New encyclopedia of Texas, volume 1, Part 48

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

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PAT MORRIS NEFF-Twenty-seventh governor of Texas, 1922-, is a native Texan, born in Mc- Gregor, November 26, 1871, son of Noah and Isa- bella (Shepherd) Neff, both deceased. His educa- tion was received in the public schools of his native town and Baylor University of Waco from which he graduated with the degree of bachelor of arts with the class of 1894. He then attended the law department of the University of Texas, receiving the degree of bachelor of laws in the class of 1897. He received the degree of master of arts at the Baylor University in 1898. In 1921 the degree of doctor of laws was conferred upon him both by Baylor University and Howard Payne College. He began the practise of law at Waco in 1898.

He served in the lower house of the Texas legis- lature, representing McLennan County, 1901 to 1905, and in 1903 to 1905 he was speaker of the house. He is the youngest speaker that ever presided over the Texas house of representatives. In 1906 he was elected prosecuting attorney of McLennan County and served continuously until 1912.

Mr. Neff was married May 31, 1899, to Miss Myrtle Mainer. They have two children, Hallie Maud and Pat, Jr. He has been president of the board of trustees of Baylor University since 1903.

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OHN HENRY KIRBY, capitalist, financier, empire builder and philanthropist, is prob- ably the best known lumber man in the United States and is one of the most pro- gressive, public spirited and helpful citizens of the Lone Star State. So, any volume on the builders of Texas, would be incomplete without taking into ac- count the life, history and influence of John H. Kirby, whose name is synonomous with the lumber industry of Texas. Mr. Kirby came to Houston in 1890, the move from East Texas becoming necessary on account of his growing interests. He was, at that time, thirty years of age and was the head of two of the largest timber companies in Texas. With the foresight that has characterized him, Mr. Kirby knew that the development of his properties were handicapped without proper transportation facilities, and he immediately began the construction of the Gulf, Beaumont and Kansas City Railroad, which penetrated the heart of the Eastern Texas pine dis- trict. The building of this railroad was the greatest boon in furnishing an outlet to the markets of the country for the great virgin pine forests of East Texas which Mother Nature had so lavishly given. Later this road became a part of the Santa Fe Rail- road system. It is no wonder that Mr. Kirby is looked upon today as the leading Southern financier and is hailed as the Moses of Texas and the South- west, who has smitten the stubborn but pregnant rock of Texas' resources and opened the way for a period of industrial and commercial development never before equaled in this section. In 1901 it be- came necessary to form a lumber manufacturing company to market the vast timber holdings and accordingly the Kirby Lumber Company was organ- ized with a capital stock of $10,000,000.00, and the Houston Oil Company with a capital stock of $30,- 000,000.00, in both of which Mr. Kirby was the moving spirit. Upon his return to Houston from New York in the fall of 1901, after having success- fully financed the Kirby Lumber Company, he was the recipient of a monster demonstration, the coun- terpart of which was never given to another son of Texas. Citizens of the State, as well as of Houston gathered to honor him, which came as a complete surprise, as he considered the successful accom- plishment of his New York mission as nothing out of the ordinary, as the State with its wonderful resources, and its great and progressive citizenship, worthy of anything that might be asked or bestowed. Since its organization, the Kirby Lumber Company has maintained its position as one of the largest lumber manufacturing concerns in the world. It has been manufacturing and marketing about three hun- dred million feet of yellow pine lumber annually and the timber holdings of this company are large enough to permit a continuance of production at this rate until 1940. Seven thousand people are employ- ed by the Kirby Lumber Company in the various branches of this great industry. They have pur- chased all of the hardwood holdings of the Houston Oil Company, and in addition to its immense supply of yellow pine stumpage is now the largest single holder of hardwood stumpage in the United States. The products of the Kirby Mills have a world-wide reputation; branch offices are maintained in various large cities of the United States and branch offices and agents in foreign countries.

A. native Texan, Mr. Kirby was born in Tyler

County November 16, 1860. His father, John Thomas Kirby, was a pioneer citizen of East Texas His mother was Miss Sarah Payne, a member of a well known Mississippi family. Mr. Kirby was the seventh child in the family, and a few months after his birth, the family moved to Woodville, the County Seat of Tyler County. This move was necessitated by the election of the lad's father to the office of Sheriff, which office he continued to fill until the call to arms in 1861, when Mr. Kirby resigned his office, moved his family and slaves to a farm in Polk County, and cast his fortunes with the South. The history of the family during the next five years is but a repetition of that of thousands of others ;. all was sacrificed upon what was considered the al- tar of personal liberty, and all was lost. At the end of the struggle, a man, worn out by many campaigns, stripped of his property and slaves, and all but penniless, returned to his family who had fared none too well during his absence. A farm was purchased in Tyler County near Peach Tree Village, and the father started to retrieve his fortunes. John H., then a boy of six years, had all the necessary qualifica- tions for a useful American citizen of the future, which consisted of health, a loving mother and the advantage of having his own way to make in the world. The Kirby family is an old American one of English descent and can trace its progenitors back to three brothers of that name who came to America before the Revolutionary War, and who were later soldiers in the Continental Army. After the strug- gle, which ended in the independence of the Colonies, one of the brothers, Edmund Kirby, moved to Vir- ginia, where he married Mary Shepherd, and later this family located in Stokes County, North Caro- lina. Here it was that the grandfather of John H. Kirby was born. John Thomas Kirby was the first of the family to move to Texas, going to the Lone Star State in 1850. Mr. Kirby's early education was obtained at home under the able tutelage of his mother. Tyler County, at that time, was thinly populated and public schools were not numerous and private schools in East Texas did not exist. He had progressed well in his studies at home and at the age of nineteen years, his parents sent him to a country school for one term, after which he secured sufficient funds to enable him to attend for one term the Southwestern University at Georgetown, Texas, by teaching and working in the office of the Tax Collector at Woodville, Texas. He continued his studies during his leisure time and served as a Clerk in the Texas Legislature for three years, 1882-3-4, and while in this service he had access to the Law Library of the Hon. S. Bronson Cooper, at that time State Senator, and to whom Mr. Kirby acted as Secretary. It was during the time that he was Secretary to Mr. Cooper that the thought came to Mr. Cooper that East Texas timber was valuable and asked Mr. Kirby to make inquiries of Eastern lumber people about the value of standing timber. The result was that the State put up the value of State timber lands. It also gave Mr. Kirby the idea to buy such lands in East Texas. It shows that the State was informed from his investigation as to timber values and saved the State of Texas many millions of dollars. It was Mr. Kirby's great de- sire to become a lawyer and when he faced the problem of securing an education along this line, he applied himself to the task with enthusiastic deter- mination and in 1885 he was admitted to the bar.

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There is no greater lesson to the youth of Texas of what applied industry will accomplish, than is found in the life and achievement of this man. He has never forgotten the schooling he received at the hands of his devoted mother, which he has used as a foundation to build throughout the years that have brought him business success and positions of honor and trust at the hands of his fellowmen. Among the first cases he received after he established his office and began the general practice of law, was that of some Eastern people whom he successfully represented in a land deal in Eastern Texas. Suc- cess in this matter established confidence in himself and the confidence and good will of his clients, and from that time until his interests became so great that he was forced to give up the law, his practice increased, both in Texas and in the East.

Mr. Kirby was married at Woodville, Texas, No- vember 14, 1883, to Miss Lelia Stewart, a native Texan and a member of a well known East Texas family. They have one daughter, Mrs. Bessie Mae Rawcliffe, and three grandchildren. In addition to Mr. Kirby's lumber interests, he has interested him- self in many other fields, and is an officer or di- rector in the following companies: President of the Kirby Lumber Company, President of the Kirby Pe- troleum Company, President of the Kirby Invest- ment Company, Womack Construction Company, Southern Tariff Association, Southern Pine Asso- ciation and the National Lumber Manufacturers As- sociation, and is an officer and director in many other business enterprises in Texas and elsewhere. Mr. Kirby's real estate investments have not been limited to Houston, and he is the owner of a large amount of property in other cities, among this being the twenty-story Kirby Building in Dallas. He has always declined all political honors, but has always accepted his full responsibility as a citizen and has served the industry in this country in many capaci- ties. He was chairman of the Board of Commission- ers in charge of the Texas exhibit at the Louisiana Purchase Exposition at St. Louis in 1904, and was President of the Trans-Mississippi Congress. In 1917, Mr. Kirby was prevailed upon to take the position of Lumber Director of the United States Shipping Board Emergency Fleet Corporation and succeeded in putting the production and distribution of ship timbers, so vitally needed at that time, on a sound business basis. Later President Harding summoned him to Washington to sit as a member of the Conference on Unemployment. He was also a member of the Brazilian Commission. In 1918 Mr. Kirby was elected President of the National Lumber Manufacturers Association and served as the head of this great organization during the war period, at which time the lumber industry was charged with the responsibility of furnishing lumber for canton- ments at home and abroad; the timber for ship- building, docks and warehouses. In 1922, Mr. Kirby was elected President of the Southern Pine Associa- tion, which position he now holds, having been a Director of it since its organization. Shortly after the close of the war, the plight of the farmers and ranchmen being called to Mr. Kirby's attention, he assisted in the organization of the Southern Tariff Association and became its President. This organi- zation led the fight for a protective tariff on raw material, the winning of which has meant so much to the farmers of the nation. Probably the greatest honor that has come to Mr. Kirby in recent years

is the recognition of his patriotism and service to mankind by the Lincoln Memorial University of Tennessee. This educational institution named for that American, Abraham Lincoln, on May 7, 1923, conferred upon him the degree of Doctor of Laws.

Mr. Kirby is a member of the Masonic frater- nity to the 32nd degree, a Knight Templar and Shriner. He is also a member of the various Hous- ton Clubs, the B. P. O. E and other social and civic organizations of the city. He is also a member of the Manhattan Club of New York. Since Mr. Kirby took up his residence in Houston, he has always been a believer in the future of his home city and he has never hesitated to make investments in Hous- ton real estate. He has always willingly backed every proposition to build up the city, and a large number of the business men of Houston owe their success to his willingness to help. Great success and fame have not changed his attitude toward his fel- lowman, for he is as popular with the man who toils as with the captains of industry. His charities are boundless, but not ostentatious. His friends say he is imposed upon, but this has not changed his kindly and lovable disposition, for he holds no ill will for anyone, but always maintains his trustful open- hearted demeanor. Mr. Kirby has just purchased six hundred acres beyond the Rice Institute, between Bray's Bayou and Bellaire Boulevard, fronting on Main Boulevard. He will erect two permanent resi- dences there, one for himself and one for his son- in-law, J. F. B. Rawcliffe; the rest of the acreage will be improved and placed on the market, as a re- stricted residence district. The purchase of this property shows Mr. Kirby's faith in the future of Houston, which he is ready to back with his money. His faith in the future of the Lone Star State has never waned but has grown stronger each year. It is because of such men that the Lone Star State today in all its prodigious industries is making such strides in expansion and big business.

M. GAINES TWYMAN was born in Char- lottsville, Virginia, June 7th. 1865, son of T. A. and Jane (Wilhoit) Twyman, both native Virginians of prominent families, who lived on estates granted to direct ancestors by George the Third. The Twyman estate was known as "Oak Lawn" and the Wilhoit estate as "Rose Valley." Mr. Twyman's grandfather was a close friend and associate of Thomas Jefferson. Mr. Twyman received his early education in the schools of his native state, later studying in Detroit, Michi- gan. He came to Texas in 1890, locating at Hous- ton, where he was successfully engaged in the rice business until 1900, when he went to Kansas City, entering the brokerage and mining business. In 1910 he returned to Houston and again engaged in the rice industry. At the end of six years, he dis- posed of his rice interests, spending the following four years in extensive travel. In 1920 he was made vice president and director of the Houston Nation- al Bank to which he devoted his entire time until his death, January 31st, 1925.

Mr. Twyman was married October 22nd, 1896, to Miss Mamie Fox, daughter of Henry S. Fox, promi- nent banker and business man of Houston. Mr. Twyman was a member of the Houston Country Club, and was of the Episcopal faith. A very re- tiring man, by nature, yet Mr. Twyman's friends were many.

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MEN OF TEXAS

R OSS SHAW STERLING, member of a pioneer Texas family, is a leading figure in the industrial and civic life of the State. His name is linked inseparably with the petroleum industry, and as organizer of the Humble Oil Company and one of the organizers of its suc- cessor, the Humble Oil and Refining Company, he has contributed as much to the development of the oil fields of the Southwest as has any other single man. Under his direction the Humble Oil Company grew in a few years to be one of the major con- cerns of the industry.

Mr. Sterling's business activities have covered a wide range. Railway building and management, banking, newspaper publishing, major real estate and building operations and numerous other com- mercial enterprises have engaged his constructive genius and added to the long list of his contributions to progress of the State.

In spite of the varied demands made upon his time by his own private affairs, he has performed notable service in civic and community work. As a member of the Houston port commission since its inception, and as its chairman in recent years, he has aided in the development of the great marine waterway and terminals at Houston. Under the guidance of Mr. Sterling and his associates on the navigation district board, Port Houston has broken all American seaboard records in the rapidity of its growth.

Mr. Sterling has been a member of the board of trustees of Hermann Hospital Estate since its crea- tion. In late years he has served as chairman of the board, and also as head of the hospital's building committee. The splendid $1,500,000 institution re- cently opened to charity patients became a reality as the result of his services and the services of the men serving with him.

In token of his worth to the community, the Houston Rotary Club awarded him its distinguished service medal for 1925. This honor is bestowed on the citizen performing the greatest disinterested public service during the year.

Mr. Sterling was born in Anahuac, Chambers County, Texas, on February 11, 1875. He was one of twelve children, eight boys and four girls. His father, Captain Benjamin Franklin Sterling, was a native of Mississippi. Captain Sterling was born in 1831 and moved to Texas well in advance of the Civil War; organized the first company to leave Liberty County at the outbreak of the war; formed a second company and served with this or- ganization as captain, fighting with Waul's Texas Legion; located in Chambers County following the war, and became one of the leading men in his section of the State. Captain Sterling engaged in business pursuits and farming, and it was on a farm that the future industrial magnate spent his youth.

Captain Sterling married Miss Mary Jane Bryan, a native Texan and member of a Scotch-Irish fam- ily prominent not only in Texas but in Colonial history back to the early days of Virginia. One member of the family, Luke Bryan, served with distinction in the battle of San Jacinto. Mrs. Ster- ling's uncle, King Bryan, served as captain of the company which her husband first recruited for duty in the Confederate Army.

Anahuac did not offer great opportunities for

schooling, and most of the broad education which R. S. Sterling received came to him through self help and through versatile experience and contact with men and affairs.

He left the farm when he attained 21 years of age and went into business for himself. Soon after- ward, in 1898, he married Miss Maud Abbie Gage, daughter of Frederick Higbee Gage, a well known railroad man of Hamilton, Illinois.

Mr. Sterling entered the oil field region of Harris County as a merchant and banker; and at the little town of Humble in 1910 he launched into the oil business, purchasing two producing wells. He added to these properties, and in the following year he organized the Humble Oil Company.

The determination which forms one of his strong- est traits came into play at a crucial time in the infant concern's affairs. A well was being drilled in the Sour Lake field, and when the bit had passed the depth at which production was expected, some of the stockholders were in favor of abandoning the hole. The outlook was none too encouraging, but Mr. Sterling prevailed on his associates to sink the well 200 feet farther. That test made history, and it made the Humble Oil Company. More than one million barrels of oil have been taken from the hole, and it is still producing.

With this well and other holdings as a basis, Mr. Sterling and other South Texans organized the Hum- ble Oil and Refining Company on a capitalization of $4,000,000. Seven shares of the new stock were given for each share of the old.

Under Mr. Sterling's leadership as president of the enlarged company, and later as chairman of the board of directors, the capitalization was increased from time to time until it reached $43,750,000, while the assets grew until they passed the $100,000,000 mark. In March of 1926 the capitalization was increased again in order to allow for further ex- pansion. At present it rests at $75,000,000.

Through the properties which it owns and oper- ates directly, and through the pipe-line system owned and operated by a subsidiary, the Humble Oil and Refining Company covers all phases of the oil business, producing, transporting, refining and marketing petroleum and its products.

Its headquarters are at Houston, where it occu- pies one of the finest office buildings in the South- west. Mr. Sterling was one of the moving spirits in the erection of this building.

One of the major achievements of this pioneer of the new industrial era in Texas centers around the building and operation of the Dayton and Goose Creek Railroad. In marked contrast to most short lines, the 23-mile road has been a consistent money maker. Even during the World War, when the great transportation systems of America were demoral- ized and forced to seek the sheltering arm of the government, Mr. Sterling's road was operated with signal success.

Construction work was begun in 1917 and com- pleted in the succeeding year. The road-bed is of standard construction, and both passenger and freight schedules are maintained. The freight en- gines carry an average of sixty-eight loaded cars to the train. On one day two hundred and fifteen cars were handled over the road. There has never been a fatal accident to any employe; there has never been a strike or any sort of labor trouble; and not a single person has left the road's employ

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by reason of dissatisfaction. Mr. Sterling is pres- ident and owner of the road.

Through the purchase of the Houston Dispatch and the Houston Post and their consolidation in August, 1924, into the Post-Dispatch, Mr. Sterling and several associates acquired one of the major newspaper properties of Texas. Since the merger of these two dailies Mr. Sterling has served as chairman of the board of directors of the Houston Printing Company, publisher of the Post-Dispatch. The enormous gains made by this great morning publication and its rapid progress to a position of leadership in South Texas are matters of frequent discussion in Southwestern newspaper circles.

Among his many other interests Mr. Sterling numbers the American Maid Flour Mills, a huge concern located on the Houston Ship Channel; and the R. S. Sterling Investment Company. He is a director in various banks located in oil field centers of the State; and in October, 1925, he and his asso- ciates purchased three-fourths of the stock of the Houston National Bank, one of the oldest financial institutions in Texas. He is vice president of the First Texas Joint Stock Land Bank.

Mr. Sterling constructed one of the finest news- paper buildings in America to serve as the down- town home of the Houston Post-Dispatch. This imposing 22-story structure was completed early in 1926. His other real estate and building opera- tions include the sub-division and development of the Rossmoyne Addition to the city of Houston, one of the better restricted residential districts; and the erection of the first brick buildings built in Sour Lake, Saratoga, Goose Creek and Humble. He has been active in the upbuilding of these oil towns, and still retains property interests in most of them.

Mr. Sterling is a member of the Houston Country Club and the Houston Club; a life member of the Congressional Country Club of Washington, D. C .; a member of the Masonic, Knights of Pythias and Woodmen of the World lodges; the Mid-Continent Oil and Gas Association; the American Petroleum Institute; the United States Chamber of Commerce and the Houston Chamber of Commerce; a member of the board of deacons of the South End Christian Church of Houston, to which he has been a liberal contributor; and a trustee of Texas Christian Uni- versity of Fort Worth. He resigned recently as chairman of the board of the Humble Company, in order to devote more time to civic affairs.

Five children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Sterling. They are, Walter Gage Sterling, Mildred, wife of W. C. Hedrick of Fort Worth; Ruth, Ross Shaw, Jr., (deceased) and Norma.

Ross Shaw, Jr., died in April, 1924, and in memory to him Mr. Sterling gave the Y. M. C. A. of South Texas a beautiful wooded camp on Galveston Bay. The camp bears the name of the lad to whom it is dedicated; it is a favorite gathering place for boys of Houston and the adjacent towns; a spot where they may enjoy clean out-door sports under ample super- vision.

Mr. Sterling's mother died in 1888. His father died in 1917, after spending his last years in the city named for his intimate friend, General Sam Houston.

R. S. Sterling's career furnishes a fascinating chapter in the annals of the Southwest. A doer, a builder, an exemplary citizen, a brilliant leader of

affairs, he is a worthy successor to the men whose mighty deeds and wonderful personalities shed un- dying luster on the Texas of yesteryear.

UDGE J. A. ELKINS, Attorney at Law, has during his twenty-two years of practice be- fore the Texas Bar, been identified with many of the most prominent cases which have come before the courts of this State. Judge Elkins is a member of the firm of Vinson, Elkins, Sweeton and Weems, one of the leading law firms of Houston. This firm represents, and are General Attorneys for many leading companies and indi- viduals of Houston and South Texas.

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New encyclopedia of Texas, volume 1, Part 48

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