William was born in Madison County Florida to Enoch Grigsby Mays 1816-1875 and Clotelde Elizabeth Linton 1818-1884, and moved to Grimes County Texas with his parents in 1858 where his father became one of the largest Cotton Planters in the County. He was apparently too young to serve in the Civil War. Due to the war, the plantation was ruined and the Mays family, and William moved to Dallas ca 1868 after marrying in ca 1866, and worked as a merchant in the downtown area for a few years before becoming a farmer in the Dallas Fair Park area. He moved to the 4500 block of Gaston in the city of Dallas in 1904. He worked briefly as a real estate dealer likely selling his farm off in housing lots, and was involved in several court cases trying to collect his mortgages. He passed away in 1906. His grave is not marked and the cemetery has no retrivalable records pertaining to his burial. This is likely due to the cemetery changing hands several times over the years, and the badly written and kept burial records which are now locked in a vault, and hard to get to to examine because of their bad condition.
At some point in 1903, William Anderson Mays decided to retire from farming and move into the city proper of Dallas. For a while it appears that he maintained two residences. He and his daughter, Maranda, stayed on the farm and his wife and son, Robert K Mays, lived in a rented house in East Dallas on Swiss Street a few miles away. The following advertizement ran in the Dallas Morning News 19 May 1904..
"596 Gaston-66 X 181 Feet- five rooms, hall, sliding doors, mantel, servant's house, very heavy built home, 8 " sills, brick piers, 140' east of Mrs Prather's find brick home. Gaston Avenue is to be graded and extended soon, city sewer system, $2300. What will you give? Kirkpatrick and Unden, 345 Main. ".
It appears that the William Mays family decided to buy this house. They were renting on a street[Swiss] paralel and near Gaston at the time. By 18 September 1904, they had purchased the property and the following advertizement ran in the Dallas Morning News that day: "For Rent, 596 Gaston Ave, a very neat Cottage for $20-Aldredge and Knight, 239 Main." This is likely the small house [servant's quarters' located behind the main house?.
The house numbering system in Dallas was changed in the early 1900's. 596 Gaston became 4512 Gaston.
At some point in 1903, William Anderson Mays decided to retire from farming and move into the city proper of Dallas. For a while it appears that he maintained two residences. He and his daughter, Maranda, stayed on the farm and his wife and son, Robert K Mays, lived in a rented house in East Dallas on Swiss Street a few miles away. The following advertizement ran in the Dallas Morning News 19 May 1904..
"596 Gaston-66 X 181 Feet- five rooms, hall, sliding doors, mantel, servant's house, very heavy built home, 8 " sills, brick piers, 140' east of Mrs Prather's find brick home. Gaston Avenue is to be graded and extended soon, city sewer system, $2300. What will you give? Kirkpatrick and Unden, 345 Main. ".
It appears that the William Mays family decided to buy this house. They were renting on a street[Swiss] paralel and near Gaston at the time. By 18 September 1904, they had purchased the property and the following advertizement ran in the Dallas Morning News that day: "For Rent, 596 Gaston Ave, a very neat Cottage for $20-Aldredge and Knight, 239 Main." This is likely the small house [servant's quarters' located behind the main house?.
The house numbering system in Dallas was changed in the early 1900's. 596 Gaston became 4512 Gaston.
William was born in Madison County Florida to Enoch Grigsby Mays 1816-1875 and Clotelde Elizabeth Linton 1818-1884, and moved to Grimes County Texas with his parents in 1858 where his father became one of the largest Cotton Planters in the County. He was apparently too young to serve in the Civil War. Due to the war, the plantation was ruined and the Mays family, and William moved to Dallas ca 1868 after marrying in ca 1866, and worked as a merchant in the downtown area for a few years before becoming a farmer in the Dallas Fair Park area. He moved to the 4500 block of Gaston in the city of Dallas in 1904. He worked briefly as a real estate dealer likely selling his farm off in housing lots, and was involved in several court cases trying to collect his mortgages. He passed away in 1906. His grave is not marked and the cemetery has no retrivalable records pertaining to his burial. This is likely due to the cemetery changing hands several times over the years, and the badly written and kept burial records which are now locked in a vault, and hard to get to to examine because of their bad condition.
At some point in 1903, William Anderson Mays decided to retire from farming and move into the city proper of Dallas. For a while it appears that he maintained two residences. He and his daughter, Maranda, stayed on the farm and his wife and son, Robert K Mays, lived in a rented house in East Dallas on Swiss Street a few miles away. The following advertizement ran in the Dallas Morning News 19 May 1904..
"596 Gaston-66 X 181 Feet- five rooms, hall, sliding doors, mantel, servant's house, very heavy built home, 8 " sills, brick piers, 140' east of Mrs Prather's find brick home. Gaston Avenue is to be graded and extended soon, city sewer system, $2300. What will you give? Kirkpatrick and Unden, 345 Main. ".
It appears that the William Mays family decided to buy this house. They were renting on a street[Swiss] paralel and near Gaston at the time. By 18 September 1904, they had purchased the property and the following advertizement ran in the Dallas Morning News that day: "For Rent, 596 Gaston Ave, a very neat Cottage for $20-Aldredge and Knight, 239 Main." This is likely the small house [servant's quarters' located behind the main house?.
The house numbering system in Dallas was changed in the early 1900's. 596 Gaston became 4512 Gaston.
At some point in 1903, William Anderson Mays decided to retire from farming and move into the city proper of Dallas. For a while it appears that he maintained two residences. He and his daughter, Maranda, stayed on the farm and his wife and son, Robert K Mays, lived in a rented house in East Dallas on Swiss Street a few miles away. The following advertizement ran in the Dallas Morning News 19 May 1904..
"596 Gaston-66 X 181 Feet- five rooms, hall, sliding doors, mantel, servant's house, very heavy built home, 8 " sills, brick piers, 140' east of Mrs Prather's find brick home. Gaston Avenue is to be graded and extended soon, city sewer system, $2300. What will you give? Kirkpatrick and Unden, 345 Main. ".
It appears that the William Mays family decided to buy this house. They were renting on a street[Swiss] paralel and near Gaston at the time. By 18 September 1904, they had purchased the property and the following advertizement ran in the Dallas Morning News that day: "For Rent, 596 Gaston Ave, a very neat Cottage for $20-Aldredge and Knight, 239 Main." This is likely the small house [servant's quarters' located behind the main house?.
The house numbering system in Dallas was changed in the early 1900's. 596 Gaston became 4512 Gaston.
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