Galveston County, Texas - The whole text, 1895 (part 12 of 26)

BERDINAND MARCHAND, deceased, a long-time resident of Galveston, was born in Alsace, France, near Balfore, on the lOth of May, 1814. He came to America in 1845 and followed his trade as a journeyman carpenter in various sections of the United States for about six years, when he returned to his native country and married Octavia Leonard, who also was born in Alsace, of French parentage, and the same year, 1851, came to Texas, settling at Galveston. He engaged in contracting and building in this city for a number of years, in connection with which he also for a time carried on a retail grocery business. In 1866, on account of his wife's health, he bought a tract of land consisting of 1,000 acres, lying near old Highland (now Lamarque), in Galveston county, on which he took up his residence and lived during most of his remaining years. He, however, kept his home in Galveston, corner of Twenty-fourth street and avenue H, where he first settled after coming to the city, and there he died September 9, 1889. Surviving him Mr. Marchand left a widow and three sons and tliree daugliters : Ferdinand A., born August 24, 1852, Hortense, now Mrs. Jerry Lordan, born September 25, 1853; Jule, born July II, 1857; Elizabeth, now Mrs. Leopold Fivel, born November 13, 1859; Octavia, now Mrs. C. S. Kirkpatrick, born February 13, 1S61; and George, born October 27, 1862. All of these reside in Galveston e.\cept Mrs. Kirkpatrick, who lives in Sealy, Te.xas, and Ferdinand A. who lives at Lamarque, in Galveston county. Mrs. Marchand, who was born January 8, 1S21, is still vigorous at seventy-four, ripe in years and all full of early-day reminiscences of Galveston island.

Ys^J erable place in Texas history in an early da}', but his name is hardly known to this generation. His case is an apt illustration how much more enduring military glory is than civic honors. Had he exerted himself on the battlefield as he did in the world of business, it is not likely that he would now be almost forgotten.

Samuel M. Williams, son of Howell and Dorothea Williams, was born in Providence, Rhode Island, October 4, 1795, a descendant from New England ancestry of Welsh extraction. He received the rudiments of a common-school education in his native place, and at the age of thirteen went to live with an uncle in Baltimore, Maryland, where he was put to business as a member of the clerical force in his uncle's store. There he enjoyed excellent opportunities to become acquainted with the world of business, of

From Baltimore he went to New Orleans, wliile still a youth, and there resided until I 82 I, \\'hen he was attracted to Texas, coming out with Stephen F. Austin and locating at old San Felipe, then the head of Austin's colony. He at once became secretary of the colony and .Colonel Austin's confidential clerk, and as such had charge of all the books, maps and papers belonging to the colony. This was a position which Mr. Williams was well qualified to fill, and one that he did fill with entire satisfaction both to Colonel Austin and the settlers.

The following extract from John Henry Brown's history is in jxiint : "It must be borne in mind that while nearly fourteen years had been added to the scroll of time since Mr. Austin began, colonization in Texas, he had in fact been only about ten years in the country, the remainder of the time being consumed in his two prolonged trips to Mexico. Hence it is the more remarkable that the affairs of his colony were managed with such great skill, and that he enjoyed in such an unusual degree the confidence and esteem of his colonists. That he was alily assisted and sustained by his secrctaiy, and in one grant his partner, Samuel M. Williams, we have his own assurances and the testimony of their contemporaries."

Interesting himself in all the affairs of the colonists Mr. Williams was led to take a pronounced stand against Mexico in the troubles preceding the revolution, and as a result he was one of the patriots for whom special demand wi:s m ide by the Mexican authorities in their efforts to quell the disturbances. He was not in the field during the time of the invasion of the country by Santa Anna, being absent in the East solicitine aid for the settlers.

Mr. Williams had already severed his connection with Austin's colony as secretary when the war came on, and having formed a partnership with Thomas F. McKinney, was engaged in mercantile business at the old town of Quintana, at the mouth of the Brazos, when the crisis was reached in the early spring of 1836.

When the city of Galveston was projected by Michel B. Menard, Mr. Williams became interested in the enterprise, taking stock in the company, and accepting a place on its first board of directors. The firm of McKinney & Williams was one of the first to open a mercantile establishment in the new town; they built the first wharf; put up the first warehouse, and owned the first boat, the Lafitte, engaged in local trade. Subsequently obtaining from the Congress of Texas a charter for the Commercial and Agricultural Bank, Mr. Williams turned his attention to banking, and for a number of years conducted the only bank in the city of Galveston. He received a great many land grants, but as land was cheap in these days he never realized much from this source. Indeed, though he led an active career for more than forty years, and possessed varied interests, he did not succeed in accumulating a large estate. He lived at a time of low values.

March 18, 1828, Mr. Williams married Sarah Patterson Scott, a daughter of William and Mary Scott, who migrated from Kentucky to Texas in 1824. The issue of this marriage was four children, who became grown: Austin May Williams, who died in Caldwell, Burleson county, Texas, in 1869; William Howell Williams, for many years a resident of the city of Galveston, now living in Newark, New Jersey; Mary D. Williams, now widow of Thomas J. League, residing in Galveston; and Caroline Williams, who was married to Dr. Marcus Campbell, and died on Clear creek, in Galveston county, in 1876.

Samuel M. Williams died September 13, 1858, followed a little less than two years later by his wife, who passed from earth August 31, i860. Both are buried in the Episcopal cemetery at Galveston.

Samuel M. Williams was a man of excellent business ability, superior mental attainments and charming graces of manner and person. He spoke three languages fluently, English, French and Spanish, and was a most entertaining conversationalist. He was scrupulously neat in his dress, and distinguished for his great dignity of character, being a man whom a child might approach, but at the same time one with whom the most exalted would not dare take any liberties. He was a prominent Mason, a pioneer member of the order in Texas, making the principles and practices of the craft his religion.

>-T»OHN H. MOSER, only son of Peter m H. and Elizabeth Moser, was born /* 1 October 3, 1853, on the Gulf of Mexico, aboard the ship "Star of the Republic." He spent his boyhood and youth in Galveston, in the schools of which city he received his education. He learned the marble-cutter's trade and followed it as a journeyman until 1S76, when he engaged in business for himself, opening a marble yard at the corner of Twenty-fifth street and Avenue L. There he has since conducted a successful business, handling all kinds of marble material, staple and ornamental. Mr. Moser has an aptitude both for business

He married, on December 12, 1885, Miss Agnes Niedenfuhr, who was born in the province of Silesia, Germany, March 8, 1863, being a daughter of Hubert and Josephine Niedenfuhr. She died November 6, 1 89 1, leaving two children, a son. Innocent H., and a daughter, Hildah R.

The following bit of history concerning the Star of the Republic, aboard which Mr. Moser was born, may be appropriately inserted in this brief mention of him. The article was written by Captain J. J. Hendley, her commander, a few years before his death: "The ship Star of the Republic was originally a bark. She was built by Sylvester Gildersleeve in 1842, at Portland, Maine, for the Galveston trade, and was owned jointly by Sylvester Gildersleeve, William Hendley and J. J. Hendley, and for her first voyage sailed from New York city October 1 2 of the satne year, arriving in Galveston October 25, making the passage in thirteen days, J. J Hendley commanding. She was j consigned to Mengurs & Garcia, merchants of Galveston. In July, 1843, she was taken to Portland and changed into a ship. She sailed from New York city October 3, 1843, and arrived at the port of Galveston the 1 8th of the same month; passage, fifteen days. During her stay at Galveston, sixteen vessels of foreign tonnage were lying in the harbor, but of that number the Star of the Republic was the only one tiying the American flag. She was a fast and a favorite ship, and often made the passage in twelve to fifteen days." She was also the first vessel fiying the flag of the Republic of Texas, carrying this flag as her signal, between 1842 and 1846.

aOMMODORE THOMAS CHUBB. - The life of the subject of this sketch was an e\-eiitful one, and furnishes another illustration of the oft-repeated saying that truth is stranger than fiction. He was born June 17, 1811, in Charlestown, Massachusetts, almost within the shadow of Bunker Hill monument. His father, Thomas Chubb, was also a native of Massachusetts, a rope-maker by trade, which in those days was an important and profitable industry, and his grandfather Chubb, also named Thomas, came of a family of celebrated English locksmiths, who for generations were established and did an extensive business in Oxford street, London.

The first Thomas Chubb in America came to the country in early Colonial days and settled in Charlestown, Massachusetts, where he carried on his trade as a locksmith very successfully for many years. He was a volunteer in the Colonists' struggle for independence, and took part in the battle of Bunker Hill. He spent all of his mature and later life at Charlestown, and there founded a business which continues to this day, being one of the largest in this country. Of his grandmother Commodore Chubb knew but little, she having died when he was small. The father of our subject was a steady-going, industrious and prosperous tradesman, a man of great independence of character and great pride of family, which characteristics he transmitted in a large measure to his children. He was an active member of the Order of St. Ann, an exclusive social guild of wide influence to which only men of sturdy craft and irreproachable character were admitted. He took great interest in his calling, anil it was his wish that his sons should succeed him therein, but it was not to the taste of Thomas to do so. The trade of rope-maker seemed to him too tame and promised too Httle of grand achievement for his ambition. Accordingly he ran away from home, and having decided on a sailor's life, boarded a brig bound for Philadelphia, arriving at which place he made straight for the Government docks, where he presented himself to the commander of the United States cruiser, "Constitution," for enlistment in the marine service. Having stood the necessary examination, he was mustered in, and entered on a career which was destined to be a source of honor and wealth to him. His strict observance of the rules of the service, his alertness in executing orders, and his obliging yet commanding manner soon attracted the attention of the ship's officers, and he was appointed coxwain of the admiral's brig, a position which at once brought him into general notice and afforded him an excellent opportunity to show the mettle that was in him. For four years he remained at sea without communicating with his relatives. He was supposed to have been lost, all efforts at his recovery proving unavailing. But at the end of the term of his enlistment he paid "the old folks at home" a visit and created genuine consternation in the Chubb household by turning up after having been so long mourned as one dead. He was now a youth of fifteen, well developed, one who had seen a great deal of the world for his age, and, having taken good care of his earnings, was the possessor of some means. It will be worth mentioning that his slender salary had been considerably augmented by the addition of the sum which he was allowed as "grog-money," he having refused to take grog, and receiving the money instead.

With a capital of about $500 he organized a company and embarked in the codfishing business, in which he was engaged for some time when a wider field was offered him in the coffee trade between the ports of New York and Boston and those of South America. Securing the necessary financial backing he fitted out two ships, with which he put out for the coffee plantations of the West Indies. He conveyed several cargoes of coffee to the cities of Boston and New York, on each of which good profits were made, both for himself and his associates. While in the West Indies he learned that there was an active demand there for slaves to be worked on the coffee plantations, and to meet this demand he made a cruise to the Congo country of Africa, where he secured about 400 negroes, most of whom he disposed of to good advantage to West Indian planters, taking some, however, - the better ones, - to Boston and New York, where they were sold for domestics in wealthy families.

While in the West Indies he also heard of the struggle then going on between the settlers of Texas and the government of Mexico, and learning that there was great need of arms and supplies to carry on the war, he returned to the North and loaded a vessel with these sinews of war and sailed for the Southwest. He landed at Velasco about the time the army under General Houston began the retreat from the Colorado, and being advised of the situation immediately tendered as a gift to the cause of freedom, through the commanding officer, General Houston, his entire cargo. The gift was of course gladly accepted, and it is said that a good deal of the powder was burnt on the field of San Jacinto. The friendship w'hich sprang up between General Houston and

Histort Of Texas

Commodore Chubb in consequence of that act of generosit}' was lasting, and in partial recognition of his eminent services to tlie cause of freedom in the great hour of need, General Houston subsequently had Commodore Chubb made Admiral of the Texas navy.

The Commodore had much to do in different capacities with the shipping interests. He was one of the stevedores that did business over the Boston docks, and it is said that he invented and introduced the sj'stem with horse-and-pully power.

Commodore Chubb was a man of varied parts and led a very \aried career. He at one time owned and managed a circus, at that time one of the largest on the road. He also built the old Federal Street Theater in Boston, and opened it with Fannie Esler, the then world-famous dancer, who at that time made her first appearance in this country, having been brought by Commodore Chubb from London to open his play-house. The same year he built and furnished throughout an elegant church edifice and presented it to the Baptist denomination of his native city.

Commodore Chubb came to Galveston in 1839, as commander of the brig Cecilia, which he then owned in partnership with his brother, now Captain John Chubb, of Galveston. The Cecilia was loaded with house frames and other building material. For -some time after coming to Galveston, his occupation was that of pilot, and it was a frequent saying of old-time seamen that he was "always on deck," and the same might have been said of him at all times up to his death, as he was always on duty, full of hope, energy and physical vigor.

in the marine service and serving on the coast. He commanded several vessels, building and owning the Royal Yacht of Confederate fame. He was captured in Galveston harbor while in command of this vessel, in a desperate conflict with the Federal forces, and taken North, where he was condemned to be executed, but saved from this fate by the intervention of President Davis, who notified the Federal authorities that he would retaliate ten-fold if the judgment was carried into execution. Incidental to the circumstances of his release it maybe mentioned that an exchange was made after his transfer from Fort Delaware to Fort Lafayette, but he afterward related that he would certainly have escaped had the exchange not been made, as all arrangements had been made for that purpose. After his release he made his way by a circuitous route to Baltimore, where the Confederate cause had many sympathizers, and there he was royally received and entertained, being furnished on his departure from that place with ever} thing necessary for one in his condition. It should have been stated that the Royal Yacht was built by Commodore Chubb in Baltimore, for pilot service at Galveston, and presented by him at the opening of the war to the Confederate government. He also built the Sam Houston and presented it to the Confederacy about the same time.

Commodore Chubb held the position of Harbor Master, at Galveston, for several years, a position the duties of which he was eminently qualified to discharge, and which were most congenial to him.

Commodore Chubb was twice married, his first marriage occurring in 1828, when he \\'as seventeen years old. The lady whom he wedded was thirteen and a half, an old playmate, Phcebe Briggs, a daughter of Captain Barney Briggs, of Bath, Maine. The offspring of this union was five children, namely: Abbie, who was married to General Thomas J. Chambers; Thomas H. Chubb, fish-rod manufacturer, of Alston, Massachusetts; Cecilia, who was married to Harry Duble, of Galveston; John E. Chubb, now of Galveston; and William H. Chubb, now of Boston, Massachussetts. Mrs. Chubb died in the city of Galveston, in 1867, and in 1869 Commodore Chubb married Mrs. Martha A. Sturgis, widow of Col. F. B. Sturgis, who was a gallant officer in the Union army during the late war. He died in 1867.

HLBERT BALL' was born September 13, 1 8 10, in Albany, New York, a descendant in the seventh generation from Edmund Ball, who was born in 1640, in Wales, emigrated to America in 1664, and, with twenty-five others, settled in 1665 on the ground where the city of Newark, New Jersey, now stands. Albert Ball grew to man's estate in his native place, and thence moved to Poughkeepsie, where, in 1833, he married Susan M. Depew, and resided there until coming to Galveston in 1 840. He had been preceded to this place by his brother, George, who came out in 1839. The two brothers were engaged in business in this city together, under the firm name of A. & G. Ball, until 1854, when the partnership was dissolved, George becoming the head of the banking house of Ball, Hutchings & Company, since so great, and Albert opened a business of his own on the corner of Strand and Twenty-first street. For a number of years he was engaged in the mercantile business on this corner, and by his industrious, upright course, aided somewhat by circumstances, he succeeded in accumulating a considerable amount of property. In the meantime the Union Marine & Fire Insurance Company, of this city, was organized, and he was made its president. This was the first organization of its kind in Texas, and perhaps the most successful. It owed much of its success to Mr. Ball, who was long its directing spirit.

After the great fire, which swept the Strand and destroyed his business house, Mr. Ball, having received what he considered a liberal offer ($25,000; for the lot, and, being in independent circumstances, concluded to close up and retire from business. He resigned the presidencj* of the insurance company, and was for a time inactive. But he soon grew weary of repose, and, on the organization of the Galveston Insurance Company, he accepted the presidency of the company, in which office he continued until his death.

Mr. Ball wished to be known as only a plain man of business, and really was such. Politics had no allurements for him, and he never figured prominently in any public capacity. During the war he was a member of the County Court, and on him almost alone depended the duty of suppl3ing the. wants of the many women and children deprived of the means of support by the absence of husbands and fathers in the army. He felt all the responsibility of the trust, and devoted himself actively to the work, though often having to take direct issue with the officers of the army, who, neglecting the means to supply troops with rations,

Mr. Ball ma\' almost be said to have been the founder of the first regular firecompany in Galveston. At his instance the law was enacted exempting firemen from jury service. He was empowered by the city to purchase the first engine it ever owned, and he was himself an active fireman for many years.

In the terrible epidemic of 1864, although his own family and all his immediate friends were absent or exempt from the disease, he watched and nursed among the sick and suffering with the same assiduity that he exhibited in other epidemics where the sufferers had more immediate claims upon his kind offices. He had not arrived in Galveston when the first epidemic, in 1839, occurred, though his brother, George, arrived in the midst of it, and voluntarily remained until its termination; yet the deceased was a faithful and assiduous nurse in every other visitation of the kind until the last, in 1867.

There are a few old citizens still living in Galveston who came here about the time Mr. Ball did, and who were familiar with all his subsequent career. They were thrown in daily contact with him {r>x more than a third of a century and marked his course in all the relations and vicissitudes of life, - amid the trials of the period of Mexican hostility, when the island was continually menaced with attacks by sea, the times when general want and poverty prevailed, and the needy daily plead for aid, when the fatal voinito decimated the population again and again until the number of the dead almost equaled that of the living, and during the sorrow and suffering of the late war. Such old citizens as survived these terrible ordeals bear witness that in none of them did Mr. Ball fail in any of the duties of humanity, manly firmness and intelligent assistance, wherever want and suffering were to be relieved. Quiet, unostentatious and undemonstrative, he made no exhibitions of his public service, but his personal effort and silent influence were always thrown on the side of justice and humanity. Precise, methodical and prosperous in business he was free from all the tricks of the professional speculator, and would have preferred to be over-reached to the suspicion that he would be guilty of any sharp practice himself.

He died in Galveston August 8, 1875. Surviiig him he left a widow, one daughter, - Mrs. Emily B. Sanford; and two sons, - Fenno D. and Albert, Jr.

subject of this brief sketch was born in Forserum, Sweden, February 3, 1832. His father was a progressive farmer and prominent in his district, having represented it in the Riksdag at the crowning of Oscar I.

Early in 1848 (in company with Anders and Gustave Palm and their families, the pioneer Scandinavians of Austin), he took passage aboard the sailing vessel Augusta at Gothenburg for Boston, which place he reached, after a rough and exciting voyage of three months. He made his way from Boston by steamboat and rail (traveling over one of the pioneer railway lines of this continent), to New York city, where he took the sailing vessel Stephen F. Austin, bound for Galveston, Texas. From Galveston he took the steamer Reliance, for Houston, which place he reached November 22, 1848.

He shortly afterward went to Fort Bend county, where he worked on a farm for a short time, being, as he thinks, one of the first white boys who ever picked- cotton in the Brazos bottom. In 1S49 he returned to Houston, where he secured employment as a general-service hand in the store of B. A. Shepherd, situated on the east corner of Main street and Congress avenue. His faithfulness to his duties soon won the friendship of his employer, who, seeing in the lad the possibility of a good man, decided to educate him and give him a chance in life. Young Forsgard was accordingly sent to school at La Grange in, this State, where he received good mental training in the common English branches, which was followed by a commercial course in Dolbear's Commercial College, at New Orleans. Again taking his place in Mr. Shepherd's store, he was in the employ of that gentleman until the latter disposed of his mercantile interest to Burke & Perkins, with whom Mr. Forsgard continued in the capacity of bookkeeper for a period of about three \x>ars. From Burke & Perkins he went to James H. Stevens, for whom he served as bookkeeper for a year, when he decided to engage in business for himself. Having but limited means on which to begin, he sought the advice and assistance of his friend Shepherd, who generously gave him a letter of credit to J. H. Brower & Company, of New York, armed with which Mr. Forsgard went on to New York and Boston and purchased a neat stock of books and stationery. Returning with this to Houston he opened a store on Main street, on tlie site now (1894) occupied by the Planters & Mechanics' National Bank. He was successfully engaged in business until the opening of the war, when, with the general dissolution of all business interests, he closed out, and volunteering in the Confederate army, gave the greater part of the succeeding four years to the " Lost Cause." Mr. Forsgard''s military service was rendered entirely on Te.xas soil. For a while he was under Captain Hargrove, being in the cavalry, but was soon transferred to the signal service and stationed at and near Galveston, and later on the beach at the mouth of the " Old Caney," being there at the time the Federals landed about 7,000 men on Matagorda peninsula. He was appointed lieutenant of engineers at that time, and ordered to fortify Old Caney, having at his disposal a force of about 200 negroes armed with about a hundred spades and hoes. The fortifications were constructed of sand, and the work was done in such an imposing manner that, although from five to eight Federal gunboats bombarded them continually for a period of thirty-three days (Sundays excepted), not one of the 7,000 Federals ever passed off the peninsula, but all finally boarded their transports and left Texas. "The negroes worked all night," said Mr. Forsgard, in speaking of this, "and retired to tlie woods some three miles distant to eat and sleep during the day." Questioned further on this subject, Mr. Forsgard said: "No, I do not say that I prevented the invasion of Texas on that occasion ; but it is my honest conviction that the negroes and spades did; for if the Federals had got off the peninsula half their number could at that time have laid Texas waste as easily as Sherman marched through Georgia. The only white men who remained through all that siege besides myself were J. P. Harrell, long since dead, and Louis Stiles, still living, being now my neighbor." "Yes, I wish it to go on record that the negroes were loyal to their homes and the Southern peo- pie, as I had, upon the occasion in question, as well as upon man_v other occasions, good opportunities to learn; and I gi\'e it as my opinion that the negroes would always have been true to the whites had it not been for carpet-bag politicians and philanthropically blind but well-meaning Northern friends." Mr. Forsgard's last service to the Confederacy was as Signal Officer on the iron steamer Three Maries, this vessel being the reconstructed Granite City, captured from the Federals by Dick Dowling's men at Sabine Pass. It was run round to the Brazos river and up to Columbia, loaded with cotton (to be exchanged for clothing and ammunition), XcA\ the blockade at Velasco and reached Tampico, Mexico, in safety, but only to learn of Lee's surrender and the collapse of the Confederacy. The vessel and cargo being delivered to King & Company, Mr. Forsgard, with a few of the crew, made their way back to Texas and overland to Houston.

Questioned as to his early impressions, his change of sentiments and mature opinions, Mr. Forsgard said: "Years ago, having seen slavery only through the long-range telescope of hearsay and reading, I thought that the main difference between the races was color. Forty-five years' actual observation has caused me to change my views. I am now firmly convinced that in natural instincts and attributes the races are as distinct as water and oil. The Southern people and the negroes of the South are natural allies and friends, and, in my judgment, they will solve the race problem between themselves amicably and advantageously to each other if they are let alone." "It is the friction produced by the constant agitation of the subject that irritates and makes it so difficult of handling." "Yes," said

Mr. Forsgard, "I was in favor of the last war, and am still in favor of its being the last war. No, I do not belong to any military organizations designed to keep alive the memory of those times, my military enthusiasm and aspirations ended with the war." Soon after the surrender Mr. Forsgard again embarked in mercantile business in Houston, this time as a pioneer in a specialty, by opening a boot and shoe store. He was engaged in this business for some six or eight years. Retiring from mercantile pursuits he engaged in experimental gardening, and has since been connected with this and the agricultural interests in this section of the State in various ways, for many years being manager of the Farmers' Alliance Exchange in Houston. Meanwhile he has given considerable attention to the subject of immigration, which has resulted in bringing in a large number of substantial, lawabiding and industrious settlers, many of them being his own countrymen from the Western States. He is a thorough Texan, a firm believer in the great agricultural resources of the State, and is keenly alive to every interest of the great commonwealth which he has so long made his home.

In 1866 Mr. Forsgard married Miss Jennie M. Lusk, a native of Harris county, and a daughter of R. O. Lusk, a Texas veteran. The issue of this union has been six children, two are living: Anna B., wife of Dr. J. W. Scott, a practicing physician, of Houston; and Oscar Lee, now (1894) nine years old. In 1867 Mr. Forsgard began to improve a small tract of land just south of the city of Houston, on which he settled at that time and has since resided, being now surrounded by an abundance of shade and fruit trees and flowers, many of them of exotics, even from the tropics.

Mr. Forsgard has taken a becoming interest in everything relating to the welfare of the city, county and State, and has helped, so far as his means would allow, or his personal efforts were required, whatever has tended to promote that welfare. He was an active member of Protection Fire Company, No. I, for about twenty years; was a director in the first national bank ever organized in Houston, with Thomas M. Bagby as president and William Cook as cashier; socially he is a member of the Masonic fraternity, being Past Master of Holland Lodge, No. I, of Houstqn, and was a member of the first Scottish Rite Lodge organized in Houston, there being but one other member (Colonel Robert Brewster) of this first organized lodge now (1894) living. In politices he is a Prohibitionist. He believes that the saloon is the cause of much of the corruption that prevails in politics, and says he will never vote for any party that legalizes, sanctions or winks at that which corrupts. He was reared in the Lutheran Church, but soon after coming to Houston he joined the Presbyterian Church, of which he has ever since been a consistent member.

Mr. Forsgard confesses not to have made a success in a wordly way, but he is content, and thinks he has got a reasonable amount of happiness out of this life, and it is a part of his religious faith that this happiness will continue in an increasing ratio as time merges into eternity.

I I The subject of this brief memoir /^^_^ was an early settler of Te.xas. He rendered distinguished service to the cause of freedom in the colonists' struggle with Mexico and took an active and efficient part for many years in the subsequent history of the county. Like many of his compatriots, he has received but little consideration at the hands of those who have assumed to write of the events in which he figured, while his private life, which was most exemplary in all respects, is even without mention in the mortuary rolls of the pioneers of the State. The memory of Dr. Labadie certainly deserves a better fate, and the ends of justice will, in a measure at least, have been subserved if this notice helps to gain for him that recognition to which it would seem he is so abundantly entitled.

Nicholas D. Labadie was born in Windsor, Canada West, December 5, 1802, and was a son of Antone Louis Labadie and Charlotte Barthe, nee Raume, the latter, the daughter of Pierre and Charlotte Chapaton, and the widow of Lieutenant Louis Raume, of the British army. His ancestors on each side came originally from France, the line on his father's side having been traced back to Francois Labadie, who was born in the diocese of Xanites in 1644 and who when a young man went to Canada, where he married and settled. Some of Francois Labadie's descendants returned to France, among them the immediate ancestors of the subject of this sketch, but the name has been known in Canada since about the middle of the seventeenth century, the family having furnished many voyagciirs and soldiers to the Northwest service. Antone Louis Labadie, the father of Nicholas D. and Pierre Descomptes Labadie, his grandfather, " settled on the western frontier at an early date," says an old record published at Detroit, Michigan, "and subsequently, in company with several members of their family, moved to Detroit, after retiring from military service, where the_v spent the remainder of their hves. " Antone Louis Labadie was three times married and was the father of thirty-three children, Nicholas D. of this article being; the youngest of the number.

Nicholas D. Labadie was reared on the frontier in Canada West, and received but meager educational advantages in his youth. His home training, however, was good. He had pious parents, the family being devout Catholics, and he was fully instructed in all religious observances and in his duties to his fellow-men. At about the age of twenty-one he left Canada for the United States, making his way across the country to Missouri. From 1824 to 1828, as appears from old letters written by him at that time, he was at a Catholic institute at Barrens, in Perry county, Missouri, studying for the priesthood. Here he enjoyed his first real educational advantages, and by constant association with the fathers had his early impressions of piety perceptibly deepened and strengthened. But for some reason or other he gave up his intention of entering the ministry, and about the year 1829 went to St. Louis, where he began reading medicine, earning the means with which to defray his expenses b^ clerking in a store. Learning of the advantages of the lower Mississippi country, through traders and adventurers whom he met in St. Louis, he was induced to try his fortunes further down the river, and accordingly is next heard of, in the summer of 1830, at Fort Jessup, Louisiana. By this time he had progressed sufficiently far with his medical studies to be able to engage to some extent in the practice, and was dividing his time about equally between the "calls" he received and his duties as clerk in a store at the post. He was still unsettled as to where he would finally locate, but he was on the lookout for a suitable place and was revolving different mercantile and farming enterprises in his mind, as appears from overtures wliich he made about this time in a letter to one of his nephews, then a resident of New Orleans.

At Fort Jessup, Dr. Labadie came to hear a great deal cjf Texas, and most of the reports being of a favorable nature he decided to take a look at the country for himself. Mounting his horse he rode to Nachitoches, then the chief place of consequence between the Louisiana line and San Felipe, the capital of Austin's colon)-. He reached Nachitoches Christmas day, 1830. Delivering his letters of introduction to Colonel Peidras, commandante of the place, he received assurances of the good will of the government, and in a few days set out for Austin's colony. Here, at San Felipe, he met Colonel Samuel M. Williams, and being desirous of seeing the country accompanied him to Brazoria. A month later he was in New Orleans, in company with Captain Henry Austin and other Texans whom he had met in the meantime; and, retaining a favorable recollection of the country, he was induced by these gentlemen to return to Texas. He came over in the little schooner, Martha, commanded by Captain James Spillman and landed at Anahuac, March 2, 1 83 1. Having a good stock of medicines he was at once employed by Colonel Bradburn as surgeon of the Mexican garrison at that place, consisting of 300 men, and in a short time also opened a store in partnership with a Mr. Wilcox. His practice among the soldiers and the citizens living about the post, together with his interest in the store, soon began to bring him good returns, and this with the favorable influence of the

While residing at Anahuac, and not long after his settlement there, Dr. Labadie married Miss Mary Norment, a Mississippi lady and a sister of Thomas Norment, who was a volunteer in the patriot cause and who shared in the glories of San Jacinto.

On the invasion of the country by Santa Anna Dr. Labadie responded promptly to the call for volunteers, enlisting March ii, 1836, in Captain William M. Logan's company of the Second Regiment of Texas Volunteers, upon its organization in Liberty county. He reported with his company to General Houston at Beason's Ferry on the Colorado on the 20th of the same month. He was absent from the main army, scouting with a company of volunteers under Captain Karnes, when the retreat to San Felipe began; but, rejoining the army while it was encamped at Groce's Ferry, he was appointed by General Houston, on April 6th, surgeon to the First Regiment of Regulars, and in this capacity had charge of the medicine chest wliich was hauled on an ox wagon on the retreat. Li the battle of San Jacinto he fought as a volunteer in Captain Logan's company in the left wing of the arm}' commanded by General Sidney Sherman. After the battle he acted as surgeon to the wounded of the Texas army, and by request of General Houston attended the wounded prisoners. He was present when Santa Anna was brought into camp and presented to General Houston, and acted as interpreter on that occasion, though his name as such has for some reason or other been omitted by the historians. Some 5'ears before his death Dr. Labadie gave to the press an account of that interview, and as it was then acknowledged to be correct by those in a

"While I was engaged in attending the wounded Mexican prisoners, a Mr. Sylvester rode up to the prison square with a prisoner, who refused to enter. I was called upon to interpret, as neither the sentinel nor Mr. Sylvester could speak Spanish. I told him that this was the place where all prisoners were kept. He replied, 'I want to see General Houston. Is he in camp.'' 'Yes,' I replied, 'Mr. Sylvester, take' this man to yonder oak tree where General Houston lies.' As they departed the prisoner whose wounds I was dressing, a Mexican lieutenant, whispered to me, 'Est el Presidente' (He is the President). I at once folded up my instruments and followed after them, and met Colonel Hockley calling me to come quickly, as I was wanted. I found General Houston lying on his back on the ground under the oak tree (he was wounded) ; and on his left the prisoner was sitting on a chest. He politely returned my salute, and I said to him in Spanish, pointing, 'This is General Houston, do you want anything of him.'' He replied, 'Tell General Houston that General Santa Anna stands before him a prisoner.' General Houston hearing this interpreted, appeared much surprised, and turning on his left side said, 'General Santa Anna, in what condition do you surrender yourself.'' 'A prisoner of war,' said he, and continuing, 'Whilst I was in the cammino royal - the public highway - I met two of your soldiers, to whom I surrendered myself a prisoner of war.' 'Well,' said Colonel Houston, 'tell General Santa Anna that so long as he shall remain in the boundaries I shall allot him, I will be responsible for his life.' Upon hearing this Santa Anna's countenance brighten- ed. He said, 'Tell General Houston that I am tired of blood and war and have seen enough of this country to know that the two people can not live under the same laws, and I am willing to treat with him as to the boundaries of the two countries.' In re]->ly General Houston said, 'Tell him that I cannot treat with him, but that the cabinet that is in Galveston will make a treat}' with him.' Here the crowd pressing against us interfered with the conversation, and the guard had to force them back. Colonel Hockley appearing with young Zavalla to serve as interpreter, I returned to my wounded, who had been taken across the bayou to the Zavalla place, which was thereafter used as a hospital."

A few days after that, under orders from Secretary of War Thomas J Rusk, Dr. Labadie started for Galveston, but stopped or the way at Anahuac to see his family. He found that during his absence his little son had died, one of his houses had been burned and the other pillaged, and his wife and remaining child were without the neccessaries of life. He was immediately taken with illness himself, caused by exposure preceding the battle, and was delirious for a week. His sufferings, mental and physical, were great at this time, and to add to his discomfitures and embarrassments when he recovered, his hearing was gone and he was ever afterward afflicted with this infirmity.

In the winter of 1837 Dr. Labadie moved to Galveston, though previous to that, - but exactly at what time and how long can not be determined, - he had lived on Lake Charlotte in what is now Chambers county, where he had purchased land. At the time of his removal to Galveston this was an inconsiderable place, most of the population of the island living in tents. He was one of the first actual residents of the city and one of the first to engage in business here. He opened a drug store on the corner of Twenty-second and Market streets where the Alve}' building now stands, and here he had his office and practiced medicine and dispensed drugs. He was not hjng idle. The exposed state of the people soon brought on fevers and other ills, and these, aggravated by bad sanitary conditions, spread death and suffering on every hand. In 1S39 came the first visitation of the fatal rouiito, and in addition to the cares I and labors of a professional nature which it brought to Dr. Labadie it took from him his beloved companion, leaving him three little girls, the eldest of whom was but six years old and the youngest a babe of five months. But Dr. Labadie resolutely stood by the home of his choice, and the people with whom he had decided to spend his remaining years. While giving due attention to the claims of his own household upon him, he was everywhere among the sick and distressed, and not only in the epidemic of 1839 but also in every other that visited the island up to the last, in 1867, he was always found at his post, and proved himself worthy of the title bestowed on St. Luke, - "Beloved Physician."

While he was thus chiefly concerned with his professional duties and won and held a high rank among his medical brethren, he found time to interest himself in matters of general interest relating to the welfare of the city. Public enterprises, whatsoever things elevate, adorn or improve the society in which he moved or the community in which he made his home, met his cordial approbation and received his prompt advocacy and assistance. He established a line of sailing vessels between Gal- veston and Pensacola, Florida, by means of which he furnished a considerable quantity of the lumber which went into the early buildinpjs in the city; he built the wharf at the foot of Twenty-seventh street, which still bears his name, and which was a popular wharf under his management for years afterwards; he built the first marine ways; he purchased lots in the new town and erected substantial buildings, one of these being a frame store building at what is now 2317-2319 Market street, being the second store building erected on that street. He took the initiative in establishing the first Catholic church in Galveston, which was erected on the site of the present building on Center street, and there with his own hands planted the first tree put out on the lot, which still stands. He was one of the first to respond to a subscription for Charity Hospital, built just after the war, and was, in fact, among the foremost, both with his means and personal efforts, in all things looking to the improvement and welfare of the city. He was devoted to Texas and all its interests with that ardent attachment which characterized the feeling of all the "old guard " who had gone through the fires of the revolution and had witnessed the birth of the infant Republic; and twenty-five years after the battle of San Jacinto, when the clouds of war were again seen in the horizon and the soil for which he had fought was invaded by what he considered a foreign foe, his generous breast was fired with patriotic zeal, and, had he not been incapacitated by reason of age and physical infirmities, he would have again shouldered arms in defense of invaded rights. As it was, he rendered such service as he could, chiefly in the capacity of a physician, being a member of the examining board to the First Brigade of Texas State troops; and he saw his adopted State pass safely through the trying times fif 1861-5, and witnessed its rehabilitation as one of the sovereign States of the American Union, and he lived long enough also to know that it is destined to be the greatest in the American galaxy.

After the death of his wife, in 1839, Dr. Labadie married, on December 9, 1840, Mrs. Agnes Rivera, then residing in Galveston, a daughter of John and Jennet Harkness. The issue of this union was one son, Joseph, who is now a resident of Galveston. His daughters l)y his former marriage all became grown, the eldest, Sarah, becomii g the wife of ^>olomon Wallis and residing now at Wallisville, Texas; Charlotte L. , now Mrs. Ebenezer Barstow, residing in New Bedford, Massachusetts; and Cecelia, becoming the wife of Hon. Philip C. Tucker, of Galveston, both of whom are deceased. Dr. Labadie's second wife died in 1843, and he married a third time, but there was no issue of his last marriage.

The religious connection of Dr. Labadie's family running back for more than two centuries has been with the Catholic Church, upon the services of which he was a zealous attendant and in the history and teachings of which he. was more than ordinarily well informed. Yet he was in no wise bigoted in his religous views, but in all the functions of true citizenship, - in all the relations of life, - he proved himself a real man and a genuine Christian. He died March 13, 1867.

A. SHEPHERD was born in Fluvanna county, Virginia, on the 14th day of May, 18 14, and was there reared until he attained his fifteenth Having lost his parents he left Vir- ginia at that age and went to Nasliville, Tennessee, where he found employment as clerk in a general store. From Nashville he went to New Orleans, where he held a similar position and there spent several years, familiarizing himself with general business methods. From New Orleans he came to Texas, landing at Galveston May 22, 1839. Having some means he at once embarked in the mercantile business at Gahestoii, in partnership with A. C. Crawford. In 1840 he married, at Galveston, and continucii to make that place his home until September, 1842, when, the firm of Crawford & Shepherd having established a business at Houston, he went to that place to take charge of their interests there. Dissolving his relations with Mr. Crawford about that date, he engaged in business in 1S43, in partnership with A. J. Burke, under the firm name of Shepherd & Burke, and this house soon came to be one of the leading mercantile establishments in the city. This partnership continued about ten years and it was during this time that Mr. Shepherd laid the foundation of his fortune. In 1854 he sold his interest in the store to Mr. Burke and opened a bank, which he conducted with success until the opening of the war. During the war he kept his funds as well invested as he could, but did not reap the large profits which some others did, as the trade conditions, being mostly of a speculative nature, were not to his taste. In 1866 he purchased the stock of a bank which had been started a year previous and, reorganizing this, again embarked in the banking business, opening up the First National Bank, of which he became president, - a position he held as longas he lived. Under his able management this institution soon developed into one of the first financial concerns in the city of

Houston and is to-day one of the most solid banks in the State. In addition to his banking interests Mr. Shepherd had large investments in real estate, lands and lots, improved and unimjiroved, and some stock at different times in local enterprises. Associated with T. W. House, William J. Hutchins and P. J. Willis & Brother, he organized the City Mills of Houston for the manufacture of heavy cotton goods, just after the war, capitalizing the same for $100,000, he being made president, which position he held until the mills were destroyed by fire. It can not be truthfull}' said however that he ever exhibited undue eagerness in setting on foot local enterprises. He had no sentiment about such things, and never allowed himself to be influenced by what is called local pride. He preferred to keep his means within his own reach and under his own direct supervision.

Mr. Shepherd was throughout life a business man in the strictest sense of the word. He was wedded to his business with that absolute devotion which would have won a large measure of success even with qualities vastly inferior to those he possessed. Unquestionably one of the secrets of his success was the constant daily attention he gave to all the details of his business, the thorough study he made of all the conditions affecting his affairs and the ceaseless vigilance he exercised concerning all his interests. In addition to this he was a good judge of men. It would be no particular credit to him to say that he was honest; most business men are supposed to be honest and actually are. But there was a kind of sturdy independence in the way he showed the rectitude of his motives that raised his integrity above the plane of commercial honesty and emphasized what he did as the necessary outcome of a nature essentially true to itself. He cared nothing for popularity, as that word is now generally understood. He was charitable, but in the matter of giving, as in other matters, he had his ideas as to the time and manner of giving. The trust fund of $20,000 set aside by him before his death for the relief of the poor of the city of Houston is the only public bequest he ever made. He was in later life for many years a member of Shearn Memorial Church, and his identification with Christian people, as well as the promises of the gospel, seemed to afford him much consolation and pleasure. As he had lived, earnest, active and industrious; self-dependent and self-contained, so he died, passing away December 24, 1891. His companion had preceded him by a few years, having died on February 20, 188S. The remains of both rest in Glenwood cemetery, at Houston. Mr. Shepherd left a large estate, chiefly represented by the stock of the First National Bank. This institution continues along the lines projected by him and is practically the property of his family, - his three sons-in-law, A. P. Root, O. L. Cochran and W. H. Palmer, being president, vice-president and cashier respectively; and these, with M. E. Roberts, another son-inlaw, and August Bering, an old friend of Mr. Shepherd, constituting the board of directors.

aHRISTIAN JORDAN, the subject of this sketch, was born in Hanover, Germany, November i, 1830. He learned the trade of a carpenter in his native place, and came, in 1848, to Texas, settling at Galveston. Here he engaged at his trade, and followed it very successfully for a number of years, the rapidly growing condition of the city affording him a good field for work. He developed into a contractor, builder and supervising architect, and as such had to do with the building interests of Galveston very extensively. He early began to take an active part in the affairs of the city, and from time to time held a number of public offices. He was for seven years a member of the City Council; was twice Sheriff of Galveston county, and several terms a member of the Board of County Commissioners. Mr. Jordan was a man of great energy and strength of character, known for his kindness of heart and his thorough integrity. By industry and good management he accumulated some property, and always maintained a fair standing as a citizen of the community in which he lived. He was very public-spirited, and gave unselfishly of his time to the public service, discharging intelligently whatever public duties were entrusted to him.

In 1853 Mr. Jordan married Miss Mary Sobersbee, of Galveston, but a native of Bremen, Germany. The issue of this marriage was a daughter, Helen, who was married to Jacob Heye, of Galveston, and is now deceased, and a son, Christian, now a resident of Galveston. Mrs. Jordan died December 21, 1864, aged thirty-six years. Mr. Jordan died December 28, 1885. Being a member of the County Court at the time, that court adjourned out of respect to his memory, and he was buried according to the ritual of the Odd Fellows, of which order he had for many jears been a member. Surviving him he left a widow and one son, Christian, mentioned above.

veston, January 22, 1854. On May 24, 1883, he married Mary Cramer, a native of Westphalen, Germany, who came to Texas in 1873, in company with her aunt, Mrs. Jennie Floeck. The offspring of this union has been one son. Otto, who was born March 4, 1889.

>^UDGE CHARLES SHEARN, dem ceased, whose name will forever be A associated with the story of the trials and struggles of the early settlers of Texas, and whose mature and later life was devoted so largely to the works of beneficence and charit}' in his adopted State, \\ as a native of England, born on the 30th of October, 1794.

At the age of twenty-four he married Mary Pode, of Bath, and in 1834 emigrated to America and took up his residence in the vicinity of Goliad, in southwestern Texas. He found the country on his arrival in a state of excitement, preparing to resist the invasion of the Mexican army, then marching to the devastation of the provinces along the Southwestern frontier. He was one of a body of ninty men who met at Goliad on Sunday, December 20, 1835, and signed a declaration of independance which was subsequently published in the Texas Republican at Brazoria, under date of January 13, 1836, and was thus one of the earliest civil proceedings taken by the colonists toward securing their freedom. This document, with a full list of its signers, was afterward published in the State Gazette and still later in the Texas Almanac and the Texas Scrap Book, in each of which publications, through a typographical error made in the Republican, the name of Charles " Shearn " was printed Charles "Shingle." Most of the signers of this document perished with Fannin's men in the following March, though a few of them lived for years afterward and were known to many old Texans.

Mr. Shearn being committed to the cause of the colonists by his action in signing the Declaration of Independence referred to, joined Captain Dimitt's company at Goliad, and afterward, on the approach of the Mexican army under General Urrea, marched to the front, where he and his son John, then a lad of twelve, and a man named Handle, were captured. Shearn and Handle were tied back to back and placed in positions to be shot by a platoon of soldiers, when the boy, clinging to the father's neck, attracted the attention of the commanding officer, and inquiry being made concerning them, it was learned they were as yet British subjects; whereupon they were released.

Mr. Shearn immediately gave up his residence in the vicinity of Goliad, and made his way to the settlements east of the Brazos, where he resided until 1837. The city of Houston having in the meantime been laid out and the seat of the new Republic established at this place, he removed here, and from that time until his death forty years later, he made this his home. He was thus not only a pioneer of Texas, but in a restricted sense one of the founders of the chief city of this great commonwealth, the growth of whose every interest he watched with becoming pride, and on whose moral and social life he left the imprint of a truly Christian character.

For many years he was engaged in the mercantile business in this city, in which his industry, kind disposition, and straightforward methods, aided by natural advantages, brought him marked prosperity and drew around him a large circle of friends and associates. He also filled a number of public positions, the duties of which he always discharged with an eye single to the public good. For six years he was Chief Justice of Harris county, during which time he had the handling of large sums of public money as well as the supervision of varied and e-xtensive public interests. That no complaint was ever heard against his official conduct is evidence that his administration gave eminent satisfaction and accorded with his well-known maxims of honesty and rectitude in private affairs. One of the early court-houses was built during his official incumbency and under his personal direction, and it was a creditable structure for the time, and a monument alike to his honesty and good taste. Besides the Chief Justiceship, he was connected with many other trusts, and had business relations, of an official and semi-official nature, with a number of interests. His uprightness and conscientious devotion to duty made him a trusted associate in numberless public undertakings, and led to his appointment in various fiduciary capacities. One thing which marked his life in this connection is especially worthy of mention, and that was his fixed habit of never charging widows or orphans for his services, and of expending a large share of his salary in assisting those whose necessities he learned of by reason of his official position.

But it was probably with the religious history of this city that he was most prominently connected, and in connection with this interest that his name will longest be remembered. Under the influence of a pious wife he united with the Methodist Church soon after coming to Houston, and from the day of his casting his lot with the people of God he was an earnest, faithful worker for the cause of Christianity. His liberality and business experience made him almost invaluable to a new congregation struggling to build up an effective organization and to erect an edifice suited to the demands of a growing city like Houston. He was one of the pillars of the Methodist Church for many years, and under his stewardship the affairs of the church were conducted with the utmost harmony and success. He also gave his attention to denominational work outside of the church, serving without remuneration for several years as financial agent of the Texas Christian Advocate. When the movement was set on foot by the Methodists to erect a church in Houston, he took the lead, and as chairman of the building committee collected and paid out all moneys donated for that purpose, and when the amount set aside for that purpose failed to complete the building by $2,000, he pledged his own credit for the amount, in addition to an already liberal subscription, and finished the work. He subsequently donated this entire sum to the church, in recognition of which, as well as in acknowledgment for his long and unfailing interest in all church work, the building was called the Charles Shearn Memorial Church, the name being extended to the present edifice, which was erected on the site of the former building.

Judge Shearn's hold on public confidence was not restricted to the congregation of which he was a member. His upright life and pious Christian character were known and read of all men in this community, and he was held in universal esteem and confidence. His late years were passed in retirement, and as his health began gradually to fail he was invited by people of all shades of religious belief; and it was probably one of the most cheering of his last experiences that the earnestness and consistency of his life were so generally recognized and were the means of directing men to higher and nobler things. He died in 1S77.

His wife, Mary Pode, had died many years before, and a second wife, childless, had preceded him to the grave. By his first wife he had two children : John, whose pathetic cries saved his life in T836; and Mary, who though reared amidst the nigged experiences of pioneer life, developed, under the intelligent care of pious parents, into a noble type of womanhood and became the wife of one of J-iouston's first citizens, the late Thomas W. House.

John Shearn was born in England, May 15, 1S26, and was thus only about eight years old when his parents came to Texas. Most of his youth, as well as the entire period of his manhood, were passed in the city of Houston, with the making of whose history he had, like his father, much to do, thoughin adifferent wa}-. Hislife wasgiven to business pursuits, and he helped to develop a number of Houston's leading enterprises. His conduct was always marked by the same probity and the same unswerving sense of honor that was instilled into him by his father. He gave very little attention to public life, but still was not unmindful of his obligations as a citizen, discharging all the duties and functions of such in an acceptable manner. "

He married Miss Kate NfcAshan, then of Houston, but a native of Buckingham county, Virginia, where she was born June 22, 1S35. Mrs. Shearn was a daughter of Nehemiah and Elizabeth McAshan, and a sister of S. M. McAshan; and a history of her people will be found in the article contributed to this volume by the last-named gentleman. She died May 21, 1SS4, and was followed September 15, 1888, by her husband. Seven children were born to them : Mary, now the wife of Charles S. House; Charles P.; Alice, the wife of J. A. Caldwell, luhn; Libby, wife of \V. L. Moody, Jr. ; Annie and Maurice, the last two being deceased. The others, - except Mrs. Mood}', who lives at Galveston, and Mrs. Caldwell, who lives in San Angelo, - are residents of Houston, and all are worthy descendants of such progenitors.

contrary to Democratic doctrine and teaching to speak of the " aristocracy of blood,'' and "inherited talent," for in the very first paragraph of the Declaration of Independence it is asserted that all men are created free and equal. Politically this may be so; but mentally it is not. The mental differences in men lie not in the quantity of brains they possess, but in the quality. That there is a " strain " in brains which passes from generation to generation there is no doubt. This has been illustrated a thousand times in the history of such families as the Adamses, Marshalls, the Washburns, the Lamars, the Beechers, the Lees, and Randolphs and hundreds of others of equal or less note.

The family under consideration seem to have inherited their mental qualities, as might be proved by tracing their history to their ancestors, - which indulgence, however, for want of space, cannot be granted in this instance. The brains of the Barzizas were of an excellent strain and toned with morality.

Philip Ignatius Barziza, the founder of the V>?LXZ\z'a. family in America, was born in Venice, Italy, August lO, 1796. He came to this country when a young man to look after an estate that had been bequeathed to him by some ancestors who settled at an early date in the New World. Having secured a portion of the estate he concluded to remain in this country, and settled in Williamsburg, Virginia. There, when about twenty-two years of age, or in 1818, he married Cecilia Bellett, of a French Canadian family, her father being a native of France, a member of the Royalist party, who fled from his native country after the accession of Robespierre to power, and settled in Canada, where he changed his name from that of " Lord Clairmount " to " Bellett." He married the adopted daughter of the Governor General of Canada, an intelligent and highly accomplished lady, and subsequently came to the United States and settled in Williamsburg, Virginia. By intermarriage they became connected with the Ludwell and Paradise families of Virginia, both being old European families, and with the Lees, Randolphs, Marshalls and others, - all wealthy old Virginia families. A marriage contract made in 1 769 between John Paradise and Lucy Ludwell, an imposing document executed in five parts, on parchment, is still in the possession of their descendants, now residents of Houston, Texas, being in a good state of preservation, and a most interesting document.

Philip Ignatius Barziza, Sr. , and Cecilia Amanda Bellett had ten children, six of whom, - five sons and one daughter, - became grown, to-wit: Francis Louis, William Lee, Philippa Ludwell, Edgar Atheling, Philip Ignatius, and Decimus et Ultimus. These sons are all dead. The daughter.

Francis Louis, who was born in Williamsburg, Virginia, April 5, 1822, died in Chambers county, Texas, December 4, 1862. He graduated at William and Mary College, Virginia, at the age of twenty-one, and came to Texas soon afterward, and settled in Wheelock, Robertson county, where, for some years and until his death, he was engaged in the practice of his profession.

William Lee, born December 8, 1824, came to Texas and settled in Chambers county, about i860, and there engaged in planting until his death, November 16, 1878.

Philip Ignatius, the fourth son, was born in Williamsburg, Virginia, June 19, 1836, graduated from William and Mary College, Virginia, and prepared himself for the practice of law. He came to Texas and settled at Wheelock, Robertson county, subsequently removing to Chambers county, and thence to Richmond, Texas, in each of which places he was engaged in planting and the practice of his profession. He was a well-to-do planter, and a prominent railroad attorney. He died in Houston, July 15, 1872. The fifth son died in California.

Decimus et Ultimus, tenth and last of the family, as the name indicates, was born in Williamsburg, Virginia, September 4, 1838, was educated at William and Mary College, Virginia, and at Baylor University, in Texas. He studied law, and located in Houston, Texas, where he practiced his profession until his death, January 30, 1882. During his career, which was brief, he became distinguished as a gallant soldier, a brilliant lawyer, and a prominent legislator.

He possessed in the highest degree those qualities which indicate the perfect gentleman. For several years he belonged to the State Legislature as a representati\-e from Harris county, and was prominent in State politics.

Miss Philippa L. Barziza, with her two nephews, Philip D , son of Philip I., and Philip H., son of William Lee, all residents of Houston, now constitute the only survivors of this old and distinguished family. The parents, who came to Texas in 1S59 and settled in Houston, died there, - the father March 25, 1875, ^"d the mother June 3, I S72.

The father, mother and four sons are buried in Glenwood cemetery, at Houston, and over their remains has been reared one of the noblest shafts in that beautiful city of the dead.

R. J. W. DANIEL. - Joseph W. Daniel, son of Oscar and Mary Daniel, was born in Bowling Green, ^^'arre^ county, Kentucky, March 24, 1S42. He was reared chiefly in Houston, Texas, to which place his mother moved in 1S47, h's father having died the year previous. He attended the common schools of Houston until he attained his fourteenth }'ear, when he was placed in St. Mary's College, at Galveston, where he remained some two years, at the end of which time he entered Yale College, at New Haven, Connecticut. He early selected medicine as a profession, and his first preceptor was the late lamented Dr. Ashbel Smith. He attended his first course of lectures while at Yale, and subsequently took two courses at the New School of Medicine at New Orleans, Louisiana, his preceptor at this time being Professor Howard Smith, then professor of materia medica in that institution.

At the opening of the war Dr. Daniel abandoned his studies and, in the spring of 1 86 1, entered the Confederate army, enlisting in Company E. Second Texas Mounted Rifles, commanded by Colonel J. S. Ford. He served as a common soldier on the frontier of Texas and New Mexico until November of that year, when he was ordered before the Medical Examining Board at San Antonio, where, having passed a satisfactory examination, he was commissioned assistant surgeon and placed in charge of the general hospital at that point. He remained there until the outbreak of yellow-fever at Brownsville in 1863, when he was sent to take charge of the hospital there. Shortly afterward the yellow-fever made its appearance at Galveston, and acclimated physicians acquainted with the pathology and treatment of the disease being in demand there, he was ordered to report to Dr. Nagle for service in the hospital at that point. After the fever subsided he was assigned to duty as assistant surgeon in the Third Texas Infantry, Colonel P. N. Luckett commanding, then stationed at Brownsville. When this regiment was ordered to Arkansas he was sent to Fort Esparanzo, on Matagorda island, at that time under connnand of Colonel John Ireland. When this fort was abandoned, in the winter of 1863, Dr. Daniel was transferred to San Antonio, where he was made a member of the Board of Examining Surgeons for the western sub-district of Texas. In the early spring of 1865 he was ordered to report for duty to Captain William M. Stafford, forservice with the latter's battery, then in the Indian Territory, and was on his way

Locating at Houston immediate!}' after the war, Dr. Daniel took up the practice of his profession as a third-course student and upon his credentials as an army surgeon. During the yellow-fever epidemic of 1867 he was employed by the United States Government to take charge of the military camps and hospitals at Houston, and served through that epidemic. (See Circular No. i. War Department, Surgeon General's Office, June 10, 1868).

Dr. Daniel graduated at the Medical department of the Universit}' of Louisiana, at New Orleans, in 1872, at which time he took up the practice of his profession as a regularly graduated physician at Houston and has resided there ever since. He is a member of the Texas State Medical Association and the Harris County Medical Society, and generally manifests a proper interest in whatever pertains to the welfare of his profession. He possesses the full confidence of his medical brethren and has for years enjoyed a very satisfactory practice.

In addition to the general practice Dr. Daniel has given special study to the subject of medical examinations for life insurance. He occupies at the present time the position of division medical examiner for the order of Chosen Friends, medical examiner for the Fidelity Mutual, of Philadelphia; examiner for the Massachusetts Benefit Life Association, of Boston, Massachusetts; the Covenant Mutual Benefit Association, of Galesburg, Illinois; and the Western Commercial Travelers' Association, of St. Louis, Missouri. The Doctor is naturally very proud of his record in this special department, having examined about 1,100 applicants

July 18, 1864, Dr. Daniel married Miss Barbara Stern, then of Victoria, Texas, but a native of Clinton, Louisiana, and by this union has three living children, - Mrs. Mollie C. Walker, Mrs. Alva K. W_etenkamp and Shannon Daniel, - all of Houston.

*» ^ ON. GEORGE P. FINLAY. - The B'^^m subject of this brief sketch traces \ ^P his ancestry on his father's side to Scotch-Irish origin, having descended in the third generation from Joel and Margaret Finlay, natives of north Ireland who emigrated to America in 1770 and settled in North Carolina. On his mother's side he is of English and Welsh extraction, his mother's maiden name being Cada Lewis, a daughter of Joel Lewis, whose ancestors antedated the Finlays in this country certainly by one and possibly by two generations, having settled in South Carolina some years before the American Revolution. Colonel Finlay's parents, James Finlay and Cada Lewis, were born, the father in North Carolina in 1789, and the mother in South Carolina in 1809. The father's parents emigrated to Tennessee, in which State his youth and earl}- manhood were spent, while the mother's parents moved to Mississippi, in which State she grew to womanhood. The father went to Mississippi when a 3'oung man, and there met and married Miss Lewis at her home in Augusta, Perry county. They settled on a farm in Rankin county, and there and in the town of Brandon spent the remainder of their lives. The father served in the Seminole war; was Probate Judge of Rankin county for fourteen years, and in these, as well as all positions

' in which he was called to act, discharged acceptably the duties and functions of a good citizen. He died at Brandon in i860, followed three years later by his wife.

George P. Finlay was born in the town of Augusta, Perry county, Mississippi, November 16, 1S29. but was reared on a farm near Brandon, in Rankin county, \\here his boyhood was dividct! between the wholesome duties of farm life and his attendance at the local schools.

In 1846, then in his seventeenth year, he volunteered in the United States Army, enlisting in the First Mississippi Rifles, commanded by Colonel Jefferson Davis, with which he served in the war against Mexico. Returning, then, to Mississippi, he completed his education, read law under E. H. Lombard, of Brandon, and attended lectures at the Louisville (Kentucky) Law School, at which he graduated in 1852. Having determined to locate in Texas, he taught school for a year in Mississippi to earn money with which to settle, when, in 1853, he came out, located at Lavaca, in Calhoun county, and there took up the practice of his profession. He was engaged in the successful pursuit of his profession at Lavaca until the opening of the wax, at first alone, and later in partnership with Hon. J. J. Holt, then an eminent law\er in that section of the State.

In 1861 Colonel Finlay was elected to the State Senate from what was at that time the Twent3'-fourth Senatorial District, and, in the capacity of a legislator, took part in formulating the State's policy on the measures of secession. Without waiting, however, to serve out the full term for which he was elected, he entered the Confederate army in 1862, being commissioned Captain of a company in the Sixth Texas

Infantry, with which he shortly afterward went to the front and began active service in Arkansas. He was captured at the fall of Arkansas Post, January 11, 1863, and was taken as a prisoner to Columbus, Ohio, latir to Fort Delaware, and in May of the same year was exchanged, at Richmond, Virginia. Re-entering the service, he was on the Georgia campaign, under Bragg and Johnson, after which he was transferred to the Trans-Mississippi Department, where he served as Judge Advocate on the staffs of Generals Magruder and Walker until the close of the war.

Returning to La\aca when hostilities were over. Colonel Finlay resumed the practice of his profession as well as he could in the then unsettled condition of things, and in 1872 was again elected to represent his Senatorial District, and ser\'ed as a member of the Thirteenth Legislature. He was tendered a re-election in 1873, but declined because of his contemplated removal to Galveston, which occurred that year. Colonel Finlay was City Attorney of Galveston in 1878, 1885, 1886, 1887, 1888 and 1889, representative from Galveston county to the lower branch of the Legislature in 1879, 1881 and 1893, and a member of the Board of Trustees of the public schools of Galveston from 1881 to 1887. In July, 1893, he received the appointment of Collector of Customs at the port of Galveston, which position he is now filling.

It will thus be seen from this brief survey of Colonel Finlay's career that he has been before the public in one capacity or another for thirty-odd years. He is a Democrat and as often as politics have entered into the question of his selection for office he has uniformly submitted his claims to his party. His personal popularity is great, being of that kind which goes with character. He has always enjoyed a reasonably good law practice and stands deservedly high with the members of his profession.

On November i6, 1854, Colonel Finlay married Miss Carrie Rea, then residing in Lavaca, Texas, but a native of Booneville, Missouri, being a daughter of Horsley and Parmelia Ewing Rea, Mrs. Finlay's father was accidently killed, in 1848, west of San Antonio, while on his way to California with his family. After this unfortunate event the widow settled in Texas and made this her home until her death, which occurred in Austin in 1881. She was the daughter of the Rev. Finis Ewing, founder of the Cumberland Presbyterian Church and a sister of United States Senator, Robeil C. Ewing, of Illinois, and of Judge Ephriam H. Ewing, at one time Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Missouri. Mrs. Finlay has three living sisters: Mrs. Mary Forbes, widow of Robert M. Forbes, a Texas veteran, and member of the Constitutional convention of 1845; Mrs. Florence Glenn, wife of Maj. John W. Glenn, of New Orleans; and Mrs. Jessie Evans, wife of William E. Evans, of Galveston. Colonel Finlay has two brothers living: Luke W. Finlay, an attorney of Memphis, Tennessee; and Oscar E. Finlay, an attorney of Graham, Young county, Texas.

Colonel Finlay and wife have three children: Julia, the wife of Hart Settle, of Galveston; Quitman, an attorney of the same place; and Virgilia Octavia, still with her parents. Colonel Finlay and wife have two grandchildren: Julia Settle, born in 1882; and George Finlay Settle, born in 1S85. Quitman Finlay married Miss Alice J. Downs, of Waco, Texas, November 6, 1889. In 1854 Colonel Finlay was made a

Mason, and has become a Knight Templar in the order. He and his family hold membership in the Episcopal Church, upon the services of which they are regular attendants.

Genealogical Notes: General William ' H. Davidson was killed during the Revolutionary war, leading the rebel troops in North Carolina. He was the father of Peggie Davidson, who married Rev. Finis Ewing, the founder of the Cumberland Presbyterian Church. Parmelia Ewing, daughter of Finis and Peggie Ewing, married Horsley Rea, and their daughter, Carrie Rea, married George P. Finlay; and Virgilia Finlay, daughter of the last mentioned, is therefore a daughter of the Revolution and the great-great-granddaughter of General Davidson.

Julia Finlay, daughter of George and Carrie Finlay, married Hart Settle. George Settle, son of Hart and Julia Settle, was the great-great-great-grandson of General Davidson. Julia Settle, daughter of Hart and Julia Finlay, is the great-great -great-granddaughter of General Davidson, and a daughter of the Revolution. Quitman Finlay was the son of George and Carrie Finlay, and the great-great-grandson of General Davidson.

aOLONEL SYDNEY T. FONTAINE, C. S. A. - The subject of this sketch comes of two of the earliest-settled families in America, descended on his father's side from Henry de la Fontaine, of French Huguenot history, and on his mother's side from John Augustine Washington, the greatgrandfather of George Washington, first president of the United States. His parents were Judge Henry Whiting Fontaine and Susan Elizabeth Brjson, wh^i were natives of Kentucky, married in Louisville, that State, in 1837, and moved shortly afterward to Texas, settling at Houston, where the father died in 1840, being at the time Judge of the District Court. He left two children besides the subject of this sketch, a son. Captain (C. S. A.) Henry Bryson Fontaine, and a daughter, Clifford Nepp Fontaine. Captain Fontaine married the only sister of General Bedford Forrest, of Confederate fame, and is now living with his family at Dallas, Te.xas, being a lawyer by profession, but having followed mercantile pursuits most of his life. Clifford Nepp Fontaine was married in 1855, at Galveston, Texas, to Colonel Henry N. Potter, a prominent lawyer who, with his brother, Milton M. Potter, was identified with the early history of Texas, dying at Galveston, as did also his wife. Judge Henry Whiting Fontaine was accompanied to Texas by his halfbrother, Algernon Thurston, who subsequently became Attorney General of the Republic, and was a lawyer of prominence. The ancestry of Colonel Fontaine, as well as his wife, date back through a noble line, many of whom have taken conspicuous parts in shaping the destiny of this country, as well as affecting political matters across the ocean.

Colonel Fontaine of this article was born in the city of Houston, Texas, November 23, 1S41, graduated at the ICentucky Military Institute, near Lexington, K^entucky, in 1858, at the age of seventeen and a half, and locating in Galveston, Texas, studied law with his brother-in-law. Colonel Henry N. Potter and Mihon M. Potter, and received his license to practice from the District and Supreme courts at Galveston.

At the opening of the war he raised the first company that was raised for the Confederacy in Texas: it was mustered into the service as Company A, Heavy Artillery, he being elected Captain of it. After the battle of Galveston, in which he took a conspicuous part, he was promoted to the position of Major, and was placed in command of the Seventh Battalion of Light Artillery, and was also assigned to the staff of General J. B. Mqgruder as Chief of Artillery and Ordnance of the District of Texas, New Mexico and Arizona. He participated with his command in the different engagements in Texas and in resisting Banks' campaign into Louisiana, where he and his command took a conspicuous part. He was promoted after this campaign to the position of Lieutenant Colonel of Light Artillery, having served under General Taylor, commanding the western district of Louisina as inspector of artillery. Colonel Fontaine saw service, from first to last, under each of those distinguished generals, Herbert, Taylor, Walker and Magruder, and won a reputation for gallantry upon many a hard-fought field.

After the war Colonel Fontaine resumed the practice of law at Galveston, which place has been his home for the past thirtyfive years. He has filled the usual number of local offices and has exhibited a becoming interest in all matters relating to the welfare of the community. He is recognized as a good citizen, kind neighbor, beloved husband and father, and is liberal, progressive and charitable without stint.

On July 19, 1S73, Colonel Fontaine married, at the residence of Dr. Bowers, in Columbus, Texas, Miss lulia Washington, a daughter of Dr. Lawrence Augustine Washington, who was a grandson of Colonel Samuel Washington, a brother of General

George Washington. Dr. Lawrence A. Washington was the son of Lawrence A. Washington, wlio was the adopted son of General Washington and married Miss Martha Shrewsbury, a hneal descendant of the Earl of Shrewsbury. They were married in Virginia and moved to Colorado county, Te.xas, about 1847, where he owned a large plantation and accumulated great wealth in land and cotton. He died in 1888, and his wife in 1891, at Denison, Texas, at which place they had for several years made their home. Colonel Fontaine and wife have one daughter and four sons. Miss Shirley Villiers Washington, Bryce Washington, Lawrence Augustine Washington, Bushrod Washington and Jules Washington. Mrs. Fontaine's connection with the historic families of this country has brought her frequent recognition from those desirous of keeping alive the memory of our country's heroes and patriots, and has caused her to become the recipient of many relics and some unwritten history relative to the past. She has several letters written by General Washington. The knee-buckles which he wore when he was inaugurated the first president of the United States, and the repsilk suit which he wore when inaugurated president the second time, are in possession of the family. Her sister, Mrs. Wood Saunders, of Denison, Texas, has in her possession a seal given by General LaFayette to her father in 1832, when he made his last visit to the United States, and on it appears this inscription: "Where liberty dwells there is my country." Mrs. Fontaine is the regent for the Daughters of the American Revolution at Galveston, Texas, as is also her sister, Mrs. George L. Patrick at Denison, Texas, with headquarters at Washington, District of Columbia.

@ FORGE BALL was born May 9, 1817, in Saratoga, New York, where he resided until twelve years old, when he went to live with his uncle, George Hoyt, at Albany in that State. He learned the trade of silversmith and jeweler from this uncle, and was indebted to him also for most excellent training in business affairs. On reaching his majority George Ball set out to seek a location for himself, traveling extensively through the Western and Southern States, and finally settling for a time in Shreveport, Louisiana. There he came to hear a great deal of Texas, and, being moved by the favorable reports received, at last decided to try his fortunes in the then infant Republic. Returning to New York he formed a partnership with his brother, Albert, and procuring a stock of general merchandise and lumber sufficient to erect a small store building, he embarked for Galveston, arriving here in the fall of 1839, during the disastrous epidemic of yellow-fever that prevailed that year. Nothing daunted by the gloomy prosspects before him, he landed his cargo, and, leasing a lot on Tremont street between Mechanic and Market, proceeded to erect his building and open his business. His brother joined him the following year, and their business proving successful they moved to the vicinity of Strand and Twenty-second streets, at that time much nearer the center of trade than the site first selected. After a few years this firm was dissolved, Albert entering the clothing business and George continuing that of dry goods.

In 1854 Mr. Ball disposed of his mercantile interests, and, associating with himself John H. Hutchings and John Sealy, formed the firm of Ball, Hutchings & Company for banking and commission purposes.

As the senior member of this firm Mr. Ball showed himself a man of keen business sagacity, the firm under his management soon taking rank among the first in the city and eventually becoming the first in the State. During the four years of the late war, 1861- 5, this firm conducted a good business with Europe through Mexico; and afterward, in 1873, tided over that year of panic and failure, meeting all demands, and by integrity and business saga-^ity have met and weathered all storms oi disaster.

From the first Mr. Ball manifested an abiding faith in the future of Galveston and took great interest in everything pertaining to its welfare. There were very few enterprises ever started in the city in which he was not one of the foremost workers, and to a number of corporations and scores of private undertakings, he was a stanch friend and valued contributor. He early foresaw the advantages of Galveston as a shipping point, and advocated and assisted all measures tending to the development of the transportation interests of the cit}-. He took the first $10,000 worth of stock in the Mallory Steamship Company on its organization.

On April 19, 1S43, Mr. Ball married Miss Sarah Catherine Perry, a daughter of Captain James Perry, who settled at Galveston in 183S, and who was for a number of years a respected citizen of this community. Of this union six children were born, but two of whom survive, - Mrs. Nellie League, wife of J. C. League, of Galveston, and Frank Merriman Ball.

Mr. Ball sought no public office, his family and business occupying all of his time and attention. He was a man of quiet tastes and retired habits, known for his great kindness of heart and disposition to be helpful to others. He came to be the possessor of much wealth, which however he sought to use in such manner as to accomplish the most good for himself and fellow-men. The year preceding his death he donated $50,000 for the erection of a building in Galveston for public-school purposes. This building was in course of construction when his life drew to a close March 13, 1884. His will provided funds in trust for other charities, the chief of which was a fund of $50,000 to aid the poor of the city.

Mr. Ball was buried with all the honors a grateful people could confer on one so universally mourned. The Ball high-school building finished and equipped since Mr. Ball's death, at a cost of $100,000, - one half of which was contributed by his widow and children, - stands as a splendid monument to the memory of this truly good man.

HTHEN V. PICHARD, son of Victor antl Christina Pichard, was born in the city of Galveston, October 21, 1847, and was reared here to the age of sixteen, at which time he was sent to Europe to complete his education. He ran away from school soon after going abroad and returned home to enter the Confederate army, enlisting and remaining in the service till the close of the war. After the surrender he engaged in industrial and clerical pursuits for some time till, finding himself arrived at that age when he must engage in business for himself, he went to New Orleans, took a course in a commercial college, and returning to Galveston soon afterward embarked in the hide and wool business, and was so engaged until his death. Mr. Pichard was devoted strictly to business and during his brief ca- reer met with noteworthy success. He left a very good estate and an honorable name. He was for two years a member of the city Council, a man of progressive ideas and one who always did his full share as a citizen in everything relating to the welfare of the community.

In 1 874 Mr. Pichard married Miss Johanna Ivleinecke, a native of Galveston and a daughter of Theodore and Caroline Kleinecke, the former having been a resident of this city since 1846. The issue of this union was four children, - Victor, Louisa, Etna and Athen. Mr. Pichard died December 21, 1883. He had been for some years a member of the Lutheran Church. Victor Pichard, father of Athen V., went to California during the gold excitement in 1849 and died there. His widow subsequently married again, and died some years ago in this city. Mrs. Olympia Freybe, only sister of the subject of this sketch, resides in San Antonio, this State.