W. D. Boyd was born Nov. 30, 1956, in Rusk, Texas, son of William B. Boyd and Narcissa Dill.  He first studied medicine while carrying the mail on horseback between Rusk and Alto [Cherokee County, Texas] He received his M. D. degree from Missouri Medical College, St. Louis, March 2, 1882 and practiced in Rusk and Ovilla before moving to Waxahachie in 1890.

Dr. Boyd married Clara Belle Boone at Rusk, Texas Nov. 12, 1884.  She was born Feb. 24, 1867 near Rusk. She  had obtained a teaching certificate from a female seminary in East Texas, but married instead when she was 17.  She was a fine Christian woman, talented in music and art and assisted her father in church work.  He was the Reverend Elijah Floyd Boone, a well-known Methodist minister.

Dr. and Mrs. Boyd had two children: Mabel, born Jan. 10, 1886 in Rusk and Robert Howard, born Aug. 1, 1891 in Waxahachie. A third child, Russell Boone Boyd was born Nov. 12, 1887 and died April 27, 1890 in Ovilla and is buried in the Waxahachie Cemetery.

Dr. A. W. Crawford

Dr. A. W. Crawford died yesterday morning at his home near Midlothian.  Rev. J. S. Davis will officiate at the funeral.  Dr. Crawford was a good man and one of the early settlers of that section.  He was an educated, Christian gentleman, a prominent member of the Methodist church and a man of much influence for good in his community.  He was the father of Profs. John and Howard Crawford, two very successful teachers.  The doctor's death entails a severe loss to the family, the church and the county. [Waxahachie Enterprise, Feb. 7, 1894]

Dr. James Bower Conger

Dr. Conger was a man who, by horseback or buggy, at all times of day or night and in all types of weather, provided medical services to citizens of Ellis County from about 1870 until shortly before his death in 1889.

He was born in 1831 and was descended from a long line of physicians.  He came to Texas in the early1850s to homestead land in Johnson County.  He married Mary Caroline Mitchell (daughter of David and Eliza Mitchell) in 1853.  His early practice was apparently in Johnson County and during the War years the family lived in Freestone County while he served as a surgeon in Parker's Brigade.

The Conger home in Ellis County was one and one-half miles southeast of Red Oak.  A small hexagon-shaped building was erected in the yard to serve as his apothecary shop.  Dr. Conger's home with its flowers and white paling fence was considered a showplace in its day.  He is said to have developed a black rose.  He was an inventive man who fashioned jewelry for his wife and daughter and an advanced brace for a crippled granddaughter.

The area covered by this physician on horseback, or in a two-wheeled cart, was north of Red Oak to Bear Creek, west to Ovilla and Shiloh, east to Ferris and south to Grove Creek.  He often took his wife along as a nurse.

His interest in new inventions resulted in his buying any kind of new washing device he heard of and his wife owned the first sewing machine in the area.  It was not uncommon for her to look out in the morning and see a woman and her children arriving in a wagon or buggy.  Women would buy material to supply all the family, cut it out at home and bring it to Mrs. Conger's home to sew.  This meant several more persons to feed and more children underfoot.

Often, families would bring a patient to stay in the Conger home until he or she was well enough to be cared for adequately at home.  Apparently, Mrs. Conger's patience, adaptability and genuine concern for helping others matched the qualities so evident in the life of her husband.

[Source: A Memorial and Biographical History of Ellis County, Texas, Lewis Pub. Co., Chicago, 1892, with additions pub. by Ellis County Historical Museum and Art Gallery, Inc. Waxahachie, Texas]

Dr. Edward F. Cooke

Dr. Cooke, clinical pathologist, was born August 24, 1875, Oldham, Lancastershire, England, eldest of five children of H. C. and Elizabeth Ann Fenton Cooke.  The family moved to Council Bluffs, Iowa in 1890 and to Galveston, Texas the following year.  After attending Ball High School, Cook entered the University of Texas Medical Branch in 1894, obtaining his M. D. . in 1897.  After an internship and practice in Montgomery County, Cooke moved to Ellis County, Texas in 1900 and set up practice, first in Waxahachie and subsequently in Forreston.  He moved to Houston in 1907 and limited his practice to clinical pathology/ While still in Ellis County, Cook was appointed chairman of the Committee on Public Health and Legislation for the County Medical Society and in that capacity, worked to secure enforcement of laws regulating medical practice.  He served as delegate to the State Association meeting (1912-14); member of Council on Medical Defense (1914-16); secretary and later president of the southern Texas District Medical Society. He was also president of the Texas Pathology Society and was a charter member of the American Society of Clinical Pathologists (1922).  He married Pearl Florence McClusky of Galveston June 10, 1899.  They had four children. He died on Jan. 8, 1931 in Houston, after a brief  illness.

Dr. John Thomas Hussey

Dr. Hussey, who practiced medicine in Ellis County from 1858 until his death in December 1881, was born in Alabama in 1837 and graduated from Tulane Medical School in 1858.

He first married Louisa Keesee November 5, 1859 in Union County, Arkansas.  To this union were born James Thomas Hussey (who became a druggist  and  farmer in Ellis County) and Sallie Louise (who married J. W. McCue).

The doctor's second marriage was to Henrietta Jones March 28, 1866, also in Union County, Arkansas.  Children by the second marriage were: Cornelia, Fannie, Jennie and Ettie.

Dr. James C. J. King

James King was born in Wilson County, Tenn. March 4, 1842, a son of Adam C. King. The family moved to Texas in 1846, first to Washington County and later to Crockett in Anderson County. The father, Adam King,  later moved to Ennis where his wife died in 1864.

James King enlisted in Company A, 2nd Texas Cavalry in 1861. After the war ended, he taught school one term in Henderson County before moving to Milford, Ellis County. After attending school there for almost a year, he began reading medicine with Dr. W. E. Buie, and in 1871 received his M. D. from Tulane University in New Orleans.

Dr. King began practice in Milford, but moved to Waco after a few months. He served as president of the Waco Medical Society and as 1st Vice President of the Texas State Medical Association. He was married in Milford, March 3, 1868 to Mrs. Bettie L. T. Zollicoffer. Their children: Rosa, James, C. J. Jr., William E. B., Lacy H. and Collins T. Dr. King died March 21, 1906 in Waco. [Source: Library of Congress, Manuscripts Division, Federal Writers' Project]

Dr. James Campbell Loggins

Contributed by Herman I. May
[Editorial comments from contributor are enclosed in brackets]

Dr. James Campbell Loggins died at his home in Ennis, September 28, 1921. Death was unexpected and sudden. While Dr. Loggins had not been in the most vigorous health, he showed no sign of illness, and died while taking his usual midday nap, following a hearty dinner. [His tombstone gives date of death as 21 Sept 1921].

Dr. Loggins was born near Tuscaloosa, Alabama, Dec. 7, 1845, the day Texas was admitted to the Union. When five years old, the family moved to Grimes County, on Roan's Prairie, where he was raised to young manhood. In 1861, at the age of 15 he enlisted in Hood's Texas Brigade, of the Confederate Army, and served throughout the war. He was captured at Gettysburg and was a prisoner at Fort Delaware for over a year, finally escaping by swimming Delaware Bay, and returning directly to his command. [James' parents and two of his sisters are buried in Old Oakwood Cemetery - just southeast of Roan's Prairie. James served during the Civil War in Company "G", 4th Texas Volunteer Infantry.]

At the close of the war, Dr. Loggins returned to Grimes County, and was married to Miss Lydia Antoinette Alston of Montgomery County, Nov. 28, 1866. He entered Tulane University School of Medicine at New Orleans and graduated from that institution in 1868. He practiced in Roan's Prairie until 1872, when he moved to Ennis, where he practiced until the time of his death. His home in Ennis is partly included in the home in which he died. He had lived there nearly half a century. [James and Lydia and their two first born children are found living in Grimes County during the 1870 enumeration]. Dr. Loggins was vice-president of the State Medical Association, and in 1896, became its twenty-eighth president. In 1891, he was elected to the Judicial Council, at that time fulfilling the function now served by our board of Councillors. In 1893, he was chairman of the Section on Medicine, and his presidential address was one of the few contributions to medical literature that he ever made formally, although he was free in his discussion of medical subjects. He was an active worker in his county medical society and at one time served as president.

Dr. Loggins served his day and generation well in lay as well as professional services. He had been chief of the fire department, alderman and mayor of his home town. He was active in the councils of the Confederate Veterans, and had served their organizations in several official capacities. He was a charter member of the First Baptist Church and was always active in its councils. He was a Mason of high degree. His last public service was as Superintendent of the Confederate Home in Austin, which position he filled ably and with credit, from January 1917 to March 1920, when he resigned because of failing health.
Dr. Loggins' wife died February 24, 1908. A son, Dr. Lee Loggins, died Dec. 27, 1907. He is survived by three sons, two daughters and a niece who was reared in his home and who was looked upon as a daughter. The funeral services were conducted by the Masons. The honorary pall bearers were the living past presidents of the State Medical Association, several of whom attended the funeral, and the members of the local medical profession. The funeral was perhaps the largest attended in that section of the country in many years.

[Source: Texas State Journal of Medicine 17: 369, November 1921. "Deaths: Dr. James Campbell Loggins;" History of Science Collection UT Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, Texas]

Dr. John Randolph McFadden

Dr. McFadden served in the Confederate Army as a surgeon and held the rank of Brigadier General.   His wife stayed with relatives in Arkansas during the War and his eldest child, Mary Hill McFadden, was born while he was away.

After the War ended, he brought his wife and child to Milford, Texas where he practiced and was known and loved by several generations of citizens in that community.

Other children, all born in Milford, were Paul W., ( lived in Austin, Texas and was mayor for several terms); Dr. J. R. McFadden, Jr. ( practiced medicine in Milford); J. A. McFadden (lived in Yoakum, Texas); Sam G. McFadden (lived Milford); Ike Mcfadden (in lumber business in Dallas) and Susie McFadden (married Nelson Phillips, later chief Justice of the Texas Supreme Court).

Dr. McFadden was a devout Presbyterian and was an Elder in that church in Milford for many years.  All five of his sons became Elders in the churches in which they were members. When he first came to Texas, the doctor stopped at the small community of Dallas and considered settling there, but since there was no Presbyterian church, he moved on to Milford.

Dr. Charles W. Ray

Dr. Ray of Waxahachie, aged 36, was shot and killed instantly on Sept. 7, 1921, in his office. He married Miss Elva Jenkins of Hubbard, Tex. in 1907, who, with a 10-year-old daughter, survive. [Texas State Journal of Medicine, Austin, Texas. Vol. 17, 1921-1922]

Dr. William Pinkney Sims

During the long years of his professional career, Dr.  Sims maintained an active interest in organized medicine and strove continuously to better himself in every possible way as a practicing physician. He was born in the Bethel community March 25, 1864, son of Pinckney Coleman Sims and Mary Sims. He attended school in Italy and Waxahachie graduating with honors from the University School of Medicine in Nashville in 1888.

He practiced for three years in Vernon, Texas, before returning to Ellis County where he lived the remainder of his life. His practice covered considerable territory and his medical skills were in great demand. He was extremely popular not only as a physician but as a friend. For twenty years, Dr. Sims held membership in the Ellis County Medical Society, the Texas State Medical Association and the American Medical Association, attending their meetings regularly in order to keep informed of the latest developments in the field of medicine.

He first married Miss Fannie High and had one son, W. B. Sims. His second wife was Miss Emmy Rumsey by whom he had two children, Floriene and Charles. His third marriage was to Miss Allie Wolcott and to that union were born two sons, W. P. Jr. and Coleman Wolcott Sims.

Dr. Sims was a member of the Masonic Order and the IOOF. in Waxahachie and an active member of the Methodist Episcopal Church South, serving as chairman of the Board of Trustees and as Steward. Dr. Sims died Sept. 12, 1928. Funeral services were held at the Bethel Methodist Church with burial in Bethel Cemetery. Some 2000 persons paid their respects, including nearly all the physicians of Ellis County, nurses of the Waxahachie Sanitarium and friends from all parts of the state. He leaves his widow, five children: Will B., Charles P. and W. P. Sims, Jr. and a dau. Mrs. Ross Garrett; brother O. B. Sims and sister, Mrs. Bettie Johnston.  

Dr. A. L. Thomas

Dr. A. L. Thomas, 93, practicing physician in Ennis for many years died Wednesday at Ennis Municipal Hospital. Funeral services will be on Friday, First United Methodist Church, Rev. John Dowd officiating. Dr. Thomas was a native of Georgia. He graduated from old Polytechnic College in Fort Worth and taught school at Bardwell prior to receiving an M. D. from the University in Louisville, Ky.

His first medical practice was in Navarro County, and he began his long career in Ellis County in 1904. In 1954 he was honored by the Texas Medical Association as the General Practitioner of the Year, and he received the first award from the Ennis Lions Club as Outstanding Citizen of the Year. He was a member of the Ellis County Medical Society, the Ennis Kiwanis Club, the First United Methodist church, Ennis Masonic Lodge, Scottish Rite and Hella Temple Shrine in Dallas and a trustee for the Ennis Independent School District for 20 years.

Dr. Thomas was married to Miss Edna Mae Williams of Decatur who died in 1966. Survivors include four daughters, eleven grandchildren and ten great-grandchildren.

[Source: Journal Texas State Medical Association]

Dr. Seaborn H. Watson

Dr. Watson died at his home in Waxahachie, Tex. on Jan. 20 [1911]. He was born in Anderson Co. S. C. in 1833, son of D. E. and Sarah Gary Watson; educated in the public schools of his state and the college at Macon, Ga., where he received his medical degree in 1855. In 1862 Dr. Watson raised four companies for the Confederacy, which became a part of the regiment under Col. J. W. Johnson, and of which the doctor became regimental surgeon. Most of his service was under Bragg and his regiment was engaged in many of the war's important battles. After the war, Dr. Watson donated his part of his father's estate to a sister and moved to Texas, settling at Milford in Ellis County, his sole possessions being his horse and buggy which he had driven from S. C. He began to practice medicine there in 1867 but moved to Dallas in 1874. In 1879 he retired and moved to Waxahachie, where he was engaged in farming and stock raising. In 1872 Dr. Watson married Miss Amanda Beard of Alabama. She has been prominent in literary and club circles in Texas and was State Historian of the UDC for several terms. She, two daughters and two sons survive. Dr. Watson was a loyal church member and was known as one of the best Biblical scholars in the state. [Contributed by Ruth Walsh ]

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