land grants. By the time of the Civil War, the hero has parlayed a land grant and slave labor into a sugar cane and cotton plantation on Caney Creek. It was named Bel-Tane. His family of four children includes an assertive daughter, Angel, who is the heroine of the second book. Angel has a brief affair with a swarthy gambler, shoots him when he abuses her, and after Reconstruction and the death of her father, she and the sharecroppers turn the plantation into a cattle ranch. They struggle with weather, disease and evil men. She helped women in the county, who couldn’t vote, turn “reprobate politicians” out of office by overseeing the vote count. She falls in love with other men, but something always interferes with marriage. The second book ends with Angel, spry at 85, in a Model T. Ford, as matriarch of the homestead. Typical of the attitude of many Anglos of the time, the characters are condescending of Blacks and fearful of Hispanics. Tolerance is seen as holding your tongue when Presbyterians, Baptists and Roman Catholics intermarry. Angel caused a scandal by riding horseback like a man rather than side-saddle. As for the author, she said, “I rode astride and never gave a thought about it, but my father worried.” Both her books were published by a vanity press, in which the author pays to have them put into print. McElrath said she doesn’t remember the figures, but “They cost a lot. It’s awful.” She also said they sold well. McElrath said she lived on a ranch after her parents moved to Texas from Indian Territory. She finished high school but her education ended after she married an older man, who died in 1968. They ran a grocery store in Markham for 30 years. One son, 80, lives in Brazoria County. Although there were decades between her books, she said writing a book “doesn’t take too long, if you do it all the time. Ruth Youman, activities director at the nursing home, said she has read McElrath’s books to Bay Villa residents. “Mac said it was the first time she’d heard them read aloud. She said when she was writing, she’d put so much into it she’d be crying. “When I read to the group, we all laughed together and cried together,” Youman said. “We really got into it. When we finished, we wished there were a third book.” Victoria Advocate, February 8, 1996
[Mrs. McElrath was 97 at the time of the
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Matagorda County was chosen for the site of the Price Family reunion held Oct. 10 – 11. Hostess for the event was Stella McElrath, assisted by her children Mr. and Mrs. Dick McElrath, Mr. and Mrs. Carl McElrath and Mr. and Mrs. George Hall. The group was treated to a barbecue dinner at the ranch of Carl and Louis McElrath in Brazoria the first day. The following day everyone was invited to a seafood dinner at the home of Dick and Margaret McElrath in Palacios. A Mexican dinner was hosted by George and Pilar Hall in Bay City. Those attending were Stella McElrath of Bay City; Virgie Adrian and Bud Adrian of Hartshorne, Okla.; Johnny Price of Camp Verde, Ariz.; Lucille and Frank Matthews of Camp Verde, Ariz.; Samuel T. and Pauline Price of Clayton, Okla.; Ethel Lessing of San Antonio; Rudy and Carrol Kinnikin of La Lunnis, NM; Audrey and Al Ezell of Pismo Beach, Calif. A brother, Raymond Price of Agusta, Kan. was unable to attend due to illness. Other guests were Jo Beth McElrath, Peggy Marceau, Mr. and Mrs. Joe Serafino, Mr. and Mrs. Floyd Williams and Mr. and Mrs. Dennis Price.
Palacios Beacon, October 21, 1981 |
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