Individual Details
George Henry "Cap" Judia
(October 15, 1870 - August 23, 1928)
George Henry "Cap" Judia was born in Giles County, Tennessee, October 15, 1870 to John F. and Susan Porterfield Judia. After Susan died in 1875, George and his sister, Ida June (born in 1872 in Giles County, Tennessee) came to Texas with John F. Judia, his sister, Dollie, and her husband, Henry Moore. They moved to Dry Creek, north of Weatherford, later to Waxahachie, then to Millsap where the Moores ran a hotel.
George Judia (called Cap for reasons unknown to the author) had sat on Sam Bass' lap as a child, and heard him tell wild exciting stories of the west. When he was thirteen, he decided to go see for himself what life and the world were all about. He went to El Paso and in this brawling city, to his surprise and delight, met his father. He got a job where John worked and things were wonderful, until Cap was kidnapped by a gang of bandits. For two years he endured brutal treatment in the mountains of Old Mexico. He was forced to tend the horses and cook for the outlaws, he was not allowed to go more than 100 yards from the campfire. At night he feared sleeping on the ground because of wild animals and roaming Indians; for protection, he strapped himself in trees to sleep. Cap finally escaped the outlaw camp and made his way to Hermosa to find help, and the bandits were run out of the area by a posse. Cap worked five months in Hermosa to earn enough money to get back to his aunt and uncle's home at Millsap, where he discovered he had been given up for dead.
On June 7, 1890 in Eastland, Cap married Eva Lillian Cantrell, the daughter of Gansavourt M. and Fannie Ann Beller Cantrell of Lead Hill and Harrison, Arkansas. Soon after their wedding, Cap and Eva moved where Monahans is today; where he ran a water station for the railroad. One day when Cap was not home. some Indians broke into the house, Eva hid in the attic. The Indians took some food and left without harming her, but that day, Cap decided this was where his adventureous trail ended. He was foreman for a time for a rock gang, working from the Texas and Pacific railroad at Van Horn. They were living at Ranger with relatives when the 1893 tornado struck Cisco. Cap went to Cisco to help the people rebuild. He liked the area and later moved there. Cap and Eva had five children: 1) Maude, born October 6, 1893, married William Oliver Kemper; 2) Ida Mae, born September 13, 1895, married Clarence Tune; 3) Guy Harmon, born 1897, was seriously burned and died January 19, 1900; 4) Ivan Ray, born March 14, 1899, married Etta Elizabeth Mahaney, and 5) Marie, born 1901, married Marcus Whittington, they had no children.
Cap wanted to give his first son his initals, Guy Harmon wasn't named for almost a year after he was born.
Cap Judia had several movie theaters in Cisco, erecting the Judia Theatre and office building in 1919; and ice house that, in conjunction with the movie theater invented evaporative air conditioning which he called the Cyclone Ventalator; and a roller rink. He was an inventor with sixty patents to his credit) some of which were a sailboat sail, self propulsion for a surface water vessel, an adjustable hand tool, a car polish, a means of locking railroad boxcar doors, a non-glaring auto light), and was an exceptional musician, as were all his children. About 1910 he organized, and for many years, led the first community band in Cisco.
Eva died May 6, 1902 at age 27, leaving a large family of young children behind. Her mother, who was then divorced, came to live with them and became the mother figure to the Judia children. Fannie was an accomplished seamstress and did sewing for the public. She died May 8, 1942 in Houston, Texas. Cap Judia lived the last two years of his life in Fort Worth, trying to manufacture one of his inventions; he died August 23, 1928.
George Judia (called Cap for reasons unknown to the author) had sat on Sam Bass' lap as a child, and heard him tell wild exciting stories of the west. When he was thirteen, he decided to go see for himself what life and the world were all about. He went to El Paso and in this brawling city, to his surprise and delight, met his father. He got a job where John worked and things were wonderful, until Cap was kidnapped by a gang of bandits. For two years he endured brutal treatment in the mountains of Old Mexico. He was forced to tend the horses and cook for the outlaws, he was not allowed to go more than 100 yards from the campfire. At night he feared sleeping on the ground because of wild animals and roaming Indians; for protection, he strapped himself in trees to sleep. Cap finally escaped the outlaw camp and made his way to Hermosa to find help, and the bandits were run out of the area by a posse. Cap worked five months in Hermosa to earn enough money to get back to his aunt and uncle's home at Millsap, where he discovered he had been given up for dead.
On June 7, 1890 in Eastland, Cap married Eva Lillian Cantrell, the daughter of Gansavourt M. and Fannie Ann Beller Cantrell of Lead Hill and Harrison, Arkansas. Soon after their wedding, Cap and Eva moved where Monahans is today; where he ran a water station for the railroad. One day when Cap was not home. some Indians broke into the house, Eva hid in the attic. The Indians took some food and left without harming her, but that day, Cap decided this was where his adventureous trail ended. He was foreman for a time for a rock gang, working from the Texas and Pacific railroad at Van Horn. They were living at Ranger with relatives when the 1893 tornado struck Cisco. Cap went to Cisco to help the people rebuild. He liked the area and later moved there. Cap and Eva had five children: 1) Maude, born October 6, 1893, married William Oliver Kemper; 2) Ida Mae, born September 13, 1895, married Clarence Tune; 3) Guy Harmon, born 1897, was seriously burned and died January 19, 1900; 4) Ivan Ray, born March 14, 1899, married Etta Elizabeth Mahaney, and 5) Marie, born 1901, married Marcus Whittington, they had no children.
Cap wanted to give his first son his initals, Guy Harmon wasn't named for almost a year after he was born.
Cap Judia had several movie theaters in Cisco, erecting the Judia Theatre and office building in 1919; and ice house that, in conjunction with the movie theater invented evaporative air conditioning which he called the Cyclone Ventalator; and a roller rink. He was an inventor with sixty patents to his credit) some of which were a sailboat sail, self propulsion for a surface water vessel, an adjustable hand tool, a car polish, a means of locking railroad boxcar doors, a non-glaring auto light), and was an exceptional musician, as were all his children. About 1910 he organized, and for many years, led the first community band in Cisco.
Eva died May 6, 1902 at age 27, leaving a large family of young children behind. Her mother, who was then divorced, came to live with them and became the mother figure to the Judia children. Fannie was an accomplished seamstress and did sewing for the public. She died May 8, 1942 in Houston, Texas. Cap Judia lived the last two years of his life in Fort Worth, trying to manufacture one of his inventions; he died August 23, 1928.
Events
| Birth | October 15, 1870 | Diana, Giles County, Tennessee | |||
| Marriage | June 7, 1891 | Cisco, Eastland County, Texas - Eva Lillian Cantrell | |||
| Death | August 23, 1928 | Fort Worth, Tarrant County, Texas | |||
| Burial | Cisco, Eastland County, Texas |
Families
| Spouse | Eva Lillian Cantrell (1876 - 1902) |
| Child | Maude Judia (1893 - 1987) |
| Child | Ida Mae Judia (1895 - 1975) |
| Child | Guy Harmon Judia (1897 - 1900) |
| Child | Ivan Ray Judia (1899 - 1973) |
| Child | Marie Evelyn Judia (1901 - 1986) |
| Father | John Franklin Judia (1850 - 1910) |
| Mother | Nancy Susan Porterfield (1846 - 1872) |
| Sibling | Ida June Judia (1872 - 1959) |