William Roy Cousins, Sr. LaMerle, Texas January 26, 1881 - August 30, 1975 Roy Cousins served as Texas State Senator from 1919-1925, representing Sabine County, and again in 1929-1935, this time representing Jefferson (Beaumont), Orange, Hardin and Liberty Counties. He was born on January 26, 1881 in Newton County, Texas to William Daniel Bill Cousins (1853-1927) and Mary Frances Woods Cousins (1857-1925). (I posted a huge family picture of this family last week) At the time of the 1910 census, Roy, aged 29, and his wife, Essie, aged 20, were listed as Public School Teachers in Hardin County. His father, W.D. Bill Cousins had taught school in the one-room log schoolhouse in Rosevine. Roy was Superintendent of Schools in Silsbee, another Kirby Lumber Company sawmill town, in 1911-1912. Roy had a law office in Hemphill in 1915. In 1915, Roy bought G.D. Hendersons interest in the Bronson Drug Company. He served as County Judge of Sabine County in 1917-1918. While he was County Judge, the County Sheriff, C.B. Bright was shot to death in a gunfight with an outlaw in January, 1918. At the time he registered for the draft during the First World War, on September 12, 1918, he listed his occupation as County Judge and farmer, working for himself. He showed that he was born in Hemphill on 28 Jan 1881, and that his nearest relative was his wife, Essie. He was shown as Medium Height and Build, with gray eyes, and his hair was light and bald. Roy was elected State Senator on November 5, 1918, six days before Armistice Day which ended World War II. At that time, Senate District 14, covered Jefferson, Orange, Hardin, Liberty, Jasper, Newton, Tyler, Nacogdoches, Sabine and San Augustine Counties. The fact that a Senator listing his home as LaMerle, Texas (between Magasco and Charlie Forse Road, north of Pineland), could gain votes over such a large area can be attributed partially to his youth spent in Newton County, his years as a school teacher in Hardin County, and his service as county judge in Sabine County. Cousins was re-elected in the General Election held on November 7, 1922 and was sworn into office in the 38th Legislature on January 9, 1923. In 1924, after a two-year term, the entire Senate went up for election after a redistricting plan was passed. In 1925, he moved his law practice to Beaumont. He was elected in a special election on January 21, 1929, and sworn in the following week for the 41st Legislature, to succeed Henry F. Triplett, who had died on December 14, 1928. There were two years left in Senator Tripletts term. Roy was President Pro Tem of the Senate during this term. He was re-elected in 1930 to a four-year term. In November 1934, he was defeated by Allan Shivers, who held that Senate seat until 1947, when he was succeeded by W.R. Cousins, Jr., Roys eldest son. Allan Shivers was governor from 1949-1957. During his tenure as State Senator, Roy was instrumental in securing the passage of several significant laws. He was instrumental in establishing the Rusk State Hospital in 1919. He was author of the first medical practice act passed in Texas. He aided in the creation of Stephen F . Austin State University in Nacogdoches in 1928. He helped negotiate the first oil proration act in the nation. He was author of the bill in 1934, which resulted in the construction of the Rainbow Bridge between Port Arthur and Orange. Following his illustrious career in the Texas Senate, from which he retired in 1934, Senator Cousins served as an attorney in Beaumont as law partner with Judge Daniel Walker and Judge E.L. Holland. At one time, he was asked to run for Governor, but declined to allow a good friend to seek the office. Roy acquired much land, and in the 1930s, he allowed the Texas Highway Department to develop a roadside park on the east side of 96, just north of the Centerview Road, and west of LaMerle. It was called Cousins Park and was a popular picnic, reunion and party spot for many years, and was renowned for the huge pines that shaded travelers and locals, when most of the area had been converted to cotton farms. My Daddy said that Roy took it back from the state about twenty years later, when the value of timber jumped, so he could sell the timber. Roy would have had trouble getting votes in Sabine County, even from family members, after that. Roys wife was Essie May Fortenberry Cousins (1889-1934). He had two sons, Wilfred Roy Cousins, Jr. (1915-1987) and Weldon Daniel Cousins (1917-1985) and an infant daughter, born prematurely, who died soon after birth on October 5, 1924. His son, W.R. Cousins, Jr. served in both the Texas House of Representatives and the Texas Senate. His sister, Sarah Candis Cousins Warner (1876-1953), was my great-grandmother. She is buried at Magnolia Springs, northwest of Bronson. Their parents are buried in the Little Flock Cemetery, west of Bronson. Roy Cousins died August 30, 1975, at age 94, in Beaumont and is buried there in Forest Lawn Cemetery.
Posted on: Mon, 05 Jan 2015 20:41:02 +0000
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