A history of Texas and Texans, Part 121

Author: Johnson, Francis White, 1799-1884; Barker, Eugene Campbell, 1874-1956, ed; Winkler, Ernest William, 1875-1960
Publication date: 1914
Publisher: Chicago, American Historical Society
Number of Pages: 906

USA > Texas > A history of Texas and Texans > Part 121

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Mr. Webster was a well known and progressive citi- zen, popular with business men and the traveling fra- ternity, public spirited and a stanch Democrat, often urged to enter the field as a candidate but always refused.

As a Mason, he was a member of Tannehill Lodge, No. 52, A. F. & A. M .; Dallas Chapter, No. 47, Royal Arch Masons; Past Eminent Commander of Dallas Commandery, No. 6, Knights Templar; at the time of his death was High Priest and Prophet of Hella Tem- ple, A. A. O. N. M. S., which office he had held for about twenty years.

To Mr. and Mrs. Webster were born six children, three sons and three daughters. Two of the sons are living, both married and have children. They are: Daniel G., employed in the general offices of the Texas & Pacific Railway Company, and John L., a teller in the American Exchange National Bank. Edward Thomas, the third son, died in Waco, Texas, September 9, 1910, at the age of twenty-six years, having been married only three months. He was well known in insurance circles. The daughters are Fannie, Helen and Mary Esther and live with their mother at 1916 South Harwood street, Dallas, Texas.

An extract from the resolutions on the death of Mr.

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Webster from Tannehill Lodge, No. 52, A. F. & A. M., will show the respect and .esteem in which he was held:

"None knew him but to love him. He always met his associates, no matter what the circumstances or con- ditions were, with a smile and a hearty handshake. He was a man broad and liberal in his ideas and without a selfish motive in his nature. He was without an enemy and was ever ready with his purse and council to assist and encourage those in need or in distress. In short, he measured up to the full standard of a man."

CLARENCE SMITH. Postmaster at Hereford, Clarence Smith has been a resident of this city since 1905, and was appointed to his present office towards the close of Roosevelt's administration. He is one of the progressive and public-spirited citizens of Deaf Smith county, and his individual influence goes to support every movement and enterprise which may secure the greater welfare of this section of Texas.

Mr. Smith is a Missourian by birth, having been born in Mercer county, that state, November 22, 1864. His father was William Smith, a native of Putnam county, Indiana, whence he moved to Missouri in the spring of 1864. Grandfather Joseph Smith settled in Mercer county in 1854. The father was a farmer who enjoyed moderate success and prosperity and is now living in Dimmit, Castro county, Texas, still active at the age of seventy-three years. He still has a farm and is engaged in stock raising. He came to Texas in 1899. He is a Republican in politics and a member of the Christian church. The maiden name of the mother was Martha Jane Gardner, who was also born in Putnam county, Indiana, and died in 1897 in Mercer county, Missouri, when fifty-six years of age. The seven chil- dren are all living, Clarence Smith being the oldest.

As a boy he attended the public schools of his native county and until twenty-one years of age lived on the home farm. When he started out for himself, the first five years were spent in farming, after which he got into the milling business in Mercer county, and has been a miller or identified with that industry in some capacity for thirty-five years.

On January 31, 1905, Mr. Smith located at Hereford, and the first two and a half years were spent in the service of the Santa Fe Railroad Company. In July, 1907, he was appointed postmaster at Hereford, and has administered the office to the benefit of its patrons and local business for the past six years. Mr. Smith is one of the active Republicans of the Panhandle. He is affiliated with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and the Yeomen, and is a member of the Methodist Church South. In Mercer county, Missouri, November 6, 1886, he married Miss Minnie Crew, a native of Penn- sylvania, and a daughter of Jacob Crew. Their three children are: Leslie E., born in Mercer county; William J., born in Mercer county; and Ralph, also a native of the same county.

DAVID L. McDONALD. The sight of four hundred wind mills in and about the town of Hereford, each one pumping water for domestic uses, led D. L. MeDonald, about six years ago, to the conviction that what could be done on a small scale, such as a forty-foot garden patch, could be applied to a quarter section of land. The only requirement was to increase the power of the wind-driven machinery by several hundred times, and this could easily be done by installing large fuel con- suming engines, and centrifugal pumps. Mr. McDonald saw all these facts during a temporary residence at Hereford and other parts of Texas, and in 1910 re- turned to put this plan in operation and has the dis- tinction of having installed the first successful irrigat- ing plant in the Texas Panhandle.

Mr. McDonald had his first well sunk on some land he owned two miles south of Hereford, and put in a centrifugal pump with a capacity of one thousand gal-

lons of water per minute. All of Deaf Smith county, as well as a great portion of the entire Panhandle re- gion, is underlaid, as those who have even a cursory knowledge of geological formations in northwest Texas understaud, with what appears to be an inexhaustible supply of water bearing sand, and though hundreds of wells have been sunk since Mr. McDonald's initial enterprise in the vicinity of Hereford, many of which pump as much as eighteen hundred gallons per minute, this subterranean water supply has never been dimin- ished or shown the slightest sign of failing. A result of all this is that hundreds of irrigated farms have now taken the place of the old drought-stricken area which was formerly subject to the inconstant seasons and ir- regular supply of natural rain falls. It is an interest- ing fact that Mr. McDonald's enterprise was first put into successful operation during a year which was con- sidered one of the dryest and hottest in recent Texas history, and since the pumping plant went night and day with no diminution of water, is conclusive evidence that this sub-surface method of irrigation will prove permanently successful.

Mr. McDonald as the pioneer developer of irrigation farming in Deaf Smith county and the Panhandle has spent two or three very busy years in development work and promoting the success of his irrigation plans to the farming region about Hereford. He is a member of the Edwards-McDonald Company, composed of himself and Mr. Ed. B. Edwards. Mr. Edwards is president of the First State Bank & Trust Company of Hereford, and is a banker of wide experience and well known for his conservative judgment and action. This company controls large amounts of land about Hereford, and is installing as rapidly as possible irrigating plauts on every farm subdivision, these plants being constructed under the personal supervision of Mr. McDonald. The company guarantees results, every contract of sale hav- ing a clause which guarantees delivery of enough water to irrigate every acre of the soil, otherwise the purchaser need not pay. The firm is interested in banking, farm- ing, real estate and general development work and has done much to build up a community of homes in the rich and productive country about Hereford.

David L. MeDonald, who started out in life with no resources to speak of, and made his way by relying upon his resourcefulness and ability to encounter every propo- sition as it came up, was born in Franklin county, Pennsylvania, at the town of Concord, November 26, 1872. His father, David L. McDonald, was born in Pennsylvania, and was a physician and surgeon by pro- fession. He also served in the Civil war as a member of Company I of the Forty-Ninth Pennsylvania Infantry. His death occurred in Pennsylvania in 1900 at the age of sixty-seven. The mother was Margaret Robertson, born in Pennsylvania, and now a resident of Philadel- phia. There were five children, of whom David L. was the oldest.

He received a public school education at Greencastle up to the time he was seventeen and on leaving school learned the business of pharmacist, and for ten years was engaged in the drug trade. As already stated, he first came to Texas some six or seven years ago, and in May, 1910, located permanently at Hereford, where he has since been in the real estate and irrigation de- velopment business. Since the beginning he has placed water on more than five thousand acres of land, all within a few miles of Hereford, and in time he plans to irrigate two hundred thousand acres. He owns a thousand acres of farming land of his own, and pro- duces mixed crops every season.

He is a Democrat in politics, and is a member of the Lutheran church. On December 12, 1900, at Van Wert, Ohio, he married Miss Anna K. Rupright, who was born in Ohio, a daughter of John Rupright. Three children have been born to their marriage, namely: Mary, David and John, all of whom were born in Ohio.

Pattillo Higgins

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ANDREW JACKSON LIPSCOMB. Cashier of the Western National Bank at Hereford, Mr. Lipscomb has been identified with this section of the Panhandle for a num- ber of years as a rancher and as a cattle raiser in Deaf Smith county, and more recently has taken an active part in financial and business affairs at Hereford.

Andrew Jackson Lipscomb was born in Wood county, Texas, March 29, 1866, and the family was among the pioneers of that county. His paternal ancestors came from England and settled in the colony prior to the Revolutionary war and one or more members of the family served with the Virginia troops in that and other early wars of the nation. The maternal ancestors were of Irish stock, and among the early settlers of Georgia.

David Thomas Lipscomb, father of the Hereford banker, was born in Georgia, and came to Texas with his wife and two sons in 1847, locating in Wood county. He was a prominent farmer and stock raiser in the early days and built up through honest labor and good management an estate which was one of the largest in that section. It is said that he cleared more land than any other resident of Wood county, having opened and put in cultivation fifteen hundred acres. Before the war he operated this plantation with the aid of a large number of slaves and more cotton, grain and stock was produced on his farm than by any other in- dividual in the county. During the Civil war he' en- listed under Captain Dick Hubbard, and spent three years in the service, being flag-bearer during the last two years. His death occurred January 1, 1904, at the age of seventy-six. He was a Democrat in politics and very active in civic affairs. His church was the Bap- tist. He married Mary Garrett, who was born in Geor- gia, and they were married in that state in 1856. In crossing the country to Texas they drove teams of oxen and horses, making the trip in true pioneer fashion. The mother is now living at the good old age of seventy-nine, hale and hearty, her home being at the old place in Wood connty. Four sons and four daughters blessed their union and four sons and one daughter are still liv- ing. Andrew J. was one of twin brothers, the other being Charles Day.

He received his early education in the schools of Wood county and supplemented that training with a course in the National Normal University of Lebanon, Ohio, and also one year in college in Hunt county, Texas. His early life, aside from his schooling, was spent on a farm, and at the age of twenty-one he began teaching, following that vocation in Wood county for three years. During one year of this time he was president of the Board of Examiners. In March, 1890, Mr. Lipscomb came out to the Panhandle country, at a time when settlement was very sparse and no development had oc- curred, except in the ranching and stock raising busi- ness. He located in Deaf Smith county, where he acquired a large range for his cattle, and operated as a stockman on a large scale. He at one time had eight sections of land in his pastures, and ran about five hundred head of stock. After some years he sold ont his stock interests and ranch and moved into Hereford, since which time he has been one of the most active factors in business and banking. He was one of the organizers of the First National Bank, of which he was a stock holder and director. He also established a coal, grain and lumber business, remaining in the latter branch of trade for two years. After that he invested and took considerable part in the management of the Hereford Mercantile Company, and was with that busi- ness nntil 1908. His interests then became allied with the Western National Bank, and a year later he was made cashier of this bank, an office which he has held to the present time, and he is practical manager of the institution, which is one of the strongest in the Pan- handle.

Although he has never filled an office and sought no

publie distinction, Mr. Lipscomb is one of the active workers in the Democratic ranks in his home district. He is affiliated with the Masonic Order, including the Royal Arch Chapter and also with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, the Woodmen of the World and the Knights of Pythias. He is an elder and treas- urer of the First Presbyterian church of Hereford.

Mr. Lipscomb was first married in Wood county to Miss Allie B. Greer, who was born in Texas, a daugh- ter of Walter Greer, who during his youth had been a companion and close friend of Mr. Lipscomb's father, and who also served in the Civil war. Walter Greer took up his residence in Texas and died soon after the war. Mrs. Lipscomb passed away August 18, 1897, in Deaf Smith county, while living on a ranch about five miles northwest of Hereford. The three sons of their marriage were: Walter David, who died at the age of two years; James R., born in Wood county; and William Andrew, also a native of Wood county. The second marriage of Mr. Lipscomb occurred July 17, 1907, to Miss Alma Carloek, who was born in Missouri, a daughter of E. W. Carlock.

HAYMON KRUPP. A business career of unusual suc- cess and achievements has been that of Haymon Krupp, now proprietor of an extensive wholesale merchandise business in El Paso. When little more than a boy and with only two years' experience in an American store, Mr. Krupp came to El Paso in 1890 and six months after his arrival had established a retail store. He was a business builder from the start, acquired a first class trade, and in a short time had two establishments in prosperous operation. With the expansion of the busi- ness in 1910 he finally turned his attention to exclusive wholesale lines, and now handles a complete line of men's goods, clothing, hats, shoes, notions, and has a trade extending to retail stores throughout west Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, and old Mexico.

Haymon Krupp was born in Russia March 14, 1875, the youngest of fourteen children born to Abraham and Maleho Krupp. Of the large family of children, five are now living in the United States, and three in Europe. Mr. Krupp attained his early education in the public schools of Russia, and at the age of fifteen crossed the Atlantic to New York City, where he re- mained for two years, and clerked in a mercantile house in that city. At the conclusion of that experience he came to El Paso where he has been a resident ever since.

In New York City, April 11, 1899, Mr. Krupp mar- ried Miss Leah Silverman, daughter of S. Silverman of New York City. Their three children are Birdie, Bern- hard and Paula. Mr. Krupp is affiliated with Masonry from the Blue Lodge to the thirty-second degree of Scottish Rite, including the Mystic Shrine, is also a member of the Elks, the Knights of Pythias, the Knights of Maccabees, and other social and fraternal organizations. He is independent in politics, takes an active interest in civic affairs, and it is his belief that every man owes a duty to his country to the extent of casting a well reasoned vote. He has several times refused official honors. Mr. Krupp says that he is well acquainted by travel and observation with many cities and states, but to his mind Texas fills more desires and needs of the average man, and in a more satis- factory manner than any other state in the Union. He is an enthusiastic advocate of the splendid resources, the territorial extent and the high class citizenship to be found in the Lone Star State. He is a successful man, and with his success has also combined a disposi- tion to give liberally to all enterprises for the public good.

PATTILLO HIGGINS. It will hardly be disputed that no industry in recent years has wrought so munificently in the best interests of the great state of Texas along lines

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of development as has the oil industry of the different proven oil fields of the state. Developments in such fields as have thus far been exploited successfully have brought millions of dollars into the state, created a multitude of new industries and attracted the attention of the world at large to this hitherto scarce known portion of the country. When new industries are brought into being, among those men who gain prom- inence and fortune in the enterprise one man will usu- ally be found who, by reason of the nature of bis activi- ties and of his relation to the enterprise, will inevitably stand forth as the human ageney most responsible for the success of the project. It is here that Pattillo Higgins enters as the original locator and discoverer of the great Beaumont oil field, the development of which soon led to the exploiting of other petroleum fields in the state, and he stands today as the accredited pioneer in the industry and as one whose word is indisputable authority when the merits and demerits of any partic- ular suspected oil field is up for consideration.

Mr. Higgins might well be termed the Wizard of the Wells, for he has, according to all accredited reports, never yet failed in his prognostication concerning the success or failure of any projected oil enterprise where- on his opinion has been given, despite the unhappy fact that his endeavors to open the Beaumont field was for years retarded by the opinions of geological experts who brought to bear their scientific knowledge in con- tradiction to the less accredited but more accurate knowledge of a student of signs in Nature. For Mr. Higgins for years devoted his time to the study of surface conditions of the Beaumont field and when he attempted to open the field be knew to a certainty what would be found as a result of his work.

In a most interesting and altogether comprehensive little brochure published under the title, "History of Oil in the Gulf Coast Country of Texas and Louisiana," Mr. Higgins has stated facts that are incontrovertible in the light of the miraculous developments in oil in recent years. He may with all propriety be quoted briefly from this little booklet, and the following sentences are offered as giving some light upon the methods and ideas of the man in his capacity as devel- oper and exploiter. He says in part: "With me the oil business has been second nature by reason of my close association with it for many years, or since the opening of the Great Gusher pool at Beaumont. For that reason I feel competent to advance any theory I may have relative to the location of oil pools in unde- veloped sections. I began at the bottom, picking up stray indications of nature here and there, and having seen them demonstrated time and again, I believe I am in a position to know, and that is the reason why I have the bardibood to submit to the public this history of oil development in the Gulf Coast Country.

"I have been one of the closest observers of this development. In fact, I have always been with the ad- vance guard of pioneers and I know that no element of chance need enter into the development of the future great oil fields.

"This story of the oil discoveries is not intended to show the statistical side of the production, but is in- tended to prove that every field brought in or every condition encountered in past years only went to sub- stantiate my theory-the theory that bas since become a science that there are surface indications of all great pools of oil. This I have contended for years. The theories I have advanced have not been received with open arms and I have been forced to prove them at my own expense, but they have been proved, nevertheless. I have surmounted every obstacle and made it patent to men who know something of the oil business that there is a real, true science in locating oil fields. My record in the greatest fields in the Gulf Coast Country is incontrovertible evidence in support of my theories as to surface indications."

And indeed, Mr. Higgins' record has been one of which he may well be proud. For the movements be has set in in the development of the Gulf Coast Oil Coun- try of Texas and Louisiana have been productive of enormous wealth and revived all classes of industry in the entire southwest. Prior to the discovery of oil in the Gulf Coast Country practically all manner of business was at a standstill. The discoveries attendant upon Mr. Higgins' activities have so advertised this section that millions of dollars have poured into the state for investment in all spheres of legitimate business activity. Many of these millions have been spent in the excellent work of building, equipping and standardizing rail- roads, as well as in erecting for them suitable and nec- essary depots, stations, office buildings and shops. New banks and trust companies have entered the field, well organized and with splendid backing, and those already existing have so far increased their capitalization as to permit them to keep pace with the tremendous financial progress of the day. Building and construction com- panies of every order have made rapid strides forward and the many substantial skyscrapers of both Houston and Beaumont bear eloquent testimony to the profits made in oil in the past ten years. All classes of lands have increased in value as the various oil fields have been developed and agriculture has received such an impetus as was never before known in this section.

The coming of oil brought in the day of the million dollar concern in Texas, where prior to that time the company that had a capital of a hundred thousand dollars was indeed a rarity. Millions have been ex- pended in the oil fields in the building of oil refineries and pipe lines and the capital of even the smaller oil companies will aggregate millions. Enormous eivie im- provements, county roads and immense drainage projects that have been successfully consummated in recent years may all be attributed directly to the advancement and activity subsequent to the development of the oil fields of Texas. And it is the belief and opinion of such men as Pattillo Higgins that the industry in this state is yet in its infaney.

In his booklet, "The History of Oil," Mr. Higgins sets forth his reasons for carrying bis investigations into any specified field in search of oil. He claims that there are ever existant on the surface of any productive field four infallible signs that will warrant any expend- iture in the opening up of that field, for the results will be sure and unfailing. He claims that these signs have been present in every Texas oil field thus far, and that he has detected them in many tracts of land as yet un- suspected, but destined to yield up their wealth when the time comes. The presence of these infallible signs induced his untiring efforts to open up the Beaumont fields, with what results the whole world is today more or less cognizant.

It was on August 24, 1892, that Mr. Higgins definitely engaged in the oil business, though he had devoted much of his time to the study of conditions in the Beaumont field before he made any open move along lines of development. At that time he organized the Gladys City Oil, Gas and Manufacturing Company at Beau- mont, under the laws of the state, with an authorized capital stock of $200,000. This was the first oil com- pany incorporated in the state of Texas-a fact worthy of mention in the light of subsequent developments. It was the intention of Mr. Higgins to interest a goodly number of responsible Beaumont men in the enterprise in order to raise ample funds for the purpose of puchas- ing desirable lands and making needed improvements. He met with the usual disappointment of the man who, without capital of his own, endeavors to enlist the sym- patbies of men of means in an enterprise that has not yet been proven, and the result was that only a com- parative few of those solicited could be induced to come in with him. It is significant of the lack of doubt that was in Mr. Higgins' mind as to the ultimate success of

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the enterprise that he was in no wise discouraged at the lack of enthusiasm he met, but weut ahead with the work with the means he was able to command. Much of the failure he experienced in gaining the ear of the investing publie resulted from the interference of the State Geological Department, who on hearing of the enterprise sent one of its experts to investigate the field. His report was distinctly adverse and newspaper articles over his signature did not tend to stimulate faith in Mr. Higgins and his work. The first well contractor he secured threw up the work after failure to encounter oil at three hundred feet, but Mr. Higgins finally succeeded in making a contract with Captain A. F. Lucas to enter the field, and the work was begun in genuine earnest in 1900, and on January 10, 1901, the first of the Texas oil gushers, later kuown as the Lucas well, was brought in.

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A history of Texas and Texans, Part 121

Author: Johnson, Francis White, 1799-1884; Barker, Eugene Campbell, 1874-1956, ed; Winkler, Ernest William, 1875-1960 Publication date: 1914 Publisher: Chicago, American Historical Society Number of Pages: 906

Author: Johnson, Francis White, 1799-1884; Barker, Eugene Campbell, 1874-1956, ed; Winkler, Ernest William, 1875-1960
Publication date: 1914
Publisher: Chicago, American Historical Society
Number of Pages: 906