Around Town

He may have been the wealthiest man to set foot in Ennis. Born in London, Col. Edward Howland Robinson Green, nicknamed “Ned,” was educated in New York and Chicago before heading south in 1892 to take control of the Texas Midland Railroad, a soon-to-be lucrative family investment.

The corner of Baylor and North Dallas is where Gerald Weatherall, Sr.’s fourth branch of Eternal Rest Funeral Homes is located. And, coming in 2022, they will have a new home in Ennis.

Tina Perkins, the personable office manager, says “we will soon have a new location in town.” Eternal Rest will call 400 East Loggins Street their home. It has been formally known as Jones Funeral Home.

One of the Ennis Post Office’s earliest known mail carriers was Ambrose (“A.B.”) Ross. Born in Tennessee in 1864 he moved to Ennis in 1891. According to the Ennis Weekly Local, Ross served as a teacher in Alma and Palmer before accepting employment by the U.S. Mail Service at Ennis in 1906 as one of the facility’s very first carriers.

Ross remained with the Ennis Post Office for 27 years, retiring in 1933. He died in 1941 at age 77, survived by his wife of 46 years, the former Pattie Bomer of Kaufman, and their nine children.

Sports weren’t integrated in 1931 but that didn’t stop a local team, the Ennis Colored Eagles, from establishing a stellar reputation. The team’s games were often featured in the Ennis Daily News as well as in Dallas papers. Coached by C.C. Stevenson, a Christmas Day battle with the Terrell Colored Tigers gave the so-called “Negro Eleven” a pounding 54-7 win. The Eagles’ star at the time was a player with the last name of Steed, a 230- lb fullback who made a 90-yard run, three 50-yard runs and a 40-yard jaunt during the game.