Noel Thomas Insall, the Burl Hunter
by Shirley Insall Pieratt
They called him and his sons "the Burl Hunters."
Noel Insall with great grandson Lee Deviney circa 1963
Shirley Pieratt snapped this photo of Noel Insall with great-grandson Lee Deviney circa 1963Noel Insall with great grandson Lee Deviney circa 1963Noel InsallNoel InsallNoel InsallNoel Insall with great grandson Lee Deviney circa 1963My grandad, Noel Thomas Insall, prospered in the 1930's, ranging over south Texas, the southwest and Mexico, digging oversized walnut roots and shipping the valuable "burls" to Europe for fine veneered furniture.
The advent of the World War II ruined the burl business, but the Insalls had already found most of the hardwood.
Grandaddy was born Feb. 28, 1884, between Waring and Comfort, the son of Cade and Dora Insall. (Cade fought the Comanches, 1874-1878, with Co.F, Texas Rangers. Cade was apparently 1/4 Cherokee; Dora was apparently 1/4 Choctaw).
In 1907, Noel was working at a Bisbee, Arizona, copper mine. After the burl business declined, Noel opened a restaurant (Wonderland) north of Boerne, where he displayed his Indian artifacts. (His first wife was Julia Cravey of Comfort; their sons were Clarence Cade and Melvin. His second wife was Azelia Austry Thomason of Alamogordo, NM; Their daughters were Marjorie, Mary Jane, and Emmabelle.)
In 1934, Noel served in the special Texas Rangers; As an old man in the 1960's, he spent several years in Arizona's Superstition Mountains, mining for uranium. (He was also selling Noel-made arrowheads to tourists.)
In 1963, Grandaddy sent me a wonderful gift: the personal papers of his granddad, Richard Insall, dating from 1838-1865. Noel had found the papers in Richard's in-laws' abandoned 1842 cabin. These papers inspired me to write four family histories. ( See Cade Insall, Texas Ranger, and William M, Mims, Texas Ranger, Boerne Public Library.
