My father Byron Cogdell Rhome and my mother Lillie Faye
Shiflet/Schiflett Rhome lived in Dallas beginning in the summer of 1937.
My mother died in 1985 and my father in 1992. They are buried in Dallas.
Here is a bit of information about the Rhome family who was prominent in
early Texas ranching and politics.
Byron Crandall Rhome (my gr grandfather) was the son of Peter G. and Nancy Almira
Crandall Rhome (the name was originally Raum but Peter and his brother
John changed the spelling about 1830 while living in Georgia) who were
both originally from the state of New York, was born November 22, 1837
in Richmond County, Georgia. After his mother's death in 1840, Byron,
along with his father and siblings, moved to Jacksonville, Cherokee
County, Texas in the early 1850s. Peter G. Rhome was financially
successful in the area and became a large land owner and operated a
mercantile enterprise in Jacksonville. When the Civil War began, Peter
was a representative from Cherokee County to the Secession Convention.
The following information came from books, interviews with
relatives, newspaper accounts and vital statistics of the time. On his
mother's side of the family, Byron Crandall Rhome is descended from a
number of families that came to the colonies before 1650. These
ancestors who arrived in early New England came from Scotland, Wales and
England and the surnames include Hubbard, Cooper, Crandall, Opp,
Burdick, Langworthy, Maccoone, Wood, Bliven, Greene, Aylsworth, Rhodes,
Arnold, Coggeshall, Brown, Mowry, West/Wast, Barber and Kendall. On his
father's side of the family, the first ancestors to arrive came to
Albany, New York from Germany/Switzerland in the 1750s. These names
include Raum, Hochstrasser (Roth, Sailer, Meyer and Lang) and possibly
Grimes or Gremps/Grimps.
Prior to the Rhome family arriving in Cherokee County, Texas,
Peter Rhome and his wife Nancy, had traveled from New York to Georgia to
participate in the construction of the RR in Georgia. I believe it might
have been the RR that went from Augusta to the little town of Atlanta.
Peter was also a foreman on the RR for 15 years and a merchant. Nancy
Almira Crandall, his wife, died in Warren County GA in 1840. By 1853,
the family was in Jacksonville, Texas.
I believe the following to be the true facts of Byron Rhome's
service in the Confederate Army. Byron was not a member of the Hood's
Brigade and he was apparently never a Colonel as some family members
have related to me. This last appears to have been an honorary title he
picked up sometime after the Civil War. His brother Romulus J. Rhome
served in Hood's Brigade for approximately one year before becoming
ill and returning to Texas. Byron enlisted in the 18th Texas Infantry,
Company K from Jacksonville, Cherokee Co, Texas in July of 1862. He
served in General Walker's Division in the Trans Mississippi Department
spending the war years in Louisiana and Arkansas.
Byron participated in the battles of Opelousas, Mansfield and
Pleasant Hill, Louisiana, and the battle of Jenkin's Ferry in Arkansas.
He began his service in the 18th Texas Infantry as a First Sergeant. He
was later elected 2nd Lieutenant and then promoted to 1st Lieutenant.
Years later, he wrote that he had been promoted to Captain, however, I
have not been able to find proof of this promotion. Apparently he was
wounded at the battle of Opelousas but he continued in active service
until the 18th disbanded at Hempstead, Texas in May of 1865.
The 18th Texas Infantry was organized during the summer and fall
of 1862. Company K was composed of men from Jacksonville, Cherokee Co,
Texas. The 18th Texas Infantry spent the entire war within the
Trans-Mississippi Department. According to articles that I have read,
during late 1862 a detachment of the unit was temporarily mounted and
sent south of the Rio Grande to bring back a large herd of cattle that
had been purchased for the Confederacy. The detachment brought these
cattle back across the Rio Grande to central Texas. There is no
information found to date that would indicate that B. C. Rhome was part
of this detachment. However, he apparently was a good horseman so he
might have been a participant.
The 18th Texas Infantry participated in operations on the
eastern boundary of Louisiana and by March 31, 1864, they had moved back
north along the Texas-Louisiana border. Beginning in April of 1864
until mid 1864, the 18th participated in engagements in the mid to
southern part of Arkansas. These engagements were - Steele's
Expedition from Little Rock to Camden, Mark's Mills and Jenkin's Ferry,
Saline River Arkansas. During mid 1864, the 18th Texas was returned to
Louisiana. Here it served at Shreveport. In early 1865, the unit was
moved to Hempstead, Texas where it was disbanded in May, 1865.
According to what I have read, the regiments which served under General
Walker, which included the 18th, were nicknamed the "Greyhound" Division
because, having beaten the Union Army under General Banks in Louisiana
in April,1864, they raced northward to engage Union General Steele in
Arkansas in May, 1864.
The following information is contained in the book "Elder John
Crandall of Rhode Island and His Descendants". Info on Romulus John
Rhome, Byron Crandall Rhome's brother from the above mentioned book -
"Romulus enlisted in the 1st Texas Infantry in the spring of 1861 as a
2nd Lieutenant serving in General Hood's brigade of General Lee's
Army. He participated in the first battle of Manassas; failing health
caused his withdrawal from the Army...Romulus and his wife Missouri
Robertson Rhome moved to Brazil, South America in 1865 where she died at
Santarem, a province of Para on February 22, 1884." Romulus died July 9,
1892 in Santarem, Brazil. My father, Byron Cogdell Rhome said that his
grandfather, Byron Crandall Rhome, told him that Rom Rhome was killed
in the Civil War. He wasn't. After the Civil War, he, his family and
apparently some of his former slaves moved to Santaram, Brazil. Except
for visits back to the United States, he lived there until his death.
Byron Crandall Rhome and Ella Elizabeth Loftin, daughter of
Jeremiah W. Loftin of Smith County and Lucy Otis Loftin who died in 1849
in Alabama, were married in Cherokee County, August 31, 1864. (It is
said they married after only having known one another for three weeks -
this cannot be verified) They lived in Etna, Smith County near Tyler.
She died in 1879 probably of Typhoid. Ella, her father Jeremiah W.
Loftin and her deceased children are buried in Tyler, Texas. They had
six children between 1864 and 1876. Only three lived to adulthood.
Sometime after 1876, Byron moved to Wise County. He convinced
the Ft.Worth-Denver Railroad to come through the little town which
eventually became Rhome, Texas. His ranch in Wise County was called
Hereford Park. He was one of the first ranchers to be able to keep his
Hereford bull alive for longer than a few weeks in the tick infested
Texas ranch lands. He became well known across the state and the
country for his prize Hereford bulls. His prize bull, Harkaway, was the
first Hereford to win the Grand Champion Blue Ribbon at the Texas State
Fair in 1880. B.C. helped found the Fort Worth Live Stock show and
cattle yards and he also had banking interests. Rhome served on the
board of Texas Christian University. He won numerous awards for his
Herefords and was also a judge at stock shows across Texas and the
country. Byron was prominent in the Democratic Party and was asked on
several occasions to run for Governor. He always declined saying he just
didn't have the time for that sort of thing.
B. C. Rhome, Sr, was an interesting man, generous, loyal to his
family members and willing to take chances. Many of his relatives lived
with him at various times during the latter part of their lives. One of
the many interesting stories about Byron concerns his Uncle, John Rhome.
John, along with several other members of his extended family, were
living with him at the ranch in Wise County. When John died in 1881, he
was buried on the ranch. Years later, when Byron moved to Ft. Worth, he
had his uncle dug up and moved to a cemetery in Ft. Worth, saying he
wasn't going to leave any of his family behind.
Another story that was written by a former ranch hand concerns
Byron's desire to make Rhome, Texas the county seat of Wise County.
After working to get the Ft. Worth-Denver railroad through the area,
Byron decided that Rhome needed a post office. He tried in vain to get
the post office in Decatur to move. Finally, one night after a few
drinks, he and his ranch hands rode to Decatur with a large wagon,
loaded the building up on the wagon and moved it back to Rhome. Of
course, within a few days, the people of Decatur had found out who took
the post office and moved it back.
He and several members of his family are buried in Oakwood
Cemetery, an old historical cemetery in Fort Worth, Section 28, Lot 6,
S5, with a number of other prominent Fort Worth and Texas founders. The
cemetery is located on Grand and Gould and close to University Drive and
the Jacksboro Highway (199). I believe that it is near the old cattle
yards and livestock area in Fort Worth. His home was located at 1024
Penn St in an historical area of Fort Worth. It was a huge home, filled
with beautiful furniture and antiques. I am not sure if it is still
standing anymore.
Joseph Otto Rhome (son of Byron Crandall Rhome) and Daysie Norfleet
Cogdell Rhome lived in Fort Worth from the mid 1930s until the
house was sold after their deaths in 1952 and 1953 to make room for a
freeway. Joe Rhome, son of Byron Crandall Rhome and Ella Elizabeth
Loftin Rhome, was born August 5, 1874 in Etna (near Tyler), Smith Co,
Texas. Daysie Norfleet Cogdell, daughter of Daniel Calhoun Cogdell and
Lucy Norfleet Duke Cogdell, was born in Granbury, Hood County on
December 28, 1875. They were married on May 6, 1901 in Granbury, Texas.
They moved to a ranch on the Brazos River in Bosque County
after their marriage. I have been told the ranch was about 5000 acres.
My father Byron Cogdell Rhome, their second child, was born there
January 11th 1906 or 1907 (I think dad fudged a year off his birth
certificate when he had an affidavit of his birth date and place drawn
up years ago). Due to hard times and bad luck, my grandfather lost the
ranch probably between 1925 and 1928. This was terribly traumatic for my
father. He was away at college and he had no idea of what was about to
occur until he was called home. This was a difficult time for the
family. Eventually, after several failed attempts to make a living in
Cleburne, Texas, Joe and Daysie moved to Ft. Worth where they resided
until their deaths in 1952 and 1953. Both of my grandparents were
raised in wealth and privilege so their later years were difficult to
reconcile, especially for my grandmother. They are both buried in
Cleburne, Johnson County, Texas.
I have many fond memories of my grandparents (Big Mama and Big Papa).
Almost every other Saturday, my father and I traveled to Ft. Worth from
Dallas to go fishing with my grandfather on Eagle Mountain Lake The
fishing for Crappie and Sandbass was excellent in those days. Those are
nice warm memories.
Byron Cogdell Rhome, was the son of Joseph Otto Rhome and Daysie
Norfleet Cogdell Rhome. Many honors were paid my father for his services
to Texas athletics and Texas education. Perhaps his major achievement in
the coaching profession was his election to the Coaches Hall of Honor of
the Texas High School Coaches Association for his service as a coach at
Sunset High School in Dallas from 1937 until his retirement from
coaching in 1963. Byron moved to Sunset High School in Dallas and
successfully coached the Sunset track team for several years. He was
also an assistant football coach. He spent the war years in Hondo Texas
coaching and his teams won Army Air Corp Championships in 1943 and 1944
with records of 19 victories and one loss.
Upon his return to Sunset High School in 1945, he was named the
school's head football coach and Athletic Director. During his 19 years
as head coach of the Sunset High School Bisons football program, his
teams won 8 district championships, two semi-final championships and in
1949, Sunset was runner-up for the Big City State Championship in Texas.
In 1950, Sunset went on to win the Big City State title. One publication
named Rhome as the greatest Dallas high school coach of the fifties.
He began his coaching career at Graham High School in 1929 and
1930; Weatherford Junior College from 1931 - 1934 where his teams one
the State Junior College Championship all three years; Texas Wesleyan
College in 1935 and 1936; The U. S. Army Hondo Airfield in 1943 and 1944
and finally at Sunset High School from 1937 to 1942 and 1945 through
1963. He continued teaching Texas history and civics classes at Kimball
High School in Oak Cliff for several more years.
He met my mother, Lillie Faye Schiflett/Shiflet, d/o William
Joseph Schiflett/Shiflet and Myrtle Melviney Renfro of Denison, Grayson
County, Texas at the University of Texas in an economics class either in
the summer of 1932 or 1933. She was engaged at the time to "that other
man". Dad said mother sat behind him and kicked his chair. Mother said
dad would always contradict everything she said in class. Dad said
mother was so beautiful. Mother said dad had a great red convertible
and a job at Weatherford Junior College. When time came for the
marriage to "that other man" at my grandmother's house in Denison, both
the other man and dad showed up. To the last minute, mother wasn't sure
what she would do. I guess dad tossed his rival out, turned on his
charm and they were married that day, May 31, 1934. After their
marriage, they returned to the University for the summer where mother
received her Bachelor's Degree in Economics and my father received his
Master's Degree in Economics. Mother was a teacher for many years in the
Dallas school system at Lida Hooe Elementary School and Greiner Junior
High School. They are buried in Dallas, Texas.
They had two children - Faye Joann Rhome and Jerry Byron Rhome