Holley-McWhorter-Greenhaw Family
Mesquite, Dallas County, Texas
Marker Inscription
Three generations of a Mesquite family made important contributions to the city’s commerce, schools and fine arts. Tennessee native Nathaniel A. Holley (1861-1947) came to the area in 1884, farming 40 acres near Balch Springs and raising sugar cane, vegetables and orchard fruits. After a year, he returned to Tennessee to care for his widowed mother, then came back to Mesquite intending to open a grocery store. Holley purchased a lot on the town square, but his commercial plans were delayed by the deaths of his wife and son. Holley and his second wife, Adell Humphreys, had four children, and in 1903 he opened his store with stock hauled from Dallas and loaded in a wagon and a buggy. Holley also started a family tradition of civic involvement, serving a term as city alderman and seven school years as a board member. Nathaniel and Adell’s two sons, Raymond and Anson, served in the military in World War I, and upon their return from France joined the family business. Youngest daughter Eula married Ferd Arthur McWhorter, who in 1943 expanded the family business along Broad Street. The retail operation named McWhorter’s (later McWhorter-Greenhaw) included hardware, farm supplies, furniture and appliances. Ferd continued the family commitment to education, serving 11 years on the school board. Ferd and Eula’s daughter Patricia married musician and educator Frank Greenhaw, who joined the family enterprise and was school board member and president, school choral and band director, and director of music for First Methodist Church of Mesquite. Through their long-running business and in the names of a street, a school and a city park, Mesquite remembers the Holley, McWhorter and Greenhaw families. (2008)
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
Tennessee native Nathaniel A. Holley came to the Mesquite area in 1884 and, after farming and enduring family losses, opened a grocery store on the town square in 1903 while serving as alderman and school-board member. His sons Raymond and Anson served in World War I and joined the business, and son-in-law Ferd McWhorter expanded it in 1943 into the hardware-and-furniture firm McWhorter's, later McWhorter-Greenhaw. A third generation, through musician-educator Frank Greenhaw, carried the family's long commitment to schools and the arts.
Why it matters
Three generations of one merchant family show how local enterprise, civic service, and cultural life together built a small American town.
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Related people
- · Nathaniel A. Holley
- · Ferd Arthur McWhorter
- · Frank Greenhaw
Themes & tags
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