Maurice H. Dowell:

An Inventory of Family Papers at the Texas State Archives, [after1849]-1937, undated

Biographical Sketches

Greensville S. Dowell

Greensville S. Dowell was born September 1, 1822 in Albemarle County, Virginia, the son of James and Frances (Dalton) Dowell. He attended local schools and then went to the University of Louisville (1845 - 1846), and Jefferson Medical College, receiving the M.D. degree in 1847. He practiced in Como, Mississippi; Memphis, Tennessee; and in 1852 he came to Gonzales, Texas. He moved to Galveston in 1865, where he remained until his death in 1881. He is remembered chiefly as dean and professor of Galveston Medical College, which later became the Medical Branch of the University of Texas.

In 1849, Greensville Dowell married Sarah Zalinda White, daughter of John H. and Mildred Terrell (Satterwhite) White. Three children were born to the union: Shelton Clark, John Henry White, and Alice Dowell. The marriage was dissolved, and in 1868 he married Mrs. Laura Baker Hutchinson of Galveston.

Greensville Dowell was resourceful and inventive in the field of medicine. He invented a number of medical appliances, and published The Radical Cure of Hernia (1873), in which he described the operation which bears his name, and Yellow Fever and Malarial Diseases, Embracing a History of the Yellow Fever in Texas (1876), in which he suggested that yellow fever was transmitted by mosquitoes. He founded the Galveston Medical Journal in 1869, the first medical journal in Texas.

Shelton C. and Lizzie H. (Gillespie) Dowell

Shelton Clark Dowell was born in Como, Mississippi in 1850. He grew up in Gonzales, Texas, and lived in many small Texas towns and ranches, pursuing a number of short-lived business ventures. He married Lizzie H. Gillespie of Rancho, Texas, September 24, 1879. During the six years of their marriage they had six children: Winfield Scott Hancock (born 1880), Shelton G. (1881?), John Winston (July 5, 1883-October 19, 1884), Maurice H. (1884-1944), and Dora Alice (born 1885?). Shelton Dowell traveled frequently and wrote affectionate letters to his wife and children. He died after a brief illness in 1885. Letters from the time show that they lived at Rancho, La Vernia, Plum Creek Ranch, Zedler's Mill, Foster Ranch, and finally Luling. Lizzie Dowell lived in Luling for the rest of her life, raised the children there, and finally died June 14, 1934.

Maurice H. Dowell

Maurice H. Dowell, youngest son of Shelton Clark and Lizzie Dowell, was born in 1884. His parents built a house in Luling, Texas the year that he was born, and, except for his service in World War I, he appears to have lived in Luling his entire life. He served two terms as a State Representative in the Texas Legislature (1931-32 and 1939). Except for a notice for a legislative committee meeting, his papers reflect on two of his activities: The East End Hose Company (of volunteer firefighters), and the Benton I. McCarley American Legion Post.

Scope and Contents of the Papers

Papers are correspondence, financial records, organizational records, and medical records, dating from after 1849 to 1937, and undated. These papers reflect the existence of three generations of the Dowell family, beginning with Greensville S. Dowell (1822-1881), who came to Texas in 1852; then Shelton Clark Dowell (1850-1885), his son; and finally Maurice H. Dowell (1884-1944), his grandson.

The papers of Greensville S. Dowell include a brief autobiography describing his life up to his first marriage in 1849, a notebook of medical matters, and a scrapbook of printed materials mostly related to the practice of medicine and to spelling reform. There is nothing in the papers about his married life with Sarah Zalinda White, the births of their children, Shelton Clark, John Henry White, and Alice Dowell, or the dissolution of that marriage and his later marriage to Mrs. Laura Baker Hutchinson in 1869.

The papers of Shelton Clark and Lizzie H. (Gillespie) Dowell form the major portion of the collection. The extensive correspondence for the years 1869-1919 and the financial records for 1871-1924 give a well-rounded picture of family life on farms and ranches, and in small towns of central Texas from just after the Civil War to World War I. The letters range from warm family letters and love letters to formal business communications. The financial records include personal accounts, ranch records, small business accounts, and tax records. A major figure in this group of papers is George Washington Littlefield, the half-brother of Sarah (White) Dowell, who was the guardian and financial manager for almost the entire extended family. Littlefield is a famous figure in Texas history, known as a Civil War hero, businessman, cattleman, banker, and a regent of the University of Texas. Over half of the letters come from him, and his name appears frequently in the financial records. The story of the Dowell family is found in these papers: the courtship and marriage in 1879 of Shelton and Lizzie; the births of their six children and deaths of three; Shelton's death in 1885; Lizzie's life in Luling after his death; and finally Lizzie's death in 1934.

The papers of the third generation member, Maurice H. Dowell, show only his involvement in two organizations in Luling: the Benton I. McCarley American Legion Post, and the East End Hose Company. Only a notice of a committee meeting gives a clue to the fact that he was a Texas State Representative for two terms (1931-1932 and 1939). The records, 1920-1937, of the American Legion Post include the charter, minutes, rolls, financial records, a few pieces of correspondence, and printed items about Legion activities. The records of the East End Hose Company, volunteer firefighters in Luling, contain the charter (February 6, 1901), constitution and by-laws, membership rolls, minutes, financial records, and a few items of correspondence from the founding on January 29, 1901, to the end of the organization in 1931, when its property and cash were donated to the City Council of Luling.

Restrictions

Restrictions on Access

None.

Restrictions on Use

Under the Copyright Law of 1996 as amended in 1998, unpublished manuscripts are protected at a minimum through December 31, 2002 or 70 years after the author's death. Researchers are responsible for complying with the Copyright Law.

Related Material

Administrative Information

Preferred Citation

(Identify the item and cite the series), Maurice H. Dowell Family Papers. Archives and Information Services Division, Texas State Library and Archives Commission.

Accession Information

Accession number: 1940/001

Some time prior to March 3, 1941, Maurice Dowell deposited in the Texas State Archives a volume of medical lectures of Greensville Dowell. The Texas State Archives purchased the Dowell Papers from Dudley Dobie before August 31, 1950.

Processing Information

Rama F. Widup, May 1982

Detailed Description of the Records