Thomas Edwin Traylor

Thomas Edwin Traylor was born in Amelia County, Virginia, on September 19, 1841. He went to Richmond in 1859, and when the Civil War broke out he joined Company I of the First Virginia Infantry. He served in the Confederate Army until the close of the war, then returned to Richmond and went into the implement business.

In 1876 he came to Houston, where he was employed for 32 years by the Henry House Lumber Company. He married Josephine Pridy on March 25, 1869; she died in 1871. He later married Elizabeth Riggs on March 25, 1885, and she died in 1892.

He received his Masonic degrees in Richmond Randolph Lodge No. 19 of Richmond, Virginia, and affiliated with Gray Lodge on June 18, 1879. He served as Junior Deacon in 1882–1883, Senior Deacon in 1883–1884 and Senior Steward in 1885–1886, was elected Junior Warden in 1892, and after a year as Senior Warden became Master in 1894–1895.

His year began in mourning. On St. John the Baptist’s Day, June 24, 1894, the lodge escorted the remains of its Treasurer and Past Master, Dr. James Cowling, to Glenwood Cemetery. Three days later, on June 27, Brother Traylor was installed as the 24th Master by Past Master J. R. Cade, aided by Past Master A. F. Sittig. During his term the lodge revised its By-Laws to spell out the duties of the three principal officers as an Executive Committee, and to require the Finance Committee to examine the Secretary’s and Treasurer’s books and report to the lodge every quarter.

He was High Priest of Washington Chapter No. 2, R. A. M., in 1898–1899. He was made a Knight Templar in Ruthven Commandery No. 2 on September 15, 1890, and was its Commander in 1903. He was also a member of the Lodge of Perfection and the Chapter of Rose Croix of the Scottish Rite. Gray Lodge elected him a life member in 1906.

He died on March 22, 1917, at the home of his daughter, Mrs. B. B. Westbrook, in Temple, Texas. He was buried in Hollywood Cemetery in Houston on March 24, with John H. Crooker conducting the Masonic rites for Gray Lodge and a Ruthven escort.