In accordance with an order made by Travis County Judge William Von Rosenberg, Jr. on February 4, 1913, an election was held on March 4th to determine whether or not the voters of the town of Manor wanted to become an incorporated city with the ability to elect their own governing officials and establish their own rules and regulations. Shown here are the results of that election as recorded in the Commissioners Court Minutes; 80 votes for and 35 votes against.
On March 10th Judge Von Rosenberg declared Manor
to be an incorporated city confined to the area detailed by a survey and plat
map that were also recorded in the same book.
Following that, this entry was made;
"In the matter of the Incorporation of the town of Manor;
It is ordered by the
County Judge of Travis County, Texas, that on Tuesday the 15th day
of April, A. D. 1913, between the hours of 8 o’clock A. M. and six o’clock P.
M. at Wm. Roesle Office Building in the town of Manor in Travis County, Texas,
an election be held for the purpose of electing the following officers of and
for said town of Manor, to wit; a Mayor, a Marshal, and five Aldermen.”
“The qualifications of
each voter at said election are as follows, to wit; each shall be a free male
person who has attained the age of twenty-one years, and has resided within the
limits aforesaid for the six months next preceding the day of said election,
and is a qualified elector under the laws of the State of Texas, and each of
the officers to be elected shall possess all of the qualification of such
voters.”
Nelson Houser was appointed to be the presiding officer to
hold the election and was given full power to select the people needed as
Judges and Clerks to assist him in carrying out the election. With their help, he
was authorized to hold the election after the proper notice had been given in
accordance with the manner and period of time required by law. The County Clerk
was directed to provide Mr. Houser with the information and documents necessary
to carry out the judge’s order.
On April 17th
The Austin Statesman newspaper printed the following;
“The first set of city
fathers for Manor were elected Tuesday, as follows; Mayor, J. P. Lockwood; Alderman,
W. H. Wentland, Dr. F. C. Gregg, W. A. Hiller, C. A. Johnson and S. H. E.
Smartt; City Marshal, Henry Lockwood. There was no opposition except for
marshal. The election was very quiet.”
A follow-up article on April 23rd said;
“By today’s mail, provided the trains keep running, the first Mayor of the city of Manor will receive his commission as such officer, signed by William Von Rosenberg, County
Judge. Judge Von Rosenberg prepared the commission yesterday, affixed his
signature and an impressive gold star under the proper seal, after which he
deposited it in the mail, addressed to J. P. Lockwood, Mayor. The County Judge
also signed and sent out certificates of election to the six other officials
whose names follow; W. H. Wentland, F. C. Gregg, W. A. Hiller. S. E. Smartt and
C. A. Johnson, Alderman; Henry J. Lockwood, City Marshal.”
One year later, on
April 7, 1914 all were reelected for a second term with the exception of the
City Marshal who was replaced by Mackey (Mackie) Jester who had previously
served as a Travis County Constable.
told how Manor's first Mayor, Joseph Preston Lockwood, and his wife, Emma Lacker Lockwood, died when a west-bound Houston and Texas Central Train hit their car while it was crossing the railroad tracks in Manor, November 17, 1920.
Sub headlines read;
The November 18th edition of The Statesman newspaper gave these details of the accident;
"The accident in which the aged couple were killed occurred Tuesday afternoon at three o’clock as they were crossing the Texas Central track near the Manor
depot. They were riding in a closed car and had just left the business district
for the Lockwood home on the outskirts of Manor. In attempting to cross the
track ahead of the Texas Central train which was coming from the east they
failed to make the necessary distance and the engine crashed into the rear end
of the automobile hurling the vehicle and its occupants down the track
embankment. A number of persons rushed to the Lockwood’s assistance and pulled
them from the wreckage of the car. Mrs. Lockwood died twenty minutes after the
accident without ever regaining consciousness while her husband survived in a
semi-conscious condition until six o’clock Wednesday morning when he too breathed his last."
A board of inquiry held that same day exonerated the train crew of all responsibility for the accident. It appeared that Mr. Lockwood did not see or hear the train coming. The windows of the car were closed and witnesses said he didn't increase or decrease his speed while crossing the tracks.
News of the tragic accident was carried in many area newspapers, even making front-page headlines as far away as Monroe, Louisiana where their son, Joseph Edwin Lockwood lived.
At the time of the printing of this story it was not yet known in Monroe that J. E. Lockwood's Father had also passed away.
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