Colonel R.W. Duke [Carte de Viste]
Name/Title
Colonel R.W. Duke [Carte de Viste]Description
Carte de visite by "G.W. Davis, / 821 Broad Street / RICHMOND, VA. / WASHINGTON DC" of "Uncle R.W. Duke / Sunny Side / July 7, 1880." This photo was removed from an album belonging to Rosa B Duke (niece of Colonel R W Duke).Context
The Franco-Texan Land Company, chartered under the laws of Texas on August 4, 1876, owned about 600,000 acres of land in Parker, Palo Pinto, Stephens, Callahan, Shackelford, Mitchell, Taylor, Nolan, Jones, and Fisher counties. The company had its origin in a land grant made by the Texas legislature to the Memphis, El Paso and Pacific Railroad. The charter, granted in 1856, authorized the building of a railroad from a point on the eastern boundary of the state between Sulphur Fork and the Red River to a point on the Rio Grande opposite or near the city of El Paso. The Civil War suddenly halted all operations, and the company could do no more than retain its corporate form for the duration of the war. For the next fifteen years, successive presidents were Sam H. Milliken of Weatherford; Henry P. du Bellet of Paris, France; V. G. Frost of Palo Pinto; A. Chaptive of Paris, France; R. W. Duke and A. J. Hood of Weatherford, Texas; and George P. Levy of Paris, France. With the gradual increase in the value of Texas land, the Franco-Texan Land Company developed into something of a bonanza for the French and American directors, who bought stock certificates for a few cents on the dollar and conspired to riddle the company's coffers. The losers were the French peasants who had invested their life savings in the Memphis, El Paso and Pacific bonds. In 1896, after years of local rivalry and dissension, the charter of the Franco-Texan Land Company expired by limitation. On request, the legislature allowed the company three additional years to liquidate its assets and conclude its business.Category
The Handbook of Texas