Galveston County, Texas - The whole text, 1895 (part 17 of 26)

After six months, spent in travel. Judge and Mrs. Kendall settled in a handsome new residence in Richmond, where elegant hospitality, that reminded one of antebellum days, was dispensed to all who came. Six sons blessed this union: Sherman, Charles, William, Odin, Clarence, and Francis Fenwick. To give their children the advantages of a good education, Judge Kendall, in 1S79, purchased a delightful suburban residence, near Houston, where he now lives, with his lovely family, which includes a charming niece, Miss Margery Kendall. The same hospitality that reigned in their Richmond home is transferred to their Houston residence, which they have enlarged and beautified into a most delightful home.

But their lives have not been devoid of the sorrows that come to all humanity. Their second son, Charles, died in infancy, and the eldest, Sherman, at nineteen years of age, on the eve of graduating in the law department of the University of Notre Dame in Indiana. In the early bloom of youth, giving promise of a brilliant career, noble, generous, and honorable, his death was a terrible blow to his parents, which they bore with Christian courage. But time has kindly cast its tender glow over these dark hours, and the parents find solace and joy in the affection of their four remaining boys.

Thus, after passing through many vicissitudes, after conquering every obstacle to success, after acquiring an education and a profession by self-denial, perseverance and indomitable pluck and energy. Judge Kendall is spending the evening of his life in elegant comfort, surrounded by a charming family, and enjoying the respect and esteem of his fellow-citizens.

K./^ ENJAMIN CHARLES SIMPSON, l^''^ son of Charles and Fannie (MatgtK^M thews) Simpson, was born in Rochester, New York, June 7, 1S37. His parents were natives of north Ireland, where they were born about the beginning of this century, coming originally of Scotch stock, and being Covenanters in religion. They immigrated to the United States about 1830, and after a brief residence in Pennsylvania, settled in Rochester, New York, where they subsequently lived and died.

Benjamin Charles was reared in Rochester. The educational advantages open to him in his boyhood and 30uth were limited, but such as they were he a\'ailed himself of them, and supplemented the learning so received by attending night schools during the term of his apprenticeship as a machinist. At the age of twenty-one (1858) he came to Texas through the influence of James A. Cushman, a Rochester man then residing at Galveston. Accompanying Mr. Cushman to Houston shortly afterwards, he worked for him in this place until the opening of the war, when he entered the Confederate army, enlisting in July, 1861, in company A, Fifth Te.xas Infantry, Hood's Brigade. He participated in all the vicissitudes of war with this celebrated command up to Gettysburg where, July 2, 1S64, he was captured and taken to Fort Delaware. He was held in imprisonment at Fort Delaware some months, when he escaped and made his way to New York city, walking most of the distance, from which place, with the aid of a Mr. Eddy, whose brother he had known in the Confederate service, he got to Rochester, New York. He remained here a short time on a forged furlough, and then when it began to be noised around that he was an escaped rebel prisoner, he went to Canada and there worked as a stationary engineer, overhauling and repairing Confederate boats. From Canada he went to Havana, Cuba, and assisted in repairing gunboats to be used as blockade runners, and finally he took passage on a vessel bound for Te.xas, intending to again enter the army. The vessel on which he sailed was wrecked at the mouth of the Brazos, and a short time after he got back to Houston, Lee surrendered, and the war closed.

C. Smith and C. C. Wiggin, he established the Phcenix Iron Works at Houston, which were conducted jointly by them until 1874. At that date Mr. Smith sold his interest to Messrs Simpson & Wiggin, and after a few years' unsuccessful operation the business was discontinued, the partnership dissolved, and Mr. Simpson soon after founded the business which is now being conducted under the name of Simpson, Hartwell & Stopple.

Mr. Simpson was a man of industrious habits, good business methods and thoroughly honorable impulses. His success was not phenomenal nor even exceptional, but it was such, nevertheless, as to mark him as a man of sound intelligence and thoroughgoing business ways, and this, supplemented by a character of highest integrity, makes his career amply worthy of this brief review. He was always devoted to business pursuits and never offered for, and could never be prevailed on to accept, any public position, except that of Trustee of the city schools. He was one of the first trustees of the public schools of Houston, and as such had much to do with founding the present school system of this city. He was a strong advocate of higher education and urged on all proper occasions and by all proper means the claims of the present and coming generations to reasonable provision in this respect.

Mr. Simpson joined the Masonic fraternity in 1 87 1, becoming a member of Holland Lodge, No. i, of Houston. He was almost a lifelong member of the Presbyterian Church, and to these two factors in the social econom}', he always accorded a generous support, and in them took the liveliest interest. He was one of the first Deacons of the First Presbyterian Church

He married Miss Rebecca Wheeler, of this city, on the 30th of June 1873, this lady being a native of Houston and a member of one of the first-settled families of the city. Her parents were Daniel G. and Hester E. Wheeler, natives respectively of Worcester, Massachusetts, and New York city. New York, who came to Texas in 1839, settling in Houston. For many years they owned and lived on the block between Main and Travis streets and Rusk and Walker avenues, and here Mrs. Simpson was born and still resides. Her father died in Houston in 1S57, and her mother in 1891. Her father was wharfmaster at this place during the days of the Republic.

May 16, 1888, after a brief illness, Mr. Simpson died, surrounded by his family and many friends, and his memory was shown every appropriate mark of respect by the Masons, the church of which he was a member, and the people generally of this city.

W. WHITE. - The subject of ^ this sketch, an early Texan, and for /D 1 many years a resident of Houston, was a native of Norfolk, Virginia, where he was born in the year 18 13. He was reared in his native place and in 1834, being then in his twenty-first year, came to Texas. He was in the revolution of 1835-6, being a member of General Houston's staff, and after the battle of San

Jacinto settled in the city of Houston. In 1837 or '38 he married Helen Chapin, then a resident of Houston, but a native of Utica, New York, and about the same date began the mercantile business in this city, as a member of the firm of White, Pool & Company. He was successfully engaged in business here until 1850, when, disposing of his interests, he went to California.- He remained there only a }'ear, when he returned to Houston, but went again to California in 1852, and returned to Texas the following year, settling at Cane Island. He established himself in the hotel business as proprietor of the "White House," which he conducted at that place until his death, in 1859. His widow survived until 1877, when she, too, passed away. Of the five children born to them, the eldest four are still living, these being John W., of Houston; Kate v., now Mrs. C. S. Payton, of Hearne; Lizzie, the widow of J. L. Cox, residing in Gainsville; and Justin C, of Houston. The youngest of the family, Nellie, was married to William R. McKee, and died in 1893, in Gainsville.

Justin C. \\'hite, the second son, and and youngest living of the above familj-, is a native of Houston, having been born in this city on November 27, 1855. He was reared here and learned the trade of a printer and binder under W. H. Coyle, in this city. In 1892 he became associated with Mr. Coyle in business and is now a member of the firm of W^ H. Coyle & Company. His time has been given exclusively, until within a recent date, to business pursuits. In April, 1894, he was elected Assessor and Collector of Taxes for the city of Houston, since which time his attention has been wholly occupied in his official capacity. Mr. White is a Democrat in politics and was elected to the office he holds as the regular nominee of his party. He is recognized as a \'ery successful man of business and a faithful, painstaking public official. He belongs to a number of social and benevolent orders such as the Elks, Knights of Pythias, Knights and Ladies of Honor, Chosen Friends, Woodmen of the World, and Royal Army of Relief, and in accordance with his means gives liberally to all worthy purposes.

On December 25, 1879, Mr. White married Jennie Dann, of Houston, and the issue of this marriage has been four children, three sons and a daughter: Andrew H., Margaret Helen, Justin C. , Jr., and W'illiam iMcKee.

B - The subject of this memoir was a /- 1 resident of the city of Houston from 1839 to 1S93, a period of fifty-four years. During the greater part of that time he was a prominent figure in the city's history, a well-known character in public affairs, and a man of wide personal popularity. Any record, therefore, of the old citizens of Harris county, which did not include a notice of him would be signally lacking in interest and completeness, and would to that extent clearly be a reflection on the discernment of the compiler.

Alexander McGowen was born in Duplin county. North CaroHna, July 5, 18 1-7. He was reared an orphan, his childhood, and youth being passed mainly in Montgomery Alabama, to which place his foster parents moved when he was young. His educational advantages were nothing to speak of, being in fact very limited; but he was taught a useful trade, - that of a tinner, - and equipped with this, and a good set of resolutions, reinforced by sober and industrious habits, he came to Texas in September, 1839, being then in his twenty-second year, and settled at Houston. Here he shortly afterward opened a small tinshop, and in this unpretentious way entered on his business career. He prospered with the growth of the place, his tinshop being succeeded by a hardware store, and this in time by a foundry. His foundry was one of the first, if not the first, ever started in Texas, and was no unimportant factor in the industrial development of the country. Mr. McGowen furnished the castings and heavy hardware, such as were in demand, to all the settlers from the up-country as far as Dallas, and Fort Worth, and west to San Antonio. He made the castings used by Gail Borden in the manufacture of his condensed-milk apparatus, and for all other purposes of this general nature.

The business which he thus founded still continues in existence, being the one now conducted by his son, Edmond F., on Railroad street, near the junction of Buffalo and White Oak bayous. Mr. McGowen was connected with its management up to the time of his death, and took much interest in its success. But it was not for his connection with the business interests of this city that he will be longest remembered. It was rather on account of his career as a public official. Few men in this section of the State were evermore continuously in public life than Alexander McGowen, or poseessed in such an unqualified degree the confidence of the people. He was elected to the first State Constitutional convention, in 1845, defeating, in the election, David G. Burnet, ex-President of the Republic; he was three times Mayor of the city of Houston, besides being several times Alderman; was Chief

Justice of Harris county; County Assessor, and for six years County Treasurer, holding this last office at the time of his death. An incumbent of so many offices at different times in Hfe, he, of necessity, had much to do with the making of the history of his adopted State, and it can be recorded to his honor, that his influence and best efforts were always directed to what he believed to be for the best interests of the people among whom he lived, and whom he was thus called to serve. His efforts in behalf of education in the Constitutional convention of 1845 ^re especially worthy of mention, since there he helped to lay the foundation of the present splendid publicschool system of Texas, thus giving practical meaning as well as the force of legal enactment to the wise saying that public knowledge is public virtue. Judge Mc- Gowen saw in the vast landed domain which Texas possessed the means of securing to every child in the State the benefits of an education, and he was a man of far too kind a heart and enlightened judgment to let such an opportunity pass. He espoused the cause of popular education in that convention, and the rights of the head of a family to reasonable exemptions as to homestead and personal property, and he worked without ceasing until the claims of each were protected, substantially as he conceived they should be, by the organic law of the State. As a judicial officer Judge McGowen dischai-ged his duties with marked impartiality and a strict regard for the law. So upright was his character, and so just were his rulings, that it is said that a jury was rarely ever called for in his court, and still more rarely were cases ever taken up from his court on appeal. As Mayor, Alderman, Assessor, and Treasurer he always discharged his duties with strict regard to the public welfare, seeking to protect the interest of the individual taxpayer, while infusing into the public service, as far as consistent, a spirit of enterprise and general advancement. His honesty was beyond question and his liberality well known. He not only gave generously, for one of his means, but he was liberal in his opinions, his mind offering a warm hospitality to the thoughts of others. He was always willing to discuss differences in politics, religion, or social affairs, and, where he could, to learn from others. No stronger proof of the humanity that pervaded his nature could be offered than the fact that he stood at his post during every yellow-fever epidemic that ever visited the city of Houston, and at the peril of his own life ministered to the wants of his suffering fellowmen. His unselfish devotion to the people among whom he lived, and his uniform kindness and courtesy were among the great secrets of his popularity, and made the people rally to his support on every occasion when he asked their suffrage.

In politics Judge McGowen was a lifelong Democrat, and he not only believed profoundly in the principles of his party, but he insisted on an observance of the established forms and methods by which those principles are put in force. It was not sufficient with him to be right on the " main question." He made loyalty to the constituted authorities of the party a test of soundness as well as devotion to principle. He took but little interest, on the other hand, in fraternity matters. He was a charter member of Lone Star Lodge, No. i. Independent Order of Odd Fellows, of this city, and he kept up his membership in this lodge until its charter was forfeited by lapses. But when it was subsequently reorganized he did not identify himself with it. He joined the Methodist Church in this cit_y, and, in connection with the late Judge Charles Shearn and the late T. W. House, he was for years one of the chief financial stays of this congregation. For twentyfive years before his death, he was a Trustee in this church, and took an active part in all church work.

Judge McGowen married Mrs. Sarah Christopher, of Houston, in 1S41, and by this union had eight children, all of whom became grown, but only two of whom, - a daughter, Mrs. Kate Brashear, and a son, Edmond F. McGowen, - are now living. On the 14th day of July, 1873, Mrs. Mc- Gowen died, and, some two 3'ears after her death. Judge McGowen married Miss Florence Abbey, to which union one son was born, Walter McGo\\en.

Judge McGowen died on the 26th day of December, 1893, after a brief illness. News of his death fell with universal sorrow on the community in which he had so long lived, and every possible mark of respect was shown to his memory. The Commissioners' Court and the bar each passed appropriate resolutions, all the courts then in session in the city adjourned, and a largeconcourse of citizens attended his funeral and followed his remains to their last resting place at old San Felipe cemetery.

In the formative era of a new State like Te.xas, it is hard to estimate the influence for good e.xerted by a man like Judge Mc- Gowen. First impulses last long, and when those impulses are given in the right direction they are the source of incalculable good. Of such an one it may be said with all truth and reverence, that, though dead, he yet liveth.

H O M A S M. B A G B Y, deceased, who stood in his lifetime as a highly honored citizen of Houston, having been one of the early merchants of this place, was a native of Virginia, where he was born on May 18, 1 8 14. His parents, Daniel and Lucy Bagby, were also Virginians by birth, migrating from their native State about the year 1822, when Thomas M. was a lad of eight, to west Tennessee, settling in Montgomery county. In that county Thomas M. was mainly reared, receiving only such slender educational advantages as the then sparsely settled condition of the country afforded. He began doing for himself while still young, entering a store at Clarksville, the principal trading point in that locality, and here he picked up considerable knowledge of the mercantile business. In 1837 he came to Texas and located at Houston, where he soon secured employment, and subsequently engaged in business for himself. He was engaged in active business pursuits in this city up to the time of his death, some thirty years later, thus going through all of the early growth and development of the place, in which he took an active and effective part. He was engaged in the general commission business, receiving and forwarding goods, and later in handling cotton. He had partnerships at different times with H. D. Taylor and Samuel L. Allen, and was also alone for a considerable time. He was widely known throughout interior Texas, as Houston was in those days the trading point for all of the up-country, and wherever known he was respected for his honorable business methods. Mr. Bagby did not rank as a man of great shrewdness. He was rather distinguished for his industry, convervatism and plain^ straightforward business methods. He never indulged in speculation or sought to make unreasonable profits out of anything he handled. He was content with small profits and believed in giving free and full meaning to the old saying, "live and let live." Ambition, except of that kind that prompts a man to do well what he undertakes, he had none. He was never in politics, never sought public favor of any kind, and never manifested any overweening desire for wealth. He was at one time a member of the Board of Aldermen, but he never held any county or State offices and never showed any more interest in public matters than such as might be expected of one who wished to see the laws enforced, and order and good government maintained. He was an associate, however, of many of Texas' leading men, by whom he was held in high esteem, among them being General Houston, whom he numbered as one of his warmest personal friends, and whose political fortunes he watched with much interest throughout the General's entire career.

On February 23, 1848, in the city of Houston, Mr. Bagby married Marianna Baker, a daughter of Asa and Hannah Baker, and a sister of William R. Baker, who was for many years a prominent citizen of this place. The offspring of this union was si.x children: William G. ; Emily G., now Mrs. F. C. Usher; Eleanor B., now Mrs. W. J. Hancock; Lucy B., now Mrs. R. E. Tankersley; Mary B., wife of Andrew B. Richardson, both now deceased; and Bessie B., now also deceased. The widow and three surviving children are residents of Houston. Mrs. Bagby is numbered among the oldest citizens of the city and is a most estimable lad}-. She comes of pioneer ancestry, her people helping to settle the New

England and Eastern States, and she and her brothers and sisters settling in Houston when it was only a primitive patch in the wilderness. Her two brothers, William R. and George, died here, as did also her mother, while three of her sisters, Mrs. Emily Taylor, Mrs. Julia W. Clark and Mrs. Harriet M. Szabo, have resided here for more than forty years.

In this city, while still a young man, Mr. Bagby was made a Mason, joining Holland Lodge, No. I., and from that time on, as long as he lived, he took great interest in the order. He was also a member of the Presbyterian Church, the pioneer organization of this city, and was zealous in the discharge of his Christian duties. He was a man of even temper, quiet tastes, devoted to his home and family, strong in his friendships and thoroughly loyal to all the interests of his adopted State. He died May 12, 1868.

settlers of this cit}', was a native of Guilford county, North Carolina, where he was born in the year 181 1. His parents, who were also natives of North Carolina, moved from that State about the year 181 5. to middle Tennessee and settled in Rutherford count}'. In this county Isaac W. was reared. His early lot was by no means an easy one, for his father died when Isaac W. was as yet a child, and the family being left in straitened circumstances, he was early thrown on his own resources. He began the serious duties of life for himself at the age of twelve, finding a home among the farmers of Rutherford county, for whom he worked during the spring and summer months, and received the privileges of the local schools in winter. He thus acquired the elements of a common English education, and formed the useful habits of industry and self-reliance. February 13, 1S33, he married Sarah Trott, a native of Rutherford county, and settled on a farm, which he carried on with only moderate success for about si.\ years. In 1839 he moved to Te.xas in company with his father-in-law, Henry Trott, who had previously visited the country and selected a location in the vicinity of Houston. Here Messrs. Trott and Brashear purchased a large tract of land, being that now included in the suburbs of Chaneyville and Houston Heights, on which they settled and engaged in farming. Subsequently Mr. Brashear moved into the city of Houston and embarked extensively in land speculation. He was a man of energetic nature and sound business ideas, and he soon acquired prominence, and laid the foundation for what has since proved to be a very large estate. He was a member of the Constitutional convention of 1845, serving with the late Alexander McGowen, from Harris county. He advocated, in that body, the insertion in the organic law of the State of a liberal provision on homesteads and personal property exemptions, and the setting apart of a reasonalile share of the public domain for school purposes. It is to the credit of Harris county that both her representatives contended sturdily for these measures, and that it was largely through their efforts and influence that the success of each was attained. In 1852 he was elected to the State Senate from his Senatorial district, becoming a candidate chiefly on account of his friendship for General Houston, who, it was known, would be a candidate at the ensuing session of the Legislature for the United States Senate, and whom he wished to support for that position. He was actively engaged in business pursuits, and to some extent in politics, up to his death, which occurred September 13, 1859. He died in the prime of life, and at a time when his career gave promise of much usefulness and success, but not, however, until he had left in distinct outline the imprint of his character and talents upon the life and condition of the people among whom he spent the last twenty years of his life. It would probably not subserve any useful purpose to speculate now as to how a man of the gifts and standing of Isaac Wright Brashear would have conducted himself in the great civil commotion of 1861-5, nor whatparthe would have played in the era of industrial development following that period, but speaking from the later achievements of others, with whose success his own compared most favorably at the time of his death, it may safely be said that, had he been spared, he would not only be numbered among the pioneers of this locality, but would rank as one of the builders of the commonwealth. Opportunity has much to do with achievement, and opportunity is what was denied many of Texas' most talented men.

Mr. Brashear left surviving him a widow and five children. His widow is still living, being now in her seventy-eighth year, and one of the oldest settlers in Houston. The children who became grown were two sons, John and Henry, and two daughters, Annexa and Sallie; one daughter, Bettie, dying at the age of fourteen, John Brashear, born in Rutherford county, Tennessee, February 20, 1837, was reared in Houston; filled a number of public positions here, in- eluding those of Countj' Clerk and Chief Justice of the county; served in the Confederate army during the late war, and practiced law up to the time of his death, November 17, 1S86. Henry Brashear, the second son, resides in Houston; has been County Judge of Harris county, Clerk of the District Court of the same; is vice-president of the South Texas National Bank, and otherwise prominently connected with the political, business and social life of the city. The daughters are both married, the former being the wife of Charles Miller, a farmer of Harris county, and the latter the wife of Colonel J. W. Jones, of the Houston bar. The descendants of Isaac Wright Brashear now number between twenty and twentyfive, and all are worthy of the name they bear, and without exception are filling useful and honorable places in society.

EENRY STUDE. - Since the tide of emigration first set toward America, perhaps no class of people who have found homes in this country have done more to build up its interests or contributed more to its commercial importance and national prosperity than the sturdy, honest-hearted, industrious Germans, and certainly to no class is Harris county more indebted for its present proud position and future promise, than to that of which the subject of this sketch is a worthy and honored representative.

Mr. Henry Stude is a native of Prussia, Germany, born December 29, 1824, and is a son of Anton and Mary Stude, both of whom were natives of Germany, in which country they passed their entire lives. Of the five sons born to this worthy couple, the subject of this sketch is the only one who ever came to the United States. He sailed from Bremen for America in a vessel carrying 800 passengers, in 1849, and after a voyage of over nine weeks arrived in New York city, where he remained but a short time, going thence to Kalamazoo, Michigan. When he reached New York city he had just $50. On reaching K.alamazoo he worked on a farm near the city for a year. From there he carne to Houston, Texas, reaching this city with just $25. Here he secured work at gardening, a trade he had learned in the old country, and continued this for some time for a Mrs. Sherman. About the year 1852 he married Miss Henrietta Menger, and this union was blessed by the birth of three children, as follows: Frances, Hedwee and Alphonse, only the latter now living. Alphonse married Miss Louisa Bartollet, and is the father of five children: Henry, Emilie, Alphonse, Henrietta and Louis. He is in the wholesale and retail baker}' and confectionery business, and is a wide-awake, prosperous young business man. When Mr. Stude began gardening at Houston, he and his wife peddled the produce of the garden from door to door in baskets, and as soon as they had accumulated sufficient means they bought a cow and began selling milk. Later they bought more cows, and carried on the dairy business in connection with their gardening. Fortunately both had good health and saved what they made. Mr. Stude came to Houston when it was in its infancy and has grown with the place. He lias never speculated, but has kept his money safely invested, and is now the owner of much valuable city property. He still owns the truck farm and gives his attention to it and to his other business interests. Mr. Stude came to this region when it was in a primitive condition, lal)ored faitlifulh' to provide a home for himself and family, and is now enjoying a competency earned by energetic and welldirected efforts. He has always enjoyed good health, and attributes the fact to his temperate habits, for he has never smoked nor chewed tobacco, drinks no whisky, and but little beer, and has led an active, outdoor life. He and family hold membership in the Catholic Church, antl are liberal contributors to the same.

aAPTAIN A. P. LUFKIN. - Perhaps among the many men who in the early days of the history of Galveston were working and struggling for the progress of the city and the furtherance of their own ventures at the same time, not 0!ie of them succeeded in more equally distributing his valuable talents than the subject of this sketch.

Abraham P. Lufkin was born at Bucksport, Maine, October i, iS 16, and was there reared to the age of twelve or fourteen, when he went to sea, shipping as a cabin boy, and gradualh' attaining promotion until the goal of the sailor's ambition was reached, - the command of a ship. Soon after the establishment of the Republic of Texas, glowing reports of the opportunities in the new countr)- found their way to all quarters of the globe, and hither flocked large numbers of enterprising and ambitious young men, among them the subject of this notice, who, abandoning the sea, took up his residence here in 1 845. Equipped with a good elementary education, supplemented by the beneficial results of close observation and by contact with the world during his fifteen or sixteen years of life on the sea, he entered on his career as a man of business. He was

In 1S47 he built, at the foot of Twentyfifth street, the wharf which for many years bore his name, and the same year, in partnership with Charles Emerson, built the first steamboat ever put up in this port, and, at a later date, the first steam cotton-press erected in Galveston. The steamer built by Captains Lufkin and Emerson, named the "Thomas F. McKinney," after one of the leading merchants of that day, was designed for the Trinity river trade, never making but one trip, however, being attempted probably at too early a time; but such was the enterprise and push of the man. The boat cost abr.ut $25,000, her dimensions being: hull I 10 feet long; beam, thirty-seven feet; depth, four and one-half feet; drawing one foot of water when unloaded.

For some years after locating in Galveston Captain Lufkin gave his attention at different times to the mercantile, lumber, ice and shipping interests, but finally took up the handling of cotton, first as a buyer, and then as a press owner, when he erected the press before referred to, on the Twentyfifth street wharf, and this he conducted with marked success. Later he associated himself with other gentlemen of Galveston and assisted in the erection of other presses, being a large stockholder at different times in the Merchants', the Shippers' and Factors' compresses and the Southern Compress Company, of which last he was a director, and at the time of his death superintendent. The pressure of his business affairs did not prevent Captain Lufkin from taking an active interest in the municipal welfare of the city. He was a member of the City Council in 1857-8, and both before and after

He was not in active service during the late war, but his sympathy and moral support went to the Confederacy, and he spent both his time and money in providing for the families of the soldiers in the field, and in guarding public and private property.

Captain Lufkin was a man of fine business qualifications and keen, practical insight. He possessed strong individuality of character, and was watchful and aggressive where his interests were at stake. Though never a candidate for public favors, he was popular with a large class of people, who recognized in him all the elements of a good citizen, being a successful man of business, kind friend and good neighbor, alert, enterprising and possessing sound intelligence, coupled with strict morality.

Captain Lufkin died, after a brief illness, on April 24, 18S7. He left surviving him a widow and two sons, - Theodore D. and Walter E., - and a daughter, Mrs. A. A. Van Alstyne, - -all residents of Galveston.

E Grace Dickinson Taylor

E GRACE DICKINSON TAYLOR, deceased. - A glance at the interesting genealogy of the Taylor family shows that Horace Dickinson Taylor comes of people who have become distinguished in the annals of the country, and who have, by their upright, straightforward course through life, kept their names unspotted and honored in the sight of God and man. He was born at Sunderland, Massachusetts, and traced his ancestry back to the first families of New England. The worthy pair from whom he sprang on the paternal side was Rev. Edward Taylor and Ruth (Wyllys) Taylor. The former was born in Leicestershire, England, in 1642, and was educated for the ministry among the Dissenters. Owing to the persecution of his people, he abandoned his native country, and in 1668 came to America. He was well connected in England, and on coming to this country brought letters of introduction to a number of prominent people. Finishing his education at Cambridge in 1671, he subsequently became pastor at Westfield, Connecticut, four years before the breaking out of King Philip's war, and from that time on for many years was the spiritual adviser and physician for the large area of country adjacent to that place. In the year 1674 he married Miss Elizabeth Fitch, who died in 1689, leaving eight children. In the year 1692 he married Miss Ruth Wyllys, of Hartford, Connecticut. This lady was the daughter of Samuel Wyllys, who was born in the year 1632, and who for over thirty years was a State Senator. Her grandfather, John Haynes, was Governor of Massachusetts in 1635, but two years later removed to Hartford, Connecticut, where, in 1639, he was elected Governor of that State. Every alternate year he was elected to that position until about 1654.

He owned in Hartford the property upon which stood the famous Charter Oak. From Rev. Edward and Ruth (Wyllys) Taylor were descended some of the foremost men of New England, among them legislators, jurists, physicians, college presidents and ministers of the gospel. The Taylor family seems especially prolific in ministers. The father of the subject of this notice. Rev. James Taylor, was a minister of the Congregational Church, and was a native of Sunderland, Massachusetts, born in 1787. He was married there to Miss Elizabeth Taylor, a native of that place, who was born in

1789, and who died in 1832, following her husband, who had passed away in 1831. They were the parents of eleven children, of whom Horace Dickinson Taylor, of this article, was sixth in order of birth. He was born January 8, 1821, and was not yet eleven years of age when he was left an orphan. After the death of his parents he was sent South to an older brother, James, who was then living in Charleston, South Carolina, and there he made his home for several years (probably five or sixj, until he came to Texas, in company with an older brother, Edward Wj'llys Taylor. The brothers first settled at Independence, in Washington county, Texas, but in 1 848 came to Houston, where they engaged in the cotton commission business, in partnership, H. D. Taylor subsequently purchasing his brother's interest. For a short time after this he was in partnership with Thomas M..Bagby, and later established the house of H. D. Taylor & Sons, of which he was the head until his death, and which still continues under the original firm name. From the first Houston has always been the chief cotton market of Texas, and is now the largest in the world. Mr. Taylor bought and sold immense quantities of this staple, and in this way, and to the extent of his opportunities, helped to establish the reputation of the city in this respect. A man of strict integrity and high moral sense, he was always regarded as one of the solid, reliable men of the city, and gave weight and importance to every enterprise with which he was connected, and to every body in which he held membership. In few ways was he an aspirant for political favor, as the turmoil and intrigue of the political arena were not at all to his taste. He served, however, as Mayor of the city one term, and also held

On the 1st of December, 1852, Mr. Taylor married Miss Emily Baker, then of Houston, but a native of Baldwinsville, New York, and the daughter of Asa and Hannah Baker. Mr. and Mrs. Taylor's married life was blessed by the birth of five children, as follows: Mary, wife of Julian Robertson, of Calvert, Texas; Edward Wyllys, senior member of the firm of H. D. Taylor & Sons, of Houston; Horace Dickinson, also a member of the firm mentioned; William Baker, of the firm; and Emily B. As may be seen, the sons are wide-awake, progressi\'e men, and arc conducting successfully the business founded by the father. Mr. Taylor was quite domestic in his taste, took a great interest in his family, and made every reasonable provision for them. He left them an ample fortune, but, what was much better, a name honored and respected by all. Descended from an honorable ancestry, he was endowed by nature with such gifts as characterize true manhood in all that the word implies. For many years he was a member of the Presbyterian Church, and for twenty years previous to his death was Elder in the same. He was over six feet in height, \\'cighed about 140 pounds, and had dark hair and eyes. He was a very genial and pleasant man to meet. Although his character was positive, and he was a thoroughly self-reliant man, at the same time he was quiet and unobtrusive, and ' 'pursued the even tenor of his way," without interfering with the affairs of others and with no desire for public preferment. Especially did he take a strong interest in religious and temperance movements, and none were allowed to fail for want of support on his part.

Ol. James Rives Waties

Clerk of the Civil District Court of Harris county, is a nati\'e of Charleston, South Carolina, where he was born August 22, 1845. His father, Julius P. Waties was also a native of South Carolina, and was for many years a prominent and successful lawyer of Charleston. His paternal grandfather. Judge Thomas Waties, was a native of Georgetown district. South Carolina, and was an important figure in the late Colonial and early Statehood days of South Carolina. He was born in 1760, and while in college was elected Captain of a company of fellow-students, at the head of which he entered the Continental army for service against 'the British crown. Being subsequently invited to attend General Gillon to Europe on a mission in behalf of the Colonies, he was captured and taken to England, from which country he made his way to France, where he formed the acquaintance of Dr. Franklin, who, taking a friendly interest in him, aided him with means and helped him to get back to America. Again on this side of the Atlantic, he joined General Marion after the fall of Charleston and served under him with the rank of Captain until he was compelled to retire from the army on account of ill health, this being only a short time before the close of the Revolution. After the establishment of peace he studied law, was admitted to the bar and rose to eminence in his profession. At the early age of twenty-nine he was made Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the State and was subsequently elected Judge of the Court of Equity, serving in the two offices for a period of thirty-nine years. Colonel Waties' mother bore the maiden name of Elizabeth Rives, she also being a member of an old South Carolina familv.

James Rives Waties, of this article, received his early education in the select schools of Charleston, and had entered the high school of that place with the intention of taking a thorough scholastic course when his studies were interrupted by the opening of the war. He was among the first to offer his services to the cause of the Confederacy, enlisting April 18, 1861, a few days after Sumter was fired upon. He was a member of Company C, Second South Carolina Infantry. Serving in the Virginia campaign he participated in the first battle of Manassas, and in the engagements at Savage Station and Malvern Hill, after which he was transferred to a company of light artillery, with which he served during the remainder of the war, surrendering at Greensboro, North Carolina.

For two years following the close of the war Colonel Waties resided in South Carolina, after which, in March, 1867, became to Texas, stopping for a time in Galveston. He subsequently went to Fort Bend county, where for sixteen or eighteen years he was engaged in farming pursuits, beginning in a small way, but becoming in time one of the substantial planters of that county. In 1872, while residing in Fort Bend county, he married Miss Lalla Tomlinson, and being left a widower with three children, by her death in 1 880, he found it necessary to change his residence to a place where he could give his children better advantages in the matter of education and home training than he was able to give in an isolated country home; and accordingly, in 1885, he moved to Houston. Here in November, 1890, he was elected Cle k of the Civil District Court of Harris county, and was re-elected to the same position in November, 1892. Colonel Waties is a Democrat in politics and has been elected each time to the position he holds as the nominee of his party. He has filled the office of District Clerk very acceptably, having added greatly to his own popularity and raised the grade of public service since he became an incumbent of this office. He is a member of Morton Lodge, A. F. & A. M., and of Richland Chapter, No. 44, in the same order, as well as of the B. P. O. E. He is also Colonel of the First Cavalry of Te.xas Volunteer Guards.

Colonel Waties has no relatives, except the members of his own imm.ediate family, in this State. His mother died, as already stated, in Virginia;, his father died in South Carolina. In the latter State his only brother also died, and there resides his only sister, Mrs. E. P. Waring. He has two daughters, Elizabeth and Margaret, and one son, John.

B I 1642 there came from Milford, /^^^ Wales, one Hugh Gwyn, who settled in Virginia, where he became the founder of a family which has spread to the remotest parts of this great country, and representatives of which have entered all of the professions and every field of connnercial activity. The best known of the name probably was the late Duke Gwinn, of California, and General Walter Gwynn, of the Confederate army. Arbitrary changes in in the spelling of the name have been made by various branches of the family, as will be noted in this connection.

Charles L. Gwyn, of this article, is descended from the original Hugh Gw\'n, gentleman, who settled in that portion of York county which is now Mathews county, in 1642, and who was one of the first three members of the Colonial House of Burgesses of Virginia, having been born at Milford- Haven, Wales. Charles L. was born in Norfolk, Virginia, May 2, 1838, being a son of Charles R. Gw\n, who was a native of Gloucester county, Virginia, but who for nearly a half century was a prominent wholesale dry-goods merchant of Baltimore, Maryland, dying there but recenth' ( 1893), at the advanced age of eighty-four. Dr. Gwyn's mother bore the maiden name of May Sangston, was a native of Oxford, Maryland, the daughter of Tamerlane Sangston, and came of old Quaker stock on her mother's side.

While he was yet a child Dr. Gwyn's parents took up their residence in Baltimore, and in that city his boyhood and youth were chiefly passed. He attended the Baltimore public schools until he was fifteen years old, when he entered Dickinson College, at Carlisle, Pennsylvania, at which he graduated at the age of nineteen. He read medicine under Dr. J. R. W'. Dunbar, of Baltimore, and graduated at the University of Baltimore, with the degree of M. D., in the class of i860. He at once came West, and located on the Big Black river, in Claiborne county, Mississippi, where he began the practice of his profession. At the opening of the war he returned to Virginia, and entered the Confederate army, enlisting in Company C, of the Twenty-sixth Virginia Regiment. He was immediately made Orderly Sergeant of his company, from which position, after a service of six months, he was transferred to the medical department as assistant, and afterward surgeon, and served in this department until the close of the war. After the surrender he settled at Gloucester, Virginia, and engaged in the practice of medicine there until 1872, when he again came to Texas, taking up his residence in Grimes county, where he lived for the nex*- ten years. In 18S2 he moved to Galveston, which place has since been his home, and where, as well as in Grimes county, he has given his attention actively, and with a fair measure of success, to his professional duties. Dr. Gwyn is a member of the Texas State Medical Association, the Galveston County Medical Society, the Texas Academy of Science and the American Medical Association, having been president of the County Medical Society, and held important positions in the State Association. He belongs to the Masonic fraternity and to the Episcopal Church, and in politics is a Democrat.

In 1868 Dr. Gwyn married Miss M. B. Taliaferro, a native of Virginia and a daughter of Thomas B. Taliaferro, of an old Virginia family. The issue of this union has been eight children: Mary T., Elizabeth S., Charles T., Carrioline F. , Margaret B. (deceased), Henry S., Kate (deceased), and James S.

^^ J city, was born in Bremen, Germany, in 1826. In 1847 he came to this country, landing at New York city, where he was engaged in the butcher business for about one year. He then sailed to Galveston and thence to Houston, arriving here in the fall of 1848. Buying a small stock of dry goods he went to Caldwell, where he began the mercantile business, which he followed in that place and in Cameron until the opening of the late war. At the close of hostilities he returned to Houston and again turned his attention to merchandising for five years, his plage of business being on Franklin avenue, opposite the Hutchens House. In 1870 he engaged in the furniture business in partnership with F. Illig. The business was conducted on Main street in the building now occupied by the J. R. Morris hardware establishment. At this he was successfully engaged for three years, but in the meantime began the cotton and commission business, to which he turned his attention after selling out his interest in the furniture house to his partner. During these years he also owned an interest in a hardware business, which he lost by the great fire of 1875. For the past twenty years he has dealt exclusi\'ely in cotton, with which he has been very successful. He is a stockholder in the Houston Land & Trust Company and in the Planters and Mechanics' National Bank; and he is also a member of the Houston Cotton Exchange.

His rise has been gradual, and the position he has attained as a man of business has been by hard and persistent effort and by straightforward business methods. Through all the business depressions and financial crashes of the last twenty-five or thirty years he has passed with credit unimpaired, meeting every obligation and paying 100 cents on the dollar on every debt incurred.

In 1861 Mr. Gohlman married Miss Sallie Streetman, of Cameron, Texas, and has six children living : Lilly, the wife of H. B. Ea.sterwood, merchant of Hearne, Texas; Bettie, wife of J. E. Lester, of Houston; Samuel L. , Jr. , a member of the mercantile

BURNETT. - In com- I P'''"'?' '^ ''^^ o^ those men who ^JL^ were early connected with the mercantile interests of the city of Houston, it will be proper to include the name of William Burnett, who, though not a pioneer nor yet a man of great prominence, was nevertheless one who had nnich to do with the connnercial affairs of the place in one capacity or another for a period of more than twenty years. William Burnett was a native of England, born in the yean 8 1 5. He was reared in his native country and there married Annie D. Ash, and with her emigrated to America in 1851, sailing direct to Texas. He settled in Houston immediately on coming to this State, and this was his home until his death, twenty-three jears later (iS74_). In an earlier day he was a bookkeeper in this city, but later engaged in business on his own account, and had a very successful mercantile career. He left, at his death, an estate valued approximately at $20,000, mostly represented in real estate in the city of Houston, the greater portion being very desirable property, and now yearly growing in value. Surviving him he also left a widow, who, however, died six years later, and one son and a daughter, both still living. The son, William Burnett, and daughter, Annie (the latter unmarried), reside in Houston. Both were born here and are thus attached to the city by all those ties that fix one's interests and stir his sense of pride. For this reason they hav'e never seriously thought of leaving their native place, but on the contrary have with each succeeding year become more warmly attached to it, and more interested in everything pertaining to its prosperity and wellbeing. Miss Burnett is the owner of a large am junt of real estate in the city, being in fact one of the heaviest taxpayers in the Fifth ward, where she lives, and being a contributor to whate\er tends to elevate and improve the community. She has never entered the market as an active real estate dealer, but she bu}'s and sells, and is known as a lady of souud business judgment and prompt and energetic business ways.

^ J and French Huguenot origin, the McAshans, as might be surmised from the name, coming from Scotland; the Agees, frcjm whom he is descended on his mother's side, from France. It was in the earl\- settling of the country that each family took up its abode on this continent, securing a foot-hold in the colony of Virginia, where they became identified with the political, religious and social surroundings, and entered with zeal upon the new life spread out before them. With such experiences as they had had in their native countries, they could hardly be expected to do otherwise than align themselves with the colonists in their struggles with the crown and to contend on all proper occasions for an enlargement of their civil and religious liberties. All of the old stock, as family tradition has it, stood with the settlers in their "petitioning," " remonstrances," and other peaceful measures addressed to the throne before the final rupture; and when war came at last, those able for field service took up arms and fought with Marion, Washington and La

Fayette, some of them sealing their faith in the cause of freedom with their hves. Those who thus served in the Revolution were John McAshan and John Agee, grandfathers of the subject of this sketch, and John Hall, his great-grandft.ther, the last named a surgeon of some repute. After the peaceful order of things had been restored, such of the ancestors of our subject as survived settled down to the pursuits of planters, which they quietly and successfully followed the remainder of their lives.

In Buckingham county, Virginia, which contained the old family seat of the McAshan family, Nehemiah McAshan, father of Samuel M., of this article, was born in the year 1783. He grew up in his native county, and at a proper age married Elizabeth Agee, born also in that county, in the year 1789. Some thirty years afterward, in 1844, Nehemiah and Elizabeth McAshan emigrated to Texas, and settled near La Grange, in Fayette county, where the former died two years later. The reason for their coming to this new country was to secure its many advantages for their large family of growing children, a purpose which the father lived to see only partially carried out, but which the mother was spared many years to assist in fulfilling. She died in 1872, at the advanced age of eighty-three. Both inherited to a considerable extent the qualities which had distinguished their ancestors, being industrious, home-loving, and Godfearing people, a trifle old-fashioned in their ways, but sound in the cardinal virtues of truth, benevolence, and that far-reaching faith that raises the humblest plodders to the dignity of spiritual kings and queens. Their household, like that of many old-time households, was a large one, being made up, from first to last, of sixteen children, - seven sons, and nine daughters, - fourteen of whom became grown. Nine of these accompanied them to Texas, most of the number marrying and settling here. Of this large family but one now survives, he whose name heads this article, though many grandsons, and granddaughters, and others of still remoter degree of relationship are scattered throughout the State.

Samuel Nf. McAshan was born in Buckingham county, Virginia, on the iith of March, 1829. He was fifteen years old when his parents moved to Texas. He had attended an ordinary private school in his native county some four years before the removal West, and after the family settled near La Grange he attended school at that place another year. The education thus received was all he ever obtained. For a time he worked on a farm, and then, at the age of eighteen, became a clerk in the store of Ward & Longcope, at La Grange, which position he held eight years, when, in 1855, he engaged in business for himself, in partnership with his older brother, Paul, the firm opening a store at La Grange, which they conducted at that place up to the breaking out of the war. In 1863 Mr. McAshan came to Houston, and six months later, - April 1 , 1 864, - he entered the employ of the lateT. W. House, becoming book-keeper in Mr. House's large mercantile establishment. After a year's service in this position he was made cashier of the banking department, and this position he has occupied continuously since, covering a period now of thirty years. The large and varied interest, or combination of interests, represented by the name of T. W. House, banker, has been of gradual growth; and the construction of the machinery, as well as the formulation of the principles by which it is carried on, represents the labor of a number of hands, and the conceptions, in details at least, of more than one mind. While, therefore, all honor should be paid to the distinguished founder of the business, no one will deny that the subject of this article, as the head of the financial branch of the establishment, - that branch which, from time to time, has absorbed most of the others, - has had much to do with the making of its history and the achievement of its success. This is an acknowledgment which the present owners of the business cheerfully make, and is more a tribute to Mr. McAshan's worth than it is a plain and candid statement of the facts. Were figures necessary to emphasize the magnitude of the interests which have thus been committed to Mr. McAshan's care, they could easily be given. But these may be omitted in speaking of a business which is one of the oldest, largest and best known in the State of Texas. It will be sufficient to say that all the ebb and flow of this vast estate, its resources and indebtedness, receipts and expenditures, profits and losses, have found their wa}' once a year, and in some departments many times in the run of a year, through the channels over which he watches, investments being changed, securities shifted, plans altered, and other things done involving hundreds of thousands of dollars upon balances made up under his direction and for which he alone is responsible. Some men seem to ha\-e been born for the positions which fall to them in life, while others seem to be fitted by pressure into the places they occupy. The subject of this sketch clearly belongs to the former class. He discharges the duties of his position with a degree of ease, uniformity and success which leaves no doubt as to his natural aptitude for them. To the common attributes of honesty and integrity, promptness and accuracy, are added in his case a memory remarkable for its clearness, a judgment eminently sound, and a facility in passing in rapid mental review the details of all the multifarious interests entrusted to his charge, that is as rare as it is indispensable in the handling of such interests. Certainly Mr. McAshan's mental and moral equipment is an exceptional one, and most certain it is, also, that his career is far removed from the ordinary kind. That he has never amassed wealth, although he has been associated daily with men of means, and has presumably enjoyed some opportunities, is in no wise to be set down against the usefulness of his example. He has subordinated consideration of self to his sense of duty, taking loyalty to those whom he has served in the fullest and broadest meaning as his guide. To the young man who has inherited an even temperament, who desires to live an industrious, orderly life, and who is not eaten up with the lust of Mammon, but sees sufficient motive for faithful application in a personal feeling of duty well done, here is an example that will be helpful, a career that is worthy of thoughtful consideration. Such careers are not entered of record every day, nor are they pointed to for imitation nearly as often as they might be. But that does not militate against their usefulness, nor lessen the obligation of the honest biographer to point them out when found.

On the iith of August, 1855, Mr. Mc- Ashan married Miss Mattie R. Eanes, a daughter of James and Susan Eanes, then residing in La Grange, but originally from Cumberland county, Virginia, where Mrs. McAshan was born and chiefly reared. The issue of this union has been four children: James Everett; Samuel Earnest; Annie E., wife of R. H. Kirby; and Virginia K. , wife of H. R. Du Pree, the two sons and youngest daughter being residents of Houston, and the other daughter residing in Austin.

Mr. McAshan and his entire family are members of the Methodist Church, in which denomination his parents also held a membership during the greater part of their lives.

Mr. McAshan has seen a great deal of the making of the history of Texas, and has been an interested spectator in all that has 'gone on around him. When he came to the State there was not a mile of railroad nor a telegraph line in it, no towns of any size, the population being confined mainly to the settlements along the larger streams, and to the few villages then started, in all, perhaps, not over 75,000 souls. Now the State is covered with a network of railroads, and the electric telegraph reaches every portion of the country; the land is dotted all over with towns and cities, and the total population of the State is near 2,500,000. He has witnessed all the marvelous changes which have taken place in this region during the past fifty years, and has lived long enough to know that Texas is destined to become the grandest State in all the American galaxy.

ISAAC COLMAN. - Among the early settlers of Houston who fulfilled their destiny and are now no more may be mentioned Isaac Colman, whose career, was characterized by the most honorable business methods, by the keenness of his commercial instincts, by his devotion to his family, and by the interest he took in the welfare of his adopted country and of his fellow-men.

Mr. Colman was born in Prussia, Germany, near the close of the first quarter of the present century, and was reared there until he was sixteen or eighteen years old, coming thence to the United States. He came to Texas about 1839 or 1840, and traveled over the country for some time as a peddler. Having saved some means from his earnings as an itinerant salesman, he took up his permanent residence in Houston early in the '40s, and here, in partnership with Maurice Levy, opened a general store, under the firm name of Colman & Levy. This house was one of the early mercantile establishments of this city, and for years did a very successful business. With the opening of hostilities between the North and South, in 1861, Messrs. Colman & Levy went out of business, being forced to do sc, like many others, on account of the unsettled condition of things, and, for a period of four or five years, Mr. Colman followed no regular pursuits. With the return of peace, however, he again embarked in the mercantile business, and was so engaged up to the time of his death, in 1 873. He was but little past fifty when he died, being in the prime of manhood and well to the front in his business career, and had he lived, with the means then at his command, the opportunities at that time being unfolded to men of his enegy and business sagacity, he would unqestionably have become a man of wealth and reached a position in public favor to which his name is unfortunately a stranger. As it was, he left an estate valued at several thousand dollars, though not large, as measured by present standards, and, so far as this generation knows him, he is held in kindly remembrance. The older citizens speak with special emphasis of the interest he took in the city in an early day, and of his efforts in behalf of the maintenance of order and good government. Having been brought up in a populous community, he knew the necessit\' of discipline, and the value of public institutions and public works, and he exerted himself on all proper occasions to bring before the people the necessity of the citizens of Houston directing their attention to these matters. He frequently served as Alderman of the city, and, as a member of the Board of Aldermen, was instrumental in securing the laying of the first plank sidewalks in the place, - that being in the days when Houston was in the mud, and the problem of locomotion was one of the most pressing problems the inhabitants had to deal with for about six months in the year. He was also in the council when the old market house was built, and took much interest in the erection of that building. When the sick, infirm and destitute of the county had to be cared for mainly by individuals and private charity, he was a willing worker and cheerful contributor to all such purposes, it being well known that the needy never passed his door empty-handed, nor did the report of a case of sickness or destitution ever reach his ears without receiving his attention in some way.

In i860 Mr. Colman married Rosalie Kottwitz, who was then residing in Houston, but was a nati\e of Germany, where she was born October 17, 1840. Of a family of seven children born to Mr. and Mrs. Colman, four are now living: Henrietta, Solomon, Fannie and Bettie. Henrietta, now Mrs. A. L. Fribourg, resides in Denver, Colorado, and is the mother of six children: Theresa, Isaac, Louis, Victor, Gussie and Eugene; Solomon resides at Houston, and, having married Gussie Bonart, daughter of Hertz and Bertha Bonart, is the father of two children, - Pearl and

Isaac; Fannie is the wife of E. Lipper, of Houston, and has two children, - Lawrence and Henrietta; and Bettie is the wife of Emanuel Bonart, of Galveston, and has one child, Isaac Colman. Thus the descendants of this pioneer merchant number nearly a score, while his friends among those of the old settlers who survive are many, and all will doubtless be glad to see this tribute paid to his memory.

HUGUST BOTHMAN. - The name of Bothman is closely identified with the business history of the Island City. August Bothman was born in Hanover, Germany, in 1825, and there learned the trade of boiler-maker, which he followed in his native country until 1848, at which time he came to Texas, settling at Galveston.

His first employment in this city was in the foundr)' of Hiram Close. As soon as he accumulated sufficient means he engaged in business for himself, making boilers and doing metal work, at which his excellent workmanship and fair methods of dealing were duly recognized and appreciated, and he soon grew into a profitable business. He conducted this business until his death, September 5, 1890, at which time it passed into the hands of his son, and is still being carried on, being now, as it has been at all times in the past, one of the principal establishments of its kind in Galveston, and in fact in South Texas. To thebuilding up of this enterprise Mr. Bothman gave years of hard labor and strict attention, and in so doing not only succeeded in founding an establishment of material value to the city, but won for himself an honorable name and made a record to which his friends and fam- ily point with commendable pride. While this was his chief business interest in middle and later life, Mr. Bothman made some investments in other ways, the principal of which was in the Te.xas Flour Mills, in which he was an original stockholder and dii-ector. Mr. Bothman left a widow and eight children, the sons and daughters being Augusta, wife of Captain James Boyle; Emil; William; Mary, wife of Charles Emme; Charles; Ernestine; Delia; and Bertha.

^^^EORGE E. HINRICHSEN, a re- ^^\ tired contractor and builder of ^^^W Houston, was born on the Isle of Fohr, in the Dukedom of Schleswig, a small dependency of Denmark, on the 29th of July, 1833. His parents were natives of the same place, and on this island, inhabited mainly by sailors, his people have lived from time immemorial. His father was a carpenter, and George E. learned this trade under him, but preferring the ancestral calling of a sailor, that calling which both of his grandfathers had followed, as well as many others of his kin, he entered the service aboard a Danish merchantman, at the age of sixteen and began seafaring life. He sailed the Northern seas between Denmark and Greenland for two years, after which, for a year or more, he was on a German line and ran between Bremen, Germany, and the principal American ports. About 1853, he went on an American vessel running out of New York, and during the last six years of his life as a sailor was in the service of American ship-owners. Whatever of novelty or excitement, of hard labor or thrilling adventure attaches to the life of a seaman, Mr. Hinrichsen has known; for he began the business when the service required of him was of the most menial and exacting kind, and he followed it sufficiently long to become acquainted with all its details. He visited many countries, and met, in a restricted way, representatives of many people. He considers the time spent by him on the sea as profitably spent, all things considered, and still confesses to a fondness for the smell of salt air and for the sights and scenes of the mighty oceans and ePII the shores they wash.

In 1858, while sailing in the Gulf of Mexico, Mr. Hinrichsen visited Galveston. He had previously spent several months at Cape Colony during one of his trips to the South African coast, and was much pleased with the climate and the country, and, finding here a similar climate and country, he decided to abandon ocean life and settle himself in land pursuits. His knowledge of carpentering, made use of to some extent even while a sailor, now came to his aid, and locating in Houston he soon found employment with A. Bering & Brother, contractors and builders. For a year and a half he worked diligently at his trade and saved his wages.

By this time he was enabled to return to his native country in the summer of i860, and fulfill a promise of marriage made a number of years before to one of his countrywomen, Elena Hansen, who had waited faithfully during all his wanderings about the world for his return. With his bride he came again to the home of his choice and settled, and has here since resided without any thought of ever making a change, but with increased admiration for its many attractions and increased attachments for its people. During the war Mr. Hinrichsen was for a year or two in the service of the Confederacy, in the capacity of sailor, fit- ting up vessels, and also engaged in running the blockade with Texas products for exchange in Mexican ports. After the war he formed a partnership with Charles H. Bering and for twenty-five or twenty-six years was engaged in contracting and building in this city. Steady work and strict economy brought surplus funds, and these, judiciously invested in small pieces of real estate, which have advanced in value with the growth of the city, have placed him in a position of comfort, enabling him to spend the remainder of his life in retirement and free from business cares.

On February 5, 1893, Mr. Hinrichsen lost his estimable wife, she having borne him seven children, but four of whom are living. These are Louisa, now Mrs. F. A. Potthoff; Sophia, wife of Jacob H. Feser; Henry and Lena, wife of Alfred H. Frank, - all residents of Houston.

>^ P. SHERWOOD. - This pioneer m Texan was born in the town of /- J Easton, Maryland, on April 3, iSii. He was raised in the city of Baltimore, where he served a seven-years' apprenticeship at the ship-joining trade, and when he became a master workman he took passage on a sailing vessel for the p>ort of New Orleans, in 1835. There he was engaged in fitting out the Texas navy. He hen returned to his home in Baltimore, where his attention was attracted b_v a bird's-eye view of Galveston, which had been prepared and was being exhibited by some real-estate dealers. Upon the representation of Messrs. McKinney & Williams, he came to the island on October 1 1, 1837, bringing with him five house frames. Two of these houses comprised the old William Tell Hotel, which was erected on Market street, near the site of the present opera house. It was the custom in those early days for workmen to carry their arms, as well as work tools; and one day, when working on this building, he shot two deer on the spot where is now the I3ank Excliange. He built the first frame house known to be erected on the island. It now stands at the corner of O.'^ and Twenty-fifth streets. It was once a customs bonded warehouse. Afterward it became the postoffice. It was situated at the foot of Twenty-fourth street, on the bay, and was removed when P. J. Willis & Brother began their business block.

On his arrival at Galveston, 1837, he was met by Gail Borden, the inventor of condensed milk, who was about that time customs officer. Mr. Borden extended him the hospitalities of his home; and there he met Mrs. Borden, the only woman on Galveston island at that time. Having cast his fortunes with the early pioneers of Texas, he was always interested in her welfare and especially in Galveston's progress and prosperity.

He was a soldier and organized a company, and with them went to Austin to protect the workmen on the capitol building from Indian hostility. He was in several engagements with Indians, among which was the famous Plum Creek fight. He was an intimate friend and admirer of General Sam Houston, and indorsed his \'iews on all leading questions In the last moments of his earthly life he was paying a tribute of respect to his honored deceased friend.

Washinp;ton to Baltimore, where he was on a visit home, announcing the annexation of Texas. He saw it bulletined, and then he felt the individual glory of the "Lone Star" would be swallowed up by merging into the Union. About this time, when he had returned to Galveston, he was the first juror to rebel against the practice of serving on the jury without remuneration. This or any other service he was willing to give the Republic of Texas without the hope of fee or reward, but now Texas was one of the Union and he held a juror should be remunerated for his service. The court took a different view of the matter, and Judge Sweat had him committed for contempt. Here he amused himself by singing the national air of the Republic, "Will You Come to the Bower." His friends supplied him with luxuries and encouraged him to battle for what they believed was right.

He knew personally Lieutenant Campbell, the chief officer of Lafitte, the great pirate, whose headquarters were on this island. He was once entertained at the home of Lieutenant Campbell, who related many interesting incidents of his life with Lafitte. He built a pilot house on a steamboat of peculiar fashion (at that time) in style and location. He named it "Texas," and it is a a well known location nowadays among steamboat men. He built the first turntable laid in Galveston for the Galveston, Houston & Henderson Railroad Company. He was for many years foreman of the wharf company, in the employ of McKinney & Williams, and about this time invented the method of sinking piles by hydraulic pumping. He used a piece of iron pipe. Afterward he explained this process to Lieutenant Stevens, a United States officer, who adopted what is now a common method for sinking piles. Hitherto a hammer had been used, with little avail.

In the early days, where now stately buildings adorn paved thoroughfares, only marshes and rank weeds were to be found, and hidden in them were snakes and mosquitoes. The pioneers would cut grass and burn it in a circle where they slept to keep away reptiles, etc. The Carankaway Indians inhabited the island then, and wild animals were abundant and dangerous. He came to Galveston island when it was a wild, barren strip of sand, and saw it grow gradually into the promising proportions of today, and at his death he felt his race was run and he was ready to yield up to the last demand.

While he was a man of modest habits, whose lines were cast in humble private life, yet he served in public places. He was the first quarantine officer at Galveston, and served a term as Alderman in 1851. He was captain of ordnance during the late war, and was made a political prisoner on the gunboat Harriet Lane, and was kept there for a considerable time, and, when liberated, General Magruder desired him to fit out a vessel that could capture the Harriet Lane; but, as he desired to visit his wife and children, leave was granted for him to proceed on his journey, during which time the capture of the Harriet Lane was effected. He was ship carpenter of the first boat that made the trip up the Trinity river. Prior to coming to Texas he spent a few months in New York city, where he became a member of the first carpenters' trade union organized in America.

Of James P. Sherwood'? parentage and early life this much only can be stated: His father, Richard Sherwood, emigrated from Europe when a young man, and located on the eastern shore of Maryland, wliere he engaged in farming on a somewhat extensive scale, and acquired considerable prominence and influence. He raised a family of twelve children, must of whom settled in Baltimore, Maryland. James P. and brother Richard erected and operated the Sherwood House, corner of Fayette and Harrison streets, in Baltimore, which was one of the famous hostelries of that city fifty to sixty years ago. Two other brothers, William and Robert, became printers, and owned a printing establishment of favorable reputation. . Mr. Sherwood received a good common-school education. Inclining to mechanical pursuits, he was apprenticed to Messrs. Enlo & Son, then famous shipbuilders of Baltimore, where he learned his trade.

James P. Sherwood and Charlotte E. Robinson were married March 3, 1843, and the issue of this union was eight children, five of whom survive; Thomas P., William T. , James I), and Charlie L., of Galveston; and Sophronie (single), living in Houston. One son, George B. , served in the late Civil war in the Confederate army, was conmiissioned Lieutenant, And lost his life at the siege of Vicksburg. A daughter, Mary E., died in infancy. Mrs. Sherwood died September 23, 1 86 1, at the age of thirty-four. Mr. Sherwood died March 20, 1894.

aHARLES LEE SHERWOOD, the youngest son of James and Charlotte E. Sherwood, was born in the city of Galveston August 21, 1855, in which city and at Bastrop, in this State, he was reared. He learned the tinners' trade in Galveston, and after working at it in this city and in Temple, Texas, for some years he opened a tin-shop and hardware business of his own in Galveston, which he has since conducted with success. In 1885 he married Miss B. A. Kinney, a daughter of R. D. Kinney, who was a pioneer Texan of Bell county. By this marriage there was one child, Sophronia, born January i, 1888.

Her father was a son of Andrew Kinney and Jane Davidson, and came to Texas and now lives in Bell county. Mrs. Sherwood's mother bore the maiden name of Adeline A. Lee, being a daughter of John H. Lee, of "Virginia, who came to Texas in 1853, settling in Bell county. Mr. and Mrs. Sherwood have had three children; May Kinney, who was born May 14, 18S6, and died February 10, 1887; Emma Sophronia, born January i, 1888; and Robert Kinney, who was born June 25, 1890, and died April 17, 1892.

Mm I observer, in studying the history mJ^^J of the advancement and development of the city of Houston, Texas, will find golden threads running through the web and woof of events of the past few years. These are indicative of the lives of those men whose public spirit and energy have made her first among the cities, and gives her a conspicuous place among the commercial marts of the world. A true representative of such men is found in one whose career inspires this brief notice.

William L. Macatee is a product of Maryland, born in Harford county, thirty miles from Baltimore and four miles from the Pennsylvania line. May 14, 1827. For many years he has been a resident of Houston, Texas, and although now approaching the average limit of man's age, three score years and ten, he has the satisfaction of knowing that he is not only blessed with a fair share of this world's goods, but that he is enviably rich in the esteem of a host of citizens. His parents, Ignatius G. and Teresa (Butler) Macatee, also were natives of Harford county, Maryland, where the father followed agricultural pursuits all his life, dying in 1875, when seventy-five years of age, having been born in 1800. He was an excellent citizen and one whose character was above reproach. His father, Henr}' Macatee, was also born in the State of Maryland, and was a Revolutionary soldier, being Captain of a company. The mother of our subject died in Harford county, in 1831, when our subject was but four years of age. Her father was Clement Butler. Of the three children born to this estimable couple, our subject was second in order of birth. The other two were Henry and Teresa. After the death of our subject's mother, the father was married again, this time to Miss Margaret Johnson, who bore him si.\ children, as follows: Josiah, Samuel, Ignatius G., George, Charles Augustus, and Ann Maria.

The incidents in the early life of our subject were not materially different from those of other boys living on farms. He was taught to work at anything necessary for him to do, and to make himself useful around the home place. In common with other boys, young Macatee attended school winters, and in summer assisted his father on the farm, in this manner securing a fair common-school education. Until twentyone years of age he remained under tlie parental roof, and then went to Memphis, Tennessee, where he was employed as clerk in a clothing store for about two years.

There he laid the foundation for his subsequent prosperous career. From that place he went to New Orleans, and after filling the position of clerk in a dry-goods store for some time, he went to Shreveport, Louisiana, where he clerked in a store for some time. Here he had the yellow-fever, in 1853, and after recovering sufficiently from this dreadful disease, he returned to the old homestead to rest and recover his accustomed health and strength. About four months later he went to New Orleans, and for some time clerked for D. H. Holmes. Leaving that city, he came to the flourishing city of Houston, Te.xas, in 1S55, but only remained here a short time, when he went to Richmond, Texas, and engaged in the hotel business. This enterprise not proving very profitable, he returned to Houston, in 1857, and secured employment as bookkeeper and salesman for T. W. Whitmarsh, who was in the cotton commission business. The duties of this position he discharged in a very satisfactory manner until i860, when, in company with I. C. Stafford and E. B. H. Schneider, associate clerks, he bought Mr. Whitmarsh's interest and formed the firm of Macatee, Stafford & Company. When the war broke out Mr. Stafford and Mr. Schneider each raised a company for service in the Confederate army, - and this left the interest of the firm to be looked after by Mr. Macatee. This he did until the unsettled condition of the country necessitated the closing of the establishment.

After the war he and E. B. H. Schneider and T. W. Whitmarsh formed a partnership in the same business, cotton commission, but at the end of one year Mr. Schneider retired, and Mr. Macatee and Mr. Whitmarsh continued the business until 1870, when the former purchased Mr. Whit- marsh's interest, and has continued the business alone up to the present. He does a cotton and general commission business, and also imports Portland and Rosendale cement, lime, plaster and fire-brick. His place of business is located at the corner of Washington and Fifth streets, and he is not only endowed with all the qualities which make a man a social favorite, but also with those characteristics which render him popular as a business man. Upright and conscientious in all his transactions, he merits the success to which he has attained.

The marriage of Mr. Macatee occurred in i860, when he and Miss Henrietta Wilson united their fortunes. She was one of a family of children born to Peter and Mary Wilson, who were natives of Maryland, but who came to Houston in 1840. To Mr. and Mrs. Macatee have been granted five living children, viz.; George P., who resides in New York city; Leonard, who is in business with his father; Cora B , wife of J. M. A. McEnnis; Mary T., wife of C. Grunewald; and Joseph I., in business with his father. Although his hair is white with the frost of years, Mr. Macatee is remarkably well preserved for his years, and is a most agreeable man to meet. | ,. - ,

>Y*OHN PARKER DAVIE was born in 4 Norfolk, Virginia, August 12, 18 16. A 1 His parents were John and Margaret Davie, the father being a native of Wales, the mother a native of Virginia. He was reared in Norfolk, where, at the age of thirteen, he was put to the trade of a tinner and coppersmith, and served a four years' apprenticeship. In March, 1835, being then in his eighteenth year, he left Norfolk, and making his way overland to Pittsburg, Pennsylvania, there took a boat and descended the Ohio river as far as Maysville, Kentucky, where he resided some three years, working at his trade. Having attained his majority, he returned to his native place to settle up his father's estate, his parents both having died when he was young. He converted his property into money, and left for Te.xas by way of New York. At New York li(? purchased a small stock of goods, with which he landed at Galveston on November 19, 1838. He found here a number of settlers living in tents, but very little in the way of a town. Houston was at that time the temporary seat of government of the new Republic, and the scene of considerable commercial activity. Thither Mr. Davie went, and, forming a partnership with Stevens & Conklin, soon entered on what promised to be a prosperous business career; but the climate did not agree with him, and he was .advised to leave the place.

Selling out his interest to his partners, he 'went -io Southvvest Te.xas, where he spent several moyihs on horseback, after which ' he returned to Houston, completely restored *in health, but much the worse in for- [ tune, having expended all his means. He worked his passage on a steamer from Houston to Galveston, intending to take a vessel at this point for New Orleans, but, having no money with which to pay his passage and being unable to make arrangements to work his way, he decided to remain a while in Galveston and look up something to do. He soon secured employment at his trade, and, in a short time getting on his feet in a financial way, he concluded to locate here permanently. Forming a partnership with W. R. Wilson he opened a tin-shop in a small building, which was erected for that purpose on the corner of Mechanic and Twenty-second streets. The partnership lasted about eighteen months, when it was dissolved by the withdrawal of Mr. Wilson, Mr. Davie retaining the stock and premises, and continuing the business at that place until he purchased the lot and built the brick store, at the point where now stands the Washington Hotel, to which he moved in 1845. That building, the second of its kind in Galveston, was for the times a very creditable structure, and stood until it was replaced by the present building, in 1874.

In 1844 Mr. Davie built his residence on the corner of Church and Twentieth streets, and on December 20th of that year married Miss Emma F. Bailey, of Galveston, and there they took up their abode. At that time his home was considerably beyond the settled portion of the city, there being very few buildings south of Market street. In 1849 he sold his hardware store to E. S. Wood, intending to go to California; but having to make a business trip to Mexico he was detained there much longer than he had anticipated, and on his return to Galveston he gave up his contemplated removal to California, and again, in 1850, began the hardware business in this city. On the breaking out of the war in i86r he moved to Houston, where he carried on a hardware store till 1865, when he returned to Galveston, where he resumed business in his old stand and there continued until his death, October 5, 1892. Besides his mercantile business Mr. Davie also founded a brick-yard at Cedar bayou in Harris county, from which he furnished a great deal of the material that went into the buildings that were erected in Galveston at an early day. He also owned stock in different local enterprises, the principal of which was the Galveston Wharf Company, whose stocks constituted a valuable part of his estate at the time of his death. He assisted in organizing Hook and Ladder Company No. I, one of the earliest fire companies of the city; he was a volunteer in Captain A. C. Crawford's company, raised for the protection of Galveston island during the threatened invasion by the Mexicans, from 1846 to 1848, and he was twice a member of the City Council, being once acting Mayor.

WHiile attending the Centennial Exposition at Philadelphia, with his family, Mr. Davie lost his wife, her death occurring in that city July 17, 1876. On June 2, 1879, he married Miss Maggie P. Boyd, of Galveston, who, with two daughters by his former marriage, Mrs. Margaret Griffin and Mrs. Agnes Griffin, survives him. A son and daughter by his first wife and a daughter by the last died young.

Galveston never had many men of more persevering industry, more strict integrity or more resolute goodness of heart, than John P. Davie. Although he sustained three disastrous fires, each occurring without a dollar's worth of insurance, ha died leaving an estate valued at from $1 50,000 to $200, 000. After making reasonable provision out of this for his family and descendants to the second generation, he left bequests to the secomd generation, he left bequests to the Presbyterian Church of Galveston, of which he was a member; to the Protestant Orphans' Home; to the Catholic Orphans' Home; and to the struggling poor of the city. The provision of his will creating a trust fund for the poor is a peculiar one, but strongly indicative of the practical side of his nature. The fund is bequeathed ' 'in trust to the city of Galveston, to be held and loaned by said city to such needy and worthy citizens in small amounts, no sinfjle loan to exceed $1,000, until the orginal fund shall have trebled itself, and upon good security at not more than tive per cent, per annum interest, as the Mayor and Board of Aldermen of said cit\- shall deem worthy and sufficient, gi\'ing preference to young mechanichs." Coming to Texas so early Mr. Davis endured many hardships, sustained some losses and met with not a few thrillingexperiences, the most notable of the last named probably being what befell him on the occasion of the explosion of the steamer ''Farmer," on which he was a passenger and one of the few survivcjrs.

- HE NOBLE FAMILY. - More than a century ago three brothers of the name of Noble came from England, and settled in \'irginia. One of these had a son, named Stephen, who after marriage moved to Georgia, and subsequently to the Mississippi country, settling on Pearl river near the present town of Gallatin. He was a pioneer in that region, a man of means, an Indian fighter, one of those stalwart, sturdy characters, to whom ci\ili/ati<)n on tliis continent is so greatly indebted. He was twice married and the father nf a large family of children, five of whom, three sons, - Edward P., Stephen F. and Abram W., - and two daughters, - Bitha and Asenith (Tillman), - became early settlers of Texas and have many descendants now living in this State.

Stephen F., the first of the number to Texas, came out in 1.S36, being then on a tour of investigation. After looking over the country he decided to locate, and, trading his horse for a league of land, he returned to Mississippi for his family, which he brought out in the fall of the following year and settled near Nacogdoches. He resided in Nacogdoches county until 1 842, when he moved to Chocolate bayou in Brazoria count}', and thence in December of the same year to Houston, reaching this place on Christmas day. Thus, though not one of the first, he was one of the early settlers of this city, and the forty remaining years of his life which he spent here entitles him to a fair share of space in this work.