Galveston County, Texas - The whole text, 1895 (part 14 of 26)

With the close of the war Mr. Wilson resumed his business pursuits in Houston, extending his investments and giving his attention strictly to his personal interests. He has never had much taste for public life, and for some years following the close of the war there were special reasons, as is well known, for a man of delicate sensibilities holding himself aloof from political matters; but the time came in the history of the city of Houston when the interests of the taxpayers and the cause of good government demanded at the head of the municipal administration a man of known honesty and acknowledged abilit}', and early in 1874, after several years of misrule under reconstruction measures, the city was placed in the hands of an administration of which Mr. Wilson was appointed the head, and acted as Mayor until March, of the same year, when he became a candidate for the same position, and was elected by a large majority. He served under this election until January, 1S75, during which time he was busy unearthing frauds perpetrated by the emissaries of reconstruction, and in undoing, as far as possible, their misdeeds. In Januar}', 1877, after the lapse of one term, he was again brought out b\' his friends as a candidate for the same office, and was elected. During this term of his service he prosecuted with more vigor the investigation of the acts of previous administrations, and the work of bringing to light the city's actual condition. This was accomplished to the satisfaction of the tax-payers, and to the credit of the gentlemen having the labor in hand.

During this same administration, in the years 1877-8, the present sx'stem of public schools was inaugurated, and the educational needs of the city thus placed upon a solid basis. The agitation of the question of a system of public water-works also took shape during his second administration, the pressent system being put in in 1878, and attention generally to the city's growing demands was aroused; and, as far as public sentiment seemed to warrant, active steps were taken to provide for the same.

Mr. Wilson's large real-estate interests began with the era of development which set about in 1874, to form the basis of a considerable fortune, and he was solicited by the promoters of many enterprises, then being set on foi't, to lend his name and credit to them. A knowledge, however, of the slow and laborious way in which his earnings had been made, and a conservative habit, somewhat natural to him, kept him out of most of these enterprises, and caused him to keep his investments largely in real estate, - the soil for which he and his father had fought, and in the stability of which he has always maintained an abiding faith. However, in 1875, he was elected a director in the Exchange National Bank of Houston, and in October, 1876, became president of the same institution. For some years past Mr. Wilson has lived mostly in retirement, but, during this time, has given, and continues to give, his attention to his private interests.

In politics he has alwajs been a Democrat, standing with his party on all State and National issues, and giving to its standard-bearers his active support as often as occasion has demanded. He entertains a partiality for the Presb)terian faith in matters of religion, Ijut has been a contributor to subscription lists circulated in behalf of other denominations, and, in fact, for all forms of charity.

On the 1st day of February, 1855, in the city of Houston, Mr. Wilson married Miss Mary Adeline Cornelia Cone, a native of Macon, Georgia, a daughter of Dr. H. H. Cone, who came to Texas in the early '30s, and served in the battle of San Antonio, in December, 1835.

1856, now a' real-estate dealer of Houston; Harvey T. D., born February 26, 1858, financial and insurance agent at Houston; Joseph D. P., born January 4, 1861, and died January 24, 1864; Cora T. B., born May II, 1863, now wife of Henry Havelock Dickson, vice-president and secretary of the Dickson Car Wheel Company, at Houston; Hubert S. H., born November 13, 1868, wholesale and retail wood and coal dealer, of Houston; and Cornelia E. B., born January 3, 1873, unmarried, and with her parents, who reside in the center of block 89, city of Houston; entrance. No. 608 Rusk avenue.

'^nr'OHN T. BROWNE was born in the ^ village of Ballylanders, county Lim- A 1 erick, Ireland, on the 23d day of March, 1845. His parents, Michael and Winnefred Browne, were natives of the same place and resided there until 1851, when, with their family of five children, they emigrated to America, and settled in New Orleans. In that city, the same year of the arrival, the father died, and, some time during the following year, the mother moved with her little ones to Te.\as, and, after a brief residence in Madison county, settled in Houston. In this place the boyhood and youth of John T. were passed.

It need hardly be stated that his early lot was by no means an easy one. Toil and self-denial came to him as they have to many others, - as unwelcome inheritances. For what little education he received he was indebted to a Catholic priest, Father Gunnard, then an instructor in the families of the Spanns of Washington county. This pious gentleman, believing it to be his duty to make the most of his opportunities as a religious and secular instructor, took five boys from Houston, one of whom was young Browne, for whom he found places on the Spanns' plantations, where they were given both mental and manual training, and that under good religious influences. About the age of fourteen young Browne went to Madison county, where he earned his first money. This was as an off-bearer in a brick-yard, the wages received being four dollars per month. With a boy's pride in his achievement he returned after a few months to Houston, with the full amount of his wages saved up; and, stimulated by his success, he immediately set about to find permanent employment at home. This was soon obtained as a driver of a baggage wagon, a business which he followed for a number of years. While at this he established something of a reputation for industry and faithfulness, and in due time secured a position as messenger in the office of the Commercial and Southwestern Express Company. From this the step was easy to the train service of the same company, and he became a messenger on the Houston & Texas Central Railroad. When the war put a stop to the express business he became a fireman on the same road and followed this until cessation of hostilities. With the return of peace, and the opening of the channels of commerce, he again went at the express business, becoming messenger in the office of the Adams Express Company, at Houston. When this company was succeeded by the Southern Express Company, he took employment with the latter. He subsequently became bookkeeper and salesman in the grocery business for H. P. Levy, John Collins and Theodore Keller, successively, forming a partnership in 1870 with Mr. Keller, which lasted about twelve months, being dissolved at the end of that time by mutual consent. Then in 1782 he became associated with Charles Bollfrass, under the firm name of Browne & Bollfrass, and laid the foundation of his present business, wholesale and retail groceries. No better illustration can probably be found of the rapid and }et substantial growth of the commercial interests of Houston than is afforded by the firm of Browne & Bollfrass. Beginning twenty-two years ago on a capital of $500, they have built up a business representing an investment of $70,- 000, upon which a cash trade of about $340,000 is annually done. This has been the result of steady growth, and has come in response to industry, application to business, and a faithful compliance with every obligation, whether written or verbal, on the part of the gentlemen here named. Without seeking to monopolize the trade, with no trumpeting of their achievements at home or abroad,- with only an abiding confidence in the future of the country and in the truth of the maxims that "Fortune favors the industrious," and "All things come to him who waits," they have followed the even tenor of their way, watching the losses and saving the gains, with the very gratifying result of their present prosperous condition. To this business Mr. Browne has given twenty years of his undivided attention, having shared the last two years of his time with the public as Mayor of the city of Houston. He has always been averse to politics, and has shunned public office, but represented the Fifth ward in the City Council in 1887-8, during which time he was chairman of the Finance Committee; and such was his record in this capacity that, at the earnest solicitation of friends, including many of the oldest and most substantial citizens of the city, who had watched his career from boyhood up, he was induced to become a candidate for the office of Mayor in April, 1891, and was elected by a vote of 3,900, against a vote of 600 received bj' his opponent. It could hardly be expected that his administration would give universal satisfaction; the varying wants and capacities of men give rise to very varied opinions respecting public functionaries; but, in all essentials, he has given satisfaction, his having been a clean, economical, business-like administration. During the era of public improvements, which came to the city a few years ago, most of the contracts were then let for what it was thought the city needed, in the way of public works, so that the present administration has but little to do in this respect, except to carry out the work thus inaugurated. This it has done, in a fairly reasonable and successful manner. As exoffiicio chairman of the school board, Mr. Browne has watched the school interests with special solicitude, and, during his term of office, four new school buildings have been erected, thus largely increasing the capacity of the schools and adding materially to their efficiency.

In 1 87 1 Mr. Browne married Miss Mary Bergin, then residing in Houston, but a native of the city of New Orleans, and a daughter of Michael Bergin, of Irish nativity. Eleven children survive to this union. Mr. Browne's mother, after rearing four of her five children to maturity, and seeing them married and settled in life, died in this city, some ten years ago. His only brother, Thomas, died here at about the age of twelve, while his three sisters, who are still living, are residents of this cit}'. These are Mrs. Mary Collins, Mrs. Joanna Collins,

'^j'ACOB BINZ, for a third of a cenm tury a resident of Houston, being A I one of the well-to-do and highly respected citizens of this cit}', is a native of the village of Reigel, Germany, where he was born on the i 5th day of October, 1828. He is one of a large family of children born to Jacob and Teresa Binz, who were also natives of German}'. His father was a distiller, and, in accordance with the German idea of thrift and independence, taught his son, Jacob, the business of distilling, after the latter had received a reasonably good education in the schools of the locality where he grew up.

In 1S47, young Binz, then in his nineteenth year, came to America, landing at New York, on the 15th day of May, 1847. In the usual way of inunigrants to this country, who have no friends or relatives with whom to stop, he drifted about for some months, going first to Ohio, thence to Illinois, and, finally, to Wisconsin. His pursuits during this time were regulated by his personal wants, and by the demand for labor in the localities where he happened to be. After settlingin Wisconsin, however, he turned his attention energetically to farming, with which he met with moderate success, and from this to merchandising, with which he met with better success, and from merchandising to brewing, at which fortune favored him best of all. He established a brewery at Sheboygan in 1853, and, from an unpretentious beginning, soon developed a large and very profitable business. His product found sale throughout the central and northwestern States, and, for the proper distribution of it, Mr. Binz established an agency at Chicago, to which place he moved his residence for the purpose of looking after this branch of the business.

He remained in Chicago until 1858, when, having received a good offer for his business, he sold it, - plant, stock and good will, - and turned his steps southward. After prospecting for some time he finally came to Texas, and, in November, i860, located at Houston. Here he shortly afterward started a distillery, but conducted it only a few months, when, on account of the unsettled condition of things brought about by the opening of the late war, he was compelled to close. From 1861 to 1865 he was variously engaged, chiefly, however, in looking after his real-estate investments in Houston. For three years following the close of the war he was Assessor and Collector of taxes for the city of Houston, the duties of which position he discharged creditably to himself and to the satisfaction of the taxpayers. In the meantime he extended his investments in city real estate, and improved his holdings, and, after giving up the office of Assessor and Collector, turned his attention exclusively to his business interests. It was about this time that he erected his present residence on Main street, to answer both for a business and dwelling, which was one of the first brick buildings put up in the locality where it stands.

Mr. Binz, although dating his residence in Houston twenty-five years after its founding, has witnessed by far the greater part of the city's growth and development, and in this has lent a helping hand, being financially interested in the advancement of the city's welfare, and also taking a pride in everything pertaining to its history and achievements.

Mr. Binz married while living in Wisconsin, but his wife died shortly afterward, and he remained single a number of years, not marrying again until 1873. His second marriage occurred in Houston, when he wedded Miss Pauline Schweikart The result of this union has been two children: Arthur J. and Melamie M. Having been reared Catholics, Mr. Binz and family continue zealous communicants of that church.

HNDREW J. BURKE. - About the beginning of the present century, probably in the year 1805, Benjamin and Drucilla Burke left their native place in Fairfield district. South Carolina, and, joining the tide of immigration then pouring through the mountain passes of western North Carolina, settled near the present town of Elkton, on Elk river, in what is now Giles count}-, middle Tennessee. There, on the loth of October, 1 81 3, Andrew J., their seventh child, and the subject of this brief sketch, was born. His boyhood and youth, until he was seventeen, were passed on his father's primitive patch in the wilderness and along the streams and in the forests of his native place. His educational advantages were very limited, and opportunities for learning much of the outside world were more so. The death of his father, in 1830, threw him, in a measure, upon his own resources, and, having determined on seeking a more promising place in wiiich to make his start in the world, he secured letters of introduction from gentlemen of good standing where he lived, and started to the lower Mississippi country. Vicksburg was his objective point, and there he made his first stop. After several days of vain effort to secure empIo3'ment in that place, he was sitting one day, about the noon hour, near a store, when he saw the owner come out and lock the door, to go to dinner. It occurred to young Burke that a business should be open during luisinesss hours, and that that merchant needed a boy. He went to the merchant, on his return from dinner, and told him frankly his condition, and offered to enter the merchant's employ, to do anything that needed to be done about the store or house. His character having been vouched for by a Presbyterian minister, to whom young Burke had brought a letter of introduction, he was engaged, the merchant agreeing to pay him $100 a year and expenses. This was January i, 1832. In November following, Vicksburg was visited for the first time by the cholera. Business was suspended, and most of the inhabitants abandoned the place. Under an arrangement with his employer, j'oung Burke took a small stock of goods and went out to a town called Amsterdam, twenty miles from Vicksburg, where he opened a store, his wages having been increased to $300 a year and expenses. He remained there in charge of that business for nearly two years, when, having saved his earnings and established somewhat of a personal credit, he started a store of his own. He conducted this for a period of two years, and met with marked success. Having about that time heard a great deal concerning Texas, he concluded to try his fortunes in the then recently established Republic, and, in the spring of 1837, closed out his interests at Amsterdam, and came to San Augustine. Finding that the country suited him, he shortly afterward married and decided to settle here. The town of Houston had but recently been laid out, and selected as the seat of govern- ment of the Republic, and hither he came in search of a location. The exact time of his first visit to Houston was November, 1837, and from that time he dates his residence here. He became one of the early merchants of the town, opening a store, in the spring of 1838, in a small building on the south side of Main street, about midway of the block between Preston and Congress avenues. He kept a general store, and, from a small beginning, came in time to do a large and successful business. That being before the era of railroads in Texas, and at a time when Houston was the distributing point for all of interor Texas, the merchants of this place did a large jobbing business, as well as a good local retail trade. "Times were good," and Mr. Burke, in common with others, prospered. For forty years he was in active business, and, during that time, sold many thousands of dollars' worth of goods. Most of the time he was alone, but had two or three partnerships, the longest of which was with the late B. A. Shepherd, with whom he was associated pleasantl}' and profitably for a number of years. Mr. Burke withdrew from business about 1876, since which time he has lived mainly in retirement. He has never cared for public life, and, in fact, has rather shunned it, but during his active years he interested himself in matters of a local nature, and subscribed, in accordance with his means, to enterprises looking to the advancement of the welfare of the city of Houston. He was at one time a member of the board of directors of the Houston & Texas Central Railroad, and lent that enterprise substantial aid when it was one of Houston's "infant industries." He also served two terms as County Commissioner, and one term as Mayor of the city. Mr. Burke has been a life-long Democrat, as was also his father, whose admiration for General Jackson, one of the fathers of Democracy, prompted him to name his son for that popular hero. In religion, the family were Methodists, but, abandoning that faith, if indeed he may be said ever to have been a follower of it, he, early in life, united with the Presbyterian Church, of which he has since been an active and consistent member. He was made a Mason in 1844, and must, therefore, be one of the oldest in the State. He is a strong believer in the teachings and practices of Masonry, but has not, especially in recent years, been active in the order.

Mr. Burke's marriage occurred in Shelby county, Texas, on the 26th of September, 1S37, when he wedded Miss Eloise Lusk, daughter of George V. Lusk, who had moved to Texas the year previous. Mrs. Burke was born in Pickens county, Alabama, where she was also reared. She died February 18, 1 886. Thirteen children were born to them, only three of whom are now living. Five died in infancy, and five after reaching maturity. The deceased are Andrew J., Jr., who died May 5, 1880, at the age of thirtyeight, leaving a family; Matilda J., wife of E. H. Gushing, died May 12, 1881; Mary, wife of Bell Copes, died August 10, 1864; Horace T. , who died March 20, 1890; and Fannie, wife of N. A. Blake, who died January 19, 1882. The living are Frank S., an attorney of Houston; Edmund L., a railway conductor; and Annette, wife of George R. Bringhurst, of Houston.

Although past his eightieth year, Mr. Burke is still vigorous in mind and body, being remarkably well preserved for one of his age. He has led an active life, but has husbanded his strength by temperate habits and a faithful observance of the laws of na-

<>^ A. RIESNER. - Young blood l/^C counts for a good deal in the affairs J^^_^ of this world, and the youthful energy and enthusiasm which have been infused into the currents of traffic and development of this city during the past ten or fifteen years, have told wonderfully in its history.

A man who would justly resent the insinuation of age, and yet who has lived long enough to do something worthy of mention in connection with the history of this city, is B. A. Riesner, for six years a member of the City Council, and in many ways identified with the development and general welfare of this growing place. Mr. Riesner is a native Texan, and has spent the most of his life in Houston. He can therefore be credited with an amount of pride and disinterestedness in what he has done, which will all the more heighten the value of his services. He was born in the town of Brazoria, Brazoria county, on the 19th of February, 1856, and is of German extraction. His parents, Anton and Wilhelmina Riesner, were both natives of Germany, the father having been born in Berlin, and the mother in Mecklenburg. They emigrated to the United States in 1847, coming direct to Texas and settling at Brazoria. The father was a cooper by trade, and followed his calling at Brazoria until about 1862, when he came to Houston. He is remembered by the citizens of this place as a plain, plodding German, of modest, frugal ways, a good citizen, and a faithful soldier in the late war, having served on the staff of General Magruder, and taken part in the capture of the historic "Harriet Lane," in the battle of Galveston. He died here in January, 1 886.

The subject of this notice was only about six years old when his father moved to Houston. What little education he got was received in the schools of this city; but this was nothing to speak of. He was apprenticed to the trade of a blacksmith, at the age of fourteen, under H. A. Maydole, an ex- Federal soldier, now a practicing attorney of San Antonio; and, after completing the period of his apprenticeship, worked at his trade as a journeyman until 1875. At that date he opened a business of his own on a capital of fifty dollars, which he had saved from his earnings, supplemented by a small amount borrowed from his father. From this modest beginning his present establishment has grown. The amount borrowed from his father was repaid in a year or so, with interest, so that what he has may, in the strictest sense of the word, be said to be the fruits of his own toil. To start with, Mr. Riesner did only the rougher sort of blacksmithing, but with the increased demand for better work, and with the increase of his capital, he has come to manufacture wagons, buggies and other vehicles, to do bridge and bolt work of all kinds, and to turn out all kinds of architectural material that is made of iron. His establishment is in fact one of the growing industries of this city. While giving his attention to this he has also found time to interest himself in other enterprises, being a stockholder and director in the Simpson-Hartwell-Stopple Machine Works, the Texas Real Estate and Investment Association, the American Brewing Association, the Houston Ice and Brewing Association, and the Mutual Building and

Mr. Riesner has served as a member of the City Council for six years, from the Fourth ward (north), having been returned at each successive election by an increased majority. It is as a member of the Council that he has performed the services which have entitled him to the grateful recognition of the citizens of Houston. For four years as a member of the Finance Committee, - two years as its chairman, - he gave an amount of attention to the city finances which not only served to strengthen the public credit and render efficient the various departments of the city government dependent thereon, but, more than once, saved the city treasury from financial embarrassment, and prevented the stopping of important public works. His successful efforts in securing the funds with which to complete the public-school buildings, in the summer of 1893, are fresh in the memory of the citizens of this city. As chairman of the Fire Committee Mr. Riesner was also instrumental in introducing new features in that department, among them the present electric fire-alarm system. In this branch of the city's service he has been particularly active for many years, having held every office in the department, from that of fireman up to that of chief.

Having been denied the advantages of the best school training in his youth, he has learned from experience the value of an education, and he has, on this account, taken especial interest in the educational matters of the city, using his utmost efforts whenever occasion offered, to help the city schools, and make them as nearly perfect as may be.

Houston, and the result of this union has been five children, four girls and one boy: Le Etta, Mary, Benjamin A., Jr., Sophie and Bessie. These children, and a pleasant home presided over by a kind and estimable wife, have made Mr. Riesner's domestic life a source of never-failing happiness - a befitting counterpart to his successful business and official career.

^^>(^EORGE H. HERMANN, was born ^7\ in the city of Houston, August 6, \^^ 1845, and is a son of John and Fannie (Mitchellj Hermann, who were born in the city of Davos, Graubunden, Switzerland. The father was a soldier when a young man, and took part in the battle of Waterloo, in which he received two wounds and had his horse shot from under him.

He came to the United States in 1830, and remained a short time. Returning to Switzerland he married, and, at a later date, came again to America, landing at Norfolk, Virginia, whence he went in a short time to New Orleans, and thence to the city of Mexico. Returning to New Orleans, he came, in 1838, to Texas, and settled at Houston. When he reached this place his family consisted of a wife and three children, and he had only $5 in money. Fortunately, his wife had some jewelry, which she consented to have pawned, and, with the proceeds, a barrel of flour and twentyfive pounds of sugar were purchased, and on this a small bakery, or cake stand, was started. He was in the bakery business some four years, when, with what small means he had earned, he purchased a few cows and engaged in the dairy business. He followed this for twenty years, - until his death in 1862. He bought lands and lots from time to time, and, at the date of his death, was in comfortable circumstances. He was a plain, industrious, frugal citizen, worthy, and well respected. The mother of the subject of this sketch died in 1863. There were seven children in the family of John and Fannie Hermann, only one of whom, the subject of this sketch, is now living. Four died in infancy and early childhood, and two, Louis and John M., since, - the former in 18G9, and the latter in 1872.

George H. Hermann was reared in Houston, with limited educational advantages, and. at the age of si.xteen, entered the Confederate army. Enlisting, in the fall of 1 86 1, in Company A, Twenty-si.xth Te.xas Cavalry, he served with this command, mainly in Texas, until toward the close of the war, when his command was placed on the eastern border of the State, and in Louisiana, where it took part in the series of engagements following Banks' campaign up Red river. At the close of hostilities, he returned to Houston, and, turning his attention to tlie cattle business, was so engaged up to 1875. The ten j'ears so spent brought him good returns, and, in the last named year, he turned his attention to real estate matters, which, with an interval of three years, from 1882 to 1885, spent in the cattle business, have since formed his chief pursuits. Mr. Hermann has never held any office, nor has he ever married. June 7, 1894, he was nominated by the Democratic party for County Assessor of Harris county, Texas. He is regarded as one of Houston's men of solid wealth, devoted to the best interests of his native cit\-, an earnest, industrious, faithful citizen, and a safe and capable man of business.

*y-» GUIS M. RICH. - The subject of I j this sketch is a native of Prussia, I \ burn in the town of Forden, September 4, 1833. His parents were Benjamin and Fannie Rich, plain, industrious, good people of moderate means. Louis, being one of a family of ten children, was early thrown on his own resources, and, at the age of twelve, left his native village and went to Berlin, where he became apprenticed to the trade of a printer. His early education was obtained mostly at the "case," supplemented by the reading habit, which he formed soon after he learned to read. He was not exactly a student of social science, nor of governmental theories, in his youth, but was a thoughtful observer of the practical workings of government, and having had brought forcibly to his mind some of the deficiencies of the system under which he was reared, he began even in his boyhood and }outh to read descriptive articles of other countries, and the workings of their governments, with respect especially to the humbler class of citizens. Actuated by a desire to improve hi? condition and to make his home in a laud of greater personal liberty he went at the age of eighteen to London, where he secured work at his trade antl set himself to the task of mastering the English language. In the meantime he continued his researches among the books and newspapers, and, having had his attention fixed on America, prosecuted his inquiries diligently concerning this country and the opportunities it offered to young men in his condition. Being pleased and encouraged with what he heard of it he finally made up his mind to cross the waters and try his fortunes in the New World. He sailed from Liverpool for New York, whence he went to New Orleans, where he made his first permanent stop after arriving in this country. For six years he worked as a compositor on the Picayune and Daily Delta until March, 1857. At that date he came to Houston, having been brought here for the purpose of superintending the getting out of Taylor's Monitor, then in course of preparation in the of^ce of the Tri- Weekly Telegraph. Mr. Rich supervised the issuing of this work for the press, which was the first Masonic guide-book ever published in Texas, and in the meantime and subsequently up to the opening of the war worked at his trade both on the Weekly Republic and the Tri-Weekly Telegraph of Houston. When hostilities came on between the North and South, yielding to his sympathy for the cause of the Southern people, he entered the Confederate army early in 1861, enlisting in Turner's Rifles, with which command he served along the Gulf coast until honorably discharged.

At the close of the war Mr. Rich married and settled in Houston, engaged in the wholesale grocery business, under the firm name of L. M. Rich & Company. Later he disposed of this interest, and engaged in the wholesale clothing business, as a member of the firm of Burke, Rich & Company, subsequently acquiring entire control of this business, which he conducted until 1887. At that time, having accumulated considerable wealth, he withdrew from active business pursuits, and has since devoted his time and attention to his large real-estate holdings and other investments. Mr.' Rich, although he makes no boast of it, is really one of Houston's wealthy men. He began purchasing real estate in the city some years ago, picking up choice pieces of property, as he could spare the means from his business. Extending his operations in this direction he has come to own a large amount of property in Houston, and, while under his judicious management it is constantly increasing in volume to his own enrichment, it is also adding to the commonwealth of the community in the easily understood form of taxable values. In all things affecting the prosperity and welfare of Houston, Mr. Rich has always exhibited a commendable interest.

He is of a quiet, retiring disposition, temperate in habits, liberal, earnest and active, one in whom the domestic virtues preponderate, and who easily makes friends, and firmly holds them when once made.

August 10, 1865, Mr. Rich married Mrs. Fredrika Jacobs {ncc Coleman), a native of Magilna, West Prussia, but, at the time of her marriage, a resident of Houston, and a sister of Isaac Coleman, an old settler of this place. Three children have been born to this union, two daughters and one son, one daughter, Mrs. A. S. Fox, being of the first marriage. Blanch is the wife of Charles D. Wolf, of Houston; while the youngest. Pearl, and the son, Benjamin M., remain with their parents.

Mrs. Rich, in the restricted field of labor open to her, has been quite as active as her husband, and has, in her own way, achieved quite as substantial results. She is one of the best known charity workers among the ladies of Houston. For fifteen years she has been president of the Hebrew Benefit Society, of this city, and is a member of the Hebrew Aid Society, the Faith Home, and of Bradfore Chapter of the Eastern Star, in all of which she manifests a deep interest and takes an active and earnest part.

ber of the Hebrew order, B'liai B'rith, Lone Star Lodge, No. 210, Houston, and was a charter member of Fire Company No. 2, which was the second organization of the kind in the city of Houston, of which he was for a long time president and secretary.

In rehgion, while he adheres to the faith of his fathers, he is liberal in his views, and a great respecter of the religious faith of anyone who is sincere in his belief and consistent in his professions, - purity, benevolence, friendship, charity for the faults of others, and frankness in acknowledging one's own. These are the fruits for which he looks in all creeds, and, finding them, he cares but little for forms; but, without these, and, especially, without an abiding faith in a Supreme Being, from which faith these things flow, he can not see how man can answer any intelligent purpose, or accomplish any lasting good.

Carrying the old English idea that "a man's home is his castle," one step further, Mr. Rich believes that it is also his sanctuary, the fountain of all the best virtues that spring in one's nature, the secret source of all the higher impulses of the soul; and his home, perhaps, comes as near being this to him as any man's ever did.

m lad were seen going voluntarily to a /- 1 tradesman to apprentice himself to a useful calling at an age when most lads are objects of parental care; if he were seen undertaking the support of an infirm father, mother, two younger brothers and a sister before he had completed the articles of his indenture; if he were again seen 2,000 miles from the place of his birth in a new country struggling for a footing which he secured; and were then seen rising to a position of prominence in the world of business and finance; then filling a useful place in the law-making bodies of his adopted State, amassing wealth, and in death leaving an honorable name and the visible marks of his character upon the interests and industries where he lived, it might be worth while to inquire what were the inherent qualities of mind and heart possessed by that lad, youth and man that enabled him to succeed where so many others fail, and to bring out for the benefit of those similarly situated the useful lessons of his life.

Joseph Robert Morris, the subject of this memoir, was born in Milton, Connecticut, April 24, 1828, and spent his early years in his native place. Belonging to a family in but moderate circumstances, his education was only such as could be obtained at the local schools, and this before heattained his fourteenth year. He learned the trade of tinner in New Haven, and it seemed that his intention was to establish himself at his trade in his native place. But the feeble condition of his father's health, aggravated by the unexpected death of his mother, led to the breaking up of the home and to the removal of the father to the South, accompanied by two younger sons, Samuel and George, in search of a restoration of health. Joseph R. cheerfully took upon himself the expenses of the removal, and Texas was the place to which they decided to go. In order to assist his father and brothers in establishing themselves in the new country and helping in their own support, the young tinner made up a lot of tinware, which they were to bring with them. They came in the early '40s, probable in 1 845, and settled at Bastrop. The country was then entering on a period of considerable commercial activity, and it appeared that there was a reasonable assurance of success for the small venture; but on account of the growing infirmities of the father and the extreme youth and inexperience of the sons, it did not prove successful; the store in fact never became self-sustaining, but constantly drew on the earnings of Joseph R., who remained in Connecticut.

At length the business and the father's failing health demanded the presence of the eldest son, and in 1846 he came on, bringing with him a small stock of tinware, which he had made up for the purpose and which he designed to peddle out in order to help defray expenses. He came by way of Galveston to Houston, and at this place purchased a horse and spring wagon, with which he went on to Bastrop, selling his tinware through the country. He succeeded in getting the affairs at Bastrop straightened out, after which he returned to Houston, and here decided to take up his permanent residence. He had no capital but was master of a good trade, and the late Judge Alexander McGowen, having just previously set up a tinshop in Houston, young Morris was given employment in his shop. He worked for Judge McGowen for a year, when, having saved his earnings, he began business for himself in 1847, opening a small tinshop stocked mainly with the product of his own handicraft. To this he added a small line of hardware, as his means and credit would allow of this extention of the business. Thus was laid the foundation of the great hardware establishment, which was subsequently built up under his direction, and which was for many years the principal establishment of its kind in Houston, and in fact one of the largest in south Texas.

identified with the business interests of this city. He rose from almost nothing to comparative affluence, lost three fortunes by fire and yet lived to lay the foundation of a fourth, and left what was better than fortune or fame, a spotless reputation, an unsullied name. In his business he always enjoyed a large patronage, and had it not been for the three disastrous fires, - 1860, 1876 and 1879, - his estate would probably have been one of the largest in the city.

Besides his hardware business Mr. Morris was busy with other interests, from which he made some money, but in which he interested himself chiefly on account of his naturally energetic disposition. Being endowed with a remarkable mechanical genius, he invented several contrivances of great utility, among them a hot-air furnace and a locomotive-spark-arrester, for which he expected to secure general recognition, but died before realizing his hopes. His ability in this direction, however, gained him wide personal repute, and he was elected a member of the British Academy of Sciences. He also conceived the idea of connecting the San Jacinto river with Buffalo bayou by means of a canal, for the purpose of securing an abundant supply of water for the city, and to aid in establishing manufacturing facilities here, which he thought would surely come in time, and upon which the city must rely for the support of its increasing population. This was regarded by his friends as a pet scheme of his, and so thoroughly did he believe in it that he caused a survey, maps and estimates of costs of construction to be made, which he paid for out of his own purse.

in this city during all of that imhappy struggle and maintained the respect of all his fellow-citizens even when the sectional feeling was most intense.

When the State was in the throes of reconstruction he was appointed Mayor of Houston, on recommendation of representative citizens, and resigned after having held the office only a few months. He also represented Harris county in the Twelfth Legislature and distinguished himself in that body by his opposition to some measures set on foot by his own party, but which he believed to be against the public good, - among them subsidies and land grants to railroads. He also represented Harris county in the Constitutional Convention of 1875 and took an active piart in the deliberations of that body. He was often called in consultation with the leaders of the Republican party, and it may be recorded to his everlasting credit and honor that his action and counsel were always for the best interests of the people among whom he lived. On this account, while there was great bitterness openly expressed against other Republicans, some of whom were ostracised, he at all times maintained the respect of his fellow-citizens of all shades of opinion.

On December 20, i860, Mr. Morris married, at Houston, Hannah Cordelia Buckner, daughter of Benjamin P. Buckner, who came to Texas during the revolution of 1835-6, and was for a number of years a resident of Houston, where he died March 5, 1876, a well-to-do and highly respected citizen. Mrs. Morris was born in Houston and has spent all her years in the city of her nativity.

marked discretion the matter was never mentioned, and it was not until he was stricken - and as it appeared to others almost without warning taken away - that it became generally known that he had been suffering from such a trouble. He died December 6, 1885, in the full tide of life and seemingly the picture of health. The announcement of his death was received with genuine sorrow in this city and every mark of respect was shown to his memory, flags being hoisted at half mast on the public buildings and most of the merchants closing their places of business during that part of the day on which his funeral took place. After services over his remains, conducted at his late residence by the Rev. Dr. Dawson of the Protestant Episcopal Church, they were laid to rest in Glenwood cemetery. Although Mr. Morris had not been a member of the Cotton Exchange, that body of representative citizens passed appropriate resolutions of respect, and extended to his family tokens of sympathy and condolence.

Mr. Morris left surviving him a widow and six children: two sons, Robert B. and Benjamin P. ; Bettie, the wife of John Shearn, of Houston; Cora, the wife of J. A. Early, of Waco, Texas; Josephine Roberta, th ewife of Edward Sholl, of New Orleans; and Lucy H., who remains unmarried with her mother.

In ph^-sical makeup Mr. Morris was about five feet and ten inches in height, and weighed nearly 175 pounds, inclining somewhat, in later years, to fullness of outline. He had a clearly marked blonde complexion, deep blue eyes and light hair, a square jaw, straight, thin lips, and a strong nose, - all of which were indicative of the firmness of his character and his conspicuous individuality. In manner he was pleasant and affable, and around his own fireside was the model man, being kind and indulgent, most considerate of the wants and feelings of his family, and in return was the center of a wealth of affection, the daily recipient of those infinite, delicate attentions which go to sweeten life and vindicate the law of affinities.

aHRISTIAN BOLLFRASS (deceased). - When a citizen of worth and character has departed this life, it is meet that those who survive him should keep in mind his life work, and should hold up to the knowledge and emulation of the young his virtues and the characteristics which distinguished him and made him worthy the esteem of his neighbors. Therefore, the name of Christian Bollfrass is presented to the readers of this volume as a public-spirited citizen and as a business man of sound judgment and unimpeachable honesty. He was born in Oldenburg, Germany, November 9, 1847, the youngest of three children born to Herman and Lizzie Bollfrass, who were also natives of Oldenburg, and his sister was Johanna, and his brother Charles Bollfrass.

His youth was spent in the Fatherland, and there, like the great majority of German youths, he received a common-school education and learned a trade; and, while acquiring a knowledge of the baker's business, he also learned lessons of industry and thrift, which were the stepping-stones to his success in later years. In early manhood he decided to seek his fortune in the United States, and soon after his arrival in Houston, which was shortly after he had landed at Galveston, he secured work at his trade, and, by the exercise of close economy, he, in time, managed to acquire sufficient means to enable him to open, in this city, a grocery and baker shop. His excellent goods and straight-forward business methods soon brought him a liberal patronage.

Commencing the battle of life, as he did, without a dollar, and dying at the early age of forty-five years, he left the evidence of his industry in an unencumbered estate valued at $30,000, the result of honest toil, judicious economy, and shrewd, yet always honorable, business management. Socially he was a member of the K. of H., the American Legion of Honor, and, as a citizen, he was liberal in his support of worthy causes. He died December 28, 1891, leaving a widow and one daughter, the latter - Helen - being an accomplished and intelligent young lady. His marriage took place in 1871, and the maiden name of his wife was Louisa Price. She was born in Germany, a daughter of Michael and Louisa Price, the former of whom is still living, at the advanced age of eighty-four years, the latter having died at the age of sixty-seven. Mrs. Bollfrass came to the United States in 1867, and was the second of ten children born to her parents: Pauline, Louisa, Emma, Amelia, Emilie, Matilda, Bertha, Wander, Otto and Emil.

AJOR JAMES CONVERSE. - The subject of this sketch, though he would perhaps resent the insinuation of age, is, nevertheless, one of the veteran railroad men of Texas, having witnessed the development of the entire railroad system of the State from its in-

Major Converse was born in the town of Aurora, Portage county, Ohio, September 21, 1S28. Educated for a civil engineer, he began his railroad career in 1850 as division engineer on the Lake Erie & Mad River Railroad, one of the pioneer lines in Ohio. After a service of eight months on this road, something less than two years in the same capacity* on the Toledo, Norwalk & Cleveland Railroad, and the Cleveland & Medina Railway, and as engineer on location with the Tennessee Southwestern, he came to Texas in 1854 as chief engineer of the Galveston, Houston & Henderson road. He was in the employ of this road, the Mississippi Central, and the Houston, Trinity & Tyler roads until after the war, when, in the summer of 1865, he became chief engineer of the Galveston, Harrisburg & San Antonio Railroad, a position which he held for a period of eighteen years. During this time he built 600 miles of the last named road, including the main line and branches, and I 54 miles of the Mexican International, in old Mexico. Those familiar with railway development in Texas can thus see that it is true, as stated, that Major Converse has witnessed the growth of the railway interest of Texas, and that he has perhaps done as much in the way of actual field work in extending the dominions of the iron horse as any other man in the State. When he accepted the position of chief engineer of the Galveston, Houston & Henderson Railroad forty years ago, there were less than 100 miles of railroad in active operation in all Texas, and the value of the rolling stock and equipments of all the roads then in the State probably did not exceed $1,000,000.

Now the State is covered with a network of steel rails, and the value of the railway properties in the State, exclusive of roadbeds, is put down at several million dollars.

There is a pregnant suggestion in this simple statement of facts, a theme for the orator, a splendid illustration of the rapid material dcvelopement of this great commonwealth. In his forty years' residence in Texas, Major Converse has become as thoroughly Texan as it is possible for a man to become, being bound to the State by all those ties of personal interest, l)usiness association, friendship and family connection that go to fix one's attachments and give his feehngs a local habitation and a name. He is a large real-estate holder, having invested his means from time to time at different places as opportunities were offered for good investments, and holds some stock in local enterprises. He has never held any public offices and has taken only a nominal interest in politics, his chief attention having been directed to his official duties in connection with the railroads, and to his private interests.

He married Mrs. M. E. W. Chase, of Houston, on the 21st of September, 1863, this lady being a native of the city of Houston, and a daughter of one of the founders of the town, Augustus C. Allen. Her mother, Mrs. Charlotte M. Allen, now in her ninetieth year, is the oldest settler of Houston as well as the oldest living representative of the large and historic family of Aliens, mention of whom will be found in many places in this volume. Mrs. Converse died at San Antonio, April 14, 1886, leaving one son, Thomas Pierce Converse. Major Converse's residence is now at Houston, though he lived for a number of years, - up to the death of his wife, - at San Antonio.

and is a son of Conrad John and Margaret Baumann. His parents with their family of four children emigrated to Texas, landing at Galveston in the spring of 1844, and settled in Houston. During the yellowfever epidemic of 1847 the father and his son John and daughter Catherine died with that disease. Margaret, the other daughter, is the widow of William Knocker, and resides in Houston. The widow, our subject's mother, lived to be ninety-eight years old, dying in 1880.

By the death of his father in 1847 Peter Baumann, our subject, was thrown on his own resources at the age of eleven. For awhile he herded cattle at small wages, was then employed with John W. Shrimp in the butchering business and later worked for Mrs. Catherine Floeck as a teamster, after which he went into the butchering business for himself. From butchering he drifted into the stock business, buying a tract of land, consisting of 120 acres, for which he agreed to pay $120, placing on his ranch a small bunch of cattle which soon increased so that at the expiration of eight years he sold out for $5,500. He then began trading in horses and cattle and shortly afterward opened a commission house in Houston. Through unfortunate investments and trusting other people too far he became involved and was broken up, losing all he had; but he paid his debts in full, sacrificing his last horse to pay a grocery bill of $20, and again started in to regain his former footing, which he has in a large measure succeeded in doing. Mr. Baumann now owns good city and suburban property in and around Houston, and has generally shown

Mr. Baumann married Elizabeth Super, daughter of Daniel Super, in 1859, and by this marriage has had ten children, seven of whom are living : Mary, Bettie, Peter, Katie, Ida, Alice and Dannie. Mary was first married to a Mr. Salos, and by this union had one son, Peter. Her second marriage was to Oscar Miller, and the issue of this union was a son, Oscar. Bettie, the second daughter, was married to Otto Haltkamp; she is deceased and leaves one son, Edwin. Peter, Mr. Baumann's eldest son, married Emma Baliman, of Galveston, who is a daughter of Frederick Baliman, whose mother was one of the first settlers of Galveston. Katie, the fourth of Mr. Baumann's children, is the wife of Frank Heinitz, and their issue is one daughter, Elizabeth. The fifth, Ida, is the wife of Armand Feichman, and their issue is one daughter, Annie. The sixth and seventh of ^ Mr. Baumann's children, Alice and Dannie, remain at home with their parents.

aAPTAIN HENRY LEASK, a retired citizen of Galveston, first came to this city in 1850, as mate of the brig under Captain Asa Stephens, well known as one of the early navigators on Galveston bay. Captain Leask was born November 18, 1817, on the Shetland Isles, of which his parents, Robert and Christiana (Arcus) Leask, were also natives, and where they passed their entire lives. The father was a fisherman and farmer. Of his children, only one besides Henry, a maiden daughter, is now living. Henry Leask went before the mast when but a lad, and followed the ocean life until

1S70, when he settled at Galveston. In 1854 he visited his old home, and there met and married Miss Christiana Cheyne. From 1854 to 1858 he sailed between the chief ports of Europe, Africa, Australia and New Zealand. In the last named year he made a trip to Galveston as master of the bark Trinity, and thereafter made this port regularly as master of a sailing vessel belonging to Pierce & Bacon, of Boston, and remained in that city for some time. While lying in port at Galveston, in 1861, he heard the news of the tiring on Fort Sumter, and official notice was served on all commanders of vessels to remain in port. The general cargo of his vessel was consigned to E. B. Nichols & Company. The following day the orders to remain in port were countermanded, but Captain Leask could get no clearance papers, the Confederate government having taken possession of the custom house. However, he started out with his vessel, and in due time arrived at Boston, where he was promptl_\- arrested and tried for violation of the marine laws. Affairs were in such an unsettled condition that he was exonerated upon the plea that at the time of embarking no authorized custom officer was on duty. During the civil war Captain Leask spent his time on the water, cruising to various ports until 1870. Previous to this, in 1869, he met with an accident on board his vessel, and spent one year at his home, then on Long Island, New York. From there he came with his family to Galveston, and engaged in the lighter business for Irvine & Beissner, serving them as superintendent of their local business for about fifteen years, retiring in 1887, after an active career of more than fifty years. To him and his wife was born a son, who died in infancy. In 1863 Mrs. Leask died, her death occurring at Andover, Massachusetts. In 1866, on Long Island, New York, Captain Leask married Mrs. Harriet Doxye, a native of New York city. Captain and Mrs. Leask live in quiet retirement at their pleasant home, 2702 Avenue H, corner of Twenty-seventh street, Galveston.

aAPTAIN JOHN QUICK. - The name of this gentleman is familiar to every resident of Galveston, for he has resided in this city for many years, and has ever had its interests at heart. No worthy movement is allowed to fail for want of support on liis part, and his uprightness and reliribility have won him many friends. He first visited Galveston in 1850, as master of the brig, "Ostaloya," which, being partly disabled by heavy seas, he put in there for repairs. In 1854 he again visited the same port as master of the ship "Geranium," and so fa\'orable were his impressions of the town, its people, and the climate, that he decided to locate permanently on the island. Abandoning the sea, he came to Galveston, bought property, and here he has continued to make his home up to the present. Idleness was not one of his characteristics, and, after a short season of that, he purchased an interest in the marblecutting and monument business of A. Allen & Company, the pioneers of that line in Galveston. Captain Quick had acquired a practical knowledge of the business from his father, John Quick, who was a marblecutter by trade, and who followed that for many years at Utica, New York. He continued a member of the firm of Allen & Company until the breaking out of civil war in 1861; he then took up arms in defense of the Southern states and served through the war as Captain of the "Mary Payne," in the secret dispatch service. After the war closed he retired from active business hfe and invested his means in real estate. Captain Quick was born in Oneida county, New York, November 22, 1829, and his father, John Quick, Sr., was a native of Albany, the same State. The Captain is a man of more than ordinary intelligence, and, being a great reader, keeps thoroughly posted on all current topics. He makes his influence felt in local and State politics, and is never backward in presenting his views when occasion requires it. He pushes the cause of his friends with an eloquent and forcible stump speech and works with unflagging zeal for their interests. He is popular with all. Captain Quick has been twice married and by his first union became the father of one daughter, Mrs. Boatwright, of Galveston.

^m ^ ENRY HENCK. - In every comw^^ munity may be found numbers of \ ,* solid, worthy citizens who have reached an honorable position by the force of their own pluck and energy. After a long and useful career Mr. Henck has retired from the active duties of life, and now enjoys the fruits of his labors in a comfortable home. The family name is a familiar one in Galveston, for the father of our subject, John Henck, came to the State in 1847, bringing with him his family, consisting of his wife and ten children, five of whom survive at the present time, four sons and a daughter, as follows: Henry; Christian; Fritz; and Augusta, wife of David Weber, - all of whom now reside in Galveston. Upon coming to Texas with his family, John Henck first located on a farm on Mill creek, in Austin county, but remained there only a short time, when he moved to Galveston. He enlisted as a soldier in the Mexican war, and was detailed in the quartermaster's department. After serving about eighteen months he returned home, where he died, in 1850. His three sons also served in that war. Henry Henck, the subject of this sketch, joined the Texas Rangers, under Captain McCullough, and fought the Indians for about three years, becoming thoroughly familiar with Indian warfare. He served under General Taylor, at the battle of Buena Vista, and later, at Vera Cruz and the city of Mexico, with General Scott. For some time he was in Colonel Hayes' regiment, under Captain Eams. After the war he returned to Galveston, and worked in the foundry business as an iron fitter.^ This business he abandoned in 1882, and retired from the active pursuits of life. During the civil war he served three years as teamster in the Union army, quartermaster's department, under Banks. Upon his return from the war, he married Miss Fredrica Huess, who died in 1S79, leaving three sons, all now living in Galveston: August, Harry and Ernest. Mr. Henck is one of Galveston's reliable and worthy citizens, and the name is synonymous with true worth and uprightness.

George W. Doll, who came to the State and settled at^alveston in the fall of 1868. Mr. Dcdl was born in Stark county, Ohio, May 3, 1840, to the union of John and Elizabeth (Rice) Doll, the former a native of York county, Pennsylvania, of German extraction, and the latter a native of Antietam Creek, Maryland, and of French origin. Their family consisted of nine sons and three daughters: Jacjob, John/'^. , Benjamin, Josifcfi, Isaac, Frank M., Joseph^V. , George W., Eli D., Mary, Lydia and Elizabeth. Of the nine sons, Jacob died when about eighteen years old, in Stark county, Ohio. The remaining eight went to California at various periods ranging from 1849 to i860. Josiah married in Ohio and located in Scott's valley, Siskiyou count)', California, where he died in 1893, leaving a wife and family. Joseph V. died in the same county in 1872, single. John R. located near the old home in Stark county, and died there in 1857, leaving a wife and one daughter.

George W. Doll, the subject of this sketch, went, in 1858, to California, where he engaged in farming in Siskiyou county, in connection with which he followed mining in the Siskiyou regions, remaining in that State for two years. After that he went to Idaho, and for about fifteen months was engaged in mining for gold in the placer diggings of that region. In 1 864 he crossed the plains again and returned to his old home in Stark county, Ohio, whence he went the following year to Missouri, where he followed merchandising at Boonville for two years. Following this he visited Miami, Saline, towns of Missouri, and then went to Memphis, Tennessee. In 1868 he came to Galveston, accompanied by his brother, Frank M., who located on Bolivar Point, where he engaged in farming for about five years. Then he went to Arizona, where he was recently (January 4, 1895) murdered by two Mexicans who sought to rob him, George W. located in Galveston, and in 1869 entered upon his career as a merchant at his present place of business on Channel avenue, at the foot of Twentieth street, where he has since continued, being now one of the oldest merchants along the bay shore, and one of the most substantial. In the year 1872 he was married, in Galveston, to Miss Eliza, daughter of J. C. Mundine, a pioneer of Te.xas, and minister of the Baptist Church. Mr. Mundine came to Texas, in 1847, located near Lexington, in Lee county, and there reared his family. One of his daughters, Mrs. J. C. Cunningham, Ii\x's in Galveston. Mr. and Mrs. Doll's union resulted in the birth of one daughter, Mary E., who died in 1876, when eleven months old.

>Y*ERRY LORDAN, the efficient Chief m of Police of the city of Galveston, A 1 was born in county Cork, Ireland, on April 19, 1S51. His parents were John and Ellen Lordan, natives of the same place, who emigrated thence to America and settled in Boston, Massachusetts, where the childhood and youth of the subject of this sketch were passed. He received a good common-school education, and left home at the age of sixteen, in 1867, to take up the life of a sailor. After something less than two years on the sea he found himself in the city of Hong Kong, China, where, during the years 1869 and 1870, he served on the police force of that city, holding the rank of Sergeant. From Hong Kong he went to San Francisco, California, in the year last mentioned, and, after a brief stay there, proceeded to the mining districts of Arizona, where he spent some two years engaged in mining. In 1873 he returned to Boston, whence he came the same year to Galveston, and took up his permanent abode. Since residing in this city Mr. Lordan has been variously engaged, chiefly, however, as a member of the poHce department of the city. He first became connected with the department in 1881 as patrolman, Captain Joseph Atkins then being chief. He served at intervals as patrolman, and a member of the detective force for some time, in all about eight years, being, in the meantime, engaged in the cotton business, until 1889, when he was elected Chief of Police by the city council. On the election of Mayor Fly, in 1893, he was appointed as the head of the police department, and is still serving in this capacity. The difficult duties of this office Mr. Lordan has so far discharged creditably to himself and satisfactorly to the citizens and taxpayers of Galveston.

He married, November 22, 1874, Miss Hortense Marchand, a daughter of Ferdinand and Octavia Marchand, early settlers of Galveston, Mrs. Lordan being a native of this city. The issue of this union has been six children: John J., Ferdinand, George, Jerry, Daniel and Ellen.

@EORGE A. REYDER, merchant at Thirty-sixth street and Broadway, Galveston, was born in Saxony, August 12, 1854. He came to America at the age of thirteen, a poor boy, unaccompanied by friends or relatives, landing at Baltimore, Maryland, where he found his first employment as a generalservice hand in a well-to-do family, with whom he remained until he acquired a fair knowledge of the language and customs of the country, when he started out in search of something better. Drifting South and West he found himself some time afterward at Louisville, Kentucky, and after a short time spent on a farm in Jefferson county he went thence South and secured a position in a grocery store in the city of New Orleans. Learning the business of a grocer, he had a desire to embark in that business for himself, and came to Texas, settling at Galveston, where he had been advised opportunities were favorable to enterprising young men. The first year or so after coming to this city he worked about the different cotton presses, and then, in 1881, with what means he had saved, he rented a building and opened a small grocery store on the corner of Thirty-sixth street and Avenue K. His business prospered, and four years later he bought property on the corner of Thirtysixth street and Broadway, to which he moved, and where he has continued to drive a steadily increasing trade.

In 1880, Mr. Reyder married Miss Julia Keohler, who is a native of Germany, and to this union three children have been born: Adolph, born March 6, 1882; Alma, born April 23, 18S4; and George A., Jr., born July 26, 1889.

At the November election in 1894, Mr. Reyder's friends saw fit to put his name on the ticket as a candidate for the office of Commissioner of Precinct No. 3, Galveston county, and he was elected. He is a progressive, public-spirited citizen, a good, safe, business man, and popular with the people among: whom he lives.

G^RNEST WITTIG was born in Grunhainichen, Saxony, on the 7th of October, 1829. He learned the trade of a carpenter in his native place and followed it there some years, until 1857, when, as assistant engineer, he joined a mining expedition to Bonanza, Mexico, where he spent the greater part of three years. He then came to Galveston and settled here, and took up his trade as a carpenter, which he has since followed. Mr. Wittig had not taken out his naturalization papers when the late civil war came on, and was therefore not subject to military duty. In 1 868 Mr. Wittig married Miss Louisa Becker, a daughter of William Becker, who emigrated from Hanover, Germany, in 1847, when a young man, and settled at Galveston. Her mother, whose maiden name was Caroline Fnnck, was born in Hanover, Germany, in 1S19. Mrs. Wittig is a native of Galveston. Mr. and Mrs. Wittig have had born to them nine children: Ernest, Louise, Richard, Frances, Hattie, Clara, Elsie, Walter and Edna.

'^-t'OHN RIGG, proprietor of the New m City Hotel of Galvi'ston, was born /- 1 in Washington county, Pennsylvania, January 13, 1845, and is a son of Thomas and Sarah Rigg, who were natives of the same State. Mr. Rigg's ancestors on his father's side settled in Pennsylvania before the American Revolution, belonging to that thrifty, well-to-do class of people called "Pennsylvania Dutch." His antecedents on his mother's side were from Scotland, and settled in Pennsylvania at a comparatively recent date. His parents emigrated to Ohio in 1855 and settled in Clinton county, and there the subject of this sketch passed his youth. He lived on the farm until he had attained his twentyfirst year, when he engaged in steamboating on the Ohio river, beginning as a deck hand, and rising to the position of Captain.

For twenty years he ran on river packets on the Ohio and Mississippi, up to i 866, when he helped to fit out three steamers, the Thomas M. Bagby, Lizzie and Diana, at Louisville, Kentucky, and came with these to Galveston, the boats having been built for the Houston & Galveston Navigation Company, for which Mr. Rigg worked for a period of two years. Following that he ran on the Belle of Texas, which was engaged in the Trinity river trade, then on the Stonewall, a coaster owned by W. B. Norris, running between Galveston, Sabine Pass and Lake Charles, and still later on the tug. Alert, owned by the same gentleman and running on the Calcasieu river, in Louisiana.

In 1880 Mr. Rigg quit steamboating, and, locating in Galveston, purchased the old City Hotel on Postoffice street, between Twentyfifth and Twenty-sixth streets, where he engaged in the hotel business, which he has since followed. In 1886 Mr. Rigg bought the lot on the southeast corner of Postoffice and Twenty-fifth streets, and on it he erected the present New City Hotel, to which he moved that year, and which he has conducted with marked success during the past nine years.

In 1880 Mr. Rigg married Miss Maggie Rohen, of Galveston, who died three years later, leaving three sons, - John, Eddie and Joe. In 1884 he married Miss Helen Schwarzbach, of Galveston, she being a native of this city and a daughter of John and Louisa Schwarzbach, the former of whom came to Texas in 1852 and the latter in 1859, and who were married in this city, on September 27th of the year last named. Mr. Schwarzbach died in Galveston in 1 89 1, in his sixty-second year; his widow is still living. By this last marriage Mr. Rigg

The religious connection of the family is with the Lutheran Church. Mr. Rigg is a member of Humbolt Lodge, No. 9, Knights of Pythias, and of the Woodmen of the World.

>^OHN MEALY, the subject of this f sketch, is a native of Ireland, having A 1 been born in county Tipperary, on June 22, 1S35. At the age of thirteen he was brought by his father, John Mealy, to America, passing his youth and early manhood in New York, where he settled. On account of the impoverished condition of his family, no advantages were afforded him to acquire an education, learn a trade or become acquainted with the world of business, except such as he sought out and won for himself. From the time of his landing in this country, he became the architect of his own fortune. From a newsboy at thirteen, he became a helper in a restaurant on W^all street in New York city, and later a railway brakeman, from which position he went on, serving as yardrnaster, baggagemaster, and in other capacities, for a period of several years. His longest service was with the Mobile & Ohio Railroad, one of the pioneer lines of the South, with which he was connected, both before and after the war.

Mr. Mealey came to Te.xas in 1866, and settled at Gah'eston, where he has since resided. For twenty-five years he was a member of the police force of Galveston, quitting the service only in 1892, at which time he retired altogether from all active pursuits. In 1890 and 1891 he was deputy Chief of Police, in which capacity he did good service for the public, and proved a most popular officer with the men over whom he ranked, as was evidenced by the many expressions of satisfaction from the citizens in general, and by the presentation to him of a handsome gold badge, with appropriate inscriptions, by the members of the force, on his retirement from office.

In i860 Mr. Mealey married Miss Margaret Sweeney, at Mobile, Alabama, and by this union he has had seven children, four of whom are deceased and three living. - one daughter, Ellen, and two sons, John and Joseph.

Having taken care of his earnings and invested them in good real estate in Galveston, which he has from time to time improved, Mr. Mealey finds himself now, in his latter years, in the enjoyment of a competency from his rentals, and, though neither rich nor famous, he can look back over his career of forty-five years as time well spent, the modest fruits of which his many friends hope he may long live to enjoy.

aHARLES S. OTT is a native of Louisville, Kentucky, was born on the 23d of June, 1847, to Jacob and Katherine Ott, both of whom were born in Germany, the former in the province of Bavaria, August 10, 18 10, and the latter in 18 16. Jacob Ott, who was a wagonmaker and wheelwright by trade, came to America about 1826, and, after locating in Louisville, where he was married, he began following his trade. He was the pioneer wagonmaker of that city, also did a blacksmithing business, and, being a natural mechanic and quite ingenious, invented an improved potato-plow, which came into general use. He died in 1856, at the age of forty-six years, and his widow in August, 1894, in her seventy-eighth year. Of ten children born to them, four reached maturity: John, Jacob, Louise, and Charles S. John is now deceased; Jacob is a patternmaker by trade, and lives at Austin, Texas; and Louise is the wife of Joseph Marshall, of Louisville, Kentucky. Charles S. Ott left Louisville, Kentucky, and came to Austin, Texas, in 187S, to superintend the stonework on the Government building in that city, where he remained two years. Upon coming to Galveston, in 1881, he entered the employ of A. Allen, who was the pioneer in the marble-cutting business in Galveston, later on becoming his partner. After the death of this gentleman, he continued in the business with his deceased partner's widow, until 1886, when he bought her interest, and added the department of building-stone to the marble monument trade, which former line has, since that time, constituted the larger portion of the business.

Mr. Ott was married on the 9th of January, 1868, to Mrs. Nellie A. Riley, a native of Ireland, who came to America, with her parents, at six months of age. Her father, John Riley, was a contractor of Louisville, Kentucky. The union of Mr. and Mrs. Ott resulted in the birth of eight children: Mary Louise, Minnie Florence, Nellie Agnes, John Charles, Clarence Joseph, Julia Clara, Cecelia Liela, and Leo Louis.

aAPTAIN GEORGE WILSON. - Nearly forty years ago, or, to speak by dates, in August, 1856, the subject of this sketch first crossed the bar at the head of Galveston bay. He was then a youth, lacking two years of his majority. The intervening years have wrought great changes in the general aspect of things in this locality, and have not been without their corresponding influence on the personal fortunes of him of wliom this brief notice is written.

Captain Wilson has, as one may say, spent almost his entire life on the water. He is a native of Denmark, the home of the fearless Norseman, once known to fame through the terror which his Viking ship was wont to spread upon the seas. He was born December 5, 1837, and went to sea at the age of ten. Two years later he came to America aboard a sailer, and for nine years following was engaged in the merchant marine service, between New York city and Charleston, South Carolina. In the summer of 1856 he came to Galveston on board the bark,Coloma, from New York, to be loaded with cotton. Cotton shipments from this port were then light. The Coloma lay in port here three months waiting for her cargo. Young Wilson was thus given a good opportunity to become acquainted with the city and its surroundings. He conceived a liking for the place, and on his second visit, the next year, he decided to take up his residence here. He served in various capacities as a steamboat man, until the opening of the war, when he voluntered in the Confederate army, and was one year in the field, chiefly on Galveston island, after which he was transferred to the Marine Department, and served as a pilot on trading vessels, running between Galveston, Houston and Trinity river points. He continued in this general line of employment after the war until 1870, when he engaged in running lighters and towboats in Galveston harbor, up to 1879. At that date he became a mem- ber of the Galveston Pilot Association, and has since given his attention to his duties in this capacity. Captain Wilson's ability and faithfulness are fully vouched for by the association of which he is a member, while his personal popularity is coextensive with the circle of his acquaintance.

Captain Wilson has been twice married. He married, first, in 1862, Miss Julia Magean, of Galveston, and this lady died in 1884, without issue. His second marriage occurred two years latter, the lady whom he wedded being Miss Mary J. Everette, then a resident of Galveston, but originally from Mobile, Alabama, where she belonged to one of the first-settled families of that place, a great-uncle of hers being the first Mayor of Mobile.

Y\,^_y on Bolivar Point, in Galveston county. He was born in Worcester, England, September 12, 1820, and remained there until about twenty-two years of age, when he joined the English Navy, and made a three-years cruise along the coast of Africa, to aid in the restriction of the slave trade, which had grown to alarming proportions. During this voyage, his experience was most novel, and at times dangerous. He assisted in the capture of thirty brigs and brigantines, which were especially constructed and equipped for that unlawful business. One of the vessels captured, a steam sloop, contained 352 slaves, of both sexes, all nude, and herded into the different appartments of the ship like cattle. These vessels, when captured, were either burned or used as targets, and thus destroyed, or sent to the isle of St. Helena. They were piratical, and owned principally by Spanish or Portuguese. During this voyage Mr. Hughes visited the isle of St. Helena and Napoleon's tomb. He also passed up the Congo river thirty miles, into the interior of Africa, in search of fresh water for the ship's crew, but was not successful. Mr. Hughes served as second petty officer during the voyage, and as such received three shares of the prize money paid by Her Majesty's government for the capture of these slave-trading vessels. He did not receive the reward, however, until about the year 1856.

Mr. Hughes was married in England to Miss Frances Felton, a native of London, England, born in the month of July, 1820. She with one son, Charles, came with her husband to Galveston, and they landed at Williams' wharf in 1S49. They had other children in this country, viz: Ellen, now Mrs. John Heiman; Eliza, the wife of Henry Heiman; Harry and Edwin, also married and settled in life. All three sons and both daughters reside in Galveston county.

Mr. Hughes saw Galveston in its primitive state, and often shot ducks on the present site of the Washington hotel. Williams' wharf was the principal landing place and the Star hotel, the popular "tavern." Soon after arriving he located a farm on Bolivar Point, but, a short time afterward, went to Sabine Pass, where he made by hand about 200,000 shingles. He slept many nights with William Campbell, who had been one of Lafitte's trusted lieutenants. Mr. Hughes is a surveyor, and has done considerable work in that line. He has held the office of Justice of the Peace several terms, in his district, and declined to serve when last elected. He owns 130 acres of fine land at Bolivar Point, and, be-

ALTER C. ANSELL was born in New York, November 22, 1S40. His parents were John Ansell and Leora T., uec Crane, the former a native of England, the latter a native of New. York. Walter C. Ansell was reared in his native place, in the schools of which he received the elements of a common English education. In 1858 he came to Texas and located at Galveston, where he engaged in clerking until the opening of the war, when he enlisted in the Confederate arm}-, joining Moseley's battery, with which, during the earlier years of the war, he served in defense of the Gulf coast of Te.xas, and later took part in the series of engagements incident to the Federal-General Banks' campaign up Red river. He was in the war continuously from the date of his enlistment until the close of hostilities, being with his command when it was disbanded near Hempstead in this State, in May 1865.

Returning to Galveston after the war, Mr. Ansell literally began at the bottom of the ladder, having lost what few personal effects he left the army with, by the sinking of the steamboat. Lone Star, on his way from Houston to Galveston. For six years he engaged in the steamboat business on Galveston bay and Buffalo bayou, until August, 1871, when he settled permanently at Galveston and engaged in the ice business. For a number of years only natural ice could be had at Galveston, but in May, 18S8, the company with which Mr. Ansell is associated put in a plant to manufacture artificial ice, since which time a large and constantly increasing business has been done handling this article. The practical management of this enterprise has been in Mr. Ansell's hands from the beginning, and to his industry and sagacity its success is largely attributable.

On June 21, 1871, Mr. Ansell married Miss Caroline Schadt, a native of Galveston, and a daughter of Carl Schadt, and a sister of William 'Schadt, a sketch of whom appears elsewhere in this volume. Mr. and Mrs. Ansell are the parentsof three children: Ella T., John William and Wallace Schadt.

<>^ TIERNAN. - For a peried of more \c^^ than forty-two years the subject of J^^J this brief notice has resided in Galveston, during which time he has been connected with many of the public interests of the city, has filled the usual number of local offices, and has achieved more than average success in his own business enterprises. A series of sketches, therefore, purporting to give an outline history of the old citizens of the place, would properly include mention of him, although he has not, as he says, been a public man, nor ever sought in any way to court popular applause. Mr. Tiernan is a native of county Leitrim, Ireland, born in the year 1834, and a son of James and Rose Tiernan, also natives of the Green Isle, who emigrated to America in 1839, and settled at New Orleans. The boyhood and youth of Bernard were passed at New Orleans, and he came thence in 1852, to Texas, landing at Galveston, December 25, that year. Engaging soon after in the liquor business, he followed this for a short time, when he gave it up and embarked in the wholesale and retail grocery business, which he conducted with success up to 1866, again turning his attention to the Hquor business at that time, in which he has since been interested. In addition he has made investments in other directions, some of which have been profitable, and some the reverse, in accordance with the history of all speculative and business enterprises. During the war Mr. Tiernan operated as a blockade runner, shipping out cotton and receiving in return food supplies and other commodities, at which he met with fair success, though his business in this line could not, of necessity, be conducted on a very large scale, or a very sure basis.

From 1858 to 1868, inclusive, Mr. Tiernan was a member of the Board of Aldermen, of Galveston, and helped to carry on the city government during the trying times of the war, and the still more trying times immediately following, when, with a depleted treasury and disorganized police, healthand fire departments, the citizens had to meet all the ordinary demands of local government, and to relieve the suffering entailed by the war, and the visitation of two disastrous yellow-fever epidemics. He, with the rest of the council, was removed from office in the year last named, by Gen. Reynolds as an impediment to reconstruction.

With the return of peace, Mr. Tiernan interested himself in local improvements, taking stock in public enterprises, notably the City Railway and the People's Railway Companies, and has at all times since shown his willingness to help anything and everything tending to stimulate industry and promote the public good. He is also interested in mining, being president of the Montezuma Mining Company, organized by Galveston parties, which has extensive mines at Cooney, New Me.xico. He was also one of the first men in Texas to direct attention to the silver and gold deposits in Llano county, in this State, and to undertake the mining of the same, a task which he pursued with great difficulty and not without many personal hardships and exciting experiences with the Indians.

In 1857, Mr. Tiernan iiiarried Mrs. Mary A. Cowlon, {iiee Jones), of Galveston, and by this union has six children now living, all of whom are grown.

aHARLES ROBERTS. - It is universally conceded that the distribution of food products constitutes the most important factor in the long list of a city's industries, and, such being the case, the grocer must be accorded the palm as the most important contributor to the development of this fact, his wares covering almost every article of daily consumption known to man. This branch of mercantile activity is admirably represented in the well appointed establishment of Charles Roberts, of Galveston, Texas.

He was born in Christiania, Norway, April 7, 1845, son of Ole Roberts, who was engaged in farming near that city. The father died when his son Charles was but six months old, and the lad become the ward of a bachelor uncle, who lived in the city of Christiania. As he merged from boyhood into manhood he developed a strong desire to be independent, and, accordingly, when but a mere boy, went before the mast on a missionary vessel, known as the John Wesley, and his first voyage was to the South Sea Islands. He first touched American soil at San Francisco, in 1867, via

Australia, and for some time tliereafter lie followed boating in and contiguous to San Francisco harbor. He later found employment in the redwood lumber regions of California, but in 1S72 he made his way overland to Galveston, Texas, and for six months thereafter was engaged in clerking in a grocery store in Galveston cit\-. Some years later he embarked in this business for himself, and, by carefully observing the wants of his patrons, and by supplying them promptly, he has built up a business of large proportions. He has one of the most complete stock of groceries, staple and fancy, in the city, and his goods are always fresh, wholesome and desirable. He was the first man to introduce C;ilif(iniia wines into the city, and has succeeded in making them popular, and in this respect, also, he has a very large patronage. Mr. Roberts is, in every sense of the word, a self-made man, and the success which has attended his business efforts is due solely to his own enterprise, energy and business sagacity. He was married in the cit}- of Galveston, in 1876, to Miss Dora, daughter ^f Fritz Falkenhagen, one of the early -settlers of the place. The followijig children were given to Mr. and Mrs. Roberts: William John Louis, Charles Peter, Ellen Louise, Bessie Dora, Joseph, Clara, and Albert, who is deceased.

HARON B. BROWN, son of Aaron B. and Rachel Brown, was born at Brown's Corner, between Springdale and Cincinnati, in Hamilton county, Ohio, on the 4th day of May, 1830. On his mother's side, the subject of this sketch was connected with the John Cicve Symms family of Ohio and Kentucky, a family which has furnished several men of note, both soldiers and 'ci\ilians, in the history of those States. On his father's side he came of equally good stock, his father and paternal uncle. Captain Tom Brown, serving in the early Indian wars, both volunteers under General William Henry Harrison, with whom they took part in the famous battle of Tii-ipecanoe. His parents were well-to-do, and it was his father's wish that the son should receive a good education. With this in view, he was placed at Farmer's Academy, a good school in his native county, where he remained until he reached his sixteenth year. '^

At that age he threw aside his books, and with the eagerness and audacity of one born "to succeed in the world of practical thought and action, he ran away, and began the solution of the problem of life for himself. When found by his father he was driving a canal-boat between Cincinnati and Dayton. He was induced to return home and take employment in his father's carriage factory, and remained there until he attained his majority. Once a man, in contemplation of law, the desire to become the architect of his own fortune, never dismissed from his mind, now took full possession of him; and in the year 1S51, attracted by the rich prairie region of the West, he went to Missouri, where he secured work on the Hannibal & St. Joseph Railroad, and, as contractor, assisted in the construction of that pioneer line. He returned to Ohio in 1853, and at Hamilton married Jane F. Lamb, a daughter of Michael and Catherine S. Lamb, and a native of Hamilton county, a young lady \\'hom he had known from early childhood. He was engaged in railroading, principally in Missouri, until 1857, when he came to Texas. Here he was em- ployed as superintendent of bridges on the Texas & New Orleans Railroad for a number of years, - in fact, more or less until the close of the war. After the war he was made foreman of a bridge gang on the Houston & Texas Central Railroad, and had charge of the bridge building on that line until the road was completed to Millican. He then became associated with Thomas G. Williamson, and, in connection with him, took the contract to build the bridges, both on the main line of this road and on its branches, to Red River City, the northern terminus. After the completion of this work he was not actively in business for a period of about a year, but, having saved some means from his earnings, he made several investments in real estate in Houston, to the improvement of which, and to his duties as Alderman, - a position to which his fellow-citizens saw fit to elect him, - he gave his attention. Later, when the Houston & Texas Central management determined to build the lines from Waco to Albany and from Garrett to Terrell, he took the contract for the bridge work, and put in the bridges on each of those lines.