New encyclopedia of Texas, volume 2, Part 12

Author: Davis, Ellis A.
Publication date: 1926
Publisher: Dallas, Tex. : Texas development bureau, [1926?]
Number of Pages: 1262

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Judge P. A. Dowlen was born near Pleasant View, Cheatham County, Tennessee, on January 8th, 1859. His father, Harris Dowlen, a native of Robertson County, Tennessee, was a well known farmer and planter of his native state. His mother was Miss Ann Mathis, a member of a prominent family of Davidson County, Tennessee. His early education was obtained in the county schools of Tennessee, after which he became a student of the Peabody Normal at Nashville, and graduated from that insti- tution with the degree of L. I.

Judge Dowlen was married on December 25th, 1889, to Miss Lulu Martin, a daughter of Captain T. B. Martin of Fairforest, South Carolina. They have two children, Prince Orrin Dowlen of Houston, Texas, in the land department of the Roxana Petro- leum Corporation, and Tom Harris Dowlen of Bos- ton, Massachusetts, who is manager of City Service Refining Company. Judge Dowlen is a member of the Masonic Lodge No. 286 of Beaumont; is a mem- ber of the Beaumont Commandery No. 38, and is also a member of El Mina Temple Shrine of Galveston, and is a Past Master, Past High Priest and is a Past Commander, and shows his activity in Masonic circles here and throughout the state, where he is well known and popular. He is an elder in the Pres- byterian Church of Beaumont, and is a leader in all civic movements for the progress and advancement of the city, where he is highly esteemed by the en- tire citizenship.

1114

Oliver J. Todd.

NEW ENCYCLOPEDIA OF TEXAS

AYNE L. LAY, for many years a factor in the drug business at Beaumont, has recently established one of the finest drug stores in the city, and is highly esteemed for his connection with the business life of his community. Mr. Lay is president and manager of the Corner Drug Company, one of the large down town drug stores, and located at the corner of Crockett and Pearl Streets, which property has been used for a drug location for the last thirty-five years. The Corner Drug Company, an organization representing an investment of around forty thousand dollars, was established in May, 1922. At that time the building they occupy was entirely remodeled, and all fixtures are new, and the best that can be had. The store, under the new management, is one of the finest in the city, and carries one of the most complete stocks. A force of seventeen employees is main- tained, and each department has been carefully plan- ned, to give a maximum of service. In addition to Mr. Lay, as president, J. F. Goodhue is vice president of the company. The corner occupied by the Corner Drug Store is that on which the Dunlap Drug Com- pany was located many years ago, and later the Keith Drug Company, and is one of the best drug locations in the city.

Mr. Lay was born in Mason County, Texas, the eleventh of March, 1887, the son of J. W. Lay, a farmer and land owner of that section, and Mrs. Addie Lay. He was educated in the public schools of Yoakum and Beaumont, and after finishing school began in the drug business. Mr. Lay spent five years with Grimes and Hurst, later going with the P. O. Drug Store, for one year, after which he went with the Keith Drug Company, remaining with them for twelve years, and leaving that firm to establish his present business. He is one of the best known registered pharmacists in the city, and is regarded as unusually competent in all branches of this pro- fession.

Mr. Lay was married at Beaumont, in 1914, to Miss Julia Brown, daughter of a Beaumont family. Mr. and Mrs. Lay reside at 1445 Avenue G, and have three children-Daniel, Albert and Mary Adalene. Mr. Lay belongs to the Rotary Club, and is a leader among the younger business men.

W. SANDERS, who has for the past sev- eral years been a factor in the development of the oil fields of Texas, has had a wide experience in oil field work, especially in the construction of pipe lines. Mr. Sanders is con- nected with the Humble Pipe Line Company at San Angelo, Texas, going there from the Humble Pipe Line Station at Hull, where he was responsible for the forty-nine miles of pipe line from Hull to Bay- town.

Mr. Sanders was born at Corsicana, Texas, the ninth of June, 1886, son of R. I. Sanders, a cattle- man of that section. He was educated in the public schools, and after leaving school began in the oil business, in the pipe line department. His first experience was at Sour Lake, Texas, where he be- gan in 1904 for the Texas Pipe Line Company. He remained with the Texas Company for about three years, after which he went with the Gulf Pipe Line Company, remaining with them until 1913, and han- dling pipe line construction for them in the fields of Texas and Louisiana. He was stationed in Louis- iana from 1913 until 1915, for the Caddo Oil and

Refinery Company. In 1918 Mr. Sanders went with the Humble Pipe Line Company, and began work on the pipe line from Webster to Columbia, which he completed in 1918. He also built the lines from Webster to Hearne, from Hull to Webster, and two lines from Webster to Texas City, and one from Groesbeck to Webster, all of this construction being for the Humble Company. He went to Hull in January, 1923, to take charge of the pipe lines of the Humble Pipe Line Company in that district, remaining there until going to San Angelo.

Mr. Sanders was married at Paris, Texas, the twenty-ninth of July, 1915, to Miss Nannie Everidge, daughter of Benjamin A. Everidge, a native of Kentucky, who came to Texas a quarter of a cen- tury ago. Mr. and Mrs. Sanders have one child, Roy W. Sanders, Jr. Mr. Sanders is one of the most capable pipe line men in the coastal field, his knowledge of pipe line construction being the re- sult of years of experience combined with a study of this department of oil field operation.

OHN E. HATCHER, since the attention of operators in the coastal field has been di- rected toward Hull, has been closely asso- ciated with the advancement and develop- ment of this field. Mr. Hatcher is field superin- tendent for the Yount-Lee Company and has been in charge of the work at Daisetta since February, 1922. He has a force of around fifty-five men working under him here, and has a number of pro- ducing wells, giving production of around fifty-five hundred barrels. Mr. Hatcher directs all drilling and production activities, and looks after the leases of the Yount-Lee Company here.

Mr. Hatcher gained his first oil experience at Spindle Top, and in 1914 with the Lake Oil Com- pany at Sour Lake running a rig. In 1919 he went to High Island, wildcatting for the Sun Company, and after a short time there went to Wichita Falls, with the Sibbly Drilling Company. In October, 1920, he returned to the coastal fields, later going to Duncan, Oklahoma, where he made a good well. He went from there to Mexia, remaining at that place until February, 1921, with the Sibbly Drilling Company. After that he came to Hull with the Yount-Lee Company, and drilled in that field for them until February, 1922, and was in charge of the drilling there until taking charge of all field work for the Yount-Lee Company.

Mr. Hatcher was born at Refugio, Texas, the fifteenth of October, 1892, son of William Hatcher, a farmer, who later went to Beaumont to engage in oil field work. His mother, before her marriage, was Miss Sallie McFarrin. Mr. Hatcher attended the public schools of Beaumont, and after leaving school began oil field work.

Mr. Hatcher was married at Sour Lake, Texas, the sixteenth of October, 1915, to Miss Louise Tid- well, of that place. Mr. and Mrs. Hatcher now make their home at Hull, and have one child, Johnie Maye. They attend the Methodist Church. Fraternally Mr. Hatcher is an Odd Fellow and Knight Temular; Shriner, Arabia Temple, Houston. Since entering the cil fields with intention of making this work his career, Mr. Hatcher has made rapid progress. His success is largely due to his indus- try, his close study of conditions, his ability to handle men, and his capability to adapt himself to conditions and handle any situation that may arise.

1117

MEN OF TEXAS

OSEPH E. GRAMMIER, during the decade of his residence in Port Arthur, has been a mortician, and has built, through an earnest desire to give the city a real serv- ice, one of the finest and most modern undertak- ing establishments in the state. Mr. Grammier operates the business under his own name, and oc- cupies a large and perfectly appointed funeral home at the corner of Waco and Fifth Streets. Here a modern, two-story brick structure houses the of- fices, funeral parlors, embalming room, and display rooms, while in the rear and with easy access to the street, is the modern garage where the hearses, cars, and ambulances are kept. A force of four employees assist Mr. Grammier with the fine service that he has set for his establishment since the organization of the business in 1916. In those days Mr. Grammier occupied a small office at 525 Fifth Street, with a pair of horses and a humble ambu- lance as his equipment. But those horses, and the man behind the small organization responded nobly, and although the equipment was not of the best, there was a spirit of service that made up for this lack, and the business grew. Soon an auto- mobile ambulance replaced the horses, then an- other, and another, until now Mr. Grammier has a fleet of four ambulances, and two large hearses, ready at all hours of the day or night to answer the call. The two last ambulances added to this fleet are deserving a few descriptive words. Fully equipped with lung motors, first aid kits, and beds that know no jar, they are the last word in am- bulance construction, and are the result of many years of study on the part of their builders. These ambulances have meant much to Port Arthur, and few cities of its size can boast the perfect am- bulance service that Mr. Grammier has made pos- sible for this city.

Mr. Grammier was born at Hampshire, Texas, the fifth of May, 1895. His father, the late L. Gram- mier, a native of Jefferson County, and one of the early pioneers of the state, was a planter and cat- tleman throughout his life. His mother, before her marriage, Miss Clara Broussard, is a member of one of Jefferson County's most prominent pioneer families, and now makes her home at Beaumont. Mr. Grammier spent much of his boyhood in Beau- mont, attending the public schools there. After finishing his education he entered his cousin's under- taking establishment, in the fall of 1911, and learned the business under him. In 1915, he took his state board examination and was licensed as an undertaker and embalmer. At this time he was only twenty years old, and the youngest man to be licensed up to that time. He came to Port Arthur immediately following, and established his business in a small way, but, as was inevitable, the business grew, and is now not only the finest undertaking establishment in Port Arthur, but one of the finest in the state. In 1918 Mr. Grammier enlisted in military service, with the 303rd Cavalry, Fifty-third Field Division, at Leon Springs, and was later sent to San Antonio. He was discharged in January, 1919, and returned to Port Arthur and resumed the management of his business. Mr. Grammier is also a director of the Homestead Building and Loan Association.

Mr. Grammier was married the seventeenth of September, 1917, at Port Arthur, to Miss Blanche

Mooman, the first child to be born in Port Arthur, and the daughter of L. Mooman, a pioneer of Jef- ferson County, and one of the first residents of Port Arthur. Mr. and Mrs. Grammier have an apartment over the undertaking establishment, at Waco and Fifth Streets. Mr. Grammier is affiliated with nearly all the fraternal orders of Port Arthur, such as the Elks, Knights of Pythias, Red Men, and others. He is a Mason, Port Arthur Lodge, thirty- second degree, Scottish Rite, and a member of El Mina Temple Shrine at Galveston. He belongs to the Country Club, the Chamber of Commerce, the Re- tail Merchants Association, the Rotary Club, the Texas Funeral Directors Association, the National Funeral Directors Association and the Sanitarian Club of America. Mr. Grammier is interested in all civic work, and development work, and is one of the boosters of Port Arthur as "the fastest growing city in Texas."

AMES L. DUNN, for the past several years a factor in financial circles at Port Arthur, is an expert on loans and credits. Mr. Dunn is secretary and manager of the Se- curity Loan and Investment Company, Inc., a financ- ing company operated under the supervision of the banking department of Texas, and which was estab- lished in 1921 and incorporated in 1922 as the Port Arthur Finance Company, the name being changed in 1924 to the Security Loan and Investment Com- pany, Inc. They loan money on real estate and buy paper of all classes, particularly automobile paper and trade acceptances, but the main feature of their work consists in making industrial loans. The company has offices in the Deutser Building, and the officers are Dr. Frank D. Mabry, president; H. C. Crawford, vice president; Dr. B. H. Vaughan, treasurer; J. L. Dunn, secretary, with P. T. Williams, Fred Rodriguez and C. C. Harrell as additional di- rectors. Mr. Dunn, as one of the organizers of the company, performed a valuable service to his com- munity in offering a home company to handle local paper, obviating the necessity of having this paper sent to out-of-town financing companies. Local business men have been quick to avail themselves of the facility of this company, and the business han- dled has been very gratifying. But the feature of their work which means the most to Port Arthur is the granting of "personal character loans" mod- eled after the well known "Morris Plan."

Mr. Dunn was born in Hopkins County, Texas, the eighteenth of July, 1892, son of J. M. Dunn, and Lucy (Ballinger) Dunn, a native of Kentucky, now deceased. The elder Mr. Dunn came to Texas in 1875, and was one of the leading educators of this state until his retirement several years ago. As a boy, James L. Dunn attended the public schools of Sulphur Springs, Texas, later entering the Uni- versity of Texas. He left the university to enter the First Officers Training Camp at Leon Springs, where he was commissioned second lieutenant, and sent to Camp Travis, and later to Camp Jackson, and still later to Camp Sheridan, at Montgomery, Alabama. He was discharged the eleventh of De- cember, 1918, as captain of field artillery. He came to Port Arthur in 1919 and was for a year and a half agent for the Texas Company, and was then with Sidney C. Collins, steamship agent, for a time, resigning to go with the present company. Mr. Dunn, as has been stated, is secretary of the

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NEW ENCYCLOPEDIA OF TEXAS

Security Loan and Investment Company, president of the Butler Motor Exchange, and he is also sec- retary of the Mabry-Griffing Trust Company, and is interested in the Griffing Residential Park De- velopment Company.

Mr. Dunn was married at San Antonio, Texas, the twenty-second of July, 1917, to Miss Flora Reese, a native of Texas. Mr. and Mrs. Dunn reside in the Griffing Residential Park, and have one son, J. L., Jr. Mr. Dunn is commander of the Port Arthur American Legion Post, is a director of the Young Men's Business League, president of the University Club, and a member and past president of the Lions Club. He is a member of the Sigma Alpha Epsilon and Phi Alpha, college fraternities. Al- though a resident of Port Arthur but a few years, Mr. Dunn has taken his place among the civic lead- ers, and is one of the most popular and progressive young business men of the city.

ALEXANDER BUNGE, throughout his residence at Port Arthur identified with civic and business enterprises of impor- tance, has been a factor in the development of the city of Port Arthur, and is the directing head of the dominating real estate institution of the city. Mr. Bunge is manager of the Holland-Texas Hypo- theek Bank, successors to the Port Arthur Town- site Company, and an organization that has assisted in the building of more than two thousand homes in Port Arthur, at a total cost in excess of three million dollars. This development work started with the tiny village on the Sabine Lake, before the incorporation of Port Arthur, and has continued throughout the years, covering the entire city. While in a brief article it would be impossible to give the history of the Holland-Texas Hypotheek Bank, and its many operations incident to the development of Port Arthur, a brief resume of these operations will serve to indicate the importance of this institu- tion, from a civic and commercial standpoint. Organ- ized in 1895, as the Port Arthur Townsite Company, with men like Arthur E. Stilwell, E. L. Martin, C. A. Braley and J. McD. Trimble as its first trustees, this company has followed a policy that has fostered and built the city along modern lines. The exten- sive program of street construction, park improve- ment, drains and sidewalk building that was inaugu- rated at that time has been followed to the present date, and to this company Port Arthur owes the park along the lake shore, extending from Houston Avenue, to Vandervoort Boulevard, and other parks and public grounds in various parts of the city. Of these public grounds a large portion are now occu- pied by such institutions as the Mary Gates Hospital, the Port Arthur high school, Dellora R. Gates Me- morial Library, Port Arthur College and other schools and public buildings. Throughout its history the Holland-Texas Hypotheek Bank has been gen- erous in the donations made to civic activities, and has contributed thousands of dollars to securing public improvements. From the time of its organi- zation, one-fifth of the net proceeds of sales has been set aside to carry forward improvement work. In 1905 the organization recognized the demand for homes in Port Arthur, and broadened their program, which had at first included only the sale of unim- proved property, to include loans for the erection of homes, and this policy of promoting home build- ing has resulted in more than two thousand con-

tented home owners for the city. E. J. Everwyn Lange, of Amsterdam, Holland, is now president of the Holland-Texas Hypotheek Bank; E. A. Bunge of Port Arthur is manager, and Miss Claire Easley is assistant manager. Offices are maintained in the Plaza Hotel Building.

Mr. Bunge was born in Amsterdam, Holland, and came to Port Arthur in 1918. On the retirement of Jan Van Tyen, in 1920, he assumed the management of this important real estate institution, continuing to direct the affairs of this organization along the constructive policies adopted in the early days.

Mr. Bunge was married to Miss Elsa Meulman, a native of Holland. They reside at 2948 Sixth Street, and have two children, Adrienne, and Sonja. Mr. Bunge is a member of the Rotary Club.

RANK E. STONEBURNER has for around a decade and a half been active in business circles at Port Arthur, and during this time has been a factor in the field of electrical merchandising and contracting. Mr. Stoneburner is a member of the firm of The Electric Supply Company of which his father, John F. Stoneburner, is the other member. The firm handles a general electrical contracting business, and has a complete stock of electrical supplies, including radio equip- ment. They carry the most complete equipment of any electrical house in Port Arthur, and are dis- tributors in this locality for all nationally advertised goods. The retail business is one of the largest electrical merchandising businesses in the city, and in addition to this the contracting department handles many of the most important electric wiring con- tracts here, and is equipped to do any class of electrical installation. The Electric Supply Com- pany is well located in the business district, and occupies a modern building, forty by one hundred and thirty-six feet, at 637 Procter Street. A force of eight employees are maintained, all trained elec- tricians, and competent to handle any kind of elec- tric wiring.

Frank E. Stoneburner was born at Crooksville, Ohio, the twenty-second of December, 1891. His father, John F. Stoneburner, a native of that state, came to Orange, Texas, in 1903, and was manager of Orange County Irrigation Company for five years. He then came to Port Arthur and operated the Port Arthur Planing Mill for a period of five years, after which, with his son, he established The Electirc Supply Company. His mother, whose maiden name was Jennie Brown, was also a native of Ohio, her death occurring at Port Arthur in 1921. As a boy Mr. Stoneburner attended the public schools of Ohio, and later of Orange, after which he took a commercial course at Port Arthur College. He then went with his father in the planing mill business, and later with his father established The Electric Supply Company, which he now operates.

Mr. Stoneburner was married at Port Arthur, the thirty-first of March, 1913, to Miss Emma Elder, a native of Louisiana, who was reared in Texas. They have since made this city their home, and now re- side at 2341 Fourth Street. Mr. Stoneburner is a Knight of Pythias, a member of the D. O. K. K., the Elks Club, the Lions Club, and other civic organiza- tions. He has taken an active part in all develop- ment work at Port Arthur, both along commercial and civic lines, and is one of the best liked young business men of this city.

1121

MEN OF TEXAS

OHN MATTHEW CONLEY, an honored res- ident of Beaumont for two decades, and one of the ablest attorneys in this section of the state, has earned noteworthy prom- inence as a lawyer, and has at various times held positions of public trust, demonstrating his official ability. His devotion to the best interests of the community has won him the highest esteem of his fellow citizens. Judge Conley served as district judge of the Sixtieth District Court from 1911 until 1915, in which year he became chief justice of the Ninth Court of Civil Appeals, at Beaumont, holding this office from June, 1915, until January, 1917. Since that time he has been engaged in the civil practice of law and has been identified with im- portant litigation. Judge Conley is a member of the firm of Conley and Renfro, with offices in the Perlstein Building. He has a large clientele, being retained by some of the large corporations of the city, as well as by many individuals. His law li- brary is complete, placing at his disposal every legal advantage. His careful attention to the in- terests of his clients has brought him success and he is numbered among the leaders of the Jeffer- son County Bar. Judge Conley is a director in the City National Bank, for which he is also attorney, and is one of the trustees and attorney for the East Beaumont Townsite Company. He also has oil interests and other properties in this section.

Judge Conley was born at Chillicothe, Ohio, the twenty-second of February, 1874, son of William and Annie E. Conley, the father for many years being a railroad man of that city. Judge Conley attended the public schools of Chillicothe, and after graduating from the schools there, entered the Uni- versity of Cincinnati, where he graduated in 1898, from the law department with the B. L. degree. Since he was fifteen years of age, Judge Conley has supported himself and he worked his way through college. As a boy he became a telegraph operator and worked for the B. & O. R. R. as operator, train dispatcher, and was employed in the superintendent's office and completed his railroad career in the legal department. He began his practice in his native state, coming to Texas and Beaumont in 1902, and since that time has been one of the best known attorneys and judges here. From 1904 to 1906 he served as assistant city attorney, and for years as vice president of the Chamber of Commerce. He is taking an active part in building up the Southeast Texas State Fair and was its second president. Dur- ing the World War, Judge Conley took a prominent part in war work, serving as chief of the Civilian Secret Service of this district, comprising six conu- ties, and also as chairman of the County Council of Defense, and served as a Four-Minute Man. He was one of the organizers and a member of the execu- tive committee of the Red Cross and chairman of the home service section thereof.

Judge Conley was married at Kingston, Ohio, in 1902, to Miss Essie Lee May, daughter of Charles W. May, now living in Houston County, where he is a well known farmer and land owner. Judge and Mrs. Conley live at 2272 Grand Avenue, and have one child, Jayne, who was born in 1920. Judge Conley is a member of the Beaumont Club and the Beaumont Country Club, American State and County Bar Associations, and fraternally is an Elk. Whether as a private citizen, as an attorney, or as a mem-

ber of the judiciary, Judge Conley has been unswerv- ingly on the side of justice and the highest and best development of his community, and has done much to further these causes.

B. SAWYER, for two decades one of the progressive business men of Beaumont, has been a factor in the drug business here during this time, and has done much to raise the standards of drug store operation in this city. Mr. Sawyer is president of the Jefferson Drug Com- pany, the only wholesale drug house in the city and one handling a large volume of business annually. The Jefferson Drug Company was established in 1919, with a capital of twenty-five thousand dollars, which has been increased from time to time until it is now capitalized for one hundred and fifty thou- sand dollars. Since its establishment, the business has developed consistently, along progressive lines, and has paid a big dividend annually. The company owns its own business home, a modern two story brick structure, at 381 College Street, fronting sixty feet on that street and running back one hundred and eighty feet. They cover a trade territory that includes the states of Texas and Louisiana, and the volume of annual trade reaches a large figure. The officers of the Jefferson Drug Company are O. B. Sawyer, the subject of this sketch, president; D. C. Proctor, secretary, treasurer and manager, and M. R. Kleas, vice president.

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New encyclopedia of Texas, volume 2, Part 12

Author: Davis, Ellis A. Publication date: 1926 Publisher: Dallas, Tex. : Texas development bureau, [1926?] Number of Pages: 1262

Author: Davis, Ellis A.
Publication date: 1926
Publisher: Dallas, Tex. : Texas development bureau, [1926?]
Number of Pages: 1262