Cabell, Earle, 1906-1975

Earle Cabell's grandfather William L. Cabell ("Old Tige"), who served as a Confederate general during the Civil War, moved to Dallas in 1872 to practice law. A short time after his arrival in the city, he was elected mayor of Dallas, a position his son and grandson would also hold. A popular official, he served three terms: from 1874 to 1876, from 1877 to 1879, and from 1883 to 1885. His oldest son, Ben E. Cabell, pursued a career as a lawmaker, after which he served as mayor of Dallas from 1900 to 1904.

Ben and his wife, Sadie Pearre Cabell, had three sons: Ben E., Jr. (1899-1964), Charles "C.P." Pearre (1903-1971), and Earle (1906-1975). Earle and his brothers grew up on his family's farm in the Oak Cliff district of Dallas. Earle attended North Dallas High School, now Bowie Elementary, where he graduated in 1925. He attended two semesters of college, one at Texas A&M University and one at Southern Methodist University. Deciding to longer pursue a degree, Earle went to work for Morning Glory Creameries in Houston in 1926, washing out milk cans. Within a few years, Earle was superintendent of a milk plant in Amarillo. From Amarillo, Earle moved to Pine Bluff, Arkansas, where he bought "a very small milk plant" in 1930. Unfortunately, the Great Depression dashed Earle's chances for success, and in 1932 he was the last person to make a deposit at a bank before its doors closed permanently. In an interview housed in the oral history collection at North Texas State University (now the University of North Texas), Earle Cabell stated "that wiped me out when the bank went out."

...