Marcus & Elizabeth Cullum [Cabinet Card] [1 of 2]
Name/Title
Marcus & Elizabeth Cullum [Cabinet Card] [1 of 2]Description
Circa 1891 cabinet card by “J.H. Webster, Dallas, Texas” of Reverend Marcus Hiram Cullum and his wife Elizabeth Jane Davis Cullum.Context
Reverend Marcus Hiram Cullum moved from Tennessee in 1873 with his wife and 8 children. They settled on ten acres, with their home located at the current corner of Cedar Springs and Sale Streets, where The Renaissance on Turtle Creek apartments now sits. At the time, the area had no schools, churches, or stores, but it did have many oak trees and grass, and because of this was called "Oak Lawn". A Dallas pioneer, Cullum preached to a gathering of his neighbors on Sundays under the oak trees on the hillside overlooking Turtle Creek. Later, he became a charter member and the first official pastor of the Oak Lawn Methodist Church, still located at the corner of Oak Lawn and Cedar Springs. The photographer, John Hamilton Webster, first set foot in Dallas in 1873, intending to relocate from the town of Marshall some 140 miles to the east. Unimpressed by what he would later describe as "an aggregation of saloons, gambling halls, variety shows and the like," he would return to Marshall, not coming back to the town he would make his permanent home until 1882. Suitably encouraged by what he saw as the town's forward development, he worked out of Hillyer's old studio before setting up shop at 804 Elm Street in an upstairs apartment of about 50 x 100 feet. Alongside his photography business, Webster was also active in real estate speculation, being a part of the first boom in 1885 and evidently transacting real estate deals inside the photography studio. An April 1888 Dallas Morning News advertisement has Webster "offering "to every housewife, clerk, wage-worker, etc., who are not able to pay cash, an opportunity to buy a home." Prospective clients interested in either photographs or real estate were thus encouraged to call upon J.H. Webster, H.P.P., at 804 Elm Street in Downtown Dallas. In 1889, following an unsuccessful run for mayor, Webster partnered with Charles O. Wood and moved to pursue real estate full time, with the newly christened Webster-Wood Real Estate and Guarantee Company opening for business one street south at 829 Main.Category
Texas in Focus
Bayou Bend