1899 :: Visitors at Loewenstein Mansion

Marriage - Mrs. J. McKenzie of Galveston and her son, Donald McKenzie, were guests at the Loewenstein mansion this week. The lady was a friend of Mrs. Loewenstein’s in her girlhood days in Fayette county and attended the wedding of Mr. and Mrs. Loewenstein some 28-years ago and the families have been warm friends ever since, so she and her son came up to attend the nuptials of Robert Loewenstein and Miss Bertie Loper. Donald McKinzie acting as best man in the ceremony. Rockdale Messenger, February 23, 1899

1957 :: Perry Rites Set Tuesday

Perry Rites Set Tuesday. Rockdale, Texas (AP). -- Funeral services for George Sessions Perry, writer and native of Texas, will be held here Tuesday (19th February 1957). His body was found Wednesday in Connecticut after he had been missing two months. Tentative funeral arrangements were reported by J.B. Newton, a relative. The hour has not been set. Mrs. Perry is expected to arrive Saturday by plane in Houston, where she will be met by her brother, Bill Hodges, Beaumont. They will come immediately to Rockdale, near where Perry maintained a ranch. The body of Perry, an arthritis victim, was found in a tidal stream near his Connecticut home. Coroner James Corrigan said Thursday the circumstances of the 46-year-old writer's death are "consistent with suicide." Police said they believed Perry disrobed and threw his garments into the water before entering the stream himself. Dallas Morning News, February 16, 1957

1906 :: Perry Farm for Sale

FOR SALE -- 520-acre farm near Lexington, or will trade for stock of merchandise or other desirable property. J.W. PERRY, Rockdale, Tex. Dallas Morning News, February 17, 1906

1918 :: Death of Captain John B. Wolf

Cameron, Texas. Feb. 10 . -- Captain John B. Wolf, an old resident of Milam County, died Friday night. He was born in Arkansas in 1840; enlisted in the Confederate Army in 1861 as a private and served four years, coming out as Captain. In 1869 he moved to Milam County and had lived here ever since. In 1878 he was elected Sheriff and Tax Collector. When these two offices were separated he was elected Tax Collector, and held this office for more than twenty years. He was one of the founders of the old Knights of Honor in Texas and for years was a grand officer. He was also a prominent Mason. He leaves a wife and seven children, all of whom were with him at the last, except one son. Dallas Morning News, February 11, 1918.

1874 ::Birth of Rockdale

Hence, it is with pleasure I hail the birth of Rockdale, the future distributing point for Milam, Bell, Williamson and Burleson counties ... by the completion of the Brazos bridge is connected with the outside world ... it is in the heart of one of the best agricultural districts in Texas. The town already contains from twenty to thirty houses, and is rapidly growing. Being the present terminus of this immense (rail)road, situated in a most healthy and convenient locality ... what is to prevent Rockdale from becoming one of the most important points in the interior? ... Rockdale is destined to become the great shipping point for Texas stock. Galveston Weekly News, February 9, 1874

1875 :: Rockdale in the News

Rockdale, February 6. Yesterday, the 5th, was the first anniversary of the city of Rockdale. The day was celebrated by the usual everyday business which has characterized the place since the last spike was driven, February 5, 1874, that connected the place with the outside world. It has grown from a hole in the woods, to be a city of 3,000 inhabitants. Galveston Daily News, February 7, 1875

---

Rockdale, February 6. C.W. Weeks, known as “California Bill,” proprietor of a hash house, was shot to death yesterday by one Newley, a butcher, who took this method of collecting a debt of $20 for beef furnished to said California Bill’s hash house. This is the only murder that has ever been committed in this place. Galveston Daily News, February 7, 1875

1908 :: Boy Injured While Hunting

Rockdale, Tex., Feb. 1. -- Walton Douthit, 10 years old, a son of B.L. Douthit, a jeweler of this city, was accidentally shot in both legs this afternoon while hunting in company with his Uncle Clifford Douthit of Fort Worth. The wounds are serious, but not necessarily fatal. Dallas Morning News, February 2, 1908. his findagrave memorial page

1942 :: Death of J.O. Newton

J.O. Newton, 67, Ex-Official, Dies. Rockdale, Texas, Feb. 1 (AP). -- J.O. Newton, 67, who was Adjutant General of Texas under the administration of Gov. Thomas Campbell, died early Sunday at his home here. He was in business in Rockdale. Since 1920 he had been connected with Scarbrough & Hicks Co., and was identified over a long period of years with numerous central Texas business enterprises. Funeral services will be held Monday. The wife and three sons, J. Boswell, C.T. and Carter Newton, are survivors. Newton died after a lengthy illness. Dallas Morning News, February 2, 1942. his findagrave memorial page

1938 :: Death of Andrew Jackson

Veteran Who Fought at Appomattox Dies. 

Temple, Texas, Jan. 31 (AP) -- Funeral services will be held Tuesday for Andrew J. Jackson, 93, Confederate veteran, who died at his home in the Salty community in Milam County Sunday night. Jackson was the last surviving member of Company C, Sixtieth Alabama Regiment, which surrendered with Lee in the final battle of Appomattox. He came to Texas in 1874 and had lived in Milam County since 1876. He and Mrs. Jackson observed their seventieth wedding anniversary Nov. 20. Survivors include twelve children, seventy-two grandchildren, ninety-six great-grandchildren and one great-great-grandchild. Dallas Morning News, February 1, 1938.