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 41

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 41
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 41

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ON. CHARLES HENRY LEON- ARD, Galveston, was born in the south of Ireland, March 25, 1813. His parents were Colonel George Leonard and Jane Percy. The father be- longed to the British army and served in the war of 1812 against the United States, but afterward became a personal friend of Gen-

eral Andrew Jackson, whom he frequently visited while the latter was President. Mr. Leonard's grandfather, George Leonard, was an Irish country gentleman, whose wealth and abundant leisure enabled him to indulge his taste for sport and to live the ideal life of his class. Several of the uncles of Charles Henry on both sides were officers in the army and navy of Great Britain, one of them also being a member of the British parliament. Mr. Leonard's mother was a native of north England, and was a daugh- ter of Sir James Percy, of an old English house.

Charles H. Leonard was partly educated at King's College, at Toronto, Canada, which institution he left at the age of twenty. He came to the United States in the spring of 1834, and, going to Washing- ton city, presented himself to General Jack- son, General Lewis Cass and other distin- guished gentlemen as the son of Colonel Leonard, whom they had known and who had frequently been their visitor at the na- tional seat of government. Furnished with letters of introduction from these gentle- men, he started West and entered on a career in some respects interesting and ad- venturous. After some time spent in the upper Mississippi valley he drifted to New Orleans, where he happened to be at the time of the breaking out of the Seminole war in Florida. Upon the call for volun- teers for service in that war he offered him- self, joining a company then being raised, but before the company was mustered into service the Governor of Louisiana received information that no more troops were needed, as the war was over, which, how- ever, turned out not to be true, as the war lasted for some years afterward. But young Leonard was ready for adventure, and, hav-

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HISTORY OF TEXAS.

ing had the martial spirit somewhat stirred in him by the stories from the Florida country, he determined to go the assistance of the colonists of Texas, who were then engaged in their struggle with Mexico. News was received at New Orleans that the dictator, Santa Anna, at the head of a large and well-equipped army, was about to in- vade the country. Mr. Leonard came to Texas by way of Fort Jessup and Gaines' Ferry on the Sabine river, and going direct to San Augustine he entered Captain Henry Reed's company, marched for the West, and joined the Texas army near Victoria, on the Guadalupe. On the arrival of Skir- lock's company at headquarters, Mr. Leon- ard, at his own request, was transferred to it, Colonel Morehouse's regiment. He served in this command until after the re- treat of the main body of the army under General Houston beyond the Brazos, when he, with many others, found service in pro- tecting the fleeing settlers. At a later date he was in the frontier service under Captain Alexander Horton, Colonel Lynn Mabbett's regiment, and was also with General Rusk in the uprising of 1838, when the Indians and Mexicans threatened the extermination of the Americans in east Texas.

A few years after the city of Galveston was laid out Mr. Leonard came to this place, and casting his lot with the people of the same, he has remained one of them since. He married Adeline D. Reilley, of Galveston, January 1, 1853.

Mr. Leonard's pursuits, during his resi- dence in this city, have been chiefly of a business nature, though he has, at one time and another, held a number of public offices. He has been Alderman of the city, Com- missioner of the county, and Mayor of Gal- veston four times. The positions which he

has held have come to him by reason of his fitness for them, rather than by any self- seeking on his part. When a candidate for office he has never been profuse in prom- ises, nor has he ever made any which he has not honorably redeemed. As an officer he was always attentive to his duties, and re- quired the same promptitude in his subor- dinates. His administration as Mayor was marked . by economy, the preservation of municipal rights, and the payment of the public debt. Yet he was always mindful of the rights and privileges of the individual tax-payer, and, while seeking to infuse a spirit of enterprise and progress into the public service, he endeavored to act along the lines of fairness to all concerned. After the late war, when Galveston was dilapi- dated in appearance and low in finance, Mr. Leonard, being called to the office of Mayor, lifted the city to the condition of a live municipality, organized its various de- partments, gave security to life and prop- erty, paid all outstanding city debts, devised employment for labor, and extended his support and influence to Major Plumly in the construction of the first street railway ever built in Texas. At the same time, with the co-operation and under the able inanagement of Dr. Dowell, he reorganized the city hospital for the care of the indigent sick. He caused the streets of the city to be lighted with gas, and purchased for the fire department the first steam fire-engine ever brought to Texas. He also endeav- ored, during a former term of service, to provide for that great want of the city, a supply of pure water. He recommended to the city council the propriety of boring at least one artesian well, but before the matter was fairly on foot he went out of office, and his suggestion was not acted

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upon until his re-election in 1879. Then, with the co-operation of an intelligent body of Aldermen, the funds were supplied, and a first business-like effort toward the solu- tion of this vexed municipal problem was made. Thus, and in other ways, has Mr. Leonard helped to lay the foundation of the Island City, in whose growth and prosperity he has always exhibited the keenest interest, and with which his name will always be as- sociated. In politics he has usually affili- ated with the Democratic party in State and National matters, but in local affairs he has acted independently.

He is a Texas veteran of the first class, having served his adopted country in every capacity in which he has been called, but the only remuneration lie has ever received for his military services for the independ- ence of Texas was a pair of pegged brogan shoes, an old flint-lock musket that he took the liberty of carying home with him, and two certificates as a soldier, each entitling him to 320 acres of land, which he subse- quently sold for $10 apiece.

Mr. Leonard has lost heavily at times by fires, and the late war also brought him his due proportion of losses. On the out- break of hostilities between the States his sympathies were naturally with the Con- federacy, and he responded to the call for help by raising and equipping one of the first companies that went out from this city. Although suffering much in fortune for the part he took in the great conflict, he is to- day in comfortable circumstances, the result of industry, frugality and straightforward business methods on his part. He is singu- larly temperate in his habits, and though a member of no church and making no pre- tense as a moralist, he has always exercised a beneficial influence in the community in

which he has lived. He was made a Mason in 1837, and has held the position of Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of Texas. He is also a member of the Odd Fellows order, and has been Grand High Priest of the order in this State.

To Mr. Leonard and wife have been born twelve children, but six of whom became grown: Ada, Laura, Franklin, Percy and St. Clair .(twins) and Charles Henry, Jr.

ILLIAM WERNER, son of Peter and Elizabeth Werner, was born in the village of Liebenscheid, Nassua, Prussia, December 11, 1818. His parents were natives of the same place, and resided there until 1845, when with their family, consisting of three sons,-William, Gus and Henry,-they emigrated to Texas, sailing from Bremen about October 8th in the ship Johann Dethard, and reaching Galveston December 20th following. The destination of the family was New Braunfels, the capital seat of the German colony in southwest Texas, but a temporary stop in Galveston was necessitated by threatened hostilities be- tween Mexico and the United States, grow- ing out of the annexation of Texas to the latter. But in March following their arrival at Galveston the parents proceeded on their way toward the colony, and had reached Indianola when the father was taken ill, and in a few days died. William had in the meantime started "up the country" in search of work, and had also been taken ill at Houston. As soon as he recovered suf- ficiently he returned to Galveston, and hav- ing heard of his father's death, sent for his mother, bringing her back to Galveston, and here provided a home for her. House

how we ury I subscribe myself S. L. Allen.

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room being scarce in the city at that time, he put up a small frame building on a lot on Fourteenth street and avenue A, which he had purchased, carrying the timber on his shoulder from Officier's lumber-yard at the wharf. His first employment was as a com- mon laborer, at whatever wages he could get. Shortly afterward (August, 1846), he secured a place as general-purpose man on the premises of Dr. Taylor, at $8 per month, and worked at that place for a year. He then obtained a position in the lumber-yard of Mr. Lynn, the British consul, fromn wliose employ, after a few months, he went to that of Dr. J. C. Kuhn, who was then doing a large commission and shipping business. He remained with Dr. Kuhn for a period of eight years, during which time he received from $30 to $40 per month, most of which he saved.

In the meantime, in 1847, Mr. Werner married, taking for his wife Miss Katrina Elbert, who was a native of Bavaria, Ger- many, having come to Galveston the year previous. In the yellow-fever epidemic of 1847 Mr. Werner's mother died with the fever, and his own health became much im- paired through close confinement to work and exposure to malarial and other noxious influences, so that, in 1855, he concluded to take a trip to liis native country for the bene- fit of his health. He spent two years in Germany, at the end of which time he re- turned to Galveston, and opening a grocery store at his former place of residence on Fourteenth street, was there engaged in business until the opening of the war.

.Mr. Werner was opposed to secession, and refused to enter the Confederate army for field service, but compromised by en- gaging as a blockade runner. He was cap- tured on the first trip in this service, and 20

thereafter gave up all interest in the war, and spent most of the time until the close of hostilities in New Orleans.

Returning to Galveston after the war he resumed business here, and was so engaged up to 1870. Continued ill health forced his retirement at that time, and he lias since done but little except to look after his health. He has made five trips to Germany, most of them in recent years, and has traveled ex- tensively in Europe and this country.

Mr. Werner lost his wife in 1875 (March 4th), and he afterward married again, but . has no children by either marriage. Both his parents having died here, and his younger brother, Henry, without issue, his only relatives residing on this side of the Atlantic are his brother, Gus, who lives in Galveston, and his family.

Mr. Werner does not belong to any church organization nor to any orders: He has never filled public office, nor figured in politics. He knows and is known to all the old settlers, by whom he is held in respect and inentioned with esteem, but to the younger generation he is a comparative stranger.

S AMUEL L. ALLEN, for more than half a century a resident of the city of Houston, one of her first merchants, the last survivor of six brothers, whose names have become insep- arably linked with the history of this portion of the State, was born in the Indian village of Canaseraga, in what is now Madison county, New York, on the 12th day of April, 1808. For an account of his ancestry ref- erence may be had to the family history, which appears elsewhere in this volume. His boyhood and youth were passed in his

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native place, among the hills and along the streams of Madison county, then a wild, picturesque and unsettled country, still in part occupied by the Indians. The father of Samuel L. bought an "Indian improve- ment " on settling at Canaseraga, and for a considerable time had several families of Indians for his neighbors. That these, though claiming to be civilized, were not always disposed to be friendly toward the whites, is well illustrated by an incident in the life of Mr. Allen that befell him in his childhood. He relates that when but three years old he went one day with a neighbor boy to the pasture, not far from his father's house, for a horse. While the boy was driving up the horse young Samuel was to wait at a safe place near the "gap." It so happened that there was an apple tree near by, into which he concluded to climb. An old squaw, belonging to an Indian family liv- ing close at hand, saw him, and, actuated pre- sumably by downright cruelty, went down to the apple tree, and, shaking him out, fell to beating him over the head with a club. He was beaten until he was sense- less, and supposed by the woman to be dead, in which condition he was thrown in an out-of-the-way place, where he was partly covered with leaves, and left. IIe lay there the greater part of the day till to- ward evening, when the old squaw, moved probably by curiosity, went down and ex- amined him, and, finding him still alive, reported to some white men not far away that she had found a child which had been almost kicked to death by horses. Point- ing out the place, the child was recognized and taken to his parents. Although he was then speechless and unconscious, he recov- ered sufficiently in a few days to tell the straight of the story, which being done, ex-

cited great indignation among the whites, and there were threats of violent measures against the Indian woman. Trouble, how- ever, was averted by the counsel of cooler heads and by the promptness with which the husband of the woman, an intelligent, manly fellow, met the emergency. The husband went at once to the parents of the child and offered to surrender his wife to be dealt with as they saw fit, and was so con- stant in his attentions to the boy that he greatly assuaged the public feeling, and won the esteem and friendship of the family, - so much so that the offense was condoned, and, the boy recovering rapidly, the matter was dropped.

Samuel L. Allen's education was limited to a few montlis' attendance at the local schools, where lie was reared. He began while yet a boy to interest himself in his father's work, and before he was twenty- one he was master of a trade, having, by his own unaided efforts, made all kinds of edged tools, vices and screw-plates.

Ou reaching his majority he went to Baldwinsville in his native State, where he erected three brick houses with funds which had been furnished him for that purpose, and stocked them with merchandise, and there entered on his mercantile career, -a career which was to last almost uninter- ruptedly for fifty years and to be crowned with noteworthy success. He remained in Baldwinsville for about five years, when his brothers, Augustus C. and John K., having come to Texas and begun operations here, Samuel was induced to come on and try his fortunes in the new country. He came to Texas in the spring of 1834, in company with a man named Kellogg, and Mrs. Charlotte M. Allen, the wife of Augustus C. The trip from New York was made by

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steamer down the Ohio to the Mississippi, thence to the mouth of Red river and up it to Natchitoches, Louisiana. From Natchitoches the party traveled overland on horseback to Nacogdoches, Texas. Nacog- doches was then one of the most consider- able towns in Texas and the objective point of mnost of those coming to the country. Mr. Allen's description of it accords with the general idea of a frontier town. It be- ing, according to his account, a small trad- ing place composed of cheap wooden struc- tures, the population consisting of Ameri- cans, Mexicans and Indians, among whom the triple elements of good society: law, order and morality, had as yet taken but lit- tle hold. One of the collisions between the Mexicans and Americans cominon in those days, and which threatened to plunge the entire population in war, occurred only a few days after Mr. Allen's arrival. A Mexican wlio was known to have killed eight Americans, and who took a delight in boast- ing of his deeds of this kind, rode around the plaza one day, and, stopping in front of where a number of Americans were stand- ing, stated that he intended to add three more Americans to his list, and intimated that he would get them from those there present. He continued his braggadocio and taunting for some time, when one of the American party, thinking it was time to do something, leveled on the Mexican with his rrfle and brought him to the ground. The Mexican soon expired, and his body being rouglily handled by a desperate character of the American party, the Mexican's three sons swore vengeance on the Americans and began immediately to make overtures to the Indians for a combined attack on all the Americans in that vicinity, promising the Indians a liberal division of all booty

taken. The Indians, who were then on terms of peace with the whites, revealed the plot, and the attack was thus averted and a massacre probably prevented.

From 1834 to 1838 Mr. Allen made Nacogdoches his home, although he spent considerable time between that place and his old home in New York, where his father still lived, and where the family still had some interests and investments. In Novem- ber, 1838, he came to Houston, which place his brothers, Augustus C. and John K., had just previously laid out. Here he at once embarked in the mercantile business, - receiving and forwarding goods. His ware- houses and office were located near the head of the bayou at the foot of Main street, corner of Commerce, on the lot now occupied by W. D. Cleveland's wholesale grocery house. Houston, then the newly located county seat of Harris county, and the capital of the new Republic and the head of salt-water navigation, soon devel- oped into an important commercial pont, and Mr. Allen did a large and successful business for a number of years after locat- ing here. He was alone until 1846, when he associated with himself Mr. Thomas M. Bagby, and the firmn of Allen & Bagby did the principal business in their line until the opening of the war. Mr. Allen says that he has received and shipped goods at Houston to points in Texas as far west as any set- tlement and as far north as Red river, and, in fact, to the Indian Territory, during the dry season when Red river was low and the Indian country was not accessible by that stream.

During the war with Mexico he was a sutler in the American army, and furnished supplies for nost of the American forces operating along the Southwestern frontier.

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It was while in the lower coast country, en- gaged in this business, that he was taken with fever, with which he returned to Hous- ton, and was for a number of months con- fined to his bed, his life being despaired of.

Recovering, however, after a long period of suffering, he entered actively into busi- ness pursuits, purchasing a stock of goods, which he sent by freight-wagons to the vicinity of New Braunfels, expecting to sell them at a good profit to the German colon- ists, who were then being located there by Fisher & Miller. This venture, however, proved unprofitable, and gave Mr. Allen no end of trouble from beginning to end. In the first place he gave the freighters wlio hauled his goods ten days or two weeks the start of himself, he going horseback, so that they would reach their destination by the time he got there. But when he reached the colony the goods were not there, and no tidings of them had arrived. After waiting a day or so he mounted his horse and "took the back track," making inquiries along the way. He finally heard of the wagons in the vicinity of Bastrop, and after making dili- gent search located them. The goods were in the wagons just as they had been loaded, and were in a good state of preservation, the freigliters simply having stopped "to work out their crops" before proceeding on their journey.

After getting his goods to New Braunfels Mr. Allen met with great difficulty in dis- posing of them because the new settlers had but little to buy with. He finally succeeded, however, in exchanging them for a bunch of steers, for which he found a more ready sale, as these were in great demand by the colonists in opening up their farms. He took drafts for the amount of his sales- about $4,000-and returned to Houston.

The drafts were placed with a local mer- chant for collection, and one can readily understand that Mr. Allen was very much surprised, not to say disgusted and dis- couraged, when his drafts were returned protested. After considerable effort he got his drafts exchanged for stock in the Fisher & Miller company, and this stock he still holds, never having realized a cent on it.

Mr .- Allen's business suffered a tempo- rary suspension during the war, but as soon as the blockade was removed and commerce between the States became free, he again opened his warehouses and for about seven- teen years he did a large cotton and com- mission business, continuing, in fact, up to 1880, when he retired. For six years fol- lowing that date he resided mostly on his farm in Bosque county, where he found pleasant and profitable employment, looking after his farming and stock interest's.

In 1887 he returned to Houston to re- main permanently. He has not attempted during the last six or seven years to interest himself in any sort of active pursuits, al- though he still gives his personal attention . to his own business, looking after his rents, repairs, taxes, insurance, etc., etc. He still enjoys good health, and is vigorous and alert mentally and physically.

Mr. Allen did not marry until late in life. His marriage occurred on April 3, 1860, and was to Miss Margaret Evaline Caffrey, a daughter of Thomas and Margaret P. Caffrey. Mrs. Allen was born in Yazoo county, Mississippi, but at the time of her marriage was a resident of Galveston. She was educated in Ohio and Kentucky and had good school advantages, being brought up in accordance with the ante-bellum idea of training the young. Mr. and Mrs. Allen have only one child, a son, Augustus C, now

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junior member of the law firm of Kittrell & Allen, of Houston.

Mr. Allen has never taken much interest in politics and but little in social matters, and yet he is by no means indifferent to the claims which the State holds on him, nor to those which his fellowmen hold. He has always voted the Democratic ticket and has contributed of his means to all charitable works. He has been a member of the Pres- byterian Church for forty-six years, and has lived a life consistent with his professions.

While a man's biography may not al- ways hold till his death, either in the amount of property or in his character, the subject of this sketch has been so uniform in his habits, and his character is so firm that what is here said of him, it is safe to say, will stand for all time without any erasures or qualification.

J OHN H. HUTCHINGS was born in North Carolina, February 2, 1822. He received only a moderate educa- tion. At about the age of twenty- one he left his native place and went to New Orleans, where he found employment as a clerk in the mercantile business. New Or- leans in those days was the chief seat of commercial activity south and west of Phil- adelphia, -through it poured the ceaseless tide of emigration bound for the trans-Mis- sissippi country, and to it went merchants, stockmen, traders and adventurers from the West to purchase, barter and exchange. In this way its people came to hear much of Texas, the great domain which had but re- cently been opened up to Anglo-Saxon civ- ilization, and of the splendid opportunities which it offered to men of energy and enter- prise. Mr. Hutchings was attracted to the

new country, and hither, in the winter or spring of 1845, he came to try his fortunes with the lost of others who were then tak- ing up their residence under the flag of the Lone Star. He first settled at Galveston, but in 1847 he went to Sabine, where, form- ing a partnership with Mr. John Sealy, he embarked in the mercantile business and was profitably engaged in it at that place until 1854. Returning then to Galveston, Messrs. Hutchings & Sealy associated with themselves Mr. George Ball, of this city, and the since famous house of Ball, Hutch- ings & Company was founded. The busi- ness first contemplated was merchandising, banking and commission, but the mercantile feature being dropped shortly afterward, the banking and commission business became the sole reliance. The firm operated suc- cessfully on these lines up to the opening of the war, wlien with the closing of the port at Galveston by blockade, the firm retired to Houston, and there engaged extensively in the importation of arins and other war material, and exported cotton on a large scale by running the blockade. . The sagac- ity, business experience, and business con- nection of the firm of Ball, Hutchings & Company enabled them to be of incalculable service to the cause of the Confederacy dur- ing the trying times of 1861-65, and the fact that they made some money out of their operations in no wise detracts from the value of their services to a cause which they, no less than others of their neighbors and associates, believed to be just, and which they sought in every legitimate way to promote.

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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