George Streator Templeton grew up in a happy and prosperous home in Rich Hill, Missouri. He was the older of Judge and Emma Templeton's two sons. As in most small towns, the children his age socialized, went to school, and participated in church and club activities together through their coming of age. The Judge and Emma's home was a particularly active household in the community. When "Georgie" turned nine years old, the fete in his honor was described in no less than three newspaper articles. Most of the town's children were treated to a party where "Jack-straws, checkers and other games were played by the little ones indoors, and Shetland pony races were run on the outside." It was not just a party to George's mother; it was also an opportunity to instruct the youngsters on proper social etiquette: we're told that, "The youngsters drew names for their partners to the banquet which followed and all had a very merry time."1

At the Templeton household, the Shetland ponies were not just a party entertainment hired for the occasion. The Judge bred the ponies and trained them as "seeing-eye" aids for the blind and to provide the handicapped with easily managed transportation around town. George apparently took an active interest in the breeding and care for the animals while his younger brother Harold helped his father with the business end of the operation.

The Templeton boys were very active in school and outside pursuits. George was a member of the Athenian Literary Society whose meetings featured debates on a variety of topics. This association produced a number of business luminaries according to a contemporary historian.2 The editor of his high school yearbook thought it fitting that, on the night of the Class of 1910's graduation the the "earth should pass through the tail of Halley's Comet"3 — a cosmic portent indeed.

George followed through on his youthful participation in his father's horse breeding avocation to a degree from the University of Missouri at Columbia, class of 1911, in animal husbandry. While an undergraduate, he was a member of the stock judging team which won first place and also won the international saddle horse contest at the International Stock Show at Chicago. During his junior year, George accepted a position in Wayne, Illinois, with a large stock company, where he worked for the experience and to supplement his student finances. He was a member of several honorary fraternities at University, and graduated "among the top" of his class.

The summer following his graduation, George assiduously courted Miss Eliza Catherine Bradley, daughter of Dudley O. Bradley. By August 27th, "One of our prettiest West End girls [was] wearing a brand new diamond ring on a very becoming finger" according to a Rich Hill newspaper. He had to be decisive in his wooing of Catherine since he had been "elected to fill the chair of Animal Husbandry in the University of Texas.(sic)" upon graduation. The local columnist went on to say, "He is very much elated over his new position as the University of Texas [which] is one of the best Southern Universities. He will depart for Texas September 18."

The reporter went on to observe that, "In the meantime his straw hat will rest upon Judge Bradley's front porch."

At the Texas State College of Agriculture, he earned his doctorate while keeping an active teaching schedule. His long distance engagement finally culminated in an elegant wedding at the home of Judge Bradley on September 19, 1912, where his younger brother accompanied the soloist (Miss Harriet Cole sang "I Love You Truly") and played Lohengrinn's wedding march on the parlor piano.

George S. Templeton's academic and professional renown grew, and after two years at College Station, he was rewarded by becoming the head of the animal husbandry department of the Agricultural College and experiment station of the University of Alabama at Auburn where he specialized in beef cattle and hogs. With the 1920 fall term's commencement, George was back in College Station as head of A&M College's Animal Husbandry Department.

He later joined the Unites States Department of Agriculture and headed up the Department's experimental station in Fontana, California, a research facility that specialized in rabbits.4 He died February 27, 1972, and is buried in Butler, Missouri, in the Bradley family plot.

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NOTES:

1. 0110 FHT Scrapbook.
2. Griffin, Mary, "Wagon Wheels," May 24, 1984. (0124 RMT)
3. Griffin, op. cit.
4. 0084 GLT, email, December 31, 2001.