Galveston County, Texas - The whole text, 1895 (part 16 of 26)

(V^ OBERT WILSON, the subject of I /-^ this sketch, a prominent figure in \ ^P the early history of Texas, and for many years a resident of Houston; was a native of Talbot count}', Maryland, where he was born in December, 1793. His parents, James Wilson and Elizabeth, nee Hardcastle, were natives of the same county, and in that general vicinit}' his ancestors had lived for several generations, having settled there probably in the latter part of the seventeenth century. The stock were Quakers, and came originally from England, and, it is probable, were an offspring of the Quaker colony planted by William Penn.

Robert Wilson was reared in his native place, and enjoyed what might be considered reasonably good educational advantages. He was also taught the trade of carpenter and joiner, learning this in the city of Baltimore. In 1S19 he married Margaret Pendergrast, of Baltimore, and the same year emigrated West, and settled in St. Louis, Missouri, where he was engaged for about two years at his trade. He then moved to Natchez, Mississippi, where he became a contractor and builder on a large scale, and accumulated considerable money.

erecting buildings for the wealthy planters of the lower Mississippi country. About 1825, he engaged in steamboating, on the Mississippi and Red rivers, at which he also prospered. In 1828 he came to Texas, being attracted hither by the favorable reports he had heard of the country, and the opportunities which he believed it offered to one with some means for investment in industrial pursuits. His attention was probably directed to the Buffalo bayou country, because it lay most contiguous to Austin's colony, and the bayou afforded access by water to the settlements. He brought a schooner, loaded with machinery for a sawmill and gristmill; tools for shops, and provisions of one kind and another suitable for the founding of an industrial enterprise, such as he had in contemplation. He acquired an interest in the ownership of the league of land which had been granted to John R. Harris, lying on the bayou, some five or six miles south of the present site of Houston, on which he located his establishment, and in a few months his place had become the scene of busy activity. His vessels plied along Galveston bay and its estuaries, and up antl down the Brazos and Trinity rivers, and visited the gulf ports also as far south as Tampico, Mexico, carrying the products of his mills, which found a ready sale in the several localities indicated, and affording also the means of traffic and transportation in other lines. In response to the demands of the expanding commerce of the colonists, he built, during those years, two custom-houses for the Mexican authorities, one at Galveston and the other at Velasco, and in other ways increased the facilities and strengthened the commercial prosperity of the country.

His Tory Of Texas

zeal in the political welfare of the inhabitants of the country, lending his sympathy and support to them in their early struggles with the Mexican authorities. In 1832, on the seizure and imprisonment of several Americans - among them the afterward distinguished W. B. Travis and P. C. Jack - by the Mexican commander, Bradburn, at Anahuac, he was one of the company of volunteers who rescued them and broke up the garrison at that place. In addition to this he also furnished two vessels, the sloop Mexicana, and the schooner Nelson, which conveyed the Mexican troops out of the country. One of these vessels, the Mexicana, was wrecked during its absence, while yet another, the Josefa, was seized at Velasco by the Mexicans about the same time, neither of which he ever recovered, and for neither of which he ever received any indemnity.

Mr. Wilson volunteered in the Texan army, in 1S35, and was present at and took part in the storming of San Antonio, where the gallant Burleson received the surrender of General Cos and his army. For meritorious conduct on this occasion Mr. Wilson was tendered the appointment of Captain of Cavalry as shown by the following order, the original of which is still among his papers in the hands of his son, James T. D. Wilson, of Houston:

December 28, 1835. To Robert Wilson, Sir: - You are hereby notified that you have been appointed a Captain of the First Regiment of Cavalry in the Regular Army of Texas, by the General Council. You are requested forthwith to report your acceptance or non-acceptance of said appointment. Should you accept, you will report yourself by letter to headquarters, and in person to the officer in command at the recruiting rendezvous. By order of Sam. Houston,

This appointment Mr. Wilson declined, but went at once on a mission for the government to New Orleans, where he spent the winter and early spring of 1836 raising men. arms and provisions for the colonists. He met with good success in his efforts in this direction, and in May, 1836, having purchased a Mississippi river steamer, the Ocean, under authority of the provisional government of Texas, he brought what men and supplies he had raised, to Texas, having personal charge of theboats, which he ran into Galveston bay without a pilot. Through all of Texas' struggle for independence he was its steadfast friend and gave freely of his time and resources to further its cause. His devotion to his adopted country' was intense, and he testified to it by sacrifices which but few others were called on to make. In addition to his personal services, the expenditure of his means and the loss of his vessels above mentioned, his entire property at Harrisburg, extensive and valuable for that date, was swept away by the fires of Santa Anna's army in its march of devastation just preceding the battle of San Jacinto. On account of this loss, Mr. Wilson, years afterward, when the go\'ernment had become firmly established and was reimbursing some of its citizens for losses sustained during that period, preferred a claim for indemnity, but he never realized anything out of it, notwithstanding it was endorsed by almost every public man in the State who had been cognizant of the facts, and was fully investigated by the finance committee of the Legis- lature, which recommended the passage of a bill for his relief. During the time that Mr. Wilson was seeking action on his claim, he received many letters, certificates and testimonials, setting forth the value of his services, the sacrifices he had made, the losses he had sustained and the zeal and devotion he had at all times displa^'cd in the interest of Texas. Many of these communications were the spontaneous offerings of friendship, and now possess a value independently of their connection with his claim. A few extracts from them are given below, as having a bearing upon Mr. Wilson's character and public services.

Colonel F. W. Johnson, who was for many years a resident of Houston and Austin, a man in whom every one had confidence, and, who knew whereof he spoke, wrote as follows:

My Dear Sir: - I take great pleasure in adding my humble testimony to the many proofs given of your patriotism and devotion to Te.xas and her cause, both as a Mexican colony and an independent State. Your advent at Harrisburg, Buffalo baj'ou, in the year 1828, marks and era in the history of Texas. At that time Austin's colony numbered by far the largest population in Texas, - some 500, all told, - and they scattered over a territory of several hundreds of miles, with scanty means and unpromising prospects for the future. Emigration had almost ceased for many causes: that of want of transportation may be fairly classed as one of the greatest, both as relates to emigrants and those already in the country. At this period, when there was scarcely a hook upon which to hang a hope, you arrived at Harrisburg with the schooner Rights of Man, heavily and well freighted, with both emigrants and stores so necessary for early settlers. This, together with your subsequent supplies, gave an impetus to both the energies and settlements of the infant colony. Your constructing of a line steam saw and grist mill at Harrisburg, gave employment to a considerable number of mechanics and laborers, as well as causing a large outlay of money and goods in prosecuting the enterprise to completion. Harrisburg became a sort of store house to the colony, and from the number of mechanics and laborers constantly employed formed a nucleus for the whole country. From the steamers you had on the Mississippi, as well as the vessels in the Texas trade, you formed an acquaintance e.xceeding that of any man in the country, and exercised an inffuence that contributed more to the settlement and prosperity of the coimtry, than that of any other individual. While you contributed thus largely to the growth and prosperity of the infant colony, you, like a true patriot, staked your all, in defense of the country.

In the year 1832 Colonel Bradburn, military commandant at Anahuac, had arrested and imprisoned in the garrison at that jilace several citizens of the colony and refused to give them up for trial to the civil authorities of the country. An appeal was made by the friends of the prisoners to compel Colonel Bradburn to release the prisoners held by him. In answer to this call I rode from San Felipe on the Brazos, by the way of Spring creek to Harrisburg, a distance of some seventy or eighty miles, without being able to rally a single man. You, sir, responded to the call and used your influence with those in your employ as well as others in your town, and took an active part in releasing the prisoners, not only by giving your personal services, but by offering your purse. I well recollect, and state it with pleasure, that you offered the cargo of provisions on board the schooner Pomona. You also furnished two vessels to carry the Mexican officers and soldiers out of the country, one of which vessels was wrecked and became a total loss. In the political storm which soon burst upon the country, and culminated in the glorious battle of San Jacinto you were no laggard, but were one among the first to peril life and fortune in the cause of your country. You took a part in the battles of Concepcion and San Antonio, and acquitted yourself with honor and credit.

The spring of 1836 marks another epoch in our history. Santa Anna was advancing into Texas with a well appointed army, threatening us with destruction or slavery. We had scarcely the nucleus of an army in Texas. Men and the means of prosecuting the war were wanting. You, sir, with some others, went abroad to provide such aids as were necessary to our defense and safety. Ever ready to go when duty called, you exerted yourself in procuring and forwarding men, provisions, munitions, and money, - the sinews of war, - and that, too, at the darkest period in our history. It was during your absence that your property at Harrisburg, then the seat of government, was destroyed by the enemy. The battle of San Jacinto, together with the untiring exertions of our agents, gave promise of a brighter day. Unfortunately for you, but fortunately for the country and the cause we were engaged in, you possessed much more perishable property than any of your compeers, and of much greater value; hence you have been a greater sufferer.

I regret that it is not in my power to enter more into detail relative to the part you took in the war of independence. But I am proud to say, and say without fear of contradiction, that from the day you entered the country to the present, you took a part - and a prominent part, too - in the great transactions of the times.

The following communication, from General Tom Green and Hon. J. Pinckney Henderson, have a special bearing on Mr. Wilson's services in procuring aid for the struggling colonists during his absence in New Orleans, in the winter of 1835-6: the year 1836, I had authority to appoint the officers connected with my brigade (First), and that, in sailing out from New Orleans, in iMaj' of that 3'ear, with said brigade, myself and two companies came out in the steamer Ocean, which had been purchased by the Texas agent for the Republic of Texas; that Robert Wilson was appointed to the command of said steamer, and brought her into the ports of Texas, first landing in Galveston, which he did without a pilot; that his care and responsibility as such were great and embarrassing, and that he is entitled, in my opinion, to full pay as Captain in the service therefor for six months, which all of the other Captains received.

I hereby certify that I came to Texas on board the steamer Ocean, at the time referred to by General Green in the within statement, and that the said steamer brought out troops as stated by General Green; that Robert Wilson was by General Green appointed Captain of said boat, and that he, as such, took command, and brought her from New Orleans to Galveston, and from there to Velasco, in the spring of the year 1836; and that he. Captain Wilson, in all things, during that time, conducted himself in a manner to secure the esteem and confidence of all who were on board. And I further certify that the voyage from New Orleans to Galveston, at the time above specified, was perilous on said steamer, she being unfit for such; that she, on said voyage, encountered a severe blow at sea, during which Captain Wilson conducted himself in a manner creditable to the position he occupied, and satisfactory to those who were on board.

Johnston and many others, all testihiiig to the patriotic zeal and unselfish devotion of Mr. W'ilson to the cause of the infant colony, as well as to the high character of the man, might be given; but the foregoing will probably be sufficient.

One of the objections raised to the allowance of Mr. Wilson's claim, was that the act of the government in consequence of which the loss was sustained, w'as not of that pronounced kind that brought his case within the purview of the law observed by nations in dealing with its citizens in times of war. But this objection never seemed to be well founded, since the act of the government in establishing the scat of government at Harrisburg, and thus directing the attention of Santa Anna, to that place, was decisive on this point. I'lie following extract from a letter written b}' President David G. Burnet to F". C Gray, and dated at Harrisburg. March 25. 1836, has a bearing on this subject. He says: "The government is temporarily located at this place, and will, in all probability, remain here until a permanent establishment is made by Congress." He goes on to say that the government will need pririting done, and inges Gra}', who vvas a ])rinter, to nio\'e his press to Harrisburg, President Burnet pledging the credit of the government to defra\- the e.xpenses of the removal and promising him all the public printing.

In 1S36, after the battle <jf San Jacinto, Mr. Wilson turned his attention to the task of straightening out his business and repair- i ing his wasted fortune. He had a large and | favorable acquaintance with Texas people, I particularly with the members of Austin's colony, and when the Allen brothers, Augustus C. and John K., made their advent on Buffalo ba\on, with their [)lai;s for a capital for the new Republic, he was sought out by them and interested in their scheme. He conducted the negotiations by which they acquired title to the land, then in the possession of T F. L. Parror on which they iaii! oiit tlie tmvn of Houston. For M' -" ..res in the negotiation of this de'i I' :' ii^-eda cne-tei;t)i mreiest in the to i 'mt disposed "i most of tlds before M 1)0^ a me valual-'lc

In i;-<30 ^,'l. Wilson v.a. , tectcd io the Senate el ihe (_'ongrcss >A the Republic, which held its first session at ("oluinbia, on the Biazos n\er. representing the nnmicipality of Harri ii)urg. N\'li;le a member of this body, in the -spring of 1837, after the seat of govermUvn. had been reiuoved 10 Houston, overture'^ .>e; made to it b} representatives of a bank .11 Mississippi u.- lend the new government a million dollars It came to the knowledge of i\Ir. Wilson through prominent men whom he had formerly known in Mississippi, that the bank was a "wild-cat" concern and that the movement was simj^Iy a scheme to defraud the government, and he accordingly opposed it with all the vehemence of his nature. During a secret session of the Senate (from which the obligation of secrecy was subsetiuentl}' removed), he used language in expressing his feelings on the measure, for which lie was reprimanded by the presiding officer, David G. Burnet, and voted expulsion b}' the house. The affair created great excitement in Houston and in Harrisburg municipality, ami .Mr. Wilson, feeling that his honor was in a measure at stake, offered himself for re-election at the special election ordered to till the vacancy. His opponent was Thomas William Ward, an able and popular gentleman, but luch was the confidence of Mr. Wilson's constituents in the correctness of his position and in the honesty of his purposes in opposinj^ the Mississippi bank scheme, that he was returned by an overwhelming vote. Popular enthusiasm over his conduct ran high and it is said by old citizens now living in the city of Houston, which had, in the meantime, become the seat of government, that the scene of a popular demonstration on the occasion of his return to the State house, such as had never before, and has never since, been witnessed in this place. His most enthusiastic followers procured a carriage, froni which the horses were taken, and, a long rope being tied to the end of the pole, men and boys to the number of a hundred or more, with several hundred following, pulled it around to where he was staying and, placing him inside hauled him through the streets, knee deep in mud, to thecapitol, carried him into the Senate chamber on their shoulders and, placing him in his seat, left him, with the admonition to "stay there." He was subsequently quite generally known as "Honest Bob.'"

Mr. Wilson was identified with the interests of the city of Houston from its founding until his death, and, although not always here, he always considered it his home. He watched the growth of the city and the rise of the Republic with great pride, and contemplated the future of the country, for which he had made such heavy sacrifices, with much satisfaction. He was a warm personal friend of Colonel Stephen F. Austin, and as long as that gentleman lived enjoyed his confidence, holding at times close business and official relations with him. He also knew General Houston well, and numbered this distinguished Texan among his most intimate friends. The following letter, written by General

Houston while in the United States Senate, is similar in tone to a number of others from the same gentleman still to be found among Mr. Wilson's papers.

Washington, 8th Feb., 1851. My Dear Wilson: - I thank you for your favors and will give all the attention to the subject on which you write that is in my power. Gen. Rusk will do likewise. I have but a moment to write. I hope to shake your hand on the 24th inst. in New York, i am Truly Thy Friend, Sam Houston. Col. R. Wilson. On the 25th day of May, 1856, Mr. Wilson, then in the sixty-third year of his age, died. His remains were buried in his private family burying-ground in Houston, and afterward removed to Glenwood, this city. His wife had preceded him many years, having died in 1823, soon after their removal to Natchez, Mississippi. Two sons were born to them: James Theodore Dudley, still a resident of Houston, a sketch of whom appears elsewhere in this work, and John R. , who died in Harris county, in January, 1855. Robert Wilson is described by those who remember him, as attractive in person and pleasing in address. He had a hearty, winning way about him, and could probably at one time take as many men by the hand and call them by name as any other man west of the Mississippi river. He was a clear thinker, and strong and forcible talker, and wherever he happened to be he was the center of an admiring group of friends, who listened eagerly to his opinions, and running comments on matters of current interest. In closing a long arrd friendly letter to him under date of November 12, 1836, General Houston says : " Bob, you talk so well that it is wrong for you to write. I would rather hear your voice than read your letters."

^^^EORGE F. BAKER, the second in ^^ ag;e of twelve children born to \^^ Frederick and Martha Baker, was a native of Baden-Baden, Gernian}', having been born on August lO, i8l2. His parents, also natives of Germany, emigrated to the United States early in this century, and settled in Pennsylvania, where they passed the remainder of their lives. George F. was reared in Pennsylvania, and learned the trade of butcher, at Harrisburg, that State. When a j-oung man he went to New Orleans, whence, after a residence of a few years, he came in 1838 to Texas, and settled at Houston. Here he engaged at his trade, and for more than fifty 3'ears he was in active business pursuits in tiiis city. The butcher business, stock-dealing, farming, brick-making and similar lines of activity occupied his attention, at all of which he met with most marked success. He early began investing in real estate in Houston and Harris county, and having confidence in the security of such investments he held to his purchases, until at the time of his death he was one of the wealthiest property owners in this county. His estate, still undivided, ranks among the first in value according to the tax rolls.

There was no secret to the success which Mr. Baker achieved. He followed the old maxims of industry and economy. He began with nothing and ended with a fortune. Through every step from poverty to wealth he rigidly practiced the precepts of "Poor Richard." He worked hard, saved and made judicious investments of his earnings. It was a prime rule with him to live within his income. Whether he made much or little, he always did this. He looked closely after details, and he avoided debt as one would the plague. At his

Mr. Baker was very much a man unto himself. Caring nothing for politics in a partisan sense, and but little for the gossip of the street corners, he was usually to be found about home or his place of business, where his chief thoughts centered in matters of every-day concern. He was by no means unsocial, and under his own roof was always pleasant, kind and companionable. He provided well for his family, and was himself fond of the substantials of life. He was reared a Catholic, and may have adhered to the faith in middle and later life, but was not a communicant of any church. In politics he espoused the principles of the Democratic party. He never sought office and none ever found him. He was contented to be a plain American citizen, and was proud to be enrolled among Texas' first settlers. Simple in faith, steadfast in purpose, honest in his dealings toward all mankind, he was a type of his race and a model of his calling, affording a splendid example of the man of peace who bends his utmost energies to fruits of diligence, accepting contentedly what fortune sends, and believing that all things are ordered for the best.

Mr. Baker was married at La Grange, Texas, in October, 1839, and the lady, Rebecca F. Stringer, who at that early day linked her fortunes with his, lived in pleasant companionship with him for more than a half century, and still survives, being one of Houston's oldest settlers and worthy to be called one of the mothers of the city. Ten children were born to this couple, six of whom became grown, four now residing in and near Houston. These are Mary, the wife of George W. Butler, who lives on Clear creek, in Galveston county; Joseph

W., a farmerof Harris count}'; Rebcccn, the wife of Joseph F. Meyer, of Houston; Martha, the widow of Dr. Alexander Mc- Masters, now residing with her mother. Mrs. Elizabeth Arnold, a daughter of Mrs. Baker by a former marriage, also makes her home with her mother.

In personal appearance Mr. Baker was robust, and, during the greater part of life the picture of health, being five feet and ten inches in height and weighing about 200 pounds. He had a ruddy complexion, dark hair and brown eyes and a calm, untroubled countenance. His loss to this community was deeply regretted, and mention of his name now to any of the old citizens is sure to be followed with expressions of admiration for his honesty, industry, sturdiness and straight-forward course in life. He died September 26, 1S90, and his remains repose beneath a stately shaft in Glenwood cemetery.

>^OHN KENNEDY, the subject of this U brief memoir, was a resident of A 1 Houston from 1842 to 1S78, a period of thirty-six years. He never held any public position of consequence, and never sought to attract public notice. Yet he was one of the most active, and, with a large class of citizens, the most popular, and, in many ways, one of the most useful men that ever figured in the city's history. Mr. Kennedy was a native of Ireland, born in the village of Tallyoria, county Down, June 12, 1819. His ancestry on his father's side can be traced to Scotland, but by intermarriage there flowed in his veins both English and Irish blood. His people had lived for many generations before his birth on Irish soil, and had become identified in every way with Irish history. His paternal grandfather took part in the revolution of 1798, was seized and imprisoned upon the failure of the patriots' cause, his wife being shot by the hired soldiery of England, and his estate confiscated to the crown. On this account the family was greatl}' impoverished, and, in consequence, the earl}' years of the subject of this sketch were passed under the most adverse conditions. He received practically no education, but at the age of twelve was apprenticed to the baker's trade in the village of Nuery, from which place he ran away in a short time, on account ill-treatment at the hands of his employer, and went to Liverpool, England. There he resumed work at the baker's trade, and mastered it. At the age of fifteen he left that place and sailed for America, landing at New York. Locating at I-Iobrikcn, New Jersey, he went to work at his trade there and made considerable money. He invested this in river-front property, and thus laid the foundation for what might have been a large fortune had he not met with financial reverses. During the great panic of 1837 he lost the savings of several years, by the failure of a bank in Hoboken. After this event he came West, and stopping at St. Louis, Missouri, he acquired an interest in a boat and engaged for the next three or four years in trading with the Indians along the Mississippi river. He succeeded well at this, and having heard a great deal of Texas, he decided to try his fortunes in the new country. He arrived at Houston in the fall of 1842, and here opened a small bakery on Franklin avenue between Main and Fannin streets, in the rear of the present First National Bank building. From this place he shortly afterward moved to Travis street, near where the Cotton Exchan,t;e now stands, and thence to the corner of Travis street and Congress avenue, always since known as Kennedy's Corner. Altlion,L,di he made considerable money durini; his four years' trading among the Indians, most or all of this \\'as lost in an nnfnrtunate business venture with his brother, so that at the date he settled in Houston, he was for the second time since coming to America, a penniless man. His industry, however, and strict business habits soon enabled him to re-estalilish himself, and in a few years he was again the pos-;e^sor of s(^me m:-ans. with the prospect before liini ol a successful career. At the opening of the war he owned a steam bakery, a gristmill, and a retail grocery store, all of which were conducted .as parts cif one establishment, each yielding a good revenue to their owner. In addition to this he owned a lar-e number of negroes, and had :icquiretl titli; to several thousand acres of la d in Harris ;.rd adjoining counties. The negroes were S'lld at a sacrihce during the war, and the lands were disposed of as being next to worthless after it became known that slavery would be abolished. Mr. Kennedy held on to his 1 mercantile business, liowever, and out of this he made some nione}- during the war. He had the contract to furnish the Confederate States go\-ernment with its "hard tack," and, when occasion offered, he also engaged in the cotton business, running the blockade established by the Federal authorities. After the war he turned his attention more especially to the mercantile business, working into the wholesale trade, at which he met with his usual success. He was engaged in active business pursuits tip to the day of his death, and, as the result of his industry, good business management and judicious investments, he left a large estate. But, what was better, he left the record of a life well spent. While he accumulated considerable means, he did not bend his entire energies to the acquisition of wealth. He was willing to live and let live. He knew from obser\-ation that many ot the inequalities of life are the result of accident, and he w^is always willing to help, even up, tb.e chances of an h )ncst, deserving fellowman. He investe.i his means, as they accinniilated. in real estate in this city, not to lie unoccupied and be enhanced in value by others in:proving their holdings around it, but he improved his own, th;:s furnishing emj lovment for mechanics, as well as adding to t:;e taxable wealth of the city and c:)iinty. In addiiioii to the business proper! v, which he thir-> b night and improved, he own-'d, at tlie time of his death, no less than sixt\ iionscs and lots, - residence property which he had thus purchased and improved.

Ol plain ways himS'lf, he always li\ed near the plain people; received from them a liberal paironage, and, in ri turn, was e\er solicitous for their jirospenty and material welfare. Few men of this cit}' e\er possessed more full)- the confidence of the people, or used so temperately and for le=s selfish purposes, the power so j^ossessed. Even the red nii. ii of the forest looked upon him as their special friend, great numbers of them always flocking ab(Uit his phu e of business in an earl}' day, and giving him a patronage which the}' refused undi r :dl Si rts of inducements to exterd to others. Old settlers still speak of " !\eim -d\'s Indians," this being the name> l.)y which a large band of these aborigines w-, re knowii. who made Houston their trading j h;ce forty to fifty years ago. Mr. Ktnned}' also lent his assist- ance to public enterprises, such as in his judgment were calculated to stimulate industry and add to the prosperity of the community. He was a stockholder in numberless undertakings, and contributed much of his time and personal effort to the promotion of whatever measures were calculated to benefit the general public. His contributions to charity were large, and were always made from a sincere desire to do good, and not for self-glorification. Being the only Catholic of means in this city, for a number of years he was the chief support of the church. At his house he entertained the priests and visiting dignitaries. He contributed most of the funds for the erection of the first church building, donated the lots for the present Catholic cemetery, and assisted at all times in taking care of the indigent, infirm and sick of the church.

In 1850 Mr. Kennedy married Miss Ma- . tilda C. Thorne, of Galveston, she being a native of Brighton, England, where she was born February 3, 1829, and by this union he had three children: John, Mary F. , and Daniel E., all of whom were born at the old homestead, on San Jacinto street. The daughter was married to William L. Foley, of Houston, and'died December 22, 1886. The sons are numbered among the representative business men of the city of Houston, both being prosperous, popular gentlemen. John has served as Alderman of Houston six years, is the present representative of Harris county in the State Legislature, receiver of the Houston Belt & Magnolia Park Railway, and a prominent and successful real-estate dealer. Daniel E. is a member of the firm of J. C. Smith & Company, general merchants on Travis street, and is devoted chiefly to business pursuits.

On the 24th day of December, 1878, Mr. Kennedy died, followed seven years later, June 21, 1885, by his wife. Both are buried at Houston, where they spent the greater part of their lives, and to which place they were bound, not only by the memory of their early struggles, but by many ties of a social nature.

With the exception of the position of Alderman of the cit)', Mr. Kennedy never held any public place, but he was a man who always took a lively interest in public matters, and wielded a strong political influence when he chose to exert it.

Wonder is sometimes expressed nowadays that men of such widely different nationalities, and such wholly different tastes, and training as the first settlers of Texas, should have worked together so harmoniousl}', and successfully, for the upbuilding of their adopted country, and should have enjoyed so fully each other's confidence, and respect. We oftentimes hear the expression, " One of those old-time fellows, whose word is his bond." The explanation is to be found in the fact that the men who first settled this country and whose names have survived tons, were men in the true sense of the word. The}' differed widely in intelligence, in enterprise, in religion, and even in their ideas of government, but in their devotion to humanity, shown by acts of personal generosity, and by the customs of universal hospitality that prevailed throughout the Republic, in their strict compliance with every obligation, whether written or verbal, they were one. In other words, in the essentials of true manhood and good citizenship they agreed. Such was the subject of this brief memoir. On his tombstone appears this inscription, contributed by one who knew him long and aAPTAIN J. E. FOSTER, the subject of this brief memoir, was a resident of Texas for thirty-one _\'ears. He came to the State in 1854, and made it his home until his death, in 18S5. He thus lived through an important era of the State's history, and it was his privilege to take part in many of the great changes which marked its settlement and industrial growth. Captain Foster never posed as a philanthropist or public character of any kind, and it is not the intention of the writer to so represent him. He was a man, however, who had a great deal to do in one way and another with the industrial interests of south Te.xas, and especially with the business interests of the cit\- of I-Iouston, and the purpose of this article is to set forth briefly a summary of his life in this connection.

James Edward Foster was born in Pittsburg, Pennsylvania, in the }ear 1832. He came of Scotch-Irish ancestry, his people having emigrated from Scotland and north Ireland in the latter part of the last century, and settled in Penns_\l\ania. The meagerness of the details of his family history will not permit of any more being said respecting his antecedents than that they were part of that brave band of pioneers who helped to fell the forests and la}' the foundation of those thrifty communities that now make up the population of the great Keystone State, being people of strong religious sentiment, and ardently devoted to all the institutions of liberty.

industrial spirit, since so noticeable throughout that section of the Union, was just beginning to manifest itself, the boyhood and youth of James E. Foster were passed. He was early led into avenues of activity, and before he had attained his majority he had had considerable business experience. Living at the head of na\'igation on what was then the chief artery of traffic and transportation to all the West and Southwest, the great Ohio ri\er, he became thoroughly acquainted with stenmboating as it was carried before the era of railways, and he seems to have conceived a liking for this kind of business. At any rate he followed it in his youth, and his desire to try his fortunes as a steamboat man, led to his becoming a resident of Texas. At the age of twenty-two he came to this State, in company with an old friend, their purpose being to run a steamer, which they brought with them, and which they ran very successfully on the Trinity river for some years. He was subsequently a clerk in the same business for Captain J. H. Sterritt, before the war.

When the war opened Mr. Foster, although a Northern man, entered the Confederate army, enlisting in March, 1862, in eompany D, Second Texas Infantry. He was immediately elected Lieutenant of his Company, and proceeding with it to the army, east of the Mississippi, he reached the field in time to take part in the battle of Shiloh, where he was wounded, but continued with his command and succeeded to the Captaincy of his company, on the death of his superior, Andrew Gammell, who fell at Vicksburg. After the capture of Vicksburg, he returned to Texas, and re-enlisting, was in the service until the close of hostilities.

the problems of peace, and when the Houston & Great Northern Kaih'oad was projected he became an employe of it, taking charge of its interest at Virginia Point (across the bay from Galveston), at the same time engaging to some extent in real-estate matters in that locality. He continued at \'irginia Puint. dividing his time behAeen the railroad and real-estate business, for two or three years, when, his real-estate interests developing rapidly with the settlement and improvement of the country, he gave up his connection with the railroad, and thereafterward devoted his attention wholly to real estate. He thus became one of the earliest operators in realties in this section of Texas, and was for several years before his death, the largest dealer, and the representative of more Northern capital, than any other nian in south Texas. Captain Foster settled in Houston soon after entering actively on his career as a real-estate and investment broker, and, identifying himself at once with the business interest of this place, he became one of Houston's foremost business men and most public-spirited citizens. He assisted in organizing the cotton exchange, and served as a member of almost every committee appointed to secure local enterprises. He assisted also in organizing the first street railway, and was a member of its directory. It was chiefly through his influence that the Southern Pacific shops were located here, he securing the title and negotiating the sale of the lots on which they are located. He advertised Texas lands and Texas securities extensively in the North, and in this way was the means of bringing a large amount of Northern capital to this section of the State. He had great confidence in Texas, and possesed the faculty of inspiring the same confidence in others. He was not an enthusiast, operating by visionary methods, but was a man of sound, practical ideas, forming his opinions slowly and only upon sufficient facts and evidence. But when he once became settled in his views of a matter he adhered to his convictions, and generally succeded in carrying out what he wi.-^liL'd to have done. Vov this reason his jungment was often in demand on mattersof general concern, and his influence always sought when any great amount of opposition was to be overcome. Public enterprises, - whatever would stimulate activity, elevate, improve or adorn the community in which he made his home or the society in which he moved, - always received his prompt advocacy and assistance. He was not a sunshine soldier in the industrial army, but a worker. He was therefore never seen on dress parade or posing for popular applause on those occasions when the vain and self-seeking most air themselves and their views, but when public opinion had to be moved by the logic of facts, and especially when there was needed a strong example of a courageous, energetic man of business, willing to give time, money and personal effort for the promotion of a measure, he was called on, and the call was never made in vain.

In 1 8/7 Captian Foster married Msr Corra Bacon, at Indianapolis, Indiana, Mrs. Foster being a native of Trenton, New York. By this union he had one daughter, Violet, who, with a daughter, Emma J., and a son, James Edward, by a former marriage, and his widow, survives him. These make their home at Houston, where Mrs. Foster, since her husband's death, has conducted, most successfully, the business founded b}- him, having become, probably, the largest and best-known real-estate and financial agent in Texas or the South.

Mrs. Foster's recently laid-out town of Pasadena, in the southeastern part of Harris county, is one of the promising suburbs of the city of Houston, and, being located near the famous battlefield of San Jacinto, will, in addition to its other claims to recognition, always possess an historic interest for the student and traveler.

After a life of exceptional actix'ity and usefulness, one that was marked by every shade of a business career, even to the crowning point of unqualified success. Captain Foster dietl, on the 3d day of March, 1S85, and was buried in the city of Houston, with whose history much of his own was interwoven, and for whose advancement he labored most assiduously.

1^^^ subject of this sketch, was born in M, ^P the city of Memphis, Tennessee, on the 30th of May, 1836. Nine years later, in 1845, his parents moved to Texas and settled at Galveston. In that city his boyhood and youth were passed. Such educational advantages as the local schools at that time afforded were his, and he enjoyed, in addition to this, some discipline and direction in his reading at the hands of his father, who was a man of more than average intelligence, and \\iio possessed a large fund of information on historical subjects and concerning practical politics. It was probably from this source that the son received his first promptings for the law, and, under his father's guidance, formed a fixed resolution to devote himself to its practice. He began the study of law in 1852; under James W. Henderson, of Houston, and completed his preparation in the offices of Jones & Bollinger, receiving his certificate of admission to the bar in the Supreme Court, in 1854, when in his eighteenth year.

For the practice he located at Marlin, in Falls Cdunty, where his rise at the bar was rapid and substantial. In 185G he was elected Prosecuting Attorney, for what was then the Tliirteenth Judicial District, composed of the counties of Falls, Hill, Navarro, Limestone, Freestone, Leon, Brazos, Madison and Robertson, and was re-elected to the same office in 1858. He had just closed the fourth year of his service in this position at the opening of the war. In the public discussions, which preceded the first formal acts of hostility between the sections, he was somewhat conspicuous, and, this with his pronounced Southern views and personal popularity caused him to be selected as a delegate to the convention of 1861, which passed the ordinance of secession. He voted for the ordinance, and, returning home, at once entered the Confederate army, enlisting in the Tenth Texas Infantry, afterward Baylor's cavalry, with which he served throughout the war.

In 1866 he moved to Houston, where he resumed the practice of his profession, and where he has since resided, giving his attentention actively and earnestly to the law when not engaged in official duties. In 1874 he was elected City Attorney of Houston, which position he held for two years. In 1878 he was chosen to represent his district in the State Senate, and served as a member of the Sixteenth and Seventeenth Legislatures. In 1882 he was elected to Congress, and was a member of that body by successive re-elections for ten years, voluntarily retiring with the close of the Fiftysecond session, for the purpose of devoting

In the time that Colonel Stewart has been engaged in the practice of law, and in public life, he has met with a larger measure of success than falls to the lot of the average lawyer and public official, not indeed in the matter of money-getting, but in the more desirable form of achieved reputation. He has acquired distinction in both the civil and criminal branches of the law, and established his name in politics as one of Texas' first public men. It is hardly possible, and probably not desirable, to attempt here a review of his professional and official career. The ground to be gone over in either case, covering, as it does, a period of forty years, is so vast, and there is so much learning of a special and technical nature that would have to be gone into, that only a brief allusion to his record can be made. He has taken part in many cases involving interesting and important questions of law and fact, some of which he has followed from the trial courts, to the courts of last resort, while in his public career he has had more or less to do with all questions which have been before the people, or the various bodies of which he has been a member. The manner in which he has met his obligations is best attested by the esteem in which he is held by those among whom he has so long lived and labored. It is due him to say that his chosen profession has been the ambition of his life, and that he has laid aside its duties only when necessary for the more faithful discharge of those of a public nature placed upon him by his fellow-citizens. He is a logical thinker, an eloquent speaker, ripe lawyer, able legislator, good citizen, kind neighbor, earnest, liberal, progressive, and charitable.

In i860, at Marlin, he married Miss Rachel Barry, daughter of Bryan Barry, and a member of one of Texas' old and prominent families. Of this union one son survives, John S., junior member of the law firm of Stewart & Stewart, and present City Attorney of Houston.

William Blake was a native of England, of unmixed English blood, while his wife was certainly of Irish ancestry, and probably was a native of Erin's green isle. . They always lived upon a farm, for some years in Virginia and later in Alabama, being early settlers in the vicinity of Athens, where they died. They were plain and unassuming in manner and disposition, and reasonably prosperous in their calling. They had four daughters and two sons.

Edmund H., one of the above number, was born in Virginia, in March, 1809. Reared mainly in Alabama, he received but a limited literary education. He read medicine at a home office and attended lectures in the New Orleans Medical College, then presided over by the distinguished Dr. Stone. He married Miss Martha M. Harris, of Clinton, Hinds count}', Mississippi, February 24, 1834, practiced medicine some years in Mississippi and Alabama, and in 1846 came to Texas, settling in Brenham, Washington county. He began practice as a member of the old school, "allopathic," but as he progressed he changed his views, and about 1857 or 1858 attended a Homeopathic medical college, graduating, and ever afterward practiced as a homeopathist. From 1846 to 1856 he practiced at Brenham, and then moved to Houston, and followed his profession here until his death, July 2, 1876. He was a popular and successful phj'sician, and is remembered now by many old citizens of this place with feelings akin to affection.

Mrs. Martha M. Blake was born in Abbeville district, South Carolina, February 11, 1 8 19, a daughter of James and Frances (Wooldridge) Harris, her father and only brother, Robert W., being prominent in early Texas times. Her father served in the war of 1835-6, by which Te.xas won her independence from Mexico, and died at Goliad about 1837, from the effects of wounds recei\'ed from Mexican bandits, while engaged in the service of the Republic, near Goliad. He was a brave soldier and adventurous pioneer. Robert W. Harris, the brother referred to, was in the illstarred Somervell expedition, became a Mier prisoner, and was one of the unfortunate number who drew black beans, in the casting of lots, - which meant death, - and thus fell a victim to Mexican barbarity and cruelty. Frances Harris died at Matagorda in 1836, from the effects of exposure caused by the unsettled condition of the country. The entire family, - father, mother, oneson and two daughters, - who came to Texas just previous to the troublous times of 1835-6, suffered untold hardships.

Dr. Edmund H. Blake and wife had seven children, as follows: Mary F., who married R. C. Steuart, of Washington county, Texas, and is now deceased; Edmund H., who died in 1852, at the age of nineteen years, of yellow'-fever; James H., further mention of whom will be made;

Mattie B., now Mrs. S. M. Williams, of Houston; John W. K., who is a resident of San Antonio, this State; Cordelia, wife of C. H. Sprong, of Houston; and T. Walter Blake, of this city. The mother of these children, now in her seventy-fifth j'ear, is still vigorous in mind and body, and a most entertaining and amiable lady. She makes her home with her son, James H., from whom she receives every mark of attention due her age, and she is a source of many pleasures of companionship.

James H. Blake was born in Brenham, Washington county, Texas, October 28, 1846, and reared in that city until ten years of age, when his parents moved to Houston, where he was mainly educated. In 1863, when he was but seventeen years old, he entered the Confederate army, enlisting in Company E, Terry's Cavalry, and served during the remainder of the war entirely in Texas, along the gulf coast and in Arkansas, in defense of the northern border of the State of Texas. After the war he spent some years in his father's drug store, in Houston, and, through the training thus received and an inherited taste for the study of physiology and pharmacy, and withal an admiration for the medical profession generally, he decided to become a physician. His first systematic study of medicine was pursued under the direction of his father, and he finally graduated at the Hahnemann Medical College, of Philadelphia, in 1870, and also in 1873, at the University of Marj'land, at Baltimore. He began the practice of his profession in Houston in 1870, and has followed it here earnestly and successfully since. Dr. Blake is recognized as standing at the head of his school in this city. He is a member of the Homeopathic State Medical Society of

March 13, 1S73, in Baltimore, Maryland, the Doctor married Miss Jennie L. Harris, daughter of William H. Harris, who was for many years a prominent politician of that cit}-. Mrs. Blake was born in Baltimore and died in Houston, March 12, 1892, leaving one son, Allen B.

T. Walter Blake, youngest son of Edmund H. and Martha M. Blake, was born in Houston, Texas, May 20, 185S, and was educated in the schools of this city. On May 7, 1 891, he married Miss Clara A. Avery, of Galveston, and has one child, Clara Elsie.

-May 18, 1 89 1, he began the mercantile business in Houston, opening a family grocery-store on the corner of Smith street and McKinne}' avenue, which he conducted at that place till June 17, 1892, whenhemux'cd to his present quarters on the corner of Main street and McKinne}' avenue. He is one of the rising young business men of this city, doing a prosperous business and is u popular gentleman. He and his wife are both members of the First Presbyterian Church, of Houston.

">J*OHN R. HARRIS. - The true heroes of America are those who from time /* 1 to time have left the comforts of civilized life and have planted the seeds of new States deep in the wilderness. Of this number was John K. Harris, an early settler of South Texas, and the one for whom the once important town of Harrisburg, and the present county of Harris were named.

York, but his ancestry is traced to Pennsylvania, where the line ascending on his father's side finds its source in John Harris, a native of England, who emigrated to America in the latter part of the seventeenth century, and, settling in the Quaker colony, founded the town of Harrisburg. On account of the prominence of the family, both in Pennsylvania and in the newer States of the West, the chief facts of the family's history (having been interwoven with the general history of the countr_\), ha\'e been more than ordinarily well preserved, and this memoir of one of Texas' earliest friends can therefore be relied on, and possesses a value on this account, which it otherwise would not have.

The original John Harris, founder of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, married Esther Say, and had seven children, the sixth of \\'hom, named Samuel, was born at Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, May 4, 1740, and married Elizabeth Bonner, of that place in 1758. He took an active part in the scenes of the old French war, being present at " Braddock's Defeat, " where he served with the Colonial troops. He also sympathized strongly with the Colonists in their struggle for independence from the mother country, and served as Captain of cavalry in the war by which that independence was finally won. He emigrated, and settled on the banks of Cayuga lake, New York, in 1795, and li\ed in that vicinity the remainder of his life, being buried at Bridgeport. He and his good wife had four children, the eldest of whom, named John, was born at Harrisburg, September 26, 1760. He emigrated, and settled at Cayuga, New York, in 1788. There he married Mary Richardson, a daughter of John Richardson, and, a native of Frederick City, Maryland. He made the fir->t settlement on Cayuga lake (17S8), established the first feriy across lake Cayuga, the first store at that place (I/'Sq), aud the first hotel (1790), and was one of the incorporators of tlie Ca3'uga Bridge Company, which built the first bridge across the lake (uSoo), this being an important link between the States on the cast, and the settlements then rapidly forming in the great West. In 1794 he was appointed Sheriff of Onondaga county, and the same year purchased two reservation lots of the East Cayuga Indian reservation, near Ca)uga, 500 acres of which became his homestead, and remained such until 181 5, when it was sold. He was elected to Congress in 1806 from the Seventeenth New York district, and was long connected with the local military organizations, receiving the appointment of Colonel in the militia in 1806, and commanding his regiment in the war with Great Britain in 18 12-14. I" 1815 he removed to Bridgeport, where he was living at the time of his death, which occurred November 2, 1S24. John and Mary Richardson Harris had ten children, the eldest of whom, John Richardson Harris, is the subject of this memoir.

He was born at East Cayuga, New York, October 22, 1790, and was there reared. He married Jane Birdsall, a daughter of Lewis Birdsall and Patience Lee, and a native of Hillsdale, Columbia county. New York, and settled at Cayuga, where he was living when the second war with Great Britain (1812-14J came on. He was a volunteer in that war, and commandeil a company in his father's regiment. Both are honorably mentioned by General Winfield Scott, in his memoirs of the campaign. John R. Harris and wife emigrated West, about 1818, and settled at St. Genevieve, Missouri. Here

Mr. Harris formed the acquaintance of Moses Austin, and became interested in that gentleman's scheme of colonization in Texas. Preparatory to transferring his residence and interests to the Southwest he sent his family, consisting of wife and three children, back to Cayuga, New York, in the summer of 1820, accompanying them as far as Vincennes, Indiana, and then returned to Vandalia, Illinois, where he stopped to complete a contract he had to erect a State building at that point, and then came on to Texas, probably in 1822 or '23. The exact date of 'nis first visit to Texas is not certainly known, but the records show that in 1824 he received a grant of land - 4. 428 acres - from the Mexican gi)vernment, and it is probable he made one or two trips to the country before he finally took out his papers in accordance with the custom of the times and the requirements of the Mexican laws. He located his claim at the junction of Buffalo and Br.iy's ba'/ous, at a point S(Tme twenty miles from Galveston bay, in what was then the wilderness of south Texas. In 1826 he laid out a town at this point and called it Harrisburg, and a year or so later br(_)Ught out machinery for a steam saw and gristmill, blacksmith and carpenter shops, and put up a store, thus establishing the nucleus of a considerable settlement. He was also interested in one of the earliest boats that plied along the shores of these bayous, the schooner Rights of Man, which, under command of one of his brothers, was the chief means of traffic and transportation for some time between Harrisburg, New Orleans and the Mexican ports along the gulf. He also held the post of Alcalde, under tlie Mexican government, and, it is said, was accustomed to hear causes under a large mngnolia tree on a picturesque point of land separating the two bayous. Being called to New Orleans in the summer of 1829 on business, he was taken with the yellow-fever, and there died, August 21 of that year. His family was still in New York, the country not being deemed sufficiently well settled to permit of their coming out; but, in 1833, his widow and eldest son, De Witt C, came on and took up their residence at Harrisburg, where they participated not only in the hardships of colonial life, but also shared the dangers of the struggle for independence from Mexico.

From March 19 to April 15, 1836, the home of Mrs. Harris was the headquarters of the ad-iiitcriin government of Texas. On the approach of Santa Anna's army, she went with her household on board the schooner which carried President Burnet and Vice-President Zavala and others to Galveston, and herself and other refugees to Anahuac. The next day the refugees were carried to Galveston island, and were encamped there when they heard of the glorious news of the defeat of Santa Anna's army at San Jacinto. About May i, Mrs. Harris and her two sons (Lewis B. having arrived at Galveston, April 21, to enter the Texas army) returned to Harrisburg to find that every house in the place had been burned to the ground by Santa Anna's army. Her house was rebuilt of hewn logs by Mexican prisoners, and, with various additions and improvements, stood until October II, 1888, when it was destroyed by fire. Mrs. Harris could never be induced to leave her homestead, but lived there until her death, August 16, 1869.

John R. and Jane Harris had four children, all of whom became grown and were, in an earlier day, residents of Texas. These were: De Witt Clinton, born July 17,

1 8 14, near Waterloo, Seneca county, New York; Lewis Birdsall, born July i, 1816, at the same place; Mary Jane, born August 17, 1 8 19, at St. Genevieve, Missouri, and John Birdsall, born January 14, 1821, near Waterloo, Seneca county. New York. De Witt C. Harris was for many years a conspicuous figure in the history of this portion of Texas. Lewis B. lived here for a number of years, and then moved, about 1849, to California, where he took an important part in the settling of that State. John B., after spending a considerable part of hi's life in the mercantile business at Anderson, Grimes county, died at Harrisburg, Harris county, Texas, in 1867. Mary J. was married to Judge Andrew Briscoe, and is still living in Houston, being now one of the oldest residents of this city.

Besides the members of his own family, three brothers of John R. Harris, William P., David and Samuel, and his aged mother came to Texas and settled in Harris county. William P. arrived in the country in 1829, having for some years previous to that been engaged in steamboating on the Mississippi river. He brought with him a small steamboat called the "Cayuga," and establishing his domicile at Harrisburg, continued operations between that place, New Orleans and the Mexican towns along the gulf. He represented the municipality of Harrisburg in the consultation which met at San Felipe in October, 1835, ^nd was also a member of the General Council of the Provisional Government formed November following. After the conclusion of peace he married Caroline Morgan, of Cayuga, New York, (1840), and settled at Red Bluff on Galveston bay, where he and his wife died and were buried.

line, has been productive of men of marked characteristics. They have, in tlie main, been men of coura.^c and enterprise, lovers of their country and of their homes, with a certain rough and vigorous way of handling successfully the blending problems of war and peace as they are presented for solution to the people of a frontier district. The name, through the energy and activity of John R. Harris, will always live in the history of Texas, having been bestowed on one of the first political divisions of the country, the municipality of Harrisburg, and later on one of the most important counties of the State, that of Harris. To such a nominal recognition of his services to the cause of civilization, the present sketch will be in the nature of a necessary and well merited amplification.

iHOMAS E. ELSBURY. - The sketch here gi\'en is that of a former citizen and resident of the city of Houston, and is a brief tribute to the memory of a man, who, though of plain ways and unassuming character, possessed many virtues, and sought to leave to his posterity the example of an honorable life.

Mr. Elsbury was a native of England, having been born in Somersetshire, in the year 1830. At the age of sixteen he came to the United States (1846), and three years later, during the great gold excitement in California, he crossed the plains and for four years was engaged very successfully in mining on the Pacific coast. He passed through much of that period of the country's history, since made famous in fiction and the narratives of the early "Forty-niners," and met with many interesting experiences of a personal nature, but he never forgot the object of his visit to that far-off region, and, when he left there, in 1853, he returned to the States with a considerable amount of money earned in the "diggin's."

On the 10th of March, 1853, Mr. Elsbury married Miss Mary Ann Knight, a native of England, and a daughter of Charles and Elizabeth (House) Knight, and, somewhere near the same date, settled in Houston, in which place he spent the remainder of his life. He was engaged in the hide and leather businesss in this city, for many years, at which he met with good success, - his industry, straightforward business methods, and kind disposition, aided b}' fortunate circumstances, helping to place him in the front rank of Houston's men of practical affairs. At his death he left a considerable estate, and, what was better, the record of a life well spent. He was a member of the Masonic fraternity, belonging to Holland Lodge, No. i, of Houston, and a short time before his death he united with the Baptist Church, to the support of which he had been a contributor for many years. He died September 8, 1888. Surviving him he left a widow and five children. His surviving children are: Charles N., Bessie (now Mrs. W. Y. Fuqua), John W., George W. and Thomas W. One daughter, Mary E. , was married to John Cross, and is now deceased, and two daughters, Ann M. and Cora, and a son, Edward, died before reaching maturity.

aAPTAIN LEON F. ALLIEN. - Enterprise and fair dealing frequently lead to more flattering results than the practice of sharp and unscrupulous business methods, and al- though the reward maj' sometimes seem slow in coming', it is none; the less sure. The career of Captain Leon F. Allien has been one of the utmost honor, and is in direct refutation of the popular old saw, "A rolling stone gathers no moss," for, although his career has been a checkered one, and he has been engaged in various lines of business, he has succeeded in accumulating considerable means. He was born in the city of New Orleans, Louisiana, August i6, 1849. His parents were Frank and Kate (Gibenrath) Allien, the father being one of the early emigrants to California, whither he went in 1849, and there died. His widow is still living, now in her sixtyfourth year. She is a daughter of Frederick Gibenrath, who came to Te.xas, previous to the troubles of 1835-6, and perislied with Fannin and his noble three hundred.

In 1865 Captain Leon F. Allien came from New Orleans to Houston with a cargo of fruit, comprising fifly barrels of apples, and fifty barrels of oranges, which he disposed of to good advanage, after which he returned to New Orleans, wheie he remained until 1867. At this time the schooner " Swift " was loaded with cypress lumber for the construction of the International & Great Northern Railroad, and on this schooner Captain .\llien arrived once more in Texas. Going to Millican, he became foreman of a gang of men grading and working the Houston &i Te.xas Central Railroad, and not long afterward began taking subcontracts for a small distance under the regular contractor, and in this way helped to grade the road from Millican to Bryan. He later sub-contracted under Salter, Scruggs & Company, helped build the road from Bryan to Calvert, and later took a twomile contract from Theo. Kosse, who was the chief engineer of the road, and helped on with the work as far as Groesbeck. In 1871 he bought an interest in a tow-boat called the "Alert," and ran her for a short time, between Morgan's Point and Houston. In 1872 he embarked in business for himself, but at the end of six months he had lost all he had previously saved, and he returned to Houston, with scarcely a cent to begin anew the battle of life. Going down on the bayou, he purchased, ofW. B. Noisworthy, the iron of an old sawmill that had burned, for a consideration of $5. This he brought to Houston and sold for $112, which gave him a little capital to make another start on. He at once rented a iiatboat and began carrying wood from Green's ba^'ou to Houston, the boat being propelled by the means of long poles, and to this business his attention was given for about a year. At that time Charles Morgan began digging his ship channel, which subsequently became the property of the Buffalo Bayou Ship Channel Company, with Captain J. J. Atkinson as superintendent, and Mr. Allien supplied this company with wood up to 1876, clearing thereby about $4,000. He then purchased a schooner, called "Ellen Welch," that could carry 35,000 feet of lumber, and began carrying lumber to Galveston, and shingles from Sabine to Houston and Galveston. He also hauled wood to Galveston from Greene's ba\-ou, and by this means earned a considerable sum of money.

In 1 879 he purchased the tug boat "Sarah V. Stowe, " and in 1880 bought the hull of the little steamer that was being constructed in Galveston, took the machinery out of his tug, "Sarah V. Stowe," and put it in the new steamer, "Justine," which he ran as a passenger boat, from Houston to Lynchburg and Morgan's Point, from 1880 to 1S89. In 1884 he secured the contract to carry the mail between Houston and Lynchburg, and has e\'er since held this contract. In 18S9 he built the vessel "Eugene," which has since been a passenger boat between Houston and Morgan's Point. He is the owner of the steamer "Charlotte M. Allen," which is now being built and is intended to run between Houston and Galveston. He also owns the tow-boat "Mollie Mohr," and si.x barges: "George," "Fayle, " "Donnie," "Katinka^' "Coyle," and "Freddie." He is also the owner of a sand-dredge in the San Jacinto river, and supplies Houston and Galveston with sand for building purposes. In 18S3 he purchased 200 acres of land at Morgan's Point, and in 1888 laid out the town of Bay view, but sold a one-half interest in the same to a syndicate, since which time the place has been very rapidly improving. There are two fine artesian wells in the place and it has other advantages whicli makes it a desirable location. Captain Allien is president of the Morgan Point Land & Loan Company, which has built a number of cottages and has many lots for sale, and he has ever been a public-spirited citizen and keenly tlive to the interests of his section, as well as to his own interests. He is a typical Southerner, courteous, easy and kindly, is popular with all classes, and his friends are legion. He was married, on the 24th of August, 1 87 I, to Miss Sarah Eugene Dunn, who was born in Houston, Texas, September 15, 1855, a daughter of George D. and Sarah O. Dunn. Mr. and Mrs. Allien have had seven, children: George, McDonald and Leon F., Jr., living; and Rose, Justine, Johanna and Eugene, deceased.

>Y*UDGE WILLIAiM ESCRAGE KEN- DALE. - William Escrage Kendall, A 1 son of Francis Washington Kendall and Margaret Fleming, his wife, was born in Loudoun county, Virginia, October 27, 1823, and is a lineal descendant of Henry Kendall, one of the English colonists who settled Jamestown, \'irginia, in 1607, and was the founder of the family in America. Henry Kendall's descendants settled in King George county, Virginia, and intermarried with the Marshalls, Chief Justice Marshall being second cousin to Judge Kendall's father. A branch of the Marshall family moved to Fauquier county, where the Chief Justice was born September

While visiting his relatives, the Marshalls of Fauquier county. Judge Kendall's father met Miss Margaret Ellen Fleming. Acquaintance ripened into love, and resulted in the marriage of Francis Washington Kendall and Margaret Ellen Fleming, June 18, 181 5, the day on which Napoleon was defeated at W'aterloo.

Mrs. Kendall lineally descended from W'illiam Penn, the founder of Pennsylvania and son of Admiral Sir \\'illiam Penn cjf the British Na\-y. A branch of the Penn family moved from Bedford, Pennsylvania, to Loudoun county, Virginia, where Margaret Ellen was born. May 10, 1792.

Both families became greatly reduced by misfortune and bad management, and the Kendalls in consequence settled upon a small mountain farm, which belonged to the heirs of Lord Fairfa.x, and there the subject of this sketch was born. The land was stony and the soil shallow and exhausted, so that only a bare living could be made on the farm by hard labor and strict economy.

were few and not of the best. Young Kendall went to what he calls "an excuse for a country school," one or two months in the winter, during part of the twentj'-one years spent on the farm "serving his time" with his father until he reached his majority. The young man, longing eagerly for an education, at once entered school, working during vacation and at other intervals during school term, to pay his tuition. After one year's schooling, he turned his face toward the West, and, as he says, "launched out into the great world of which I knew nothing, having never been out of sight of my Blue Ridge mountain home." Some idea may be formed of the pluck, energy and dauntless perseverance of this young- Virginian, when we learn that he walked over the Alleghany mountains into Ohio. As he walked along a public' road, tired, travel-stained, but buoyed up with hope and determination to succeed, he espied a notice on the door of a small house, "Teacher wanted." Rightly judging this to be the schoolhouse, young Kendall walked on to the nearest habitation and inquired about the needed teacher. By one of those chances that sound like romance, the master of the house was chairman of the board of trustees, and, pleased with the conversation and appearance of the young applicant, the chairman assured him of his assistance, should he - Mr. Kendall - be able to stand an examination. Esquire Roe was the township examiner, and after enjoying the kindly hospitality of his new-made friend, the young Virginian went to "'Squire" Roe's to stand his examination. "To my great relief," says Judge Kendall, in narrating this episode, "I found that the township examiner, like myself, knew but little; so I passed the examination, secured m}' certificate, and, on the following Monday, was duly installed teacher in Red Brush township. Fortunately for me my pupils were but little advanced. Their parents were small farmers, poor and unlearned, with apparently little ambition to become otherwise." While in Red Brush Mr. Kendall, by another of those turns in men's affairs that prove truth to be stranger than fiction, made an acquaintance that gave an impetus to his career, which years, otherwise, would not have brought him. This friend was principal of and teacher in the Martinsburg Academy, quite a noted institution of learning" in the adjoining count}', and an enthusiast on the subject of education. Delighted with the teacher's love of learning, studious habits and moral life, the professor offered him such low rates of tuition that he was able to afford one year's attendance at the academy.

"This," says Mr. Kendall, "was the turning point in my life's uneventful history." By teaching, and practicing the strictest economy, he was enabled to remain two years at the academy. Teaching some time after this he earned the money to go to the Wesleyan University, at Delaware, Ohio. Meeting here other young men, who, like himself, were dependent upon their own resources, young Kendall occupied with them a cottage on the college grounds, where the) messed together. By teaching school during vacation and practicing the most rigid economy all the year, Mr. Kendall was able to remain three years at the university. Close application and diligent stud}' enabled him to graduate at the end of that time, when he returned to Virginia, where he was appointed Professor of Languages in Jordan Seminary, an institution of some note, near Winchester. After several sessions at the

Seminary, desiring a wider field and warmer climate, he started southward, rnakiii,;; his first stop of any length at Vicksburg, Mississippi, where, in conjunction with an old and experienced educator of that city, he founded what became known as the Hill City Institute. "Getting it well under way, I went North to secure competent assistants, having, myself, assumed the professorship of Greek and Latin." The institute became a success, but, in the midst of its upward progress, it was set on fire by a servant and burned down, being a total loss, although insurance had been sought, and the papers were, at the time of the fire, in course of preparation, but not completed.

During all the previous years of toil and privation, and intense stud}', before lie left his father's house as boy, youth asul man, Mr. Kendall has kept one end in view. All the endurance and trials in school or college, as teacher or pupil, had been for a goal toward which all those things led, as the ancient roads led to Rome. When, therefore, this last venture as an educator was so suddenly and utterly cut off, Mr. Kendall determined to put his long cherished plans into operation, and turned his attention to the law, "which," he sa_\s, "I had studied, as opportunity permitted." After two years' study in the office of a distinguished lawyer of Mississippi, he was licensed by the Supreme Court of that State to practice law, and, shortly afterward started to Texas, to begin life as a lawyer in the great Lone Star State.

On reaching New Orleans Mr. Kendall was charmed with the place where, he says, "The variety and beauty of the flowers, the semi-tropic fruits, orange, lemon, pomegranate, and the banana, with its great spreading leaves waving in the bright sunshine, all reminded me that I was indeed in the Sunny South. After spending ten days most pleasantly in the old historic city, I sailed down the great river and across the dreaded gulf to the land of the future great, reaching Galveston May i, 1S54. "

Here new beauties attracted his eye and excited his admiration. The superb oleanders growing everywhere, the verdant orange trees, with their fair bridal flowers filling the air with fragrance, the great variety and beauty of the roses, the immense geraniums abounding in every inclosure, the perfume-laden jasmines, charmed the senses of this native of colder climes.

In Galveston the young lawyer met, in many pleasant hours' conversation, ex- President Burnet, General Sidney Sherman, General Rusk, Justices Lipscomb and Wheeler, and many of the leading lawyers of Galveston, all of whom gave him cordial welcome to the Lone Star State. From Galveston Mr. Kendall took a steamer, and, winding through the verdure-bordered and sinuous banks of Buffalo bayou, reached Houston, the head of navigation. Thence he went by stage-coach over some of the settled parts of the State, returning to Houston, with the purpose of locating there, but meeting General Mirabeau B. Lamar, who was the third President of the Republic of Texas, and a most elegant and cultured gentleman, Mr. Kendall was induced to goto Richmond. They left together on the stagecoach, and General Lamar took his new acquaintance home with him. Mr. Kendall says: "The General introduced me to his amiable and gifted wife, and both became my warm and attached friends during their lives."

Mr. Kendall opened an office in Richmond, where he soon acquired a good practice by hard study and close attention to business. He attended magistrates' courts in the various precincts, thus increasing his practice and getting acquainted with the people at the same time. He found them, he says, "kind and generous, many of them rich, raising from five to six hundred bales of cotton a year. Some of them, notably Judge Robert Campbell and Judge C. W. Buckley, were both planters and lawyers. Practicing then at the Richmond bar were Judge Sullivan, Hiram B. Waller and Mr. Coopvvood. All treated me very kindly, especially Judge Sullivan, who was a member of the Legislature and had me appointed Notary Public." At the ne.xt election for county offices Mr. Kendall was elected Magistrate, an office which he resigned after holding several terms on account of his large and increasing business which necessitated frequent trips to New York and Washington city, and occupied all his time. "Coming to Richmond almost penniless," says Judge Ivendall, " I made enough the first month to pay my board and office rent. By the end of the first year I had a nice office of my own and owned several lots in town ; by the end of the second year I had built the largest brick business house in the place and three neat cottages for rent, and this as much to build up the town as for the rents I received."

About this time Judge Kendall's brother Charles came to Texas, and a law firm was formed under the title of Kendall & Kendall, which afterward became Kendall, Kendall & Buckley, and upon the death of Judge Buckley the firm became Kendall, Kendall & Harcourt. In 1857 the senior member, the subject of this sketch, went to New York on important business, and while there made certain business connections, which placed him upon a sound financial basis, while the law practice became rapidly larger and more lucrative. Under these favorable circumstances Judge Kendall concluded to take the first long rest of his life, and spend his leisure hours visiting historic scenes in Europe, Egypt and the Holy Land. Before leaving, however. Judge Kendall, finding it impracticable to raise enough money by subscription to build an Episcopal church in Richmond, and, being a very devoted member of that denomination, built, out of his own means, a very neat frame church, and, securing the services of a minister, founded Calvary Parish.

In 1859, having deposited $5,000 in London, and made all other necessary arrangements, he left for New York, whence he sailed on the steamship Vanderbilt, on August 1 6th, visiting, before his return, in i860, all the principal cities in Europe, the places of interest in the Holy Land and Egypt, and European Turkey. After his return he published in book form sonic of the letters which he had written to his brother, while away, dedicating the little volume to his "highly esteemed friend," Judge James S. Sullivan. The following extracts serve to show the trend of the traveler's thought, the impressions made by the first sight of places of which he had read so much, and the simplicity and directness of his opinions. Writing from Paris he says:

"My letters will necessaril}' be written hurriedly, and when I am, as at present, surrounded by circumstances and scenes entirely new and strange to me, you need not expect to find them very elegant in style, or in any way perfect. It is very possible indeed that some of them may be of that in- teresting class of specimens that you can 'make neither head nor tail of,' in which case I advise }'ou in advance to begin in the middle and read both waj's; it will make no difference. Never mind the 'connection,' for connection, sequence, etc., are things that I utterly abh(_ir and renounce. I had as lief not write at all as to have to write that way. " Quite a unique sort of a preface.

Speaking of icebergs seen on the voyage across the Atlantic, the author says: "They looked wonderfully majestic, standing in ( their lonely grandeur upon the water, from one to three or four hundred feet high, reflecting the bright sunbeams like mountains of glass. Very beautiful to see, but they re not good cornpau}-; cold, you know, and dangerous." This American traveler found the statesmen of England, whom he saw in Parliament, and heard speak, "inferior, both as speakers and in appearance, to the average members of Congress." I?ut that was a longtime ago. Among the curiosities seen in Paris, this irre\erent democrat numbers the Emperor and Empress of France and the Prince Imperial.

Of the fctt day of Louis Napoleon and Eugenie, he says: "Napoleon's arrangements for celebrating the day were of the most extensive and extravagant kind, suited in all respects to pamper and gratify the tastes and wishes of the great masses of the people, of whom the present royal family appear to be the onh' objects of adoration; but, as the changeable disposition of the French people causes them to adore their rulers one day and behead them the next, it is uncertain how long this fortunate family may hold its exalted position. Of the splendor of the illuminations and fireworks, no language would convey an idea. The gardens of the Tuilleries looked like a scene in fairy land. The national colors of the empire, in red, white, and blue fire, were interwoven in a style that charmed the beholder and illustrated the superior genius of the French people in such matters. Finest of all was the empress' vases of flowers, at the close, when the air for miles around was filled with tlijwers of fire of every size and color. This is said to have been seen by three millions of people." Cologne seems to have impressed our traveler, as it has many others, in regard to the famous can dc Cologne. "It is curious that this sweet-smelling stuff, which has scented the pocket handkerchief of every civilized land, should come from such a bad-smelling place. "

Of Ital)', his American mind is prophetic. " To-day has been a gala day with the Florentines, in taking down the flags of the provisional government, hoisting those of Sardinia and Parma, and declaring for Victor Emanuel, amid the booming of cannon and general rejoicing, in which I heartily joined, and hope and believe there is a better day dawning for Italy." In another place, he says: "The bloodless revolution of Italy still progresses, and has progressed so far as to need only the sanction of a European Congress to make it one of the independent kingdoms of Europe, which, from the signs of the times, it will be soon."

Again, speaking of Greece, he says: "Since the Greeks have thrown off the yoke of the Sultan, they are gradually, but slowly, arising from the degrading condition incident to their long oppression. May we not hope that our own American missionaries who are so earnestly employed there, may soon reap the fruits of their self-denying labors."

for pleasure or rest - though getting both - but observing and studying earnesth- the people among whom he sojourned, in their religious and political, as v/ell as personal relations, and forming conclusions from such stud\% which time has proven correct. The impressions upon entering Rome are well described: " No place on earth has so much interest for the thoughtful traveler. No one can enter the gates of Rome without a thrill of enthusiastic pleasure, now that the bright visions of his early dreams, and the vague and undefined forms of history, upon which his imagination loved to dwell, are to become in some degree realities to him." The lawyer speaks in this extract: "But by far the most interesting and attracttive, to me, in all the works of greatness is the Forum, which was the great heart, not onl}- of Rome but of the vast empire, - the scene of many of the most thrilling events in the great drama of human life. There were manifest the first dawnings of legislative wisdom; there w-ere framed and enacted those laws which were the source of Roman power, the beneficial and controlling influence of which was demonstrated b\- her great statesmen and early masters; these laws were the focus and nucleus of Roman strength."

The pretty word sketch of Naples concludes with this characteristic sentence: "A little to the right rises hot-headed and hotter-hearted Vesuvius, towering over all."

Passing into Greece and thence to Asia Minor, he makes this original, if somewhat irreverent, comment upon the great epic: "If Helen had been a virtuous woman, and the Iliad had never been written, who would have been the 'father of poetr\% ' I wonder.^" of the cit\" of Sultans immediately went to the thinnest of thin air when I went ashore and found narrow, crooked, filthy streets, thronged with all sorts of human beings, dogs and donkeys in horrible and impossible mixture. I shall depart, convinced that one who wishes to leave Stamboul with a favorable impression should take an external view onl}", and be careful never to enter the city."

Mr. Kendall viewed the Holy Land from the standpoint of an earnest believer in the book which makes sacred ground of that favored soil on which so many Scripture characters have trod, and which is the mother country' of the Savior of mankind. He lingered long in this most interesting of all countries, and writes of Jerusaleih, Bethlehem, the Mount of Olives, and other spots, enshrined in the hearts of every Christian, with simple and reverent eloquence.

The sketches of Egjptian habits and costumes, and graphic word picture of Cairo . are vivid and full of color. The Great Desert, Mount Sinai, the pyramids, - in short ever}' object of interest in the cradle of civilization, " m\sterious Egjpt," is seen with obser\'ant eyes and imprinted on a receptive mind.

His remarks on the Sphinx might have suggested Mark Twain's beautiful description, - having been written many years before the "Innocents" went abroad, - so like are the two in sentiment. Mr. Kendall should visit Egypt again and see the "sublime enigma" since the magnificent pedestal has been exhumed.

Of the Nile Delta, Mr. Kendall says: "There human effort and nature's immutable laws appear to vie with each other in bringing together the most striking and wonderful contrasts. The beautiful, green val- ley of the Nile, abounding in most varied and luxuriant vegetation, is skirted b}' the great African desert, spreading far and wide its drear}' scenes of desolation. In the immediate vicinity of monuments that have defied the ravages of time, and withstood the storms of thousands of years, the princely structures of yesterday are mouldering away. Where plenty abounds, where the fertility of the soil is unequaled, the poor Egytians are half-naked and starving."

But it is Paris, which so fascinates and absorbes the writer that he neglects his correspondence. His judgment, after the gay season has closed, is this: "The French people, in all that pertains to the social enji>\- ments of life, surpass all others. They appear to be careless and indifferent about the common affairs of life, and to attend diligently to those things which contribute to their gay and giddy pleasure. In short, everything that a vivid fancy can suggest, calculated to delight the eye and please the mind, the fitness and adaptation of all to harmonize, proves the superior genius and unequaled skill of the French in such arrangements." Of the Empress Eugenie he says: "She appears quite youthful and is much the handsomest personage I have seen in Europe; the Prince Imperial is a noblelooking boy. As to Louis Napoleon, this deponent sa\'eth not."

All the delights of foreign travel, however, do not prevent the American from rejoicing over his return to his nati\e land; do not hinder his entering into the business and interests of his Richmond home. Without ostentation he resumed his law practice and pursued it diligently until 1861, when he cast his lot with the Confederacy, and went to \'irginia, where he did effectual but "irregular service," as he modestly calls it, "in connection with the army.'' Frequently he acted as guide through the \'irginia mountains, with which he v>-as thoroughly familiar, and as messenger to points not known by the officers, and also occasionally accompanied Mosby on his raids. His widowed mother, who still li\'ed in her mountain home in Virginia, was not neglected, and part of his time was devoted to the care of her affairs and the protection other home.

Mr. Kendall gave much time and attention to the sick. Among those who shared his kindness was a young man named O'Farrell, who was shot through the body in a skirmish near the residence of Mr. Kendall's uncle, and carried to the house by his comrades, who left him there to die. The surgeon of the regiment e.xamined his wounds and pronounced his case hopeless, and left asking che family to see that he had decent burial and that the grave be marked for future identification. But Judge Kendall was too deeph' interested in the bright young man to let him die without an effort to save him, and devoted himself to nursing him back to health. He succeeded and his former patient is now (1894) Governor of Virginia!

After the battle of Gettysburg, Judge Kendall, in common with most others, lost all hopes of Confederate success, and made his way to his old home in the mountains, where he remained until the surrender of Lee and the close of the war. "Returning to Texas," he says, "I resumed the practice of law, but found the condition of affairs greatly changed; negroes free, land greatly reduced in value, the country in the hands of the military, carpet-baggers, and no money, except a limited amount of greenbacks, at a discount of thirty per cent, for gold. Cotton being high, and land low, I concluded to collect what was left of my fortune, buy a plantation, and try cottonplanting. Almost any other man would have been utterly disheartened by the reverses, trials and losses of the first year of this venture; but Judge Kendall met his losses calmly, and ne.xt year was signally successful, more so the third year, and finally became a successful cotton-raiser, which he is to this day. Meantime, he continued to practice law until 1874, when the death of his brother and partner, C.H.Kendall, occurred, and Judge Kendall retired from practice.

On June 26, 1867, Judge Kendall was united in marriage with Miss Belle Sherman, second daughter of General and Mrs. Sidney Sherman, a woman of fine acquirements and most winning and charming in manner, who made a well rounded sphere of her husband's hitherto hemispheric life, being his complete complement and gifted mate.