urn:taro:utexas.cah.02145 A Guide to the W. H. Gaston Scrapbook, [ca. 1918-1921] Original EAD encoding by Lauren Algee according to TARO 2 EAD 2002 Editing Instructions. December 2010 Finding aid written in English. Descriptive Summary Gaston, William H., 1840-1927 Gaston, W. H., Scrapbook [ca. 1918-1921] Materials are written in English. 1 vol. Dolph Briscoe Center for American History, The University of Texas at Austin Consisting of a single volume of newspaper clippings, the W. H. Gaston Scrapbook, [ca. 1918-1921], documents the interests of Gaston during the 1910s and 1920s. Biographical Note

An early settler of Dallas, Texas, William Henry Gaston (1840-1927) was born near Prairie Bluff, Alabama, to Robert Kilpatrick and Letitia (Suddeth) Gaston. The family moved to Mississippi and then, 1849, Plentitude, Texas, where Gaston and his brothers attended the Mound Prairie Institute. Gaston served as a captain and purchasing agent in the Confederate Army during the Civil War before returning to Anderson County to farm. After a successful cotton crop, he moved to Dallas with $20,000 in gold and partnered with Aaron C. Camp to open the Gaston and Camp Bank of Dallas, the city’s first permanent bank. One of the city’s first millionaires, Gaston expanded into real estate, merchandising, and general speculation. Only five years after his arrival, the Dallas Herald declared him the most responsible party for Dallas’s transformation into a bona fide city.

Source:

Glover, Robert W. “Gaston, William Henry.” Handbook of Texas Online. Accessed December 13, 2010.

Scope and Contents

Consisting of a single volume of newspaper clippings, the W. H. Gaston Scrapbook, [ca. 1918-1921], documents the interests of Gaston during the 1910s and 1920s. Articles primarily concern deaths in East Texas, particularly in Dallas, but also including Ft. Worth, Waco, Corsicana, and Tyler. Additional clippings chronicle developments in World War I.

 Access Restrictions

This collection is open for research use.

 Index Terms Subjects (Persons) Gaston, William H., 1840-1927 -- Archives Subjects Obituaries -- Dallas. Obituaries -- Texas, East. World War, 1914-1918 -- Newspapers. Places Texas, East -- History -- 20th century -- Sources. Preferred Citation

W. H. Gaston Scrapbook, [ca. 1918-1921], Dolph Briscoe Center for American History, The University of Texas at Austin.

 Processing Information

Basic processing and cataloging of this collection was supported with funds from the National Historical Publications and Records Commission (NHPRC) for the Briscoe Center’s History Revealed: Bringing Collections to Light project, 2009-2011.

 Detailed Description of the Papers Inventory: 3L201 Scrapbook