This ghost sign for the H. E. Daughtery Real Estate Company in downtown Bartlett advertises a business that operated here in the early years of the 20th century.
The sign reads as follows:
"H. E. DAUGHTERTY REAL ESTATE
Farms * City Lots"
We were not able to find much information about this business, but we did find an interesting story about the proprietor in the Portal to Texas History, which had an edition of the local newspaper from May 1914 as follows: (
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"Bartlett Tribune and News
May 1, 1914
H. E. DAUGHERTY BADLY WOUNDED
A telegram was sent from Corpus Christi last Friday to Mr. Will Daugherty of this place, stating that his brother, H. E. Daugherty of that city, had been dangerously wounded, no particulars being stated. At the time Mr. Dority was in Runnels County, at the bedside of his sick sister, and the message was sent there to him. He left at once for Corpus Christi, without awaiting any particulars as to how the accident happened. Upon his arrival there the following message was received by the Tribune, which explains itself:
Corpus Christi, Texas, April 29 R. F. Cates, Bartlett, Texas.
Find Eugene rapidly recovering from gunshot wound accidentally inflicted. He is out of danger and will be up in a few days. Most reports untrue and all exaggerated. WILL DAUGHTERY
Mr. Daughtery's many friends here will be glad to learn that he is on the road to recovery."
On Ancestry we were able to find H. E. Daughtery in the 1910 US Census, living in Bartlett TX, married, and working in real estate:
DAUGHTERY, H. Eugene, head, white, male, age 34, married one time, married for 3 years, living in Davilla, Justice Pct 1, born in TX. father and mother born in US, can read and write, working on his own account as a real estate agent.
Anna, wife, white female, age 25, married one time, married for 3 years, mother of 1 child who is living, born in KS, father born MA, mother born NY, keeping house can read and write
Mable C, daughter, age 1, single, born in TX, father born in TX, other born in KS
In 1914 he was in Corpus Christi, and in 1917 he was deceased, and his widow was living in a boarding house in Waco at 1401 S 11th Street.
So from this information we can say that the ghost sign is from before 1914, and since the buildings were built in 1906, e think it dates from that time.