New encyclopedia of Texas, volume 1, Part 87

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

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506

NEW ENCYCLOPEDIA OF TEXAS

EFF N. MILLER, one of the best known tory of New Mexico and the Rio Grande Valley, the railroad builders and executive in Texas, retired from active railroad work in 1911, and since that time has resided in Houston, and is known as a Railroad Extension Expert. He maintains an office at 610 Binz Building and is en- gaged in several industrial enterprises. Mr. Miller entered the railroad service in June, 1880, as Chief Clerk to Gov. John C. Brown, Vice-President, and Col. George Noble, General Manager, of the Texas Pacific Railway, and remained with that road until 1893. From 1893 until 1896 he was Vice-President and General Manager of the Pecos Valley Railway, during which time he built that road from Carlsbad to Roswell, New Mexico, and carried the survey and location into Amarillo, Texas. Then from 1896 to 1904 he held the dual offices of Vice-President and General Manager for both the Houston, East and West Texas and the Houston and Texas Central Railways, and from 1904 to 1910 he was Vice-Presi- dent and General Manager of the St. Louis, Browns- ville and Mexico Railway, (The Gulf Coast Line), which extends from Brownsville, Texas, to Houston, and was started at Robstown in 1903 and completed to Brownsville in 1904, coming into Houston in 1907. Also from 1907 to 1910 he was President of the Rio Grande Railway. After 1910 he retired from active railroad work as an executive or in charge of con- struction.

Mr. Miller was born at Allentown, Pennsylvania, on May 6, 1858. His father, D. C. Miller, also a native of Pennsylvania, moved his family to the little city of Troy, Ohio, at the close of the Civil War, in 1865, where he resided and engaged in manu- facturing during the remainder of his lifetime.

Mr. J. N. Miller's education was obtained in the public schools in Troy, Ohio, and in the Western Union Telegraph office, which he entered as a mere boy, being on the payrool of this company in 1867. Mr. Miller learned telegraphy when the reading was done from a tape, and train orders were not taken by sound. He was among the very first to learn to receive by sound. In 1870, receiving by sound came into general use, and this method was first begun on the old Dayton and Michigan Railroad. Mr. Miller began his career in railroad work as an operator for the Cincinnati, Hamilton and Dayton Railroad, in Ohio, which road is now a part of the Baltimore and Ohio System.

Mr. Miller was married at Troy, Ohio, to Miss Nellie Crane, a member of a well known family of that State. Mr. and Mrs. Miller reside at 238 West- moreland Boulevard. Mr. Miller is a 32nd Degree Mason, and a member of the A. F. and A. M., and a life member of the Kingsville, Texas, Blue Lodge of this order, which he helped to organize. He is also a life member of the Dallas Chapter, and a charter member of Hella Temple Shrine and of El Mina Temple, Galveston. He is also a member of the Houston Chamber of Commerce, in which he takes an active interest, holds membership in the Old Time Telegraphers Association, and for more than a quarter of a century has been a member of the Social and Historical Association, and the Mili- tary Telegraph Operators Association, an organiza- tion which requires twenty-five years service as an operator in order to become eligible.

In the building of railroads and developing of the country of Texas, and the vast irrigating terri-

name of Jeff N. Miller comes to the forefront. He has been a citizen of Houston for more than a quar- ter of a century, and during this time has been a tireless worker for the civic improvement, progress and advancement of the city, which regards him as one of its foremost citizens.

D. EHRHARDT, through his long years of experience in the drug business, saw the need of a pharmacy for the compounding and dispensing of medicine and sick-room supplies in Houston, and the Kress Building Phar- macy, of which he is sole properietor, became a reality. The Kress Building Pharmacy was estab- lished in 1915 and purchased by Mr. Ehrhardt in 1922. This pharmacy carries a large and complete stock of sick-room supplies and maintains a high- class compounding and dispensing laboratory. The Kress Building Pharmacy is the only pharmacy in Houston that devotes all time and attention to the compounding and dispensing of medicine and fur- nishing of sick-room supplies. Every care is for the sick, and there is no article for the sick room that the Kress Building Pharmacy does not supply. Be- cause of the central location and upstairs low rent the Kress Building Pharmacy is able to sell drugs and supplies twenty-five to thirty per cent cheaper than the regular down-town drug store. The popu- larity of the store is increasing steadily, as is indi- cated by the fact that business has increased one hundred per cent in the last twelve months.

A native Texan, Mr. Ehrhardt was born in Harris County in 1885. His father, J. G. Ehrhardt, also a native of Harris County, is still living on the farm where he was born. His mother was Miss Sophia Steighahn, a member of a well known Texas family. The public schools of Harris County provided the foundation for Mr. Ehrhardt's education, and later was a student at the Southwestern University at Georgetown, and still later attended the Medical Branch of the Texas University at Galveston, where he graduated from the pharmacy branch of this in- stitution in 1906. In the same year in which he graduated, Mr. Ehrhardt went to Beaumont and en- tered the employ of the Dunlap Drug Store, where he remained for four years. He then went to Port Ar- thur and established a drug store, with a partner under the firm name of Ehrhardt and Wright. After one year he disposed of his interest in this drug store and came to Houston and entered the employ of the Sam Rouse Drug Store, where he remained for one year. He then purchased an interest in the Corner Drug Store, and continued with this estab- lishment until 1921, when he went with the Public Drug Store Number 2, as Secretary and Treasurer. He severed his connection with this store in Novem- ber, 1922, and purchased the Kress Building Phar- macy, as he clearly saw the opportunity in a store of this kind for serving the public efficiently and economically.

Mr. Ehrhardt was married in Austin in 1912 to Miss Agnes Humphrey. a daughter of R. M. Humph- rey (deceased) a widely known citizen of Texas. They have two children, Catherine and C. D. Ehr- hardt, Jr. Mr. and Mrs. Ehrhardt reside at 4712 Rusk Avenue. Mr. Ehrhardt is identified with and takes an active interest in all agencies working for the greater development, progress and advancement of Houston.

509

MEN OF TEXAS

UGH K. WADDELL, for upwards of two decades one of the vital forces for progress in mercantile circles at Houston, and vice president of one of the largest furniture houses in the city, enjoys the highest esteem of his fellow citizens. Mr. Waddell, since 1916 vice pres- ident of Waddell's House Furnishing Company, Inc., has taken an active part in the management of this house, giving his attention to the development of the business along broad lines. The firm was founded by his father, Mr. H. Waddell, and had been for many years associated with the civic development of the city. Occupying a modern six-story building of 100,000 square feet of floor space, beautifully ap- pointed and arranged, at 1102-4-6-8 Prairie Avenue, at the corner of Fannin, the Waddell House Fur- nishing Company is ideally located in the heart of the business district. The stock of furniture is com- plete, and is distinctive by reason of the excep- tional quality that is the rule. The company main- tains a drapery manufacturing department in the store, where draperies are made for the stock as well as to order. It also operates a mattress factory at the corner of Sampson and Walker Streets, which with the warehouse also located here, has 100,000 square feet of floor space. There are about one hundred people employed by the company and the annual volume of business exceeds $1,250,000.00. The other officers of the firm are M. R. Waddell, pres- ident; Earl Wilson, secretary and treasurer, and G. A. Rick, manager. Mr. Waddell gives special at- tention to display, and his attractive window dis- plays are features that add much to the general atmosphere of attractiveness of the establishment. Mr. Waddell has been with the business for a score of years, coming in as a young man of nineteen, working in the office. Later he was made secre- tary and treasurer, and in 1916 vice president, the office he now holds. He is also one of the directors of the Second National Bank, and is vice president of the McGregor Land and Cattle Company, whose ranches are located in New Mexico and Texas.

Hugh K. Waddell was born at Houston, the elev- enth of November, 1884, son of Mr. and Mrs. H. Waddell, for many years residents of this city. His father was one of the leading figures in the business world here, and was the founder of the Waddell House Furnishing Company. Mr. Waddell was edu- cated in the public schools of his native city, and after finishing his education went with the Waddell House Furnishing Company.

Mr. Waddell was married in 1917 to Miss Agnes McGregor, a native of the Lone Star State. They have since made their home in Houston, at 2404 Caroline Street, and have three children, Hugh K. Junior, John Malcolm, and Rutherford. Mr. Wad- dell is an Elk, a member of the Turnverein, the Houston Country Club and the Houston Club.

R OBERT G. HEWITT has for the past thir- teen years been associated with the floral business of Houston, and the Hewitt Flower Shop, of which he is Manager and one-half owner, is located at 1508 Main Street, and is one of the most attractive and artistic retail floral stores in the city, his partner in the business being Mr. W. C. Griffing of Beaumont, Texas. Mr. Hewitt grows all kinds of hot house plants, and his business con- sists mostly of cut flowers. He furnishes flowers

and plants for house decorations, special cut flowers and plants for weddings, and designs of all kinds and sizes for funerals. In addition to his floral business, Mr. Hewitt does landscaping for private residences and civic grounds, and sells nursery stock of all kinds. Hewitt's Flower Shop is splendidly located and equipped to handle his large business.

A native of Tennessee, Mr. Hewitt was born in Lynnville in 1878. His parents, E. G. Hewitt and Sarah E. Hewitt, were well known citizens of Ten- nessee, where they were large land owners and farmers. His education was obtained in the public and high schools of Lynnville, Tennessee.

Mr. Hewitt came to Texas in 1896 and for a num- ber of years was engaged in farming. He came to Houston in 1910 and was employed with the Kerr Floral Company for one year. He then went with the Brazos Green houses, where he remained for nine years, and was manager of this large plant. In 1920 he started his present business, which has had a steady growth from the beginning. Mr. Hewitt was married in Jackson County, Texas, in 1910, to Miss Vera Joines, a daughter of E. T. Joines and Tybatha Joines, large land owners and planters of Jackson County. They have one daughter, Mabel Pearl, thirteen years of age. Mr. and Mrs. Hewitt reside at 1112 Hogan Street. Mr. Hewitt is inter- ested in all matters having to do with the civic believes is destined to be the greatest city in the Southwest.

DWARD T. KEOUGH has for more than a decade been held in high esteem at Hous- ton for his work in the storage and moving business. Mr. Keough is general manager of the A. B. C. Storage and Moving Company, In- corporated, established the thirtieth of June, 1913. This firm engages in commercial and household storage, heavy hauling, light hauling and all kinds of moving, packing of household goods and dray- age. They operate a fleet of trucks and teams and employ from ten to fifteen employees. The A. B. C. Company occupies a modern fireproof building at 802 and 804 Walnut Street, where they have twen- ty-five thousand square feet of floor space for this storage of household goods and merchandise.

Mr. Keough was born at Galveston, Texas, the seventh of March, 1888, son of J. T. Keough, a na- tive of Galveston who was drowned during the storm at Galveston in 1900, and Josephine Simmons Keough. After the storm, Mrs. Keough removed to Houston, and Mr. Keough was educated in the schools of this city. He began work as a boy, with the Mosehart-Keller Carriage Works, and for two years was with a railroad. He went in the storage busi- ness in 1916, with the A. B. C. Company, until he joined the army, enlisting on July 7th, 1917, in the 111th Field Signal Battalion, 36th Division, serving in France eleven months, being discharged as ser- geant at Camp Bowie, Fort Worth, Texas, on June 19th, 1919, at which time he returned to Houston and resumed his connections with the A. B. C. Storage Company, and in 1922 was made general manager of the business.

Mr. Keough was married at Houston, in 1922, to Miss Eunice Flow, a native of Austin. Mr. and Mrs. Keough make their home at 504 Colquit Street. Mr. Keough is a T. P. A. and a Mason, Blue Lodge, Fort Worth, thirty-second degree Scottish Rite, and a member of Arabia Temple Shrine.

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Hatwaddell

NEW ENCYCLOPEDIA OF TEXAS

C. SORELLE, oil operator and investor, is one of the best known of the younger men operating in the coastal fields and since entering the business in 1913 has been more than ordinarily successful. He was identi- fied with some of the larger companies for several years and in 1919 went into business for himself, forming a partnership with H. A. Meyer, and op- erating under the firm name of Meyer and SoRelle. During the past few years the firm has attained to a position of leadership in the oil fraternity of Houston and South Texas and by the application of the highest principles of business ethics has won the confidence of a large and ever increasing clien- tele.

Offices for Meyer and SoRelle are maintained at 308 Scanlan Building and the principal activity of the firm is confined to blocking large acreage of oil leases and arranging to have them drilled. After the partnership was formed on August 1, 1919, they secured a tract at Pierce Junction and arranged with Snowden and McSweeney to drill it, retaining a working interest in the production for their profit. The venture was highly successful and the daily production from the lease at one time aggregated fifteen thousand barrels. The lease is still producing about five hundred barrels of oil per day and there has been shipped from this field a total of more than one million barrels of oil.

Another successful venture by Meyer and SoRelle was the blocking of the Big Creek field in Fort Bend County. Arrangements were made with the Gulf Production Company and with Snowden and McSweeney to drill this tract and the first test proved a producer. The firm is interested in the entire Big Creek field at this time.

Mr. SoRelle is a native of Louisiana and was born at Many in Sabine Parish, on July 19, 1890. He is a son of Judge Don E. SoRelle, native of Wood County, Texas, whose people came to Texas from Mississippi, before the Civil War. Judge SoRelle has practiced law in Louisiana for many years and served for several terms as district Judge. He is now engaged in private practice and is one of the best known members of the bar in the state. Mr. SoRelle's mother was formerly Miss Mattie Iona Self, a na- tive of Vernon Parish, Louisiana. Her family were formerly residents of Mississippi.

Mr. SoRelle received preliminary education in the public schools of Sabine Parish and graduated at the Many High School in 1909. He then entered the academic department of the University of Louisiana at Baton Rouge, and continued his studies there for three years. After leaving college he became iden- tified with the Gulf Production Company and spent two years in Old Mexico leasing, purchasing and scouting. He also did scout and leasing work for the Gulf in Texas and Louisiana. He worked out of Houston most of the time he was identified with the Gulf interests and returned here to establish his home and business in 1919.

On January 25, 1917, Mr. SoRelle was married at Rosenberg, Texas, to Miss Nita Lucille Ray, daugh- ter of Taylor Ray, well known business man of Fort Bend County. Mr. and Mrs. SoRelle have three children, Nita Ray, A. C., Jr., and Virginia.

A man of splendid personality, Mr. SoRelle is devoted to his family and his business. He is of the type of energetic young business man who once

he undertakes a proposition never lets go until it has been carried to a successful conclusion. He is a Mason, a member of the Blue Lodge at Rosen- berg, and is affiliated with the Baptist Church. He is interested in several enterprises other than his partnership business and is a director of the Path- finder Oil Company.

LIFFORD L. WARREN, 305 Hagerman Street, is a native Texan and has been a resident of Houston for more than two decades, having come to this city to reside in January, 1902.

During practically his entire business career Mr. Warren has been engaged in the plumbing and heat- ing business. He started in this line of work imme- diately after coming to Houston and was with the Keithly Company and their successors, the Warren Plumbing Company (which he helped to organize in 1906) until the establishment of his own business in 1922. For fifteen years he was treasurer of the Warren Plumbing Company and developed a splendid following, and during the World War he was general superintendent of plumbing at Camp Logan, and after completing his work at Camp Logan he was transferred to Ellington Field, having full charge of all plumbing, steam fitting, sewers and water mains.

He is now operating as C. L. Warren, Plumbing Contractor, and has been doing a splendid business, which is showing a consistent and steady growth. He has from fifteen to eighteen employees and carries a large stock of parts and fittings. He has a splendidly equipped shop and is prepared to under- take practically any sized job in the plumbing or heating line. His work is principally with resi- dences, apartment houses and mercantile building jobs. Work now under way and contracted for in- dicates he will do more than one hundred jobs dur- ing the current year. A characteristic feature of his work is the attention given to seemingly unim- portant details. Workmen are instructed never to leave a job until it is complete in every essential particular and this has resulted in his firm becom- ing widely known for the high character of work on every job entrusted to it.

Mr. Warren was born at Sherman in 1887 and is a son of William and Belle (Ritter) Warren. His father was for many years a well known farmer and land owner in North Texas. In 1898 the family moved to the plains of West Texas, where Mr. War- ren received his education in the public schools, and coming to Houston in 1902. Mr. Warren early in life turned his attention to the plumbing and heat- ing trade and by applying the highest business principles to the business has achieved a splendid success. He is a firm believer in the adage that anything worth doing at all is worth doing well and will not countenance poor workmanship or the use of inferior material. He is very popular among building contractors and has a large following that insures a continuation of all the work it is possible for him to handle.

In 1908 Mr. Warren was married at Houston, to Miss Bessie Blondeau. They have two children- Herbert, twelve, and Loleet, eight. Mr. Warren is a member of the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, and the Houston Turnverein and has been quite active in the work of both organizations for a number of years.

513

MEN OF TEXAS

OHN R. SUMAN came to Houston in 1912 and since that time has won a reputation in oil circles as both a geologist and an ex- ecutive. Mr. Suman is vice president and general manager of the Rio Bravo Oil Company, and general superintendent in Texas of the Associated Oil Company of California. These companies have two hundred and fifty men employed in the Texas organization and with their own equipment drill the wells on their properties. Mr. Suman came with the Rio Bravo Oil Company as assistant geologist, and became chief engineer of this company in 1914, and served in this capacity until 1917, when he re- signed in order to become associated with the Rox- ana Petroleum Company as technical superintendent of operation in Texas and Louisiana. In 1919, he returned to the Rio Bravo Oil Company as assist- ant manager and in January, 1922, he was in addi- tion to his other duties, made assistant manager of the East Coast Oil Company, and in April, 1923, was made manager of both companies. In May, 1925, he was made vice president and general manager of the Rio Bravo Oil Company. The Rio Bravo Oil Company is a Texas and Louisiana subsidiary of the Southern Pacific Railroad. The Rio Bravo Oil Company has a production of approximately four thousand barrels per day in Texas and Louisiana, and the Associated Oil Company has about four thousand barrels per day in Texas. All business having to do with these two companies is handled through Mr. Suman's office at 316 Southern Pacific Building, Houston, Texas.

Mr. Suman was born at Daleville, Indiana, April 9th, 1890. His father, G. O. Suman, a native of Indiana, was for many years engaged in the gas business in that state where he was well known in this line. He is now retired from active business, and is residing in Los Angeles, California. His mother was Miss Nora Way, a member of a promi- nent Indiana family. His early education was ob- tained in the public and high schools of Los Angeles, where he graduated from the latter in 1908. He then became a student of the University of South- ern California for two years, when he entered the University of California, and graduated from that institution in the Class of 1912, with the degree of B. S. in mining engineering. After leaving college, Mr. Suman engaged in the oil business and has been engaged in some branch of this industry since that time. In addition to his success in the oil industry, he is a writer of note, and published in 1921, the first edition of "Petroleum Production Methods," which is now in its third edition, 15,000 copies hav- ing been sold. "Petroleum Production Methods" is used as a textbook in the University of Pittsburg and a reference book in the University of California. Other colleges that are putting in courses of this nature are using it for reference and text. Mr. Suman also writes for various technical societies and oil journals. He is the owner of several patent ap- pliances, consisting of oil tools and field appliances. The Lucey Manufacturing Company handles some, and other companies handle other of his appliances and patents. Mr. O. Mowers, his father-in-law, is interested with him in some of the patents that are being manufactured. He is a director of the Gulf Publishing Company, and is secretary and treasurer of the Patent Pump Company.

Mr. Suman was married in Pasadena, California, December 16th, 1912, to Miss Beatrice Mowers, a native of Ohio, and a daughter of O. Mowers, an inventor of note. The marriage ceremony of Mr. Suman and wife was performed by the late Robert Burdette, known and loved throughout the entire country. They have two children, John Robert Suman, Jr., and Richard Harlan. In fraternal, so- cial and technical organizations, Mr. Suman is a member of the A. F. and A. M., is a Knight Temp- lar, is a member of Delta Upsilon, Tau Beta Pi, an honorary fraternity in engineering of the University of California, University Club, Houston Club, Hous- ton Country Club, Mid Continent Oil and Gas Asso- ciation, American Institute of Mining and Metallurg- ical Engineers, California Academy of Science, American Association of Petroleum Geologists, and is president of the Houston Geological Society. At this time he is serving as chairman of The American Petroleum Institute Committee on Standardization of Pumping Equipment in Texas. He is a member of the Congregational Church. Mr. Suman is con- sidered one of the leading oil men of the Mid- Continent and Gulf Coast fields. He is recognized as one of the leading geologists engaged in this line of endeavor, and is as popular with the men in the field as with the oil fraternity in general.

HARLES C. BELL, JR., one of the recent recruits to the business world of Houston, has since coming to this city in 1919 been identified with construction operations. Mr. Bell is the owner of the Bell Construction Company, which he established shortly after his arrival in the city. He engages in a general contracting and building business, and also operates a large lumber yard. In October, 1923, the retail lumber business was incorporated as the Bellkamp Lumber Company. He has an exceptionally good location on the rail- road, his plant covering two city blocks at 3411-3511 Mckinney Avenue. He finances and builds homes, averaging around a hundred houses annually, and employing a hundred men. Mr. Bell has a com- plete mill and his own shop, with all departments separate, the four buildings comprising his plant aggregating twenty thousand feet of floor space. Mr. Bell devotes most of his time to home-building, and by enabling citizens to own homes which they can pay for on small monthly payments, has done much toward making Houston a City of Homes.

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New encyclopedia of Texas, volume 1, Part 87

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