The WPA Dallas Guide and History Page: 44
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was revealed only casually in a letter to Senator Robert J. Walker of Mississippi,
dated February 1, 1844, wherein he mentioned favoring annexation.
In the voluminous genealogy of the Dallas family there is no reference which
would give credence to the theory that George Mifflin Dallas knew John Neely
Bryan or, at the time of its naming, had any knowledge of the little village of some
forty souls on the Trinity.
Many students of local history, while in agreement upon the origin of the
county's name, point to the fact that there were a number of persons named Dallas
who figured in affairs much nearer Bryan's settlement, and thus were more likely
candidates for the designation of "my friend Dallas" than was Lawyer Dallas in re-
mote Philadelphia.
Colonel J. M. Morphis in his History of Texas from its Discovery and Settlement
(1874) says that, "The town of Dallas was named for Commodore Dallas of the
United States Navy, and the county for George Mifflin Dallas." The commodore
mentioned was Commander Alexander James Dallas, a brother of George Mifflin,
for a time stationed in the Gulf of Mexico combating piracy in these waters. The
colonel did not go into particulars as to the naming of either county or city, but
later revealed that he was "around there [Dallas] in 1846," so that he should have
had benefit of firsthand knowledge.
Another theory is that the town was named either for Walter R. Dallas, who
fought at San Jacinto, or his brother James L. Dallas, one-time Texas Ranger. These
two men were sons of James L. Dallas of Maryland and Elizabeth (Reed) Dallas,
whom he married in Kentucky in 1813. This family settled at Washington-on-the-
Brazos before the Texas Revolution and after the father's death both the boys and
their mother received land grants in McLennan, Hill, and Burleson Counties for
services to the Texas Republic. Their holdings were near enough to those of Bryan
for them to have been known to him.
Still another Dallas who flashed across early history for a brief period could very
logically have been the friend of Bryan for whom the town was named. This man
was Joseph Dallas, who came to Cedar Springs-near Bryan's little village-in
April, 1843, from Washington County, Arkansas, which adjoined Bryan's former
home county of Crawford. A likely supposition is that the two men knew each other
and that Joseph Dallas, upon Bryan's invitation, followed his friend to Texas and
thus became, "unhonored and unsung" and very probably unconcerned at the
time, the man to whom Dallas is indebted for its name.
One-Man Community
During the first few years of Dallas' existence Bryan embodied practically all official
community functions in his own person. He was first postmaster and a notary pub-
lic, and his cabin home, which was also a store selling powder and lead, tobacco
and whiskey, was utilized both as post office and courthouse prior to the formation
of Dallas County and for some time thereafter.
The learned professions began early to be represented. Dr. John Cole and Dr.
W. W. Conover were the first physicians in the district, arriving in 1843, the former
from Arkansas and the latter from Kentucky, both settling at Cedar Springs. Dr.
A. D. Rice appears to have been the first physician in the village itself. John C.
McCoy, an Indianan who became the founder of the Dallas bar, came from Louis-
ville, Kentucky, as field representative for the Peters colonization company, arriv-
ing at the village early in 1845. He had reached New Orleans by going down the
44
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Writers' Program of the Work Projects Administration in the City of Dallas. The WPA Dallas Guide and History, book, 1992; Dallas, Texas. (https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc28336/m1/68/: accessed May 9, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, UNT Digital Library, https://digital.library.unt.edu; crediting UNT Press.