Waymon N. Staples
Birth Date: 1825
Place of Birth: Tennessee
Date of Death: May 2, 1893
Interment Source:
Corpus Christi Caller, May 5, 1893
Photo Credit: Kirby E. Crabtree
1. Ad from Corpus Christi Ranchero, 1860, p.3
Source: Corpus Christi Ranchero, July 14, 1860, p.3
Contributed by: Geraldine D. McGloin,
Nueces County Historical Commission
3. Research by Frank Wagner
STAPLES, WAYMON N., b. 1825 in Tennessee, d. 2 May 1893 at Alice, Texas. Moving first to Alabama then to Texas, the Staples family settled in Corpus Christi in 1857. Waymon and his brothers were engaged in grocery and produce trade,1 at the stand formerly operated by John Willett q.v.. He purchased a lumber schooner and marketed lumber from Louisiana, Mississippi and Cuba in his lumberyard. He was elected Vice-President of the Walker Mounted Rifles when they were first organized in Corpus Christi.2 He won a seat on the City Council of Corpus Christi in July, 1860, and presumably served through the early part of the Civil War. When Staples was appointed Mayor in 1866-67, his grocery clerk Joseph Fitzsimmons,3 afterwards county judge, managed the store. When Benjamin F. Neal and others as executors of the H. L. Kinney estate brought suit against Lucien Birdseye, Staples4 was foreman of the jury that decided Birdseye owned a mortgage dated 17 December 1857 on substantial part of the lands Col. Kinney had sold to unsuspecting settlers. The total land area came to about 40,720 acres. The judgment given 23 June 1871, was important to all land titles when existing in south Texas. After construction of Market Hall in Corpus Christi, and the city passed an ordinance requiring buying and selling all meat and fresh produce, with few exceptions, at the new building much of Staples trade was lost. Staples sold his lumberyard and schooners to Edward Sidbury, and exchanged some of his town lots for farmland owned by N. G. Collins. He moved his headquarters to Alice, Texas where he engaged in land speculation, farming and ranching. He and his wife Sarah had several children, including Mrs. George Hobbs, and W. O. Staples.5 The Staples store was located on the Upper Brownsville Road, which was renamed Last Street within the city limits. The name was changed to Staples Street by custom within the city, the remainder of the road being called "Dump" road because it led to the town refuse disposal area. Staples street is now one of the major thoroughfares in Corpus Christi.
Research by: Frank Wagner
Transcription by: Rosa G. Gonzales
1Nueces Valley, 21 August , 1858.
2Corpus Christi Ranchero, vol. 1, no. 6, 26 November, 1859, p. 2, col. 3.
3Corpus Christi Caller, 28 December, 1906.
4Case 777, B. F. Neal et al. Executors of H. L. Kinney decd. Vs. Lucien Birdseye, 23 June,
1871, District Court Record Book C, p. 342.
5Corpus Christi Weekly Caller, 5 May, 1893.
4. News item, 1884
New Advertisements
W. N. Staples, an old time merchant of Corpus Christi, and who purchased one of the finest ranches in the county several years ago, has 500 improved sheep for sale at his place near Collins. They shear five pounds. Price $2 a head for ewes and $1 for lambs. A good bargain is in store for some fortunate man, indeed. The sheep are in good condition and the purchaser will find a square dealing gentleman.
Source: Corpus Christi Caller, May 18, 1884, p. 5,col. 1
Research by: Msgr. Michael A. Howell
Transcription by: Geraldine D. McGloin, Nueces County Historical Commission
5. News article, 1952
Staples, Mitchell Family Kin Still Live Here
Mrs. Elma S. Tankersley, 1322 Sixth Street, and her three daughters, who also live here, are the only survivors of e old Staples and Mitchell families now living in Corpus Christi.
Her daughters are Mrs. Bruce Collins, Mrs. G. Campbell, and Mrs. Forbes Davisson.
Her maternal grandfather was Capt. P. R. Mitchell, a Confederate soldier who was associated with the Coleman Fulton Pasture Co., and afterwards owned a grocery store where the State Hotel stands.
He had earlier fought in the Mexican war, and driven cattle up the trail to Kansas. Capt Mitchell lived to be 92, and died shortly after the end of World War I.
Mrs. Tankersley's maternal great-grandfather was Maj. John C. Steen, another early settler here. He was a rancher and lived near Beeville, spending part of his time in Corpus Christi.
On her father's side of the family, Mrs. Tankersley's grandfather was W. N. Staples, who owned a ranch near Alice, and lived for a time in Corpus Christi as a merchant. He was mayor her in 1867, and Staples Street was named for him.
His son, I. P. Staplers, married Nellie Mitchell, daughter of Capt. P. R. Mitchell, and they were Mrs. Tankersley's parents.
Source: Corpus Christi Caller, August 7, 1952, p. 2C, col. 2
Research by: Msgr. Michael A. Howell
Transcription by: Geraldine D. McGloin, Nueces County Historical Commission
6. Obituary
DEATH OF W. N. STAPLES
An Old and Well Known Citizen of Nueces county passes away
New was received here by telegram, as well as by letter, last Tuesday announcing the death
of Mr. W. N. Staples who died at his residence near Alice, in this county, at 3:30 o'clock, May 2. Mr. Staples had been in poor health, suffering from paralysis for many months, and consequently his death was not unexpected. The remains were brought to this city when Wednesday by special train for interment, the funeral taking place at two o'clock from the Presbyterian church. Mr. Staples, who was aged about sixty eight years, was well known in Southwest Texas, where he resided for many years. Before the war he was one of Corpus Christi's leading merchants, doing business in the large building now occupied by Mr. W. H. Cal dwell, on Chaparral St. Some eighteen or twenty years ago, he exchanged his property in Corpus with Mr. N. G. Colleens for land near Alice, to which place he moved and engaged in stock raising. Mr. Staples leaves besides his bereaved widow, one son, W. O. Staples, who resides in the City of Mexico, also Capt. W. W. Staples, of Live Oak county, who is a brother of the deceased. At 2:00 o'clock Wednesday the funeral train bearing the remains of the late W. N. Staples arrived at the Texas Mexican Depot. On the train were the bereaved widow, deceased brother, Capt. W. W. Staples, H. T. Staples, Flex Dunlop, Mr. Chandler, Mr. E. A. Glover, Mrs. George Hobs, son and daughter, William Adams and others. The pall bearers from this city took charge of the body, and the procession proceeded to the Presbyterian church, where services were held, going thence to the city's cemetery. The special left our city at 5:00 o'clock same afternoon on its return, carrying the people back to their homes.
Source: Corpus Christi Caller, May 5, 1893, p. 5, col. 2
Research by: Msgr. Michael A. Howell
Transcription by: Geraldine D. McGloin, Nueces County Historical Commission