1896-97 Col. F.B. Baillio Cleburne Review

Col. F.B. Baillio, 18th president, was a descendant of one of the original French settlers of Louisiana was born in Avoyelles Parish, La., on Feb. 6, 1848. At age 16 he enlisted in the Confederate Army and became a member of Benjamin’s Cavalry.

He came to Texas in 1867, moving near Alvarado, and for many years did farm work, studying at night to obtain an education. His first newspaper work was writing paragraphs and neighborhood news for the Alvarado Bulletin.

In 1892 he purchased a half interest in the Johnson County Review at Cleburne and in 1899 purchased a half-interest in the Alvarado Bulletin.

He joined Texas Press Association in 1890. In 1901 he was elected president of the National Editorial Association, which later became the National Newspaper Association.

He left his newspaper several years before his death in 1915 and spent the remainder of his life as a traveling salesman for the Western Newspaper Union and Barnhart Bros. & Spindler.

Baillio authored “A History of the Texas Press Association” printed in 1916, a volume covering the association from its founding in 1880 to 1913. He died Aug. 24, 1915, in Cleburne.