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Died, at
the home of his daughter, Mrs. John Blair, on Tuesday morning [December
21, 1897] at Wharton, Capt. E. S. Rugeley, after a lingering illness, in
the seventy-sixth year of his age. Owing to the bad weather and
condition of the roads, his remains were temporarily deposited in the
city cemetery at Wharton, but will, at an early date be removed to the
family burial grounds near Hardeman. His death, though not unexpected,
has cast a gloom over our county, where he was held in high esteem by
the entire citizenship. He was a resident of this county since '45, but
temporarily moved to Wharton a few months ago. The BREEZE joins a large
circle of friends in extending sympathy to the bereaved family. The
following is a brief sketch of his life, for which we are indebted to
the Wharton correspondent of the Post:
"In
the passing away of Judge E. S. Rugeley a striking and notable figure of
Texan history is removed. His father, Hon. John Rugeley, a member of the
widely known and celebrated family of that name in
South Carolina
, was one of the early Texan patriots. He had lived in the state of
Alabama previous to his coming to Texas, having served several times as
a member of the legislature; coming to Texas in 1840, he settled in
Matagorda county, where he engaged extensively in planting; he served
also in the congress of the young republic and was until his death in
1878 a man of prominence and wealth. He left numerous descendants, who,
like their people before them, are of note and value as citizens.
One of
his sons, the subject of this sketch, Edward S. Rugeley, was born in the
State of
South Carolina
seventy-five years ago [September 12, 1822]. Of a naturally bright and
intellectual mind, he was prepared for the legal profession. Given the
advantages of a classical education at the
Columbia
college in his native State, he was admitted to the bar when a very
young man; coming to
Texas
about the time it was entering Statehood in 1845 [here he] engaged in
the practice of his profession, and as a young man acquired fame and
promise. Following in the footsteps of his father, with the accumulation
of wealth came the desire to live the independent life of "lord of
the manor." Giving up his profession, he was soon occupied with the
duties of a planter, the rich soil of the famous Caney beckoning an
invitation. With his father he was among the first to engage in the
culture of sugar in
South Texas
; their plant was an extensive one, with all the advantages of slave
labor, which made it a profitable and paying industry. At the first
bugle note of war which awakened the sections to strife, Judge Rugeley,
then a man in the ___ and prime of life, threw his all into the cause
which threatened the hearth___ of his loved Southland. He tendered his
services to his adopted State, serving in Bates' and later in Brown's
regiment, with the rank of captain throughout the war. Returning to his
home at the close of the civil conflict, with the wreck and ruin of the
war around him, his once vast property sadly diminished, he again began
the struggle. His indomitable spirit was unconquered. Prosperity came
with thrift and good management; he was again surrounded with every
blessing of life. In 1875, in response to the almost unanimous call of
his people, he represented his district in the convention which framed
the present constitution of
Texas
. A number of years ago he gave up the life of a planter and served as
judge of Matagorda county for several terms with credit to himself and
left a record her citizens are proud of to-day.
Judge
Rugeley was united in marriage to Miss Mary E. Smith in
Alabama
in 1845. The marriage was a happy and prosperous one, and the couple
have seen their children grow up around them to be their pride and
consolation. Seven children blessed the union, of whom three sons, John,
E. S., Jr., and Frank L. Rugeley, and two daughters, Mrs. John Blair and
Mrs. P. G. Brooks, both of whom live in Wharton, survive. The sons live
in Matagorda county.
Judge
Edward Rugeley was a man made to be loved, honored and respected. Of a
strikingly genial disposition, easy of approach, honest, open and
high-minded, there were but few his peers. A true type of the chivalric
spirits who in ante-bellum days strove so faithfully to make
Texas
grand and great.
And thus
they fall, these grand old pioneers. Their like we shall not gaze on
again. One by one they drift to the ground like autumn leaves. They have
achieved their span; they have measured their space and will leave
behind the record of their deeds and work written in bright letters of
gold upon the fairest pages of the annals of their country for the
children of posterity to praise and emulate.
Of him
who now passes in review it can be said 'His life book is ___, he throws
down his worldly burden and goes on his long rest a Christian by precept
and example, a fair, pure man--while the tears of kindred and friend
shall alike prove his worth.
The
Bay City
Breeze
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