Devin R. Pipes Collection

Tarrant County Archives > Holdings > Named Collections > P > Pipes, Devin R.

BIOGRAPHICAL NOTE

Provided by Devin R. Pipes

Nicholas "Uncle Nick" Pearson (24 April 1856 - 19 September 1937)

Nicholas Pearson was born April 24, 1856 in Hawkins County, Tennessee to John H. Pearson and Minerva (Greene) Pearson. Pearson was born with a form of dwarfism and he was well known because of his small stature. When he was fully grown he was 40 inches tall, weighed 58 pounds and wore a No. 8 child's size shoe. Pearson left Tennessee with his parents, four sisters, and two brothers in 1870, traveling by wagon to Missouri where the family lived for two years before moving again and settling in the Grapevine, Texas area. Pearson was lovingly referred to as "Uncle Nick" and became known as Tarrant County's smallest farmer. Pearson lived with his sister Mary (Pearson) Sanders both in Dallas and in Grapevine. Pearson was popular with children - because he was their size they regarded him as a playmate. Pearson was a member of the Cottonwood Baptist Church and became a member of the Grapevine Baptist Church when it merged with Cottonwood. A 1901 Grapevine Sun article states that Pearson at that time was thought to be the smallest man in the state. Pearson never married and turned down many offers to join various circus sideshows because he enjoyed living and farming in Texas. Pearson passed away on September 19, 1937 at age 81 after an illness (chronic myocarditis) of two years and was buried in the Grapevine Cemetery. One of Pearson's suit coats is on permanent display at the Grapevine Historical Museum.

Lewis Westmoreland Jones, Jr., undated 

Pictured: Lewis Westmoreland Jones, Jr., undated

SCOPE AND CONTENTS

The Devin R. Pipes Collection contains originals and copies of clippings, photographs,  records, and documents. These materials are related to family members Nicholas Pearson and Lewis Westmoreland Jones, Jr., Tarrant County Judges, Tarrant County Sheriff's Office, Tarrant County election records, Tarrant County appointment and election registers, and other documents pertaining to Tarrant County history.

Materials in this collection consist of the following:

Materials related to Nick Pearson:

  • Nicholas Pearson, Diminutive and 76, Playmate of Grapevine Tots, Fort Worth Star Telegram clipping, May 8, 1932
  • Presenting Tarrant County's Smallest Farmer, Nick Pearson, Fort Worth Star Telegram clipping, June 14, 1925
  • Relative of Nick Pearson, photograph, (April 24, 1856-September 19, 1937)
  • Nicholas "Uncle Nick" Pearson standing outside plant covered house, photograph, undated
  • Betty Pearson Berry, Nicholas Pearson, Ruth Pearson Swindell, and Mary Catherine Pearson Sanders in Grapevine, photograph, undated
  • Nicholas Pearson studio portrait as young man, photograph, undated
  • Nicholas "Uncle Nick" Pearson's suit on display at the Grapevine Historical Society Museum, photograph, undated
  • J. M. Pearson, T. G. Swindell's Brother, Nicholas Pearson and Ruth Pearson Swindell, photograph, undated
  • Nicholas "Uncle Nick" Pearson at hist home near Grapevine TX, with unidentified woman, photograph, undated
  • Nicholas "Uncle Nick" Pearson standing with his second cousin William Harvey Amyx and James Samuel Amyx sitting on porch, photograph, 1930s, undated
  • Mary Catherine Pearson Sanders and her brother Nicholas "Uncle Nick" Pearson, photograph, 1930s, undated

Materials related to Lewis Westmoreland Jones Jr.:

  • L.W. Jones Jr., Oath of Office for Justice of the Peace and Ex Officio Notary Public, Tarrant County, Texas, 1880, facsimiles, 2020
  • Lewis Westmoreland Jones Jr., Land Grant Map, Texas General Land Office, Texas, facsimiles, 2020
  • Lewis Westmoreland Jones Jr., Land Grant, Tarrant County, Texas, 1837-1857, facsimiles, 2020
  • Lewis Westmoreland Jones Jr., photograph, undated, facsimile, 2020 (image shown)
  • Records of Marks and Brands, Tarrant County, Texas, 1885, includes two listings for L.W. Jones from 1885 for horse and cattle brands, facsimile, 2020

Materials related to Tarrant County:

  • Arlington Visitor's Guide, published by Arlington Convention and Visitors Bureau, 2022
  • Downtown News-Tribune, May 9, 1983
  • Election returns for Tarrant County Superintendent of Public Schools, 1888, 1890
  • List of Superintendents of Public Instruction of Tarrant County, 1888-1936
  • List of Tax Assessor Collectors of Tarrant County, 1935-2022
  • Newspaper clippings about Fort Worth history, Arlington Downs, World War II, the Wright Brothers, and the Texas and Pacific building, 1971-1990
  • Remembering Fort Worth, A Sesquicentennial Calendar, 1986, published by Senior Citizen Centers of Greater Tarrant County, Inc.
  • Fort Worth Union Depot / Santa Fe Depot at 1501 Jones Street (extant), Fort Worth, photograph, circa 2005
  • Raymond McDonald Hatcheries building at 2830 Evans Ave. (not extant), Fort Worth, photograph, 1956
  • Tarrant County Courthouse from Main St. looking north, photograph, circa 2005

Digital files of clippings, documents, and images related to:

Tarrant County Tax Assessors-Collectors

(note: Assessors are identified with (A), Collectors are identified with (C), and the combined Assessor-Collectors are identified with (A-C).)

  • John A. Hurst (A-C), 1854-1856, 1860-1864, 1865-1866
  • Lawrence Gibben Alexander Steel, Sr. (A-C), 1856-1858
  • John Peter Daniel Muhlinghaus (A-C), 1858-1860
  • Andrew Jackson Chambers (A), 1876-1880
  • Tobe Johnson (C), 1880-1882
  • William Davis Hall (A), 1880-1886
  • James Frank Elliston (C), 1882-1886
  • James Wilson Robinson (A), 1886-1890
  • Julius Ennis Murray (C), 1886-1890
  • Dr. Joseph Benjamin Boyd (C), 1890-1892
  • Enoch Harding (A), 1890-1894
  • John Franklin Hovenkamp (C), 1892-1896
  • Ed Hovenkamp (A), 1896-1898
  • John W. Burford (C), 1896-1898
  • Thomas Dick Hovenkamp (A), 1898-1902
  • Joseph Kimbrough Winston, Sr. (C) 1898-1902
  • William Lindsay Sweet, Sr. (A), 1902-1906
  • John Wiley Walker (C), 1902-1906
  • Robert Lee Tillery (A), 1906-1910
  • R. M. "Bob" Davis (C), 1906-1912
  • G. W.  "Geo" Bell (A), 1910-1914
  • W. E. "Ed" Elliot (C), 1912-1916
  • George Walter Prichard (A), 1914-1918
  • Marvin Scott (C), 1916-1920
  • Samuel David Shannon (A), 1918-1922
  • Dean Bell (C), 1920-1924
  • Lee Andrew Freeman (A), 1922-1926
  • John Pengilly (C), 1924-1928
  • James Lester Wright (A), 1926-1932
  • John Bourland (C) 1932-1924, (A-C) 1935-1948
  • Rube J. Williams (A), 1932-1934
  • Reed Stewart (A-C), 1948-1984
  • June Knepper Garrison (A-C), 1984-2000
  • Betsy Price (A-C), 2001-2011
  • Ronald Jack "Ron" Wright (A-C), 2011-2018
  • Wendy Burgess (A-C), 2018-present

Tarrant County Judges

  • Seaborne Gilmore, 1850-1852, 1856-1858
  • James Tracy Moorehead, 1854-1856
  • Colonel William M. Quayle, 1858-1861
  • Robert Watt Tannahill, 1861-1862
  • Stephen Terry, 1862-1866
  • William Bonaparte "Bony" Tucker Sr., 1866-1867
  • Benjamin Franklin Barkley, 1867-1873
  • John Simpson Morris, 1873-1876
  • Charles Caldwell Cummings, 1876-1880
  • Robert Emmet Beckham, 1880-1884
  • Sam Furman, 1884-1888
  • William Dawson Harris, 1888-1892
  • Robert Gillis Johnson, 1892-1894
  • George Washington Armstrong Sr., 1894-1898
  • Maynard Bartow Harris Sr., 1898-1902
  • Robert Fain Milam, 1902-1906John Lawrence Terrell, 1906-1910
  • Charles Thomas Prewett, 1910-1914 (Civil)
  • Richard E. Bratton, 1910-1914 (Criminal)
  • Jesse Martin Brown, 1914-1918
  • Hugh Lawson Small, 1918-1922
  • Emmett Harry Moore, 1922-1926, 1933-1936
  • Samuel David Shannon, 1927-1930
  • Charles Washington Atkinson, 1931-1932
  • David Thomas "Dave" Miller, 1937-1942
  • Clarence Otto Kraft, 1943-1948
  • Augustus Clay "Gus" Brown, 1949-1958
  • Marvin Bishop Simpson Jr., 1959-1968
  • Howard Lemuel Green, 1968-1974
  • Michael Joseph "Mike" Moncrief, 1975-1986
  • Roy Ewell English, 1987-1990
  • Tommy Joe Vandergriff, 1991-2005
  • Benny Glen Whitley, 2006-2022
  • Tim O'Hare, 2023-current

Tarrant County Election Records - Copied from Texas State Archives

Tarrant County Appointment and Election Registers - Copied from Texas State Archives

Accessibility Notice: Due to the age and complexity of the original material, these linked PDFs are made up of scanned images. If you need assistance accessing the content in one of the documents, please contact the Archives at 817-884-3272 or archives@tarrantcountytx.gov.