History of Texas, together with a biographical history of the cities of Houston and Galveston; containing a concise history of the state, with protraits and biographies of prominent citizens of the above named cities, and personal histories of many of the early settlers and leading families, Part 39

Author:
Publication date: 1895
Publisher: Chicago, The Lewis publishing co., 1895
Number of Pages: 1532

USA > Texas > Harris County > Houston > History of Texas, together with a biographical history of the cities of Houston and Galveston; containing a concise history of the state, with protraits and biographies of prominent citizens of the above named cities, and personal histories of many of the early settlers and leading families > Part 39
USA > Texas > Galveston County > Galveston > History of Texas, together with a biographical history of the cities of Houston and Galveston; containing a concise history of the state, with protraits and biographies of prominent citizens of the above named cities, and personal histories of many of the early settlers and leading families > Part 39

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places of public importance, together with its superior equipments, makes office room in it especially desirable, and insures a good class of tenants.

Mr. Kiam does a very large business, and his success is due to his sound judg- ment, his tact and his intelligent activity. He is one of the tireless, sleepless and irre- pressible advertisers of Houston, and he has demonstrated that it pays to be such.

EV. HENRY P. YOUNG. - This venerable gentleman, widely and favorably known throughout Texas as an early-day missionary and most devoted Christian worker, is a native of Germany, born October 2, 1817, and came to Texas to labor among the German people who sought homes here under the direction of the German Colonization So- ciety and the leadership of Prince Solms. Mr. Young arrived in Galveston, January 26, 1846, and began his work two days later, on Sunday, the 28th, preaching his first sermon in the open air, near the bay shore, on Fifteenth street, to a congrega- tion of about 1,000 people. He remained in Galveston until the latter part of January, 1849, when he went into the interior of the State and began operations at New Braun- fels, at that time the seat of the German colony in southwestern Texas. He did not confine his work, however, to that place, but traveled extensively in that section of the State, including in his circuit San Saba, -180 iniles distant from New Braunfels, - San Antonio, Fredericksburg, Llano, Austin, Bastrop and numerous other places. There being no houses of worship at that early date, services were held in the open air and at the hoines of settlers. During his six

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years' labor in this field Mr. Young made his rounds on horseback, and frequently camped out of nights, sleeping on the open prairie, his saddle being his pillow and his blanket his only cover. At such times he did his own cooking, carrying for that purpose a coffee-pot and a small supply of corn meal, bacon and coffee. The settlers were gener- ally poor, very few of them having the neces- saries of life for themselves, much less a sur- plus with which to supply the wayfarer. The hardships, self-denial and dangers which Mr. Young underwent and to which he was exposed were great, and he feels now that he could have been brought through them only by the watchful care of a kind Provi- dence.

In 1857 Mr. Young returned to Galves- ton, and at once took steps to organize a congregation in this city, which was done on the 19th of April of that year, this being the first German Presbyterian congregation ever organized in Galveston. In connection with his church work Mr. Young opencd a parochial school, teaching in both German and English. Under the direction of the Master his labors prospered until the open- ing of the war, at which time, on account of his family, he repaired to the western part of the State, settling at a place midway be- tween New Braunfels and San Antonio: While residing there he had charge of sev- eral churches, preaching every Sabbath day,-two Sundays in German and two Sundays in English, -and every fifth Sun- day to an American congregation in San Antonio. In addition to this he also con- ducted a school near where he lived.

After the war Mr. Young returned to Galveston, and from the scattered fragments left reorganized his church, opened a school and again resunied work in this field. With

the inauguration of the order of peaceful pursuits he soon built up a good, strong congregation and a flourishing parochial school. During those years he received into his school a large number of pupils, whom it was his privilege to instruct both in book knowledge and in the wisdom which comes from above. As the result of these labors there are to-day scores of men and women scattered over the State who owe the cast and coloring of their lives to him, and who bless his name for the wholesome influence he brought to bear on them in their youth.

In 1871 Mr. Young's congregation built, -at a cost of $9,000, a church edifice, -the first of his denomination erected in the city, in connection with which a school building was put up. These were destroyed by the great fire of 1885, entailing a very serious loss to the congregation at this place. The church was rebuilt the following year, but the new structure is not nearly as large as the one that was destroyed, this be- ing on account of the removal of so many of the members, and, by reason of the fact that others, some of them the stanchest sup- pors of the church, have gone to the church triumphant above.

During his forty-eight years' residence in Texas Mr. Young has witnessed a wonder- ful change in the condition of things here, and in the changes which have been wrought in this time he has in his humble and un- pretentious way contributed his due propor- tion of labor. His instructions as a teacher and his sermons as a minister will be a living monument to his memory in the hearts of those among whom he has labored all these years. He has aided in every way in his power to the spread of true piety and mor- ality, holding up as it were a beacon light in the early days in this and other communities

M.B. Menard.

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of this State. Such men can not be esti- mated at their true worth in their life time. They are the prophetic leaders walking alone in lofty aims and conceptions. An- other generation will rank them in shining file with earth's true nobility.

On May 1, 1838, Mr. Young married Miss Christiana Stilwell, at Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Mrs. Young having been born July 9, 1818. Accompanying her husband to Texas this good woman here shared his labors during all the years of his ministry, and still survives to cheer and comfort him in the closing days of his life. To Mr. and Mrs. Young seven children were born, only one of whom is now living, a son, John Henry, who makes his home with his parents. John Henry Young married Miss Mary Rauser, of Galveston, and to them have been born nine children, six of whom are living : Henry, Charles, George, Frederick W., Royal and Frank.

a OL. M. B. MENARD .- Michel Branamour Menard was born in the village of La Prairie, near Mont- real, Canada, December 5, 1805. Ilis parents were French. At the age of sixteen he engaged in the Northwestern fur trade, in the employ of an American company at Detroit. Later he went to Missouri at the solicitation of his uncle, Pierre Menard, then Lieutenant Governor of the Territory of Missouri, and an exten- sive fur trader, and for several years traded for him. Becoming attached to the Indians, he determined to remain among them, and was elected chief of the principal tribe of the Shawnees, which station he held for several years.

In 1833 or '34, Col. Menard came to Texas and settled near Nacogdoches, where he traded with the Mexicans and Indians. He then became interested with Mckinney & Williams in the construction of a mill and trading post on a small stream flowing into the Trinity, named for him Menard creek.

When the Texas revolution broke out the Mexicans endeavored to incite the Indian tribes on the Northwestern frontier to over- run and desolate the country. At the solici- tation of the Texas government Col. Menard went among them and by his personal exer- tions prevented an invasion and kept them quiet. He was a member of the conven- tion which declared the independence of Texas and framed the constitution of the Republic.

In December, 1836, at the first session of the first Congress of Texas, Col. Menard obtained for the price of $50,000 a grant from Congress for a league of land, on which the city of Galveston now stands, then un- occupied by a single habitation. He laid out the town, and, associating with himself a number of other gentlemen, formed the Galveston City Company, which launched the enterprise of the Island City, with which he was identified from that date until his death.

He represented Galveston county in the Congress of Texas in 1839, and was the author and powerful advocate of the system of finance by the issue of exchequer bills, which failing that session was recommended by President Houston the next and adopted, and provided a revenue and saved the country.

Col. Menard was a man of rare intelli- gence and noble character, and of the high- est order of enterprise and patriotism. He possessed a mind of striking originality and

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was most agreeable in business and social intercourse. He stood over six feet in height, was of strong, muscular build and possessed undoubted courage.

Col. Menard left a widow, who became the wife of Col. J. S. Thrasher, and a son, Doswell Menard, all of whom have been dead several years. He died September 2, 1856. His funeral took place from the cathedral, and his remains were followed to their last resting place in the Catholic ceme- tery by almost the entire community.

3 UDGE WILLIAM H. STEWART. -The subject of this brief sketch has resided for fifty years in Texas. During this time lie lias had to do at one time and another with many questions of great importance to the people at large. That he has wholly escaped criticism it would probably not be just to say, but it is true that his official conduct has been such as to commend him in a high degree to the favorable notice of his fellow-citizens of all classes and conditions, while liis private career is without blame, -no suspicion or suggestion of discourtesy having ever been offered as to the rectitude of his motives or the purity of his life.

Judge Stewart was born in Dorchester county, Maryland, May 8, 1818. His par- ents were Joseph and Rachel Stewart, botlı of whom were also natives of that county, and in their native place they spent their entire lives. They were industrious, thrifty, good people, beginning life with but little in the way of worldly goods, but closing their labors in this world amidst scenes of peace and plenty, surrounded with everything calculated to make them happy. The

father was a shipbuilder, a man of sound, practical wisdom and kind and benevolent disposition. Both he and his wife were for many years members of the Methodist Church. They were the parents of twelve children, seven sons and five daughters, all of whom they took pains to train to habits of industry and sobriety and to educate up to the standard of that day. Five of the seven sons were educated for the law and two of them became ministers of the gospel. The eldest son was a member of Congress from Maryland for three terms before the war, and after the war was one of the Judges of the Supreme Court of that State.

William H. Stewart, of this article, re- ceived his education in the schools of his native place and at Dickinson College, Car- lisle, Pennsylvania, graduating at this insti- tution, after a four years' course, in 1841. He read law and was admitted to the bar in 1843, at Cambridge, Dorchester county, Maryland. The following year he came to Texas, settled at Gonzales, and began the practice of his profession. He was Mayor of Gonzales in 1847, and represented Gon- zales county in the State Legislature in 1848, 1850 and 1860. He was sent as a delegate to the convention that took Texas out of the Union and voted for the ordinance of separation. When hostilities began he raised a company in Gonzales county, but declined the captaincy of it because of a lack of knowleege of military tactics, and entered the service as a private, enlisting in Com- pany A, Fourth Texas Regiment, command- ed by Colonel John B. Hood. He served with this command up to 1863, when he was compelled to quit the service on account of ill health. During the remainder of the war and up to 1868 he resided at Gonzales and engaged, as best he could in the then un-

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settled condition of things, in the practice of law. In 1868 he moved to Galveston. He was elected to the Constitutional Con- vention of 1875 from this county, to fill a vacancy caused by the resignation of dele- gate Rugely, and was an active member of that body through the greater part of its sit- ting. He was the author of the clause setting apart 3,000, 000 acres of public land for capital and public buildings at the seat of government, and advocated many of the wisest measures then brought forward for incorporation in the organic law of the State. In 1876 he was elected Judge of the Twen- ty-sixth Judicial district, and has since held this office.

For many years, while residing in western Texas, Judge Stewart enjoyed a large and varied practice. The reports of the supreme court connect his name with many import- ant land and criminal cases in that section. : As Judge of the district court of this county he has had charge of the most intricate and important commercial and corporation cases. He has thus had to do either as counsel or Judge with numberless questions of law dur- ing the past fifty years, the final determina- tion of which now forms the recognized and finally settled system of the State's jurispru- dence.

Whether as citizen, soldier, member of one of the learned professions, or occupant of one of the most important judicial positions in the State, Judge Stewart has always stood ready to do his whole duty, and is justly es- teemed as an honorable and useful citizen, kind neighbor and a sound, good man. He is singularily free from the sternness and overwrought superficiality sometimes prac- tised by judges, his manners being simple and assuring, rendering him easy of access and pleasant in intercourse.

ILLIAM VOWINKLE, son of William and Catherine Vowinkle, was born in Sobernheim, on the Rhine, Germany, November 13, 1829. His parents dying while he was a lad, he left Germany before attaining his majority and came to America, sailing from Bremen in the ship "Moses Taylor" for New Orleans, which place he reached in May, in" 1849. From New Orleans young Vowinkle went to St. Louis, where he se- cured a clerkship in a clothing house, and remained there till 1853. He then came to Texas, reaching Galveston in December of that year, whence he went to Port Lavaca, and from there to Victoria. At the latter place he fell in with Peter Shiner, a wealthy stock-dealer, to whom he hired, and went at once to Mr. Shiner's ranch in the vicinity of San Antonio. He soon became familiar with the stock business, and, having won the confidence of his employer, was placed in charge of the latter's ranching interests in Lavaca, Dewitt and Gonzales counties. In 1857 Mr. Vowinkle drove for Mr. Shiner a large bunch of horses to Illinois, which he sold around Springfield, Lincoln and Bloom- ington, thiis being one of the first, if not the first, band of horses ever driven from south- west Texas to a Northern market.

At the opening of the war Mr. Vowinkle quit the ranch and entered the Confederate army, enlisting in Company D, Colonel Charles Pyron's regiment. For the first eighteen months he served on the Rio Grande. His command was then trans- ferred to the Gulf coast, and while serving in this capacity he participated in the battle of Galveston. Mr. Vowinkle was one of the first guards on the captured " Harriet Lane." He was also in the fight at Sabine Pass. Joining DeBray's regiment in May,

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1863, he went to Louisiana, and was in the series of skirmishes and engagements fol- lowing Banks' Red river campaign, taking part in all of them. He was in active serv- ice until the surrender, receiving his dis- charge, at Houston, in May, 1865. He was a private, and had the good fortune never to be captured or wounded.

Returning to San Antonio after the war, Mr. Vowinkle settled up his accounts with his former employer and collected a sınall balance due him, and with this came to Galveston, where he married and settled. His first employment here was in the wood business with General X. B. DeBray. Later he bought property and engaged in business for himself, -retail wood and gro- ceries, -and has since been so engaged.

Mr. Vowinkle has served as Commis- sioner of Galveston county. He is a mem- ber of the Odd Fellows, Knights of Honor, and of the United Confederate Veterans' Association. His marriage occurred on the 18th day of April, 1866, and was to Miss Wilhelmina Lott, a native of this city, and a daughter of William Lott, an early set- tler on the island.

LEXANDER CALVIT. - The true heroes of America are those wlio, from time to time abandoning the comforts of civilized life, have penetrated the forest and prairie wilderness of the great West and there helped to lay the foundation of new States. Such was Alexander Calvit, one of the first settlers of the Brazos valley, and a good type of that intelligent, adventurous and liberty-loving class of men by whom the arts and institu- tions of civilization were brought into the Southwest.

Mr. Calvit was born in Adams county, Mississippi, June 17th, 1784, and there grew to manhood. His boyhood and youth were passed on what was then the South- western frontier, and there he learned the ways of life which so well fitted him for one of the pioneers of Texas. He married Barbara Makall Wilkinson, in the town of Washington, Adams county, Mississippi. December 18, 1814, and for a number of years engaged in planting in that State. He was in the service of the United States during the war of 1812-15, holding the com- mission of Captain of a reconnoitering company. Another commission; signed by the Governor of Mississippi and dated in 1816, now in the possession of one of his descendants, shows that he held the posi- tion of Captain of artillery in the Thirteenth Mississippi Regiment, and presumably was a man of some consequence in local mili- tary affairs.

Froin Mississippi Mr. Calvit moved to Louisiana, and thence in 1824 to Texas, his family being one of Stephen F. Austin's original 300. On coming to Texas he set- tled first at San Felipe, but subsequently "laid a headright" on the lower Brazos in what is now Brazoria county, and there took up his permanent abode. He was re- siding on his farm on the Brazos when the troubles came on between the Colonists and Mexico, and, sharing in the sentiment by which the settlers were actuated in their re- sistance to the Mexican authority, he cast his personal fortunes in the scale with those of his fellow-citizens and gave the weight of his example to the cause of freedom and local self-government. His position as a Brazos valley planter seemed to make him most serviceable as a purveyor to the little army which formed on the frontier under

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Houston, and he diligently employed him- self during the winter and early spring of 1835-6 in gathering supplies and forwarding them to those at the front. From over- exertion and exposure undergone during this time he was taken with fever, from which in a short time he died, his death occurring January 7, 1836.

Surviving him, Mr. Calvit left a widow and three daughters, the daughters then just verging on to womanhood. The eldest of them, Mary, was married to Jared E. Groce, and after his death to Dr. B. R. Peebles; the second, Sallie J., was married to John Sharp, who was a Lieutenant in Captain R. J. Calder's company at the bat- tle of San Jacinto, and after the death of Lieutenant Sharp she was married to Robert S. Herndon, a brother of John H. Hern- don, to whom was married the youngest of the three, Barbara. (See sketch of John H. Herndon in this work.) All of these pioneer women of Texas are now deceased, except Mrs. R. S. Herndon, but their good works follow after them in the lives and characters of their posterity, upon whom they stamped the full imprint of their vir- tues. The widow of Alexander Calvit was a woman of more than ordinary character, and her daughters were indebted to her for most of the virtues which shone out with such radiance in their lives. Upon the death of her husband Mrs. Calvit was left with but slender means with which to pro- vide for herself and daughters; but, sum- moning her woman's courage and her woman's thrift and methods of economy, she put her household in order and took vigorous hold of the problems of farm life, and it is to her credit that she met every re- quirement of her position, and continued for years, after her daughters were married

and well provided for, to occupy the old homestead, and to conduct its affairs with marked success. Mrs. Calvit was a sister of the wife of Lieutenant Long, whose faithful vigil at Point Bolivar forms one of the most interesting and romantic chapters in Texas history.

ENRY STABE, son of Henry and Mary Stabe, was born in Cassel, Germany, November 30, 1832. He was reared in his native place to the age of seventeen, wlien, in 1849, he sailed for America, his destination being Houston, Texas, which place he reached by way of Galveston after an ocean voyage of eleven weeks. His first employment after reaching Houston was as a laborer on the streets, and the compensation received was $1 per day. After several weeks spent at this sort of work Mr. Stabe formed the acquaintance of a Mr. Granger, with whom he made arrangements to learn the trade of carpenter and builder, one of the terms of the arrangement being that young Stabe was to have a home under the roof of his employer during the time of his apprentice- ship. He was associated with Mr. Granger for twenty years, not only mastering his trade, but following it successfully in part- nership with the latter during the greater part of that time. After the war and until within a comparatively recent date Mr. Stabe was engaged in contracting and building in Houston, relinquishing this business only about five years ago to take up that of under- taker and embalmer, which he is now pursu- ing with marked success. The firm of Wall & Stabe, of which he is the junior member, was formed in 1889. It is the successor to the oldest and the largest establishment of the

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kind west of New Orleans or south of St. Louis, and does an annual business of sev- eral thousand dollars. The firm own six handsome hearses, ten carriages, and thirty horses. They carry a large stock of caskets and funeral accessories, and are manufac- turers of several grades of caskets for their own business. Particular attention is given to embalming, Mr. Stabe having mastered this branch of the business with a view to giving it his personal attention.

In 1861 Mr. Stabe married Miss Louisa Bering, of Houston, a daughter of John and Margaret Bering, who immigrated from Cas- sel, Germany, and settled in Houston in 1846. Mrs. Stabe was born in the village of Hof- geismar, Germany, and was only a girl when her parents came to Texas. She was reared chiefly in Houston, and belonged to one of the oldest and largest families of this city. Her parents both died here, the father in 1848, the mother in 1865. Several of her brothers reside in Houston, and are numbered among the most prosperous business men of the city. Mr. and Mrs. Stabe have had five children, three of whom are deceased and two living, the latter being Mrs. Fred Horn, of Galveston, and Mrs. James Baker, of Houston. The religious connection of the family is with the German Methodist Church, to the support of which, as well as to all worthy purposes, Mr. Stabe is a liberal con- tributor.

J OACHEN FREDERICK ARENDS. -From the first, Germany has been a heavy contributor to the population of this country. From its over- crowded cities and thickly settled rural dis- tricts large numbers of its thrifty, patient, plodding citizens have come to swell the

population of American cities and help sub- due the forest and prairie wilderness of this great continent. Texas began to receive large accessions from this source at an early period in its history, special agencies being organized and special efforts made by pri- vate parties, with some general assistance in the way of land grants from the Govern- ment, to secure as large number of German settlers-as possible.

The subject of this brief sketch, a native of Germany, became a resident of Texas in the manner above indicated. He was born in Kreis Osterburg, precinct of Magdeburg, province of Saxony, kingdom of Prussia, December 23, 1820, and is a son of Joachen and Maria Arends, natives also of Germany. He was reared in his native place. He left Germany in 1846, taking passage, Novem- ber 2d, on the sailing vessel "Fredericke Louisa" for Texas, which he reached Janu- ary 12, 1847, landing at Galveston. Two days later he arrived in Houston, and shortly afterward went to work on a farm for De- witt C. Harris, near Harrisburg. On quit- ting Mr. Harris' employ he engaged as a helper in the butcher business in Houston, and later went to the Brazos bottoms, where he remained some four years. Having saved his earnings he bought land on Bray's bayou, and there settled in 1852. Here for several years he divided his time between farming and freighting, working through the sum- mer months on his place and spending the fall and winter hauling sugar, molasses and cotton from the Brazos bottoms to Houston, and merchandise back to the merchants and planters in return.

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Author: Publication date: 1895 Publisher: Chicago, The Lewis publishing co., 1895 Number of Pages: 1532

Author:
Publication date: 1895
Publisher: Chicago, The Lewis publishing co., 1895
Number of Pages: 1532