By Lee Cary —— Bio and Archives September 6, 2017
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“The origin of the name of the town of Dallas is obscure. We have no primary evidence from John Neely Bryan, the founder of the town, indicating exactly how he chose the name ‘Dallas.’ Bryan (1810-1877), a trader, farmer, lawyer, and land speculator, is well documented in legal and business records but left few personal writings. Frank M. Cockrell, an early pioneer who knew Bryan, recalled that Bryan asserted ‘the town was named for my friend Dallas’. There has been much speculation about exactly who that person named Dallas was. Cockrell believed that it was George Mifflin Dallas, vice-president of the United States during the administration of President James K. Polk. Dallas County is generally believed to have been named for George Mifflin Dallas since Polk County, named for President Polk, was created on March 30, 1846, the same day that Dallas County was created. The city, however, is a different story.”
“Texas memorialized his [Dallas’] contributions to the state's history by renaming the town of Peter's Corner in his honor. In the 1850s, when officials in Oregon sought a name for the principal town in Polk County, they settled on the logical choice: Polk's vice president. Thus, while largely forgotten today as the nation's eleventh vice president, George Mifflin Dallas has won his measure of immortality in a large Texas city and a small Oregon town.”Additional testimony concerning the origin of the city’s name was given 92 years ago when the Dallas Morning News introduced the woman who won the contest to name the city. In the April 19, 1925, edition of The Dallas Morning News, in an article entitled “WOMAN CHOSE NAMEOF CITY OF DALLAS, STARTED WHEN JOHN NEELY BRYAN BUILT CABIN ON BANK OF RIVER, WAS FIRST EXPLORER, Mrs. Martha Gilbert, Wife of Pioneer, Won Prize for Picking Name for Town” – from a time when long titles and lengthy paragraphs were common – we read:
“While Mr. Bryan was at home in the role of backwoodsman, it seems that he did not know so much about towns. Try as he might, he could not light on a name that seemed appropriate, and he must have thought others would encounter as much difficulty as he had met with, for he offered pick and choice of the lots in his town to anyone who could suggest a suitable name, he to be judge of the contest. There is no record of the details of the contest, but it is safe to assume that everybody tried for the prize. The outcome was that Mrs. Martha Gilbert, wife of Dr. Gilbert, was declared the winner, and that she selected as her prize, the lot on the northwest corner of Commerce and Houston streets. James K. Polk, was President of the United States at the time, and Mrs. Gilbert's reason for selecting the name of the Vice President, George M. Dallas, instead of that of the President, is left to conjecture, but, in Macaulay fashion, may be easily arrived at. Every one of the new States named a county for the President and the name Polk had become much hackneyed. Besides, as a word to stand alone and on its own feet, Dallas sounds much better to even the dullest ear, than the word Polk, which seems to be thin, and in need of something to support it. Mrs. Gilbert, thus, has the distinction not only of having been the first white woman to appear in this part of the country, but also of having selected the name of the metropolis of the Southwest.” (Bolding not in original)So, the internet had rendered a verdict: Dallas, the city, was named after the 11th Vice President of the United States. Coming Next in Part 2: Who was George M. Dallas, and how does his legacy align with the stated motives of 2017 Great Purge of American History?
Since November 2007, Lee Cary has written hundreds of articles for several websites including the American Thinker, and Breitbart’s Big Journalism and Big Government (as “Archy Cary”). and the Canada Free Press. Cary’s work was quoted on national television (Sean Hannity) and on nationally syndicated radio (Rush Limbaugh, Mark Levin). His articles have posted on the aggregate sites Drudge Report, Whatfinger, Lucianne, Free Republic, and Real Clear Politics. He holds a Doctorate in Theology from Garrett Theological Seminary in Evanston, IL, is a veteran of the US Army Military Intelligence in Vietnam, and lives in Texas.