Umphress-Taylor Home
Van Alstyne, Grayson County, Texas
Marker Inscription
Pioneer area landowner, banker, agriculturalist, and community leader James C. Umphress (1841-1917), a Confederate veteran of the Civil War, built this Victorian house for his wife Julia Caroline (Veazey) (d.1932) in 1903. In 1932 it was inherited by a daughter, Maude (Umphress) Taylor (d.1977), who lived here until 1974. A civic leader, she was the wife of local banker and grain dealer Spencer Taylor (d.1943). The family home features influences of Queen Anne and classical revival styling. Recorded Texas Historic Landmark - 1981
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
Pioneer landowner, banker, and community leader James C. Umphress, a Confederate veteran, built this Victorian house in 1903 for his wife, Julia Caroline. In 1932 it passed to their daughter, Maude Umphress Taylor, a civic leader married to a local banker, who lived here into the 1970s. Its Queen Anne and classical-revival details mark it as a showpiece of small-town Texas prosperity.
Why it matters
The home reflects the settled, prosperous era that followed the frontier, and the civic lives of the women who shaped a Grayson County town.
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Related people
- ¡ James C. Umphress
- ¡ Julia Caroline Umphress
- ¡ Maude Umphress Taylor
Themes & tags
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