Tyler

Alliene Gaston Coker, The First Woman Elected as an Officer of a Tyler Bank

Alliene Gaston Coker, The First Woman Elected as an Officer of a Tyler Bank

At our April 2019 monthly meeting, Kathy Gaston, a Smith County Historical Society Board member, spoke about Alliene Gaston Coker, the first woman elected as an officer of a Tyler bank.   Alliene Gaston Coker was born in 1891 to a prominent Tyler dentist, Finis Ewing Gaston, and his wife, Bessie Clarinda James. A lifelong resident of Tyler, Alliene was proud of her family and her city. She wa ...[Read More]

Robert Lee Falkner and the R.L. Falkner Collection

Robert Lee Falkner and the R.L. Falkner Collection

Robert Lee Falkner was born Nov. 10, 1911, in Garden Valley in Smith County, Texas to Eugene L. Falkner and wife, Eunice Jackson Neill. He attended Tyler Public Schools and lived in Tyler most of his life. He was a member of Calvary Baptist Church. He was an award-winning photographer for the Tyler Courier-Times-Telegraph for four years. He was owner of R. L. Falkner Photography Shop in Tyler for ...[Read More]