New encyclopedia of Texas, volume 1, Part 70

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

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Mr. Staiti is a native of Texas and was born at Marshall on February 12th, 1876, and received his education in the schools there and at the old Marsh- all College. During the early days of his career he was interested and active in military affairs in Texas and during his residence in Texarkana he was the youngest officer commissioned in the Texas Volunteer Guard. He is a son of Santo and Mary Jane (Deal) Staiti. Santo Staiti was born in Pa- lermo, Italy, a graduate of one of the universities of Rome, therefore a man of letters, a linguist, par- ticularly learned in English, German and French. He was prominent in the Republican party of Italy, and because of the political strife of the time he left this country for America in 1848, gathering what money he could get quickly together. The Staiti family was influential in Italy, Port Staiti, Italy, being named after it. Coming to New Or- leans he was engaged in the merchandising busi- ness. When war between the States came, he join- ed the Ninth Louisiana Artillery, and fought as an officer from Fort Jackson to Gettysburg. After the war he returned to his business pursuits in New Orleans. Later as railroads were built he followed the line of construction and engaged in business in Shreveport, Marshall and Texarkana. He be- came prominent in Democratic politics in East Texas where his influence was felt particularly during the reconstruction days. His death occurred at Texar- kana. Mary Jane (Deal) Staiti was a native of Goodletsville, Tennessee. The Deals originally came from England to Virginia, then to Tennessee, Louis- iana and Texas, and were prominent citizens in the communities where they resided.

On April 17th, 1901, H. T. Staiti was married at Waco to Miss Odelia Reisner, a native of Victoria, Texas, and a daughter of Professor Charles Reisner, the well known Texas educator. Mr. and Mrs. Staiti reside at 421 Westmoreland Avenue. Their resi- dence is one of the most beautiful in the city. Flowers are the hobby of Mr. and Mrs. Staiti and the grounds surrounding their home, as well as the residence itself, is one of the show places of Houston.

Mr. Staiti takes an active interest in the civic and social life of Houston, and is a member of the Houston Club, the Houston Country Club, Amer- ican Petroleum Institute and the Mid-Continental Oil and Gas Association. In recognition of distin-

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guished service in mineral research work he was awarded a life fellowship in the Royal Society of Arts of London. He is an outstanding figure in the oil industry of the Southwest and a man to whom Houston and the coastal fields of Texas owes much for his untiring efforts and perseverance in the development of the rich oil and sulphur bear- ing sections here.

OHN E. BURKHART, Jr., one of the young- er members of the business fraternity of Houston, has, since becoming vice president and treasurer of Burkhart's Laundry and Dye Works, Inc., been a potent factor in increasing the business of this institution. This well known laundry and dye works, located at 1700-2-4 Congress Avenue, was established in 1893 by J. E. Burkhart, Sr. and incorporated in 1916. In 1919, the company built the present home, which is of modern type, sev- enty-five by one hundred and twenty feet in size, of two floors and entirely fireproof. This laundry is equipped with machinery of the latest type, mod- ern methods are employed and the plant is the last word in sanitation. They also have a fireproof garage located at 310 Jackson Street. The Burk- hart's Laundry and Dye Works, Inc. maintain a splendidly equipped uptown office at 609 San Jacinto Street. One hundred and twenty-five people are employed in the plant and seventeen delivery cars are kept busy in the service of this company and their business, due to good work and quick service, is growing daily. Other officers of the Burkhart's Laundry and Dye Works, Inc., are J. E. Burkhart, Sr., president and general manager, and H. S. Autry, secretary.

Mr. J. E. Burkhart, Sr., a native of Pennsylvania, came to Texas when seventeen years of age and settled first in East Texas, but after a few years came to Houston and founded the present laundry and dye works in a small way. During the thirty years of its existence this establishment has grown to be the finest and largest institution of its kind in South Texas. Mr. Burkhart, Sr. married Miss Ernestine Saulnier, a native of Louisiana and a member of a well known family of that state.

Mr. Burkhart, Jr. received his early education in the public schools of Houston. Later he attended Baylor University at Waco and graduated from that institution in the class of 1915 with the B. A. degree. After leaving college, Mr. Burkhart went to Dallas, where for one year he was instructor in English, Latin and German in the Highland Park Academy. After one year of teaching, he returned to Houston and entered the business with his father. Simul- taneously with Mr. Burkhart's entering the busi- ness, the firm was incorporated and he was made vice president and treasurer, which position he has since held.

Mr. Burkhart was married in Angleton, Texas, April 18th, 1922, to Miss Ruth Ezell, a native Texan, born and reared in Brazoria County. Mr. and Mrs. Burkhart reside at 210 Dennis Avenue. In fraternal, social and commercial organizations, Mr. Burkhart is a member of the A. F. & A. M. with membership in Gray Lodge No. 329 and is a member of the Scot- tish Rite body of this order to the 32nd degree, and is a Shriner of Arabia Temple and holds mem- bership in the University Club, Advertising Club, Salesmanship Club and the Houston Chamber of

Commerce. He is a consistent member of the Bap- tist Church with membership in the South Main Bap- tist Church of Houston. Mr. Burkhart has always been prominently identified with all movements tending to promote the growth and importance of Houston, and has an abiding faith in the future of his city.

B. CORBETT has literally grown up in the iron and steel business and has had an ex- ceptionally splendid training for the posi- tion he now occupies in the industrial and manufacturing world. Mr. Corbett is President and Treasurer of the Harrisburg Pipe and Pipe Bending Company of Texas, and is in active charge of the company's Houston branch, located at Sawyer Street and the crossing of the Galveston, Harrisburg and San Antonio Railway. Mr. P. F. Matlock is Secre- tary-Treasurer. The company is organized under the laws of the State of Texas and is distributor for the Harrisburg Pipe and Pine Bending Company of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, who manufacture seamless forged fittings of all kinds, high pressure gas cylinders, steel plates, boiler tubes, etc. The company carries a complete stock of the various parts and fittings manufactured by them in their large warehouse, which is fifty by one hundred and ninety feet in size. In addition to the above line of en- deavor the company also has another plant devoted to pipe bending and coiling and is the largest of its kind in the State. They give employment to twenty skilled mechanics. The Harrisburg line is recognized by the trademark, a Keystone with an H in its center. The company has its own trucks to expedite delivery to patrons in the immediate vicinity of Houston.

Mr. Corbett is a native of Tennessee and was born at Nashville on January 1, 1881. He is a son of Eugene and Joella Bayliss Corbett and grew up in an atmosphere of steel and iron, his father having been engaged in this line of work all his life. After attending the public schools and high school at Nashville, Mr. Corbett entered Lehigh University, where he studied for four years, graduating with the degree of Metallurgical Engineer.

Upon completion of his college course Mr. Corbett became identified with the Cambria Steel Company and was engaged in the operation of open hearth steel furnaces for this company for twelve years. He then came to Texas and was with the sales de- partment of the Lukens Steel Company of Coates- ville, Pennsylvania, for six years and for the past four years has been identified with his present company. His knowledge, both technical and prac- tical, of the steel and iron business, has enabled him to achieve a splendid success and he is a recognized expert in this particular line.

In 1910 Mr. Corbett was married at New Port, Kentucky, to Miss Katharine Gilbert, daughter of a well known lawyer at New Port. They reside at 2204 La Branch Street.

Mr. Corbett takes an active interest in the civic affairs of Houston and is a member of the Masonic order, York Rite, and a member of the Houston Club and Rotary Club. He is a splendid type of business man, courteous in his dealings with others and possessed of a winning personality that has made for himself and his company hundreds of friends throughout the trade territory of the South- west.

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MEN OF TEXAS

E H. BUCKNER is one of the pioneer oil operators of Texas, where for more than a quarter of a century he has been active in the development of the Mid-Continent and Gulf Coast fields. Mr. Buckner is president of the Houston Oil Company of Texas, one of the lead- ing oil companies of the state, and operate at Hull, Electra, Mexia and Corsicana (shallow) in Texas; Smackover and Eldorado, Arkansas, and Hainesville, Louisiana, and are active in the development of Live Oak and Jefferson Counties, Texas. They have a daily production of about ten thousand barrels and three hundred people are in the organization of this company. The Houston Oil Company of Texas was organized in 1901 by John H. Kirby and Patrick Cal- houn, and the offices of this company are maintained at 1106 Scanlan Building and this company and all its policies are directed from Houston. Such com- panies as the Houston Oil Company of Texas have done much in the development of the resources of the state and should have at all times the hearty co-operation of the thinking public.

A native Texan, Mr. Buckner was born at Corsi- cana, April 4th, 1880. His father, E. F. Buckner, came to Texas during the days of reconstruction following the Civil War from Kentucky; he served during this conflict under Kirby Smith of Texas, and one of the makers of Texas history. Mr. Buckner was a well known cattle man of Navarro County. His mother was Miss Edmonia Roquemore, a native of the Lone Star State and a member of a well known and pioneer family. Mr. Buckner's education was obtained in the public and high schools of Cor- sicana, where he completed the high school course.

Mr. Buckner began his business career in the oil business when seventeen years of age at Corsicana with J. S. Cullinan in 1897, and in 1902 came to Spindle Top where he remained for one year. He then became associated with the Higgins Oil and Fuel Company and remained with this organization for several years, after which he became an inde- pendent operator in the Oklahoma and Gulf Coast fields. He continued independent operations until 1914, when he came with the present company. Mr. Buckner has been executive head of this company for the past five years, during which time he has devoted his energies to the building up of the com- pany's interests, and November 17th, 1922, was made president of the Houston Oil Company of Texas. Mr. Buckner is a director of the Higgins Oil and Fuel Company and in the Houston Production Com- pany, and also the Gulf Coast Oil Producers Asso- ciation, and his advice and counsel is sought on matters of all kinds concerning the welfare and suc- cess of these and many other companies. Mr. Buck- ner was married at Corsicana in 1898 to Miss Mae Taylor, a native Texan, and a daughter of N. V. Taylor, who came to Texas from Kentucky where he was a member of an old and prominent family. They have one child, Thelma Eric. Mr. Buckner holds membership in the Mid-Continent Oil and Gas association and the Houston Club. Mr. Buckner has worked his way from the bottom to the presidency of one of the largest oil companies of the state, and having risen from the ranks, he has the deepest interest in the man who aspires to better his con- dition, and is at all times ready and willing to render helpful service to his fellow man. Mr. Buckner is

considered by his associates to be one of the most practical oil men of Texas and is a firm believer in the careful development of oil without waste. He is popular with all classes of men in the Mid-Con- tinent and Gulf Coast oil fields from the helpers and drillers up to executives and land owners.

ED A. EPPES, during a period of many years on the road, during which time he frequently came to Houston, had in mind eventually locating here and making this city his home. In January, 1922, his dream became a reality and he organized in Houston the Gulf Concrete Pipe Company and was made President and General Manager of the company, which has its factory and offices at 6500 Harrisburg Boulevard. Other officers of the company are H. G. Fields, Vice-President, and Julian A. Weslow, Secretary- Treasurer.

The Gulf Concrete Pipe Company began business in January, 1922, and is engaged in the manufac- ture of concrete pipe for various purposes, includ- ing sanitary sewer and drain pipe, culverts, etc. It manufactures standard sizes from six to twenty- four inches and has a daily capacity of twenty-five hundred lineal feet. The company owns and con- trols several patents for the manufacture of this kind of pipe and has a product that is declared to be absolutely water proof and superior in quality to vitrified clay and other materials commonly used in the manufacture of this kind of pipe. Its cost is approximately twenty-five per cent less than other pipe. The factory of the Gulf Concrete Pipe Com- pany is thoroughly modern in every detail and em- ploys from 25 to 30 men. Its products have a heavy local demand. The company is in a position to make shipments on short notice to any point, local or dis- tant.

Mr. Eppes was born at Jiminez, Coahuila, Mexico, on August 8th, 1883, a son of Martin and Emma Porter Eppes. His parents removed to San Antonio when he was very young and he was educated in the public and high schools of that city. His father was for many years engaged in civil engineering in the Republic of Mexico.

After leaving school Mr. Eppes engaged in the cattle and ranching business for some years and then sold life insurance in Texas and Oklahoma for five years. He then became connected with the sales de- partment of a company manufacturing clay sewer pipe and traveled the Southwest territory for seven years. He is one of the best posted men in the South on pipe of all kinds and his knowledge enabled him to make a complete success of the Gulf Concrete Pipe Company from the very first.

In 1911 Mr. Eppes was married at San Antonio to Miss Linda Sckerls, daughter of Charles A. and Wil- helmina Sckerls. Her father is a well known mer- chant of San Antonio, now retired. Mr. and Mrs. Eppes have one child, Nedaye, nine years of age.

Mr. Eppes has taken an active interest in civic affairs during his residence in Houston and is a Mason, a member of the Scottish Rite and Arabia Temple Shrine. He is a thorough going business man, has the only plant of its kind in Texas, manu- facturing an unexcelled product at a low cost. His company has been successful from the commence- ment of its operation and its business is growing from month to month.

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NEW ENCYCLOPEDIA OF TEXAS

HOMAS KENNEY DIXON of Houston is well known in the business and financial circles of the state and is a member of the firm of Kessler and Dixon, who own and operate the Piggly Wiggly system of grocery stores in South Texas, having five stores in Houston. Mr. Dixon is the executive head and one of the owners of this firm today. The nucleus of the business was established by the late John F. Kessler, Mr. Dixon's father-in-law, in 1886 on Houston Avenue. In 1895 Mr. Dixon became associated as a partner. He built up the business to its present state of effi- ciency in every way and now the firm owns the fol- lowing Piggly Wiggly stores: Store No. 1 was opened April 21st, 1917, in the City Market; Store No. 2 is located at Fannin Street and Capital Ave- nue; Store No. 3, located at 909 Prairie Avenue, was changed in October, 1917, into the new system store. This store was formerly Kessler and Dixon, a fancy retail grocery store, which was established on July 1st, 1923. Store No. 4, located at 2204-6-8 Main Street, was opened April 9th, 1923, and is one of the finest grocery stores in Texas. Store No. 5 was opened May 26th, 1923, at Delmar and Harrisburg Boulevard. These are conceded to be among the most popular chain of grocery stores in Texas, with splendid, modern buildings and equipment of the best. These stores carry a full and complete line of staple and fancy groceries, where the most exacting housewife can find everything for her table. They also carry a complete line of all meats in season, vegetables and fruit, with imported goods of every character. In addition to the Piggly Wiggly stores, which is an innovation in the grocery line in Hous- ton, Mr. Dixon is the president of the Gulf Coast Trading Company, with headquarters in Beaumont, and owners of the following Piggly Wiggly stores: three in Beaumont, one in Port Arthur and one in Orange, Texas. Mr. Dixon is also a director in the Piggly Wiggly Gulf Company, of Galveston, Texas, which own and operate three stores in the Island City.

A native Texan, Mr. Dixon was born on a farm in Bastrop County, November 29th, 1869. His father, Wade Hampton Dixon (deceased), a native of Ala- bama, came to Texas in 1856 and settled in Bastrop County where he was engaged in farming and stock raising during the remainder of his life. His mother was Miss Maria Kenney, who came to Lavaca County in 1854 and married Mr. Edward Turner during that year. Becoming a widow, she moved to Bastrop County in 1857 where she met and married Mr. Wade Hampton Dixon in 1864. His early education was obtained in the country schools of Bastrop County and he later attended business college. Soon after leaving school Mr. Dixon entered the employ of the Houston and Texas Central Railroad at Paige, Texas, as telegraph operator and in 1889 became sta- tion agent in addition to his duties as telegraph operator and later came to Houston and became associated with his present firm. He became a part- ner of Mr. Kessler in the Houston Avenue Grocery Store, and has continued the business since that time and has built it up to the present large proportions. In addition to his large interests in the grocery busi- ness in Houston and other portions of the state, Mr. Dixon has identified himself with many of the city's financial and industrial institutions and is a director

of the Second National Bank and also a director of the First Texas Joint Stock Land Bank and other business institutions in the city and in the state.

Mr. Dixon was married at Houston on December 12th, 1894, to Miss Emma Kessler, a native of Colo- rado County, Texas and a daughter of John F. Kess- ler, pioneer grocery man of Houston, and one of the most enterprising citizens the city ever knew. They have one son-Thomas Kenney Dixon, Jr., who graduated from the Houston High School in the class of 1923 and is now at the Rice Institute. Mr. and Mrs. Dixon reside at 3602 Main Street. Mr. Dixon a member of the A. F. and A. M. with membership in Gray Lodge No. 329 of Houston, is a 32nd degree Scottish Rite Mason, a Knight Templar, a Shriner of Arabia Temple, as well as a member of the Elks, the Houston and Glenbrook Country Clubs. Mr. Dixon has been active in Masonic work for many years and entered the ranks of this order as a young man while residing in Bastrop County. Mr. Dixon has always been active in the business, social and general community life of Houston and gives lib- erally of his time and means to all movements hav- ing as their object the welfare and advancement of Houston, where he is regarded as one of the most progressive and public spirited citizens. Mr. Dixon never loses an opportunity to speak a good word for Houston and believes that the future of this city is one of unlimited possibilities for continued growth and progress.

G. GOFORTH, although a recent addition to the oil fraternity of Houston, is well known in the city and the State where he has spent all his life in the railroad busi- ness, much of this time as an executive. Mr. Go- forth is vice president and director of the Swiftsure Petroleum Company, office Carter Building.

Mr. Goforth has had a wide experience in the railroad business in Texas which began in 1902 when he was station helper and telegraph operator with the Missouri, Kansas and Texas Railroad in differ- ent parts of the State. In 1904 he entered the em- ploy of the International and Great Northern Rail- road as train dispatcher, and his rise in the railroad world was rapid from that time. In 1908 he was made chief train dispatcher and in 1912 train mas- ter. He continued in this position until 1916, when he was made superintendent, and in 1918, Mr. Go- forth was made assistant general manager, and in 1921 he became general manager and continued in this position until 1923 when he resigned this posi- tion in order to enter the oil business as an execu- tive of the Swiftsure Petroleum Company.

A native Texan, Mr. Goforth was born at Goforth, Hays County, December 10th, 1886. His father, W, R. Goforth, with his mother and four brothers came to Texas from Tennessee in 1871 and founded the town of Goforth. His mother was Miss Ida M. Stone, a native of Mississippi and a member of a prominent family of that State. His education was obtained in the public schools of Texas.

Mr. Goforth was married at Mart, Texas, to Miss Mary Dixie Foster, a daughter of Sam C. Foster, well known Texas ranchman, who is now retired and residing at Groesbeck, Texas. Mr. Goforth is a member of the A. F. and A. M., is a Knight Temp- lar of that order and a Shriner of Karem Temple, Waco, Texas.

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MEN OF TEXAS

UDGE JOHN C. TOWNES, professor of law and former dean of the law department of the University of Texas, was for over a quarter of a century one of the out- standing educators and legal lights of the Lone Star State. Judge Townes was professor of law at the University for twenty-eight years, sixteen years of which time he was dean of the law school, and under his tutelage a large number of the suc- cessful yung lawyers of Texas received their train- ing and the inspiration which started them upon successful careers. Judge Townes was one of the beacon lights of Texas jurisprudence, and the chron- icles of his illustrious career form a bright page in the history of the Texas bar.

Judge John C. Townes was a native of Alabama, born in Tuscumbia, January 30th, 1851. In 1855, when four years of age, he moved with his family to Texas and settled in the eastern part of Travis County. During the turbulent period of the war there was little opportunity for schooling, so Judge Townes' early education was received mostly under private tutelage. He later attended Baylor Uni- versity, then known as Waco University, from 1867 to 1869. The latter year he moved to Austin, where he studied law in a private office, and was admitted to the bar in 1873. He practiced law in Austin for four years, and in 1877 moved to San Saba, where he continued the practice of law. In 1882 he was elected district judge, serving until 1884, when he moved to Georgetown and again entered private practice. Here he was later appointed dis- trict judge for the 56th district, including Travis and Williamson Counties. After serving for a short period he resigned this office and went to Austin, where he formed a partnership with S. R. Fisher. In 1896 Judge Townes was appointed professor of law with the University of Texas, and was appointed dean in 1901. He served as dean for two years, and in 1903 resigned and resumed the rank of pro- fessor, which he continued for an additional five years, when he was re-appointed as dean of the law school, which position he retained until he resigned in 1923.

Judge Townes was married December 28th, 1871, to Miss Kate Wildbahn. They had four children, Ernest W., who died July 9, 1917; Edgar E. Townes, head of the legal department of the Humble Oil and Refining Company; John C. Townes, Jr., in the legal department of the Humble Oil and Refin- ing Company, and Anne C., who is the wife of H. H. Finch of Austin. Judge Townes was a profound student of law; he was a capable writer, and con- tributed to literature a number of valuable text books on law. One of his greatest contributions was an authoritative work on Torts. Other well known books from his pen were "Texas Pleadings," "Ele- mentary Law," "General Principles of Torts," "Law Books, and How to Use Them," "Civil Government in the United States and Texas." As a teacher, Judge Townes was an inspiration to his students, probably no professor was ever more universally loved by the rank and file of his students. As a little incident of their devotion, on his 70th birth- day his students presented him with a valuable gold watch, inscribed "To Judge Townes from His Boys." Judge Townes was a deeply religious man through- out his entire life, and was one of the organizers of the University Baptist Church. His religion was

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New encyclopedia of Texas, volume 1, Part 70

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