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- Monroe Abernathy
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- Monroe G. Abernathy was
born July 1, 1870, in Giles County, Tennessee, and traveled in
Europe, Asia, and Africa before he moved with his father to Coleman
County, Texas, in 1884. He graduated from Vanderbilt University
and was a law graduate of the University of Texas.
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- Mr. Abernathy served as
an officer in Cuba and in the Philippines during the Spanish-American
War. He moved to this area in 1901, and was a Justice of the
Peace in Lubbock from 1902 to 1904, before going into the real
estate and land business.
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- On January 5, 1905, Mr.
Abernathy married Mollie D. Wylie Jarrot, a widow with three
children, Elizabeth, John, and Richard. When he became a civil
engineer with Santa Fe Railroad in 1908, his first job was to
establish townsites along the new railroad. After being asked
by Mr. Ward, engineer for Santa Fe and a real Southern gentleman,
to name some of the towns along the new railroad, Mrs. Abernathy
chose the names of Abernathy and Monroe (New Deal). Mr. Abernathy
left Santa Fe in 1914, but continued to develop townsites and
to promote settling of the land until the end of World War 1.
Mr. Abernathy had a land office in Abernathy for a few years
after the town was established.
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- Monroe G. Abernathy died
May 21, 1962, at the age of ninety-three. During his lifetime,
what was originally a pioneer ranch country became a complex
agricultural and industrial area.
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- Early settlers came in
covered wagons and on trains. Today we have an Interstate highway
through town and an International airport just a few miles away.
A vast prairie to raise cattle, horses, and sheep has disappeared
and the land is now irrigated farm land. Some commerce and industry
has taken part of the land. Pioneer women had a hard life. Today's
women have available fast foods and dishwashers, they own property,
and they have the right to vote. Early settlers taught their
own children to read and write at home. Modern schools provide
today's students the opportunity of an excellent education. Cowchips
for fuel have disappeared and natural gas, oil, and electricity
are used. Trips to Canyon for supplies two or three times a year
and depending on the family garden for food have been replaced
by local mercantile and grocery stores. Now we make two or three
trips to town each day! Getting mail only once a week left the
first settlers with a feeling of being out of touch with the
world. Television, daily mail service, telephones, and instant
news keep us informed of the happenings all over the world.
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