Emas Barry The Fort Stockton Pioneer, of which Mr. Barry is editor and publisher, is one of the best edited and best written papers in the state. The character of its news and editorial column and the influence of its contents rank the paper far above the position usually occupied by the smaller journals of the state, and its position is well indicated by the fact that its circulation enters into thirty-seven states of the Union, and it is also read in Canada, Mexico, Central America, and in Cuba. The editor and owner, Mr. Barry, is a man of exceptional education, and has unusual qualities, both as an editor and as a citizen. He has been identified with Fort Stockton for about four years, but previous to that was well known in the newspaper life of Kentucky. Elias Barry was born in Sumner county, Tennessee, November 15, 1849, and when he was seven years of age his parents moved to Benton, Kentucky, which state was his regular home until January, 1909. He then came to Texas, and for the first fifteen months was proprietor and editor of the Colorado Citizen. He then sold out and moved to Fort Stockton, where he bought his present business. The Pioneer office is thoroughly equipped with modern facilities for newspaper and general printing business and is quartered in a fine two-story stone business block, which Mr. Barry built especially for the office. As a boy, he was reared in Kentucky, attended public schools there, and at the age of sixteen began his practical career. He had few resources and not enough money to take him continuously through school to the point which he desired as his educational goal. He worked on a farm until he was nineteen, and then attended the Marshall county Seminary ten months. After that, he taught each year in his home county for five months and for another five months attended school. He kept this up for five years, and at the end of that period was principal of the Marshall County Seminary, and was then elected county school superintendent. After serving two terms in that office, he was chosen county judge, an office he held for one term of four years. He then went on the road as a traveling salesman, and was in commercial life six years. Twenty months of that period were spent in Alaska, after which he returned to Kentucky and engaged in the newspaper business in his old home town. He first bought and was editor and proprietor of the Marshal County Democrat, and subsequently of the Ben- ton Tribune, continuing to be identified with journalism until his removal to Texas. During that time he served one term in the Kentucky legislature. Mr. Barry was married in Paducah, Kentucky, August 22, 1877, to Miss Laura O. Paine, daughter of Thomas P. Paine of Paducah. The three children (two sons and one daughter) of their marriage were: Thomas J. and Robert B., both deceased, and Mrs. J. L. Mitchell, a resident of Fort Stockton, where her husband is a contractor and builder. Mr. and Mrs. Barry are active members of the Christian church, he serving as elder and as superintendent of the Sunday school, while Mrs. Barry is a member of the Ladies' Aid Society. Mr. Barry has also for forty-two years been a member of the Masonic order, and his wife is affiliated with the Eastern Star. His other fraternities are the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and the Knights of Pythias. He served one year as secretary of the Fort Stockton Commercial Club and is now postmaster of Fort Stockton. He is one of the party fighters in the Democratic organization, and it is noteworthy that he was one of the original Wilson men and advocated the nomination of that scholar and statesman through the columns of the Pioneer. Mr. Barry finds his best recreation in the newspaper business and in the hard work connected with it. He is a great mixer socially and is one of the most popular men in Fort Stockton and vicinity. Herman H Butz County treasurer of Pecos county, Mr. Butz is one of the well-known business men of Fort Stockton; was for a number of years associated with Mr. James Rooney in merchandising, and now does a large business in general real estate and insurance lines. He belongs to the old, substantial German stock, an element which had done so much for the development and enterprise of Texas, especially in the south and southwest, and he himself well represents the solid characteristics of his race. Herman H. Butz was born in one of the chief centers of German colonization in Texas, at New Braunfels, July 12, 1876. His father was Theodore Butz, who was born in Germany, and came to Texas when a young man, following various occupations and during the Civil war serving as a Confederate soldier. He was a member of the Knights of Honor and well known in his community. His death occurred in 1883, at the age of forty years. He married, in Texas, Augusta Koehler, who was also born in Germany, and she now makes her home at San Marcos, Texas. Of four children, Herman H. was the first, and the other sons and daughters also live in this state. Herman H. Butz had his early education in the public schools, and at eighteen years began for himself. He came out to Fort Stockton, took a clerkship in a store, worked one year at a salary, and then joined Mr. James Rooney and bought out the mercantile business which has since been conducted and is now known as the Rooney Mercantile Company. Mr. Butz was associated actively with the management of this concern for about ten years, and at the end of that time became interested with several other local business men in the organization of the First State Bank of Stockton. He held the office of cashier in that institution for six years, at the end of which time he resigned, and since then has managed his private investment, and also has an office for general real estate, insurance, and investment business. As a Democrat, Mr. Butz has been an influential leader in this part of the state, and at the present time is serving his fifth consecutive term in the office of county treasurer. He is also president of the school board, having been connected with the board for ten years, and at one time was secretary. He is a member of the Commercial Club, and, besides his other interests, has for the past five years held the office of local observer for the weather bureau at Fort Stockton. This work, through its practical scientific features, has interested Mr. Butz very much. He was married in Fort Stockton, December 20, 1898, to Agnes Rooney, a daughter of Francis Rooney, the old pioneer of Fort Stockton. Mr. and Mrs. Butz are the parents of five children, four sons and one daughter, namely: Francis, Karl Marvin, Walter, and Mary Agues. Mrs. Butz and her children are members of the Catholic church, while Mr. Butz was reared in the Episcopal church. He is active in the Woodmen of the World, having served as clerk for several years, then in the position of banker, and is now one of the board of managers.     Charles T. Haltom  County attorney of Pecos county, since 1908, Mr. Haltom is one of the able young members of the Texas bar. In the law lie has exceptional ability, has shown it in all the business which has been entrusted to his care, and along with this ability he also maintains some of the best ideals of the legal profession. His honor and personal integrity have never been impeached during his professional career, and his public spirit and friendly helpfulness are among the other factors which make him one of the most popular citizens of Fort Stockton. Mr. Haltom was born in Brackettville, Texas, January 7, 1883, and has spent all his life in the state. He attended the public schools of San Antonio, and graduated from the high school of that city and later attended the University of Texas at Austin, where he was graduated in the law department in 1906. At the intervals of schooling he worked to acquire means to further his education and he really paid his way through university. Graduating in the law, he spent several months in mining in Arizona, after which he returned to San Antonio, and set himself up in the practice of law. A year later he moved out to Fort Stockton, and has since had his practice in this county. In June, 1908, he was appointed county attorney, and in November, 1908, was elected to his first term, now serving out the third elective term of office. Mr. Haltom was married in Fort Stockton, January 18. 1911, to Miss Minnie Thornbury, daughter of J. W. Thornbury of Pecos county. He and his wife are members of the Christian church, and fraternally he is affiliated with the Masons, the Knights of Pythias and the Woodmen of the World, also with the Loyal American. He is now Worshipful Master of the Masonic Lodge, and patron of the Eastern Star, has held office in the Knights of Pythias, and is one of the managers of the Woodmen of the World. As a member of the Fort Stockton Commercial Club he exerts much influence to advance the business interests of the town. He is an independent Democrat, and is an influential factor in local affairs. While filling the office of prosecuting attorney he served as principal of Mexican School from 1909 to 1912, inclusive. For his diversions he is fond of hunting, fishing and the quieter amusements of home and society. Concerning his native state, he believes that Texas has some of the best laws to be found on the statute books of any state and has a splendid commercial future. He also believes that it is in the beginning of a fast growing period in population, resources and wealth, and especially does he believe this true of West Texas. Shipton Parke President of the First State Bank of Fort Stockton, of which he was one of the organizers, Shipton Parke easily ranks as one of the largest stockmen and ranchers in Pecos county, and as the possessor and manager of large industrial and financial resources is a man whose leadership and activities are very closely identified with the solid prosperity of his home community. Shipton Parke is a Kentuckian by birth, born in Madison county of that State, March 10, 1848, a son of Hezekiah and Elizabeth (Cruve) Parke. The parents were native Kentuckians, and came to Texas in 1853 when the son, Shipton, was twelve years of age. The father was a farmer, and contractor and builder, a prominent member in his Masonic Lodge, devoted to the cause of the Baptist church, and had an influential place in political affairs. His death occurred in 1884 at the age of about seventy years. His wife was also a devout member of the Baptist church, and she died in 1871, when about fifty years of age, and they are laid side by side in the Masonic graveyard in Gonzalez, Texas. Of their ten children, Shipton was the fifth. Shipton Parke was reared to manhood in Texas, had his early education in private schools up to the time he was seventeen and then was introduced to practical affairs by work on his father's farm. Leaving home he took up the battle of life on his own responsibility and earned his first money by varied occupations of freighting, ranching and any other honest toil that came in his way. During these years he several times accompanied large herds of cattle over the trail to Kansas, and has known all the interesting phases of the cattle industry since the days of the free range down to the present modern stock farm. For three years he was in the employ of the Houston boys in the Panhandle, and then in 1883 came out to Pecos county and was employed by the well known rancher J. D. Houston for about eight years. At the end of that time he was far enough along to begin operations for himself, and since then the career of Shipton Parke is a matter of common knowledge to all the stockmen of the state. His largest ranch is thirty miles east of Stockton and contains about fifty thousand acres of land. His headquarters are equipped with all the modern improvements for raising and handling cattle and other live stock. Mr. Parke was one of the organizers of the First State Bank of Fort Stockton, and has since been its president. He was also one of the organizers of the First National Bank in this city, and also has a large share of its stock. In Fort Stockton, on February 26, 1896, he married Miss Emma Lea Shelton, a daughter of Gabriel Shelton, who was formerly a resident of Illinois. The marriage of Mr. and Mrs. Parke was celebrated in the old government guardhouse at Fort Stockton. Their four children, two sons and two daughters, are Iva, deceased; Gladys, Shipton V. and Chester. Mr. Parke and wife are members of the Presbyterian church, and he is affiliated with the Fort Stockton Commercial Club. His politics is Democratic, and on public questions, as well as in business affairs, he has always been noted for his ready and effective utterance of his opinions and convictions, and such has been his success that his judgment is relied upon implicitly by all who seek it or are sufficiently within his friendship to be accorded the privilege of his advice and counsel. Mr. Parke served as county commissioner of Pecos county for one term. He is fond of all kinds of social amusements and outdoor sports, particularly baseball.   James Rooney The career of James Rooney briefly told in the following paragraphs is a story of a man who started out as a boy in subordinate capacity, becoming a clerk and general utility man until he had acquainted himself with every detail of the business, and since then his progress has been such that the Rooney Mercantile Company of which he is the head is the largest establishment of the kind in Pecos county. It is in fact a regular city department store, and offers the people of Fort Stockton and vicinity a larger stock of goods and better selection than can be found anywhere outside of the largest cities of the state. Another noteworthy fact in connection with the career of Jim Rooney, as he is popularly known, is the "good-will" which has been hardly a less important factor in his success than his ability as a merchant. He possesses completely the confidence and esteem of every citizen of any consequence in Pecos county, and is a man whose prosperity has never been accompanied by envy on the part of his competitors. James Rooney is one of the oldest native sons of Pecos county, where he was born September 27, 1873, about seven years before the first line of railroad was constructed through this portion of Texas, and several years before the Indians had finally ceased their hostilities in west Texas. His father, Francis Rooney, was a pioneer whose name deserves to be long remembered in Pecos county. Francis Rooney was an Irishman by birth, and when a young man came to Texas in 1868, went out to the extreme west frontier, and became identified with cattle raising and farming in Pecos county. Throughout his career there he was active politically and at one time served as county commissioner. He was a loyal member of the Catholic church and popular both as a business man and citizen. He was a member of the first commissioners court of Pecos county, and during his administration the first jail and courthouse were built in the county. He was an Indian fighter. Residence in this section of Texas during the sixties and seventies necessitated service as a militiaman, and more than once he joined the state rangers in pursuit and battle with the raiding savages. His death occurred in 1890 when he was sixty-three years of age, and he was buried in Pecos county. He married Miss Jennie McCarthy, who was also a native of Ireland, but they were married in Texas. She makes her home in Fort Stockton with her son James, and is a venerable old lady, and a devout member of the Catholic church. Of the eight children in the Rooney family, six are now living, all married and all having their homes at Fort Stockton or vicinity, as follows: John Rooney, in the drug business; Frank Rooney, who is county and district clerk; William Rooney, cashier of the First State Bank of Fort Stockton; Mrs. Joseph Richardson; Mrs. H. H. Butz; and James. James Rooney has been a resident of Pecos county all his life, and his early education was attained in the local schools, after which he entered St. Mary's College at San Antonio. Returning from school to Fort Stockton, he began his career as a school teacher, an occupation he followed for two years, and at the age of twenty took a place as clerk with Mr. H. Koehler, and remained a salesman in his store for about one year until the proprietor's death. He then went to Alpine and worked for C. H. Larkin in a similar capacity for another year. Returning to Fort Stockton he and H. H. Butz formed a partnership and bought the old Koehler store, conducting it under the firm name of Rooney & Butz until 1904. In that year Mr. Rooney bought out his partner, and continued the establishment alone until 1910. In that year was organized and incorporated the Rooney Mercantile company, easily the largest concern of the kind in this part of the state. The Rooney Mercantile- Company occupies with its stock of goods a floor space- and warehouses, including many thousand square feet, employs a large number of clerks, and other workers- and does an extensive retail and wholesale business. Everything to be found in a first class city department store is included in the stock, and the policy of the concern which has brought it so much success is- the giving of an adequate service in return for every purpose. Mr. Rooney besides being the head of the Rooney Mercantile Company is also vice president of the Fort Stockton State Bank. He was married in Fort Stockton to Effie McDonald,, of Pecos county. Their three sons and three daughters are: Phillip M., Annie B., Jennie L., Donald W. , Dorothy, and James, Jr.   Mr. Rooney is a broadminded and liberal Catholic in religion and gives his support generously to all religious and philanthropic enterprises. He is affiliated with the Benevolent and Protective-Order of Elks, the Woodmen of the World, the Masons from Blue Lodge to Chapter, and is president of the Fort Stockton Commercial Club. A worker for Democratic success, Mr. Rooney has the distinction of being- the first citizen chosen to the office of the city of Fort Stockton, and he is now mayor as the first and only executive of the city. He has served as a member of the school board and has also been on the board of county commissioners. Among the diversions he is very fond of baseball, and enjoys everything in social life that is wholesome and entertaining. He is owner of large real estate properties in the city and vicinity and without doubt is the most influential man either in business or public affairs in Fort Stockton.    John H. Highsmith   . Now proprietor of a transfer, storage, ice, and feed business at Fort Stockton, Mr. Highsmith is one of the progressive young business men of west Texas. He began his career as a hard-working clerk at a meager salary, and is now one of the influential men of Fort Stockton. John H. Highsmith was born in Lampasas, Texas, January 8, 1876, a son of Henry A. and Sallie High- smith. He was the fifth in a family of seven children. His early education was in the public schools of Round Rock, and at fifteen years he began his own career, when he took a place in a general store and worked as clerk for one year at a salary of thirty-five dollars per month and board. He then went into a hardware store, where he spent nearly two years, after which he came out to west Texas and was introduced to the life of this country by eight months of work on a ranch. He returned home, and then began buying and selling stock on his own account. He was later in the mule and horse business for several years, after which he managed the ice business at Hutto, where he remained for about two years. In 1908 he came to Fort Stockton to close up the estate of G. H. Cato, his brother-in-law, and has remained with this place ever since. He set up in the contracting business for the construction of streets and highroads, and has constructed nearly all the made streets in Fort Stockton and nearly every wagon road in Pecos county. From the contracting business he got into his present line, and now handles a complete line of stock food supplies, has a storage warehouse, and deals in ice and does a general transfer and heavy hauling business. The sign on all his buses, '' We never miss a train,'' is indicative of the spirit of punctuality and promptness which has characterized Mr. Highsmith's entire business career. His church is the Presbyterian, and he is affiliated with the Woodmen of the World and the Knights of Pythias, belongs to the Fort Stockton Commercial Club and the Fort Stockton Club, and is one of the active workers in the Democratic ranks. At the present time he is serving as city pound officer. Baseball is his favorite diversion, and he is a broad-minded man, who takes an interest in everything that concerns the welfare and wholesome conditions in his home town. John Valentine  Now residing at his home in Fort Stockton at the age of eighty years, John Valentine is one of the venerable pioneers of Texas. His experience in this state begins with his service in the United States, army before the Civil war, he was a Confederate soldier, and for years drove stage on the great stage route between San Antonio and El Paso. He is well known to all the old-timers, who were familiar with west Texas before the railroad era, and in his present home town he is one of the popular and esteemed citizens. John Valentine was born in Germany, February 14, 1833, had his education in the public schools of that country, and then learned the baker's trade. At the age of sixteen he left home and came to the United States settling in New York City, which remained his home for about seven years and during that time he worked at his trade. He then enlisted in 1857 in the army, and during the first three years of his service was in New Mexico, after which in 1859 he came to Texas. When the Civil war broke out he enlisted in the Confederate army, went through the war as a soldier of the South, and was a participant in many campaigns and engagements and saw much hard service. He was wounded only once, and after the war be became a member of the San Antonio police force for about one year. He then took work as a stage driver on the mail route between San Antonio and El Paso, and drove the old mail coaches over the long trail of seven hundred miles day after day. After about a year he was made a station keeper for the stage line, being located at Leon- holes, for about three years, after which he came to Fort Stockton as one of the early settlers about this old military post and settlement. Since then he has followed various lines of occupation, and for more than thirty years has been janitor of the courthouse at Fort Stockton. In 1911 he retired from business and is now living quietly at his home. Mr. Valentine was married in Austin, Texas, June 6, 1874 to Maggie Wilcox, daughter of O. W. Wilcox of Austin. Mrs. Valentine is one of the worthy Texas women and is the mother of a large family of sons and daughters, who do her credit for their careful training. The twelve children, five sons and seven daughters, are as follows: John W. and Thomas J., both deceased; Mary, wife of John Griffith; Edwin P., who is married; Maggie, wife of Thomas Pope; Lizzie, Alma, Maud, Ozwin W., all at home; Myrtle, wife of Peter Paul; and Sylvanns B. and Jewell Z., both at home. Mr. Valentine is a Catholic in religion and his wife belongs to the Christian church. He is a Democrat, but has taken no active part in political affairs.