A history of Texas and Texans, Part 87

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

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"We fain would make Texans grow kinder and nobler, When the Alamo-Goliad stories they hear ; Grow fonder of freedom and truer to Texas- Shall our story strike faintly posterity's ear ? Your marble will last when our songs are forgotten,

When our lips are all stilled and the ink has grown pale, Your marble will prompt the child as he gazes To ask of his mother to tell him the tale.

"We give you this flag as a sign that we love you, For the work you have done for history and art; You will know when it waves triumphant above you We rejoice in its waving with a patriot's heart. Because you love Texas, we love you the better -- Wave, wave, the Lone Star-wave, red, white and blue;

Wave emblem of freedom, wave, flag of our fathers, Wave, flag of our Texas, forever for you."

JOHN PRESTON, M. D. Placed at the head of a great state charitable institution, carrying the responsibility for the welfare of hundreds of unfortunates whose rea- son has been shattered, and imbued with an earnest desire to restore his charges to health and friends, Dr. John Preston, superintendent of the Texas State Lunatic Asylum, is carrying on a work that entitles him to recognition, not alone among the members of the medical profession, but by the general public of the state in which he has labored so long and faithfully.

Doctor Preston comes of a family which was founded in America prior to the Revolutionary War, in which his great-grandfather, William Preston, of Virginia, took a prominent part as captain of a company of patriot volunteers. On his mother's side he belongs to the Rhea family, of Tennessee, whose members were for many years important factors in the development of that state, where Rhea county is named in their honor. James T. Preston, the father of Doctor Preston, was born in Washington county, Virginia, and for a number of years was a prominent attorney of the Old Dominion state, dying there is 1884. During the Civil war he enlisted for service in the Confederate army, and served valiantly throughout that struggle, holding the rank of colonel. He married Miss Fanny Rhea, of Tennessee, who passed away in 1888.

John Preston received his early education in the common schools of his native place, in Washington county, Virginia, where he was born July 12, 1851, and subsequently became a student in Georgtown University, Washington, D. C. Following this he entered the Uni- versity of Virginia, where he was graduated in 1872, with the degree of Doctor of Medicine, and this was supplemented by a course in Bellevue Hospital Medical College, New York City, where he graduated in 1873. He began the practice of his profession in Washington county in 1873, and in 1878 came to Texas, locating at Seguin, Guadalupe county, where he remained until 1887. At that time he was appointed first assistant physician of the Texas State Lunatic Asylum, at Austin, but resigned in 1890 and located in San Antonio, where he resumed the general practice of his profession, but at the end of four months was offered, by Governor Hogg, and accepted, the position of superintendent of the North Texas Hospital for the Insane, at Terrell, Texas, where he remained in charge for four years. In 1895 Doctor Preston located at Lockhart, Texas, in the general practice of medicine, continuing there until 1903, when he was appointed by Governor Lanham superintendent of the Texas State Epileptic Colony, at Abilene, Texas. He established this colony and was re-

appointed hy Governor Campbell, continuing as super- intendent for five and one-half years. On January 15, 1909, Goveror Campbell appointed him superintendent of the Texas State Lunatic Asylum, at Austin, and he was reappointed by Governor Colquitt, the present gov- ernor, when he took office. Here he has 1,500 patients under his care. Doctor Preston is recognized through- out the medical fraternity of the Southwest as an au- thority on nervous and mental diseases. Those who have conversed with him upon his specialty in the sei- ence of medicine realize how devoted he is to the study of the human, both in its normal and abnormal condi- tions. A broad investigator, he is constantly striving to discover and put into practical use new means and methods of successfully treating the mental ills of those upon whose reason a cloud has fallen, and in his chosen field he has been eminently successful, the number of cures that have been effected at the asylum being truly remarkable. Nothing of gloom or despair pervades this institution, but throughout each department there exists that spirit of helpful co-operation among the superin- tendent, physicians and employes which makes for a de- termined effort to seek and find the best means of aid- ing in the restoration of impaired reason. Doctor Pres- ton is a Master Mason and a member of the Pretorians, the Woodmen of the World, and the Austin Press Club.

In 1879 Doctor Preston was married to Miss Annie Lewis White, daughter of the Hon. John P. White, who was one of the three original members and presiding justice of the Court of Civil Appeals of Texas, and chief justice of that court. Seven children have been born to Doctor and Mrs. Preston, namely: Walter W., who is chief accountant of the firm of W. H. Richard- son & Company, of Austin; Dr. John L., a successful dental practitioner with offices at Forney, Texas; James R., who is connected with the Delaware & Hudson Rail- road, in the main office at New York City; Fanny Rhea, a graduate of the University of Texas, and now a teacher in the high school at Marble Falls, Texas; Robert W., who is accountant for the wholesale grocery firm of H. O. Wooten Company, at Abilene, Texas; and Annie Lewis and Margaret Lynn, who reside with their parents. The pleasant home of Doctor and Mrs. Pres- ton is located at No. 4110 Guadelupe street.

WILLIAM J. MCINTYRE. One of the men of real busi- ness leadership in West Texas is William J. MeIntyre, owner of thousands of acres of land in Brewster county and vicinity, the head of a large freighting establishment at Marathon, and occupying a place of such influence in his vicinity that it is proper to say that where he leads others follow.

William J. MeIntyre was born in Rankin county, Mississippi, on November 5, 1860, and spent the first twenty-two years of his life in his native state. He then moved into Texas, first locating in Wilson county, where he made his home for about twelve years and fol- lowed ranching and merchandise. In 1893 he came further west to Brewster county, and has built up a large business as a rancher and cattleman in this sec- tion of the state. He owns a splendid ranch, and con- tinued actively in the live stock industry until 1910, at which time he formed a partnership with his two sons and bought his present general merchandise store at Marathon. Under the firm name of W. J. Melntyre & Son, they handle a full line of general merchandise, both wholesale and retail, and supply a patronage over a broad extent of country surrounding Marathon. Be- sides his interests in mercantile business and his ex- tensive realty holding, Mr. MeIntyre is also vice president of the Marathon State Bank. Mr. MeIntyre has always depended upon his own ability and exertions to get what he wanted in life and, after leaving the public schools of Mississippi, where he obtained most of his education, he has made his own way and never troubled any man for his help or influence. Most of his

AB Palm Mo. A B. Palm.

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success has come through farming and ranching, and he is withal a very shrewd and energetic business man.

In Lavaca county, Texas, on January 9, 1884, Mr. McIntyre married Virginia Griffith, daughter of L. M. Griffith, of Lavaca county. Three children have been born to their marriage, two sons and one daughter, namely: Vernon, who is associated with his father in business, and is assistant cashier of the Marathon State Bank; Wells, also in the mercantile firm, and Gesna, now a student in school at Austin. The son Vernon is affiliated with the Masonic Order, and before entering business was a student at the State University, where he was a member of the Phi Delta Theta College Fra- ternity. Mr. MeIntyre and wife are members of the Baptist Church, and she takes very active part in the women's organizations of the church. Mr. MeIntyre is affiliated with the Masonic Order and the Woodmen of the World. He is a Democrat, though not a party man. He has given his share of service to the welfare of the community and served as a member of the Alpine school board for a time, and acted as president during that period. About once a year or oftener, Mr. MeIntyre enjoys a hunting trip, and is also interested in many of the other amusements and entertainments and social joys of life.

AUGUST B. PALM, whose name has long been identified with Austin and the Lone Star state, won fame in the business world of Texas as a planter, a pursuit from which he retired but a few years ago. But especially is he to be mentioned in this historical and biographical work because of the excellency of his services to the state and nation during the reconstruction period following the Civil war. No man in Austin displayed a finer spirit or one better calculated to bridge with kindly thought the great gulf that divided the northern and southern parts of our country at that time than did August B. Palm, and that credit should be awarded where credit is so manifestly due is wholly in accord with the spirit and purpose of this work.

August B. Palm was born in Besthult, Sweden, August 19, 1834, a son of Andrew Palm, a civil engineer in the King's service. Bringing his family with him, Andrew Palm came to Fort Bend county, Texas, in 1848, but soon after the immigration of this family to America the father died. Not long afterward August B. Palm came to Austin. He was one of six brothers, three of whom are now deceased, the other two surviving sons being Andrew Jackson and William Swante Palm. John, Carl and Henry Palm are the three who have passed away. All of these six sons with the exception of Henry served throughout the Civil war in the Confederate service.

Angust B. Palm received his educational training to the age of fourteen in private schools in Sweden, and after coming to Texas attended the State Military Col- lege at Reutersville, at that time under the principalship of Colonel Forshay. When the war came on he promptly enlisted with his brothers and served throughout the conflict.

Then it was that the fine enthusiasm and splendid spirit of the man shown forth the brightest. The war had so crippled the state that Morgan Hamilton, state comptroller, announced that it would be necessary to close the State Institution for the Blind and the Insane Asylum, owing to the total lack of any funds wherewith to carry on the work, his plan being to send all inmates back to the homes from which they came. Mr. Palm was then engaged in the mercantile business in Austin, and he promptly came to the front with an offer to supply all the needs of the two institutions in the way of sup- plies, but it developed that without $50,000 to pay the sal- aries of officials and attendants the places could not be kept up. Here again did Mr. Palm step into the breach, and wiring to his first cousins, the Swensons of New York City, he asked for $50,000. They sent the money

without a question, the sum total coming in checks signed by the Swensons, ranging in size from fifty cents to fifty dollars, and payable in gold. Mr. Palm deposited the check hook with the state treasurer, Samuel Harris, with instructions that it be used for the maintenance of the asylums for the blind and insane only. One year later, the treasury being in somewhat hetter shape, the loan was returned to Mr. Palm, but instead of in gold the payment was made in United States currency, a circum- stance that caused a heavy loss to the benefactor of the public, because of the fact that currency at that time was worth only seventy-two cents on the dollar. However, Mr. Palm, like the true sportsman that he has ever shown himself to he, pocketed his loss without protest, feeling amply repaid in the knowledge that he had heen the means of helping a class of people utterly without means of helping themselves in any way and at all times at the mercy of the public.

Early in the conflict which raged between the North and the South Mr. Palm joined the Confederate service, becoming a member of Fred Moore's Company, Flornoy 's Regimeut, and was detailed to furnish supplies. When Galveston was demanded to surrender he joined his com- pany at Virginia Point, across the bay, and on the fol- lowing day was ordered to go up into the country for supplies. He labored valiantly in the cause which he espoused, and endured the untold hardships of the struggle.

After the close of the war many men of prominence in Texas, and especially in Austin, left the state, taking refuge in Mexico, fearing imprisonment. But Mr. Palm was not of these. Though he had been an ardent Seces- sionist and had fought with valor throughout the war, when the struggle was finally ended he placed himself strongly upon the side of the Union and thereafter ap- plied his every energy to the business of reconstructing a new South. Among those men who felt that it would be the better part of valor to leave Texas was Captain W. H. D. Carrington, but Mr. Palm, who was the warm personal friend of General Reynolds, secured from the latter a permit that released Captain Carrington from the possibility of apprehension, so that he was able to remain in Austin, and thereafter he joined Mr. Palm to a large extent in the worthy work of the period.

Mr. Palm also did much to promote a friendly feeling in the city toward the officials of the United States gov- ernment. One instance was that of a banquet given in his home to the United States officers and their families. No effort was spared to make the function an agreeable and pleasant one, and though feeling against the officials ran high in the city, all who were invited to the ban- quet accepted, recognizing in Mr. Palm's action an honest attempt to smooth out the situation in some de- gree. In this admirable spirit did this patriot continue his work of establishing feelings of friendliness toward the government in Austin, and in no city of the south to-day exists a more wholesome and honest spirit of loy- alty than is everywhere apparent here. All his life that has been spent in Austin and in Texas has been redolent of a fine spirit of devotion to his adopted country, which has had its unconscious reflection in the activities of those who were unknowingly influenced by him and his work.

Gustave and Swante Palm, two uncles of this Austin resident, were other early settlers of Texas. Gustave came over with his brother Andrew, the father of August B. Palm, Swante having arrived a few years prior to that time. All were prominent in early Texas affairs, and their families are still justly recorded as among the First Families of Texas.

August B. Palm was the first man to plant cotton in Williamson county, Texas, and he erected the first cot- ton gin, on his seven hundred acre farm. To-day Wil- liamson is the banner county of the state in its produc- tion of cotton, and Mr. Palm was known for years as one of the most extensive planters within its borders.

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He retired from the business in 1908, and has since de- voted himself to other interests in that city that has long been the center of his activities in a publie way.

On the 26th of June, 1861, Mr. Palm married Miss Adela Belle Atwood, of Travis county, Texas. She is a daughter of W. W. Atwood, who came from Bolivar, Tennessee, to Texas in the year 1838, and was long iden- tified with the affairs of Travis county. The children of Mr. and Mrs. Palm are as follows: Rufus Atwood, a well known farmer and stockman; Mary Josephine; Adela Belle, the wife of Dr. Henry L. Hilgartner, of Aus- tin, Texas; and Irene, wife of Captain L. S. Morey, of the United States army, now in the Philippines.

HENRY J. LAAS. Few meu in Colorado county have a more substantial place or exercise stronger influence on local affairs than Henry J. Laas. For a number of years he has served as county tax assessor. He is the owner of a splendid farm estate, comprising more than one thousand acres of land, is a banker with stock in several financial concerns in this section of the state, has done much development work on his own account, and in co-operation with others, and his energy and enterprise can always be counted upon in assisting the forward movement in Colorado county.

Henry J. Laas was born near Sublime, in Lavaca county, Texas, August 22, 1872. His parents were C. J. and Emma (Pelser) Laas. His father, who was born in Germany, was four years of age when the grandfather brought his family across the ocean and landed at Galveston, finding their first home at Cat Springs, in Austin county, and after several years moving to Lavaca county. The mother was a native of Texas. In Lavaca county, C. J. Laas grew to man- hood, and when the Civil war broke out enlisted in Company H of Cavalry, Bates' Regiment, and after- wards served in Brown's Regiment, in the cause of the South, in the Brigade of the famous Tom Green. He saw much hard and dangerous service in Mexico and later in Louisiana, especially in the campaign, includ- ing the bloody battles of Mansfield, Pleasant Hill, Yel- low Bayou, and other engagements. His service as a soldier in the uniform of gray continued nearly four years. He returned to Lavaca county in the year 1865 and was married in the fall of the same year to Miss Emma Pelzer. He then turued his energies to farm- ing and stock raising. He soon afterwards, in the year 1873, moved to Colorado county and bought a large tract of land near Oakland, where he died. One thou- sand acres of that land is now owned by his son Henry. The father was a man of great energy, very public spirited, and through his enterprise was a publie bene- factor. For many years he owned and operated a saw and grist mill, and also a publie gin. His death oc- curred in 1904. Besides being commercially active, he took much interest in the German Lutheran Church, of which both he and his wife were members, and they contributed liberally of their means to its support. Through the liberality of himself and two other plant- ers of that neighborhood, a church of the German Lutheran faith was erected. Mrs. Emma Laas, the mother, died when her son Henry was a baby. The father later married Catherine Brune, who is still living. Henry J. Laas was one of two children. His brother Charles lives at Skidmore, where he is engaged in the mercantile business and in farming. There are three half-brothers, Chris, August, and Louis, and a half- sister, Minnie.

During the boyhood of Henry J. Laas, he lived at home on the farm, attended the local schools, and had the opportunities and advantages of a school at San Autonio. When he was seventeen years of age he started out working for himself, securing a clerkship in a store at Weimar. After one year he returned here and spent two years assisting his father.

On January 3, 1893, Mr. Laas married Miss Clara

Buske, a native of Texas, and a daughter of C. Buske, who was born in Germany and was one of the German settlers of Texas. Mr. Buske operated a publie gin and a mill for many years and is now living a retired life. Following his marriage, Mr. Laas engaged in farming for one year and then entered merchandising at Weimar, where he did a large and successful business up to 1900, in which year came his first election to his present office of tax assessor of Colorado county. By repeated elections since then, in which the people have shown their confidence in his integrity and official ability, he has remained in that office to the present time. During his residence in Weimar he served as a member and secretary of the city council, resigning that place when elected assessor. As a Democrat he has always been a willing worker for the welfare of his party, and has served as chairman of the county and of other com- mittees.

Mr. and Mrs. Laas are the parents of one child, Olga. All the family are members of the German Lutheran Church. Since he was twenty-one years of age, Mr. Laas has held membership in the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, has held all the chairs in his local lodge, and several times has been a delegate to the Grand Lodge. He is also affiliated with the Knights of Pythias, having held all the chairs in that order. His other affiliations include the Woodmen of the World, the Sons of Hermann, the Pretorians, the Modern Wood- men of America, and at the present time he is taking the preliminary degrees in Masonry.

Mr. Laas was one of the organizers of the First State Bank of Columbus, and, besides his extensive laud in- terests in Colorado county and city and town real estate, he owns stock in the State Bank of Garwood and Rock Island. He has interests in several bonding companies, and is easily one of the most prominent and influential men of Colorado county. Mrs. Laas is a member of the Civic and other local clubs and takes much part in church affairs, and is an active worker in the mission and aid societies. Their daughter Olga is a member of Shropshire-Upton Chapter of the United Daughters of the Confederacy, a worker in the Sunday school and church, and quite a distinguished musician, having studied several years in the conservatories of the South.

CHARLES Low. Forty years a resident of Texas, Charles Low has had a varied career of activity, begin- ning as a cowboy, later as an independent cattle man, from that branching out into commercial activities, and about a year ago retired from business as a manufacturer at Brownwood to take up the management of his ranch near that city.

Charles Low was born in Forfarshire, Scotland, Sep- tember 11, 1866, the only son and child of Robert and Mary (Bell) Low. His father, who learned the trade of machinist in his native land, emigrated to the United States soon after the birth of his son, and for a time was employed in the Grant Locomotive Works at Pater- son, New Jersey. In 1874 he became one of the pioneer settlers in the vicinity of Brownwood, Texas, bought land, and has since been successfully engaged in farming and stock raising. Robert Low has been content to devote his entire time and attention to his private interests, and has never sought nor cared for public office. He is inclined to support Democratic candidates, but is very independent, and being well posted upon current events uses his discretion in voting, the man in his estimation always coming before the party.

Eight years of age when the family moved to Brown- wood, Charles Low finished in the local schools the edu- cation which had begun in New Jersey. His independent career began in boyhood, in riding the old range as a cowboy, and fully ten years were spent in the saddle, though at the age of eighteen he had invested a small capital and taken up the cattle business on his own

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account. His capacity and energy for hard work, a genial disposition, and a thorough business integrity has been his distinctive qualities from young manhood to the present. After four years as a cattle man, Mr. Low sold his interests and moved to San Antonio to engage in business, and subsequently was located at both Fort Worth and Ballinger. Returning to Brownwood in 1905, Mr. Low organized the Alamo Manufacturing Company, and was its president, active manager and largest stockholder until he sold out on July 1, 1913, and moved to his ranch four miles from Brownwood. The Alamo Manufacturing Com- pany at the beginning was a modest bottling establish- ment. In 1907 it began to manufacture ice cream, and two years later a creamery was established. It has been one of the chief local industries of the city of Brown- wood. While looking after the interests of the mannfac- turing plant, Mr. Low also conducted his fine dairy farm in Brown county, where he makes a specialty of breeding dairy cows. A lover of the hunt, his hobby is the raising of bird dogs, and he is widely recognized as a fancier in that line. An alert, active, energetic citizen, thoroughly alive to every opportunity that presents itself and a stanch supporter of progress in its every form, he has contributed in no small degree to the welfare of his adopted community. Since the organization of the local lodge of the Loyal Order of Moose he has been a valued and popular member of that order.

Mr. Low was married in 1888 to Miss Willie McMahan, of Williamson county, Texas. Her father, W. L. Mc- Mahan, was a pioneer and an old Indian fighter of the Lone Star State. Mr. and Mrs. Low have eight children, as follows: Bob, successfully engaged in irrigated farm- ing in Brown county; William, a college student; Mary, the wife of C. L. Pouncey of Dallas; Annie, in the Brownwood high school; and Nat, Jack, Nellie and Ger- trude, in public school.

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A history of Texas and Texans, Part 87

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