Hagerty House

William P. Hagerty was born in County Clare, Ireland (exactly when is unclear). As a devout Catholic, he apparently helped organize a failed rebellion against the British and as a result, fled to the United States in 1862. He first arrived in New York City and made his way to Philadelphia where relatives had been became a reporter. There, he saw a job ad for the Texas & Pacific Railroad, applied, and trained to become an engineer.

In 1876, he relocated to Marshall, which was the eastern terminus of the company's railroad line to the Pacific. Hagerty rose in the ranks and became, as noted above, the personal engineer of George J. Gould. He married his wife, Mollie, here in Marshall and they had five children together. They attended St. Joseph's Catholic Church, which is still located a block to the north (Hagerty bought the property on which the house stands to be close to the church). Tragically, he was killed in a train accident in 1906, and then Mollie died the next year. Their children moved away 1967 but still owned it. It fell into disrepair but a local doctor bought and rehabilitated it in 1972.

"Hagerty-Harris Home." Stephen F. Austin State University. October 14, 2020. http://www.sfasu.edu/heritagecenter/4963.asp.

Williams, Joe. "Hagerty House." National Park Service - National Register of Historic Places Nomination Form. September 13, 1978. https://catalog.archives.gov/OpaAPI/media/40972499/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_TX/78002951.pdf.