Art
05-06-2020, 04:54
This is an abbreviated version of post I made several years ago but is still relevant, I think for a lot of reasons.
W.C. Brann was born in Humbolt Illinoise, the son of a Presbyterian preacher. When his mother died he was sent to live with friends. He was almost completely self educated and at an early age found he was able to write in a way that moved people. He was always controversial, a man of strong prejudices and preferences. His controversial style made it hard for him to keep a job. In 1894, after the suicide of his 12 year old daughter Inez in Austin he migrated to Waco, Texas where he founded a magazine called "The Iconoclast."
Brann's brilliant writing style and strong opinions made magazine a best seller nation wide. By 1898 circulation was 100,000. Fabulous circulation when you consider the population of the United States was right at 100,000,000.
Brann championed people he felt didn't get a break, Irishmen, Italians, Latinos and Jews - he relentlessly pilloried people he didn't like. He hated blacks to the point of promoting genocide. He had no use for organized religion, didn't care for rich people who inherited their money, especially if they married foreign aristocrats, with that in mind it should be mentioned he didn't care for Brits either. At the top of the totem poll of Brann's targets were Baptists. He once said "I have nothing against Baptists, they just haven't been held under long enough." He wouldn't back off that an inch despite Waco being the home of Baylor University, to this day referred to in Texas as "The Baptist Vatican." Baptists in Texas weren't only the principle denomination, they held considerable political power.
The magazine was contraband in the public schools of Texas. My grandfather, the son of a southeast Texas rancher was a devoted disciple of Brann as a youth Brann wasn't sarcastically referred to as The Apostle by both his friends and enemies for nothing.
Brann's Baylor baiting made him dangerous enemies. He was nearly lynched once and was literally tarred, feathered and ridden out of town on a rail.
In 1898 he went over the line. He wrote an article in which he said Baylor produced "ministers and magdalenes" (whores) and that sending your daughter to Baylor could result in her being seduced or possibly raped by the faculty.
Shortly after this an ally of his, Judge George Gerald was acosted by James Harris and his brother. James Harris was the editor of the Waco Times Herald and an implacable Brann enemy. The confrontation turned into a gunfight in which Judge Gerald was maimed and both of the Harris brothers were killed. From that point Brann started carrying a pistol - a Colt single action in .41 caliber. It was illegal back then for anyone not an LEO, in Texas, to carry a pistol, but many did, concealed. Brann carried his in a belt holster under his coat.
On April 1, 1898 (interestingly my grandfather was in Waco at that time going to Hill's Business College) Brann and a friend were walking down the street. They passed the office of a real estate broker named Tom Davis. Davis had a daughter who attended Baylor.
Davis saw Brann walk by, took a .45 caliber Colt Single action from his desk drawer, walked out on the sidewalk and shot Brann in the back. The 250 gr. lead bullet entered just to the left of Brann's spine and exited just inside of his left nipple. Well...Brann didn't obligingly fall down and die. He spun around, drew his own revolver, and shot Davis in the chest who did fall down at the entrance of the Jake French Cigar Store. The two men, Brann vertical and Davis horozontal then emptied their guns at each other. Brann hit Davis with all six, some superficial and some not. Davis was less accurate. Two of his next five hit Brann, once in the ankle and once in the groin. Every shot hit somebody though. One of Davis' shots hit Brann's friend who was trying to stop the fight, in the hand. The other two superficially injured a street musician and a streetcar driver.
the shots were so rapid the police, believing two men couldn't fire 12 shots that fast, not only arrested Brann but his buddy. Brann was obviously not a popular fellow, who else could get shot in the back and then get arrested?? He was released and sent home where he died that night, just a bit before Tom Davis expired.
The Iconoclast didn't survive Brann's death. His gravestone bears the scars from bullets of Brann haters.
My grandfather had a complete bound set of all of the issues of "The Iconoclast" though he would later repudiate some of Brann's more hateful writings
.47672 The Colt Revolver Brann used in his fight with Tom Davis.
W.C. Brann was born in Humbolt Illinoise, the son of a Presbyterian preacher. When his mother died he was sent to live with friends. He was almost completely self educated and at an early age found he was able to write in a way that moved people. He was always controversial, a man of strong prejudices and preferences. His controversial style made it hard for him to keep a job. In 1894, after the suicide of his 12 year old daughter Inez in Austin he migrated to Waco, Texas where he founded a magazine called "The Iconoclast."
Brann's brilliant writing style and strong opinions made magazine a best seller nation wide. By 1898 circulation was 100,000. Fabulous circulation when you consider the population of the United States was right at 100,000,000.
Brann championed people he felt didn't get a break, Irishmen, Italians, Latinos and Jews - he relentlessly pilloried people he didn't like. He hated blacks to the point of promoting genocide. He had no use for organized religion, didn't care for rich people who inherited their money, especially if they married foreign aristocrats, with that in mind it should be mentioned he didn't care for Brits either. At the top of the totem poll of Brann's targets were Baptists. He once said "I have nothing against Baptists, they just haven't been held under long enough." He wouldn't back off that an inch despite Waco being the home of Baylor University, to this day referred to in Texas as "The Baptist Vatican." Baptists in Texas weren't only the principle denomination, they held considerable political power.
The magazine was contraband in the public schools of Texas. My grandfather, the son of a southeast Texas rancher was a devoted disciple of Brann as a youth Brann wasn't sarcastically referred to as The Apostle by both his friends and enemies for nothing.
Brann's Baylor baiting made him dangerous enemies. He was nearly lynched once and was literally tarred, feathered and ridden out of town on a rail.
In 1898 he went over the line. He wrote an article in which he said Baylor produced "ministers and magdalenes" (whores) and that sending your daughter to Baylor could result in her being seduced or possibly raped by the faculty.
Shortly after this an ally of his, Judge George Gerald was acosted by James Harris and his brother. James Harris was the editor of the Waco Times Herald and an implacable Brann enemy. The confrontation turned into a gunfight in which Judge Gerald was maimed and both of the Harris brothers were killed. From that point Brann started carrying a pistol - a Colt single action in .41 caliber. It was illegal back then for anyone not an LEO, in Texas, to carry a pistol, but many did, concealed. Brann carried his in a belt holster under his coat.
On April 1, 1898 (interestingly my grandfather was in Waco at that time going to Hill's Business College) Brann and a friend were walking down the street. They passed the office of a real estate broker named Tom Davis. Davis had a daughter who attended Baylor.
Davis saw Brann walk by, took a .45 caliber Colt Single action from his desk drawer, walked out on the sidewalk and shot Brann in the back. The 250 gr. lead bullet entered just to the left of Brann's spine and exited just inside of his left nipple. Well...Brann didn't obligingly fall down and die. He spun around, drew his own revolver, and shot Davis in the chest who did fall down at the entrance of the Jake French Cigar Store. The two men, Brann vertical and Davis horozontal then emptied their guns at each other. Brann hit Davis with all six, some superficial and some not. Davis was less accurate. Two of his next five hit Brann, once in the ankle and once in the groin. Every shot hit somebody though. One of Davis' shots hit Brann's friend who was trying to stop the fight, in the hand. The other two superficially injured a street musician and a streetcar driver.
the shots were so rapid the police, believing two men couldn't fire 12 shots that fast, not only arrested Brann but his buddy. Brann was obviously not a popular fellow, who else could get shot in the back and then get arrested?? He was released and sent home where he died that night, just a bit before Tom Davis expired.
The Iconoclast didn't survive Brann's death. His gravestone bears the scars from bullets of Brann haters.
My grandfather had a complete bound set of all of the issues of "The Iconoclast" though he would later repudiate some of Brann's more hateful writings
.47672 The Colt Revolver Brann used in his fight with Tom Davis.