Alonzo A. DeAvolen
DE AVOLEN
FATHER MOTHER
Photo Credit: Rosa G. Gonzales
1. Biographical information from Pathfinders of Texas, 1836 - 1846.
2. "Early North Beach Packer kept hides, tallow, discarded meat."
Corpus Christi Caller-Times (June 1, 1952)
EARLY NORTH BEACH PACKER
KEPT HIDES, TALLOW, DISCARDED MEAT
It was a hearty type individual that opened up the west and among the early settlers on the southwestern frontier was Alonzo Alphmer DeAvalon who came to Corpus Christi about 1859.
De Avalon, of French ancestry, was born and raised in Baltimore, Md., and was a student of law and medicine. In his lifetime he authored several books of poetry about Corpus Christi and the surrounding territory.
He and his wife, Cynthia, came to Texas from Tylertown, Miss. Their first child, Helen DeAvalon, was born Oct. 30, 1856, in Palestine, Texas. It was some three years later that they arrived here.
Their second daughter and only other child was named Melissa.
In Corpus Christi, DeAvalon operated a beef packery on North Beach. Some of his descendants tell of the his saving the hides and tallow for sale and discarding the meat. At one time he also operated a grist mill.
Later on he took up stock-raising and ranching on property about 15 miles west of the city. Part of his herd was also pastured on Padre Island.
He was a collector of customs at New Orleans during the Civil War.
Died in 1880s
Mrs. DeAvalon died in 1882 and his husband died three years later.
Melissa DeAvalon married Ben Gibbs, but no children were born of that union. Both died about one hour apart in the yellow fever epidemic of 1867, according to a descendant.
Helen DeAvalon married Benjamin P. Dority Sept. 13, 1873. Dority was a native of Sargentiville, Me., but there are no records of when he came south to settle.
Benjamin and Helen Dority were parents of two daughters, one of whom is still living here. She is Mrs. Eleanor Beynon Gould, 604 Artesia.
The second daughter, Mrs. Nellie Dority Gates, died here in 1948.
Remembers Stories
Mrs. Gould still remembers some of the stories which her parents passed on.
“My mother,†she said,†often related the first experiences of her parents when they moved to Corpus Christi. At that time there was only one house to rent, and that was just north of Well Bros. store.â€
Descendants of Alonzo DeAvalon were united to another old time Corpus Christi family when Eleanor Dority was married to Eugene M. Beynon in 1896.
Beynon was the son of Capt. and Mrs. Thomas Beynon. Capt. Beynon had come to this area from the Isle of Wight in Wales with his parents sometime prior to 1855. Mrs. Beynon who was Priscilla Hobbs, had come with her parents from London, Eng.
The two families made the journey with other immigrants brought here by Col. Henry L. Kinney.
Two Sons Born
To Eugene and Elanor Beynon were born two sons, Eugene T. and Clarence Meyler Beynon. The former lives at 4101 Shell Road and the latter, who settled in San Antonio, died there in 1947.
After the death of Eugene M. Beynon in 1907, his wife later married R. D. Gould.
Eugene T. Beynon joined with another of the city’s old families when he married Edna Priour the eldest daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Clarence Priour.
The Eugene T. Beynons are parents of four children. Susan, Gene, Frank Priour and Eugene Thomas Beynon, Jr., all live here with their parents. Susan was valedictorian this year at Roy Miller High School.
The fourth child, Mrs. Bonnie Louise Holmes, lives in Austin. Her two young children make the sixth generation of the family which has lived in South Texas.
Source: Corpus Christi Caller-Times, Sunday, June 1, 1952
Transcription by: Rosa G. Gonzales
3. Poem to wife Cynthia
TO MRS. A. A. DEAVALON
Full many times and oft, Jane
We wandered side by side,
Before you were my own, Jane
My young and lovely bride.
Our hearts were happy then, Jane
Light as a feather light.
Thanks to my stars, my dear Jane,
They’re even so to-night.
The flower crowned hills and vales, Jane,
The meadows and gay lawn,
Where you and I together, Jane,
Oft rambled eve and morn.
Sometimes beside the lake, Jane,
Where the little fishes played
And ogling looked at us, Jane,
As we sat in the shade.
Methinks I see them now, Jane
Upon the surface rise,
Then dart again beneath, Jane
With some unlucky prize.
Had he the power to speak, Jane,
Again rehearse the past.
How long you think ‘twould take, Jane
Or that the tale would last.
Suppose the same were written, Jane,
Prompted by the hand of love,
‘Twould move the hearts to weep, Jane,
Methinks of those above.
The spice of life is love, Jane;
Is not the assertion true,
Behold those curly heads, Jane,
And that will answer you.
With little smiling faces, Jane,
And rosy cheeks so fair,
What would you take for one, Jane,
Just price it if you dare.
Of by-gone days but think, Jane,
The time when first we met,
Then travel down to now, Jane,
And tell of one regret.
Those reminiscences again, Jane,
Of all that passed us by,
Will live within that space, Jane,
As long as you or I.
Green on memory’s page, Jane,
They’ll bloom to you and me,
Our bosoms thrill through life, Jane,
No matter where we be.
Yes more than thee, than all, Jane
Why starts that previous tear,
You wrong me now, you do, Jane
To make yourself more dear.
Yet more than all ‘itwas while, Jane,
The tear stood in your eye,
You gave your heart and hand, Jane,
And so to you did I.
It may be now and then Jane,
A cloud will overcast,
Our hearts for some fond one, Jane,
That lives but in the past.
Such is the fate of life, Jane,
‘Tis lotted to us all,
Life has its ups and downs, Jane,
Its summer, spring and fall.
And after these comes winter, Jane,
With killing frost and snows,
Which lay us in the grave, Jane,
Where all the past repose.
But time has passed and now, Jane,
Our locks are turning gray,
And we are growing old, Jane,
So all the neighbors say.
Let not that trouble us, Jane,
As long as life shall last,
We’ll live and love each other Jane,
As all along the past.
Nor yet one ray of grief, Jane,
Nor bitter anguish blast,
Our future hope of life, Jane,
Be sunny to the last.
Kiss our little Hellen, Jane,
And tell her of her pa,
The same when I return, Jane,
I’ll do for her dear ma.
And now my love to you, Jane,
May blessings on you fall,
Upon our curly heads, Jane
Our friends and neighbors all.
A. A. DeAvalon
Source: Brownsville Ranchero, July 10, 1868, p. 4, col. 2.
Research by: Msgr. Michael A. Howell
Transcription by: Rosa G. Gonzales
4. Obituary
DIED
DEAVALON – In Corpus Christi, on the morning of November 13th, 1884, of paralysis, Mr. A. A.
Deavalon, aged 67 years. The deceased was an old resident of this county. For many months
he has been an invalid. The funeral took place yesterday from the residence of Mr. D. P. Dority.
Source: Corpus Christi Caller, November 16, 1884, p. 5, col. 5
Research by: Msgr. Michael A. Howell
Transcription by: Geraldine D. McGloin, Nueces County Historical Commission