USA > Texas > New encyclopedia of Texas, volume 1 > Part 96
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Mr. Cohn was married the twenty-fifth of Septem- ber, 1916, to Miss Perle Epstein, daughter of the late M. H. Epstein, wholesale coffee dealer of Hous- ton. They have one child, Mary Ellen, and make their home at 1410 Crawford Street. The family attends the Jewish Temple. Mr. Cohn is a mem- ber of the Chamber of Commerce, and fraternally is a Mason, Hallettsville Blue Lodge, Scottish Rite at Galveston and the Shrine at Houston.
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1
MEN OF TEXAS
AN D. ORR came to Houston fifteen years ago and since that time has been identified with manufacturing interests here, recently having been made president of one of the large show case manufacturing concerns of the city. The Houston Show Case and Manufacturing Com- pany, Incorporated, of which Mr. Orr is president, was established in 1900 and a year later incor- porated. The firm had a small beginning, but by consistent endeavor and a careful attention to every detail of the work turned out, has met with a rapid growth and expansion. The company today is doing a $500,000.00 business annually, and has a capital and surplus of $150,000.00. The result is a business that enjoys the reputation of a product second to none, and a record of installations, manufactured in their own plant, that places the firm at the head of the list of show case manufacturers in Texas.
The Houston Show Case and Manufacturing Com- pany has built the fixtures for such corporations and institutions as the South Texas Commercial National Bank of Houston, Harris-Hahlo Company, Levy Brothers, Foley Brothers, Shotwell's and many others of that kind. They also have made and in- stalled the fixtures for stores in all parts of Texas, Louisiana, Oklahoma, Arkansas, New Mexico, and Arizona.
As an example of the volume of high class work turned out by them, the following might be cited. In 1923 they designed and manufactured twenty- seven complete bank installations. The plant is lo- cated at 3616 Washington Avenue, where they occu- py a modern building with seventy-five thousand feet of floor space, and employ sixty-five men, with eight salesmen on the road. They specialize in bank, office, drug store and jewelry store fixtures, and also modern school equipment. The designing de- partment is looked after by experts in this profes- sion, who keep abreast with the best and latest ideas in this line.
Dan D. Orr was born in Missouri, in 1882, son of W. D. Orr, a merchant of that state. He was edu- cated in the public schools of his native state, and of Illinois, where the family later removed. After leav- ing school, and until 1908, he was variously en- gaged in business in the north, but in that year came to Texas, locating at Houston. He went with the Houston Show Case and Manufacturing Company, Inc. upon his arrival in the city and four years later was made manager of the business. He now owns a controlling interest in the firm and has been made president of the corporation.
Mr. Orr was married in Illinois, in 1907, to Miss Guinam, a native of Missouri.
B ARNEY B. MORTON, manager of the Rice Hotel, of Houston, is perhaps the most popular and widely known hotel man in Texas, where, with the exception of a few years spent in Oregon and Oklahoma, he has been engaged in the hotel business all his life. The Rice Hotel, the finest hostelry in South Texas, is owned by the Rice Hotel Company, of which Jesse H. Jones, Houston's foremost citizen, is the presi- dent, with the following prominent Houstonians as vice-presidents: N. E. Meador, Captain James A. Baker and John T. Scott. The Rice Hotel has six hundred rooms, all of which are outside, with a magnificent dining room, lunch room and coffee
shop. This hotel has a roof garden that is regarded as being far ahead of anything of the kind in the South, which is one hundred and fifty feet by two hundred feet in size, with a seating capacity of five hundred and remains open from June 1st to October 15th of each year. The beautiful and spa- cious ball room of the Rice Hotel accommodates, with ease, five hundred couples, and is ornate with- out additional decorations. This great hostelry has many attractive features not found in hotels of other cities the size of Houston and larger. Among them is the swimming pool, which is kept at all times freshly filled with water from their own ar- tesian well, and is free to guests of the hotel. The Rice Hotel serves luncheons to twenty-three busi- ness men's clubs each week and feed an average of twenty-five hundred at these luncheons during each week. On October 30th, 1923, one of the fin- est cafeterias in the South was opened in the base- ment of the Rice. In January, 1924, a laundry was added to the establishment which makes it a com- plete plant.
A native Texan, Mr. Morton was born in Sher- man in 1880. His father, Jim Morton, himself a native of the Lone Star State, was a well-known stockman of North and West Tevas. His mother was Miss Vina Simpson, a native Texan also. His maternal grandfather, Wash Simpson, a native of Kentucky, was one of the very early pioneers of Texas, coming before the war. He entered the Civil War from this State, and during the struggle between the States was paroled home to take care of the families bereft of fathers and brothers. After the close of the War, he settled at the headwaters of the Brazos river and became the owner of vast ranch lands in Grayson County. There are many old school houses on the plains at the present time built by Mr. Simpson. Later he removed to Gray- son County, where he built the Buck Horn Tavern, famous in song and story of the early days in Texas. This good man gave away thousands of acres of land in West Texas to early settlers in or- der to get that section of the State settled and the soil put in cultivation. Mr. Morton's educa- tion was obtained in the public schools of Sher- man.
Mr. Morton started in the hotel business as a boy in Sherman. Later he went to Portland, Ore- gon, with the Plaza Hotel, where he remained for several years. He then went to Oklahoma City as manager of the Grand Avenue Hotel. He re- signed as manager of this hotel in order to go to Fort Worth as manager of the Worth Hotel, where he remained for twelve years. He then went to Dallas with the Oriental Hotel, where he re- mained for five years, and came to Houston as manager of the Rice Hotel in June, 1918. Mr. Morton was married in Dallas in 1915 to Fay Young Trainwell, a member of a well-known Abilene fam- ily. They have two children, Mary and Wash Bryan. Mr. Morton and family reside at the Rice Hotel. In fraternal organizations, Mr. Morton is a member of the A. F. and A. M., with membership in Holland Lodge No. 1, of Houston, and the B. P. O. E., with membership in Lodge No. 124, of Fort Worth. He is auxiliary manager of the Hotel Men's Mutual Benefit Association of America and Canada. Mr. Morton is interested in the social and civic life of Houston, where he is regarded as one of the city's most progressive citizens.
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NEW ENCYCLOPEDIA OF TEXAS
EORGE A. ADAM is well known in the busi- ness circles of Houston where he is man- ager and one-half owner of Adam Bros. Company, preservers and manufacturers of pickles. Their plant is located at 2201 Railroad Street, and their business was established and in- corporated in 1917. The Adam Bros. Company own and operate the largest preserving plant of its kind in Houston. They are preservers of pickles, beans, figs, tomatoes, etc., which are packed in all sizes of glass, tin and wood containers. The cucumbers used in this pickling plant are grown in Southern Texas and Louisiana. The factory of the Adam Bros. Company is a two-story brick structure, fifty by one hundred feet in size and is conveniently lo- cated on the railroad. Fifty people are employed at this plant. They sell to the wholesale trade and to jobbers and annually do a large volume of business. Mr. Adam's brother, Charles A. Adam, is a partner and owner of one-half interest in the Adam Bros. Company at Houston. In addition to the Houston plant, the Adam Bros. Company own and operate a fig preserving plant at Alvin, Texas, which was established in 1914, and is a large and complete plant and make a very high grade product.
Mr. George A. Adam was born in Lowell, Wiscon- sin, in 1873. His father, George Adam, was a large land owner and extensive farmer of Wisconsin. His mother was Miss Caroline Sette, a member of a well known Wisconsin family. Mr. Adam's education was obtained in the public and high schools in Wisconsin.
Mr. Adam's first work and business venture was in farming, which he followed only a short time, and then entered the grain business. He remained in the grain business for two years, when he started in the preserving business. Adam Bros. have had a great deal of experience in canning vegetables in various parts of the country, and are regarded as experts in this line.
Mr. George A. Adam was married in Lowell, Wis- consin, in 1902 to Miss Augusta Kopplin, a daughter of Rev. August Kopplin, a well known minister of Wisconsin. Mr. and Mrs. Adam reside at 222 West 22nd Avenue, Houston Heights. Mr. Adam is a member of the A. F. & A. M. He takes an active interest in all matters having to do with the progress and advancement of Houston.
Mr. Charles A. Adam was also born in Lowell, Wisconsin, in 1882, and received his early education in Lowell. He was married in 1916 to Miss Clara Johnson, a native of Houston, and they have two children, Margaret and Charles A. Jr., and reside at 318 West 18th Avenue, Houston Heights.
P G. NORTHRUP is one of the younger suc- cessful oil men of South Texas, and has been engaged in the oil business since leav- ing the army at the close of the World War. Starting at the bottom as field man in charge of leases, he became Vice-President of the Hyde Production Company, and then entered the oil in- dustry as Petroleum Engineer, with offices in the Bankers Mortgage Building.
Mr. Northrup is a native Texan, and was born at Houston . on April 27th, 1895. He is a son of Dr. S. G. and Mattie Red (McClellan) Northrup. His father came to Texas from his native state, Ala- bama, some forty years ago and practised medicine in Houston for twenty years.
After attending the Houston High School, where he graduated in 1914, Mr. Northrup entered the Texas Business Institute at Houston, graduating in 1915, and later studied journalism at the University of Texas for one year. In 1917 he entered the army and was commissioned First Lieutenant and assigned to duty with the Ninetieth Division, later being transferred to the Thirty-Seventh Division. In the engagements at St. Mihiel and the Argonne he was with the trench mortars attached to the infantry and went over the top on six different occasions. In these engagements casualties among the officers totalled eighty-five per cent, and he was promoted from Lieutenant to the rank of Captain.
Receiving his discharge in 1919 he returned to Houston, and was associated with Will C. Hogg in the field at West Columbia, looking after leases for the Hogg interests until 1922, when he became iden- tified with the Hude Production Company. Later he entered the oil business on his own account. He is thoroughly posted in the production end of the oil business and regarded by his associates as an exceptionally keen judge of lease values.
Mr. Northrup is a member of the River Oaks Country Club, the American Legion, University Club and Houston Club. He is a thirty-second de- gree Scottish Rite Mason, a Knight Templar, and a member of Arabia Temple Shrine. His college fraternity is the Delta Tau Delta.
R. MILLER has recently come to Houston, and has taken an active part in commercial affairs, his especial interest being in the engraving business. Mr. Miller is Mana- ger of the Southwestern Engraving Company, of Houston. He has had charge of the Houston branch since its establishment in June, 1922, coming here to assume the managership. The Southwestern En- graving Company are makers of fine copper and zinc printing plates, and do photoengraving of all kinds. They have a modernly equipped plant at 520 Louisiana Street, at the corner of Texas, and employ fifteen expert workmen. They also have one city salesman, and one road salesman, operating in a trade territory extending throughout the Gulf Coast. The work of the Southwestern Engraving Company is exceptionally good, showing the mark of pains- taking, careful workmanship, and they have built an extensive business on the merits of their product. The officers of the company are J. J. Walden, Presi- dent, Ben T. Scott, Vice-President, and J. C. Hooper, Secretary and Treasurer.
Mr. Miller was born at Henrietta, in Clay County, Texas, the twelfth of January, 1897, son of A. D. Miller, a native of Sherman, and now living at Fort Worth, where he is well known as a photographer. His mother, before her marriage, Miss Sarah Mar- garet Elkin, is a native of the Blue Grass State. Mr. Miller was educated in the public schools of Sher- man, and after leaving school began work there, in 1914, and for the ensuing two years was with the Chamber of Commerce in that city. In 1916 he re- moved to Fort Worth and went with the Southwest- ern Engraving Company, remaining there until the establishment of the branch at Houston, in June, 1922, at which time he came here to take charge of the plant.
Mr. Miller was married at Fort Worth, the sev- enth of June, 1922, to Miss Myrtle Smith, a native of Corsicana, Texas.
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MEN OF TEXAS
W. JAMES, well known furniture dealer of Houston, has had, since becoming pres- ident and general manager of the James Furniture Company, Inc., an important part in shaping the destinies of that company. The James Furniture Company was established in 1908 and incorporated in 1917. This firm, located at 700 Milam Street, occupies four floors and has a floor space of 30,000 square feet. They also have a large warehouse, located at the corner of Spring and Colorado Streets, on the M. K. & T. Railroad, with a floor space of 40,000 square feet. The James Furniture Company sells to the retail trade only and carry a large and complete stock ranging from the ordinary furniture for the family of average means to the finest and most artistic kinds. Some high-class artisans are numbered among this firm's thirty-five employees. Other officers of the James Furniture Company, Inc., are F. L. Hebert, vice president, and Warner T. Moore, secretary and treasurer.
A native Texan, Mr. James was born in Hill County, on March 26th, 1882. His father, W. R. James, a native of Alabama, came to Texas in the early sixties with his parents, who settled in Hill County and engaged in farming, which he continued for many years but is now with the James Furni- ture Company, Inc.
His mother was Miss Martha Burnett, a native of Mississippi. The Burnett family came to Texas in the Sixties and located in Hill County. Mr. James' education was obtained in the public schools of Hub- bard, Texas.
Mr. James came to Houston in 1900 and was employed by various furniture firms, among them being the Haverty Furniture Company, with whom he remained for two years as salesman and col- lector. He resigned this position in order to enter business for himself. Mr. James was married in Houston in 1904 to Miss Mattie Wilson, a member of a well known Smithville Texas family. They have two children, Evelyn and Roy. Mr. and Mrs. James reside at 622 White Oak Street. Mr. James is a member of the Knights of Pythias, the Dokies, Salesmanship Club, Houston Chamber of Commerce, the Advertising Club, and member of Lions Club, which he represented as delegate to the 1923 Inter- national Convention at Atlantic City. In the midst of his private work, Mr. James finds opportunity to give his time and assistance to many movements of a public nature for the civic improvement of Houston.
R S. PETERSEN, district sales manager at Houston for the Graver Corporation, came here in 1922 to represent this old estab- lished company, and is now firmly in- trenched as a business man who has the welfare of his adopted city at heart. Mr. Petersen has his offices in the West Building, and has a well organ- ized and efficient office and sales force. The Graver Company was established in 1857, and has its head- quarters in East Chicago, with branch offices at New York, Chicago, Tulsa and Houston, the Houston office having been established in 1922. The Graver Company manufactures and distributes water soft- ening and purifying equipment, refinery equipment and similar products, two especially well known makes handled by this company being the Jenkins Cracking process and the Schultz Vacuum process.
Mr. Petersen has complete charge of sales in the Houston trade territory, which includes all of Texas and Louisiana.
R. S. Petersen was born at Chicago, Illinois, the sixth of August, 1897, son of A. E. Petersen, a na- tive of Illinois, in which state he resides. Mr. Pe- · tersen was educated in the schools of Illinois, grad- uating from Northwestern University, Illinois. Dur- ing the World War he served in the United States Army, stationed at Rockford, Illinois. Prior to his connection with his present company he spent some time with the Electric Bond and Share Company of New York City, and with the Universal Oil Prod- ucts Company of Chicago.
Mr. Petersen was married at Waukegan, Illinois, to Miss Clara Kaufmann, daughter of the late J. Kaufmann, a native of Denmark. Mr. and Mrs. Petersen reside at the Sam Houston Hotel and have one child, R. S. Petersen, Jr. Mr. Petersen is a Mason, Lodge No. 141, Chicago, belongs to Sigma Chi, and to the Houston Chamber of Commerce and the Lutheran Church.
ARRY DEFFEBACH, who has recently come to Houston, has since his arrival in this city been identified with lumber ac- tivities, as manager of one of the old es- tablished lumber companies of the city. Mr. Deffe- bach came to Houston in September, 1922, to take charge of the Burton Lumber Company, established in 1905, and since that time actively engaged in lumber and construction work. The Burton Lum- ber Company does both a wholesale and retail busi- ness, and the organization includes a financing de- partment that enables the company to make building loans, and build and sell homes on monthly payments. The yards occupy one block with railroad frontage, at the corner of Preston and Dowling Streets. A complete stock of all kinds of lumber and building material is on hand, and buildings comprising seven- ty-five thousand square feet furnish ample housing for the stock. The Burton Lumber Company has fifteen employees. The officers of the company are: Sam Darnell, president; Willard Burton, vice presi- dent, and W. B. Ferguson, secretary and treasurer.
Mr. Deffebach came to Texas in 1915, locating at Ft. Worth, where he was with the Burton-Lingo Lumber Company until coming to Houston to take charge of the Burton Lumber Company of this city. During the recent war he was in service, enlisting in the army in June, 1917, at Camp Travis, in the Medical Corps. He was commissioned officer, and went overseas in June, 1918, serving three months at the front in St. Mihiel, the Meuse and Argonne. He returned to the States in June, 1919, and was dis- charged.
Mr. Deffebach was born at White Wood, South Dakota, the twenty-first of May, 1891, son of Dan and Hattie Ann (Burton) Deffebach. He was edu- cated in the public schools of White Wood, and after graduating from high school there attended North- ern Industrial College in South Dakota. He spent two years in a bank, after which he came to Texas and has since been in the lumber business.
Mr. Deffebach was married at St. Louis, in 1922, to Miss Elizabeth Ward. They make their home in Houston, at 1401 Rosalie Street. Mr. Deffebach is a member of the University Club, and is a Ma- son, Scottish Rite and a member of Moslah Temple Shrine at Ft. Worth.
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NEW ENCYCLOPEDIA OF TEXAS
ILLIAM O. ANSLEY, Jr., senior member of the firm of Ansley, Fox and Company, cot- ton merchants and exporters, has spent his entire business life in the cotton industry, having entered the cotton business more than seven- teen years ago in his father's office. Mr. Ansley knew at that time that in this way he would have an opportunity to learn a business which will always be the greatest in the Southland. His close applica- tion to details has made him one of the authorities on cotton, and he is so considered by those who have business dealings with him. The firm of Ansley, Fox and Company, with offices at 1401 Cotton Ex- change Building, Houston, was organized in 1923, and they handle annually approximately 50,000 bales of cotton in the domestic and European markets, and employ four people in their Houston office. The other members of the firm are Messrs. W. G. and H. S. Fox of Liverpool, England.
A native Texan, Mr. Ansley was born at Galves- ton, May 29th, 1890. His father, William O. Ansley, also a native of the Lone Star State, has been for half a century an active figure in the cotton busi- ness of the country, at New Orleans, Galveston and Houston. He has now retired from active business pursuits. His mother, prior to her marriage, was Miss Emily Margaret Sheffield, a member of a prominent Texas family. His education was ob- tained in the public schools of Houston, and imme- diately after leaving school, he entered the cotton business of his father. His father was for many years associated with Briscoe, Fox and Company of Liverpool and Houston, and the present firm is an outgrowth of these two concerns.
Mr. Ansley was married at Hot Springs, Arkansas, February 20th, 1917, to Miss Margaret Sisley, a daughter of Alfred J. Sisley of England, who re- sided in Hot Springs for several years. They have two children, Margaret and Alice Patricia. Mr. and Mrs. Ansley reside at 306 Bremond Street. Mr. Ansley is a member of the A. F. & A. M. and has attained to the 32nd degree in the Scottish Rite Body of this order, is a member of Arabia Temple Shrine. His Blue Lodge affiliation is with Holland Lodge No. 1 of Houston. He is a member of the Houston Cotton Exchange, and is a director and active worker in this organization and is a member of Christ Epis- copal Church of Houston.
E. FISHER for upwards of a quarter of a century has been identified with contracting and mercantile activities of Houston, where he has interests of wide scope, and enjoys the esteem of his fellow citizens. Mr. Fisher is presi- dent and general manager of the Modern Plumbing and Electric Company, established in 1901, and in- corporated in February, 1910. This firm engages in all branches of electric and plumbing work, hand- ling an extensive retail trade in plumbing and elec- tric equipment, and contracting for plumbing, elec- tric and heating work. They make a specialty of fine residence work, handling a majority of business and apartment contracts. The firm occupies a modern well-located building at 910 Fannin Street, with floor space of 25x100 feet, and yard of 50x100 feet. They employ fourteen trained men, and the officials, in addition to the president, Mr. Fisher, are C. A. Fisher, secretary, and A. F. Fisher, treasurer.
Mr. Fisher was born in Polk County, Texas, in 1881, son of Charles N. Fisher and Elizabeth Ann
Fisher. He was educated in the Polk County Public Schools, and later after the removal of the family to Houston in 1890, attended the Houston schools, graduating from the school there. Mr. Fisher first engaged in the lumber and sawmill business for three years, and then in a retail racket store for three years, after which he entered his present busi- ness.
Mr. Fisher was married at Houston, in 1915, to Miss Bessie Davison, daughter of Mr. V. H. Davison, who for over forty years has been engaged in the coal and grain business at Galveston. Mr. and Mrs. Fisher have one of the attractive residences at Hous- ton, located at 4907 Caroline Boulevard. They have one child, Aline B. Mr. Fisher takes an active in- terest in civic affairs and community development, and is a member of various clubs, such as the Rotary Club, the Lumberman's Club, the Chamber of Commerce, and the Real Estate Board.
ILLIAM R. ARCHER a few years ago be- came identified with the city of Houston, and since that time has become known as one of the most enterprising brokers in the city, establishing and building up a brokerage busi- ness that is one of the largest in Harris County. The Beatty Archer Company of which Mr. Archer is half owner and manager, are brokers and manufac- turers' agents, representing some of the largest national concerns.
They deal in car load lots of all kinds of hay, grain and mill stuffs, cotton seed products, produce of all kinds, green vegetables, canned goods, fruits, eggs, fish, meats and groceries of all descriptions.
Mr. W. A. Logan is manager of the grocery and canned goods department. Mr. E. J. Christinan is manager of the produce department, Mr. C. B. Archer is manager of the flour department with Mr. W. R. Archer controlling the destinies of the grain, hay and mill feeds department.
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