DUANE
Duane's take
Here's my telling of what the official marker has to say about the J. Meredith Tatton House in Victoria County. Now settle in, because this one's got an Englishman, a legendary cattleman's great-granddaughter, and an architect who left his mark on a whole stretch of Texas — and it all comes together on one block in Victoria.
J. Meredith Tatton came into this world in 1901, in Leek, Staffordshire, England. By 1930, he'd found his way to Texas — and to Victoria, where he married Virginia Drake Hallinan, also born in 1901, a Victoria native whose family tree ran straight back to legendary cattleman Thomas O'Connor.
That's the kind of roots that mean something in South Texas. Now, the couple didn't plant themselves in Victoria right away. They spent a stretch living in England from 1932 to 1936, had one son, then came back and made Victoria their home for good.
And when they came back, they came back with purpose. The Tattons had extensive ranching interests across the area. Jack Tatton — that's what they called him — served as a director of Victoria Bank and Trust Company, a director of the National Quarter Horse Breeders Association, a trustee of Our Lady of the Lake College up in San Antonio, a Senator of the University of St.
Thomas in Houston, and president of the South Texas Historical Association. Conservationist, composer, cattleman, writer — the man wore a lot of hats, and apparently wore them all well. But here's where the story gets architectural.
When the Tattons decided to settle in Victoria, they didn't just find a house — they commissioned one. And the man they turned to was John F. Staub, a noted architect out of Houston.
Staub was a Tennessee native who had trained with country house architect Harrie Thomas Lindeberg in New York before relocating to Houston in 1921 and opening his own practice. By 1924, he was already a co-founder of the South Texas Chapter of the American Institute of Architects. He designed university campus buildings, all manner of varied projects — but what he became best known for was single-family houses.
Staub had actually touched Victoria once before. In 1933, a man named Joseph Vandenberge hired him to remodel the Frederick C. Proctor house.
The Tatton commission on that same block became his second time working in the city. He designed the house for the Tattons in 1936, and it was completed the following year — a colonial revival and Monterey-style inspired home, featuring brick and frame cladding, second-story bedrooms, a study, a balcony, and rear porches. The kind of house that announces itself without having to raise its voice.
The Tattons made it their home, and it carried their story until 1949, when William and Lucile Welder Murphy — representing two more notable South Texas cattle ranching families — bought the house. It stayed in the Murphy family all the way until 2005. More than half a century of South Texas cattle royalty under one roof, in a house built by one of Houston's finest architects, for an Englishman who came to Texas and never quite left.
Some houses just have that kind of gravity.
What the marker says
J. Meredith Tatton (1901-1970), conservationist, composer, cattleman, and writer, was born in Leek, Staffordshire, England. In 1930, Tatton came to Texas and married Victoria native Virginia Drake Hallinan (1901-1993), a great-granddaughter of legendary cattleman Thomas O’Connor. The couple lived in England from 1932-36 before returning to make Victoria their home; they had one son. The Tattons had extensive area ranching interests. “Jack” Tatton was also a director of Victoria Bank & Trust Co., a director of the National Quarter Horse Breeders Association, a trustee of Our Lady of the Lake College (San Antonio), a Senator of the University of St. Thomas (Houston), and president of the South Texas Historical Association. Noted architect John F. Staub designed this home for the Tattons in 1936, and it was completed the following year. Staub, a Tennessee native, worked for country house architect Harrie Thomas Lindeberg in New York before relocating in 1921 to Houston, where he soon opened his own practice. Staub was a co-founder of the South Texas Chapter of the American Institute of Architects in 1924. Staub and his associates designed varied projects, including several university campus buildings, but became best known for single-family houses. In 1933, Joseph Vandenberge hired Staub to remodel the Frederick C. Proctor house; the Tatton house on the same block became his second commission in Victoria. The colonial revival and monterey-style inspired house features brick and frame cladding, second-story bedrooms, study, balcony, and rear porches. William and Lucile Welder Murphy, representing two more notable south Texas cattle ranching families, bought the house in 1949, and it remained in their family until 2005.