New encyclopedia of Texas, volume 2, Part 2

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

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Mr. Pipkin was born in Orange County, the twen- ty-fourth of August, 1858, the son of John F. Pip- kin, pioneer lumberman and saw mill operator of Beaumont, and county judge here for a decade, and Amelia Rabb Pipkin. He attended the public schools near his home for a time, and as a boy went to work in the shingle mills, later going with the Long and Company Shingle Mills, after which he went in the lumber mills in Montgomery County. This was followed by two years on a farm, and two years teaching school, after which he went with the Nona Mills Company, remaining with that con- cern six years. He then spent three years with the Beaumont Lumber Company. From 1893 until 1906 he was tax assessor at Beaumont, and during that time bought up cattle and lands in this section. Mr. Pipkin is interested and owns some cattle and pasture land, and was one of the biggest cattlemen in this part of the country. In 1903 he, with others, went into the oil business and he was president and general manager of the Paraffine Oil Company from 1904 until 1912. This was one of the very successful oil companies established during the days of the first oil boom in the coastal region, and brought in the first well at Batson. The company has been active in the coastal fields since its organ- ization, engaging in production, and has been a factor in the development of this section. Mr. Pip- kin has retired from active business, and for the past decade or more has spent his time in looking after his many interests in and around Beaumont.

Mr. Pipkin was married at Beaumont, to Miss Mary P. Barrow. Mr. Pipkin has two children-

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Jean and John F. The family reside at 476 Fred- ericks Street, and attend the Methodist Church. Mr. Pipkin is a member of the Beaumont Country Club. It would be hard to estimate the part he has taken in the development of Beaumont, since the days when he first began his business career here, so many and varied have been his activities, yet it is doubtful if there are many citizens of this community who have done more for the development and upbuilding of Beaumont than has he. He has been active in every public spirited movement, and has contributed freely to every civic cause and wel- fare drive of the past half a century, and the record of his life is a bright page in the history of his city.

ALTER L. PONDROM, whose name for around a quarter of a century has been of significance in banking circles at Beau- mont, is a conservative banker, whose sound experience and banking policy has played a large part in shaping financial affairs in this city. Mr. Pondrom is active vice president of the City Na- tional Bank, of Beaumont, a financial institution that is the result of the re-organization of the Guar- anty Bank and Trust Company, of Beaumont, which was effected in May, 1922, at which time the name was changed to the City National Bank, and the bank nationalized and new officers elected. The City National Bank occupies its own banking home, a fine building in the center of the business district, and well appointed throughout. It is capitalized at two hundred and fifty thousand dollars, with de- posits of more than two and three quarter million dollars, and since the reorganization has met with rapid growth, and has the confidence of the com- munity. The officers are I. J. Bordages, president; W. L. Pondrom, active vice president; J. T. Shelby, vice president, and G. H. Petkovsek, cashier.

Walter L. Pondrom was born at Florissant, Mis- souri, the fourth of September, 1877, the son of Dr. John B. Pondrom, a surgeon of Jefferson City, Missouri, and Mary E. Pondrom. Mr. Pondrom received his education in the public schools of St. Louis, graduating from the high school there, and spent some time in the grocery business after leav- ing school. In 1893 he came to Texas, going to Dallas, where he was with the American National Bank until 1895. Later from 1895 to 1897 he was with his brother, John B. Pondrom, handling the finances and books of his cotton business. He came to Beaumont in 1900, with the Beaumont National Bank, as bookkeeper, leaving there in 1902 to go with the First National Bank. With this excep- tion he was with the First National Bank until April, 1922, when he resigned to accept his present position with the City National Bank. At the time of his resignation he was vice president of the First National Bank. Mr. Pondrom is a veteran of the Spanish-American War, serving during that conflict with the infantry, Fourth Missouri Volunteers, on occupation duty in Cuba, and being discharged in 1898.

Mr. Pondrom was married at Beaumont, 1912, to Miss Christine Poole, daughter of Judge William J. Poole, a well known judiciary and attorney from Hempstead, and Mrs. Josephine Poole. Mr. and Mrs. Pondrom live at 895 North Street, and have four children-Elizabeth, W. L. Junior, Ruth, and

Sybil. Mr. Pondrom is a member of the Beaumont Club, and the Beaumont Country Club, and fra- ternally is a B. P. O. E. While Mr. Pondrom de- votes most of his time to his business, and to the direction of the affairs of the financial institution with which he is connected, he takes a deep interest in civic welfare, and is vitally interested in com- munity progress.

ILLIAM F. KEITH, who for many years has been one of the leading druggists of Beau- mont, has been held in high esteem for his work in this connection, and for his inter- est in the civic and business life of the city. Mr. Keith is the owner of the Keith Drug Company, one of the finest drug stores in the city, located at the corner of Liberty and Pearl Streets. Mr. Keith es- tablished this business in 1907, the present store being the outgrowth of the old Dunlap Drug Com- pany, which Mr. Keith bought out and re-organized in that year. The business has since been developed along progressive lines, and the new building occu- pied by the store in 1922, is one of the finest drug store buildings in the city. In equipping the build- ing, Mr. Keith gave careful attention to every de- tail, the tile floor, marble fountain and fine fixtures combining to make an interior of the most attractive kind. The store arrangement is exceptionally good, and while a small store in dimension, has been planned so that every foot of space is utilized to advantage, and is complete in every detail. Mr. Keith has been accorded a substantial patronage by a better class of people, and is doing a flourishing business. He has a force of ten employees, includ- ing one of the best prescription men in the city.

Mr. Keith was born at Houston, the sixteenth of April, 1875. His father, John Wilbur Keith, pioneer lumberman of South Texas, and one of the most prominent lumbermen in the state, has been asso- ciated with the development of this resource for many decades, and is in business with Messrs. Fletcher, Long and Carroll, all leaders in the lum- ber business in this section. His mother was before her marriage Miss Hasseltine V. Long. Mr. Keith was educated in the public schools of Beaumont and New Orleans, and after leaving school spent a num- ber of years in the lumber business, later going into the mercantile business, and still later, in 1907, in the drug business. Mr. Keith has also been inter- ested in rice culture, and from 1910 until 1920 oper- ated one of the large rice farms in this section, and has also been a factor in the cattle business and particularly interested in the development of the Brahman strain.

Mr. Keith was married at Beaumont, in 1899, to Miss Seawillow Caswell, daughter of C. C. Caswell, a prominent lumberman of Beaumont. Mr. and Mrs. Keith have a fine home at 2008 McFaddin Avenue, and have two children, Marjorie, a graduate of Na- tional Park Seminary, and Caswell, of the Univer- sity of Texas. Mr. Keith belongs to the Rotary Club, the Neches Club, the Beaumont Club, and the Beaumont Country Club. Fraternally he is a Ma- son, York and Scottish Rites, and a member of El Mina Temple Shrine. He has been on the school board for around a decade, and is active in every form of civic endeavor, and as one of the veteran drug men of the city has taken part in the advance- ment of this business.

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F. YOUNT has for a quarter of a century been closely identified with the history of Beaumont and oil production in the Gulf Coast district, and is held in high esteem by the citizens of this progressive city for the part he has taken in the development of the resources of this section. Mr. Yount is president and general manager of the Yount-Lee Oil Company, one of the major companies operating in the coastal fields, and which he organized and has since directed. This company is active in drilling in the Gulf Coast fields, with a recent tendency to move rigs into the proven pools of Louisiana, and has settled production run- ning around two thousand barrels daily, with fifteen producing wells at Sour Lake and also production at Hull and other scattered points. Mr. Yount has been for many years a close student of conditions prevailing in the petroleum fields of the coastal ter- ritory, and is familiar with formations here and an authority on oil and drilling in the various pools. He has his office in the San Jacinto Building, direct- ing all activities from his headquarters here. The Yount-Lee Oil Company, of which he is the largest stockholder, and president and manager, has for its other officers T. F. Rothwell, vice president, and J. H. Phelan, secretary and treasurer.

Mr. Yount was born at Monticello, Arkansas, the thirty-first day of January, 1880, the son of J. N. Yount, who came to that state from his native state of North Carolina, and was a farmer and land own- er there, and Mrs. Hattie Yount. Mr. Yount was educated in the schools of his native state as a boy developing a marked aptitude for machinery, study- ing and learning mechanical engineering through reading and actual experience. He came to Texas in 1898 and began drilling water wells, and after several years thus engaged turned his attention to drilling for oil. He began in the oil business in 1904, and since that time has held every position in the oil fields, from the bottom up, and knows the oil business from every angle. During the first years of his interest in this industry, he engaged in drill- ing for himself, as his capital permitted, and mak- ing allowance for the usual drilling hazards, has been very successful. He is one of those men who forming judgment of a field, through careful study and examination into reports and other available data, retain faith in that judgment and experi- ment with the oil possibilities and work actively for its development. His drilling operations have always been watched with interest, for when he begins a well there is every indication that it will prove up, and he has to his credit an unusual number of defin- ite successes as an operator and producer. In ad- dition to his interests in the petroleum industry, Mr. Yount has also taken an active part in general business affairs, and is vice president of the Phelan- Joseph Grocery Company and a director of the First National Bank.

Mr. Yount was married at Beaumont, in 1915, to Miss Pansy Merritt, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Hose Merritt, both of whom are deceased. Mr. and Mrs. Yount have one child, Mildred, born in 1920. Their home, at 1376 Calder Street, is one of the finest in Beaumont. The interior woodwork, of carefully selected oak and walnut, hand carved and finished to bring out the natural beauty of the wood, and the hand decorated walls form a background for the beautiful furnishings that is delightful. Mr. Yount

is a member of the Elks, Beaumont Country and Beaumont Clubs, the American Petroleum Institute and the Mid-Continent Oil and Gas Association. Mr. Yount has many friends in the oil industry, operators in the coastal fields who know and value him as one of the most experienced men in the in- dustry. His part in the development of the coastal fields has been no small one, and to him is accorded much credit for his many activities incident to the opening up of new fields throughout the coastal dis- trict. He has the true spirit of the pioneer, the cour- age to go in as a part of the vanguard, that has resulted in untold wealth in this section, and has made it one of the most important petroleum centers of the state.

HOMER CHAMBERS, veteran oil operator, and for the past three decades one of the progressive citizens of Beaumont, has for some twenty years devoted his entire time to drilling and production activities, and is well known to the oil fraternity of the Lone Star State for the part he has taken in the development of the petroleum industry in the Gulf Coast district. Mr. Chambers is president of the Minor Oil Company, secretary and treasurer of the Gilbert Company, and is also a director in the First National Bank of Beaumont. These enterprises, in which he is finan- cially interested, are all closed corporations, owned by a few men, and have been real money makers, paying many times the capital stock in dividends, and own valuable production in the coastal fields. Mr. Chambers has his offices in the Gilbert Build- ing, at Beaumont, directing from this point his oper- ations in the various fields in which he is inter- ested, and in addition to the properties in which he is interested through companies in which he holds stock, has individual holdings in the fields of the coastal region.

Mr. Chambers was born at Luling, Texas, the thir- tieth of July, 1878, the son of C. R. Chambers, of Beaumont, and in the retail department of the E. L. Wilson Hardware Company, and Florence (Huff) Chambers. Mr. Chambers spent his boyhood at Lul- ing, attending the public schools there, and later taking a commercial course in preparation for his business career. He went on the road for the E. L. Wilson Hardware Company, representing that well known firm to the trade for around four years. In 1901 he went to Spindle Top, when that field first came in, and started in the manufacture and build- ing of oil tanks, continuing in that line for two years. He then went to Sour Lake, where he drilled for the Gilbert Company, the well, their first in that field, proving a gusher, and one of the largest ever brought in in the Sour Lake field. Mr. Chambers' activities in the coastal field represent the pioneer- ing of a man who had the nerve and vision to back his judgment, and he has been largely instrumental in developing the rich oil fields in the coastal dis- trict. Since entering the industry, he has done every- thing to be done in the oil fields, from the bottom up, and is familiar with every phase of oil field work. In the many years of his actual operations, he has met with the usual reverses that go hand in hand with the oil business, but on the whole his successes have more than balanced these, and his operations are watched with interest by the fra- ternity.

Mr. Chambers was married in Beaumont, in 1900,

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NEW ENCYCLOPEDIA OF TEXAS

to Miss Edith Fuller, the daughter of Dr. C. T. Fuller, whose death occurred in Beaumont around three decades ago, and Mrs. Mary L. Fuller. Dr. Fuller was one of the well known physicians of his day, and prominent in all civic activities. Mr. and Mrs. Chambers have an attractive home at 2240 Calder Avenue, and take an active part in the so- cial life of the city. They are the parents of two children, Ruth, a graduate of Randolph Macon Col- lege, and who did post graduate work at the Univer- sity of Texas, and Florence, attending the Beaumont High School. The family attend the First Methodist Church, which they liberally support. Mr. Chambers is a member of the Beaumont Country Club, the Beaumont Club, the Neches Club, and fraternally is an Elk. He is a veteran of the Spanish American War, serving in that conflict with the Third Texas Infantry, as non-commissioned officer. Mr. Cham- bers has many friends among the oil men operating in the South Texas fields, and is regarded by them as one of the most expert operators in this district. He has kept in close touch with developments in various parts of the state, and few men are better informed as to development work and the outlook generally, than he. Identified with an industry that is second to but one industry, cotton, in the Lone Star State, he is one of the prominent men in that industry, and has done much for the material ad- vancement and general prosperity of his com- munity.

H. REESE has for the past decade been prominently identified with the lumber bus- iness at Beaumont, and is firmly established as a business man who makes his influence felt in every walk of life. Mr. Reese is president of the Home Lumber Company, one of the leading lumber companies of Beaumont, established in 1917, and incorporated for one hundred thousand dollars. The Home Lumber Company handles a wholesale and retail lumber business, carrying a complete line of building materials. They also build and finance the building of homes and residences, and have handled much construction of this class in Beaumont. The yard is located at the corner of Bowie and Holmes Streets, with J. H. Reese as president, Jake Westbrook, vice president; M. R. Reese, vice president; W. O. Mckinnon, secretary, and John Reese, treasurer. Mr. J. H. Reese is also president of the Nederland Lumber Company, which he established in 1923, with a new plant, and a completely stocked yard, dealing in building ma- terial of all kinds, and is vice president of the Beau- mont Sash and Door Company.

Mr. Reese was born at Belton, Texas, the second of March, 1878. His father, J. H. Reese, an old settler, and for many years a merchant of Belton, died in 1917, and his mother, Mrs. Bettie Reese, in 1920. Mr. Reese was educated in the public schools of Belton, and after finishing school engaged in the mercantile business for two years, and in the bank- ing business for three years prior to going in the lumber business. He came to Beaumont in 1914, and has been active in the lumber business since that time. Mr. Reese has had much experience in the timber business in various parts of the pine belt country, and knows the lumber business from every angle, from the timber to the finished product.

Mr. Reese was married at Fort Worth, the twenty-

ninth of December, 1903, to Miss Elma Connell, daughter of G. H. Connell, well known banker of that city. They have five children-Connell, Eliz- abeth, Jep, Marion and Lena-Ruth Reese, and live at 1810 Calder Avenue. The family attend the Baptist Church. Mr. Reese is a member of the Beaumont Country Club, the Beaumont Club, the Kiwanis Club, and is a Hoo-Hoo, a fraternal organ- ization to which only lumbermen are eligible. He is also a director of the City National Bank. Mr. Reese owns much city property at Beaumont, and takes an active interest in the development of this city, being in every way a sterling resident.

OHN C. WARD, JR., president and general manager of the Texas Ice Company, with general offices at Franklin and Neches Streets, is a successful Beaumont business man who has grown up in the city and with the ex- ception of the years spent at college has lived here his entire life. Under his direction, the business of the Texas Ice Company has grown and prospered and in both wholesale and retail divisions it is one of the largest ice distributors in this section of the state.

The Texas Ice Company was organized some years ago and in 1919 was incorporated with a capitaliza- tion of sixty thousand dollars. The capital stock has been increased to $165,000.00 It owns and oper- ates two large plants for the manufacture of ice, the first located at Franklin and Neches Street, where the general offices of the company are maintained, and the smaller plant at Magnolia Avenue and Har- rison Street. The plant at Franklin and Neches Streets has a daily capacity of seventy tons of ice. The other plant is equipped to produce forty tons daily. A large fleet of delivery wagons and trucks supplies ice to every portion of the business and residence district, including outlying additions. Every phase of the company's dealings with the pub- lic is characterized by courtesy and fair dealing.

Mr. Ward is a native of Beaumont and was born on January 27th, 1882. He is a son of John C. and Pickie (Kyle) Ward and received his education in the public and high schools of Beaumont and at Georgetown University, where he completed a four year course. He also attended a business college at Waco.

After leaving school he returned to Beaumont and was connected with the Beaumont Ice, Light and Refrigerating Company for three years. After that he was with the J. S. and W. M. Rice Lumber Com- pany for four years. He was then made secretary of the Beaumont Ice Company and continued in this capacity for five years. The company disposed of its business in 1917 to the Crystal Ice Company and shortly after that Mr. Ward organized the Texas Ice Company. From a small beginning, he has de- veloped the business until his company has come to be recognized as one of the leading manufacturing concerns in Southeast Texas.

In 1914 Mr. Ward was married in Beaumont to Miss Margaret Doucette, daughter of P. A. and Eliza (Jordan) Doucette. They reside at 693 Irma Ave- nue. Mrs. Ward's father was engaged in the re- tail lumber business.

Mr. Ward is a member of the Beaumont Club, the Beaumont Country Club, Neches and Rotary Clubs. He is interested and active in the development of Beaumont and is one of the city's most consistent boosters.

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COOKE WILSON, veteran oil man of Beau- mont, and a business man of many and varied interests, has for upwards of two decades made this city his headquarters, taking a constructive interest in commercial devel- opment and directing his operations in the coastal fields from this point. Mr. Wilson is president of the Wilson Broach Company, president of the Tyrrell Hardware Company, vice president of the Texas division of the Mid-Continent Oil and Gas Company, and president of the Tyrrell-Wilson Investment Com- pany. All these organizations are sound and capably directed enterprises, and Mr. Wilson takes an active part in their management. In addition to the above, Mr. Wilson is a director of the Houston branch of the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas. As a business man and executive he is versatile, conservative, and shows a discrimination that is the ripened result of his years of business experience. His name on the board of directors, or as an officer of an organization, is sufficient to stamp it as successful and to rank it among the sound institutions of the city. Among the independent oil operators of this section, Mr. Wilson is considered one of the most careful and conservative, and he has large oil holdings in the fields of the coastal district, as well as in Oklahoma and Louisiana. He has done much to develop the oil resources near Beaumont, and since coming to this city in 1901 has been successful in getting real production. The first well he drilled was a gusher, and this has been followed by other successes.

Mr. Wilson was born in Meridian, Mississippi, the twenty-third of February, 1879, the son of Hugh W. Wilson, a contractor and builder of that city, and Joella Shearer Wilson. He was educated in the pub- lic schools of Meridian, graduating from the high school, after which he began his business career. He first entered the banking business at Meridian, and was with the Meridian National Bank there for seven years, during which time he became familiar with the soundest financial principles, and acquired a knowledge of business operation that has been a fac- tor in his subsequent success. In 1902 Mr. Wilson came to Beaumont, and was at that time financially interested in the Mississippi-Texas Oil Company, of which he was general manager. Shortly after his arrival at Beaumont he became interested in devel- opment work at Spindle Top. He drilled the twenty- seventh well in this field, which proved to be a gusher, and since that time he has continued to en- gage in actual development work, with success. From time to time Mr. Wilson has bought oil hold- ings, and property at Beaumont, and is financially interested in many important business enterprises in this city. During the Spanish-American War he was in military service, volunteering, and serving in the Infantry as a non-commissioned officer. With this exception he has been active in the business world since leaving school.

Mr. Wilson was married in 1908, at Gainesville, Texas, to Miss Mary Randolph, daughter of Thomas W. Randolph, whose death occurred in 1886, and who prior to that time had been one of the leading mer- chants of Sherman, and a landowner of that section. Mr. Randolph was one of the early settlers of Texas, and one of the prominent men of his day. Mrs. Wil- son's mother, prior to her marriage Miss Bettie Thompson, died in 1923. Mr. and Mrs. Wilson live in Beaumont, at 2295 Calder Avenue, and have four

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New encyclopedia of Texas, volume 2, Part 2

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