New encyclopedia of Texas, volume 1, Part 99

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

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Mr. Burchfield is foremost in every movement for the development of his community and always ready to assist in any worthy cause, giving freely of his services and means to this end. He takes an active interest in educational affairs and was for eight years a member of the Harrisburg Indepen- dent School District Board, during his administra- tion taking an important part in developing this district, with twenty-five hundred pupils enrolled and six modern school buildings in the district.

Mr. Burchfield was born the twenty-sixth of October, 1872, in Alabama, of which state his par- ents were natives. He went with his family to Flor- ida at the age of seven and was educated in that

state, attending the public schools. Shortly after attaining his majority he came to Galveston, Texas, making the trip by boat. In that city he engaged in the manufacture of roof paint for metal roofs and wood preservatives, in which industry his brother- in-law, H. E. Percival, was engaged. Later he went in the insurance business and after this went to Houston and organized the Percival Wood Preserv- ing Company, which he sold. He was a reporter on the Galveston News with Colonel Hamp Cook for a period of three years and later went to Beaumont where he made the first city directory of that city, at the time of the oil boom. In 1906 he removed to Houston, which has since been his home and busi- ness headquarters and where he has been identified with real estate transactions as previously sketched.

Mr. Burchfield was married at Dallas, Texas, the fifth of June, 1900, to Miss Inez B. Packard, a na- tive of New Hampshire, and for several terms a school teacher at Pauls Valley, Oklahoma. Mr. and Mrs. Burchfield make their home in Magnolia Park, and have had a family of six children, five of whom, Ralph W., Leslie B., Ray Packard, and twins, Ber- tram and Beulah, survive, Villa being deceased.

Mr. Burchfield is a prominent worker in the Chamber of Commerce, and has been a member of this organization for many years. He belongs to the Baptist Church, which he actively supports. Fraternally he is an Elk, Lodge No. 161, and a Knight of Pythias. Mr. Burchfield is a man of pleasing personality and has a talent for affairs, combined with a keen business judgment and skill in the accomplishment of large endeavors. He is one of those men who take their place among the real builders of a city and much that he has done in a business way has been toward this end. The Burchfield Brothers are active members of the Houston Real Estate Board.

C. EHLEN, one of the recent recruits to the business world at Houston, has been actively associated with one of the large oil companies maintaining headquarters at Houston since coming here, and is held in high esteem by business men of the city. Mr. Ehlen is first vice president of the United Central Oil Cor- poration, a company incorporated the first of Jan- uary, 1924, succeeding the White Oil Corporation, and taking over the interests formerly held by that company. The United Central Oil Corporation is one of the leading oil companies to maintain home offices in Houston, and holds production in the various fields of Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Louisiana and Kentucky, having important hold- ings in these fields. The company has offices in the Binz Building, and has as officers a group of men well known in petroleum circles, who are, William A. Williams, president; M. C. Ehlen, the subject of this sketch, vice president, and N. N. Oille, vice president and treasurer.

M. C. Ehlen was born at Salem, Oregon, the sixth of April, 1882, the son of L. V. and Catherine Ehlen. L. V. Ehlen, a native of Oregon, and for many years engaged in the insurance business in that state, is one of the political leaders of Oregon, and has held a state office on several occasions dur- ing the course of his career. M. C. Ehlen spent his early years in Oregon, attending the public schools at Salem, and also attending preparatory college

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there. He then went to San Francisco, California, where he took a commercial course in preparation for his active business career. In 1904 he went with the Guggenheim interests, as engineer, and was associated with the New York office until 1918. At that time Mr. Ehlen went with the Henry L. Doherty oil interests, going in the office of the Empire Oil Company as engineer, in the Oil and Gas Depart- ment, remaining there until 1921. In that year he became associated with the Pierce Oil Corporation of New York, as assistant to the president, William A. Williams, who is now with the United Central Oil Corporation, holding the office of president, Mr. Ehlen being vice president. Later, in the late fall of 1923, Mr. Ehlen came to Houston, going with the United Central Oil Corporation when this company took over the interests of the White Oil Corporation.

M. C. Ehlen was married in New York City, the eighteenth of January, 1907, to Miss Frances Savage, a native of England. Mr. Ehlen now main- tains his residence at Houston. He is a member of the American Institute of Mining Engineers and of the American Petroleum Association, and is wide- ly known among oil men of the country.

AMUEL J. HINDMAN, at the age of thirty- nine years, is a pioneer in the oil fields of Texas, where he has developed various fields. Mr. Hindman came to Houston in 1902 from Corsicana, and since that time has been active in the oil fields of South Texas; his office is located at 1117 Second National Bank Building, but he spends a great deal of his time in the different fields. He is operating in the South Coastal fields, mostly at Barbers Hill, where he has production and is actively engaged in drilling more wells. Mr. Hindman was the producer of the first oil in paying quantities at Barbers Hill, which was brought in in 1917, and he has a three-hundred-acre lease in this territory, which is very valuable. At one time his company, the Hindman-Pugh Oil Company, had a production of 2,500 barrels per day from the Bar- bers Hill field and which they later sold to Eastern interests. Mr. Hindman also drilled the first pro- ducing oil well at Brenham, Texas, in 1914.

A native of Texas, Mr. Hindman was born at Mar- lin, Falls County, Nov. 9, 1884. His father, R. C. Hindman, also a native of the Lone Star State, was for many years engaged in farming in Falls and Navarro Counties, but is now residing in Sour Lake. He was a member of an old Texas family. His mother was Miss Susan Nance, a member of a prominent Texas family, who came to this State soon after the close of the Civil War. Mr. Hindman went with the Texas Company at Sour Lake in 1902, and was engaged in the field work of this company for seven years. In 1909 he began operating for himself at Goose Creek, and with his brother, G. W. Hindman, produced and piped the first oil out of this field. He remained as an operator in Goose Creek until 1915, when he pioneered at Barbers Hill. At one time he owned everything that is producing oil except two tracts in Goose Creek, and sold all his interests there and went to Barbers Hill in 1915.

Mr. Hindman is also regarded as one of the pio- neers in prospecting for sulphur and has drilled test wells for sulphur in Matagorda County and at Bar- bers Hill. Recently he sold his sulphur rights at Barbers Hill to the Texas Gulf Sulphur Company, and is continuing the development there for them.

Mr. Hindman was married in Houston, July 10, 1912, to Miss Mary B. Staples, a native of Houston, and a daughter of J. M. Staples (deceased) pioneer in Houston real estate and cattle business, having owned the stock yards in Houston, besides outside cattle interests. They have three children, Sam Staples, Virginia Ann and Louis Duncan. Mr. Hind- mand is a member of the A. F. and A. M. and the River Oaks Country Club. He is a consistent mem- ber of the Methodist Church. Mr. Hindman is re- garded as an expert in the oil industry, and his wealth of experience is a great aid to his further success in this business.

EORGE W. FOSTER of Houston, Texas, has been associated with The Texas Com- pany since February 23rd, 1910, when he began with this company as a clerk. He was promoted several times and in 1918 was made assistant treasurer. He is in charge of the division of State Reports and Texas, Southern territory, Department of Government Reports. His office is located in The Texas Company Building. Prior to joining forces with The Texas Company here, Mr. Foster was for ten years in the railroad service in various capacities, with the International and Great Northern Railroad. After finishing his edu- cation, he started his business career in the employ of the International and Great Northern Railroad, at Georgetown, Texas, and later went to Laredo in the service of the same road, and still later was transferred to San Antonio. He was transferred to Houston after a short time spent in San Antonio, and served as freight agent in this city, until he resigned in order to become associated with The Texas Company.

A native Texan, Mr. Foster was born at Nelson- ville, Austin County, on June 4th, 1881. His father, Dr. George W. Foster, a native of Illinois, came to Texas before the Civil War and located in Aus- tin County, and in 1886 removed to Georgetown, where he was known as one of the most prominent physicians of his time. Dr. Foster continued to reside at Georgetown until his death in 1921, at the age of eighty-seven years. His mother (also de- ceased) was Miss Mattie Hoskins, a member of a pioneer Texas family. His early education was obtained in the public schools of Georgetown, Texas, after which he entered the Southwestern University and graduated from that institution in the class of 1901 with the B. A. degree.

Mr. Foster was married at Houston on October 30th, 1906, to Miss Kate Stephens, a native Texan, having been born at Columbus but reared and edu- cated in Houston. They have two children-Randal and Katherine. Mr. and Mrs. Foster reside at 1209 Rosalie Avenue. Mr. Foster is a member and past master of Temple Lodge No. 4, A. F. and A. M., of Houston, and is a 32nd degree Scottish Rite Mason. He is also a member of the River Oaks Country Club. He has always taken an active interest in the civic life of his city and is an ardent worker for the progress and advancement of Hous- ton and of Texas. Mr. Foster is popular in the business circles of the city, where he has a host of friends. He is also popular with his associates and the executives of the Texas Company, where he is regarded as one of the best posted men in South Texas in his branch of the oil business.

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NEW ENCYCLOPEDIA OF TEXAS

RED M. DOOLEY is well known in the oil circles of the state as an oil man who has taken an active and important part in the development of the oil resources of the Lone Star State especially in and around Pierce Junction. Mr. Dooley has valuable holdings in this section and also looks after the Dooley interests there. At Pierce Junction the Dooley family owns a number of tracts of land, an eighty-three acre tract, a fifty- three acre tract, a thirty-three acre tract, a twenty- five acre tract and a twenty-eight acre tract. Of these the fifty-three acre tract is considered the most valuable oil land and has been the source of an immense volume of revenue to the family. Mr. Dooley has an individual holding of sixteen acres in this territory which he has under lease to the Humble Oil and Refining Company, retaining a one sixth royalty for himself. The field at Pierce Junc- tion is one of the big surprises to the operators and was at one time abandoned, the various companies holding leases turning them back. Then Old Methu- selah, which had started as a gasser for ninety days, developed oil, showing three hundred barrels for several months, suddenly blowing in to three thou- sand barrels per day of its own accord. Activities were soon resumed in this section and recent sur- veys show oil to be found in the sand at varying depths. There are now four producing wells on the Dooley interests and the amount of drilling being increased rapidly. The Humble and Gulf Companies now control this field, which Mr. Dooley considers one of the best shallow oil pools around Houston. He considers as especially promising the Dooley twenty-five and eighteen acre tracts. Mr. Dooley also has lands in the Red River territory where drilling is now going on and is watching with in- terest the progress being made in that field. He has extensive holdings in Haskell County, where he considers the oil prospects good. He also owns four- teen hundred acres at Humble, in the Victo-Blanco survey, where he considers there is every possibility of finding oil in great commercial quantities and where he expects early activity. Mr. Dooley con- ducts his operations from Pierce Junction, keeping his home in Houston, which city he takes an active interest in. He has given careful attention to the accounts of oil operations and developments in the Lone Star State and is one of the best informed men of Houston on those fields in which he is particularly interested.

Mr. Dooley is a native of Houston, having been born in this city on the twenty-seventh day of Jan- uary, 1872. His father, Henry H. Dooley, was one of the pioneers of this section and came to Houston before the Civil War. He was born in the state of New York where he learned the hatter's trade, later going to St. Louis and from there to New Orleans, which was then only a village. He came to Texas from New Orleans by steamboat, at that time there being no railroad, and for some time operated a store at Dallas. At that time all his goods had to be brought by ox team from the Buffalo Bayou, trav- eling overland, and meeting with frequent disaster due to the many Indians who preyed about the country. After operating this store for a time, Mr. Dooley came to Houston and at the beginning of the Civil War was operating a hat and gents' furnishing store. He served during the war as a lieutenant in the Confederate army. After the war he went into

the real estate business at Houston, accumulating much property. The Dooley family were among those pioneer families who took such an important part in the development of this city and have beer associated with progress here since the earliest days. Mr. Fred Dooley's grandmother Bowman owned the property where the Dooley Building now stands. His mother, Mrs. Frances F. Bowman Dooley, who died in 1913 at the age of seventy-three, was born in the old homestead that stood on this plot of ground, which has been in the family for more than eighty years and which was the birthplace of the eight Dooley brothers and sisters, of which family Fred M. Dooley is one. These brothers and sisters are W. B. Dooley, of Houston, Mrs. C. W. Cahoun, of Chicago, Mrs. David Coull (deceased), E. A. Dooley, of Houston, C. O. Dooley, of Houston, J. Arthur Dooley, of San Francisco, California, Charles M. Dooley, who died in 1923, and Fred M. Dooley, the subject of this sketch. The father, Henry H. Dooley, died in 1905.

Fred M. Dooley spent his boyhood in the old home- stead at Houston, attending the schools of his na- tive city and later gaining his first business exper- ience here. He was engaged in various lines until after the death of his father, in 1905, at which time he began his real estate activities and around the same time, when oil was discovered on some of the Dooley holdings, turned his attention to this lucrative industry.

Mr. Dooley was married at Houston, Thanksgiving Day, 1921, to Miss Matilda Lucas, daughter of Wil- liam H. Lucas, who is now living and taking an ac- tive participation in business at the advanced age of eighty-seven years. Mr. and Mrs. Dooley have one of the most attractive homes in Houston, at 2415 Hamilton Avenue, and take an active part in the various social and civic activities of the city. Mr. Dooley had done much for the advancement of Houston, contributing freely to the various move- ments organized to secure advantages that will pro- mote civic growth.

H. HORTON, one of the pioneers of the oil industry of Texas, is well known to prac- tically all the large oil companies as a ca- pable superintendent and expert driller of oil wells. Mr. Horton resided in Angleton, Texas, for more than twenty years, and has been engaged in drilling water, gas and oil wells in the coastal fields for many years. For several years he was engaged in drilling at Stratton Ridge, where a great deal of exploration work has been done. Mr. Hor- ton is in the employ of the Humble Oil and Refin- ing Company, and engaged at this time in drilling operations in Kaufman County, Texas. When Mr. Horton began his drilling career, he confined his operations to the drilling of water wells in the vi- cinity of Angleton, and when oil was first discov- ered at Humble he went to that field and began active work in the drilling of oil wells there, where he remained for one year. He then drilled three wildcat wells in Brazoria County and one at Dan- bury. He then became associated with the Sinclair Gulf Company at Damon Mound, and remained in this field for two years, after which he went with the Humble Oil and Refining Company, and was sent by this company to West Columbia, where he drilled many wells, and has been in the employ of this company for the past seven years. He also

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drilled wells at Pierce Junction, Hull, Kingsville, and in practically all of the coastal oil fields.

A native Texan, Mr. Horton was born at Denison on January 29th, 1886. His father, Sam B. Horton, was a well known mechanic of Denison and owned and operated a large machine shop at that place. His education was obtained in the public schools of Angleton, Texas.

Mr. Horton was married at Angleton in 1911 to Miss Lida Walters, a native of the Lone Star State and a daughter of Mike Walters, well known busi- ness man of South Texas. They have one son, Stanley, five years of age. Mr. Horton is one of the most popular oil drillers in the fields and has made a host of friends among the officials and em- ployees of the large oil companies, who regard him as an efficient and expert man in his line of work.

D F. BRYAN came to Houston in 1916 from Brazoria County and engaged in the oil busi- ness, and in 1923 organized the D. F. Bryan Production Company, of which he is Presi- dent, with a capitalization of $750,000. This company operates in the coastal fields and have valuable acreage, most of which is in the proven area of Damon Mound, some semi-proven acreage in Strat- ton Ridge and land in fee in the Hull field, and are doing some development work in their different holdings. Mr. Bryan has for several years owned considerable of the productive area at Damon Mound which has been operated by the Sinclair Oil and Gas Company, the Humble Oil and Refining Company and the Southern Petroleum Company. Some of his holdings, however, he has never leased for develop- ment but has reserved them for the basis of the D. F. Bryan Production Company. With the vast ex- perience of Mr. Bryan and his associates in the various branches of the oil industry, the future is bright for the D. F. Bryan Production Company, who maintain their well appointed offices at 623- 4-5 Bankers Mortgage Building.

Other officers of the company are Phillip Schmier- er, Vice-President; Oscar James, Vice-President, and A. A. Dunn, Secretary.

A native Texan, Mr. Bryan was born in Hunt County, near Greenville, February 19th, 1881. His father, T. H. Bryan (deceased since 1917) was a native of Mississippi and came to Texas after the Civil War and settled in Brazoria County in 1887, where he became prominent as a cattle man, owning about five thousand head of cattle. His mother, (now deceased), was Miss Martha Jones, a native of Hunt County, Texas. His early education was ob- tained in the public schools of Brazoria County and later the A. & M. College.

In 1916, Mr. Bryan entered the oil business at Damon Mound, and was active in handling leases and oil lands until organizing the present company. When a boy he was associated with his father in the cattle business, and continued his holdings in this business until 1917, when he sold all his cattle in- terests in order that he might devote his entire time to the oil business. Mr. Bryan has many interests other than that in oil and is a Director of the Guaranty State Bank at Damon Mound. It is the policy of Mr. Bryan to conduct his Company in a conservative manner and build it up, and avoid any unnecessary risks. Mr. Bryan resides with his sis- ter, Miss Ludie J. Bryan, at 4119 Montrose Boule- vard. He is a member of the B. P. O. E., and takes

an active interest in this organization. Mr. Bryan is greatly interested in the growth of Houston and believes that this city will soon become the leading city of the Southwest.

E. GOSDIN, although but recently come to Houston, where he is identified with public utility management, is widely known in the utility field as one of the most competent and experienced telephone men, both from a tech- nical and executive standpoint, in the state. Mr. Gosdin is district manager of the Southwestern Bell Telephone Company, at Houston, to which import- ant position he was appointed on the seventeenth of March, 1924, coming to Houston on that date to assume the duties of the office. Mr. Gosdin has under his management the six Houston exchanges, comprising the Houston telephone system, and also has the direction of the several thousand employees of the Southwestern Bell Telephone Company in Houston. This position, entailing heavy responsi- bilities, requires an expert knowledge of the tech- nical management of telephone exchanges and their operation and also necessitates an understanding of the management of men and women, and was given Mr. Gosdin in recognition of his definite qualifica- tions for this work.

W. E. Gosdin was born at Little Rock, Arkansas, the son of the late W. C. Gosdin and Minnie Lee (Nolan) Gosdin, also deceased, and both of whom were na- tives of Georgia. Mr. Gosdin received his elemen- tary and high school education in the public schools of Little Rock, and after graduating from high school, entered the University of Arkansas, at Fay- etteville, taking the civil engineering course. Mr. Gosdin had not quite completed his work at the Uni- versity of Arkansas when he enlisted in the Naval Air Service, in January, 1918, and was sent to the ground school, and later to the Massachusetts In- stitute of Technology, and still later to Akron, Ohio, where he received his commission and was sent to Rockway Beach, Long Island. While stationed there, Mr. Gosdin was injured in a fall on the twelfth of November, 1918, and was discharged the following spring. While yet a school boy, Mr. Gosdin spent his vacations working for the Southwestern Bell Telephone Company at Little Rock, Arkansas, and later, while in college, spent his vacations with the telephone company, in a clerical position. After his discharge from service, he returned to Little Rock and again went with the telephone company there, since which time his rise has been rapid. He was sent from Little Rock to St. Louis, as special engineer in charge of the connecting companies' relations with the Southwestern Bell Telephone Company, and later, in 1921, was sent to Dallas to fill this liason job for the state. He held that position in Dallas for two years before coming to Houston as district man- ager of the Southwestern Bell Telephone Company here.

Mr. Gosdin was married at Dallas, Texas, the elev- enth of March, 1923, to Miss Seawillo Cunningham, the daughter of Captain Cunningham, prominent cat- tleman and ranchman of Burnett, Texas. Mr. and Mrs. Gosdin reside in Houston, at 4205 La Branch. Mr. Gosdin is a member of the Houston Club and the Optimists Club, and fraternally is a Mason, Blue Lodge, Magnolia Lodge No. 60, and belongs to Al Amin Temple Shrine at Little Rock.

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HIRL M. GRIFFIN came to Houston in 1916 from Cincinnati, and since that time has been a potent factor in the business circles of this city. Mr. Griffin is president, treas- urer, secretary and manager of the Battery Equip- ment and Starter Corporation, which was established and incorporated in 1917. This company was distrib- uators for the Exide battery for South and East Texas until the middle of the year 1923, and are now the distributors for the Westinghouse storage bat- tery for a territory covering sixty-six counties in this portion of the state, and are also dealers for Harris County. This firm has twelve employees in their Houston house and three men on the road all the time. They look after all factory adjustments and guarantees, also repair all other kinds of bat- teries for the public. They have a complete auto filling station, one of the best oil and gas stations in the city. When the Battery Equipment and Starter Corporation was first established, they located at 1203-5-7 Main Street and in March, 1920, they moved to their present location at 1018 Leeland Avenue, where their business has grown rapidly.

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New encyclopedia of Texas, volume 1, Part 99

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