William Henry Boothe, son of George Jefferson and Mary Ann Jones Boothe of North Carolina, was born July 2, 1866, in Gonzales, Texas. On April 29, 1896, William married Annie Robert Ragsdale and they had two sons.
Annie, born September 12, 1874, in Lavaca County, Texas, was the daughter of William Robert Ragsdale and Susan Prentiss Robinson Ragsdale. Annie’s father was killed by cattle rustlers when he was thirty-eight years old, leaving her mother to raise six children. Managing the ranch by herself, Mrs. Ragsdale saw that all of her children received a college education.
William and Annie purchased the lots in 1897 from William’s parents and completed the Victorian home the following year. William operated W.H. Boothe and Company, which was a general store owned and operated by his father. It was located on the northeast corner of the block south of Texas Heroes Square. The store was later sold and William made a good living as a cotton and pecan buyer. His wife, Annie, was a graduate of the Boston Conservatory of Music and an accomplished pianist. She was a very successful music teacher but gave up teaching music when she became a self-taught physical therapist. According to family members, she was always booked by people needing relief from aches and pains and some of her patients were football players from the University of Texas. Her favorite liniment was made of white gasoline and gum camphor. Family members also stated that, because of her success, she was not popular with local physicians.
Annie, always considered an eccentric, had a small fenced cement pond in the front yard where she kept a four foot alligator. Consequently, neighborhood children gave her house a wide berth. The alligator escaped and when located near the old cotton mill, about twelve blocks away, he was disposed of.
William died December 18, 1940. Annie died November 27, 1958, in Austin while undergoing medical treatment. They are buried in the Gonzales I.O.O.F. Cemetery.
