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 47

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 47
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 47

Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).

unsettled as to where he would finally locate, but he was on the lookout for a suitable place and was revolving different mercantile and farming enterprises in his mind, as ap- pears from overtures which he made about this time in a letter to one of his nephews, then a resident of New Orleans.

At Fort Jessup, Dr. Labadie came to hear a great deal of Texas, and most of the reports being of a favorable nature he decid- ed to take a look at the country for himself. Mounting his horse he rode to Nachitoches, then the chief place of consequence between the Louisiana line and San Felipe, the capital of Austin's colony. He reached Nachitoches Christmas day, 1830. De- livering his letters of introduction to Colonel Peidras, commandante of the place, he re- ceived assurances of the good will of the government, and in a few days set out for Austin's colony. Here, at San Felipe, he met Colonel Samuel M. Williams, and being desirous of seeing the country accompanied him to Brazoria. A month later he was in New Orleans, in company with Captain Henry Austin and other Texans whom he had met in the meantime; and, retaining a favorable recollection of the country, he was induced by these gentlemen to return to Texas. He came over in the little schooner, Martha, commanded by Captain James Spillinan and landed at Anahuac, March 2, 1831. Having a good stock of medicines he was at once employed by Colonel Brad- burn as surgeon of the Mexican garrison at that place, consisting of 300 men, and in a short time also opened a store in partnership with a Mr. Wilcox. Ilis practice among the soldiers and the citizens living about the post, together with his interest in the store, soon began to bring him good returns, and this with the favorable influence of the

340

HISTORY OF TEXAS.

climate on his health made him much pleased with the place and his position.

While residing at Anahuac, and not long after his settlement there, Dr. Labadie married Miss Mary Norment, a Mississippi lady and a sister of Thomas Norment, who was a volunteer in the patriot cause and who shared in the glories of San Jacinto.

On the invasion of the country by Santa Anna Dr. Labadie responded promptly to the call for volunteers, enlisting March 1I, 1836, in Captain William M. Logan's com- pany of the Second Regiment of Texas Volunteers, upon its organization in Liberty county. IIe reported with his company to General Honston at Beason's Ferry on the Colorado on the 20th of the same month. He was absent from the main army, scout- ing with a company of volunteers under Captain Karnes, when the retreat to San Felipe began; but, rejoining the army while it was encamped at Groce's Ferry, he was appointed by General Houston, on April 6th, surgeon to the First Regiment of Regulars, and in this capacity had charge of the medi- cine chest which was hauled on an ox wagon on the retreat. In the battle of San Jacinto he fought as a volunteer in Captain Logan's company in the left wing of the army com- manded by General Sidney Sherman. After the battle he acted as surgeon to the wound- ed of the Texas army, and by request of General Houston attended the wounded prisoners. He was present when Santa Anna was brought into camp and presented to General Houston, and acted as interpre- ter on that occasion, though his name as such has for some reason or other been omitted by the historians. Some years be- fore his death Dr. Labadie gave to the press an account of that interview, and as it was then acknowledged to be correct by those in a

position to know, a repetition of it in his lan- guage will not be out of place in this con- nection. He said:

"While I was engaged in attending the wounded Mexican prisoners, a Mr. Sylvester rode up to the prison square with a prisoner, who refused to enter. I was called upon to interpret, as neither the sentinel nor Mr. Sylvester could speak Spanish. I told him that this was the place where all prisoners were kept. He replied, 'I want to see General Houston. Is he in camp?' 'Yes,' I replied, 'Mr. Sylvester, take this man to yonder oak tree where General Houston lies.' As they departed the prisoner whose wounds I was dressing, a Mexican lieutenant, whispered to me, 'Est el Presidente' (He is the President). I at once folded up my in- struments and followed after them, and met Colonel Hockley calling me to come quickly, as I was wanted. I found General Houston lying on his back on the ground under the oak tree (he was wounded); and on his left the prisoner was sitting on a chest. He politely returned my salute, and I said to him in Spanish, pointing, 'This is General Houston, do you want anything of him?' He replied, 'Tell General Houston that General Santa Anna stands before him a prisoner.' Gen- eral Honston hearing this interpreted, ap- peared much surprised, and turning on his left side said, 'General Santa Anna, in what condition do you surrender yourself?' 'A prisoner of war,' said he, and continuing, .Whilst I was in the cammino royal-the public highway-I met two of your soldiers, to whom I surrendered myself a prisoner of war.' 'Well,' said Colonel Houston, 'tell General Santa Anna that so long as he shall remain in the boundaries I shall allot him, I will be responsible for his life.' Upon hear- ing this Santa Anna's countenance brighten-

341

HISTORY OF TEXAS.

ed. He said, 'Tell General Houston that I ain tired of blood and war and have seen enough of this country to know that the two people can not live under the same laws, and I am willing to treat with him as to the boundaries of the two countries.' In reply General Houston said, 'Tell him that I can- not treat with him, but that the cabinet that is in Galveston will make a treaty with him.' Here the crowd pressing against us inter- fered with the conversation, and the guard had to force them back. Colonel Hockley appearing with young Zavalla to serve as interpreter, I returned to my wounded, who had been taken across the bayou to the Zavalla place, which was thereafter used as a hospital."

A few days after that, under orders from Secretary of War Thomas J. Rusk, Dr. Labadie started for Galveston, but stopped or the way at Anahuac to see his family. He found that during his absence his little son had died, one of his houses had been burned and the other pillaged, and his wife and remaining child were without the nec- cessaries of life. He was immediately taken with illness himself, caused by exposure preceding the battle, and was delirious for a week. His sufferings, mental and physical, were great at this time, and to add to his discomfitures and embarrassments when he recovered, his hearing was gone and he was ever afterward afflicted with this infirmity.

In the winter of 1837 Dr. Labadie moved to Galveston, though previous to that,-but exactly at what time and how long can not be determined, -he had lived on Lake Charlotte in what is now Chambers county, where he had purchased land. At the time of his removal to Galveston this was an inconsiderable place, most of the population of the island living in tents. He

was one of the first actual residents of the city and one of the first to engage in busi- ness here. He opened a drug store on the corner of Twenty-second and Market streets where the Alvey building now stands, and here he had his office and practiced medi- cine and dispensed drugs. He was not long idle. The exposed state of the people soon brought on fevers and other ills, and these, aggravated by bad sanitary conditions, spread death and suffering on every hand. In 1839 came the first visitation of the fatal vomito, and in addition to the cares and labors of a professional nature which it brought to Dr. Labadie it took from him his beloved companion, leaving him three little girls, the eldest of whom was but six years old and the youngest a babe of five months. But Dr. Labadie resolutely stood by the home of his choice, and the people with whom he had decided to spend his re- maining years. While giving due attention to the claims of his own household upon him, he was everywhere among the sick and distressed, and not only in the epidemic of 1839 but also in every other that visited the island up to the last, in 1867, he was al- ways found at his post, and proved himself worthy of the title bestowed on St. Luke, - "Beloved Physician."

While he was thus chiefly concerned with his professional duties and won and held a high rank among his medical breth- ren, he found time to interest himself in matters of general interest relating to the welfare of the city. Public enterprises, whatsoever things elevate, adorn or improve the society in which he moved or the com- munity in which he made his home, met his cordial approbation and received his prompt advocacy and assistance. He estab- lished a line of sailing vessels between Gal-

342

HISTORY OF TEXAS.

veston and Pensacola, Florida, by means of which he furnished a considerable quantity of the lumber which went into the early buildings in the city; he built the wharf at the foot of Twenty-seventh street, which still bears his name, and which was a popu- lar wharf under his management for years afterwards; he built the first marine ways; he purchased lots in the new town and erected substantial buildings, one of these being a frame store building at what is now 2317-2319 Market street, being the second store building erected on that street. He took the initiative in establishing the first Catholic church in Galveston, which was erected on the site of the present building on Center street, and there with his own hands planted the first tree put out on the lot, which still stands. He was one of the first to re- spond to a subscription for Charity Hospital, built just after the war, and was, in fact, among the foremost, both with his means and personal efforts, in all things looking to the improvement and welfare of the city.

He was devoted to Texas and all its interests with that ardent attachment which characterized the feeling of all the "old guard " who had gone through the fires of the revolution and had witnessed the birth of the infant Republic; and twenty-five years after the battle of San Jacinto, when the clouds of war were, again seen in the horizon and the soil for which he had fought was invaded by what he considered a foreign foe, his generous breast was fired with patriotic zeal, and, had he not been incapa- citated by reason of age and physical infirmi- ties, he would have again shouldered arms in defense of invaded rights. As it was, he rendered such service as he could, chiefly in the capacity of a physician, being a member of the examining board to the First Brigade | year.

of Texas State troops; and he saw his adopted State pass safely through the try- ing times of 1861-5, and witnessed its re- habilitation as one of the sovereign States of the American Union, and he lived long enough also to know that it is destined to be the greatest in the American galaxy.

After the death of his wife, in 1839, Dr. Labadie married, on December 9, 1840, Mrs. Agnes Rivera, then residing in Gal- veston, a daughter of John and Jennet Harkness. The issne of this union was one son, Joseph, who is now a resident of Gal- veston. His daugliters by his former mar- riage all became grown, the eldest, Sarali, becoming the wife of Solomon Wallis and residing now at Wallisville, Texas; Char- lotte L., now Mrs. Ebenezer Barstow, resid- ing in New Bedford, Massachusetts; and Cecelia, becoming the wife of Hon. Philip C. Tucker, of Galveston, both of whom are deceased. Dr. Labadie's second wife died in 1843, and he married a third time, but there was no issue of his last marriage.

The religious connection of Dr. Labadie's family running back for more than two cen- turies has been with the Catholic Church, upon the services of which he was a zealous attendant and in the history and teachings of which he was more than ordinarily well informed. Yet he was in no wise bigoted in his religous views, but in all the functions of true citizenship, -in all the relations of life, -he proved himself a real man and a genuine Christian. He died March 13, 1867. 1

A. SHEPHERD was born in Flu- vanna county, Virginia, on the 14th day of May, 1814, and was there reared until he attained his fifteenth Having lost his parents he left Vir-

343

HISTORY OF TEXAS.

ginia at that age and went to Nashville, Tennessee, where he found employment as clerk in a general store. From Nashville he went to New Orleans, where he held a simi- lar position and there spent several years, familiarizing himself with general business methods. From New Orleans he came to Texas, landing at Galveston May 22, 1839. Having some means he at once embarked in the mercantile business at Galveston, in partnership with A. C. Crawford. In 1840 he married, at Galveston, and continued to make that place his home until September, 1842, when, the firm of Crawford & Shep- herd having established a business at Hous- ton, he went to that place to take charge of their interests there. Dissolving his rela- tions with Mr. Crawford about that date, he engaged in business in 1843, in partnership witlı A. J. Burke, under the firm name of Shepherd & Burke, cand this house soon came to be one of the leading mercantile establishments in the city. This partnership continued about ten years and it was during this time that Mr. Shepherd laid the founda- tion of his fortune. In 1854 he sold his in- terest in the store to Mr. Burke and opened a bank, which he conducted with success until the opening of the war. During the war he kept his funds as well invested as he could, but did not reap the large profits which some others did, as the trade conditions, being mostly of a speculative nature, were not to his taste. In 1866 he purchased the stock of a bank which had been started a year previous and, reorganizing this, again em- barked in the banking business, opening up the First National Bank, of which he be- came president, -a position he held as long as he lived. Under his able management this institution soon developed into one of the first financial concerns in the city of

Houston and is to-day one of the most solid banks in the State. In addition to his banking interests Mr. Shepherd had large in- vestments in real estate, lands and lots, im- proved and unimproved, and some stock at different times in local enterprises. Asso- ciated with T. W. House, William J. Hutchins and P. J. Willis & Brother, he or- ganized the City Mills of Houston for the manufacture of heavy cotton goods, just after the war, capitalizing the same for $100,000, he being made president, which. position he held until the mills were des- troyed by fire. It can not be truthfully said however that he ever exhibited undue eager- ness in setting on foot local enterprises. He had no sentiment about such things, and never allowed himself to be influenced by what is called local pride. He preferred to keep his means within his own reach and under his own direct supervision.

Mr. Shepherd was throughout life a busi- ness man in the strictest sense of the word. He was wedded to his business with that absolute devotion which would have won a large measure of success even with qualities vastly inferior to those he possessed. Un- questionably one of the secrets of his suc- cess was the constant daily attention he gave to all the details of his business, the thorough study he made of all the condi- tions affecting his affairs and the ceaseless vigilance he exercised concerning all his interests. In addition to this he was a good judge of men. It would be no particular credit to him to say that he was honest; most business men are supposed to be honest and actually are. But there was a kind of sturdy independence in the way he showed the rectitude of his motives that raised his integrity above the plane of commercial honesty and emphasized what he did as the

344

HISTORY OF TEXAS.

necessary outcome of a nature essentially true to itself. He cared nothing for popu- larity, as that word is now generally under- stood. He was charitable, but in the mat- ter of giving, as in other matters, he had his ideas as to the time and manner of giv- ing. The trust fund of $20,000 set aside by him before his death for the relief of the poor of the city of Houston is the only public bequest he ever made. He was in later life for many years a member of Shearn Me- morial Church, and his identification with Christian people, as well as the promises of the gospel, seemed to afford him much consol- ation and pleasure. As he had lived, earn- est, active and industrious; self-dependent and self-contained, so he died, passing away December 24, 1891. His companion had preceded him by a few years, having died on February 20, 1888. The remains of both rest in Glenwood cemetery, at Hous- ton. Mr. Shepherd left a large estate, chiefly represented by the stock of the First National Bank. This institution con- tinues along the lines projected by him and is practically the property of his family, -- his three sons-in-law, A. P. Root, O. L. Coch- ran and W. H. Palmer, being president, vice-president and cashier respectively; and these, with M. E. Roberts, another son-in- law, and August Bering, an old friend of Mr. Shepherd, constituting the board of di- rectors.

HRISTIAN JORDAN, the subject of this sketch, was born in Han- over, Germany, November 1, 1830. He learned the trade of a carpen- ter in his native place, and came, in 1848, to Texas, settling at Galveston. Here he engaged at his trade, and followed it very

successfully for a number of years, the rapidly growing condition of the city afford- ing him a good field for work. He devel- oped into a contractor, builder and super- vising architect, and as such had to do with the building interests of Galveston very ex- tensively. He early began to take an active part in the affairs of the city, and from time to time held a number of public offices. He was for seven years a member of the City Council; was twice Sheriff of Galves- ton county, and several terms a member of the Board of County Commissioners. Mr. Jordan was a man of great energy and strength of character, known for his kind- ness of heart and his thorough integrity. By industry and good management he accumu- lated some property, and always maintained a fair standing as a citizen of the commu- nity in which he lived. He was very pub- : lic-spirited, and gave unselfishly of his time to the public service, discharging intelli- gently whatever public duties were entrusted to him.

In 1853 Mr. Jordan married Miss Mary Sobersbee, of Galveston, but a native of Bremen, Germany. The issue of this mar- riage was a daughter, Helen, who was mar- ried to Jacob Heye, of Galveston, and is now deceased, and a son, Christian, now a resident of Galveston. Mrs. Jordan died December 21, 1864, aged thirty-six years. Mr. Jordan died December 28, 1885. Be- ing a member of the County Court at the time, that court adjourned out of respect to his memory, and he was buried according to the ritual of the Odd Fellows, of which order he had for many years been a mem- ber. Surviving him he left a widow and one son, Christian, mentioned above ..

Christian Jordan, son of Christian and Mary Jordan, was born in the city of Gal-

Charles Shamn.

HISTORY OF TEXAS.

345

veston, January 22, 1854. On May 24, 1883, he married Mary Cramer, a native of Westphalen, Germany, who came to Texas in 1873, in company with her aunt, Mrs. Jennie Floeck. The offspring of this union has been one son, Otto, who was born March 4, 1889.

J UDGE CHARLES SHEARN, de- ceased, whose name will forever be associated with the story of the trials and struggles of the early settlers of Texas, and whose mature and later life was devoted so largely to the works of benefi- cence and charity in his adopted State, was a native of England, born on the 30th of October, 1794.

At the age of twenty-four he married Mary Pode, of Bath, and in 1834 emigrated to America and took up his residence in the vicinity of Goliad, in southwestern Texas. He found the country on his arrival in a state of excitement, preparing to resist the invasion of the Mexican army, then march- ing to the devastation of the provinces along the Southwestern frontier. He was one of a body of ninty men who met at Goliad on Sunday, December 20, 1835, and signed a declaration of independance which was subsequently published in the Texas Repub- lican at Brazoria, under date of January 13, 1836, and was thus one of the earliest civil proceedings taken by the colonists toward securing their freedom. This document, with a full list of its signers, was afterward published in the State Gazette and still later in the Texas Alınanac and the Texas Scrap Book, in each of which publications, through a typographical error made in the Republican, the name of Charles "Shearn "

was printed Charles "Shingle." . Most of the signers of this document perished with Fannin's men in the following March, though a few of them lived for years after- ward and were known to many old Texans.

Mr. Shearn being committed to the cause of the colonists by his action in sign- ing the Declaration of Independence referred to, joined Captain Dimitt's company at Go- liad, and afterward, on the approach of the Mexican army under General Urrea, marched to the front, where he and his son John, then a lad of twelve, and a man named Handle, were captured. Shearn and Han- dle were tied back to back and placed in positions to be shot by a platoon of soldiers, when the boy, clinging to the father's neck, attracted the attention. of the commanding officer, and inquiry being made concerning them, it was learned they were as yet Brit- ish subjects; whereupon they were released.

Mr. Shearn immediately gave up his residence in the vicinity of Goliad, and inade his way to the settlements east of the Brazos, where he resided until 1837. The city of Houston having in the meantime been laid out and the seat of the new Re- public established at this place, he removed here, and from that time until his death forty years later, he made this his home. He was thus not only a pioneer of Texas, but in a restricted sense one of the founders of the chief city of this great common- wealth, the growth of whose every interest he watched with becoming pride, and on whose moral and social life he left the im- print of a truly Christian character.

For many years he was engaged in the inercantile business in this city, in which his industry, kind disposition, and straight- forward methods, aided by natural advan- tages, brought him marked prosperity and

HISTORY OF TEXAS.

346

drew around him a large circle of friends and associates. He also filled a number of public positions, the duties of which he always discharged with an eye single to the public good. For six years he was Chief Justice of Harris county, during which time he had the handling of large sums of public money as well as the supervision of varied and extensive public interests. That no complaint was ever heard against his official conduct is evidence that his administration gave eminent satisfaction and accorded with his well-known maxims of honesty and rec- titude in private affairs. One of the early court-houses was built during his official in- cumbency and under his personal direction, and it was a creditable structure for the time, and a monument alike to his honesty and good taste. Besides the Chief Justice- ship, he was connected with many other trusts, and had business relations, of an official and semi-official nature, with a num- ber of interests. His uprightness and con- scientious devotion to duty made him a trusted associate in numberless public un- dertakings, and led to his appointment in various fiduciary capacities. One thing which marked his life in this connection is especially worthy of mention, and that was his fixed habit of never charging widows or orphans for his services, and of expending a large share of his salary in assisting those whose necessities he learned of by reason of his official position.

But it was probably with the religious history of this city that he was most prom- inently connected, and in connection with this interest that his name will longest be remembered. Under the influence of a pious wife he united with the Methodist Church soon after coming to Houston, and from the day of his casting his lot with the

people of God he was an earnest, faithful worker for the cause of Christianity. His liberality and business experience made him almost invaluable to a new congregation struggling to build up an effective organiza- tion and to erect an edifice suited to the de- mands of a growing city like Houston. He was one of the pillars of the Methodist Church for many years, and under his stew- ardship the affairs of the church were con- ducted with the utmost harmony and success. He also gave his attention to denomination- al work outside of the church, serving with- out remuneration for several years as finan- cial agent of the Texas Christian Advocate. When the movement was set on foot by the Methodists to erect a church in Houston, he took the lead, and as chairman of the build- ing committee collected and paid out all moneys donated for that purpose, and when the amount set aside for that purpose failed to complete the building by $2,000, he pledged his own credit for the amount, in addition to an already liberal subscription, and finished the work. He subsequently donated this entire sum to the church, in recognition of which, as well as in acknowl- edgment for his long and unfailing interest in all church work, the building was called the Charles Shearn Memorial Church, the name being extended to the present edifice, which was erected on the site of the former building.

Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.

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