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 58

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 58
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 58

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Mr. Bichler has been married twice, first to ·Miss Augusta Vetterman, by whom he has two daughters : Lena, wife of Rudolph Kruger, and Augusta, wife of Anton Heiman. For his second wife Mr. Biehler married Miss Ida Miller, on the 20th of June, 1856. She was born September 3, 1832, and has borne her husband one daugliter and two sons : Antoinette, widow of the late Adolph Flake; and Leopold and Rudolph, who are experienced butchers of Galveston.

APTAIN ADOLPH DROUET. - The city of Galveston, Texas, is now and probably has been the home of as many men who have quietly and persistently, day by day and year by year, wrung practical favors from perverse fortune, as any city in the United States. Though not a native of either this

city or State, yet the Captain has resided many years in Texas, and, during that time, has won the respect and good will of all with whom he has come in contact.

He is a native of France, and emigrated to America with his father, Nicholas Drouet, of whom mention is made in a sketch of Captain Sebastian Drouet, elsewhere in this volume. His early life was rather unevent- ful. His education was received in the schools of Galveston, but when about twelve years of age he commenced boating along the Gulf coast. In 1856, he made his first foreign voyage as a seaman, and the following year he received his first credentials and be- came the master of .the Blazer, a sloop which he, in partnership with his brother, Sebastian Drouet, owned. This vessel he commanded in 1862, during the civil war, being in the Confederate marine service. He ran the first blockade of Galveston har- bor, commanding the ship Alma of Vachere, Louisiana, in 1862, and later he was de- tailed to pilot blockade-runners in and out of Galveston. After the war Captain Drouet resumed his former occupation, doing har- bor pilot duty, and this well-known pioneer boatman's face is very familiar in the city. He is now the owner of the frigate Annie Laura, which plies between Galveston and Bolivar Point, and is doing a general busi- ness. Although the Captain is a busy man, he is public-spirited and benevolent, and takes a deep interest in the progress and upbuilding of the city of his adoption. He was married, in 1870, to Miss Mary Wath- not, of east Texas, and they have an inter- esting family of five children, as follows: Adolphus, Jr., born' October 12, 1871; Eugenia, born April 25, 1877; Hattie, born August 25, 1880; Walter, born October 2, 1886; and Marie, born February 10, 1889.

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HISTORY OF TEXAS.

AWRENCE NUSE .- To the early annals of Galveston belongs the history of this venerable citizen. Like many other residents of the city, he came originally fromn Prussia, Ger- many, where his birth occurred March 28, 1821, and reached Galveston in the schooner Reform, in 1850.

Mr. Nuse is a cabinet-maker by trade, having learned the same in his native land, and he followed it in Galveston for many years. In 1858 he went to New York city, purchased a large stock of furniture, which he shipped to Galveston, and subsequently opened a store on Strand and Twenty-fourth streets, which hecarried on successfully until 1861. He then closed his business there, returned to his native country, and remained there until the following year, when he came to New York city. After remaining there about two months, he paid Galveston a visit, but spent the larger portion of his time, up to 1865, with his brother Henry in Pennsylvania. When the civil war closed, he, with his brother, returned to Galveston, and he immediately invested in realestate, which business he has carried on for the most part ever since. He makes occasional trips to Europe, and is a man of more than usual resources, active habits, and pleasing address.

The year following his arrival in this country witnessed his marriage to Miss Eliz- abeth Barckenbusch, a native of Germany, who died without issue in 1876. Henry Nuse, the lamented brother of our subject, came to Texas in 1855, and, being a wood turner by trade, followed it in Galveston, with an unusual degree of success. He commanded good wages, and accumulated money enough thereby to embark in the grocery business, in 1858, at the corner of

Post Office and Twenty-second streets, where he remained until 1862. He then accom- panied his brother to Europe. While there he married, and, returning to the United States, settled in Titusville, Pennsylvania, where he embarked quite extensively in the jewelry business. His death occurred in Titusville, in 1882. Quiet and unassuming in his manner, Mr. Lawrence Nuse is, how- ever, one of the substantial men of his sec- tion, and is prominently identified with all its interests.

ENRY RODEFELD .- This worthy citizen was born in the province of Westphalia, Prussia, June 21, 1837, and when about twenty- one years of age, emigrated to Texas and settled at Galveston. His mother died in Gerinany, before the son came to Texas; his father subsequently came to Texas and settled at Galveston, where he died of yel- low-fever, during the epidemic of 1867. A brother, William, and a sister, Mary, died at the same time and of the same dread disease, Henry, himself being confined with an attack of it which lasted for twenty-one days. During his boyhood, young Rodefeld's educational advantages were limited, and he had not the benefit of a trade, in conse- quence of which, upon his arrival in this country, he became a manual laborer. He was employed in various capacities in and about the cotton-press, and received good wages. Aside from necessary expenditure in rearing his family he managed to lay by some money, which he invested in Galveston property, having improved which, he draws from it a small revenue.

Mr. Rodefeld has been married twice, his last union being with Miss Wilhelmina

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Stricker, who was born in Westphalia, Ger- many. Six children have been given to them, as follows: Minnie (Mrs. August Bridwell), Annie (Mrs. Lloyd P. Criss), Carrie (Mrs. Charles Kishmer), William (who married a Miss Wagner, of Galveston), and Mary (Mrs. P. Brady), all of whom reside in the city of Galveston. Mr. and Mrs. Rodefeld have eight grandchildren.

PILLIAM R. BAKER .- No reader of the biographical literature of this country can have failed to note the fact that the qualities of mind and the training obtained by them in winning the higher grades of success in busi- ness, are available for other uses than those of commerce. It is not an unfrequent thing to see a successful merchant become the projector of some enterprise of large pro- portions, ably fill a position requiring a high order of executive ability, amassing wealth all the while, and then round out his career by a few terms in the law-making bodies, either of his State or the nation. To thus develop ability with circumstances, and turn one's hand readily to opportunities offered . by the tides of fortune, seems to be the especial gift of the American character, and there are examples, in plenty, in all the avenues of trade, finance and legislation- in all the departments of industrial devel- opment-which go to confirm and empha- size the truth of this statement.

William Robinson Baker, who was for more than a half century a prominent figure in the history of the city of Houston, and who left, in a full measure, the imprint of his talents and character on the industries and interests of this place, was born in Baldwinsville, Onondaga county, New York,

on the 21st day of May, 1820. His par- ents were Asa and Hannah Robinson Baker, who were born, the father in Cheshire coun- ty, New Hampshire, and the mother in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Asa Baker was a son of Alden S. Baker, a Revolution- ary soldier, and himself a Captain in the war of 1812, the family coming originally of English stock. Asa Baker married Han- nah Robinson, a daughter of William Robin- son, a prominent merchant and importer of Philadelphia, and settled, sometime between 1815 and 1820, in Onondaga county, New York, where he followed his calling as a civil engineer for a number of years, and was interested, at different times, in a small way, in the mercantile business. He died in that county in 1851. His widow survived many years, dying at the home of her daughter, Mrs. T. M. Bagby, in the city of Houston, June 24, 1889.

William R. Baker was reared mainly in his native place, and his educational advant- ages were of the best for the times, particu- larly so with respect to his home training, his father being a man of superior mental attainments, the benefits of which were be- stowed without stint on the son. At the age of twelve he began the serious duties of life for himself, and his earnings, meagre as they were, formed at this time the basis of his subsistance. He was industrious in habits, and managed, by hard application and the economical use of time, to acquire some knowledge of books, particularly bookkeep- ing and surveying. He had a natural turn for mathematics, and the mastery of any branch of this science was comparatively easy for him. In 1837 he came to Texas, and lo- cated at Houston.

During the first year of his residence here he was bookkeeper for the Houston Town

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Company. Then, in 1838 he engaged in the mercantile business in a small way, and was so engaged until February, 1841, when he became a candidate for the office of County Clerk, was elected to this office, and held it by successive re-elections for sixteen years. While in this position he began to trade in lands, at which he was very prosperous, ac- quiring a large amount of real estate and an extensive knowledge of the business. In

1852, when the Houston & Texas Central Railway was organized, he interested him- self in it, became one of its board of direct- ors, and, in connection with a number of other capitalists of Houston, built that road. This was no unimportant undertaking for those days, for railroad building then was in its infancy in Texas. The obstacles met were great, and to most other men these obstacles would have been insurmountable. Mr. Baker was identified with the road from its inception until its future was as- sured, and in fact until it became one of the chief railway properties in the State. He served successively as secretary, vice-presi- dent, president, and again vice-president and general manager, severing his connec- tion with the road in 1877, only when he sold his interest in it for the purpose of retiring from active business pursuits.

Mr. Baker was always a Democrat, and took active interest in politics. In 1874 his friends saw fit to have him placed in the field as a candidate. for the State Senate, and, after a spirited contest, he was elected. His career as a member of that body was inarked by his sterling common sense, his broad and liberal views and the business- like manner in which he dispatched matters falling into his hands for attention. From 1880 to 1886 he served as Mayor of the city of Houston, being called to this position and

retained in it by the general consent of the citizens who were anxious for a vigorous ad- ministration of the city's affairs. An author- ity says, "He took hold of Houston when it was in the mud and darkness, and soon in- augurated a system of public improvements which now stand as a monument to his worth. He brought order out of chaos, re- duced the city's indebtedness, paved the streets, and set on foot the moveinent which resulted in the present electric-light sys- tem."

In 1883 he purchased an interest in the Houston Post, which he retained for six years, and while connected with this paper spared neither money nor effort to make it what it really became, one of the best papers in the South. He was also president of the City Bank of Houston at the time of its failure, and on account of the collapse of that institution suffered very heavily in his private means, though justice to his inemory requires the statement that he was an innocent victim in that disaster. The bank was in the worst possible condition at the time he was induced, by misrepresentation, to take stock in it.

On the 15th day of December, 1845, Mr. Baker married Miss Hester Eleanor Runnels, a daughter of Hosea R. Runnels, of Missis- sippi, and a niece of ex-Governor Hiram G. Runnels, of that State, in whose family Mrs. Baker was reared after her father's death. The issue of this union was one child, a daughter, Lucy, born July 13, 1848. She became an accomplished lady, and on the 15th, of June, 1869, was married to Captain E. P. Turner, of Houston. She died June 2, 1873, leaving an infant son, William Baker Turner. On the 14th of February, 1880, Mrs. Baker died.

Having satisfied his sense of duty to his

James P. Masterson

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fellow-citizens by his six years' service as their chief executive, with ample means to gratify all his wants, and with a sincere de- sire to pass the remainder of his life on earth in peace, Mr. Baker retired from active business pursuits and was living in the enjoyinent of his well-earned repose at the time of his death. He died April 30, 1890, almost without warning, being stricken with cerebral effusion about the hour of nine one evening, from the effects of which he expired about the hour of six the next evening. News of his death was received with deep regret not only by the people of this city in ' which he had so long lived, but also by the people throughout this entire section of the State to whom his career was well known and with whom he had had intimate business and social relations.

Mr. Baker was a member of the Masonic fraternity for more than fifty years, and was a devout believer in the teachings and prac- tices of that inost ancient and honorable order. His religion was that of the nine- teenth century; full faith in the principles of morality as taught by Christianity, but en- tertaining an honest doubt in the authentic- ity of the Scriptures as interpreted by the various religious denominations.

Five feet, ten inches in height, and weighing between 170 and 180 pounds, of dark complexion, brown eyes, high, intellec- tual forehead, and a clear, untroubled coun- tenance, he was a man whoin one would no- tice in an assembly of a hundred inen and , would easily remember for his distinct indi- viduality. While he was strong in his likes and dislikes, clear-cut and forceful in the ex- pression of his views, he meant to accord to every one the same privileges which he claimed for himself, and was at heart kind and affectionate. He is spoken of in terms

of sincere affection by those who knew hin long and intimately. One of the most marked tributes to his memory, as indeed it is one of the most marked tributes that can be paid to the memory of any man, is the oft-repeated statement made by his associ- ates, that he was very rarely ever known to speak unkindly of others.

ON. JAMES ROANE MASTER- SON-The principal State of the American Union where family in- fluence and the potency of family name have been most strongly felt is un- doubtedly Virginia; and from this State have come some of the brightest intellects, some of the bravest and worthiest men who have ever figured in the history of this country.

To the "Old Dominion" the subject of this sketch makes acknowledgment for the American origin of his ancestry. His parents, Thomas G. Masterson and Christiana Irby Roane, were natives of Tennessee, but their parents were Virginia-born. His mater- nal grandmother was a Miss Washington, a niece of President George Washington. His inother was a daughter of Dr. James Roane, son of Governor Archibald Roane of Ten- nessee, in honor of whom a county of that State was named, and a grandniece of Gov- ernor Spencer Roane, of Virginia, who was at one time United States Senator from that State, and of David Roane, who was ap- pointed by President Jefferson United States District Judge for the State. of Kentucky, and a cousin of Governor John Roane, of Arkansas. The maternal grandinother of James R. Masterson was a Miss Irby, of Virginia, a relative of President John Tyler. One of hier sisters was the mother of John

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Morgan, United States Senator from Ala- bamna, and another, Mrs. Mary Hooker, of New Orleans, formerly Mrs. Noble, was the mother of John I. Noble, of that city, while two nieces of hers married Thomas Chilton, of the Supreme Court of Alabama. James R. Masterson's paternal uncle, Will- iam Masterson, married the eldest daughter of the celebrated Felix Grundy, of Tennes- see. His brothers, William, Washington, Archibald and Branch T. Masterson, all served in the Confederate army and were gallant soldiers, William and Washington having been officers; and he had another brother, named Harris.

James R. Masterson was born in Leb- anon, Wilson county, Tennessee, April 15, 1837. His parents moved to Texas two years later and settled in Brazoria county, where his father was twice Clerk of the County Court, and for many years a practic- ' ing lawyer. The boyhood and youth of James R. were passed in the town of Ve- lasco, where he received such educational advantages as were offered the youth of those days, these being very limited, his chief training coming from his mother, a lady of exceptional intelligence and attain- inents. For four years he was his father's assistant in the office of county clerk, and here he familiarized himself with forms and practice, and became confirmed in his early inclinations for the law. He entered the office of General John A. Wharton and Clinton Terry at Brazoria, in 1856, where he regularly took up the study of law, and where, in 1858, he was admitted to practice, having been made of age for that purpose by an act of the legislature of Texas. As soon as adinitted he located in Houston, where his industry and ability won recogni- tion for him, and by the opening of the war

he was enjoying a reasonably good practice for a young man. But on the declaration of hostilities between the North and South he saw, for a time at least, his hopes of pro- fessional success dissipated. He was op- posed to secession, standing with General Houston on the proposition that the South should fight her battles out in the Union; but when Texas withdrew by formal vote of her representatives he tendered his services to the Confederacy, enlisting to go with Hood's scouts to Virginia, but was trans- ferred to Elmore's regiment-the Twenty- first Texas-and served one year, when he was honorably discharged.

On unanimous petition of the Houston bar Mr. Masterson was, in 1870, appointed by Governor E. J. Davis Judge of the Nine- teenth Judicial District of Texas, composed of Harris and Montgomery counties. He entered on the duties of this office with energy and industry, and soon demonstrated the wisdom of his choice. He served under this appointment until the adoption of the constitution of 1876. By that instrument the office was made elective by the people, and he was the first judge of his district elected under it. He was nomi- nated by the Democrats and chosen Judge of the Twenty-first (old Nineteenth) District, holding the office by successive re-elections until December, 1892, a period of twenty- two years, -one of the longest terms of con- tinuous judiciary service in the history of the State. Judge Masterson made a most acceptable public official, his popularity being frequently attested by endorsements from the bar and by increased majorities at the polls. His rulings and decisions were uniformly just and in accordance with the law, and his entire career while on the bench was inarked by a conscientious regard

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for the duties of his position. During the twenty-two years of his service many im- portant cases came before him for trial, and many questions arose which he had to pass on for the first time in this State. Especially was this true of the great body of railroad and other corporation law which has sprung up in Texas since 1870, the beginning of the era of railway development in this State. That Judge Materson never erred in any of his opinions is something that no one claims for him; but that his opinions were in the inain correct and gave good general satis- faction, is fully attested by his long term of service.

While on the bench he was more than once solicited to offer himself for other positions, but uniforinly declined all such solicitations. One of these positions, for which he recieved flattering endorsements, was that of member of the Court of Com- mission of Appeals, equal in dignity to a place on the Supreme Bench. Judge Mas- terson now has a petition signed by twenty- six of the thirty State senators, the lieu- tenant-governor and a large number of the representatives of the Seventeenth Session of the legislature, asking the governor to appoint him a member of the above court, which petition he declined to present.

Judge Masterson married, in Galveston, Texas, January 17, 1865, Miss Sallie Wood, a native of Galveston and a daughter of E. S. Wood, the well-known hardware mer- chant of that city. She graduated at Miss Cobb's seminary in her native city, and was a lady of great refinement and most amiable character. She died December 21, 1890, leaving four children, two sons and two . daughters, -James Roane, Annie Wood, Lawrence Washington and Mary Heard. The younger son, Lawrence Washington,

has since died (December 3, 1891), while in school at the Agricultural and Mechanical College at Bryan.

Judge Masterson is a Knight Templar, and Past Master of Holland Lodge, No. 1, Ancient Order of Free and Accepted Masons, Houston, of which Presidents Houston and Anson Jones had been Masters. He has been Captain-General and Generalissimo of Ruthven Commandery, No. 2, chairman of the committee of foreign correspondence of the Grand Commandery and Grand Lodge A. F. & A .. M., and is a member of the committee of grievances and appeals of the Grand Lodge of Texas. He is a member of the Knights of Honor and of the German Turn Verein. He was baptized and reared in the Episcopal Church, of which Mrs. Masterson was also a member.

He is a man of spare build, being only five feet seven inches in height and weighing only about 156 pounds. His eyes are gray- ish-blue, and he has a high, intellectual fore- head and fair complexion. He is quick- spoken and his manner is frank and affable.

A NTONE MULLER .- No class of people who have settled upon her shores have done more to build up America's interests, or contributed more to her commercial importance and na- tional prosperity than the sturdy, honest- hearted and industrious Germans. Among them may be mentioned Antone Muller, who was born in Lehesten, October 9, 1825, and there grew to manhood and learned the brewer's trade. Six months prior to leav-' ing the land of his birth he served in the Prussian army, and in 1846, with his parents came to this country. His father, William Muller, was a wide-awake, stirring business

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man, and after settling in Galveston en- gaged in merchandising, at which he accu- mulated a considerable amount of wealth. This worthy citizen was twice married, the wife who was the mother of our subject dy- ing in 1848. Late in life he went to Ger- many, married again, and there died, in 1887. There were two children born to the second union: Emil and Caroline, and to the first union four sons: Antone, our sub- ject; Gustave; Adolph; and E. Otto; and two daughters, Mrs. Leopold C. Beihler and Mrs. Jacob Ritzler. Upon locating in Galveston Antone Muller became a manufacturer of soda-water at the corner of Tremont and Market streets, but later, from 1850 to 1859, was engaged in draying. He served the Confederacy in the quartermaster's depart- ment, under Captain Story, during the civil war, and afterwards engaged quite exten- sively in draying and also carried the Gov- ernment mail from Galveston to Matagorda. Aside from this he took charge of the mail transfer in Galveston city, and is still en- gaged in this. In the year 1848 he married Miss Mary Gose, a native of Hanover, Ger- many, and the children born to this union, seven in number, were named as follows: Henry, Emil, Charles, Otto, William, Ida, who is now Mrs. William Mattis, and Caro- line, who is the wife of Ephraim Moore. Mrs. Muller died January 20, 1892. Mr. Muller's life has been a most active one, and in all matters of public enterprise and iin- provement he takes a prominent part.

REDERICK D. SCHMIDT is a native of Prussia, born March 19, 1838. He was reared in the place of his birth, where he learned the trade of a blacksmith and carriage-maker.

In 1856 he married Dorathea Kuchwert, of Schleswig-Holstein, by whom he has had four children: Ernest, Amelia, Hans, and Frederick. In 1859 Mr. Schmidt emi- grated to Texas, and settled at Galveston, where he worked at his trade, with Walter Bennison, for five years. . He then engaged in business for himself, opening a small shop on the site of his present establish- ment. By industry and good management, he has met with a fair degree of success, being now the proprietor of one of the most flourishing blacksmith shops and carriage factories in Galveston, situated at the cor- ner of Church and Twenty-fourth streets. Mr. Schmidt is an excellent type of the thrifty, practical German, and, by his in- dustry, integrity and straightforward busi- ness methods, has attained a good standing among the business men of the community, and won many friends among those with whom he has been thrown in contact. He is a member of the Garten Verein, and other social organizations of Galveston.

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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