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 48

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 48
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 48

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).

Judge Shearn's hold on public confi- dence was not restricted to the congrega- tion of which he was a member. His up- right life and pious Christian character were known and read of all men in this communi- ty, and he was held in universal esteem and confidence. His late years were passed in retirement, and as his health began gradual- ly to fail he was invited by people of all

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shades of religious belief; and it was probab- ly one of the most cheering of his last ex- periences that the earnestness and consis- tency of his life were so generally recognized and were the means of directing men to higher and nobler things. He died in 1877.

His wife, Mary Pode, had died many years before, and a second wife, childless, had preceded him to the grave. By lis first wife he had two children : John, whose pathetic cries saved his life in 1836; and Mary, who though reared amidst the rugged experiences of pioneer life, devel- oped, under the intelligent care of pious parents, into a noble type of womanhood and became the wife of one of Houston's first citizens, the late Thomas W. House.

John Shearn was born in England, May 15, 1826, and was thus only about eight years old when his parents canie to Texas. Most of his youth, as well as the entire |period of his manhood, were passed in the city of Houston, with the making of whose history he had, like his father, much to do, thoughin a different way. His life was given to business pursuits, and he helped to develop a number of Houston's leading enterprises. His conduct was always marked by the same probity and the sanie unswerving sense of honor that was instilled into him by his father. He gave very little attention to public life, but still was not unmindful of his obligations as a citizen, discharging all the duties and functions of such in an ac- ceptable manner.

He married Miss Kate McAshan, then of Houston, but a native of Buckingham county, Virginia, where she was born June 22, 1835. Mrs. Shearn was a daughter of Nehemiah and Elizabeth McAshan, and a sister of S. M. McAshan; and a history of her people will be found in the article contri-

buted to this volume by the last-named gentleman. She died May 21, 1884, and was followed September 15, 1888, by her husband. Seven children were born to them : Mary, now the wife of Charles S. House; Charles P .; Alice, the wife of J. A. Caldwell, John; Libby, wife of W. L. Moody, Jr .; Annie and Maurice, the last two being deceased. The others,-except Mrs. Moody, who lives at Galveston, and Mrs. Caldwell, who lives in San Angelo, - are residents of Houston, and all are worthy descendants of such progenitors.

HE BARZIZA FAMILY .- It is contrary to Democratic doctrine and teaching to speak of the "aristocracy of blood," and "in- herited talent," for in the very first para- graph of the Declaration of Independence it is asserted that all men are created free and equal. Politically this may be so; but mentally it is not. The mental differences in men lie not in the quantity of brains they possess, but in the quality. That there is a "strain " in brains which passes from gener- ation to generation there is no doubt. This has been illustrated a thousand times in the history of such families as the Adamses, Marshalls, the Washburns, the Lamars, the Beechers, the Lees, and Randolphs and hundreds of others of equal or less note.

The family under consideration seem to have inherited their mental qualities, as inight be proved by tracing their history to their ancestors, -which indulgence, how- ever, for want of space, cannot be granted in this instance. The brains of the Barzizas were of an excellent strain and toned with morality.

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HISTORY OF TEXAS.

Philip Ignatius Barziza, the founder of the Barziza family in America, was born in Venice, Italy, August 10, 1796. He camne to this country when a young man to look after an estate that had been bequeathed to him by some ancestors who settled at an early date in the New World. Having se- cured a portion of the estate he concluded to remain in this country, and settled in Williamsburg, Virginia. There, when about twenty-two years of age, or in 1818, he married Cecilia Bellett, of a French Cana- dian family, her father being a native of France, a member of the Royalist party, who fled from his native country after the accession of Robespierre to power, and set- tled in Canada, where he changed his name from that of " Lord Clairmount " to " Bel- lett." He married the adopted daughter of the Governor General of Canada, an intelli- gent and highly accomplished lady, and sub- sequently carne to the United States and settled in Williamsburg, Virginia. By in- termarriage they became connected with the Ludwell and Paradise families of Virginia, both being old European families, and with the Lees, Randolphs, Marshalls and others, -all wealthy old Virginia families. A marri- age contract made in 1769 between John Paradise and Lucy Ludwell, an imposing document executed in five parts, on parch- ment, is still in the possession of their de- scendants, now residents of Houston, Texas, being in a good state of preservation, and a most interesting document.

Philip Ignatius Barziza, Sr., and Cecilia Amanda Bellett had ten children, six of whom, -five sons and one daughter, -be- caine grown, to-wit: Francis Louis, Will- iam Lee, Philippa Ludwell, Edgar Atheling, Philip Ignatius, and Decimus et Ultinus. These sons are all dead. The daughter,

Philippa L., still lives in Houston. Four members of the family died in infancy.

Francis Louis, who was born in Will- iamsburg, Virginia, April 5, 1822, died in Chambers county, Texas, December 4, 1862. He graduated at William and Mary College, Virginia, at the age of twenty-one, and came to Texas soon afterward, and settled in Wheelock, Robertson county, where, for some years and until his death, he was en- gaged in the practice of his profession.

William Lee, born December 8, 1824, came to Texas and settled in Chambers county, about 1860, and tliere engaged in planting until his death, November 16, 1878.

Edgar Atheling, the third son, went to California during the gold excitement in 1849, and there died while still a young man.

Philip Ignatius, the fourth son, was born in Williamsburg, Virginia, June 19, 1836, graduated from William and Mary College, Virginia, and prepared himself for the prac- tice of law. He came to Texas and settled at Wheelock, Robertson county, subse- quently removing to Chambers county, and thence to Richmond, Texas, in each of which places he was engaged in planting and the practice of his profession. He was a well-to-do planter, and a prominent rail- road attorney. He died in Houston, July 15, 1872. The fifth son died in California. Decimus et Ultimus, tenth and last of the family, as the nanie indicates, was born in Williamsburg, Virginia, September 4, 1838, was educated at Williamn and Mary College, Virginia, and at Baylor University, in Texas. He studied law, and located in Houston, Texas, where he practiced his profession until his death, January 30, 1882. During his career, which was brief, he be- came distinguished as a gallant soldier, a brilliant lawyer, and a prominent legislator.

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He possessed in the highest degree those qualities which indicate the perfect gentle- man. For several years he belonged to the State Legislature as a representative from Harris county, and was prominent in State politics.

Miss Philippa L. Barziza, with her two nephews, Philip D, son of Philip I., and Philip H., son of William Lee, all residents of Houston, now constitute the only sur- vivors of this old and distinguished family. The parents, who came to Texas in 1859 and settled in Houston, died there, -the father March 25, 1875, and the mother June 3, 1872.

The father, mother and four sons are buried in Glenwood cemetery, at Houston, and over their remains has been reared one of the noblest shafts in that beautiful city of the dead.

0 R. J. W. DANIEL .- Joseph W. Daniel, son of Oscar and Mary Daniel, was born in Bowling Green, Warren county, Kentucky, March 24, 1842. He was reared chiefly in Houston, Texas, to which place his mother moved in 1847, his father having died the year previous. He attended the common schools of Houston until he attained his fourteenth year, when he was placed in St. Mary's College, at Galveston, where he re- mained some two years, at the end of which time he entered Yale College, at New Haven, Connecticut. He early selected medicine as a profession, and his first pre- ceptor was the late lamented Dr. Ashbel Smith. He attended his first course of lectures while at Yale, and subsequently took two courses at the New School of Med-

icine at. New Orleans, Louisiana, his pre- ceptor at this time being Professor Howard Smith, then professor of materia medica in that institution.

At the opening of the war Dr. Daniel abandoned his studies and, in the spring of 1861, entered the Confederate army, enlist- ing in Company E. Second Texas Mounted Rifles, commanded by Colonel J. S. Ford. He served as a common soldier on the fron- tier of Texas and New Mexico until Novem- ber of that year, when he was ordered before the Medical Examining Board at San An- tonio, where, having passed a satisfactory examination, he was commissioned assistant surgeon and placed in charge of the general hospital at that point. He remained there until the outbreak of yellow-fever at Browns- ville in 1863, when he was sent to take charge of the hospital there. Shortly after- ward the yellow-fever made its appearance at Galveston, and acclimated physicians ac- quainted with the pathology and treatment of the disease being in deinand there, he was ordered to report to Dr. Nagle for service in the hospital at that point. After the fever subsided he was assigned to duty as assistant surgeon in the Third Texas Infantry, Col- onel P. N. Luckett commanding, then sta- tioned at Brownsville. When this regiment was ordered to Arkansas he was sent to Fort Esparanzo, on Matagorda island, at that time under command of Colonel John Ire- land. When this fort was abandoned, in the winter of 1863, Dr. Daniel was trans- ferred to San Antonio, where he was made a member of the Board of Examining Sur- geons for the western sub-district of Texas. In the early spring of 1865 he was ordered to report for duty to Captain William M. Staf- ford, for service with the latter's battery, then in the Indian Territory, and was on his way

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there when news was received of General Lee's surrender.

Locating at Houston immediately after the war, Dr. Daniel took up the practice of his profession as a third-course student and upon his credentials as an army surgeon. During the yellow-fever epidemic of 1867 he was employed by the United States Govern- ment to take charge of the military camps and hospitals at Houston, and served through that epidemic. (See Circular No. 1, War Department, Surgeon General's Office, June 10, 1868).

Dr. Daniel graduated at the Medical de -. partment of the University of Louisiana, at New Orleans, in 1872, at which time he took up the practice of his profession as a regularly graduated physician at Houston and has resided there ever since. He is a member of the Texas State Medical Asso- ciation and the Harris County Medical Society, and generally manifests a proper interest in whatever pertains to the welfare of his profession. He possesses the full confidence of his medical brethren and has for years enjoyed a very satisfactory practice.

In addition to the general practice Dr. Daniel has given special study to the subject of medical examinations for life insurance. lle occupies at the present time the position of division medical examiner for the order of Chosen Friends, medical examiner for the Fidelity Mutual, of Philadelphia; examiner for the Massachusetts Benefit Life. Associa- tion, of Boston, Massachusetts; the Cove- nant Mutual Benefit Association, of Gales- burg, Illinois; and the Western Commercial Travelers' Association, of St. Louis, Mis- souri. The Doctor is naturally very proud of his record in this special department, having examined about 1, 100 applicants

with a loss of five by death in twelve years, -three of these committing suicide.

July 18, 1864, Dr. Daniel married Miss Barbara Stern, then of Victoria, Texas, but a native of Clinton, Lonisiana, and by this union has three living children, -Mrs. Mollie C. Walker, Mrs. Alva K. Wetenkamp and Shannon Daniel, -all of Houston.

ON. GEORGE P. FINLAY. - The subject of this brief sketch traces his ancestry on his father's side to Scotch-Irish origin, having de- scended in the third generation fromn Joel and Margaret Finlay, natives of north Ire- land who emigrated to America in 1770 and settled in North Carolina. On his mother's side he is of English and Welsh extraction, his mother's maiden name being Cada Lewis, a daughter of Joel Lewis, whose ancestors antedated the Finlays in this country cer- tainly by one and possibly by two genera- tions, having settled in South Carolina some years before the American Revolution. Colonel Finlay's parents, James Finlay and Cada Lewis, were born, the father in North Carolina in 1789, and the mother in South Carolina in 1809. The father's parents emigrated to Tennessee, in which State his youth and early manhood were spent, while the mother's parents moved to Mississippi, in which State she grew to womanhood. The father went to Mississippi when a young man, and there met and married Miss Lewis at her home in Augusta, Perry coun- ty. They settled on a farm in Rankin county, and there and in the town of Bran- don spent the remainder of their lives. The father served in tlie Seminole war; was Pro- bate Judge of Rankin county for fourteen years, and in these, as well as all positions

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in which he was called to act, discharged ac- ceptably the duties and functions of a good citizen. He died at Brandon in 1860, fol- lowed three years later by his wife.

George P. Finlay was born in the town of Angusta, Perry county, Mississippi, No- vember 16, 1829, but was reared on a farin near Brandon, in Rankin county, where his boyhood was divided between the whole- some duties of farm life and his attendance at the local schools.

In 1846; then in his seventeenth year, he volunteered in the United States Army, enlisting in the First Mississippi Rifles, commanded by Colonel Jefferson Davis, with which he served in the war against Mexico. Returning, then, to Mississippi, he completed his education, read law under E. H. Lombard, of Brandon, and attended lectures at the Louisville (Kentucky) Law School, at which he graduated in 1852. Having determined to locate in Texas, he tanglit school for a year in Mississippi to earn money with which to settle, when, in 1853, he came out, located at Lavaca, in Calhoun county, and there took up the prac- tice of liis profession. He was engaged in the successful pursuit of his profession at Lavaca until the opening of the war, at first alone, and later in partnership with Hon. J. J. Holt, then an eminent lawyer in that section of the State.

In 1861 Colonel Finlay was elected to the State Senate from what was at that time the Twenty-fourth Senatorial District, and, in the capacity of a legislator, took part in formulating the State's policy on the measures of secession. Without waiting, however, to serve out the full terin for which he was elected, he entered the Con- federate army in 1862, being commissioned Captain of a company in the Sixth Texas

Infantry, with which he shortly afterward went to the front and began active service in Arkansas. He was captured at the fall of Arkansas Post, January 11, 1863, and was taken as a prisoner to Columbus, Ohio, later to Fort Delaware, and in May of the same year was exchanged, at Richmond, Virginia. Re-entering the service, he was on the Georgia campaign, under Bragg and Johnson, after which he was transferred to the Trans-Mississippi Department, where he served as Judge Advocate on the staffs of Generals Magruder and Walker until the close of the war.

Returning to Lavaca when hostilities were over, Colonel Finlay resumed the practice of his profession as well as he could in the then unsettled condition of things, and in 1872 was again elected to represent his Senatorial District, and served as a inember of the Thirteenth Legislature. He was tendered a re-election in 1873, but de- clined because of his contemplated removal to Galveston, which occurred that year. Colonel Finlay was City Attorney of Gal- veston in 1878, 1885, 1886, 1887, 1888 and 1889, representative from Galveston county to the lower branch of the Legislature in 1879, 1881 and 1893, and a member of the Board of Trustees of the public schools of Galveston from 1881 to 1887. In July, 1893, he received the appointment of Col- lector of Customs at the port of Galveston, which position he is now filling.

It will thus be seen from this brief sur- vey of Colonel Finlay's career that he has been before the public in one capacity or another for thirty-odd years. He is a Demo- crat and as often as politics have entered into the question of his selection for office he has uniformly submitted his claims to his party. His personal popularity is great, being of

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that kind which goes with character. He has always enjoyed a reasonably good law practice and stands deservedly high with the members of his profession.

On November 16, 1854, Colonel Finlay married Miss Carrie Rea, then residing in Lavaca, Texas, but a native of Booneville, Missouri, being a daughter of Horsley and Parmelia Ewing Rea. Mrs. Finlay's father was accidently killed, in 1848, west of San Antonio, while on his way to California with his family. After this unfortunate event the widow settled in Texas and made this her home until her death, which occurred in Austin in 1881. She was the daughter of the Rev. Finis Ewing, founder of the Cum- berland Presbyterian Church and a sister of United States Senator, Robert C. Ewing, of Illinois, and of Judge Ephriam H. Ewing, at one time Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Missouri. Mrs. Finlay has three living sisters: Mrs. Mary Forbes, widow of Robert M. Forbes, a Texas veteran, and member of the Constitutional convention of 1845; Mrs. Florence Glenn, wife of Maj. John W. Glenn, of New Orleans; and Mrs. Jessie Evans, wife of William E. Evans, of Galveston. Colonel Finlay has two brothers living: Luke W. Finlay, an attorney of Memphis, Tennessee; and Oscar E. Finlay, an attorney of Graham, Young county, Texas.

Colonel Finlay and wife have three chil- dren: Julia, the wife of Hart Settle, of Gal- veston; Quitman, an attorney of the same place; and Virgilia Octavia, still with her parents. Colonel Finlay and wife have two grandchildren: Julia Settle, born in 1882; and George Finlay Settle, born in 1885. Quitinan Finlay married Miss Alice J. Downs, of Waco, Texas, November 6, 1889. . In 1854 Colonel Finlay . was made a

Mason, and has become a Knight Templar in the order. He and his family hold mein- bership in the Episcopal Church, upon the services of which they are regular attend- ants.

Genealogical Notes: General William H. Davidson was killed during the Revolu- tionary war, leading the rebel troops in North Carolina. He was the father of Peggie Davidson, who married Rev. Finis Ewing, the founder of the Cumberland Pres- byterian Church. Parmelia Ewing, daughter of Finis and Peggie Ewing, married Hors- ley Rea, and their daughter, Carrie Rea, married George P. Finlay; and Virgilia Fin- lay, daughter of the last mentioned, is therefore a daughter of the Revolution and the great-great-granddaughter of General Davidson.

Julia Finlay, daughter of George and Carrie Finlay, married Hart Settle. George Settle, son of Hart and Julia Settle, was the great-great-great-grandson of General David- son. Julia Settle, daughter of Hart and Julia Finlay, is the great-great-great-grand- daughter of General Davidson, and a daugh- ter of the Revolution. Quitman Finlay was the son of George and Carrie Finlay, and the great-great-grandson of General Davidson.

OLONEL SYDNEY T. FON- TAINE, C. S. A. -- The subject of this sketch comes of two of the earliest-settled families in America, having descended on his father's side from Count Henry de la Fontaine, of French Huguenot history, and on his mother's side from John Augustine Washington, tlie great- grandfather of George Washington, first president of the United States. His parents

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were Judge Henry Whiting Fontaine and Susan Elizabeth Bryson, who were natives of Kentucky, married in Louisville, that State, in 1837, and moved shortly after- ward to Texas, settling at Houston, where the father died in 1840, being at the time Judge of the District Court. He left two children besides the subject of this sketch, a son, Captain (C. S. A.) Henry Bryson Fontaine, and a daughter, Clifford Nepp Fontaine. Captain Fontaine married the only sister of General Bedford Forrest, of Confederate fame, and is now living with his family at Dallas, Texas, being a lawyer by profession, but having followed mercan- tile pursuits most of his life. Clifford Nepp Fontaine was married in 1855, at Galveston, Texas, to Colonel Henry N. Potter, a prom- inent lawyer who, with his brother, Milton M. Potter, was identified with the early history of Texas, dying at Galveston, as did also his wife. Judge Henry Whiting Fon- taine was accompanied to Texas by his half- brother, Algernon Thurston, who subse- quently became Attorney General of the Republic, and was a lawyer of prominence. The ancestry of Colonel Fontaine, as well as his wife, date back through a noble line, many of whom have taken conspicuous parts in shaping the destiny of this country, as well as affecting political matters across the ocean.

Colonel Fontaine of this article was born in the city of Houston, Texas, November 23, 1841, graduated at the Kentucky Mili- tary Institute, near Lexington, Kentucky, in 1858, at the age of seventeen and a half, and locating in Galveston, Texas, studied law with his brother-in-law, Colonel Henry N. Potter and Milton M. Potter, and re- ceived his license to practice from the Dis- trict and Supreme courts at Galveston.

At the opening of the war he raised the first company that was raised for the Con- federacy in Texas: it was mustered into the service as Company A, Heavy Artillery, he being elected Captain of it. After the bat- tle of Galveston, in which he took a con- spicuous part, he was promoted to the posi- tion of Major, and was placed in command of the Seventh Battalion of Light Artillery, and was also assigned to the staff of General J. B. Magruder as Chief of Artillery and Ordnance of the District of Texas, New Mexico and Arizona. He participated with his command in the different engagements in Texas and in resisting Banks' campaign into Louisiana, where he and his command took a conspicuous part. He was promoted after this campaign to the position of Lieu- tenant Colonel of Light Artillery, having served under General Taylor, commanding the western district of Louisina as inspector of artillery. Colonel Fontaine saw service, from first to last, under each of those dis- tinguished generals, Herbert, Taylor, Walker and Magruder, and won a reputation for gallantry upon many a hard-fought field.

After the war Colonel Fontaine resumed the practice of law at Galveston, which place has been his home for the past thirty- five years. He has filled the usual number of local offices and has exhibited a becoming interest in all matters relating to the welfare of the community. He is recognized as a good citizen, kind neighbor, beloved hus- band and father, and is liberal, progressive and charitable without stint.

On July 19, 1873, Colonel Fontaine married, at the residence of Dr. Bowers, in Columbus, Texas, Miss Iulia Washington, a daughter of Dr. Lawrence Augustine Wash- ington, who was a grandson of Colonel Samuel Washington, a brother of General

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George Washington. Dr. Lawrence A. Washington was the son of Lawrence A. Washington, who was the adopted son of General Washington and married Miss Martha Shrewsbury, a lineal descendant of the Earl of Shrewsbury. They were mar- ried in Virginia and moved to Colorado county, Texas, about 1847, where he owned a large plantation and accumulated great · wealth in land and cotton. He died in 1888, and his wife in 1891, at Denison, Texas, at which place they had for several years made their home: Colonel Fontaine and wife have one daughter and four sons, Miss Shir- ley Villiers Washington, Bryce Washington, Lawrence Augustine Washington, Bushrod Washington and Jules Washington. Mrs. Fontaine's connection with the historic families of this country has brought hier fre- quent recognition from those desirous of keeping alive the memory of our country's heroes and patriots, and has caused her to become the recipient of many relics and some unwritten history relative to the past. She has several letters written by General Washington. The knee-buckles which he wore when he was inaugurated the first president of the United States, and the rep- silk suit which he wore when inaugurated president the second time, are in possession of the family. Her sister, Mrs. Wood Saun- ders, of Denison, Texas, has in her posses- sion a seal given by General LaFayette to her father in 1832, when he made his last visit to the United States, and on it appears this inscription: "Where liberty dwells there is my country." Mrs. Fontaine is the regent for the Daughters of the American Revolution at Galveston, Texas, as is also her sister, Mrs. George L. Patrick at Deni- son, Texas, with headquarters at Washing- ton, District of Columbia.

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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