Dennis McCarthy

Katie had one brother named Dennis McCarthy. He became a telegraph operator and assistant station manager at the Santa Fe Railroad in Cleveland, Texas. He stayed with his aunt and uncle, the former Jane Lockhart and District Judge L.B. Hightower. One night while working at the railroad station he witnessed a robbery. He talked to Judge Hightower about it and was referred to the district attorney. Two men were arrested, but released on bond. One night, a few weeks later, Dennis was found stabbed to death. The two men were arrested and later sent to the penitentiary. Katie went to the funeral for Dennis, but she never forgave Judge Hightower. She thought the advice should have been for Dennis to carry a pistol. Not too long afterward, Katie sent for her father, Florence McCarthy, who was becoming blind. She took care of him until he died. One day a McCarthy relative from Upper New York State arrived in Christoval. He was a nephew of Florence McCarthy and wanted to restore the family. Katie was 15 years old at that time and not yet married. The New York nephew wanted to send her to a Catholic convent in New York. Her mother, who was Protestant, opposed this and so Katie remained in Texas. Katie got married not long afterward, and several years later she attended the funeral for Dennis, her brother, which was held in Cleveland, Texas.