David Gaines “Mule” Stover (1903–1968) My 1st Cousin Twice Removed on My Father’s Side

David Gaines "Mule" Stover dressing a pig. Photo from The
Portal to Texas History website

David Gaines Stover Jr. was born in Stephens County, Texas on July 31^st 1903. His middle name is his grandmother’s maiden name and that is the name he used as an adult – he was known as “Gaines Stover”. Gaines was the son of David Gaines”Bud” Stover, Sr. and Nancy “Nannie” Williams Stover. He had an older sister Joanna who was also named after their grandmother, Joanna Gaines, and a younger brother Eugene.

His Youth

When Gaines was six years old he appeared on the 1910 census living with his parents, siblings, a Campbell cousin, and his Uncle, James Williams – his mother’s brother. At that time the family was living on a cattle ranch stock farm in the 8^th Precinct of Shackelford County, Texas. Gaines left school in 1915 having completed the 7^th grade.

According to Thomas Cisero Harris, age 90 and living about a mile from the Stover Ranch, Gaines had a prize mare when he was about 16 that he “thought the world of”. One day a Jack (mule) owned by his father bred Gaines’s mare. Gaines was so mad that one night he went to the ranch and castrated the Jack, and Gaines's Dad never found out who had done it. This story was relayed to Thomas by A.W. Tipton. The way Mr. Tipton told the story Gaines never told his father what he had done. Apparently Gaines's father was known to raise some of the best mules in the area and the castrated Jack was his best sire!

In 1917, his family moved to Crystal Falls which was probably near the family ranch on the Clear Fork of the Brazos River in Young County, Texas. His father still owned the ranch but they lived in town most of the year and spent summers on the ranch. They were living in Albany when the 1920 census was taken. Elizabeth Campbell, David and Nannie’s foster daughter was living with the family, as were Harvey and Geraldine Piper from Oklahoma who rented from the Stovers.

Rancher equipment on display in the Albany Museum

When I asked Thomas what he recalled about Mule he said, “Mule was something else – I remember Mule.” Then he told this story. “Gaines would go off drinking. He’d go to the Fort Worth Livestock show with his cousin A.W. Tipton, known as Tip, and he wouldn’t have much money. He’s go into a hotel, run up a big tab and then he’d skip out. He was ornery as hell evidently.” But Thomas added, “Gaines was very friendly and you couldn’t keep from liking him, but you couldn’t trust a word that he said.” “He was a fun guy but his character was a little loose.”

When the 1930 census was taken Gaines age 26 and his sister, Joanna age 27 were both still living with their parents in Albany.  This was during the depression and neither was employed. His brother Eugene had died on February 16, 1920 so did not appear on the 1930 census.  According to the census their father was raising cattle on his ranch.

First Marriage

On July 25, 1935 Gaines married Aleen Osborne “in a quiet ceremony at the home of their friends Mr. and Mrs. Howard in Eastland, Texas”. The news story that made the announcement said that Aleen lived in Hillsboro Hill, Texas and was the sister of Albany’s doctor Clarence Osborne. Aleen was the daughter of John E. and Hattie Osborne. She was born in Texas in 1909 and married Gaines when she was 26. I found no other stories or mentions of Aleen in the archived newspapers, or on the Ancestry or FamilySearch sites.

In April of 1940 Gaines and his mother were living together in Albany next door to Gaines’s sister Joanna and her husband Hugh Ayers. So, apparently the marriage to Aleen had ended by 1940. Gaines’s father had died in 1938 so Nannie was listed as the head of the household. On the census Gaines was identified as a manager at City Lake but I don’t know what that was. I do know that in 1936 Gaines was the proprietor of the Riverside Inn and he applied for a package store permit to sell liquor at the Clear Fork of the Brazos Bridge which was on Throckmorton Road in Shackelford County.

Jane Lenoir at the Fort Griffin Park told me about The
Portal to Texas History website

While visiting Albany in 2017 I learned about the website Portal to Texas History. It is a tremendous resource for information about the Stover family and Gaines in particular who was very involved in the community. While there I also learned about David’s nickname, “Mule”. Even though it had been nearly 50 years since he died, I encountered three people who were familiar with him – that nickname and the man were memorable. I entered “Mule Stover” and “Gaines Stover” into the online newspaper archive and a list of 87 entries came up.

Many of the news items were about quite ordinary events, for example the Albany News published an article listing the names of persons who renewed their subscription to the newspaper. Collecting these myriad tidbits about Gaines paints a vivid picture. He was single much of his life, had no children, he was very involved in civic and political activities, he had a lot of friends, he attended the Matthews Memorial Presbyterian Church, and he served as a pallbearer or “honorary pallbearer” at a remarkable number of funerals -13 were published, mostly on the front page.

At one point Mule’s ornery reputation was well known – so he couldn’t live in town. Instead Thomas Harris says Mule had a structure with a screened in porch on his family’s ranch where he lived. He didn’t own a car and relied on friends to bring him groceries. Gaines was a great cook and would cook anything anyone brought to him. Thomas recalled that Mule’s friends would come out to the shack and they’d spend two or three days drinking and eating what Mule cooked for them. Thomas also mentioned Mule’s sister, Joanna and said, “she was normal, she wasn’t anything like Mule.”

Civic and Community Life

Gaines was active in his community all his life. The Albany News reported on his involvement in several different civic groups. In February of 1934 he attended the Cow-Horse Races event sponsored by the Albany Lions Club. According to the news article races between horses and automobiles and horses and people took place with the horses typically winning. In 1954, Gaines was elected to the position of “Tail Twister” of the Lions Club, and he chaired the food committee at that same meeting.  Gaines was a member of the Hereford Association and frequently attended live stock events and auctions. In July of 1938 Gaines attended the rodeo in the neighboring community of Stamford. In 1943 he was the auctioneer at an event to raise funds for the local school athletic association. Gaines attended a steer roping contest in San Antonio with his friend Mrs. Lella Landers in 1964. In 1965 he paid $49.65 for a cow to help raise funds for the Youth and Livestock Association. In 1967 he attended the 4H and FAA (Future Farmers of America) Livestock Show for Shackelford County.  One year later, on February 29, 1968 the paper carried two stories about Gaines on the same day – one reported that he was one of the bidders at a livestock show and the other was his obituary.

One headline that struck me as rather cruel was a front page story headlined “Seven Men Fail Army Physical”. It listed the names of the local men who had failed the Army physical in July of 1942, so these men were ineligible to join the service and serve during World War II. The article made a point of saying, “… and the number will need to be made up by the county at another date.” Those who passed “… returned to Shackelford to take the 14-day furlough granted all selectees who asked for it. They were to return to camp July 27”.  This seems like a brutal humiliation for the men who would continue to live in their community during a time of heightened patriotism. Gaines was one of the seven.

So, how did he get his nickname “Mule”? One of the news stories that ran on February 18, 1965 was about the 13^th annual Fort Griffin Fandangle celebration. This is quite an event in Albany that continues to this day – people I met there in 2017 encouraged me to attend “to get a real sense of the place”. The story about the Fandangle in `65 noted that “the backstage crew consisted of Mule, Mutt and Ox” – nicknames for Gaines and his buddies R.C. Hammack and W.M. Emmons. I assumed Gaines got his nickname because he was notoriously stubborn but when I talked with Thomas Harris about Mule, I asked, “How did he get his nickname?” Thomas told me, “Well, he could bray like a mule. He could make a mule ashamed of himself. Gaines would rear back and bray like a mule – you could hear him for miles.” 

President Lyndon Baines Johnson and Lady Bird Johnson
at the Lambshead Ranch owned by Gaines' friend Watt Matthews
while attending the Fandangle. Photo from The Portal to Texas
History

In 1949, Gaines was chair of the Fandangle Parade. A June 1950 headline claimed “Thousands in Albany for Fandangle Parade”, and said, it “was the largest crowd ever assembled in Albany.” Gaines and three other men had planned eight floats depicting different aspects of old times. “Each float depicted phases of frontier life in a humorous manner”. For example, there was “an old-time barbershop, complete with cowboy taking his Saturday night bath in the backroom.” Gaines managed the same event in 1950. In 1952 he hosted Mrs. Ragland who came to Albany to sing at the Fandangle that year. In 1953, Gaines and his wife Valma hosted Mr. and Mrs. Everett at that year’s Fandango.  Gaines and his friend Joe Cunningham were in charge of the event in 1954. Apparently, it was so memorable that year that the press was still writing about it as preparation was underway for the 1961 celebration.

One of the groups I was surprised to read that Gaines was quite involved in was the Albany Garden Club. Garden Clubs are typically chaired by and appeal primarily to women but Gaines was a member as early as 1951 when he attended a talk on “Flowers for Home” and saw a flower arranging demonstration at the American Legion Hall. In 1953 he attended an all-day Garden Club event at the G.B. cabin on Lake DeLafosse where the new club officers were installed. One of the reasons he may have participated in the Garden Club could have to do with the fact that he married Mrs. Valma Cramer who was also a member of the club.

Second Marriage

When Gaines was 46, The Albany News reported on their marriage and honeymoon in Mexico. They were married June 29^th 1950 by Reverend J.A. Owen of the Matthews Memorial Presbyterian Church. The ceremony took place at the home of Mr. and Mrs. Warren Willingham. Before the marriage Valma lived in Sweetwater, Texas and had worked in a hat shop in Dallas, Texas. She had also been married twice before. Her maiden name was Finnie. She first married a Wyatt, then L.C. Cramer on June 3, 1933. In the fall of 1951, Gaines purchased a lot in town from H.C. Arendt – possibly in order to have a home built for his new wife.

The paper carried stories about the new Mrs. Gaines Stover in 1953, `54 and `55 but none after that. They continued to mention Gaines Stover, but he attended events alone or with other family members – not with Mrs. Stover.

In the 1940s he attended a fundraising event to raise money for a new community swimming pool and donated $10. Gaines was a member of the Fort Griffin Know Your Neighbor Club and auctioned off pies and a Lone Star quilt made by Mrs. Grethe to help pay for improvements made to the club. That was in 1962. He sold tickets and collected donations to the President’s Ball to raise money for the March of Dimes. I recall my mother telling me about Dad taking her to the President’s Ball in Oakland when they were courting – she was quite impressed with Dad at the time.

Social Life

Gaines was very social. The Albany News frequently ran short stories about people who visited him, people he went to see and places he went. The first of these news items appeared on Christmas Eve of 1936 when the press reported that Roy Rodriquez had visited Gaines. In 1942, the paper reported on a quail supper that Gaines and E.Z. Jeters hosted for a group of their friends.  Mr. and Mrs. L.H. Hunt visited him in August of 1943. We know that he spent a few days with Mr. & Mrs. Reid locker in Woodson from a news clip dated July 20, 1944. 

Mule Stover fishing. Photo provided by Judy Compton

That same year Gaines accompanied Lt. Gene Maudlin to Cherry Point, North Carolina when Maudlin entered the Marine Corp. We know that Maudlin survived the war because of a story from October 1947 about a month long fishing trip at Eagles Nest, New Mexico that he, Gaines, Carroll Putnam and Hugh Martin enjoyed. The paper also reported Gaines’s 1961 fishing trip on the Clear Fork of the Brazos, where his father’s ranch was, with friends Tom Alston and Rassie Martin. Mr. and Mrs. W.H. Cauble of Snyder were guests of Gaines in October of 1948He had visits from Roy Hagin of Wichita Falls in `59, and from Mr. and Mrs. L.J. Hunt in 1965.

Gaines was also a guest at his family and friend’s homes. He spent a few days in Woodson at the home of Mr. and Mrs. Reid Locker in 1944, spent New Year’s Eve at his sister and brother-in-law’s home in 1962, and spent Thanksgiving with them and his foster sister and her husband, Mr. and Mrs. J.O. Roberts in 1964.

Gaines was also politically active. I found 3 news clips listing Gaines as having endorsed candidates for political office  including Dan Moody for the US Senate, Omar Burlson for Congress, and George Bush when he ran for the US Senate in 1964. 

Another photo of  Mule from The Portal to Texas History site

Death and Burial

Thomas recalls that later in life Mule “straightened up” and moved to town, but he would drive out to the ranch to visit the Tiptons in a big Dodge car. He sold the family ranch to the Lester family. Jane Lenoir at the Fort Griffin Park had heard about Mule from her grandfather. He told a story about Gaines and a group of old men sitting on a bench in Woodson - they would sit there all afternoon talking. Some locals called it the “Dead Pecker Bench.”

Gaines died from a heart attack on February 26, 1968 – the same year I graduated from high school. Apparently he’d been sick for quite a while because the Albany News reported that he was admitted to the hospital on three occasions – in April of 1963, and in April and September 1964. His obituary appeared on page one headlined “Gaines Stover Dies Suddenly”. He spent the day before with his best friend Watt Mathews. They had dinner together at Gaines’s home. He was 64 when he died. The obituary said, “Mr. Stover had friends throughout West Texas, and was known for his wit, and as a friend said, “he had a genius for helping people”. The obituary included a long list of family and friends who attended his funeral service. Gaines is buried in the Stover plot of the Albany Cemetery with his mother, father, sister, and other relatives.

Watt Matthews in his family cemetery. Photo from The
Portal to Texas History website.

But, even after death the press continued to write about “Mule”. I found an article from 2002 in the Remember When column written by Joan Halford Farmer that featured Gaines’s best friend Watt Mathews. A fourth of the article was about their friendship. Watt was a member of the Board of the First National Bank. He would attend meetings there and then stop by Gaines’s home – “the best cook in town.” They’d have dinner then “sit and visit over a toddy after supper.” The news story went on to say, “When television was fairly new, Watt was very critical of the new pastime. But every time he came to Mule’s, he would avidly watch news and other programs flickering on the square screen. These two good friends sometimes had the hottest arguments I have every witnessed, but they loved each other like brothers.”

From all I’ve read and heard, I think I would have liked David Gaines “Mule” Stover and been proud to call him a cousin of mine.

Gaines's headstone in the Stover Family plot

Stover Family plot in the Albany Cemetery

Sources include: The Albany News, Shackelford County Leader, Breckenridge American, the US census for 1920-1940, his obituary and death certificate, a marriage record for Valma and L.R. Cramer, Ancestry and FamilySearech websites.