From History of Texas, Published in 1896

B.F. Laughlin, County Commissioner of Erath County, is one of the native sons of Texas, his birth having occurred in Ellis County, on the 1st of July, 1856. His parents, Newton C. and Margaret J. (Weatherspoon) Laughlin, removed from Missouri to Arkansas and thence to Ellis County, where they resided until 1870, when they became residents of Johnson County. The father engaged in the milling business, conducting a saw and flour mill. He also ran a carding factory at Cleburne. Their next home was in Hood County, and he also engaged in the milling business at Thorp Spring. His death occurred in June, 1873, at the age of fifty-six years, and the mother died in Ellis County, when our subject was a youth of eight years.

B.F. Laughlin accompanied his father on his various removals and after the latter's death came to Erath County, in 1874, and engaged in farming. Here he purchased two hundred acres of land on the Paluxy River, it being entirely unimproved, but the arduous task of developing it did not appall him and energetically he began the work. He plowed and planted sixty-five acres, placing it under a high state of cultivation. He is a practical, progressive farmer, and the neat and thrifty appearance of the place well indicates the careful supervision of the owner.

Mr. Laughlin was married January 2, 1879, to Miss Sarah A. Williams, a native of Wayne County, Tennessee, and a daughter of L.C. and Jemima (Massey) Williams. During her early girlhood her parents removed to Arkansas, and in the spring of 1877 came to Erath County. Her father is now a resident of the Indian Nation. Mr. and Mrs. Laughlin are the parents of seven children, namely: Lydia L., Louis N., Daisy D., Mary E., Wirgil V., Averilla J., and Benjamin F. The parents are members of the Cumberland Presbyterian Church, in which he is serving as elder. Mr. Laughlin also belongs to the Farmers' Alliance. In the fall of 1894, he was elected one of the commissioners of Erath County and has discharged his duties in a manner highly satisfactory to his constituents and reflecting credit upon himself. He is deeply interested in all that pertains to the welfare of the community, its advancement and upbuilding, and whatever measure is calculated to prove of public benefit receives his support.

SOURCE

History of Texas, 1896, Chicago: The Lewis Publishing Co.

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