Built in 1921 for Everett Lawley and Alma Genevieve Dilworth Lawley, this early-twentieth-century residence appears on the City of Gonzales historic homes driving tour, which places the house on St. Matthew Street and lists it as the 1921 Everett Lawley House. The same tour directions identify it specifically at 623 St. Matthew along the St. Matthew Street cluster of late-Victorian and early-1900s homes.
People and context.
Everett Lawley was born February 17, 1892, in Beeville, Texas. He registered for the draft in 1918 and married Alma Genevieve Dilworth on December 1, 1920, as recorded in Gonzales Inquirer marriage abstracts for August–December 1920. The Lawleys made their home near Alma’s parents, C. E. and Lenora (Kokernot) Dilworth, a well-known local family. Their son, Everett Lawley, Jr., was born in Gonzales in 1922; a Texas Senate memorial later honored him and notes the Dilworth/Kokernot lineage. Everett Sr. died October 19, 1962 and is buried at Fort Sam Houston National Cemetery in San Antonio.
Period of significance: 1921–mid-20th century, covering construction, early Lawley family occupancy, and the home’s association with the Dilworth/Kokernot family network.
Notable owners/associations:
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Everett Lawley (1892–1962) — World War I draft registrant; longtime Gonzales resident.
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Alma Genevieve Dilworth Lawley — daughter of C. E. and Lenora Dilworth; marriage recorded in 1920 Inquirer abstracts.
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Everett Lawley, Jr. (1922–2003) — son; commemorated in Texas Senate Resolution 790, which details family heritage.
Architecture: Early-twentieth-century vernacular residence consistent with 1920s Gonzales domestic architecture: wood construction and a street-facing porch typical of the period’s family houses along St. Matthew.