Lonestar Bound "V"
Vaughan, John Latin
John Latin Vaughan and Abbie Gail Struble VaughanJL Vaughan was born in Elerslie, Scotland, Jan.3,1843. The morning sun threw the shadow of the famous tree of Sir William Wallace across the threshold of the house in which he was born. He was rocked to sleep in the cradle that once rocked the poet, Robert Burns. His family imigrated to Pennsylanvia in 1851. Abbie Struble was born in Port Perry,PA April 22,1845. John was 19 and Abbie was 16 when the Civil War started. Abbie was telegrapher and Railroad station in Port Perry during the Civil War. JL worked as a lineman for a company in Illinios. They were married May 24,1866. They both worked for the B&O Railroad. When they came to Texas, JL was a lineman for the Texas & Pacific RR. He set up and repaired the telegraph line westward from Ft.Worth. He first came to Merkel in late June 1882 to make some repairs on the line. That night he slept on the station floor using his tool sack for a pillow. On the evening of July 4,1882, JL arrived on train no.4 to become the Railroad station agent in Merkel. Merkel was a town of 160 acres of town lots. The only inhabitants were two forlorn looking men and some prairie dogs.An old sea Capt.JT Grundy was the pumper. He and JL batched for a while. Their nearest neighbor was the Tom Story family who lived eight miles west. The Scraborough homestead at Trudy on the north was next.Capt.Frank Curtis had a flock of sheeo a mile north of the depot. His cousin, Sam Butman also had a flock of sheep and they both boarded at the station.Abbie and the children, Madge age 15, Edna 14, George 12, Latrobe 10 and Evadine 4, joined him in 1882. Abbie was the first woman telegrapher in Texas and she worked the night shift.The Vaughans built their home southeast of the boxcar station. The one and a Half story home featured sliding pocket doors and a large beautiful garden. It was later know as the Widow Ash home.On March 19,1884 their oldest daughter, Madge Bell, married Sam Butman in a ceremony in the depot.They started a school in the freight room of the depot with Mrs.A.M.Thornton teaching four of her children and three Vaughan children. When the need was felt for a larger classroom, the school was moved to the diningroom of the house being built by Philom Cox. Cox was finishing the house so he could bring his wife and children out from the east. Mrs.Cox was the former Jannette Vaughan. JL's sister.A school building was finished in 1885. It stood where the Assembly of God Church was later built on the corner of North 2nd and Runnels. The four Leagues of Grimes County school land was being divided into sections. JL talked them into giving Merkel five acres for a school. The Western Normal and Commerical Association college and schoolwas built on the current school grounds. It opened with 100 students.At the first of the year of 1892, JL took a leave of absence and went to Mexico to visit his sons who were working there as railroad station agents. He took a job there and Abbie joined him there. They came back to Merkel in 1894 to celebrate their 25 wedding annversary, then moved back to Mexico. The Mexican Revolution led by Madera and Orozo caused them to flee their garden home. Excaping with their lives and little else. They lived in El Paso for a while, then moved to Long Beach,CA where they lived out their twilight years in their Ivy Cottage.John Latin Vaughan passed away June 23,1921.Abbie Vaughan passed away in July,1924
Contributed by: Nancy Hardy on May 31, 2001.
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