USA > Texas > Tarrant County > Fort Worth > History of Texas : Fort Worth and the Texas northwest edition, Volume IV > Part 47
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JACK C. BARNARD. The Southwest is the section of the country which is offering the greatest opportunities to the young man. Its wonderful resources, as yet barely touched, its great territory and its remarkable trans- portation facilities all call for the vim and en- thusiasm of youth. These facts are being rec- ognized, and some of the finest young men in the world are coming here and making good in so wonderful and rapid a manner as to al- most beggar description. Wichita Falls, with its marvelous oil fields in close proximity, is claiming a number of these energetic expon- ents of all that is best in American manhood, although all of them are not in the oil busi- ness, some of the best examples of the suc- cessful young operators of this "Wonder City" having devoted themselves to other lines of activity, made, however, especially attractive because of the development of new interests in this locality through the recognition of the presence of oil.
One of these young men whose success has been phenomenal is Jack C. Barnard, secre- tary, treasurer and manager of the famous P. B. M. Company, owners of one of the largest and finest department stores in North Texas. Mr. Barnard was born at Rockwood, Roane County, Tennessee, in 1890, a son of S. T. and Margaret Lydia (Williams) Barnard, who are still residing at the old homestead at Rock- wood. S. T. Barnard was born in Hawkins County, Tennessee, where his father upon coming from England to the United States in 1846 located and was one of the early settlers of that region. Both as a farmer and mer- chant S. T. Barnard has been successful.
Growing up on his father's farm, Jack C. Barnard attended the Rockwood schools, and when he was fifteen years old he began work- ing in the general store of the Brown Mining Company at Rockwood, and has ever since been in the mercantile business. From the start he displayed great abilities, and when
only nineteen years old was in charge of the general office of this company.
In the meanwhile an elder cousin of Mr. Barnard, C. J. Barnard, had come to Texas and became established in a general merchan- dise business at Celeste, a thriving town in Hunt County, one of the richest agricultural regions of the state, and he has continued to conduct this establishment ever since, but in 1912 branched out, and in association with Jack C. Barnard, who had come to Texas from Tennessee in that year, purchased a mercantile business at Wichita Falls. Their first location was in the building now occupied by Freeman Block, at the corner of Seventh and Indiana streets. In 1915 they moved to their present handsome and spacious quarters on Indiana Street, between Eighth and Ninth streets, and here they carry a fine and varied stock of every variety of article needed by men and women or in the household, and have a re- markable trade. Some idea of the expansion which has been effected can be had from the fact that the initial volume of business of $75,000 has been increased until it is now well over $1,000,000. It must be remembered that this wonderful development has been made during one of the most trying periods in com- mercial history, when industrial production has been disrupted on account of the war and reconstruction problems, and proves that a genius is in charge of affairs. The credit for this is without any question due to the capable young secretary, treasurer and manager, who is the active man in the Wichita Falls house, although C. J. Barnard is president of the com- pany, but his time is absorbed by his oil 'and farming interests. The business was originally operated under the name of Pennington, Bar- nard & Millsap, but several years ago the pres- ent name of P. B. M. Company was adopted, and it has become famous all over the state.
While he has accomplished so much in his business, Mr. Barnard has found time to make his influence felt as a member of the Chamber of Commerce, the Rotary Club and other local organizations, and never fails to display a keen interest in all civic matters of moment. He is a member of the Board of Directors of the Security National Bank of Wichita Falls, which opened its doors for business in July, 1920.
Mr. Barnard was married to Miss Claire Mabson, of San Angelo, Texas.
Teeming with enthusiasm, possessed with a firm faith in the further expansion of this won- derful region, and with a deep-rooted love for
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his business, Mr. Barnard is typical of the booming Southwest, in which he has already been so successful, and where he may expect to secure still greater prosperity, for men of his caliber do not stand still, they have to press onward and upward, and as they do they carry many with them, so that they are a con- structive force wherever they are found.
MAJOR LUTHER HOFFMAN. Although he is one of the recent additions to Wichita Falls, Major Luther Hoffman is one of the highly efficient attorneys of the city, and a man whose abilities are receiving the recognition to which he is entitled. His war record is such as to entitle him to the respect of his fellow country- men, many of whom of the younger generation owe their proper equipment and comfort to his efforts in their behalf at Camp Travis, San Antonio, Texas.
Major Hoffman was born at Denton, Texas, November 27, 1888, a son of Robert Hayes and Mary Patterson (Clark) Hoffman. He was reared and educated at Denton, attending the North Texas State Normal School of that city. Later he took a collegiate and legal course in the University of Texas, and was graduated from its College of Arts in 1911 with the degree of Bachelor of Arts, and from its law school in 1913 with the degree of Bachelor of Laws. In 1913 Major Hoffman entered into the practice of his profession at Denton, Texas, in partnership with J. W. Sullivan and F. F. Hill, with whom he remained until the United States entered the World war.
Like the majority of the young men of the country. he felt the urge of patriotism, re- sponded to it and volunteered in April, 1917, entering the First Officers Training Camp at Leon Springs, Texas. After he had been at Leon Springs for three months he received his commission as captain of infantry, and was assigned to duty at Camp Travis, San Antonio, Texas, reporting there August 29, 1917. When the Nineteenth Division was organized there he was placed in command of Company F. Three Hundred and Fifty-Ninth Infantry, which company he organized. In October, 1917, he was assigned to special duty at Wash- ington, and after completing his work in that city was returned to Camp Travis, detached from his company and transferred to the head- quarters of the Ninetieth Division at that camp. Here he was placed in charge of the administration of the war risk insurance act. performing this duty until May, 1918, when he was appointed personnel officer for Camp
Travis. In this position he worked out a plan of consolidation of various branches of the army service under one administrative unit, combining under one head the following offices : The personnel office, the office charged with the administration of the war risk insur- ance bureau, the mustering office, the office in charge of vocational classification, the trade test office, and the department having in charge the shipping of troops out of Camp Travis. Captain Hoffman was authorized to carry out this plan, and under the authority of the camp commander he co-ordinated all of these various functions under one administration, of which he was placed in charge. He also developed what was known at that time as a receiving station, at which the recruits were received from the incoming trains and taken through the various preparatory measures, with the re- sult that when a man came out of the station he was fully clothed with uniform, fully equipped, his physical examination was com- pleted, all of his paper work was attended to, and he was ready in every detail to begin drill- ing. It was no doubt in recognition of these services that in August, 1918, Captain Hoffman was promoted to the rank of major. The value of these services justified such recognition, for about 1,300 men were handled each day through this receiving station. Toward the close of the war a general plan similar to the above, to be applied to each of the training camps throughout the country, was adopted by the adjutant general's department at Washing- ton. This was done following a conference with Major Hoffman at Washington in Sep- tember, 1918, with four other personnel offi- cers. Major Hoffman received his honorable discharge from the service February 6, 1919.
On February 9, 1919, he came to Wichita Falls, and on the following day began the practice of his profession once more, as a member of the firm of Bullington, Boone, Humphrey & Hoffman, one of the strongest legal organizations of Texas, if not of the entire Southwest, with a large general corpo- ration and railroad practice.
Major Hoffman was united in marriage with Miss Willie Rosie Johnston, who was born at Bryan, Texas. They have two children, Mary Joan and Bobby.
J. DAVIS TRAMMELL, consulting engineer. has been one of the active professional men and popular citizens of Fort Worth for about sixteen years. He has had a most interesting career in his profession as an engineer, and
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is a recognized authority in hydraulic engi- neering projects. He was chairman of the Board of Engineers on the great Lake Worth water supply project, which has given Fort Worth its abundant modern water supply. One of the greatest municipal parks in the United States developed as a part of this project, surrounds this lake.
Mr. Trammell is a native of Alabama. His father, John Young Trammell, was a wealthy planter and manufacturer of that state. He was a veteran of the Indian wars and an ardent southerner at the time of the Civil war, having three sons in the Confederate army, one of whom was killed during the siege of Vicksburg.
J. Davis Trammell acquired a public school education and received his technical training in the Alabama Polytechnic Institute. From this he graduated in 1881, with the degree of Bachelor of Engineering and in 1883 with the degree of Civil Engineer.
In 1883 he joined the engineering depart- ment of the Gould system of railroads, and for nearly a quarter of a century gave his study and skill to the handling of many complicated engineering projects of that system. His work called him to all parts of the country, including extensive surveys in old Mexico. Early in his career he was given the respon- sibility of locating a considerable portion of the Mexican Central Railroad.
In 1892 he was made chief engineer of the International and Great Northern Railroad, with headquarters in Palestine, Texas. It was during this time that he located and built the International and Great Northern line from Fort Worth to Houston. This line is unique because of its remarkably low maximum grade and the large number of lakes built for its water supply.
In 1906 he resigned from the International and Great Northern Railroad and moved his family to Fort Worth, feeling that a private practice would give him a wider scope for his engineering genius. Since that time he has been a consulting engineer exclusively.
In 1911 he was made chairman of the Board of Engineers in charge of the design and con- struction of Fort Worth's new water supply. including the now famous Lake Worth. To Mr. Trammell is due the credit for the loca- tion of the lake and the design of the dam. Both the lake and the dam have been fre- quently referred to as splendid examples of engineering skill. It is one of the conspicuous municipal engineering projects of the country.
not only in point of size but also in efficiency and economy. Lake Worth is said to im- pound more water per dollar expended on construction than any other dam in the world impounding fresh water.
Since the completion of Lake Worth Mr. Trammell has been continuously engaged in similar work. Lengthy lists might be com- piled of these undertakings. He now has under construction two large water supply projects in West Texas, including the dams and conduits at Abilene and Stamford. Re- cently he was chosen by unanimous vote of the Tulsa, Oklahoma, authorities as consult- ing engineer for that city's $5,000,000 water supply project. The applicants for this work included the names of America's foremost hy- draulic engineers.
For eight years he has devoted a large part of his time to the development of a reinforced concrete pressure pipe for use in conveying water supplies to large cities. This pipe marks a distinct advance in the use of concrete for this important purpose.
On December 11, 1895, Mr. Trammell was united in marriage with Mary Pearl Hardy, of San Marcus, Texas, a daughter of Ham- mett and Melissa (Fielder) Hardy. Mr. Trammell is a popular member of the Fort Worth Club, and is prominent in the business and social life of the city. In politics he is a democrat.
CONRAD EARL RODGERS is one of the promi- nent independent oil producers of the Wichita district, and though a native of Kentucky, his entire business career has been identified with the Southwestern country.
Mr. Rodgers was born at Kuttawa, in Lyon County, Kentucky, in 1884, a son of J. J. and Alice (Merrifield) Rodgers, also native Ken- tuckians. Mr. Rodgers grew up in a rural community and was educated in the Crab Creek School in his home vicinity. He was about eighteen years of age when he came to Texas, in February, 1903. He spent some time at Fort Worth, which was then enjoying a great prosperity, but subsequently removed to San Antonio. As a traveling salesman he repre- sented several houses in that city, and for two years he lived and traveled in old Mexico.
Mr. Rodgers came to Wichita Falls in April, 1916, and ever since has figured prominently in oil production over this district. Some of his oil interests now extend to other portions of the state. His civic record has been one of importance, since he has put himself behind
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every movement to make Wichita Falls a notable city, realizing its wonderful oppor- tunities of situation in the midst of the great- est oil territory of modern times. In the line of physical improvements his interests have been chiefly aroused by the great irrigation and water supply projects of Wichita Falls and the surrounding agricultural country. He is a member of the committee on irrigation of the Wichita Falls Chamber of Commerce, and for two years served as a director of that business and civic organization. He is also a past presi- dent of the Wichita Club, is a member of the Golf and Country Club and the Elks Club. On the 30th of January, 1912, Mr. Rodgers mar- ried Miss Alice Priess, of Fredericksburg. Ta them was born a son, Conrad Earl, Jr., on April 1, 1917.
JOSEPH S. BRIDWELL. The old timers of Wichita Falls are those who preceded the oil boom and one of them is Joseph S. Bridwell, who came to the city about fourteen years ago to enter the real estate field. From that his enterprise has by natural sequence been en- larged to oil operations, and he is regarded today as a successful business man of Wichita Falls.
Mr. Bridwell was born in Marshfield, Mis- souri, in 1885, was reared and educated there and left Marshfield in 1907 to come to Wichita Falls. He soon achieved recognition as a young man of exceptional good judgment and energy, and his knowledge of local conditions afforded him some exceptional opportunities which he seized when oil development began. For several years past he has been one of the leading and successful men of his city.
Mr. Bridwell through sterling integrity and business talent has gained the friendship and esteem of some of the leading citizens and financiers of Wichita Falls. He is a director of the First National Bank. He is also a member of the Board of Directors of the Wichita Valley irrigation project, was for some years a director of the Chamber of Com- merce, and is a member of the Wichita Club, the Golf and Country Club, and is a past ex- alted ruler of Wichita Lodge of the Elks.
CLARENCE V. MILHOLLAND. Perhaps na profession is more ably represented in Texas than that of engineering, especially since the great oil fields have been developed and irriga- tion systems been built and operated, for here the best men in the profession find ample scope for their talents and are consequently led to
locate here. One of the men who has attained to a state-wide reputation as a civil engineer of much more than average ability is Clarence V. Milholland, president of the West Texas Engineering Company of Wichita Falls.
Mr. Milholland was born at Baltimore, Maryland, July 22, 1885, a son of Arthur V. and Margaret (Reilly) Milholland. He was reared and educated in Baltimore, receiving his collegiate training in the famous Loyola Col- lege of that city, from which he was gradu- ated in 1905, with the degrees of Bachelor of Arts and Master of Arts. Following his grad- uation he took up the study of engineering, both through correspondence courses and prac- tical experience, securing the latter in the engi- neering department of the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad, with which he continued to be identi- fied for eleven years. He was also for a time engaged on the topographical survey of the City of Baltimore, from which the new city map was made. He was then engaged in engi- neering work in the oil fields of Pennsylvania and West Virginia.
In May, 1919, Mr. Milholland came to Texas, being convinced that in this state he would have opportunities for development hard to equal elsewhere, and established him- self as a civil engineer at Wichita Falls, or- ganizing the West Texas Engineering Com- pany, of which he has since continued as presi- dent. At once he became associated with engi- neering work on pipe lines, oil refining, oil leases and similar contracts, and has been very extensively engaged in these enterprises. More recently he has branched out into other lines of engineering, and taken contracts for irriga- tion, public works of various kinds, large structures and municipal engineering, and has reached the highest standing in his profession. He is a member of the American Society of Civil Engineers, and also of the American Railway Enginering Association.
On October 6, 1906, Mr. Milholland was united in marriage with Miss Bertha Mae Kinnoman, of Baltimore, Maryland, and they have one son, Arthur V. Milholland. Mr. Milholland belongs to the Greater Wichita Falls Chamber of Commerce, which he assisted in organizing, is a great booster for the city and generally recognized as being one of the most live and energetic citizens of what is fast becoming the "Wonder City" of the Southwest.
WILLIAM W. ANDERSON is one of the unusu- ally successful young business men of Wichita Falls, who is thoroughly embued with the spirit
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of progress which is making of this the "Wonder City" of the Southwest, and is con- ducting his large mercantile establishment in a manner which compares very favorably with the methods used by merchants of national reputation. He was born at Abilene, Texas. in 1887, a son of William W. and Sallie L. (Crooks). Anderson, the former of whom is deceased, although the latter is still living. They were pioneers into Western Texas, com- ing here from Tennessee, and the father was one of the founders and builders of Abilene. He invested in real estate and local industries. and when he died in 1891 it was generally con- ceded that Abilene lost one of its most useful and enterprising citizens.
Growing up in his native city, the younger William W. Anderson attended . its public schools and Simmons College, and his first ex- perience in the dry goods business was in a store at Abilene, which association commenced when he was nineteen years of age. Since then he has been connected with the mercan- tile trade, and his success proves that his judg- ment was good when he entered and remained in it. In 1907 he became vice president of a dry goods corporation at Abilene, and in 1913 he branched out, organizing the Anderson- Schultz Company, and in 1915 organized the Anderson Dry Goods Company and operated two stores under that name, making four stores in all under his active management. Subse- quently he combined these two companies under the corporate name of "Anderson's," by which his business is still known. In Decem- ber. 1917, he established his present store at Wichita Falls, subsequently disposing of his other establishments, but still later organized another one at Burkburnett, which two now compose his business.
"Anderson's" in Wichita Falls is a thor- oughly equipped and completely modern de- partment store of the best type, and is the product of the brains, energy and ambition of this young merchant, whose name has become a synonym for fair dealing and unblemished integrity. In 1915 Mr. Anderson did an an- nual business of $75,000, but it now runs into $1,000,000 a year, a remarkable growth hardly excelled anywhere else in the world. This ex- pansion is all the more remarkable in that it has taken place during one of the most difficult periods in commercial history, when it has been difficult to secure stocks on account of war and reconstruction troubles which have in a measure disorganized the industries of the world. In spite of all of the obstacles with
which Mr. Anderson has had to contend, in common with his fellow merchants the country over, he has gone ahead and not only built up a trade which is astounding, but has also won and retains the full confidence of all with whom he has dealings of any character.
Mr. Anderson has other interests and is a director of the City National Bank of Com- merce of Wichita Falls, a bank that has de- posits of over $22,000,000; of the Texas State Retail Merchants' Association ; of the local Retail Merchants' Association, and of the Wichita Falls Chamber of Commerce. He is president of the Wichita Housing Corporation. which he assisted in organizing, and is a lead- ing member of the Wichita Club, serving as chairman of the house committee which had in charge the fitting up of the elegant and costly quarters of this club on the top floor of the City National Bank Building. Mr. Anderson is active in the Golf and Country Club. Well known in Masonry, he belongs to the Com- mandery and Consistory, in which he has taken the highest degrees, and he is also a Shriner. The First Baptist Church of Wichita Falls holds his membership, and he was chairman of the finance committee which had charge of the financing of the erection of the $400,000 magnificent new church edifice, which was completed in 1921. In fact, it would be diffi- cult to mention any movement that has re- ceived popular approval with which Mr. An- derson has not been connected, and Wichita Falls has no greater booster than he.
Mr. Anderson was married to Miss Lena F. Spaulding, of Abilene, and they have one son, Whitney Anderson.
GROVER C. BACHMAN. While his name is prominently associated with the petroleum production and oil operation in the great Breckenridge field, Grover C. Bachman is a native Texan who had acquired substantial banking and other financial resources before he entered the oil industry. He is a young man of most capable financial judgment and native ability. and would be rated as a very successful business man had he never partici- pated in the oil game.
Mr. Bachman was born in Bastrop County. Texas, and during his early childhood his par- ents moved, in 1890, to Throckmorton County, West Texas. He is a son of A. B. and Martha (Huff) Bachman. the former a native of Alabama and the latter of Lavaca County. Texas. Grover C. Bachman attended school at Throckmorton and also the Uni-
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versity of Texas. He graduated in law from the University, but practiced that profession only a short time, abandoning it to enter banking.
He acquired his early banking experience with the First National Bank of Throckmor- ton in 1912, and subsequently became cashier of that institution. Then, leaving Texas, he went to North Dakota and engaged in bank- ing at Belfield, and also operated a cattle ranch on an extensive scale. He still owns a large ranch in that state in Dunn and Mc- Kenzie counties.
Mr. Bachman returned to Texas and lo- cated at Breckenridge in September, 1919. The oil boom of Stephens County was then well under way, and he was not slow to grasp the opportunities presented. He is president of the Gonzolus Creek Oil Company. This company on August 2, 1920, brought in the largest and best paying oil well on the Breck- enridge townsite. This well has produced regularly eight thousand barrels of oil per day. Within three months after the strike the company produced over a million dollars worth of oil, and within two months it had paid its stockholders seven dollars for every one invested. Mr. Bachman has made a large fortune through this and his interests in other oil properties. His financial experience has also brought him a prominent relation with local banking, and he is president of the Breck- enridge State Bank, capitalized at two hun- dred and fifty thousand dollars.
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