New encyclopedia of Texas, volume 1, Part 102

Author: Davis, Ellis A.
Publication date: 1926
Publisher: Dallas, Tex. : Texas development bureau, [1926?]
Number of Pages: 1416

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B. W. Ward was born at Milton, Florida, on the eighteenth of January, 1876, son of John G. Ward and Ella (Potter) Ward, the former, now deceased, a native of Lynchburg, Virginia, the latter of New York State. Mr. Ward attended the schools of Florida and graduated from the Academy East of the Sewanee. During the Spanish-American War he served an enlistment in the United States Navy, and was for some years with the comptroller's de- partment, in the State of Florida, where he had charge of the tax redemption fund, and the pension fund. In 1909 Mr. Ward came to Texas, locating at Houston, where he has since made his home, and from that time until 1924, when he established his present business, he was an official, of executive capacity with the Fidelity Trust Company, Hogg Brothers, the Varner Trust Company, the Guardian Trust Company, and the Guaranty Trust Company, all of Houston.

Mr. Ward was married at Franklin, Louisiana, the nineteenth of November, 1901, to Miss Daisy Hine, daughter of the late Ralph E. Hine and Martha E. (Walker) Hine. Mr. and Mrs. Ward reside at 3700 Garrott Street, and have two children, Ralph H. Ward, who is associated with his father in business, and Miss Beverly Alene Ward, a college student. Mr. Ward is a Mason, charter member of Temple No. 4, and of Washington Chapter No. 2., and also a charter member of Eastern Star, Live Oak No. 35, Patterson, Louisiana. Mr. Ward belongs to the Trinity Episcopal Church, and was a vestryman in that congregation three years.

622

Walter J, Daly.

NEW ENCYCLOPEDIA OF TEXAS

INSTON McMAHON, whose name has for many years been of special significance in Houston legal circles, ranks as one of the foremost civil lawyers in this city, and has made rapid progress in his profession. Mr. McMa- hon limits his work to civil cases, and his merited success in this field is only in proportion to his genuine talents. He was admitted to the Bar in 1907, and, after one year of practice in San Antonio, came to Houston, engaging in practice alone. In 1918 he was appointed United States Commissioner, holding that office at the present time, and per- forming with distinction the duties involved. Mr. McMahon has his office in the Binz Building.

Mr. McMahon was born at Livingston, Alabama, the second of February, 1884, the son of C. W. Mc- Mahon, of that State. He attended the public schools of Livingston, and later the University of Alabama, where he received the B. A. Degree in 1903, and the M. A. Degree in 1904. He then came to Waco, Texas, and later entered the University of Texas, in the Law Department, taking the LL. B. degree in 1907, and being admitted to the Bar in that year. He then went to San Antonio, begin- ning his practice in that city, where his legal tal- ents attracted the attention of his associates. In 1908 he came to Houston, and soon built up an ex- tensive practice, and annexed many exclusive clients. Since that time Mr. McMahon's professional ad- vancement has been rapid, and he is one of the ranking lawyers of the Texas Bar.

Mr. McMahon was married at Houston, the six- teenth of November, 1915, to Miss Frances Sewall, daughter of Krause Sewall, of Marlin. Mr. and Mrs. McMahon make their home at the Savoy Apart- ments, and have one child, Sewall McMahon. Mr. McMahon belongs to the Kiwanis 'Club, the Cham- ber of Commerce, the River Oaks Country Club, and the Harris County Bar Association. He is active in all civic work, interested in the development and upbuilding of Houston, and is one of the younger professional men of the city, who are taking a large part in moulding public sentiment favorable to development.

ARTIN DIES, JR., one of the leading attor- neys of Orange, began his practice in this city in January, 1922, after three years of successful practice elsewhere, and has rap- idly advanced to a place among the foremost law- yers of this section. Mr. Dies is a member of the firm of Dies, Stephenson and Dies, one of the old established law firms of Orange. This firm was established by Mr. Martin Dies, Sr., one of the best know attorneys of the Lone Star State, whose death in 1923 was a distinct loss to the profession. His son, Martin Dies., Jr., the subject of this sketch, became a member of the firm in January, 1922, and among the younger attorneys there are few who give promise of a more brilliant career. Kemper W. Stephenson, his associate, has also been promi- nent in law and affairs for many years, and has done much to advance the prestige of the law firm of Dies, Stephenson and Dies. Offices are main- tained in the Bancroft Building, and the firm is re- tained by many of the leading firms and individuals of Orange, having one of the largest practices in the city.

Martin Dies, Jr., was born at Colorado, Texas, the first of November, 1901, the son of Martin Dies,

Sr., one of the most prominent lawyers of Texas, and a man whose career had many distinctions. He was educated in the public schools of Beaumont, to which city the family removed during his boyhood, and after finishing there went to preparatory school in Virginia, later attending the University of Texas, and still later National University, at Washington, D. C., after which he entered Georgetown Univer- sity, where he took the LL.B. degree in 1920. Mr. Dies began his practice at Marshall, Texas, trying his first case in the courts there, and two years later came to Orange, entering his father's firm in this city.

Mr. Dies was married at Greenville, Texas, the third of July, 1920, to Miss Myrtle McAdams, a native of Hunt County. Mr. and Mrs. Dies have one child, Martin Dies III, and reside at 1302 Cherry Street. Mr. Dies is a member of the Texas Bar Association, and fraternally is an Odd Fellow and a Knight of Pythias. Since coming to Orange he has been a leader among the younger professional men, taking a deep interest in questions concerning civic advancement and progress, and has done much to influence the development of Orange along the highest lines.

OUIS C. PHELPS, attorney-at-law, who, in the two decades of his practice at Houston, has found favor with the public, building up a large general practice, is highly esteemed by his associates, and is one of the leading profes- sional men of Houston. Mr. Phelps was admitted to the bar in 1904, beginning his practice at Houston, and trying his first case in the courts of Harris County. At the beginning of his practice, Mr. Phelps became associated with his brother, Edgar S. Phelps, the two composing the law firm of E. S. and L. C. Phelps, which was one of the leading legal firms of Hous- ton, handling a large volume of practice, until its dissolution in 1918. Since that time, Mr. Phelps has engaged in practice alone, handling a general civil practice, and has his offices on the third floor of the First National Bank Building. Mr. Phelps has had an excellent professional training, and his work shows the ripened result of this training, rounded out by his years of experience, and he has made a splendid record of progress since his ad- mission to the bar in 1904.

Louis C. Phelps is a native of Texas, having been born at La Grange, Texas, the twenty-fifth of Jan- uary, 1883. His father, Major E. C. Phelps, a na- tive of Virginia, came to Texas shortly after the close of the Civil War, and was one of the prom- inent men of that day. Louis C. Phelps attended the public schools of Houston, later entering the Uni- versity of Texas, in the law department, where he took the L. L. B. degree in 1904. Mr. Phelps then re- turned to Houston, beginning his practice here, in association with his brother, Edgar S. Phelps.

Mr. Phelps was married at Houston the twenty- sixth of December, 1906, to Miss Mary Cherry, a native of Montgomery, Alabama. Mr. and Mrs. Phelps have an attractive home at 3604 Garrott Ave- nue, and have one child, Miss Mary Cherry Phelps. Mr. Phelps is a member of the Glenbrook Country Club, the University Club and the Houston Country Club, and takes an active part in the various social events, as well as an interest in all civic and welfare work.

625

MEN OF TEXAS

E DWARD TEAS is one of the best known nurserymen of Houston and South Texas, where he is the owner of the Teas Nursery Company, the largest and best equipped nursery plant in South Texas, which is located at Bellaire, a suburb of Houston. The time of the es- tablishment of the Teas Nursery Company dates back to 1843 when Mr. Teas' father, John C. Teas started this business in Indiana, where he continued until 1868 when he removed the business to Missouri, where he continued the nursery plant until his death in 1907. He was also a landscape gardener and landscape architect. In 1907 Mr. Edward Teas removed the business to Houston, and it has had a steady growth since that time. Landscape plant- ing is the leading line of work of the Teas Nursery Company, which has done most of the landscape architecture of prominence in Houston, where Mr. Teas is considered an authority in landscape work of all kinds. He executed the plans for the Rice In- titute grounds as well as the landscape work for most of the beautiful homes in Houston, among which are the following, R. L. Blaffer, H. M. Gar- wood, H. C. Wiess, J. S. Cullinan, John T. Crotty, W. D. Cleveland and B. F. Bonner. The Teas Nur- sery Company is the largest grower of hardy or- namentals, figs, oranges, shrubs, hedges, etc., in Houston and South Texas and is regarded as being thoroughly reliable in every particular. Mr. Teas has seventy acres embodied in the nursery where more than half a million growing plants are in stock at all times; he also has six thousand square feet of glass and employs thirty-five to fifty peo- ple. He sells his nursery stock in large quantities, and much of it in car lots. He is ever experimenting and has created a new verbena, a hybrid between the common garden verbena and erinoides from the An- des Mountains, and is called the erinoides hybrids. These are now being shipped to all parts of the Unit- ed States.

Mr. Teas was born at Carthage, Missouri, August 27th, 1870. His father, John C. Teas, one of Mis- souri's leading nurserymen, was engaged in the nursery business all his life. He was known all over the world as the discoverer and introducer of Teas weeping mulberry. He also discovered and intro- duced the Catalpa speciosa one of the best timber trees in America. Although a soft wood it is very lasting. Edward Teas' mother was Miss Isabella Parker, a member of a well known North Carolina family. His early education was obtained in the public and high schools of Carthage, after which he attended the Carthage Collegiate Institute for a period of two years. He entered the nursery busi- ness with his father when eighteen years of age at Carthage, Missouri, where he continued in busi- ness until 1907 when he came to Texas and to Hous- ton and moved the business here.

Mr. Teas was married at Carthage, Missouri, in 1901 to Miss Augusta J. Lowther, a daughter of John Lowther, a well known merchant of Joplin, Missouri. They have six children, Paul and Fred (twins) twenty years of age, Josephine, aged nine- teen years; Edward, aged sixteen; Ruth, ten years of age, and Benjamin, aged eight years. Mr. and Mrs. Teas reside at the nursery in Bellaire. He is a member of the Scottish Rite Bodies of the Masonic fraternity and a Shriner of Arabia Temple. He also

holds membership in the Old River Club. Mr. Teas is active in the business and general community life of Houston, and gives liberally of his time to all projects tending to the welfare and advancement of this city in which he has an abiding faith.

B. EAST, as Vice-President and General manager of the Massey Business College, which institution was founded in Houston in 1896, has accomplished much in the laud- able enterprise of starting hundreds of young men and young women on the high road to success. The Massey Business College, located at 1108-10 Rusk Avenue, is the largest school of the kind, not only in Houston, but in South Texas, and every phase of business activity is covered in the curriculum of this college. Commencing in a small way, the Massey Business College has grown until now it occupies all of a large two-story brick building, with a floor space of ten thousand square feet. The college work is divided into three separate departments, Com- mercial, Shorthand and Typewriting. In the com- mercial department, with two hundred pupils, is taught bookkeeping, banking, commercial law, adver- tising, salesmanship, penmanship, business corre- spondence, business arithmetic and spelling. In the shorthand department, with one hundred and twenty- five pupils, is taught the Gregg System, secretarial duties, correspondence, filing, spelling and general office work. In the typewriting department, with one hundred pupils and one hundred Remington ma- chines, is taught the touch system of typewriting. Each department is under the direction of capable, expert instructors, who are especially versed in the subject taught. Other officers of the Massey Busi- ness College are Richard W. Massey, President, and R. S. Stokes, Secretary.

A native of Iowa, Mr. East was born in Kirkman in 1876. His father, John East, was a pioneer set- tler and large land owner of Iowa. His mother was Miss Rebecca Dixon, a member of a prominent Iowa family. The public and high schools of Iowa sup- plied the foundation for Mr. East's education and later he took a course in a commercial college, where he received special instruction and did special work.

Mr. East has had a wide and varied business ca- reer which he started in the printing business and continued for a period of five years. He then en- tered the field of publishing at Huntington, Arkan- sas, and remained in this business for four years. He then went in the coal business, which he con- tinued for three years, after which he entered the mercantile business in Oklahoma, where he remained for five years. In 1909 the business college work as a business claimed his attention, and he came to Texas and to Houston in 1914 as Vice-President and General Manager of the Massey Business Col- lege. Mr. East was married at Nowata, Oklahoma, in 1900 to Miss Lida Russell, a member of a well known family of Pennsylvania, where her father, James Russell, was for many years connected with the mining industry. They have one daughter, Mrs. Lois Hackley of Houston. Mr. and Mrs. East reside at 1101 Peden Avenue. In commercial and social organizations, Mr. East is a member of the Real Estate Board, Salesmanship Club, Glenbrook Coun- try Club and Old River Club. Mr. East has always been interested in all projects having to do with the greater development, advancement and civic im- provement of Houston.

626

Edward Teas

NEW ENCYCLOPEDIA OF TEXAS

W. HAHL has for thirty years been active in the real estate circles of Houston and South Texas, where his experimental and agricultural work has greatly aided the development of South Texas. Mr. Hahl is the pres- ident of the C. W. Hahl Company, the stock of which is owned by the Hahl family. When coming to Texas, Mr. Hahl first located in the eastern portion of the state, where he remained for four years, and then came to Houston, largely on account of the commercial opportunities offered in South Texas and the social advantages for his family in Houston. For many years, Mr. Hahl was considered the most active dealer in land in this section of the country, always adhering to the rule of doing a large volume of business and making a small profit. He has been a great agriculturist, having as much as five thous- and acres in cultivation at one time. He was one of the most active of Texans in the development of the rice industry and in the experimental work of demonstrating that other staple crops could be grown in the coast country at a profit. Mr. Hahl has been one of the most successful colonizers, and has sold very little land to speculators, and many of the most prosperous farmers in South Texas have been located by Mr. Hahl. Two of these col- onies are located in Bee and Jackson Counties, res- pectively. He has sold land on easy terms when required and makes it a rule never to foreclose on the land, but at all times to extend payments so that the buyer can pay for his property. This liberal pol- icy has been one of the chief reasons for his building so large a business. The volume of Mr. Hahl's busi- ness has run as high as three million dollars a year, and he has for several years been handling his own land and hence can sell to the purchaser at a lower price than if a large commission had to be paid in the sale. Associated with Mr. Hahl are men of large means who are always ready to join him in any enterprise that he sees fit to recommend, and in this way is in a position to purchase land in very large blocks. A few years ago, Mr. Hahl and his associates purchased a tract of twenty-five thousand acres of land in South Texas without a personal in- vestigation. The purchase was made on the rec- ommendation of one of his associates who was sent to inspect the land, and this land doubled in value after the purchase, in a very short time. Mr. Hahl is interested in the industrial activities of Houston, but has always dealt in farm lands. He owns much valuable land in South Texas between San Antonio and the Rio Grande Valley, which is not only valu- able as farming land, but is contiguous to the oil developments in that portion of the state.

Mr. Hahl was born in Hoka, Minnesota, in 1862. Both his parents were well known citizens of Minne- sota, and were born and reared in that state. Mr. Hahl's opportunities for securing an education were limited, and the liberal education which he obtained in later years was through self help, and practical application.

Mr. Hahl started his business career as a railroad man in the pioneer days when the Milwaukee was built in Minnesota and South Dakota, which he con- tinued until he came to Texas. Mr. Hahl has been twice married. His first marriage was in Minnesota, in 1885, to Miss Louise Dameron. Of this union, three children were born, Harold Hahl, of Houston; Marjorie and Mrs. A. Hahl Bagely of California.

His second marriage was in 1919 to Mrs. Estella L. Swann. The Hahl home is in the Westmoreland Ad- dition. Mr. Hahl is a member of the Houston Club, the Houston Country Club, the Houston Real Estate Board and the Chamber of Commerce, being very active in the latter organization. He is a staunch and consistent member of the Episcopal Church. Mr. Hahl has been a builder since he came to Texas thir- ty-four years ago. He has always been a liberal contributor to funds raised for public enterprises of any kind, and many prosperous farming communi- ties, as well as a number of towns in South Texas owe their existence to Mr. Hahl's untiring energy in his development work. He was one of the prin- cipal promoters of the rice industry in South Texas, and has spent upward of $40,000.00 in experiments furthering this great industry. His faith in the fu- ture of Houston and South Texas grows greater every day, and it is his belief that the South Texas country will not only equal, but surpass California as a farming and fruit-growing country.

AUL E. WISE has for a number of years been held in high esteem at Houston for his activities in manufacturing circles, devot- ing himself with thoroughness and energy to building up an extensive show case manufactur- ing enterprise. The Burge Manufacturing Com- pany, of which Mr. Wise is secretary and general manager, was established in 1912 by R. A. Burge, who was president and general manager until his death. The Burge Manufacturing Company, the Master Fixture Builders, have assumed a leading place in the industrial life of the city, as builders of fine fixtures, and maintaining therein a high posi- tion. The Burge Company are makers of bank, of- fice, drug, jewelry, confectionery and general store fixtures, and also restaurant, delicatessen and re- frigerating equipment. They have built and in- stalled the fixtures for such well known Houston business houses as Harris-Hahlo Company, Field Millinery Company, the A. B. C. Stores Company and others of this class. The manufacturing plant of the Burge Company is located on Washington at the Southern Pacific Railway, where they have a modern plant, well equipped to take care of the many demands made upon it, and employing fifty- two operatives. The plant site covers three acres. Mrs. R. A. Burge is president of the company.

Mr. Wise was born at Princeton, Kentucky, in 1897, on the twenty-seventh of June. He has been orphaned since childhood, and came to Houston while a boy, attending high school in this city, and after his graduation there attending A. and M. College, where he took a course in civil engineering. Leaving col- lege, he joined the Marine Aviation Corps and took his ground school work at Boston Tech, where he was commission second lieutenant in April, 1918, and sent to Miami, Florida, where he was stationed until after the armistice, and discharged the thirty-first of January, 1919. He then returned to Houston and went with the Burge Manufacturing Company, a year later being made assistant manager and sec- retary, and in 1922 general manager nd secretry.

Mr. Wise takes an active interest in civic devel- opment and is one of the progressive young business men who are ever ready to give freely of their services in behalf of a greater Houston. He is a member of the Kiwanis Club and fraternally is an Elk.

629

MEN OF TEXAS

B. TENNISON, well known in the financial and business circles of Houston, has the unique distinction of being the sole owner of the only manufacturing plant in Texas making Corrugated Roofing, and his plant is the largest of its kind in the entire South. Mr. Tenni- son's plant, known as the Tennison Manufacturing Company, is located at 2015 Congress Avenue, was established in Houston in 1911. This company are manufacturers of Corrugated Roofing, Metal Shingles, Corrugated Culverts, Builders Supplies in Sheet Metal and Oil and Water Tanks of all sizes in Corrugated Metal. The Tennison Manufacturing Company has a new, two-story, brick building which is absolutely fire-proof. This building is conven- iently located on railroad, and has twenty thousand square feet of floor space. From twenty-five to thirty people are employed in this plant. They carry a large and complete stock and have a large warehouse. The product of the Tennison Manufac- turing Company is sold principally in the Houston trade territory, but ships to all portions of the United States.

A native Texan, Mr. Tennison was born at Mount Pleasant in 1880. His parents, J. B. Tennison and Josephine Tennison, were well known citizens of Titus County, where they were large land owners and planters. His education was obtained in the public schools of different portions of the State.

Mr. Tennison has been engaged in the metal business practically all his life, and his executive skill has been developed by the long years he has spent in the atmosphere of metal, and he knows metal as few men know it. He started in this busi- ness with a very small capital, but by good manage- ment and conservative business methods, he has built this plant and enjoys a wonderful business in his line. Mr. Tennison owns a large amount of real es- tate in Houston. Among his holdings is the Tenni- son Hotel, which is one of the finest in Houston, with one hundred and ten rooms. He owns the ground, the building and the furnishings, and leases it to parties who operate it. He also owns the Ten- nison Apartments, a large, modern building, con- sisting of twenty apartments; the Main Street and the Fannin Apartments, consisting of four apart- ments. Among his other holdings is the Hamilton Hotel of thirty rooms, and 100 feet by 200 feet piece of business property, covering one-half block at the corner of Hamilton and Franklin, which he will soon improve to a modern community warehouse. Mr. Tennison is Past Director in the Lumbermen's Na- tional Bank of Houston. He was married in Hous- ton in 1915 to Miss Virginia Firestone, a member of a well known Houston family. Mr. and Mrs. Tennison reside at 427 Lovett Boulevard. In fra- ternal and social organizations Mr. Tennison is a member of the I. O. O. F., B. P. O. E., Knights of Pythias, the Houston Club, Houston River Oaks and Glenbrook Country Clubs. Character, perseverance, foresight and the willingness to meet any emer- gency requiring service, without regard to profit, have been dominant factors in the success achieved by Mr. Tennison, who is regarded as one of the most progressive and public spirited citizens of Houston.

LBERT H. BLACK has for the past decade been a potent figure in the business circles of Houston, where he is president of Black Bros. Furniture Company, Inc. This firm

owns and operates one of the largest furniture estab- lishments in South Texas. Mr. Black came to Houston in 1913 and in November of that year began a furniture business with a small store of two floors, each fifty by ninety feet. The business of this firm grew rapidly from the beginning and it was soon apparent that another store would be necessary to house this growing business, and an- other location was secured and they moved into the store at 710-12 Milam Street, which has three floors, each 100 by 100 feet. On January 1st, 1921, the Black Bros. Furniture Company moved into their establishment at 808 Prairie Avenue. Rapid growth of the business required more space and better quar- ters, so arrangements were made for the erection of their present building, at the corner of Capitol Avenue and Milam Street. The building is of rein- forced concrete construction, six stories, hardwood floors, two elevators, and modern in every respect. The Black Bros. Furniture Company, Inc., employ more than sixty experienced people in the various departments. In the store is found a full and com- plete line of furniture from the ordinary kind to the finest, and most artistic that can be purchased. Other officers of he Black Bros. Furniture Com- pany, Inc., are: C. A. Herod, vice president; A. B. Herod, secretary, and R. Don Herod, treasurer, and J. B. Black, general manager.

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New encyclopedia of Texas, volume 1, Part 102

Author: Davis, Ellis A. Publication date: 1926 Publisher: Dallas, Tex. : Texas development bureau, [1926?] Number of Pages: 1416

Author: Davis, Ellis A.
Publication date: 1926
Publisher: Dallas, Tex. : Texas development bureau, [1926?]
Number of Pages: 1416