Born in Tennessee on Dec. 31, 1851, James Emerson Whiteselle moved to Texas in 1870 to work in the lumber company of his uncle P. W. Ezell. In 1875 he began working in the local Carruthers Lumber Company which he later owned. Under his management the business was expanded to include the manufacturing and selling of brick. Married to Kate Huey in 1882, Whiteselle became a prominent businessman and banker. As Mayor of Corsicana, 1894-98, when oil was discovered here, he was influential in the development of the field. He died on his birthday in 1915.