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MAYORS OF CORPUS CHRISTI
1852
Benjamin F. Neal
In 1852
Corpus Christi was
incorporated, and on the first Tuesday in April of that year our good
people met at the polls and elected B. F. Neal Mayor. Of this gentleman
the writer is glad to be able to give a short sketch, furnished her by an
intimate friend of the family, and one time inmate of Judge Neal’s home.
B. F. Neal was a Virginian by birth and educated to the law. WE do not
recall the year he came to Southwest Texas. That he was learned in his
profession is proven by the fact of his many services; that he was fitted
for almost any position in life was also proven. We find him serving as
Mayor, District Judge, and editor of one of the earliest newspaper, The
Nueces Valley. As a soldier he commanded a company during the war between
the States. Taking a great interest in the early schools, he was one of
the most prominent and useful citizens of eh Corpus Christi of his day.
Judge Neal was twice married, his second wife being a Miss Zula Haynes of
Philadelphia. Mrs. Neal was a Quakeress by birth, and a noble helpmate to
her public spirited, patriotic husband, a veritable leader in all works of
mercy, accepting the rough life of he frontier with a meekness inherited
from a long line of God-fearing ancestors. She aided the poor, nursed the
sick, and by her works was the she known. Should we even have a Hall of
Fame, the name of our first Mayor and Zula Haynes, his wife, should occupy
a prominent niche therein.
1854
H. W. Berry
In 1854 we greet H.
W. Berry as his Honor, and this lead us to believe that the office as held
for one year at that time. A sketch of Captain
Berry
is given elsewhere. He was at this time a comparatively young man, an ex
officer of the volunteers who had served under General Taylor. He
returned to Corpus Christi at the close of the Mexican War, to lead a long
and useful life with us.
1855
Benjamin F. Neal
Our first Municipal
Father, Judge Neal, is in office with us again.
1857
H. W. Berry
Again, but
apparently for a short time only, as we find from same records (copy
furnished writer by City Secretary O. O. Wright,
January 1, 1911),
that for 1857, 1858, 1859 Mr. Richard Holbein, for many years a prominent
ranchero, held this office.
1860-62
H. W. Berry
During this
turbulent time, looked after the interest of the little war-ridden town as
Mayor.*
*Ruben Holbien was
elected mayor by the city council in an unprecedented
action when Mayor
H.W. Berry absented himself from the city in a dispute with
the council. See
Holbein web page
1863-65
Dr. George
Robertson,
A native of
Scotland, held the
reins of office, and at this time the position was one of peril, as the
enemy were often in evidence. On one occasion a scouting party from the
fleet espied three men on
Chaparral Street
and chased them into the home of Mrs. Swift, in the rear of the Robertson
home (corner of Schatzel and Water Streets). Two of the men went under
beds and were soon captured, but Mrs. Swift, with almost superhuman
strength, pulled out a wardrobe and the Mayor slid behind it. She pushed
it back into the corner, and he remained through the hunt, safely hidden,
the woman and the captured men finally convincing the Yanks that hey had
been seeing treble, as only two men were there. One of the captured men
was John Riggs. I do not remember the name of the other. These boys drew
starvation rations in a
New Orleans
prison until the close of the War, but the doctor escaped. Dr. Robertson
died of yellow fever in ’67. The house of good Mrs. Swift has made place
for the elegant home of E. T. Merriman, while the Robertson home, which
has for years been the home of his son and widowed daughter, Mrs. Jessie
Clark, known to all the old residents for its kindly Scotch hospitality,
was removed, and upon its site was erected Lichtenstein’s Department
Store, the first department store for Corpus Christi.
1866-67
Waymon N. Staples,
Who opened the first
lumber yard in
Corpus Christi. Mr.
Staples afterward opened a large ranch, and for years he and his good wife
were prominent in the social life of this section. Their ranch was ever a
welcoming haven, and both of them happy when surrounded by happy children.
1877-79
John Marks
Moore,
Notice of this grand
man, father-in –law of William Headen, elsewhere.
Source:
Sutherland, Mary A.
Edited by Frank B. Harrison. The Story of
Corpus Christi.
Corpus
Christi:
Corpus
Christi Chapter, Daughters of the Confederacy, 1916.
Research by: Msgr.
Michael A. Howell
Transcription by:
Geraldine D. McGloin, Nueces County Historical Commission
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