dan moody

Emmett Shelton Sr. tells stories of two Murder trials in Austin criminal courts. Emmett's father and Emmett and two of his brothers were prominent criminal lawyers in Austin. In the 1920s, Uncle H.C. Greer caught an ex-employee stealing feed from his Austin feed store. The thief shot Uncle Greer and was indicted. Uncle Greer died without filing a statement and the only evidence was a track of a cracked shoe. Dan Moody was a hot-headed prosecutor and this case resulted in a mistrial. It was not retried. 
The second case was in 1933 - the tragic death of Belton mechanic Cal Yarborough's daughter. She was about 9 when she was burned to death.   An insurance claim resulted an indictment. Emmett assisted Mr. Bomer defend Cal. He had spent 6 months in jail before the trial. We had a strong defense but Emmett and Bomer tried to prepare Cal for prison time, but Cal told Emmett "This jury cannot punish me at all." The jury returned a guilty verdict and Cal was sentenced to 30 years.  We appealed but Cal had to go to prison. We won on appeal, but Cal had lost everything - his life was forever changed.

Music: Theme song from Matlock

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Stories told by Emmett Shelton / compiled and submitted by Cynthia Shelton.

Emmett Shelton Sr. tells first-hand stories of his experiences with Gov. Dan Moody.  He was a close personal friend of the Shelton Family. So honest - never took a drink - he smoked - he knew right from wrong and he stuck to it. He was the mortal enemy of graft - could not relax. 
In 1917, Emmett's father was DA and Gov Ferguson was indicted in Travis Co. and Papa dismissed the indictment. Moody's uncle was appointed DA to defeat PaPa. Dan Moody stepped in as DA when his uncle resigned under Gov. Neff. Dan prosecuted the KKK after a number of murders in a rally at Bellville. Papa assisted Dan and convicted the men in high profile case. 
Dan prosecuted the interesting case of the murder of Emmett's Uncle Crawford Greer in Austin. Dan was red-headed and had a temper that showed up in the trial that resulted in a mistrial.
Dan became the leader of the Anti-Klan movement and ran for Attorney General. He had a loose partnership with Barry Miller and Ma Ferguson against the Klan. They distributer bumper stickers saying "Ma, Barry, and Dan - To Hell with the KKK".  They each won the election.
Dan later defeated Ma for re-election as governor.  Emmett worked closely with Dan while he was governor on Game Regulation. Emmett tells an interesting tale of a meeting with Judges and lawyers and problems with the new rules of civil procedures for the court.
In 1929, Dan appointed Ross Sterling to Highway Comm. Ross was in line to step in as Governor after Dan's two terms. 
When he left office, Dan was broke, but he had his reputation and his well-connected secretary.  He moved into an office in the Capitol Ntl. Bank building where the Shelton Law Firm officed. Dan helped Sterling out of a bind with the tumultuous oil industry and with that fee - he bought a Law Library to share. 
#texashistory
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Music: Democracy Is Coming by Leonard Cohen

For maps and other info check out our Facebook page: Our Westlake

Stories told by Emmett Shelton / compiled and submitted by Cynthia Shelton.

The Ku Klux Klan has emblazoned a long historical scar on Texas. At one point during the 1920s, the group was almost a daily fact of life. It took an effort by crusaders such as future Texas Gov. Dan Moody to quell the tide. 

This Victorian mansion, known as Chateau Bellevue, is home to the Austin Woman's Club, formed by female leaders in the 1920's. However, not the only castlelike structure in Austin, we explore more in the Austin surroundings.