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<\/a><\/p>\nJudge M. H. Bonner, a Texas State Supreme Court Associate Justice, bought a parcel of land from the estate of his former law partner, Texas\u2019 first governor, J. Pinckney Henderson. When Judge Bonner\u2019s oldest daughter, Mattie married attorney Harrison Whitaker, the newlyweds were gifted two acres on which they built their home in 1878. The Whitakers shopped in New York for fireplace mantles, light fixtures, wallpaper and much of their furniture. They selected an East Lake Bracketed architectural design for construction of their two-story nine room home. The house became a central point for Tyler society as the Whitakers presided over dinners and parties, all celebrated in grand Victorian style. Sadly, Mattie suffered an untimely death and five years later the house was sold to Mattie\u2019s younger sister, Annie and her husband, Sidney McClendon. The McClendon\u2019s had nine children, the youngest of which, Sarah, embodied the values of her parents and grandparents as she became a noted Washington, D. C. news journalist whose career spanned the terms of 12 presidents from Franklin Roosevelt to George W. Bush.<\/p>\n