A Twentieth century history of southwest Texas, Volume II, Part 17

Author: Lewis Publishing Company
Publication date: 1907
Publisher: Chicago : Lewis Pub. Co.
Number of Pages: 704


USA > Texas > A Twentieth century history of southwest Texas, Volume II > Part 17


Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).


Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47 | Part 48 | Part 49 | Part 50 | Part 51 | Part 52 | Part 53 | Part 54 | Part 55 | Part 56 | Part 57 | Part 58 | Part 59 | Part 60 | Part 61 | Part 62 | Part 63 | Part 64 | Part 65 | Part 66 | Part 67 | Part 68 | Part 69 | Part 70 | Part 71


P. FLOYD. One of the largest land and mine owners living in Laredo, and a man who is an acknowledged authority on Mexican lands and mines, is Mr. P. Floyd, who has spent all of his life in the border country between Texas and Mexico, and who has prospected widely through various portions of the last named country.


Mr. Floyd was born at Roma, Starr county, on the Rio Grande, Texas, in 1853, his parents being H. H. Floyd and Ynocensia (Salas) Floyd. His father was born in Columbus, Ohio, being of Welsh parent- age, and in 1847 he was a soldier in the United States army that was invading Mexico during the Mexican war. After the close of this war he located on the Rio Grande, in Starr county, living part of the time, however, in Mexico in Cameron county. He was married to Ynocensia Salas, who was a native of Mexico. Our subject's early life was spent directly upon the Texas-Mexican border, that romantic region which has had such a varied and thrilling history. At his home at Roma, on the Rio Grande, he carried on small farming operations, but later engaged in the mercantile line, spending some years at Corpus Christi as clerk in a store. There he lived until 1875 when he came to Laredo and at first entered into partnership with J. Villegas & Brother under the firm name of Villegas Bro. & Co. In 1877 he severed his relations with this firm and engaged in business for himself, establishing the firm of P. Floyd & Company, general merchants. The enterprise was a successful one from the start and a very large volume of business was done. This business was continued until 1887, when Mr. Floyd disposed of his in- terests therein.


Since then he has been engaged in land and mining ventures in both Texas and Mexico, principally in the latter country. On the Texas side he has in Webb county, a few miles below Laredo, on the river, a fine farm of 4,000 acres, the same having a modern and first-class irrigation plant. Here general truck farming is carried on and the productive- ness of the place is noted in this vicinity. In the Republic of Mexico Mr. Floyd has very extensive interests in lands, mines and various other busi- ness enterprises. In the state of Coahuila he owns a tract of about 60,000 acres of land, some of which is farming, grazing and timber lands, while about 30,000 acres of the same is guayule land, on which grows the guayule plant, a very valuable species of vegetation which is now ex- tensively used in the manufacture of commercial rubber. Although this use of the plant is comparatively recent, nevertheless it is growing fast and today there are in Mexico six factories where the guayule plant is utilized in rubber making. He also has other lands and mining interests


120


HISTORY OF SOUTHWEST TEXAS


in the states of Durango and Nueva Leon. He is vice-president and a director in the Durango Milling and Mining Company, which owns valua- ble gold, silver and copper mines in Northern Durango, in the vicinity of Tamazula district. In this company he is associated with some well known business men and capitalists of Laredo, and Mr. Floyd's great knowledge of the natural resources of Mexico has been of great value to the company.


Mr. Floyd's business interests are very large and his time has been quite fully occupied therewith, but at the same time he has given some attention to political matters and to the local government. Always a regular and consistent Democrat, he served the city of Laredo for four years as alderman, and he is also a member of the Democratic executive committee of Webb county.


It will thus be seen that Mr. Floyd has been an important factor in the commercial and business life of Laredo and that he has also done much in developing the natural resources of his state as well as of the neighboring Republic of Mexico. His operations have not only brought him wealth, but have also been of great benefit to the residents of the sections where his enterprises are located.


His wife is Guadaloupe (Marulanda) Floyd and they have three children, A. M. Floyd, P. M. Floyd and Hortensia Floyd.


EUSEBIO GARCIA is a representative of the live-stock interests of Webb county and makes his home at Laredo. He was born at Guerrero, Mexico, in 1859, and is a brother of Jose Maria Garcia, who is repre- sented elsewhere in this volume. They are the sons of Jesus Garcia, who was a well known stockman and merchant and died in 1903.


Mr. Garcia came to Laredo to enter business about 1888 and has been prominently identified with the interests of the town since that time both as a merchant and a stockman. For a long period he success- fully conducted a store on Iturbide street but in 1903 disposed of his mercantile interests. He now devotes most of his time to the manage- ment of his large stock ranch at Ojuelos in the vicinity of Torrecillas, about forty miles east of Laredo in Webb county. At the ranch head- quarters a store is conducted. Tom Coleman, the well known San An- tonio stockman, is associated with Mr. Garcia in some of his cattle and mercantile interests. In all that he has undertaken Mr. Garcia has mani- fested a spirit of keen discernment and enterprise and has become one of the wealthy men of Webb county owing to his capable management and unfaltering diligence. He has in addition to his ranching interests become a stockholder in the Laredo National Bank and that he is active in community affairs is shown by the fact that he at one time served as county commissioner.


Mr. Garcia was married to Miss Josefa Guerra, and they have six children : Hermelinda, Amador E., Amalia, Josefa, Francisca and Ofelia.


HIRAM S. GOODWIN, who has been closely associated with railroad building in the west and is also well known as a rancher, makes his home at Laredo, Texas. His place of residence, however, is far from the place of his nativity, for he was born at Sewell's Falls, near Concord, New Hampshire, in 1842. His parents were Reuben and Judith (Bur- pee) Goodwin, both of whom are now deceased. The father and paternal


.


12I


HISTORY OF SOUTHWEST TEXAS


grandfather were born on the same farm where Hiram S. Goodwin was born and which had been opened up by the great-grandfather. Reuben Goodwin was one of the selectmen of the town of Concord at the time it was incorporated as a city. Various representatives of the family have attained prominence, including Ichabod Goodwin, who was governor of New Hampshire from 1859 until 1861.


Hiram S. Goodwin was reared on a farm and was educated in his native town. At the outbreak of the Civil war in 1861 he enlisted, when a youth of nineteen, in Goodwin's Rifles (named for his uncle), which became organized into the regular service as Company B of the Second New Hampshire Infantry. He was in the army for three years, being mustered out in June, 1864. He participated in the first and second bat- tles of Bull Run and in the battles of the Peninsular campaign, his service being mostly in Virginia, although he participated in the hotly contested engagement of Gettysburg and was also to some extent on duty in Mary- land. He went through all the fighting at Fair Oaks and the seven days' retreat, the battle of Williamsburg and the engagement at Freder- icksburg. He was a brave and loyal soldier and on the expiration of his term of service returned home with a creditable military record.


On the Ist of April, 1865, Mr. Goodwin entered upon active connec- tion with railroad interests and has since followed that line of business. His first service was on the old Northern New Hampshire road extend- ing from Concord to White River Junction. In 1867 he came west and engaged in the, construction work of the Union Pacific Railroad as far west as Rawlings, Wyoming. The difficulties and hardships connected with the construction of this great pioneer line to the Pacific coast forms a most interesting epoch in the history of the west and furnishes some of its most romantic features. On leaving the employ of the Union Pacific Company he went to Denver, where he became superintendent of bridges and buildings and of the water service in the construction of the Kansas Pacific Railway into Denver. He also became connected with the maintenance of way departments and in the construction of other roads in Colorado, principally the Colorado Central, the. Denver Pacific and the Denver & New Orleans, of which latter road he was superintendent of construction. For ten years he was with the Denver & New Orleans as one of its most capable and trusted representatives.


In 1892 Mr. Goodwin located at Laredo, where he has since made his home. He is now in the train service as passenger conductor on the Mexican National road running between Laredo and Saltillo, Mexico. It is a somewhat unusual fact that during the long number of years of his service with this company there has never been a word uttered against his record, which is unblemished in every respect. He has been efficient and faithful and has brought keen discernment and practical common sense to the discharge of his duties. He has also extended his efforts into the ranching interests of the southwest and owns a valuable farm on the Rio Grande adjoining the city of Laredo. It is irrigated from the river. Up to this time his principal crop has been the Bermuda onion, which has been raised so successfully and profitably in this section.


Mr. Goodwin was married in Denver to Miss Jane Tallman, a native of New York, and they have two children, Tom and Susie. In Laredo


122


HISTORY OF SOUTHWEST TEXAS


the family are well known and enjoy the friendship of many of the best residents of the city. Mr. Goodwin has always been loyal in citizenship and trustworthy in all life's relations and has manifested many good qualities which have made him popular with all with whom he has come in contact.


SANTOS P. ORTIZ, a stockman and ranchman of Laredo, his native city, was born in 1864, his parents being Juan and Maria de Jesus (Farias) Ortiz. His father was for many years a wealthy and influential mer- chant and citizen of Laredo and was also a native of that place. One of his sons is L. R. Ortiz, who is sheriff of Webb county and is men- tioned elsewhere in this work.


Santos P. Ortiz was reared in this city and attended school, first as a student in a private school in Monterey, Mexico, and later in St. Mary's College in Galveston, while his course was completed at St. John's Col- lege in New York. He entered business life as an employe in his father's store, where he remained for seven or eight years, but abandoning the field of merchandising he turned his attention to the cattle and ranching business. He has a fine ranch of ten thousand acres in Webb county, thirty-two miles northwest of Laredo, and in addition to this has real estate interests in the town and valuable mining interests in Mexico. He has made his investments wisely and well and has profited thereby. In business life he displays keen discernment and unfaltering energy and whatever he undertakes carries forward to successful completion.


Mrs. Ortiz bore the maiden name of Beatrice Valdez, and there has been one child born of this marriage, Amelda A. Ortiz.


CHAPTER XXVIII.


SOUTHWEST TEXAS DURING THE LAST QUARTER CENTURY.


Southwest Texas, outside of San Antonio, is an empire in extent, resources and possibilities for the future. Larger in area than any of the states of the Union, it lay undeveloped by the enterprise of man, and was the home of the Indian and the renegade white until the seventies. The cattle business alone had a foothold, and that not secure.


The history of this region is written plainly in the statistical tables that follow. Here is a case where statistics become eloquent, and far more interesting than minute description. The population in 1870 shows clearly, in the majority of the counties, that settlement had progressed only a little way (for the state of development fifty years ago, see Chap- ter XIX). Also the assessment values tell much by way of comparison. In many of the counties the valuation of 1870 represented the live stock and ranching interests. Since then many new forms of wealth have en- tered-railroads, farms, permanent homes, agricultural implements, town properties, etc. In the older counties, those east of Bexar, the changes of thirty years are notable, although in 1870 much population and wealth were already concentrated in their area. The tables for the various counties follow :


BEXAR COUNTY.


Population in 1870


16,043


Population in 1880


30,470


Population in 1890


49,266


Population in 1900


69,422


Valuation in 1870


.$ 5,491,739


Valuation in 1881


10,462,522


Valuation in 1903 .


34,365,948


ATASCOSA COUNTY.


Population in 1870


2,915


Population in 1880


4,217


Population in 1890


6,459


Population in 1900 7,143


Valuation in 1881 $ 764,070


Valuation in 1903


2,678,929


BANDERA COUNTY.


Population in 1870


649


Population in 1880


2,158


Population in 1890


3,795


Population in 1900


5,332


123


124


HISTORY OF SOUTHWEST TEXAS


Valuation in 1870 $ 112,548


Valuation in 1881


521,561


Valuation in 1903


1,534,295


BEE COUNTY.


Population in 1870


1,082


Population in 1880


2,298


Population in 1890


3,720


Population in 1900


7,720


Valuation in 1870


$


420,033


Valuation in 188I


1,142,630


Valuation in 1903


3.933.733


CALDWELL COUNTY.


Population in 1870 6,572


Population in 1880


II,757


Population in 1890


15.769


Population in 1900


21,765


Valuation in 1870


$ 1,247,148


Valuation in 1881


2,211,904


Valuation in 1903


4,807,857


CALHOUN COUNTY.


Population in 1870


3,443


Population in 1880


1,739


Population in 1890


815


Population in 1900


2,395


Valuation in 1870


$ 1,473.726


Valuation in 1881


1,118,714


Valuation in 1903 .


1,848,213


Note-The remarkable decrease in population and valuation between 1870 and 1890 is accounted for by the floods that destroyed the city of Indianola.


COLORADO COUNTY.


Population in 1870


8,326


Population in 1880 16,673


Population in 1890


19,512


Population in 1900


22,203


Valuation in 1870


$ 1,868,103


Valuation in 1882


4,000,755


Valuation in 1903


6,226,587


COMAL COUNTY.


Population in 1870


5.283


Population in 1880 (75 per cent German)


5,546


Population in 1890


6.398


Population in 1900


7,008


Valuation in 1870


$ 1,270,100


Valuation in 1882


1,528,440


Valuation in 1903


2,770,45 I


125


HISTORY OF SOUTHWEST TEXAS


DEWITT COUNTY.


Population in 1870


6,443


Population in 1880


10,082


Population in 1890


14,307


Population in 1900


21,3II


Valuation in 1870


$ 1,270,392


Valuation in 1881


2,472,708


Valuation in 1903


6,812,870


DIMMIT COUNTY.


Population in 1870


109


Population in 1880


665


Population in 1890


1,049


Population in 1900


1,106


Valuation in 1881


$ 436,233


Valuation in 1903


1,727,616


DUVAL COUNTY.


Population in 1870


1,083


Population in 1880


5,732


Population in 1890


7,598


Population in 1900


8,483


Valuation in 1881


$ 1,504,604


Valuation in 1903


2,071,833


FAYETTE COUNTY.


Population in 1870


16,863


Population in 1880


27,996


Population in 1890


31,48I


Population in 1900


36,542


Valuation in 1870


$ 3,073,880


Valuation in 1881


5,810,466


Valuation in 1903


8,378,080


FRIO COUNTY.


Population in 1870


309


Population in 1880


2,113


Population in 1890


3,112


Population in 1900


4,200


Valuation in 1881


$ 637,223


Valuation in 1903


3,662,855


GOLIAD COUNTY.


Population in 1870


3,628


Population in 1880


5,832


Population in 1890


5,910


Population in 1900


8,310


Valuation in 1870


$ 786,786


Valuation in 1882


2,068,426


Valuation in 1903


3,825,324


126


HISTORY OF SOUTHWEST TEXAS


GONZALES COUNTY.


Population in 1870


8,951


Population in 1880


14,840


Population in 1890


18,016


Population in 1900


28,882


Valuation in 1870


$ 1,734.256


Valuation in 1881


3,016,964


Valuation in 1903


6,556,575


GUADALUPE COUNTY.


Population in 1870 7,282


Population in 1880


12,202


Population in 1890


15,217


Population in 1900


21.385


Valuation in 1870


$ 1,768,III


Valuation in 1881


2,810.38I


Valuation in 1903


5,700,599


JACKSON COUNTY.


Population in 1870


2,278


Population in 1880


2,723


Population in 1890


3,28I


Population in 1900


6,094


Valuation in 1870


$


797,969


Valuation in 1881


1,017,620


Valuation in 1903


3,230,410


KARNES COUNTY.


Population in 1870


1,705


Population in 1880


3,270


Population in 1890


3,637


Population in 1900


8,68I


Valuation in 1870


$ 528,092


Valuation in 1881


1,061,073


Valuation in 1903


3,740,623


KINNEY COUNTY.


Population in 1870


1,204


Population in 1880


4,487


Population in 1890


3,78I


Population in 1900


2,447


Valuation in 1881


$ 657,108


Valuation in 1903


1,873,755


LA SALLE COUNTY.


Population in 1870


69


Population in 1880 789


Population in 1890


2,139


Population in 1900


2.303


Valuation in 1881


$ 569,982


Valuation in 1903


2,201,708


127


HISTORY OF SOUTHWEST TEXAS


MAVERICK COUNTY.


Population in 1870


1,951


Population in 1880 2,967


Population in 1890


3,698


Population in 1900


4,066


Valuation in 1881


$ 655,25 I


Valuation in 1903


2,946,896


MCMULLEN COUNTY.


Population in 1870


230


Population in 1880


701


Population in 1890


1,038


Population in 1900


1,024


Valuation in 1881 $ 644,981


Valuation in 1903 .


1,220,227


MEDINA COUNTY.


Population in 1870


2,078


Population in 1880


4,492


Population in 1890


5,730


Population in 1900


7,783


Valuation in 1870


$ 574,286


Valuation in 1881


1,133,395


Valuation in 1903 .


3.591,164


STARR COUNTY.


Population in 1870


4,154


Population in 1880 (75 per cent Mexican)


8,304


Population in 1890


10,749


Population in 1900


11,469


Valuation in 1870


$ 655,366


Valuation in 1881


1, 149,653


Valuation in 1903


2,319,404


UVALDE COUNTY.


Population in 1870


851


Population in 1880


2,54I


Population in 1890


3,804


Population in 1900


4,647


Valuation in 1870


.$


431,785


Valuation in 1881


903,669


Valuation in 1903 .


3,257,510


VAL VERDE COUNTY.


Population in 1890


2,874


Population in 1900


5,263


Valuation in 1903


$ 3,988,230


Note-County was organized in 1885.


128


HISTORY OF SOUTHWEST TEXAS


WEBB COUNTY.


Population in 1870 2,615


Population in 1880


5,273


Population in 1890 14,842


Population in 1900 21,85I


Valuation in 1870


$ 418,616


Valuation in 1881


1,223,910


Valuation in 1903


4,615,153


WHARTON COUNTY.


Population in 1870


3,426


Population in 1880


4,549


Population in 1890


7,584


Population in 1900 16,942


Valuation in 1870


$ 348,763


Valuation in 1881


845,745


Valuation in 1903


6,176,550


WILSON COUNTY.


Population in 1870


2,556


Population in 1880


7,118


Population in 1890


10,655


Population in 1900 13,961


Valuation in 1870 $ 400,836


Valuation in 1881


1,246,347


Valuation in 1903 .


4,749,452


ZAVALA COUNTY (Organized in 1884).


Population in 1890


I,097


Population in 1900 792


Valuation in 1903 .


$ 1,805,654


Immigration and Settlement.


Says a writer in a recent issue of the Political Science Quarterly :


"Thanks to the efforts of various southern immigration agencies, more is known about the south. . .. It is now becoming known that the climate is better in the south than in the northwest; that lands are cheap and rents are low; that wherever a negro can work, white men can do the same; that work is deemed honorable; that those who do not like to live near negroes can find great stretches of country where there are only whites ; that cotton, rice and tobacco are not the only crops that can be raised; and that there are openings for all kinds of new indus- tries.


"This immigration is solicited and encouraged by various agencies in the south; by the state governments, by the railroads, by real estate agents, and by numerous immigration societies, boards of trade and in- dustrial associations ... . The 'colony' plan has also brought desirable immigrants to the south. Every few days the newspapers publish ac- counts of the location of colonies of farmers from the north or from abroad. Land companies in the middle west buy large tracts of land in the south and induce colonies to settle upon these purchases.


I29


HISTORY OF SOUTHWEST TEXAS


Railroads as a Factor.


"But the most potent factors in the immigration movement are the railroads. Each important railroad company has hundreds of thousands of acres of land for sale and wishes to see industries developed along its lines. Until within the last few years the north and south lines have not offered special rates to homeseekers except in colonies. Now, on the first and third Tuesdays in each month, special homeseekers' rates are offered on every railroad east of the Rocky mountains that runs into the south and southwest."


The railroad as the principal agent in inducing settlement and afford- ing the only commonly used avenue of immigration has been indicated as the keystone fact in the history of southwest Texas. Reagan Houston of San Antonio in a paper read before the Second District Bankers' con- vention, elaborated on this subject in its modern aspects. Mr. Houston said: "The subject naturally suggests a division of the question. The first proposition invites a demonstration of the value and necessity of further railroad building in our territory. Recent events have greatly changed our situation and emphasized the necessity of many miles of ad- ditional railroad for the development of this section. We are witnessing an evolution in Southwest Texas that is, perhaps, unparalleled in our past history. We observe on every hand and in every direction the sale and subdivision and cultivation as farms of the big ranches throughout South- west Texas. The chivalrous and picturesque cowboy that has long been our pride as well as our commercial profit, is being literally chopped out of existence by 'the man with the hoe.' As this evolution progresses we realize that we will require transportation facilities adequate for farming conditions, and it is needless to direct your attention to the inadequacy of transportation service for the new requirements that was ample for the old state of affairs.


"In the days of big ranches, which are now rapidly passing into his- tory, fifty miles between railway lines, or twenty-five miles from remote territory on range properties to railroad facilities, was entirely ample, and, in fact, that amount of territory tributary to a railway line was not suf- ficient to afford traffic to maintain the property. If our lands are as fer- tile as we believe they are, they will hereafter better support railway lines at twenty-mile distance's than formerly at fifty. I am informed, through observation of current events, that our lands sell to farmers at from $10 to $30 per acre, and that when you get beyond, say five miles, from a rail- road, the decline in selling value of the land is very sharp, so that we may reasonably take it that $10 land at a railroad is reduced to $8 land five miles away, and that $25 land on the railroad is reduced to $15. This, of course, is due to the advantages in transportation facilities enjoyed by the farmer in reasonable proximity to the railroad. Many illustrations might be given of why this difference represents an actual and intrinsic value variation. Many uses to which lands adjacent to a railroad might be applied would not profitably stand a long wagon haul. This increase in the actual value of the lands will more than pay for the first cost of the construction of railroads through all sections adapted to farming.


"For the purpose of a few figures that will illustrate the present Vol. II. 9


130


HISTORY OF SOUTHWEST TEXAS


situation in Southwest Texas, I take San Antonio as a center or start- ing point. Circling about this center, and treating the International & Great Northern to Austin as one radius, and the Aransas Pass from San Antonio to Beeville as another radius, you have, between these lines, 248 degrees. This territory is supplied with three railway lines, the Aransas Pass to Kerrville, the Sunset west to Del Rio, and the International south to Laredo. Of course, the converging of these lines at San Antonio af- fords ample and abundant facilities immediately adjacent to the city, and since, by operation of statute, we have repealed the natural commer- cial law of competition, one railroad in the direction traffic desires to move is as good as ten. In the diverging of the lines and the rapidly widening distances between them, we find some of our richest and most fertile lands so remote from transportation facilities that it is impractica- ble to utilize them for farming purposes.


"To illustrate the enormous territories not supplied by these roads, I take arbitrary points on each line at approximately the same distance from San Antonio. Between Austin on the International, and Kerrville on the Aransas Pass, the direct line distance is eighty-three miles, Kerr- ville to Sabinal on the Sunset, fifty-two miles; Sabinal to Dilley on the International, forty-two miles; and Dilley to Pettus on the Aransas Pass. eighty-two miles. To Southwest Texas business men it is unnecessary to bring statistical evidence of the wonderful fruitfulness of land in this territory, that is yet so far from railroad transportation facilities that its cultivation and proper use is impracticable. Our people will not remain content with this restriction on the richness and greatness of our country. Had any evidence been necessary to establish the fact that Southwest Texas needs more railroads, these suggestions would, perhaps, be ade- quate."




Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.