Haynie-Embrey House
Nelsonville, Austin County, Texas
Marker Inscription
In 1887 Nellie Brophy Haynie (1860-1937) a widow with one son Robert (1880-1955), married Confederate Army veteran John T. Embrey (d. 1918). They built this frame Victorian house in Brenham in 1899-1900. Here they raised a family of five children. Robert Haynie and his half brother Wilford J. Embrey (1889-1975) attended law school at the University of Texas. Haynie became a prominent attorney in Abilene and a leader in the West Texas Chamber of Commerce. Embrey was Brenham city attorney for 50 years and a school board member for over 30 years. The Embrey home was moved to this site in 1975. (1978)
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
When the widowed Nellie Brophy Haynie married Confederate veteran John T. Embrey in 1887, the blended family built this frame Victorian house in Brenham and raised five children there. Two sons went on to the University of Texas law school: Robert Haynie became a prominent Abilene attorney and West Texas Chamber of Commerce leader, while Wilford Embrey served Brenham as city attorney for fifty years and sat on its school board for over thirty. The house was moved to its present site in 1975.
Why it matters
The Haynie-Embrey home traces how a post-Civil War Texas family turned education into a legacy of law and long civic service across two generations.
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Related people
- · Nellie Brophy Haynie
- · John T. Embrey
- · Robert Haynie
- · Wilford J. Embrey
Themes & tags
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