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 88

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 88
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 88

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a native of Germany, who came to Texas in 1871. Of the ten children born to this union only four reached mature years, namely: Katie, wife of Victor Vilas; August, who was drowned in the bay, March 4, 1894, aged eigliteen years; Marcus, fifteen years of age, drowned at the same time; and Marie. Mrs. Hammer, who was an earnest member of the Lutheran Church, died in 1883, when thirty-three years old. In the year 1884 or '5 Mr. Hammer wedded Miss Frederica Berlacher, a native of Galveston, and a daughter of Henry Berlacher, who came to Galveston in 1857. To this union only one child has been born, Edward, who is now deceased. Mr. and Mrs. Hammer are both worthy members of the Lu- theran Church.

Mr. Hammer has shown his appreciation of secret organizations by becoming a mem- ber of the I. O. O. F., Herman Lodge, No. 5; the K. of P., Schiller Lodge, No. 46; K. of H., Galveston Lodge, No. 774; and Sons of Hermann, Gulf Lodge, No. 36, of which Mr. Hammer is Treasurer. He is also a member of many of the social clubs of the city. In 1872 lie became a ineinber of the Volunteer Fire Department, Washing- ton, No. 1, and continued as such until it became a paid department. At that time he was vice-president of the department. Po- litically Mr. Hammer has always advocated the principles of the Democratic party, but takes little interest, personally, in the poli- tics of the day.

S. WREN .- Success in life is a stimulus to others less fortunate in the fray and an example for them to emulate. It is an indication of close application, industry and faithfulness.

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It is something to be proud of, and the world is better for the life of every successful man. P. S. Wren, chief clerk in the department of the United States Collector's office of the port of Galveston, and a capable and trust- worthy official, has met with more than ordinary success in the various enterprises in which he has engaged, all the result of his industry and perseverance. He is a product of the grand old State of Virginia, born in Powhatan county, July 14, 1842, and his parents, Joseph and Julia (Samson) Wren, were natives of the same State.

The Wren family came originally from Wales and settled in this country at a period antedating the Revolution. The first mem- ber to reach this coast was the great-grand- father of our subject, who settled in Fairfax county, and there passed the remainder of his days. He was a soldier in the war for independence. His son, Robert Wren, the grandfather of our subject, moved to Pow- hatan county, that State, when a young man, and there married Miss Sublett. He fol- lowed the occupation of planter, but was also a minister of the Christian faith, and erected a church on his own land, preaching the gospel for thirty years. On the Sunday preceding his death, which occurred when he was eighty-four years old, he preached a long and learned sermon and his death oc- curred the following Wednesday. He left four sons and one daughter, -Joseph, James, William, Robert and Martha. Joseph Wren, the father of our subject, followed in the footsteps of his father as an agriculturist, but was a man of superior education for his day. He was a man of original mind, and possessed great ability to grasp a subject and · present it in a logical and intelligent man- ner. Although too old to take part in the civil war, he espoused the cause of the

South. Like his father he lived to a good old age, dying in 1878, when eighty-two years old. His worthy companion had passed away in 1866. Their children, five in num- ber, were named as follows: Peter R., of Lynchburg, Virginia, served in the Confed- erate army; Powhattan S .; Martha C., now the wife of W. A. Heffewan, resides in Lynchburg; William H., deceased, was the proprietor of - a popular hotel in White Springs, Florida, and for some time was Mayor of the town; Fannie L., wife of R. B. Parrott, of Waco, Texas.

Mr. P. S. Wren diligently availed him- self of all the advantages offered for an edu- cation in his native county, attending select schools, etc., and when thirteen years of . age accepted a position in the shoe store of W. P. W. Taylor, at Richmond, Virginia. There he remained until April 21, 1861, when he was mustered into the Confederate service as a member of Company D, First Virginia Regiment Infantry, under Captain J. J. Griswold and Colonel P. T. Moore. Soon after this his health failed and he was sent home, where he remained until a short time before the battle of Seven Pines, when he rejoined his company and participated in that battle. Later he was detailed for rail- road duty on the Richmond & Danville rail- road, and was made station agent at Dan- ville until the close of the war.

On his return home he found his family at Manchester. Mr. Wren soon found a position on the Richmond & Danville rail- road, a position he held until he came to the Lone Star State in the spring of 1867 (June 18). Locating first in Galveston, he remained there but a short time, and then went to Clear Creek, in Galveston county, Texas, where he was engaged in manual labor for one month, after which McNeil &

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Company made him manager of their store and brickyard. He remained at Clear Creek until 1868, when he accepted the po- sition as cotton clerk on the G., H. & H. Railroad, and continued to discharge the duties of the same until 1872, when he ac- cepted a position with the Southern Cotton Press Manufacturing Company as clerk. After occupying this position for a year he returned to the G., H. & H. as down freight agent.

On the 12th of November, 1874, he was married to Miss Mattie Campbell, a daugh- ter of Dr. Clark Campbell. In the fall of 1875 he became a member of the firm of Saady Hobart & Company, cotton buyers of , Galveston, and in March, 1877, he was ap- pointed City Clerk by the Mayor, D. C. Stone. So ably did he discharge the duties of that position that he was elected to the sanie four

years in succession. In 1880 he was elected County Clerk, and resigned his former po- sition to accept the latter. The office was one for which he was well qualified and he served six years, being three times elected. During the latter part of 1886 he accepted a position as Chief Clerk and Deputy Collector under C. C. Sweeney, the Collector of Cus- toms at that time. During President Har- rison's administration he was engaged m the real-estate and abstract business. He was appointed by Colonel George P. Finlay to the position of Chief Clerk and Deputy Col- lector of the Custom House, July 17, 1893, a position he now holds.

He has been Notary Public for many years and was the first Register of voters after the registration law went into effect. He was elected a member of the Board of Aldermen in 1893, being elected Alderman at large, and shortly afterward resigned.

Eminently successful in all his under-

takings Mr. Wren is a good type of that class of men, who, not content in remaining in the position to which they were born, have pushed forward, and by creating and becoming connected with enterprises of more than ordinary importance have be- come public benefactors. Though still in the prime of life he has become the recipient of repeated and well-deserved honors from his fellow citizens which mark the esteem in which he is held.

His marriage has been blessed by the birth of six living children, namely: Clark C., Powhattan S., Jr., Joseph Goree, Julia, Carnie and Francis J. Two children are deceased.

HOMAS BENN, better known . as "Benson," and now deceased, was a resident of Galveston from 1862 till his death in 1891. He was born in Galway, Ireland, and when a small boy began his career as a sailor, following the sea until 1862.

When but twelve years old he went to Mobile, Alabama, where he made his home until 1862, when he enlisted in the Con- federate army and served during the war. He came to Galveston after the surrender, and engaged in handling cotton as foreman of a crew of screwmen until 1878, when he be- came a member of the firm of Manwaring & Benson, stevedores. Some time after- ward Charles C. Sweeney became a member of the firin and continued as such until after the death of Mr. Manwaring, when the firm was dissolved. For four or five years follow- ing this Mr. Benn had no settled occupation, but in 1889 he embarked in the business now carried on by his son, J. H. Benson,

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and carried this on with success until his death June 8, 1891. For nearly thirty years he has been connected with the stevedore business, carrying on successfully and creditably this important branch of the shipping interest at Galveston. Ilis wife, who, when he married her, bore the name of Amelia Blackman, maiden name Rickmers, died in 1887. She was a native of Gal- veston and of German origin, her parents having settled in this city over forty years ago. The nine children born to Mr. and Mrs. Benson were named as follows: Joseph H., Thomas J., Robert, Katie (deceased), Charles, Madaline, Adelia, Amelia and William (deceased).

Joseph H. Benn (called Benson) was born in Galveston, August 25, 1865, and he was reared and educated here in this city. On leaving the school-room he engaged in stevedoring, which has since occupied liis attention. He succeeded his father in this business, and is meeting with the success which industry, integrity and faithfulness always command.

On the 21st of April, 1891, Mr. Benn married Miss Annie Williams, a native of Galveston, and a daughter of William and Mary Williams, who came to Galveston soon after the war, Mr. Williams being en- gaged in the cotton business in the city un- til his death in 1889. Mr. and Mrs. Benn have one child, a son, namned Joseph. Mr. Benn was reared in the Episcopal faith, Mrs. Benn in the Catholic.

a APTAIN JOHN E. HELMER .- Al- though the life of this worthy man has not been without the sub- stantial evidences of success, it has by no means been an uneventful one, and yet

he has quietly and consistently pursued the even tenor of his way and has been a useful citizen. He is one of the oldest captains on the salt boats of the bay trade and has be- come well and favorably known, especially along the Texas coast.

He owes his nativity to Copenhagen, Denmark, where he was born in 1842, and in the high school of that city he secured an education of a practical and useful kind. At the very carly age of six years he accom- panied his uncle as a cabin boy on board the latter's sailing vessel and remained with him for four years, the first two years being under the immediate and kindly instruction of his relative. At the expiration of the four years he began attending school and continued to do so every year until he had reached the age of fifteen, when he became a sailor on board a Norwegian brig and fol- lowed this calling along the coast of Norway and Sweden until 1861, when he came to America, the voyage thither being made in the Peter Maxwell, belonging to the St. John and New Brunswick trade. He served as second mate on board this vessel.

A landing was made in Mobile bay, Alabama, and while in the city of Mobile he became an American citizen. The great civil war was in progress in this country at that time, and Captain Helmer was busily employed in running a boat from Mobile to Key West and New Orleans, and, like many others was engaged in blockade running. He was captured in 1865, shortly before the close of the war, and was held a prisoner until hostilities terminated, when he was re- leased in the city of New Orleans. He im- mediately returned to Mobile, where he con- tinued to live until 1872, in which year he came to Galveston on his own sailing vessel, and since that time has been profitably oc-

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cupied in boating on the bay. He is fre- quently engaged in carrying passengers on his boat, but makes a specialty of the salt trade.

Realizing that "it is not good for man to live alone, " he was married in 1869 to Miss Louisa Underwood, a native of Demop- olis, Alabama, and they have had nine children. Two died in early infancy; and those living are named as follows: Charles A .; Mollie, wife of W. G. Blagge; John E., Jr., Alexander, George, Albert and Cecilia.

M. JORDAN was born in the city of Galveston, on the 12th day of March, 1847. His father, Michael Jordan, was born in Cork, Ireland, and when but a lad came to the United States with his parents and settled with them in Boston. There he remained and attended school until about seventeen years of age, when he took passage on a vessel for Mobile, Alabama, but later landed in Galveston, when he was about eighteen years of age. From there he went to Hous- ton, where he learned the baker's trade of John Kennedy. He served in the Mexican war as a regular soldier for some time, but subsequently was detailed as a baker, and remained in that capacity until the war ended. During a severe engagement he was taken prisoner by the Mexican forces, and was compelled to work on the streets of the city of Mexico with a ball and chain at- tached to himn. Following the war he re- turned to his native city, and was there married to Miss Mary Cocoran. Their chil- dren, four in number, three sons and one daughter, were named as follows: Michael M .; David Crockett, born October 10, 1849;

and Charles Francis, born December 18, 1853. All reside in Galveston.

Michael M. Jordan, the eldest of the family, passed his boyhood and youth in Galveston, and after reaching man's estate engaged in the grocery business. This he continued for several years, or until 1873, when he received the appointment of Deputy Chief of Galveston's City Police Force, and served in that capacity for four years. In the year 1877 he and his mother spent several months visiting friends and relatives in Wisconsin, and upon his return home, in 1878, he was appointed Chief of Police, a position he held until 1879. He next em- barked in the grocery business at Twenty- fourth and Church streets, and continued in this until 1883, when he was again ap- pointed Chief of Police. He held this posi- tion until 1893, displaying great circum- spection, personal courage and wisdom in the discharge of his duties. Mr. Jordan has been one of the chief founders of the Vol- unteer Fire Department of Galveston and served as foreman of the same from 1868 to 1877.

3 OHN H. SNEED, deceased. - In the year 1835 John Suced, a native of Virginia, but for some years previous thereto a resident of Huntsville, Ala- bama, came to Texas, bringing with him his family, a considerable number of slaves and household goods, aboard the schooner Eliza- betli, from New Orleans. The schooner was wrecked at the mouth of the Brazos and most of its cargo lost. From that point Mr. Sneed made his way overland with ox teams to the old Mexican town of Tenoxtitlan, in what is now Burleson county, and from there proceeded to San Felipe in Austin

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county, where he settled and for a time resided.

He was living at San Felipe when the troubles broke out between the settlers and the Mexican authorities in the fall of 1835, and when the army began its retreat from the Colorado he was one of the number de- tailed by General Houston to look after the families during the historic " Runaway Scrape." It has been recorded that in that precipitate flight many were the mishaps that befell the frightened settlers. One of these, and a serious one for the time, came to Mr. Sneed, it being no less than the break- ing down of the cart in which he was con- veying his wife and children beyond the reach of the enemy. Mr. Sneed was left by the other settlers on the roadside to repair his cart as well as he could in the general fright and confusion, while the others pressed on for the Trinity river. While so engaged he was overtaken by a band of Indians, who, learning of the runaway, had followed in its wake to pilfer and murder. For a time he was in great peril, the Indians threatening to put him and all his family to the toma- hawk, but their lives were spared through the intervention of one or two influential members of the band, who recognized in Mrs. Sneed one who had several times be- friended them, furnishing them with food and some trivial personal adornments when they were passing hier home near San Felipe.

In 1837 Mr. Sneed moved to Houston, where his wife died the following year, and which place he made his home until his deatlı in 1852. He had been a man of con- siderable wealth in Alabama and brought some means with him to Texas, as already stated; but the unsettled condition of the country for three or four years after he came out prevented his carrying out his plans of

opening a large plantation; and after his re- moval to Houston he lived modestly, but maintained to the end of his days the esteem and good will of those among whom he lived. To him and his wife six children were born, -four daughters and two sons. His eldest, Eliza Harvey, was married to Fielding Secrest, a Texas patriot who took part in the battle of San Jacinto, being a member of General Houston's staff. Mr. Sneed's eldest son, Farley Thompson Sneed, became grown, settled on the Brazos river in Fort Bend county, where he was assas- sinated about 1840; Herman Bird Sneed, the second son, died on the Mississippi river of cholera in 1849; Sarah W. was married to James W. Wood, whom she survives and now resides in Galveston; Sophia W. died unmarried; Susan V. wasthree times married, -- first to Erastus Webb, second to William Stephens, and third to J. B. Sheridan, whom she survives and now resides in the city of Galveston.

a APTAIN JAMES W. WOOD, de- ceased, a former well-known citizen of Galveston, was a native of Penn- sylvania, where he was born in the year 1808. He came to Texas in 1844, and in 1845 married Miss Sarah Williamson Sneed, a daughter of John H. and Elizabeth Sneed, then residing in Houston, who came from Alabama to Texas in 1835. See sketch of John H. Sneed elsewhere in this volume.

In December, 1845, James W. Wood and wife settled in Galveston, and for many years following that date Captain Wood was connected with the shipping interests of this port. He owned the boat Colonel Wood, which he brought with him to Texas, and placed in trade on Buffalo bayou, between

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Galveston and Houston and Trinity and Brazos river points. He acquired an inter- est in several small craft plying on Galves- ton bay and in the coast trade, and held a prominent place among the business men of the community. He died at Galveston, July 4, 1858, a man of recognized worth and a much-respected citizen. Surviving him he left a widow and two sons, -- John B. and James W., Jr. The elder of the sons died young, but the widow and the other son are still living, being residents of Galveston.

The present James W. Wood was born in the city of Galveston on the 11th day of April, 1853, and was reared in Galveston and Houston. He has held various clerical positions in these two cities during the past twenty-two years, and has an extensive business acquaintance in each, having been clerk for E. Mather, of Houston, bookkeeper ' for the Southern Compress Company, of Galveston, and for the Houston Direct Navi- gation Company, five years Chief Clerk in the County and District Clerks' offices of Harris county, for six years clerk in the offices of the Mallory Steamship Company at Galveston, impost clerk in the Galveston Custom-house during two administrations, and recording and shipping clerk for the Elder-Dempster Steamship line at Galveston.

J OHN C. WORTHAM, present Tax Collector of Galveston county, is a native of Texas, having been born in Palestine, Anderson county, Au- gust 22, 1853. His father was Thomas J. C. Wortham, and his mother bore the maiden name of Elizabeth Cash, the former a native of Tennessee, the latter of Louisi- ana. . The senior Mr. Wortham emigrated with his family to Texas in 1849 and set- 42

tled at Palestine, where he resided until the fall of 1853, when he moved to Galveston, at which place he died during the yellow fever epidemic of the following year. He was a merchant, a man of good business qualifications and a respected and useful citizen.

John C. Wortham was reared in Galves- ton and was educated in the select schools of this city, chiefly under the late Professor James P. Nash. In 1870 he entered the employ of P. J. Willis & Brothers, with whom he remained for a period of twenty- two years, working his way up from an errand boy to the position of manager of the notion department of that great establish- ment. In 1892 he became a candidate for the office of Tax Collector of Galveston county, was elected, and in 1894 was re- elected. Mr. Wortham is a diligent, pains- taking, honest and capable public official. His management of the office he holds has met with the general approval of the tax- payers of Galveston county and has won for him a large measure of personal popularity.

February 12, 1879, Mr. Wortham mar- ried Miss Mary W. Root, daughter of John B. and Cornelia P. Root, and a native of Galveston, her parents having come to this city in 1850. Her father was one of the early merchants of Galveston, engaged for many years in the furniture business. Mr. and Mrs. Wortham are the parents of four children: John R., Eliza, Harry W. and Neil.

ERMAN F. KLEINECKE, was born in Hanover, Germany, on the 15th day of June, 1843, being a son of August and Dorathea Klein- ecke, also natives of Hanover, whence they

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emigrated in 1846 to Texas, settling in Gal- veston. The senior Mr. Kleinecke was a butcher by trade, and was engaged in the butcher business in this city for about twenty years, keeping a market at the corner of Winnie and Fifteenth streets. He was a man of industrious habits, and in every way a good citizen. He raised a large family of children, all of whom grew up in this city, where many of his descendants now live. He died in January, 1870, in the eighty- third year of his age, his wife having died in 1865, aged sixty-five.

Herman F. Kleinecke, of this article, was only three years old when his parents settled in Galveston. Their large family and straitened circumstances did not allow them to do much for their children in the way of education, and he therefore began the struggle for bread and butter with only such preparation as was afforded by a two years' attendance at the public schools of this city. He was apprenticed to the butch- er's trade under an elder brother, for whom he worked eight years, afterward working for Michael Kimley. He enlisted in the Confederate army in 1862, Company E, Cook's regiment, with which he served in and around Galveston until the close of the war, taking part in the battle at this place January 1, 1863. After the war he engaged in the butcher business for himself, opening a stall in the old central market, which he ran for twenty-two years. During this time he enjoyed a good patronage and succeeded in accumulating some means. In 1889 he embarked in the retail grocery trade, which he followed for three years, when he retired from all kinds of business pursuits, and is now living on the fruits of his former labors.

In 1870 Mr. Kleinecke married Miss Amelia Hubele, a daughter of Gottfried and

Dorathea Hubele, a native of Houston, where she was born in 1850, her parents having come to Texas in 1840 and settled in that city. Mr. and Mrs. Kleinecke have had eight children, three of whoin are deceased. Those living are: Edna, now the wife of August Wittig; Herman E., Albert, Will- iam, and Edward.

Mr. Kleinecke had eleven brothers and sisters, all of whom became grown. These were: Theodore, who is a resident of Galves- ton; Augusta, the widow of Charles Baug; Lena, the wife of Christopher Jancke; Louis, deceased; Fritz, who died in Mexico; Louisa, the deceased wife of John Ott; Henry, who died at Houston, Texas; Christiana, widow of C. Cassel, living at Galveston; Au- gust, who died at Galveston; Paulina, the wife of W. F. Crause, of Waco, Texas; and Louisa, the deceased wife of William Moffett. Of these Theodore and Fritz served in the war with Mexico from 1846 to 1848, and Louis and Henry served in the late war in the Confederate army.

a HARLES LUDWIG BEISSNER,. deceased, was born in Welsede, Hessen, Germany, December 29, 1809. He was reared in his native place and went thence, when a young man, to Bremen, where he married Magdalena Dora- thea Heidenreich in 1837, and there settled himself in the hotel business. From Bre- men he came to Texas in 1842, locating at Galveston, where he was joined a few months later by his wife and two children, accom- panied by his brother, George W., and an unmarried sister, Charlotte, afterward Mrs. Fred W. Schmidt. Mr. Beissner immedi- ately engaged in the hotel business in this city, on the south side of the Strand, near

HISTORY OF TEXAS.

the corner of Twenty-second street. From that place he moved to the corner of Me- chanic and Twenty-first streets, on the site now occupied by the Cotton Exchange, where he purchased property and started the old Washington Hotel. He conducted this well-known hostelry for many years, until, having secured a competency, he sold out, in 1866, and a year later returned to Ger- many. He came back to Galveston shortly afterward, but, returning again to his native country, he took up his abode in Bremen, where he remained until his death, Decem- ber 1, 1882.

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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