A history of Texas and Texans, Part 161

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 161

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).

His boyhood days were spent in Ellis county, and Benjamin F. Whitefield attended the public schools and later the high school in Midlothian. When eighteen he took a course in the Metropolitan Business College, and then in 1899 came out to Midland. The first year was spent in cattle raising and he then came into town and established a store known as the Midland Grocery & Dry Goods Company in 1900. After he had carried on a successful business at that location for ten years, a destructive fire occurred which destroyed his store and several other places of business in Midland, an entire block of the city being wiped out. Despite the heavy loss thus occasioned him Mr. Whitefield, almost before the ashes had cooled had organized the Midland Mercantile. Company, of which he was one of the principal stock- holders and general manager and treasurer. This com- pany built a fine new brick block with about fifteen thousand square feet of floor space, and in those quar-

2113

TEXAS AND TEXANS

ters installed the most complete stock of merchandise to be found anywhere between El Paso and Fort Worth. Fifteen employees are required to attend to the various branches of the business, and it is a very prosperous and growing concern. A successful man of business, Mr. Whitefield has always shown his readiness to enter into any co-operative undertaking for the advancement of Midland. Besides his mercantile interests he owns a large amount of land in Midland county, comprising an estate of six hundred acres of improved farm land in which he takes special pride. His beautiful home is one of the most attractive and comfortable in Midland. Mr. Whitefield is vice president of the Commercial Club, and is in every respect one of the most energetic boosters of this community. In polities he is a Democrat. In 1900, Mr. Whitefield married Miss Ada Earl Woleott, who was born in Texas, a daughter of Andrew J. and Ida ( Me- Cartney) Wolcott. The Wolcott family were among the pioneers of Ellis county, hecame especially prominent as stock raisers, and are now residents in Oak Cliff at Dal- las. The three children of Mr. and Mrs. Whitefield are Franklin Wolcott, Ina Beth and Eulalia. Each year Mr. Whitefield takes two vacations; one month in the . spring he devotes to fishing, and during another month of the year he visits his mother's home, and the latter vacation he never fails to take for any reason what- soever.

CHARLES ALFRED CLAPP. For many years one of the well known men in the public service at Dallas was the late Charles Alfred Clapp, whose death occurred in 1899. He came to Dallas as a building contractor, but was later for a long time connected with different depart- ments in the municipal service.

Charles Alfred Clapp was born in Montgomery, Ala- hama, in 1855, one of eight children born to Nelson and Harriet (Cowan) Clapp. His father was a contractor and rebuilt the capitol of Alabama, after it had been burned. Charles Alfred Clapp was the only one of the family who came to Texas. He married at the age of twenty, and then started out in life for himself, and soon afterwards came to Texas, where he became a con- tractor, a business which he had learned under his father. For ten years he was on the police force of Dallas, and then entered the fire department. During a fire while in the performance of his duty he was injured and was then transferred to the water department, with which he continued until his death. The late Mr. Clapp was never a politician, though an active supporter of the Democracy, and a good citizen in every time and place. His church was the Catholic and he was affiliated with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, and the Ancient Order of Workmen. His residence, where his widow now resides, is at 1911 Park avenue.

On February 17, 1874, Mr. Clapp married Miss Mary Hennement, who was born in Alabama, a daughter of Henry and Hannah (Holmes) Hennement. She was one of ten children, and the oldest in the family. Her father was a native of Germany, while her mother was born in Ireland. By occupation her father was a merchant. The three children of Mr. and Mrs. Clapp are: William H., connected with the railroad service in Louisiana, has three children, Morine, Eleanor, and James W .; Birdie is the wife of W. O. House, in the automobile business at Dallas, and has three children, Alma, Mary and Charles D .; Nellie, a business woman, resides at home with her mother.

LOUIS WORDLAW TITTLE. As finance commissioner of the Prison System of Texas, Louis Wordlaw Tittle has one of the most responsible positions in the state gov- ernment. He began his service in that capacity in Janu- ary, 1911. Mr. Tittle became a resident of Huntsville at that time, coming from Rusk, where he had just closed a term of eight years as county elerk of Cherokee county. He has long been active in political and business affairs,

and his family has been identified with Texas since the beginning of its statehood.

Louis W. Tittle was born at Alto, Texas, September 3, 1859, a son of James B. and Jane U. (Findlay) Tittle. James B. Tittle, who came to Texas in 1845, from Yazoo City, Mississippi, and became an early settler of Cherokee county, was born in Abbeville district of South Carolina, in which locality his wife was also horn. He acquired a good education and belonged to a family of planters and slave holders. The Tittles are of German origin and were among the early settlers in South Caro- lina. James B. Tittle had a brother, Louis, who died in Bastrop county, Texas, with a family; a sister, Mrs. Skinner, of Yazoo City, Mississippi; a brother Archie. who died in South Carolina. James B. Tittle taught school in Mississippi and in Texas, and in the war en- tered service with Hood's old Texas regiment and died on the battle field of Mansfield, Louisiana, in 1864. His wife was a daughter of John F. Findlay, a farmer, and after her husband's death she supported her family by teaching school. She died in 1872, and was the mother of two children: Sam Houston Tittle, of Mangum, Okla- lioma ; and Louis W.

Louis W. Tittle was educated by his mother, who at the same time was teaching other children in order to support herself and her two sons. After her death, Mr. Tittle went to work on a farm in the community of Alto. His has been a varied experience. On leaving the farm he went to Clay county in northwest Texas in 1876, spent two years as a cattleman, then in the employ of Mr. Hensley, a rancher, went to the Pease. River, and remained at the mouth of that stream about one year. Returning to Cherokee county, he married and took a posi- tion in a store in Alto for some months during the year 1580, after which he opened a stock of groceries for him- self and continued in business until 1902, when he sold out. In the meantime he had twice suffered the calam- ity of fire. but in the end retired from merchandising with enough property to represent a moderate success in the world.

On retiring from business, Mr. Tittle took an active part in practical polities, became candidate for the office of county clerk, and was elected, receiving the nomination in competition with three other men. He succeeded J. W. Chandler in the office, and by re-election three terms continued as an office holder until the close of 1910. Since his early years he has been active in Democratic state politics. His first state convention in which he sat as a delegate was in 1884, when Governor Ross received his nomination in Galveston. Since then only two or three conventions have been missed by him. He was a delegate at the famous ear-shed convention, in which he supported Mr. Hogg for governor, and in later years has always been a warm admirer and supporter of Sen- ator Bailey. It was from Governor Colquitt that he re- ceived his first appointment as penitentiary commissioner, and was reappointed in May, 1912. His first service was on the board with B. E. Cahbell and R. W. Brahan, and the new board comprises himself and W. O. Murray and S. J. Bass.

Mr. Tittle was married March 10, 1881, to Miss Vir- ginia Wood, whose father, John W. Wood, came from Tennessee and was a farmer at Alto. He married Eliza- beth Boyd. Mr. and Mrs. Tittle have the following children: Daisy, wife of W. H. Shook, of Rusk, and the mother of three children, Harold W., John L., and Vir- ginia ; Elizabeth, wife of F. M. Priest, of Rusk; Sallie L .; Myrtle M .; Lois D .; Pauline; and Janie Joyce. Mr. Tittle is a past master of his Masonie lodge. a past chancellor of the Knights of Pythias, belongs to the Knights of Honor, and has served as a delegate to its grand lodge several times, and is also affiliated with the Woodmen of the World. His mother was a devout Bap- tist, and his own family are of the same fatth.

2114

TEXAS AND TEXANS

HENRY ALLEN HOOKS. While Hardin county belongs in the great Texas pine belt, and its timber resources have been, until recent years, the prime factor in its wealth, it has also contained from the early days fami- lies of agricultural and stock-raising prominence, and one of the most representative of these bears the name just mentioned. Henry Allen Hooks represents the second generation in this part of Texas, and while successful as a farmer, has also extended his activities to circles other than the agricultural. He comes of a pioneer family, his parents having been identified with Hardin county from the time of its organization until their death, hav- ing settled there before the creation of Hardin county.

Henry Allen Hooks was born on his father's farm in Hardin county in 1868, a son of William and Martha (Collier) Hooks. The family history is given in more detail under the name Joseph L. Hooks, a brother of Henry Allen. The latter grew up on his father's farm, and since 1892 has maintained his home in Kuntze, the county seat. His business prosperity has been chiefly derived from his farming operations, in which he has been engaged since reaching manhood. His farm is very advantageously located, adjoining the town of Kuntze on the southwest. The place comprises six hun- dred forty-three acres, and though only a portion of it is now under cultivation Mr. Hooks is gradually extend- ing his fields, putting them in pecans, and when the heavy pine forests have been cleared off he will have a splendid pecan grove, since it has been discovered that the cut-over lands of southeast Texas are among the most productive in the entire state. His crops up to the present time have been chiefly cane, potatoes and corn, and some of the best varieties of pecans are now bearing in the grove.

Mr. Hooks has taken a prominent part in public affairs in both his home town and county, and has been hon- ored by election to various public offices, in all of which he has rendered worthy service to the people. For four years he was county tax assessor, from 1906 to 1910, and in the latter year was elected county commissioner. In 1912 he was re-elected for another term of two years, and is still one of the men upon whom devolves the re- sponsibilities of managing the county's fiscal affairs.

Mr. Hooks married Miss Esther Seale, who was born in Tyler county, and belongs to one of the pioneer families of east Texas. Their three children are: William Arden Hooks, Clara Allen and Esther Orlou Hooks.

FRANK CARR. One of El Paso's well known business men and popular citizens was called by death on July 28, 1911. Mr. Frank Carr had for upwards of twenty-seven years been a resident of this city, was at one time county jailer, and during most of his local business life was in the undertaking business. He was highly respected for his personal integrity and good citizenship, and had a large circle of friends. Mrs. Carr still resides in El Paso at their old home at 515 Prospect Avenue.

Mr. Frank Carr was born in the state of Ohio, in Brown county, in 1860, representing an old family of that state. His great-grandfather had come from Ire- land and had become one of the early settlers of Ohio, founding a family which is still numerously represented in the old state. Mr. Carr attained his education in the public schools of his native county, and spent his early life on a farm. His first business was that of cattle raising, in association with his brother Charles Carr in eastern Texas, his brother still being engaged in that occupation. In 1887, twenty-five years ago, when El Paso was still almost a frontier village, Mr. Carr located here and for several years was county jailer during the time when Mr. Hildebrand was sheriff of El Paso county. He then engaged in the undertaking business with J. E. Nagley, under the firm name of Nagley & Carr, subse- quently selling his interests to Mr. Nagley, and forming a partnership with MeBean and Simons, continuing in that association until his death.

Mr. Carr was a Republican in politics, having been brought up in the Republican state. He was fraternally affiliated with the Knights of Pythias, the Beavers, the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, and was especially popular in the local lodge of Elks. He was laid to rest in Evergreen Cemetery under the auspices of his brother Elks. He was reared in the Presbyterian church. Mr. Carr was married March 27, 1886, at Valentine, Texas, to Miss Nellie O'Connor of that place, a daughter of Patrick and Matilda O'Connor, who were farmers of Ireland, Mr. and Mrs. Carr had two children, namely : Harry, twenty-five years of age, and now engaged in the grocery business at Fort Stockton, Texas; and Mrs. Ella Sherman, wife of L. A. Sherman of El Paso.

ALBERT STEVES. In a commercial center like San Antonio successful business men are not rare. The city itself is a monument to business enterprise, and its ere- ators are those whose collective energies have concen- trated the huge volume of trade and industry at this one point. With a permanence which is proved hy nearly half a century of successful existence, and with a scope and volume of trade relations which make the name fa- miliar throughout the state, the firm of Ed Steves & Sons, wholesale and retail lumber dealers and manufac- turers, have probably contributed as much as any other single industry to the commercial prestige of the Alamo city. As it is a business of no ordinary importance, it is not merely a material achievement, but at its founda- tion will be found the rugged integrity and unfailing en- terprise of men. The members of three generations of the Steves family have contributed their resources and ability to the founding, maintenance and extension of this splendid Texas concern.

Edward, who was always known as Ed, Steves, the founder of the business at San Antonio, was born in 1829 at Barmen, Prussia, and came to Texas when a young man in 1848. He was one of the German col- onists of that period who located at New Braunfels, in Comal county, and his first work was as a farmer on the Guadalupe River above New Braunfels. Subsequently his farm and stock ranch were moved to Cypress Creek, in Kerr county, between the present towns of Comfort and Kerrville. Until some years after the Civil war, that district was one of the most exposed to Indian raids, and the Steves family in those years had their full share of frontier hardships, dangers of hostile red men, and the difficulties of pioneer life. In 1857 Ed Steves mar- ried Miss Johanna Kloepper, who was born in Hanover, Germany, and is still living in San Antonio. Their three sons, Ed Steves, Jr., Albert and Ernest, all of whom subsequently became closely identified with the lumber industry, were born on the Cypress Creek Ranch, in Kerr county. It should also be mentioned that Er- nest Gruene, an uncle of these sons, recently died (April 2, 1914,) at the age of ninety-five. He had long occu- pied his old homestead, a fine farm on the Guadalupe river a few miles above New Braunfels, in Comal county, and was a splendid type of the sturdy early German col- onists in southwest Texas. Mr. Gruene was born at Netze, Germany, and settled in Comal county in 1845, having spent nearly seventy years in that locality.

The late Ed Steves was a man of exceptional energy and enterprise, and a prominent figure both in the com- munity of Kerr county and of San Antonio, and his name is associated with other things than the lumber business. He had the distinction of introducing the first threshing machine into his part of the state. The machine was landed at the old port of Indianola early in 1861, only a short time before the Texas coast was blockaded by the Northern navy. For a number of years his threshing outfit was relied upon over a district cov- ering many square miles for all the threshing, and it did much to lighten the burdens of farm life during the war period. During the period of the war Ed Steves helped

trauk Dary

2115

TEXAS AND TEXANS

to guard the Texas frontier against Indian raids as a member of the Home Guards.

When Ed Steves came to San Antonio in 1866 he es- tablished a lumber yard at the corner of Blum and Bon- ham streets, at the rear of the Menger Hotel. It was subsequently moved to Alamo street, on the site now oe- cupied by Joske's department store. That was its loea- tion during the years when San Antonio was isolated from railway connection with the outer world. On the completion of the Southern Pacific lines to San Antonio in 1877, Mr. Steves moved his yards to the old Southern Pacific depot on Walnut street on a block of ground bounded by Hayes, Walnut, Lamar and Cherry streets. The completion of the International & Great Northern railway to San Antonio in the spring of 1880 caused Mr. Steves to establish his yard and business on the west side of the city, at the corner of Buena Vista and South Medina streets, near the depot, where it is still located.

The business as first established was for some years conducted under the name of Ed Steves. In the Suin- mer of 1877 Albert Steves and Ed Steves Jr., the two oldest sons, entered the employ of their father, and in the following year Ernest Steves, the other son, also joined the staff. When Ed Steves retired from the heavier re- sponsibilities of the business in 1882, the lumber yards were continued under the firm name of Ed Steves & Sons, its present title. Subsequently Ed Steves Jr. also retired, leaving Albert and Ernest Steves in the active management. In 1906 Ernest Steves was elected presi- dent of the Texas Lumber Men's Association.

The most important and largest addition to the Steves lumber industry was completed in 1913, and consists of the sash and door plant, located on a block of ground bounded by South Medina, Frio, Monterey and Mata- moras streets, in the adjoining block of the west side lumber yard on the International & Great Northern railroad. This mill manufactures sash, doors, interior finishings, and millwork of all descriptions, on a very large scale, and is one of the largest industries in South- west Texas. The two-story mill building is of concrete fire-proof construction. Adjoining it is the new whole- sale building of the same construction and also two stories with basement. The dry kiln, wholesale lumber sheds, and other facilities of the business are also to be found on the west side, while, as already stated, another yard is on the east side near the Southern Pacific Depot. From the wholesale department of Sash, Doors, Blinds and Mouldings more than one hundred and fifty lumber yards throughout Southwest Texas are supplied with their material, and this fact better than anything else indicates the extensive scope of this business. The Manufacturing & Wholesale Sash plant is in charge of Albert Steves Jr., with Mr. Ernest Steves as manager of the I. & G. N. Railroad Yard and Albert Steves Sr. having charge of the Sunset Yard on East Converse St.

The death of Ed Steves on April 20, 1890, bereaved the city of San Antonio of one of its ablest business men and citizens. During the seventies he had served as an alderman, and his public spirit was always ready to back up any worthy new enterprise for the improvement of his home community. Among those men who during the last half century did most to promote San Antonio com- mercially and as a civic center, the name of Ed Steves should always have a conspicuous place.

The senior member of the firm of Ed Steves & Sons, Albert Steves, was born in Kerr county. Texas, and through practically all his career has been identified with the city of San Antonio. The noted old St. Mary's Col- lege afforded most of his education, while a boy, and his Alma Mater is the Washington & Lee University of Lexington, Virginia. For more than thirty-five years he has been one of the men chiefly responsible for the growth and development of the great business of which he is a part, and among lumber merchants of the South- west his record has few equals.

The energy and skill which have characterized his busi-

ness relations have also been brought into public affairs for the corresponding benefit of local welfare. In May, 191I, Mr. Steves was elected an alderman-at-large, taking office in June of that year. In April, 1913, on the death of Mayor A. H. Jones, the city council elected him as mayor to fill the unexpired term. Again in the regular city election of May, 1913, he was re-elected to the office of alderman-at-large for another two years. Both as alderman and mayor Mr. Steves has discharged his duties with splendid ability and unselfish concern for the public welfare.

By his marriage at San Antonio to Miss Fannie Baetz, Mr. Steves has four children: Albert Jr., mentioned above as one of the active members of the firm; Estella; Walter; and Edna. Mr. Steves has many associations in his home city, belongs to the Chamber of Commerce, the Casino Association, the Beethoven Singing Association, is an honorary member of the Turner Society, and is a member of the San Antonio Rifle Club, the Travis Club and the San Antonio Club and the O. D. H. S., No. 172, Friedrich Ludwig John or Turner Lodge.

ROBERT STILLMAN. Excelling in achievements, and commanding success in his special lines of endeavor, Robert Stillman, of Brownsville, has won prestige in the agricultural and business circles of Southern Texas, not only as one of the more active and prominent ranch- men and stockmen, but as a member of the famous Still- man family, who were, practically, the founders of Brownsville, Texas, and of Matamoras, Mexico. A son of the late Cornelius Stillman, he was born, in 1853, in Cleveland, Ohio, of honored New England stock.

His grandfather, Captain Franeis Stillman, was born and reared in Wethersfield, Connecticut, the New England state in which his immigrant ancestor settled on coming to America from Holland, in early colonial days. En- gaging in seafaring pursuits when young, he sailed the seas as master of a vessel, and eventually established an . extensive business in the mercantile marine service, own- ing a fleet of sailing vessels engaged in trade in England and other foreign ports. Sometime during the 40's he, as captain of one of his own vessels, sailed into the port of Bagdad, Mexico, at the mouth of the Rio Grande river, on a trading expedition. That was an adventurous experience of his, as he knew absolutely nothing about the country, it being in fact so perfectly isolated that it had never been explored. The venture proved highly successful, and Captain Stillman was so pleased that he withdrew his ships from foreign ports and put them in the Mexican trade. He established a large commercial house at Matamoras, Mexico, then a mere hamlet, and subsequently induced his four sons, Charles, Cornelius, Chauncey and Frank, to join him in Matamoras, where they all took part in the conduct of the business. Cap- tain Stillman afterwards opened a branch house in Brownsville, Texas, just across the river, making Charles Stillman its manager. Thus it was in reality the business enterprise of the Stillmans that elevated Matamoras and Brownsville to positions of commercial importance, mak- ing them the founders of the two towns. The Stillmans likewise acquired vast bodies of land in the southwestern Texas territory contiguous to Brownsville, principally in Cameron, Hidalgo and Nueces counties, these lands form- ing the nuclei for several of the noted ranches of this part of the state, among which are the Lauralas and .Kennedy ranches, purchased from the Stillmans. Re- turning North in his later years, the Captain established a home in New York City; but his death occurred in In- dianapolis, Indiana, while he was visiting a daughter in that city.

Charles Stillman, the eldest of the Stillman brothers, and who for many years was extensively engaged in com- mercial and cattle enterprises in Brownsville and vicinity, was the father of James Stillman, a cousin of Robert Stillman, the subject of this sketch. James Stillman was born in Brownsville, but reared and educated in

2116

TEXAS AND TEXANS

New York. For several years he was president, and is now chairman of the Board of Directors, of the National City Bank of New York, one of the strongest financial institutions of America, Mr. Stillman ranking with the leading financiers of the world.

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.

A history of Texas and Texans, Part 161

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