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 72

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 72
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 72

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But two out of a family of seven chil- dren born to this pioneer couple ever reached maturity, and these two yet survive, being . Hon. Alfred Stephen Richardson, of Hous- ton, and Rev. Walter Raleigh Richard-

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son, of San Antonio. . Both are natives of Texas.

Alfred Stephen Richardson was born August 16, 1830, near the present town of Wallis, in Austin county (then the munici- pality of Austin). He was reared partly at Liverpool and partly at Harrisburg, receiv- ing the usual educational advantages of that day in Texas. He read law in the offices of Judge Edward A. Palmer and Judge Peter W. Gray, of Houston, finishing his course of legal studies at Cambridge, Massachusetts, and began the practice of his profession at Anderson, in Grimes county, in 1853. In 1857 he came to Houston, and was in the active practice here, first as a member of the firm of Paliner & Richardson, and later as a member of the firm of Richardson & . Botts, until the opening of the war. In 1867 he was appointed secretary of the Houston & Texas Central Railroad, and held this position until 1884, a period of nearly seventeen years. In 1884 he was made executor of the will of the late William J. Hutchins, and in 1885 was appointed Mas- ter in Chancery of the Houston, East and West Texas Railroad, the duties of which two positions occupied his time until April, 1890, when he was appointed Secretary of the city of Houston, which office he still holds.

In 1862 Mr. Richardson represented Harris county in the Legislature. He be- came identified with the Masonic order in 1857, and has passed through all its degrees from an apprentice to that of Knight Tem- plar; was Grand Commander of Knight Templars of this State from June, 1871, to June, 1873, and was Grand Master of Masons in 1890. He became an Odd Fel- low in 1855, and was Grand Master of Odd Fellows of Texas in 1866, Being confirmed

in the Episcopal Church at the age of nine- teen, he has been officially connected with the church for more than forty years, filling during that period every office in the diocese to which a layman is eligible, and almost continually representing it in the diocesan councils and having represented the diocese in several meetings of the General Conven- tion of the United States, being now a inem- ber of the standing committee and Chancel- lor of the Diocese. He has been Vestryman, continuously, of Christ Church at Houston for thirty-six years.

Mr. Richardson remembers many cir- cnmstances connected with the early history of Texas; remembers when his father left home for San Antonio in 1835; recalls the incidents of the " Runaway Scrape, " and re- members hearing the guns at San Jacinto; became somewhat proficient in Spanish from talking with the prisoners there captured, and in fact is now a general referee on ques- tions of business and history touching this locality for the past sixty years.

Walter Raleigh Richardson was born May 3, 1837, at Liverpool, Brazoria coun- ty. He was educated at the local schools and at St. Paul's College, in Grimes county, taught in that college and at Harrisburg and Austin, at which last named place he began preparations for the ministry in the Episco- pal Church, under the instruction of the Rev. Charles Gillette. He attended Berkley Di- vinity School at Middletown, Connecticut, in 1860, leaving there after the outbreak of the war, in '61, and with his mother re- turned home after successfully running the inland blockade. He took his first mission charge at Victoria and Goliad in 1862; was called to St. Stephen's Church, at Hunts- ville, in January, 1864, where he remained till called to St. Mark's, in San Antonio,

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June 1, 1868. He was ordained a priest June 5, 1864, and has ever since been actively engaged in the discharge of his ministerial duties. He has been several times a Deputy of the General Convention, and has been a member of the Standing Committee of the church in western Texas since its organization in 1874. The princi- pal scene of his labors has been in San Antonio, where he has been rector of St. Mark's Church for more than a quarter of a century. The lengthened term of his minis- tration evidencing the estimation in which he is held by his congregation and upon the creation of Western Texas into a separate missionary jurisdiction in 1874, his name was strongly urged for the position of Bishop of that jurisdiction, the choice, however, falling instead upon the late Bishop R. W. B. Elliott.

ENRY SCHMIDT. -- The intelli- gent and capable housewife knows well that the healthy condition of her family is, in a great measure, due to the eating of wholesome food, and for her supplies she depends on the honesty and reliability of her grocer. It is, there- fore, most necessary that he should at all times keep a well-selected and extensive stock of goods on liand, so that his patrons may have unlimited choice, and also that he be thoroughly honorable and reliable. Such a man is Henry Schmidt, whose place of business is an exceptionally popular one, conveniently located at the corner of Tenth and Preston streets, Houston, Texas. Like the great majority of successful business men, he is self-made, and from poverty and obscurity he has made his way to his present position. Coming, as he did, to this country

with extremely limited means, a total stranger, and with an imperfect knowledge of the English language, he was com- pelled to labor under disadvantages, under which many less ambitious and determined would have succumbed without a strug- gle. He was made of sterner stuff, and the greater the obstacle encountered, the greater became liis determination to sur- mount it. -

Mr. Schmidt was born in Germany, at Kurhessen, January 21, 1838. His father gave him good educational advantages, and he made the most of his opportunities. At the age of twenty years he decided to come to America, and in 1858 he landed in the city of New York. Very soon after he turned his foot- steps westward and joined his uncle in Con- nersville, Indiana, the latter being successfully engaged in the management of a large pork- packing establishment. Here Mr. Schmidt at once found employment, and here he made his home for one year, at the end of which time he went to New Orleans, where, on October 4, 1859, he accepted a clerkship in a feed store, but later occupied a similar position in a grocery establishment of that city. In 1863 he became a clerk in the sutler's department of Banks' army, and in this capacity was in various parts of Louis- iana, subsequently becoming a partner in interest, and continuing as such until the war closed. On the 4th of October, 1865, in company with a Mr. Liebermann, he opened a grocery store in Galveston, Texas, the style of the firm being Liebermann & Schmidt, where they continued to do busi- ness up to August, 1866, at which time Mr. Schmidt retired from the firm, and on the 4th of October, 1866, opened a grocery store in Houston, at the corner of Railroad and Milam streets.

His increasing business ne-

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cessitated his removal to more commodious quarters in May, 1868, and he moved to the Market square, on Travis street, where he did a successful business up to 1873. In the meantime lie built his present place of business, on the corner of Tenth and Pres- ton streets, and on the 12th of July, 1873, took possession of this establishment. Here he has since held forth, and here his patrons may usually find liin, intent on business, alert and desirous of pleasing them, and prompt and accurate in filling all orders. With these qualifications it is almost unnec- essary to make the statement that his busi- ness career has been a successful one, or in addition that he has those qualities of thrift, energy and honesty which are the chief characteristics of the German race. It is a fact worthy of note that his business career in the cities of New Orleans, Galveston and Houston began each time on the 4th of Oc- tober, and each time the move resulted in his own good. He has always had the greatest confidence in Houston, so much so that he has judiciously invested, from time to time, considerable of his means in city real estate, and is now the owner of valuable residence and business property, as well as a considerable amount of land in the vicinity of the city. He is a conservative business man, but has identified himself with the in- terests of the city, county and State, and gives generously of his means to the support of any cause tending to benefit them, and is not only a credit to the land which gave hin birth but also to his adopted country, which appreciates and acknowledges his worth.

On the 14th of February, 1872, he married Miss Meyer, who left him a widower January 13, 1879, with two children: Mag- gie and Henry.

3 AMESH. BRIGHT .- No field of modern enterprise affords safer or more favorable opportunities for the investment of capital, either in large or small suis, than the real-estate business. Among the most successful and best known of the new real-estate firms of Houston should be mentioned J. H. Bright & Com- pany.

The senior member of the firm, James H. Bright, was born in Fayetteville, Lincoln county, Tennessee, May 16, 1856, a son of James R. and Priscilla (Maney) Bright, the former of whom was born in Tennessee, and was an attorney by profession. He became a noted chancery lawyer and was for sev- eral years Supreme Judge of Tennessee. He also took great interest in Masonry and was Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of Tennessee for many years. He died March 15, 1868, at the age of forty-seven years. His father, James Bright, was a Virginian by birth, was a civil engineer by calling, and surveyed the State line between Tennessee and Kentucky. He lived to be ninety-eight years old and always attributed his long life and good health to the out-door life he led and temperate habits. He was a son of James Bright, a native of Wales. The mother of James H. Bright, Priscilla (Maney) Bright, was born in North Caro- lina, a daughter of Major Henry Maney, who was born at Maney's Point, same State. In 1854 he moved to Texas, and, after a short residence in Caldwell county, moved to Guadalupe county, where he died, at the age of sixty-seven years, having followed the occupation of planting throughout life. His father, William Maney, was a native of France.

James H. Bright is the youngest of three living children, the other members of the

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family being Anna, wife of R. M. Hibbett, of Nashville, Tennessee, and Elizabeth, wife of James H. Douglass, who lives in East Nashville, Tennessee. In the public schools of his native town the subject of this sketch pursued the paths of learning until he was twelve years old, when he was placed in Cumberland University, at Lebanon, Ten- nessee, for two years, where he was fitted to pass the examination of the Naval Academy at Annapolis, Maryland, but after success- fully doing so was dissuaded from entering the marine service by his mother. He also attended Bingham's school, in North Caro- lina, for two years, after which he began the study of law with Boyles & Burham, and after being admitted to the bar, in February, 1874, he went to Huntsville, Alabama, and began clerking in a store for Campbell & Bailey. After one year's experience with this firm he went to Nashville, Tennessee, and was in the employ of Douglas, Son & Company up to 1876, at which time he came to Texas. After spending some time in Guadalupe county, he came to Houston. Here he was employed by the late E. H. Cushing, in the book and stationery busi- ness, up to September, 1879, when he went to Galveston and accepted a situation as traveling salesman for P. J. Willis & Brother, remaining in the employ of that firm up to January, 1881. He then resigned to ac- cept the position of cashier and teller in the bank of Miller & Sayres, Gonzales, Texas, which position he held for eighteen months. He then organized and conducted a banking business for W. W. Lipscomb, at Luling, Texas, but owing to ill health he was com- pelled to leave the house and once more be- came a traveling salesman, this time with John P. Richardson, of New Orleans, a suc- cessful dry-goods merchant. He subse-

quently resigned to accept a similiar place with Sweetser, Pembrook & Company, of New York city, with which firm he was con- nected until January, 1890, when he resigned his position to open a real-estate office in Houston. Those who have real estate for sale, or who wish to buy, will find the firin of J. H. Bright ready at all times to serve the public and prepared to do it in as acceptable manner as any other agency in the city of Houston.

James H. Bright was married in 1879 to Miss Katie Walker, by whom he has one living child, James Douglas. In 1886 he was left a widower, and for his second wife he espoused Miss Belle Tatten, of Sherman, Texas, and by her has one child, Marie. Mr. and Mrs. Bright are attendants of the Episcopal Church, and are highly esteemed in the social circles of Houston.

a ILLIAM J. FREDERICK .- One of the many who are called upon to contribute their quota of what is needed to make up the neces- sities or luxuries prepared for the comfort and well-being of the inner man is the dealer in family groceries, and one of the most far- seeing and successful of these in Houston is William J. Frederick, who is also well equipped to look out for the comforts of the "outer inan," for he keeps a well-selected stock of dry-goods also, his place of business being advantageously located at San Felipe street, No. 307.

Like so many of the prominent business men of Houston, he is a German by birth, his natal day being September 30, 1840, and in that country his parents, Joachim and Sophia Frederick, were also born. The father came to the United States in 1846,

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for the purpose of permanently locating in this country, if it pleased him, and became so impressed with its possibilities for acquir- ing riches that in 1852 he returned to Ger- many for his family. The same year he landed at Galveston with his wife and chil- dren and at once proceeded to Houston, where he at once began following his trade of carpenter and builder, and to this calling devoted his attention the remainder of his days. He paid the last debt of nature in May, 1878, at the age of sixty-five years, having been an honest, whole-souled and hard-working man. His widow survives him at the age of eighty-one years.

When William J. Frederick was a lad he learned the carpenter's trade under Bering Brothers, but fortunately his education was not neglected, and besides the education which he had acquired in his native land he attended school at Chapel Hill, Washington county, Texas, for some time.

When the great Civil war came up his sympathies were with the South, the land of liis adoption, and he entered the Confeder- ate service, and was Sergeant in Hughes' battery until the war closed, his operations being confined to the States of Texas and Louisiana. Like many another brave soldier boy, he returned home penniless, but, unlike a great many, he did not sit down and use- lessly repine over what " might have been," but with unabated ardor once more took up the duties of every-day life.

He was very anxious to embark on the mercantile sea, and his father, who held a note on the late Hon. William R. Baker for $300, gave this to him and told him if he could collect it he could have it. The note was presented and paid, and this little sumn was the "nest egg" of his present comfort- able fortune. He opened a small store on

the corner of Brazos and Lamar streets, a few years later moved to the corner of Fred- erick and Robbins streets, and from there he came to his present quarters. where he has since held forth. His career has proven his business ability, and during the thirty years that he has been in mercantile life his honor has remained untarnished and he has acquired a most thorough knowledge of his calling, a fact which his brother mer- chants are not slow to recognize. He is an excellent judge of the articles he handles, is a close and careful buyer, and accordingly can dispose of his wares at prices within the reach of all. He is the owner of the prop- erty where he does business, besides other valuable real estate in Houston.

In 1886 he was married to Miss Johanna Grusendorf, who died about a year later, and for his second wife he took Mrs. Do- rothea Reichardt, by whom he has six chil- dren: Benjamin, Charles, Sabbath, Eliza- beth, Willie, and Henry. By her first hus- band, Francis Reichardt, Mrs. Frederick became the mother of two children: Anna and Francis A. Mr. Frederick is a member of the German Methodist Church, and his father built the first German church of that denomination in Houston. Socially he be- longs to the Knights of Honor.

J AMES E. ARCHER .- The average citizen, interested as he may be in the progress of the city and section in which his interests are centered, pursues the even tenor of his way with little thought of the immense amount of labor that is being consumed in the construction of the network of railroads all over the country, or the care, thought and responsi- bility involved in successfully conducting

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them after they are completed. To reach a position of responsibility and trust on any railroad is not the work of a day, but it in- volves years of earnest labor, and this posi- tion has to be attained by commencing at the lowest round of the ladder.

James E. Archer, well known in railroad circles and at present a passenger conductor on the Southern Pacific Railroad, between Houston and Lafayette, called the Louisiana division, is a native of Huntsville, Walker county, Texas, born November 8, 1850, a son of Robert P. and Marion (Dobyns) Archer, the former of whom was born near Richmond, Virginia, and the latter in Mem- phis, Tennessee. They now reside in Houston, Texas, and are among its most substantial and highly esteemed citizens.

The early scholastic training of James E. Archer was received in his native county and his education was completed in the Huntsville Male College, then under the control of Dr. Mckinney, and since suc- ceeded by the Sam Houston Normal College.

From the time he finished his literary education up to 1876, his time and attention were given to agriculture, but in that year he did his first railroad work, and in various capacities has been connected with different roads up to the present time. He was first a brakeman on a freight train on the Inter- national & Great Northern Railroad, from which position he was promoted to passen- ger brakeman and then to baggageman. He remained with this road up to 1879, then became passenger brakeman and baggage- man on the Galveston, Houston & Harris- burg Railroad, but left it in 1880, and on February 12 of that year became an employe of the Louisiana Western Railroad as bag- gageman, freight conductor and yardmaster, his headquarters being at Beaumont, Texas,

from January, 1883, to January, 1884. In the meantime this road was absorbed by the Southern Pacific, and in January, 1884, he was transferred to the Sabine & East Texas branch of the Southern Pacific as freight and passenger conductor, and remained with this road until September, 1887, at which time he was transferred to Houston as pas- senger conductor on the main line, and his home has since been in that city.

In December, 1883, Mr. Archer married Miss Alice Lege, of San Antonio, Texas, and to their union a son has been given, who is named Palmer. Mr. Archer is a gentleman of the highest standing in business circles, and in social life as well as in business is es- teemed as a representative and worthy citi- zen. He is a typical Southern gentleman, courteous and sincere in manners, and so far as lies in his power he endeavors to make traveling pleasant and comfortable for his passengers. Notwithstanding the fact that his lot has often been cast with a rough class of men, he has always retained his dignity and self-respect, and in the strict perform- ance of every duty assigned him he has won the highest regard of the officials of the road and the respect and good will of such of the traveling public as he has come in contact with. Mr. Archer is a member of the K. of P. and of the Houston Division, No. 7, of the Order of Railway Conductors. He possesses a fine physique, is preposessing in personal appearance and is of a social and genial dis- position.

UGUST PRIEST .- A life-time of earnest endeavor in pursuing the occupation to which he now gives his attention, coupled with strict integrity, has resulted in placing Mr. Priest

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among the respected and honored citizens of Harris county, Texas. While a man of no great wealth, he is the possessor of that which is far more valuable, -an honorable name and the confidence and friendship of those who know him best.

He was born in the county in which he he now resides, near Houston, August 23, 1858, a son of John and Sophia (Stall) Priest, both of whom were born in Ger- many, the father May 12, 1827, and died January 9, 1874, in Houston, Texas. His life was worthily spent, and the occupation to which his attention was devoted through- out life was farming. His union resulted in the birth of four children: John, who has followed his father's footsteps, and is en- gaged in farming on Bray's bayou; Freder- icka, wife of Antoine Eufultz; Edith, wife of Robert Tauffley; and August. The life of August Priest has been spent in the coun- ty of his birth, and it is not to be wondered at that he is public-spirited and loyal to the interests of the section in which his life has been spent. In early manhood he began learning the trade of butcher, under George Bouse, and to this occupation his attention has been principally given to the present. He has been reasonably successful, being the owner of three lots where he resides, near the city limits, besides two houses and lots on the Harrisburg road, in the corporate limits of the city of Houston. August 26, 1881, he married Miss Alwine Nitze, who was born in Gerinany March 10, 1855, a daughter of Christian and Fredericka Nitze. For facts of Mrs. Priest's family see sketch of her brother, E. H. Nitze, elsewhere in this volume. To Mr. Priest and his wife six children have been given: Peter, born July 30, 1882; Victoria, born May 8, 1885; Annie, born May 14, 1887; Elnora, born

September 23, 1889; August, born August 21, 1890; and Herman, born September 10, 1892. Mr. Priest has always been an in- dustrious, law-abiding citizen, and his cor- rect mode of living has won him many friends.

M. ANGLE .- In the vocabulary of this gentleman there is no such word as "fail." Notwithstanding the fact that he has met with many and heavy financial reverses, he has always been found to "bob up serenely" and once more plunge into business life with renewed zeal, determination and earnestness. He has for years been prominently connected with the lumber manufacturing interests of Texas, and at the present time is the very efficient general manager of the Crystal Springs Lumber Company at Stryker, Texas, the main office being 118 Main street, Hous- ton, Texas.

Mr. Angle is a native of New Jersey, born January 18, 1845, a son of Abram and Mary (Stryker) Angle, the former of whom was born in Warren county, New Jersey, grandson of David Angle and John Stryker, and great-grandson of Paul Angle, who was one of the first settlers on the upper Dela- ware, purchasing under King George. D. M. Angle is the eldest of four children born to his parents, the other members of the family being: George W., of Velasco, Texas; Samantha, deceased; and Sarah, wife of Henry Farker. The father of the subject of this sketch died when the latter was about eleven years of age, and he was the eldest of the family, and was compelled to begin the battle of life when young. He received only a common-school education, finishing with a term or two at the Lenni

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Lenape Institute, of New Jersey. At about the age of twenty years he secured employ- ment on the old New Jersey Central Rail- road, was later with the Delaware, Lacka- wanna & Western Railroad, in the freight department at Hoboken, New Jersey, and finally abandoned this life to open a clothing establishment at Easton, Pennsylvania, which he sold at the end of five years to come to Houston, in 1874, for the benefit of his health.

The climate in this section agreed with him, the country pleased him, and he soon decided to enter business here, opening a coinmission house in Houston, but closed it soon after to organize the Willis Manufac- turing Company, at Willis, Texas, the in- corporators being himself, W. D. Cleveland, and B. A. Botts. They also conducted a general store at that place and did a very prosperous business, but eventually Mr. Angle became the sole proprietor by lease for a time, soon after which he constructed a sawmill plant in Walker county, at Angle Station, and did a remarkably large and profitable business for about three years. The entire plant was then consumed by fire, without a dollar of insurance on it, and the loss was estimated to reach $25,000, includ- ing a large stock of lumber and machinery. Nothing daunted, he moved what available machinery there was to Polk county, Texas, and organized the Angle Lumber Company, which did a large business for about two years, when this plant also caught fire and burned to the ground, together with about 3,000,000 feet of lumber, the total loss be- ing some $35,000. On the same ground Mr. Angle at once began the work of re- building, and after the plant was completed successfully operated it for two years, when the "fire fiend" once more swept away his

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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