New encyclopedia of Texas, volume 1, Part 118

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

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743

MEN OF TEXAS

ACAMIAH SEAMAN DAUGHERTY. In

chronicling the records of men who were potent factors in the development of the Lone Star State there is no name more worthy of note than that of Jacamiah Seaman Daugherty, who for nearly half a century was an active factor in Texas public affairs. In the his- tory of the great Southwest there is no chapter which contains more of interest than that one which relates to the activities of this progressive and public spirited man, whose first influence was felt in this State in the fall of 1872, when he came to Dallas County and for one year was engaged in school teaching. Since that time the name of Mr. Daugherty has been connected with the develop- ment of Texas and the leading commercial and so- cial interests of the Southwest, where he gave guid- ance not only to much of the yesterday in Texas life but was the instigator of some of the largest industries in the present day history. On Septem- ber 15th, 1873, he opened a land office in Dallas, and individually, as a member of the firm of Daugh- erty, Connellee and Ammerman, he located several millions of acres of land. This firm put down the first water well ever dug on the Staked Plains of Texas. In 1876 they caused the county seat of Eastland County to be moved from Merriam to Eastland, and under the leadership of Mr. Daugh- erty this town was laid out.

J. S. Daugherty was the father of the Business League idea in the United States, and he served as Chairman of the first Business League in Dallas from 1882 to 1888, and this committee laid the foun- dation upon which the City of Dallas has grown. He entertained the membership of this first Busi- ness League of twenty-two men with an elaborate stag dinner in his home at 196 N. Ervay, and the parent thought has spread and multiplied-under various names-until not a city, town, or hamlet in our broad land but has a similar organization of this kind today. In 1882, he organized the first Real Estate Association ever formed in Texas and he was made Chairman of this Association, and in this capacity he started the issue that compelled the cattlemen of Texas to pay into the public school fund of the State from $250,000.00 to $500,000.00 per annum as a rental for school lands on which they had been in the habit of grazing their cattle without compensation to the State. In 1898 Mr. Daugherty organized the Texas Bureau of Immi- gration and was elected Chairman of this body, and it was through his activities that brought the fight that resulted in the formation of the Texas Rail- road Commission, by many citizens regarded as the biggest and best thing that was ever formulated for the good of the great State of Texas. From 1890 to 1895 he represented the Texas Good Roads Com- mittee of the United States, and on April 5, 1896, he headed a mass meeting at Market Square in Houston, where he advocated the neces- sity of good roads and stressed the fact that this subject should be agitated and kept before the peo- ple until results were accomplished.

In 1894, Mr. Daugherty opened an office in Hous- ton, which he later made his home, believing the Coast Country of Texas then presented the best territory for his efforts, and actively entered into the buying and selling of South Texas lands. Mr. Daugherty assisted in every way the development of

the Coast Country of Texas, where for a time he was largely interested in the growing of tobacco in Montgomery County, and the cigar leaf tobacco industry rapidly developed until there was more than 3,000 acres near Willis profitably planted to tobacco. When the United States acquired the Philippine Islands and Porto Rica and took all of the tariff off of the tobacco grown on these islands, and reduced the tariff on Cuban tobacco one-half of the former amount, the death knell was sounded for the cigar leaf tobacco industry of Southeast Texas. In 1900, Mr. Daugherty induced parties to plant and grow broom corn in Fort Bend County, which was the beginning of this great industry. He was active in the rice industry, and spent large sums of money in encouraging this industry and in rais- ing rice in this section in 1900 and later. In 1901 (January) the Lucas oil gusher broke forth at Beaumont, as a timely beacon to draw speculators from all over the globe to Texas, and to her Gulf Coast in particular. Prior to this oil boom, by just a few months, Mr. Daugherty had secured options on thousands of acres of land in Brazoria County, and promptly upon the discovery of oil at Beau- mont, Mr. Daugherty, with Edward Moskowitz of Houston, went to Beaumont and took a ground lease on the lot now occupied by Nathans Dry Goods Store, and covered it with a corrugated iron build- ing. They bought and shipped two dozen office desks there and invited a number of their friends to occupy them, among which were Edward Prather of Dallas and Walter B. Sharp of Houston; their intention being that this accommodation would draw them land business, and in this way they were en- tirely correct. In 1901, Mr. Daugherty became active in the rice industry and was instrumental in the promotion of Brazos Canal Company and the construction of the Brazos Canal, located in Fort Bend County; taking its water from the Brazos River, about eight miles north of Richmond, and which is now known as the Cane Belt Canal. In 1905, his leading work was aiding in bringing in the Humble oil field by inducing George H. Hermann to lease 813 acres of his holdings out of the Robert Dunman Survey of Harris County for drilling pur- poses, and which became the noted Landslide lease operated by the Texas Company that produced many million barrels of oil and is today, after twenty years, still being actively developed. In 1908 he laid out a subdivision at the Turning Basin of the Houston Ship Channel and sold out most of its lots. From 1910 to 1913, he made some of the largest land deals ever consummated in the Lone Star State, and the greater portion of these deals were made in the interest of development work. Mr. Daugherty was active in the fight to exterminate the Egyptian pink boll worm, and was elected chairman of the Harris County Cotton Growers As- sociation, and chairman of the Real Estate Board of the Advisory Council of the Houston Chamber of Commerce. When Texas cotton was selling in 1896 at four and five cents per pound, and Egyptian cot- ton was bringing ten and twelve cents per pound, Mr. Daugherty sent to Egypt and procured and im- ported, and distributed free, among the cotton grow- ers of Texas, a ton of Egyptian cotton seed of the Pritififi quality. When the Hamburg American Steamship Company sent their first vessel to Gal- veston with a view to determining whether or not

744

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NEW ENCYCLOPEDIA OF TEXAS

they should put on a direct line of steamers between Galveston and Hamburg, he prepared an address to the directors of said company, setting forth the im- mense traffic-producing capacity of the territory tributary to Galveston, organized a party, filling a railway car, met the boat upon its arrival in Gal- veston, and delivered the address, and participated in the ceremonies of the occasion. Mr. Daugherty was chairman of the Harris County Drainage As- sociation, and spent a great deal of time in holding meetings and issuing drainage literature, and took an active part in the creation of the first drainage district of Harris County. In 1910, when tugs and small freighters alone plied the waters of old Buf- falo Bayou, Mr. Daugherty was one of a small group of far-sighted men who had a vision of the present day activities of the Ship Channel which gained for them the name of dreamers. He took an active part in the building of the deep water harbor and advocated a Ship Channel and port facilities that would draw to Houston ocean-going vessels, carry- ing commerce to all parts of the world. He was con- stantly fighting for lower freight rates, as the Texas rates were higher than other states, thereby working a hardship on the citizenship of the Lone Star State. Mr. Daugherty was active in politics and was Texas representative at the Chicago con- vention in 1905, and was a constant worker for the good of his people and his state, although he never sought office for himself.

Mr. Daugherty was born in Sullivan County, Mis- souri, August 25th, 1849. He was the oldest of a family of five children, and when his father, Robert W. Daugherty, joined the Confederacy in the Civil War, he was entering his thirteenth year, but took charge of the household, and did the work in the field, and in the winter of 1863-4 he attended a country school, and there laid the foundation for his knowledge and usefulness that came in after years. In December, 1869, he indulged his long cherished hope to begin a collegiate course of educa- tion, and he entered the Kentucky University at Lexington where he remained until October, 1872, graduating with first honors in the Business College. Answering the call of the great Southwest, he started for Texas and landed in Galveston with $2.50 in cash. He worked and obtained funds enough to take him to Dallas where he taught school at a salary of $100.00 per month. This was the beginning of his activities in Texas, where in the history of men who have made Texas and her cities, the name of J. S. Daugherty has a sure place among the chief by virtue of his active connection, and any volume on the makers of this great state would be incomplete without taking into account the life history and influence of this builder of an empire.

Mr. Daugherty was married at Lexington, Ken- tucky, to Miss Margaret Cartmell Bryan, a member of one of the most prominent and distinguished families of the State of Kentucky. They were the parents of five children-Bryan Daugherty, born November 2nd, 1879; Erin Daugherty, born Jan- uary 14th, 1882, and died June 9th, 1910; Estelle Daugherty, born November 7th, 1883; Juliette Daugherty, born August 24th, 1887; J. S. Daugherty, Jr., born February 17th, 1889, and died January 17th, 1908. Bryan Daugherty married Catherine Rheinbach of New York City and they have four

children-Daniel Bryan Daugherty, Dorethea Estelle Daugherty, Darwina Daugherty and Eunice Daugherty. Estelle Daugherty married John T. Judd of Jefferson County, Illinois, on July 21st, 1904, and they have one son-John T. Judd, Jr., born October 5th, 1906. Mr. Daugherty was devoted to his children and especially to his grandchildren, to whom his devotion was marked. To his grandson, John T. Judd, Jr., he sent in 1919, the following, which he captioned "J. S. Daugherty's Prayer": My Father, who art in Heaven, Hallowed be Thy name, Thy Kindgom come, Thy will be done on Earth as it is in Heaven. Father, aid me to make of my body, a fit Temple for Thine dwelling, so that You may draw near unto me, and I near unto Thee. Father, aid me to practice humility and to multiply my faith in Thee, and Father, in my stumbling ef- forts to reach, comprehend and serve Thee, extend to me Thy tender mercies, and forgive me my tres- passes as I forgive those who trespass against me, and lead me not into temptation, but deliver me from evil, for Thine is the Kingdom, the Power and the Glory. To these ends, Father, grant me wisdom, knowledge, understanding, judgment, courage, strength, industry and resources, and let me be a real soldier in Thy cause and not a pretense. Make my efforts in Thy behalf fruitful to Thy cause, and let me find a pleasure in the work, I ask in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.

With clear mind and sound body, and determi- nation, brightened with hope, Jacamiah Seaman Daugherty was instantly killed on September 27th, 1919, while crossing a public thoroughfare at Ful- ton, Kentucky, by an Illinois Central passenger train. Mr. Daugherty was truly an empire builder, a pioneer and a trail-blazer. His interests were varied and statewide and he was truly one of the big men of Texas. His influence was especially felt in Dallas and Houston, the two great cities of the South. He was an inspiration to all, representing the good and the true in humanity-qualities that make for the higher life here, and that increase our capacity to better perceive and recognize the beckonings of God to the progressive plains of the Hereafter.

AVID FLAVEL WOODS has for almost a score of years been associated with the elec- trical industry of Houston, and during the vast building era which this city has ex- perienced, has been a factor in supplying an enor- mous demand for electrical equipment. Mr. Woods is president of the Woods Electric Company, whole- sale and retail lighting fixtures. This company lo- cated at 8711 Travis Street, was established in 1907 and incorporated in 1909. This is one of the oldest electric companies in Houston. They occupy a three- story brick building which is fifty by one hundred feet in size. The first floor is devoted to their sales room, electric appliances and their gift shop; the second floor is occupied by their great display of lighting fixtures, floor and table lamps; and the third floor is given over to their complete work shop and store rooms. The Woods Electric Company make special designs for exclusive homes. Among the buildings in which the light fixtures were installed by the Woods Electric Company, are the following: Carter Building, Union National Bank Building, Un- ion Depot, Rice Hotel, Houston Club and many other large buildings.

747

MEN OF TEXAS

AMUEL EZEKIEL ALLEN, one of the sturdy sons of the Houston of pioneer days, while growing up with the city and pros- pering as it prospered, took an important part in the varied life of the day, and much that he did in a business way was for the general up- building of his community. Mr. Allen was for many years a factor in the stock raising and ranching interests of this section and took an important part in developing the agricultural resources. He was also one of the big figures in the transpor- tation field and one of the steamship owners of that time. Mr. Allen was fundamentally a builder, whether of big industries, and cities, ranches or ships, and has left the imprint of his influence on the life of the Houston of today.

Samuel Ezekiel Allen was born nine miles from Houston, the eighth of June, 1848, son of Samuel W. and Rebecca Jane Thomas Allen. His father was one of the real pioneers of Harris County. Samuel W. Allen came to this section when a boy, and was one of the most prominent men of his day, taking an active part in vital times in the his- tory of the city. He was a large ranch owner, a stock raiser on an extensive scale and a steamship owner. His wife, Rebecca Jane Thomas Allen, and the mother of Samuel Ezekiel Allen, was a daughter of Ezekiel Thomas, who came to Harris County with Stephen F. Austin and thereafter, until his death, took a prominent part in the affairs of his com- munity.

Mr. S. E. Allen was reared to cattle and com- mercial pursuits, in the meantime continuing his studies as pioneer conditions permitted, beginning his active business career at an early age. He, like his father, had large ranch holdings in Harris and Fort Bend Counties, and was the cattle king of his day in this section of Texas. He was also connected with the Morgan Lines, and one of the large ship- pers of Texas. With his father he shipped camels to this country, for transportation purposes in the Arizona Desert, and later organized the Augusta Manufacturing Company, now known as the Orient- al Textile Mills, manufacturers of camel's hair products, and a business that was the direct out- growth of the importation of camels.

Mr. Allen also established and took an interest in many of the businesses of pioneer days. He had a natural aptitude for leadership and a genius for the management of men and industries, and a busi- ness organized by him was an assured success. He was also interested in the young men of this city, affording many of them the means of starting in business, and assisting in every possible way in their ultimate success.

Mr. Allen was married at Harrisburg, Texas, the twenty-third of February, 1876, to Miss Rosa C. Lum, a native of Harris County, and daughter of Milton M. Lum, who came to this county from his native state of Mississippi. Prior to the Civil War his father, Lewis H. Lum, came to Texas, locat- ing on a plantation near Richmond, dying shortly afterward. After the close of the Civil War the family came to Houston, and shortly afterward to Harrisburg, where Mr. Allen's father engaged in the mercantile business for many years, later re- moving to San Antonio where his death occurred. Her mother before her marriage, Miss Rosina Christie, was a native of Brooklyn, New York.

Mr. and Mrs. Allen had a family of four children, Rosa, wife of T. Walter Williams, of Harrisburg, and who has one child by a former marriage, Robert Cummings Stuart; Mrs. Lula Smith, widow of Dr. Forrest B. Smith, and who has two children, Rosalee Allen Smith, and Catharine Forrest Smith; Samuel Milton Allen, who married Miss Bessie Smith, and Clara Dell, wife of E. N. Drouet, and who has two children, Abbie Dell and Marcita. Mrs. Allen is a kindly and cultured lady, beloved by all who know her. She also has largely contributed to the welfare and growth of her native county. To some extent she made it possible for the Sinclair Refining Com- pany to locate on the ship channel. This company required the old Allen home tract along with other land adjoining, and in order to secure the location of this great industrial plant Mrs. Allen consented to sell her land at a price far below its actual value that Houston might be benefited thereby. Through sentiment as well as utility, Mrs. Allen used the ma- terials in the old Allen house on this tract of land to erect a seaside residence at Bay Shore. The use of this home is contributed by Mrs. Allen to the Southern Diocese of the Episcopal Church. It is used during the summer time as a camp for boys and girls and for religious education for adults.

Mr. Allen had a genuine and sympathetic feeling for those less fortunate than himself, and his fine benevolence was entirely without ostentation. He took an active interest in civic development, further- ing and sponsoring many movements and contribut- ing freely to every cause that would make for a better city. He combined rare business ability and real citizenship with a kindly and friendly nature, and his life will ever be an inspiration to all who came in contact with him, and recalled as one of the real influences for progress in the history of Hous- ton and Harris County. Samuel Ezekiel Allen died June 23rd, 1913, on the Allen home place where he was born. His name will ever live in Harris County, where there are many monuments of his kindly deeds and activities.

OLONEL N. L. MILLS, for more than a quarter of a century one of the outstanding figures in the development of Houston, was associated with the constructive activities of both a business and civic nature, indelibly imprint- ing his character and ideals not only to those with whom he came in contact from day to day, but his memory still lives as reflected in his achievements in the various lines of endeavor in which he was en- gaged, and in the high standards of fair-dealing, and lending of that helping hand, which he was never too busy to extend.

Colonel Mills was born in Trumble County, Ohio, March the 20th, 1845. At the age of five years, with his parents he moved to Iowa, where he spent his boyhood days and where, as was characteristic of his entire life, he availed himself of the best oppor- tunities offered to him, and engaged in agricultural pursuits, in which he soon demonstrated his ability to succeed in this venture by utilizing the most mod- ern methods and farm machinery.

At the beginning of the Civil War, this boy on his Iowa farm, heard the call of his country, serving with distinction with the Iowa troops and taking part in many important engagements during this conflict.

748

S & allen

NEW ENCYCLOPEDIA OF TEXAS

Just at the close of the Civil War, Colonel Mills was stationed in the little city of Houston, in the Lone Star State, and during this first visit to Hous- ton his broad perception sensed the boundless pos- sibilities for development into a powerful commer- cial center and a city of homes, which it has since become, and he always followed with keen interest the record of Houston's progress.

In 1870, Colonel Mills was married in Iowa to Miss Harriet R. Brown, the devoted companion of his life, and whose death occurred within a few months after his decease. Of this union six children were born, four of whom survive their father and mother.

In the years following his return home, after being stationed in Texas, Colonel Mills ever held the vision of lands to be developed and cities to be built and in 1884, he moved with his family to Orlando, Flor- ida, where he founded the real estate firm of Sin- clair and Mills, which firm was a large factor in the development of Orlando.

During the years of land development in Florida, Colonel Mills ever held his vision of the opportun- ities offered by Houston and when, in September of 1892, Mr. O. M. Carter, who was just beginning his beautiful subdivision of Houston Heights, offered him an association as sales manager, he promptly accepted, and immediately moved with his family to Houston. Later in the same year, Colonel Mills established a general real estate and loan business, the activities of which business have been per- manently interwoven into the life of the city of Houston.

In order to properly finance well-margined busi- ness and residential loans, Colonel Mills became asso- ciated with the United States Mortgage and Trust Company of New York as their Houston representa- tive, continuing that relationship for sixteen years, until the day of his death, March 1, 1919. The United States Mortgage and Trust Company taking recogni- tion of his long period of service in the following resolutions, quoted in part:

"That in the death of Newton Lord Mills, there has been lost one of its ablest and most loyal representa- tives and to record its deep sense of appreciation of his sterling qualities of mind and heart."

The relationship existing between Colonel Mills and the people of the city of his choice is best ex- pressed by "Mefo" in the tribute which appeared in the Houston Chronicle the afternoon of Colonel Mills' burial:

"He was big of body, big of heart, big in many things, and today while tears are falling out there in Glenwood because he's dead, I am just wondering if he isn't still smiling, looking down upon us, say- ing, 'Not a bit of use worrying about it, I'm all right, Houston's all right, getting better every day; so just keep on pushing the old town, keep up the good work.' That's what my old friend, Colonel N. L. Mills, preached every day. He met you with a big broad smile, a jolly laugh and an optimistic face. His faith in mankind was as fine as his faith in Houston. Nothing could discourage him, no disas- ter daunt him. When the war came on and real es- tate took a slump, it hit the Colonel pretty hard, along with the rest of us who were holding a lot of dirt, or bricks and mortar. Did it make him des- pondent, sour or gloomy ? Did he rave or complain at fortune's pranks, Not a bit of it. 'All we've got to do is to sit steady in the boat, boys; no use trying

to do much pushing while we are smashing the Huns, but just wait until that little job is ended and see how Houston will grow. No town like this any- where else in the world; best people on earth; they've got the grit and the push to do anything. Can't make any mistake betting on old Houston. Some town, ain't it?' And with a laugh and a big cheer- ing smile, a hearty handclasp, he would pass on, backing Houston in everything he did, or said, back- ing his people, giving hope and cheer and courage to us all.

" 'Not what we give, but what we share, For the gift without the giver is bare;

Who gives himself with his alms feeds three, Himself, his hungering neighbor and me.'

"So, while today I am shedding tears with you, I know my fine old Colonel, who gave himself to Houston, along with everything he possessed, my big-hearted friend is up there watching us, proud of us, still backing us, smiling and happy. MEFO."

D. MORSE is well known in the real estate and business circles of Houston, where for more than a quarter of a century he has been an active figure, and has a host of friends and a large clientele. Associated with Mr. Morse in the real estate business is his son, R. Em- mett Morse and the firm is known as H. D. Morse and Son. R. Emmett Morse is secretary of the Real Estate Board of Houston. The business of this firm is almost entirely in the city of Houston. Mr. Morse is connected with many home building organiza- tions, and builds homes himself, and has been in- terested in all the developments of the city through- out his business career here. The offices of H. D. Morse and Son is located at 626, 627 and 628 Binz Building, and Mr. Morse has a large clientele who look to him for the locating of suitable property to purchase or to sell, either business or residence property, in the city.

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New encyclopedia of Texas, volume 1, Part 118

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