Wikipedia

Texana A. Castle

Texana A. Castle (née Childress; 1863-1930) was an African-American Baptist, who lived in Bryan, Texas for most of her life. She was affiliated with Baptist missionary projects and founded the Bryans Colored Rescue Home in the mostly African-American community of Boonville, Texas.

Texana A. Castle
Born1865 (1865)
Texas
Died1930 (aged 66–67)
Texas
NationalityAmerican
Other namesT. A. Castles, Texana Childress
Occupation(s)social worker, missionary
Years active1906-1921
Known forfounding the Bryan Colored Rescue Home

Early life edit

Texana A. Childress was born in March 1863 in Texas.[1] Little is known of her early life, other than that she had a brother, J. L. Sample, who also lived in the Cottonwood area near Bryan, Texas.[2] She could read and write, but had not attended school.[1][3] On May 2, 1885 in Bryan, Childress married Jefferson D. Castle,[4] (1855-1940) who had been a slave in Louisiana before moving to Brazos County, Texas and becoming a prominent landholder.[1][5] The couple had 12 children, but only 6 were living by the 1910 census.[4][3]

Career edit

In 1905 there was a call from the African-American community in Bryan to build an industrial school and colored orphans home.[6] In the early part of the following year, the "Fathers and Mothers Protection Society", founded by Castle and located in Bryan obtained a charter from the state.[4][7] Within a month, eleven acres of land had been purchased by the society on Harvey Street, along "the southeast line of the old Boonville town tract".[4] By September, ground had been broken, for the planned institution.[8] A nine-room two-story residence was constructed and the cornerstone was laid by the following summer.[9][10] Castle served as the administrator of the home, but did not live there, as she and her husband were farmers and kept a separate home.[3][11][12]

The Bryan Colored Rescue Home operated as a training institute to teach farming skills and morals to black youths. The residents raised crops for their own use, and planted cotton on rented fields as cash crops.[11][13] Resident managers, which in the early days included Castle's daughter Mary Palmer, lived on site and taught at the school.[14][15] Castle traveled to raise funds for the organization and spoke at many conventions throughout the state, as well as various churches.[16][17][18][19] In 1913, it was reported that six thousand dollars had been raised for the home.[10] After thirty-seven years in Bryan, the couple moved to Big Springs, Texas in the early 1920s.[20]

Death and legacy edit

Castle died in 1930.[4][21] The home she founded continued operating for around a decade after Castle left Bryan, but finally closed in 1933 and the orphans who were residents at that time were relocated.[22]

References edit

Citations edit

  1. ^ a b c U. S. Census 1900, p. 6B.
  2. ^ The Bryan Weekly Eagle 1920, p. 3.
  3. ^ a b c U. S. Census 1910, p. 7B.
  4. ^ a b c d e Page 2010, p. 2.
  5. ^ The Eagle 1940, p. 10.
  6. ^ Page 2010, p. 1.
  7. ^ Odom 1906, p. 2.
  8. ^ The Eagle 1906, p. 3.
  9. ^ The Eagle 1907, p. 3.
  10. ^ a b Bacote 1913, p. 250.
  11. ^ a b Page 2010, p. 4.
  12. ^ U. S. Census 1920, p. 9A.
  13. ^ The Eagle 1909, p. 1.
  14. ^ U. S. Census 1910, p. 2A.
  15. ^ U. S. Census 1920, p. 2A.
  16. ^ Bacote 1913, pp. 249–250.
  17. ^ The Palestine Daily Herald 1910, p. 3.
  18. ^ The Whitewright Sun 1915, p. 9.
  19. ^ The Houston Post 1911, p. 6.
  20. ^ The Bryan Weekly Eagle 1921, p. 4.
  21. ^ U. S. Census 1930, p. 9A.
  22. ^ Page 2010, pp. 7–10.

Bibliography edit

  • Bacote, Samuel William (1913). Who's Who among the Colored Baptists of the United States. Vol. 1. Kansas City, Missouri: Franklin Hudson Publishing Company. OCLC 906004171.
  • Odom, M. H. (August 24, 1906). "B. Y. P. U. Convention". The Eagle. Bryan, Texas. p. 2. Retrieved 21 February 2017 – via Newspapers.com.  
  • Page, Bill (December 11, 2010). "Bryan Orphan Home" (PDF). Texas Research Ramblers. College Station, Texas: Texas Research Ramblers Genealogical Society, Inc. Archived from the original (PDF) on 21 February 2017. Retrieved 21 February 2017.
  • "1900 U. S. Census: Precinct 4, Bryan City, Brazos County, Texas". FamilySearch. Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration. June 12, 1900. p. 6B. NARA T623 roll 1614. Retrieved 21 February 2017.
  • "1910 U. S. Census: Precinct 4, Bryan City, Brazos County, Texas". FamilySearch. Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration. April 25, 1910. pp. 2A, 7B. NARA T624 roll 1529. Retrieved 21 February 2017.
  • "1920 U. S. Census: Precinct 4, Bryan City, Brazos County, Texas". FamilySearch. Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration. January 28, 1920. p. 9A. Retrieved 21 February 2017.
  • "1930 U. S. Census: Precinct 4, Bryan City, Brazos County, Texas". FamilySearch. Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration. April 18, 1930. p. 9A. Retrieved 21 February 2017.
  • "Bryan's Colored Rescue Home". The Eagle. Bryan, Texas. June 29, 1909. p. 1. Retrieved 21 February 2017 – via Newspapers.com.  
  • "Bury Jeff Castle, Well Known Negro Thursday". The Eagle. Bryan, Texas. December 4, 1940. p. 10. Retrieved 21 February 2017 – via Newspapers.com.  
  • "Colored Rescue Home". Palestine, Texas: The Palestine Daily Herald. February 14, 1910. p. 3. Retrieved 21 February 2017 – via Newspapers.com.  
  • "St. John's Encampment". Houston, Texas: The Houston Post. July 30, 1911. p. 6. Retrieved 21 February 2017 – via Newspapers.com.  
  • "(untitled)". The Eagle. Bryan, Texas. September 2, 1906. p. 3. Retrieved 21 February 2017 – via Newspapers.com.  
  • "(untitled)". The Eagle. Bryan, Texas. July 2, 1907. p. 3. Retrieved 21 February 2017 – via Newspapers.com.  
  • "(untitled)". The Bryan Weekly Eagle. Bryan, Texas. October 14, 1920. p. 3. Retrieved 21 February 2017 – via Newspapers.com.  
  • "(untitled)". The Bryan Weekly Eagle. Bryan, Texas. June 1, 1921. p. 4. Retrieved 21 February 2017 – via Newspapers.com.  
  • "(untitled)". Whitewright, Texas: The Whitewright Sun. February 26, 1915. p. 9. Retrieved 21 February 2017 – via Newspaperarchive.com.  
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