New encyclopedia of Texas, volume 1, Part 94

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

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A native Texan, Mr. Granbury was born in Pen- nington, Trinity County, on June 16, 1876. His father, G. W. Granbury, also a native of the Lone Star State, was born in Angelina County, but lived the greater part of his life in Trinity County, where he was a well known lawyer. His mother was Miss Maggie Scarbrough, a member of a well known Trin- ity County family. Mr. Granbury's education was obtained in the public schools of Trinity County. After leaving school Mr. Granbury held various po- sitions in Texas and Indian Territory and immediate- ly before going with the West interests was Assis- tant Bookkeeper with the Wilson Hardware Company of Beaumont. He has been associated with the West Lumber Company since 1903, when he went with this company as a clerk in the commissary, where he remained for one and one-half years; was then made bookkeeper, where he remained for two and one-half years, and in 1907 entered the manu- facturing end of the business and became Secretary. His secretarial duties were many and varied, and in this way he gradually became identified with the manufacturing end of the business, and at the pres- ent time is in full charge of the Dayton mill and the pine mill at Connell, owned by the West Lumber Company. Mr. Granbury is an experienced manu- facturer of lumber, having been associated during these years with Mr. J. M. West in various lumber activities, and in charge of the mills at Westville, Benford and Petersville.

Mr. Granbury was married at Corpus Christi in 1916 to Miss Lulu Orrell, a member of a well known

family of Leaky, Real County. They have two chil- dren, Ruth, seven years of age, and Bettie, aged four years. Mr. and Mrs. Granbury reside at 913 Hatha- way Street. In fraternal and social organizations, Mr. Granbury is a member of the B. P. O. E., the Lumbermen's Club and the Chamber of Commerce. Mr. Granbury has great faith in the future of Hous- ton and expects it to soon become the leading city of the Southwest, and that the resources of the Lone Star State are just beginning to be developed.

AX C. OTTO, well known dealer in building material, has been a factor in the business circles of Houston for more than two dec- ades, having prior to entering the build- ing material business, been for fifteen years active in the cotton circles of Houston. Mr. Otto is pres- ident of the M. C. Otto, Inc. and are dealers in all kinds and sizes in gravel, rock, shell, sand, lime, cement, and all building material. Their warehouse and supply yards occupy a city block on the railroad in the Fifth Ward of Houston. Among their equip- ment, they have six automatic dump trucks, and ten two-horse teams. Twenty-five people are employed by this company, whose office is located at 1217 Sixth Street. The business was incorporated in 1923, prior to which time Mr. Otto had operated in his own name. Other officers of the M. C. Otto, Inc. are D. A. Otto, secretary and treasurer, and D. O. Stricker, vice president. This firm is one of the largest in South Texas and does a great volume of business.

A native Texan, Mr. Otto was born in Houston, August 24th, 1871. His father, H. E. A. Otto, was one of the pioneer merchants of the Magnolia City. His mother was Miss Catherin Seelhorst, a member of a well known Texas family. His early educa- tion was obtained in the public and high schools of Houston, and he later attended a business college here.

After leaving school, Mr. Otto began his busi- ness career in the cotton business, where he re- mained in the different departments for a period of fifteen years. He then engaged in a general team- ing business, and later engaged in the teaming and material business, in which he has been very suc- cessful. Mr. Otto is interested in various indus- trial and commercial projects in the city, and is the owner of much valuable city and suburban property, and a magnificent summer home on the bay, and besides his own means, he has unlimited financial backing, and is regarded as a man reliable in every way, and of unquestionable character together with great business ability and foresight.

Mr. Otto was married in Navasota, in 1895, to Miss Wave Driscoll, a native Texan, and a daugh- ter of John Driscoll, who for many years was mayor of Navasota, Texas. They have three children, Dris- coll A. Otto, twenty-one years of age and a grad- uate of Georgia Technical College; Mrs. Phil H. Stricker and Mrs. Arthur Binz, Jr. Mr. Otto is a member of the A. F. and A. M. with degrees in the Scottish Rite body of that order, and a Shriner of Arabia Temple. He is also a member of the B. P. O. E., Woodmen of the World, Rotary Club, T. P. A. and an honor member of the Turnverein. Mr. Otto has great faith in the future of his native city and believes it will soon become the leading city of the Southwest.

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ORMAN H. BEARD, one of the younger civic leaders at Houston, and a man of broad business and public experience, has for some years past held one of the im- portant civic positions in this city and is an expert in the field of civil service work. Mr. Beard is director of the City Civil Service Commission, one of the very important positions in the municipal government. He has under the direction of the Civil Service Commission, the examination of employees and other services that go with the Civil Service work, and looks after the city's group insurance for employees, and has charge of all records, pay rolls, special police and other duties. He also investigates and adjusts all grievances among employees, and the smooth functioning of the municipal personnel is largely a result of his efforts. Mr. Beard is well equipped for the diverse duties of his position, and has a talent for organization, the management of men and an executive ability that is very necessary to this office.

Norman H. Beard was born at Houston, Texas, the nineteenth of March, 1893. His father, T. G. Beard, for many years a resident of this city, has been with the Southern Pacific Railroad for around four decades, and is now a director and general freight agent for that line, with his offices on the eighth floor of the Southern Pacific Building. Mr. Beard is one of the most prominent railroad men in the Lone Star State and one of the veteran rail men of Houston. Norman H. Beard's mother, be- fore her marriage was Miss Corinne David, a native of Mississippi, takes an active interest in civic and welfare work, and is a well known club woman of Houston. Mr. Beard was educated in private schools at Houston, and at the University of Texas, where he completed the work necessary for the A. B. de- gree, after which he did post graduate work at Washington Lee University. He then returned to Houston and went with the United States Depart- ment of Justice as special agent with headquarters at Houston, but his work took him all over the southern district. During his college days Mr. Beard studied civil service work with a view to taking a position in foreign fields, but was ap- pointed to the position of director of the City Civil Service Commission in April, 1917, and made the de- cision to remain in his native city. Early in 1917 he spent some months at Leon Springs, later re- turning to Houston to resume his work with the city.

Mr. Beard resides at Sam Houston Hotel and is a member of the Elks Club, the Glenbrook Country Club, the Conopus Club and the Chi Phi college fraternity. He is a member of the National Civil Service Assembly and commander of the Sons of Confederate Veterans. Mr. Beard is the progressive type of man who gives his interest to the advance- ment of the community along lines of progress. A natural leader, he has been a vital influence among the younger men, and his work in his particular field is bringing him recognition among civil service leaders.

A. POYNTER, manager of the Houston office of the Hoffman Heater Company, has recently come to Houston, and in the sev- eral years of his residence here has be- come well known in business circles. The Hoffman

Heater Company, manufacturers of one of the lead- ing makes of hot water heaters of the automatic type, maintain their factory and headquarters at Louisville, Kentucky. The Houston office was opened in 1923, Mr. Poynter coming here at that time to assume the management of the business. He has been very successful in his efforts to introduce this reliable water heater here, and sales have increased rapidly until now many of Houston's better class homes are equipped with this convenience. The offices of the company are at 1313 Texas Avenue, and in addition to the sales force, a service force, in charge of installations and servicing heaters in use, is maintained.

C. A. Poynter was born at Dallas, Texas, the twentieth of August, 1896, son of D. E. Poynter, and Mrs. Lula (Pruitt) Poynter, the father a native of Kentucky, the mother of Dallas County. Mr. Poynter obtained his education in the schools of Texas, and during the World War was with the air service, stationed at Love Field, Dallas. He be- came connected with the Dallas Fire Department, and later he was appointed to the managership of the Houston office of the Hoffman Heater Company.

Mr. Poynter was married at Dallas, the first of September, 1915, to Miss Ruth Farmer. Mr. and Mrs. Poynter reside at 1204 Crockett Street and have one child, C. Austin, Jr. Mr. Poynter is a Mason and belongs to the Houston Builders Exchange, the Houston Chamber of Commerce and the Baptist Church.

M. PEARCE, for two decades a factor in the iron foundering industry at Houston, has been one of the forces for progress in this industry, and enjoys the highest esteem of his fellow citizens. Mr. Pearce is general manager and vice president of the Texas Iron Works, one of the largest manufacturers of oil field supplies in South Texas. The Texas Iron Works operates four plants in all, the one at Houston, one at Goose Creek, one at Pierce Junction and one at Blue Ridge. The Houston plant is located at 1400 Maury Street, occupying a new building covering a half block on railroad trackage, and equipped with the latest im- provements in the way of machinery. The com- pany manufactures oil field supplies, also doing re- pair work. They have a modernly equipped machine shop and forge shop, making heavy forgings, doing acetylene welding, and oil field repair work, pipe straightening and threading. They manufacture "T. I. W." Break out Tongs, Back up Tongs, Tool joints, Drill Collars, Set Shoes and Crescent Steel Bits, and also a complete line of fishing tools. The Texas Iron Works employs from sixty to seventy- five operatives and does a very large business. The officers of the corporation are J. E. Pearce, presi- dent; L. M. Pearce, vice president, and O. M. Pearce, secretary and treasurer.

Mr. Pearce was born at Rockdale, Texas, in 1889, son of H. J. Pearce, a landowner and farmer of that place, and Leckey Pope Pearce. He was educated in the public schools at Rockdale. He came to Hous- ton in 1904 and went in the machine shop of the Southern Pacific Railroad, continuing there for a few years, when he organized the Texas Iron Works, with which he has since been connected, building up an extensive business.

Mr. Pearce is a Mason, York and Scottish Rites, and a member of Arabia Temple Shrine.

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ILLIAM ALFRED WILLIAMS, recognized throughout the United States as one of the leading petroleum technologists and as an authority on oil development and produc- tion, has recently come to Houston and is a valued addition to the oil fraternity here. He is president of the Crown Central Petroleum Corporation, and is taking an active part in its reorganization and upbuilding. The Crown Central Petroleum Corpora- tion was incorporated June 1st, 1925, taking over the United Central Oil Corporation. The company will acquire, in connection with the present financing, Acewood Petroleum Company, Inc., and additional producing properties in the Mirando Field. The properties now owned and to be acquired will in- clude 5,000 acres of developed or partly developed leases in the states of Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas, Louisiana and Arkansas. The gross production is approximately 3,500 barrels a day. The corpora- tion owns two refineries, one located on the Houston Ship Channel, Houston, and the other at Claren- don, Pennsylvania. The Houston refinery is a mod- ern plant situated on a site of 120 acres, having 2,000 feet frontage on the channel. It has a daily capacity of 4,000 barrels which can be readily in- creased to 5,000 barrels. The corporation owns a tank farm of 150 acres connected with the refinery by pipe lines. The Clarendon plant has a refinery capacity of 700 barrels a day. The terminal on the Houston Ship Channel, adjacent to the Houston re- finery, has a water depth of thirty feet and is capable of berthing the largest tank steamers en- tering the channel and has handled as much as 40,000 barrels of crude oil per day. The company is equip- ring the terminal to handle all grades of refined oil, using this terminal as a basis for jobbing and ex- porting petroleum products to all parts of the world. The terminal is equipped with about 1,000,000 bar- rels storage capacity, and which it is proposed to be increased in the near future. The company acquired the Acewood Petroleum Company, and so is assured an outlet for its refinery products. It has offices in Paris, France, San Francisco and New York, as well as Houston. The consolidated balance sheet of the corporation as of December 13, 1924, shows assets of $10,646,119.48. The corporation will represent a complete unit in the industry, controlling its own production, refining, terminal and marketing facili- ties. Mr. A. C. Woodman, New York, is chairman of the board; C. H. Longshore, New York, vice pres- ident; Henri I. Grangerard, vice president, Paris, France; M. C. Ehlen, Houston, vice president, and N. N. Oille, Houston, treasurer. The corporation's Houston offices are located in the Post Building.

William Alfred Williams was born at San Fran- cisco, California, on the twenty-fifth of August, 1880, the son of William Alfred Williams and Lucy Addie Williams. He received his early instruction in the public schools of California, receiving in 1903 an A. B. degree in geology and mining from Stan- ford University. During 1903 and 1904 he served as assistant in geology at Stanford University. He also acted as field assistant for the United States Geological Survey in Idaho during the sum- mer of 1903. For a time he was interested in mining in Idaho, Arizona, Nevada, Colo- rado and Mexico. In 1908 he went with the Asso- ciated Oil Company as geologist. He remained with

that company up until 1913, serving as chief geolo- gist for the last two years. In 1913 he resigned from the Association to go with the General Petro- leum Company, resigning this position in 1914 to become chief petroleum technologist with the United States, and to organize the petroleum section of the Bureau of Mines. He resigned this position the lat- ter part of 1906 to become the assistant general man- ager of the Empire Gas and Fuel Company at Bartlesville, Oklahoma. When Mr. M. L. Requa in 1917 organized the oil division of the fuel adminis- tration, he requested Mr. Williams to assist him, as a dollar a year man, in this work. His duties con- sisted in assisting Mr. T. A. O'Donnell in produc- tion matters representing the oil industry on the re- quirement section of the War Industries Board; dur- ing the first six months he handled questions of priority for the oil industry, assisted in the deter- mination of fair prices for petroleum products dur- ing the war period; in addition he served as technical advisor of the oil division of the fuel administra- tion; served as one of the two representatives of this country on the Inter-Allied Petroleum Commis- sion, which determined the specifications and re- quirements of petroleum products used by the Allies during the war. He remained at Washington, D. C., until the close of the war, at which time he became assistant to the president and vice president of operations of the oil and gas subsidiaries of the City Service Company with headquarters in New York. In 1921 he became vice president of the Pierce Oil Corporation of New York, in charge of production, oil purchases and refineries, holding that office until the fall of 1922. He came to Texas and Houston in July, 1923, becoming president of the White Oil Corporation, taking active part in the reorganiza- tion, and becoming president of the United Central Oil Corporation and on June 1st, 1925, when the consolidation and reorganization was completed, he became president of the Crown Central Petroleum Corporation.

Mr. Williams was married at San Francisco, Cali- fornia, in 1905 to Miss Winifred Wright, a native of California. Mr. and Mrs. Williams have three chil- dren, Hope, Margaret and Richard Williams, and re- side in Houston. Mr. Williams is a member of the American Institute of Mining and Metal Engineers, the American Petroleum Institute, the Mid-Continent Oil and Gas Association, the Bankers, Lotos and Bonnie Briar Clubs, in New York. Since coming to Houston, Mr. Williams has given special study to the petroleum situation in this section and has won the esteem of the oil fraternity as an executive and technologist.

HOMAS A. SPENCER, for many years identified with petroleum development in the coastal fields, has for some years past been associated with this industry in an executive capacity, and has made his home at Hous- ton. Mr. Spencer is assistant treasurer for The Texas Company, and is one of the managing group which has made this company one of the largest in the petroleum industry. Mr. Spencer began with The Texas Company in the early part of 1906, at Beaumont, going in as bookkeeper. Later he was sent to the New York office, as auditor, remaining there until May, 1907, when he returned to Texas, and came to Houston, with the Producers Oil Com-

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pany, as assistant treasurer. He remained with that company until 1917, when The Texas Company ab- sorbed the Producers Oil Company, at which time he was made assistant to the department agent of the production department, a position he held until August, 1917, when he became assistant treasurer, the position he now holds. Mr. Spencer has his office in the Texas Building.

Thomas A. Spencer was born at Richmond, Vir- ginia, the eighteenth of September, 1870. His father, Colonel Thomas J. Spencer, a very prominent man in that state, served in the Civil War, and was active in the commercial and civic life of his community until his death, which occurred in Vir- ginia. His mother was before her marriage Miss Mary Jane Dold, also a member of a prominent Virginia family. As a boy Mr. Spencer attended the public schools of Richmond, and at the age of sixteen years began his business career, as a bank clerk, and later as bookkeeper in various Richmond business houses. In the early part of 1905 he became attracted by the possibilities of the oil in- dustry in the Lone Star State, and came to Beau- mont, shortly going with The Texas Company. Mr. Spencer is one of the pioneer men of this organ- ization, beginning in the early days, and has made his way from the bottom, almost, to a position entailing heavy responsibilities, and is an exacting business and executive character.

Mr. Spencer was married at Montgomery, Ala- bama, in 1909, to Miss Louise Chesnutt, a native of Nashville, Tennessee. Mr. and Mrs. Spencer have one child, Mary Louise, and reside at 1116 Haw- thorne Avenue. Mr. Spencer is a member of the Houston Country Club. He is active in civic work, taking a deep interest in the advancement of Hous- ton, and is a substantial citizen in every respect.

ORACE B. SIMCOX, who has been active in petroleum development for a decade and upwards, and who was connected with the Texas Company from 1912 until 1924, is now connected with the Continental Oil Company, with headquarters in Denver, Colorado.

Horace B. Simcox was born at Venango City, Pennsylvania, the third of September, 1875. His father, S. Simcox, a native of Pennsylvania, was one of the real pioneers of the oil industry in Penn- sylvania, beginning as a wildcat operator in 1877, in Western Pennsylvania, and spending the rest of his life as a wildcat operator in that State. Mr. Simcox's mother, prior to her marriage Miss Sarah Anderson of Pennsylvania, is also deceased. Mr. Simcox spent his boyhood in his native State, at- tending Grove City College of Grove City, Penn- sylvania, and in 1893, at the age of eighteen, began in the bullion field of that State as a tool dresser, working there until 1901. In that year he went to Mexico, spending that, and the year following, in the Vera Cruz district, drilling wildcat wells. 1902 Mr. Simcox returned to Pennsylvania, going

In with the Manufacturers Light and Heat Company of Claireton, Pennsylvania. After putting their gas system in order he came to Texas, when the Spindle Top field came in, and went with the J. M. Guffey Petroleum Company, and was ganger, shipper and scout for that company until 1910. He then went with the Producers Oil Company, as scout out of Shreveport, Louisiana, and later went with the

Koster Oil Company as field superintendent. After a year he went back to the Producers and while with them the name was changed to the Texas Company, and he remained with this company until 1924.

Mr. Simcox was married at Mooringport, Louis- iana, the twelfth of September, 1911, to Miss Peyton Croom of Louisiana, and the daughter of W. H. B. Croom. Mr. and Mrs. Simcox have three children- Sarah, Mina and Gene. During the time Mr. Simcox resided in Houston he was a member of the River Oaks Country Club, and is a Mason, Blue Lodge, Mooringport, Louisiana, thirty-second degree Scot- tish Rite, and a member of the Shreveport, Louis- iana, Temple.

OHN F. SCOTT, of Houston, Texas, has had an interesting business career, which began when he was fifteen years of age. On Jan- uary 1, 1914, Mr. Scott established the In- surance Agency of John F. Scott and Company, which he owns and operates, and has built up a large business in his chosen line. He writes all kinds of insurance and represents foremost companies of the United States. He is General Agent for the United States Fidelity Guaranty Company, Maryland In- surance Company and other well known companies. A well trained staff of seven people assist in the operation of the offices of John F. Scott and Com- pany, which are located at 502 Bankers Mortgage Building. Mr. Scott has been a resident of Houston for more than thirty years and is well known and popular in this city and throughout South Texas. He started his career in the business world in a cotton office and remained in this line of work for some time, when he changed to the railroad service, and after a few years spent in the various branches of the railroad service, he became associated with a steamship line. He began his career in the insurance business as a bookkeeper for the United States Fi- delity and Guaranty Company in 1910, and in 1914 took over the business of this Company, in this terri- tory, as their General Agent. He has added other companies, as the class and amount of business has increased, until today he has one of the leading in- surance businesses of Houston.

Mr. Scott was born at St. Louis, Missouri, on March 17, 1884. He came to Houston as a boy, and his education was obtained in the public schools of this city.

Mr. Scott was married at Houston on September 26, 1921, to Miss Joseph Adams Harris, a native Texan, and a member of a prominent family at Temple. They have three children, Emily Winifred, John F., Jr., and Parker Harris. Mr. and Mrs. Scott reside at 5111 Austin Street, Mr. Scott is a mem- ber of the Houston Club and the Kiwanis Club and is active in both of these organizations. He is also a member of civic organizations of Houston and takes a keen interest in any project having as its object the progress and advancement of his city and State. During the period in which Mr. Scott has been engaged in the insurance business, he has ever been an exponent of its highest standards, and has exerted an influence toward this end. He is en- thusiastic as to the future of Houston, and next to his business, he is ambitious for this city, which he believes will soon lead the entire Southwest in busi- ness and population.

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OHN A. DEERING, independent Oil oper- ator and president of the Traders Oil Com- pany, has for more than a decade been active in the development of the oil industry of the state. Mr. Deering came to Houston in 1911 from Arizona and has offices at 418-419 West Build- ing. He is operating in various coastal fields, Hum- ble, Markham, North Dayton and East Texas, and has production and valuable leases that are being developed. Other officers of the Traders Oil Com- pany are Walter F. Brown, vice president and gen- eral counsel, and Joseph F. Meyer, Jr., treasurer, who is also vice president of the Houston National Bank.

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New encyclopedia of Texas, volume 1, Part 94

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