New encyclopedia of Texas, volume 2, Part 45

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

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C. DEL BARTO, for a decade a resident of Houston, has attained a commendable rep- utation as an attorney-at-law, making a splendid professional record, and has also won the highest esteem of his associates as a busi- ness man whose interest in enterprises of wide scope and important bearing on the prosperity of Houston makes a factor in the commercial world here. Mr. Del Barto came to Houston in 1916, and established his first practice in this city, continuing to follow his vocation to the present time, and stead- ily advancing to a position among the leading law- years of Houston. Mr. Del Barto has had his offices in the Scanlan Building since coming to Houston, and while he handles a general law practice, he gives special attention to corporation matters and business law generally. In addition to his professional in- terests at Houston, Mr. Del Barto also has exten- sive industrial and commercial interests here, and is head of a number of the larger firms of Houston. He is president of the Eagle Bottling Works, a hun- dred-thousand-dollar corporation, and one of the fin- est and most sanitary bottling plants in Texas. Mr. Del Barto is vice president of the Houston Mill and Lumber Company, one of the largest lumber con- cerns at Houston, with assets of over one million dollars. He is president of the Empire Trust Com- pany, one of the large trust companies of Houston, and is president of the Harris County Bottlers' As- sociation, vice president of the Texas Sprinkler Com- pany, and is a stockholders in many other corpora- tions and has extensive commercial interests at Houston. Mr. Del Barto acts as general attorney for the above mentioned firms and corporations, and his able handling of the legal problems of these concerns has won the approval and admiration of the bench and bar at Houston.

Mr. Del Barto is a native of New Orleans, Louis- iana, where he was born the 29th of October, 1892. His father, Joseph Del Barto, later came to Texas, going first to Carmona, in Polk County, and after a number of years there coming to Orange, where he engaged in the mercantile business for many years, and is now active in the real estate and investment business at Orange, and as a capitalist has been ac- tive in sponsoring growth and development there. His mother was prior to her marriage to Mr. Del Barto, Miss Rosalie Molley, of New Orleans, and a member of one of the most prominent Italian fami- lies of New Orleans. Mr. Del Barto spent his boy- hood at Orange, and was a student in the public schools there until his graduation from the Orange High School, where he enjoyed the distinction of be-

ing the first Italian boy to graduate. After grad- uating from the high school at Orange, Mr. Del Barto entered the University of Texas, at Austin, attending there during 1910, 1911, 1912 and 1913, after which he went to Chicago and entered the University of Chicago, in the department of law, where he took the LL. B. degree in 1915. Mr. Del Barto then came to Houston, beginning his interest- ing career in this city, and while building up his large legal practice has also become identified with various commercial interests and is one of the few professional men here who have made an outstand- ing success in the business world.

Mr. Del Barto belongs to various clubs, lodges and civic organizations, and is a Knight of Columbus, an Elk, and belongs to the Glenbrook Country Club, the Conopus Club, and the Chamber of Commerce. Mr. Del Barto is one of the most popular of the younger professional and business men at Houston, and is a leader in all progressive civic work. His standing as an attorney and his present achieve- ments in the business and professional world point to a future of unusual distinction, and Mr. Del Barto's associates are watching his career with in- terest.

ARRY HOLMES has been actively identified with the profession of law at Houston for around a decade and a half, and has at- tained high standing as an authority on land title litigation and problems, and as an oil at- torney. Mr. Holmes was admitted to the bar in 1909, establishing his first practice in Houston, and has continued to advance in his profession, building up a very large practice. While Mr. Holmes gives special attention to land title and oil practice, he does not limit his work to these fields, handling a large general practice of a civil nature. Mr. Holmes has his offices in the Woolworth Building and is well equipped, in experience, law procedure, and library facilities to meet any demands on his talents.

Harry Holmes is a native of Texas, having been born in Tyler County the sixteenth of April, 1883. His father, the late Thomas Holmes, was also a native of East Texas, and was a farmer there for many years prior to his death. His mother, whose maiden name was Miss Tiersa Ann Horn, is also deceased, and was a native of Georgia. Harry Holmes attended the public schools of Tyler County, and after leaving school began office work, but several years of this was enough to convince him that there was no future for the office worker, and during his spare time he studied law, equipping himself to enter this profession. He was admitted to the bar in 1909, beginning his practice in Houston, where he has resided since 1905.

Mr. Holmes was married at Waco, Texas, in June, 1910, to Miss Lucy Brockenbrough, a native of Waco, and reared in the Lone Star State. Mr. and Mrs. Holmes resides in Houston, at 1415 Alabama Avenue. They have three children, Harry, Jr., John B., and Thomas J. Holmes. Mr. Holmes is a Mason, be- longing to Holland Blue Lodge, but aside from that has no lodge or club affiliations, finding in his home life and family an interest which precludes club in- terests. Mr. Holmes is held in high esteem by the legal fraternity of Houston, and has made an ex- cellent professional record, especially in land title and oil work, and faces an assured future in his chosen vocation.

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PODel Barto

TA, Binford

NEW ENCYCLOPEDIA OF TEXAS

HOMAS A. BINFORD, one of the best known peace officers of South Texas, is serving his third term as sheriff of Harris County, and prior to his election to this office was for more than a decade a member of one of the various branches of the police department of Houston. Mr. Binford was first elected to the office of sheriff of Harris County in 1918 and was reelected in 1920 and again in 1922, and during this period he has established a remarkable record as a sheriff and keeps Harris County a desirable place in which to live. Since the Volstead regime, Mr. Bin- ford has captured hundreds of whiskey stills which ranged in size from a few gallons to those which required a large barn or a very wide space in a wooded ravine to house. Although the "bad men" days of Texas are practically at an end, Mr. Binford has had many experiences where an iron nerve was necessary. He has nineteen able deputies on a reg- ular monthly salary.

A native Texan, Mr. Binford was born about four hundred yards inside the line of Harris County near the town of Waller, on April 5th, 1881. His father, John A. Binford, a native of Alabama, came to Texas with his father, T. D. Binford, as a small boy and grew to manhood in this state where he has since resided. He has been engaged in the stock raising business all his life, a few years of which was spent in Montgomery County, but has been a resident of Harris County since 1880. His mother (now deceased) was Miss Georgia Willingham, a native of the Lone Star State and a member of a pioneer family. His education was obtained in the public schools of Hempstead and Waller County, Texas. As a very young man, Mr. Binford started out to carve his career and went first to a ranch in Lampasas County, where he was a genuine Texas cowboy for one year. He then returned home and from 1901 to 1905 was engaged in farming and stock raising and then came to Houston where he engaged in buying and selling horses and mules and later became associated with the water department of Houston, and in 1907 went on the police force of Houston as a mounted policeman. In 1912, he was made a detective and was in the detective depart- ment when he resigned in order to become a candi- date for the office of sheriff. Mr. Binford had an unusual experience in his political life, which con- sisted of the fact that a short time before entering the race for sheriff, he was a candidate for the office of constable and was then defeated. He then an- nounced for the office of sheriff, made the race and was elected, and has held this important county office since he was first elected in 1918.

Mr. Binford was married at Navasota, Texas, in 1902 to Miss Maude Arendale, a native of the Lone Star State. They have five children, Ellis G., Beryl, Thomas J., Doris and one other. Mr. Binford is a member of the A. F. & A. M. with membership in Waller Blue Lodge No. 808, and has attained to the 32nd degree in the Scottish Rite body of this order, having taken to the 18th degree in Houston and to the 32nd in San Antonio and is a member of Arabia Temple Shrine at Houston. He is also a member of the B. P. O. E., Knights of Pythias, the D. O. K. K.'s and many other fraternal and social organizations. Mr. Binford has great faith in the future of Hous- ton and assists in every move toward the progress and advancement of this city.

UBERT L. MILLS, one of the leading educa- tors of the State, and for many years prin- cipal in the Houston Public Schools, was ap- pointed to the position of Manager of the Houston Public Schools by the Board of Education July 1, 1921, and on July 1, 1923, he was reappointed for a period of two years. Mr. Mills is Manager of all public school buildings, grounds, supplies and pay- rolls, besides having the employment of janitors, re- pair men, and any and all work having to do with the schools. He is also the buyer of all public school supplies, and superintends the construction of build- ings and the repairs on same. There are sixty-six public schools, seven of which are high schools, and twenty-one of these schools are for the negro popula- tion of Houston, and these are divided into twenty grade schools and one high school. Two hundred employees are required to maintain these schools, not including the hundreds of teachers. The Hous- ton school property and buildings has a monetary value of $8,936,000.00, and as Manager of the Hous- ton Public Schools, Mr. Mills has made a splendid record. These schools are conducted on a plane of higher education which has placed Houston in the front rank among the progressive educational centers of the country, and Houston is proud of her public school system.

A native Texan, Mr. Mills was born at Palestine October 11, 1899. His father, J. W. Mills, (now de- ceased) a native of Georgia, came to Texas and settled in the Eastern portion of the State in 1875. His mother who, before her marriage, was Miss Sallie Elrod, a member of a prominent family of South Carolina, came to Texas with her parents as a child and is now residing with her son, the sub- ject of this sketch, in Houston, and shares and en- joys his achievements along educational and other lines. Mr. Mills' early education was obtained in the public schools of Palestine, Texas, after which he attended and graduated from the Sam Houston State Normal College. He then entered the Law Department of the University of Texas, and grad- uated from this institution in the class of 1909 with the L. L. B. degree. After leaving college, Mr. Mills came to Houston and accepted the Principalship of the Fullerton Ward School and remained as Princi- pal of this school for a period of nine years. He then became associated with Mr. E. A. Peden, dur- ing the World War, in the educational department of the United States Food Administration, and served in this capacity during the war and at the close, he again entered school work in Houston as princi- pal of the Dow School, this being the largest Ward school of the city, and remained in the position of Principal until his appointment as Manager of the Public Schools of Houston by the Board of Educa- tion, where he has given complete satisfaction.

Mr. Mills is a member of the A. F. and A. M., with membership in Holland Lodge No. 1, of Hous- ton, where he has attained to the 32nd degree in the Scottish Rite body of this order, taking his degrees up to the 18th in Houston and to the 32nd in Galves- ton. He is also a member of Arabia Temple Shrine, and is active in all Masonic work. Mr. Mills, with his mother, resides at 118 Yoakum Boulevard. Mr. Mills is popular, not only in the educational circles of Houston, but in the business and social circles as well, and the public schools of the city of Houston are of a character which reflects the progressive spirit of the board, and the manager.

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MEN OF TEXAS

OBERT L. SONFIELD, attorney at law, of Houston, has since coming to this city sev- eral years ago attained an enviable repu- tation as a lawyer, and has established a large and growing practice. Mr. Sonfield was as- sociated with the firm of Vinson, Elkins, Sweeton & Weems, and is now one of the firm of King, Battaile & Sonfield. Mr. Sonfield practices in both State and Federal courts, and is licensed to prac- tice before the Internal Revenue Department on in- come tax matters. Mr. Sonfield was admitted to the bar in 1914, and in 1916 was appointed United States Commissioner for the Eastern District of Texas, with headquarters at Beaumont, and also became a member of the firm of Sonfield, King & Sonfield at Beaumont. He came to Houston in 1920, and with Thomas Talliferro formed the law firm of Talliferro & Sonfield, with whom he was identi- fied until going with the firm of Vinson, Elkins, Sweeton & Weems.

Robert L. Sonfield was born on March 6th, 1893, at Nacogdoches, Texas. His father is Leon Son- field, formerly a Methodist preacher, who now is a lawyer at Beaumont, a member of the firm of Smith, Crawford & Sonfield. His mother is Mattie (Chapman) Sonfield, a daughter of Captain R. D. Chapman, a well known Confederate veteran who came to Texas in 1865. Mr. Sonfield received his early education in the Allen Academy, at Bryan, Texas, and his college education in the academic and law departments of the University of Texas, and in the law department of Columbia University, being admitted to the bar in 1914, before complet- ing his law course. After a year of practice Mr. Sonfield enlisted in the Texas Guards, April 6th, 1917, and entered the Officers Training Camp at Leon Springs, the fourth of May, 1917. He was appointed second lieutenant, Fifth Infantry, T. N. G., and assigned to Company G., and subsequently transferred to Company B, 143rd Infantry, Thirty- sixth Division. He sailed with the First Battalion, 143rd Infantry, from Newport News, Virginia, for Camp Aldershot, near Halifax, Nova Scotia, for an exhibition review before the Governor General of Canada, thence for France, where his battalion rejoined the Thirty-sixth Division, which partici- pated in the Champagne offensive and the Meuse- Argonne offensive. He was promoted to the rank of first lieutenant, in August, 1918, appointed as aerial observer of the Thirty-sixth Division, and detailed to school of instruction; later rejoining his division. In February, 1919, he was detailed as a member of the Inter-Allied Commission on the repatriation of Russian and allied prisoners of war, and the American Military Mission, with headquar- ters at Berlin, Germany, in charge of the super- vision of all prison camps in which allied and Rus- sian prisoners were confined, and distribution of food therein, pending repatriation. He remained in this position until September, 1919, sailing from France to the States, and was discharged at Camp Pike, Arkansas, the tenth of October, 1919, as first lieutenant, 143rd Infantry, Thirty-sixth Division. He received a citation from the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs of Great Britain for the aid he rendered British prisoners of war, and letters of commendation from General John J. Pershing, General George H. Harries, and from Lieutenant Colonel Carl Taylor. He is now a captain of in-

fantry, O. R. C., and also adjutant of the 143rd Infantry, Thirty-sixth Division.

Mr. Sonfield is a member of St. Paul's Meth- odist Church, at Houston, and active in all church work. He belongs to the University Club, the River Oaks Country Club, the American Legion, Sons of American Revolution, and the Sons of Confederate Veterans at Houston. He is a member of Holland Lodge No. 1, A. F. and A. M., a 32nd degree Scottish Rite Mason, a member of Arabia Temple Shrine and the Arabia Temple Patrol. Mr. Sonfield also be- longs to the Harris County Bar Association, the American Bar Association and the Texas Bar Association. He is at present Secretary and Treasurer of the Texas Society, Sons of the Ameri- can Revolution, claiming membership through his great-great-grandfather, William Chapman, who served as sergeant in Captain Uriah Goodwin's Company, Third South Carolina Regiment, of Con- tinental Troops. Mr. Sonfield is especially inter- ested in all that concerns the upbuilding, progress and beautification of Houston, and is active in all civic advancement work.

OBERT L. COLE, member of the law firm of Cole, Cole, O'Connor & Jones, has for al- most a score of years been a familiar fig- ure in the courts of Houston and Harris County. This firm is engaged 'n a general civil practice, with office at 313-323 Commercial Nation- al Bank Building, and are attorneys for the Guaran- ty National Bank and various other corporations and interests, local and foreign.

Mr. Cole was born at Paris, Tennessee, February 10th, 1879. His father, R. P. Cole (deceased since 1903) was a prominent attorney of Paris and was United States Attorney for the Department of Jus- tice, and was for several years a member of the State Senate and also a member of the House in Tennessee and was also Presidential Elector of that State. His mother was Miss Fannie Clark (de- ceased since 1922), a native of Mississippi, and had for fifteen years prior to her death spent the win- ter months in Houston. His early education was obtained in the public schools of Paris, Tennessee, and later attended the Normal School at Hender- son, and received a certificate from this institution. He studied law in Judge A. B. Lamb's office; Judge Lamb was for many years a judge of the court of civil appeals. Mr. Cole was admitted to the bar in 1902 when he established his office and began the practice of his profession alone at Paris, Ten- nessee. On June 1st, 1905, he was joined in the practice of his profession by Mr. Wilson, and the firm was known as Wilson & Cole, which con- tinued until 1910, when he brother, John F. Cole, became a member of the firm and the name was changed to Cole, Wilson & Cole, which continued until June 1st, 1914, when Mr. Wilson retired and the firm became Cole & Cole, and continued as such until January 1st, 1923, when it was changed to the present style as given at the inception hereof.

Mr. Cole was City Attorney of Houston Heights for six years, and has been closely connected with the commercial interests of Houston for many years, and is a director in the Guaranty National Bank, the Y. M. C. A. and the Harris County Bar Association, and is a member of the Advisory Council of the Houston School of law. Mr. Cole was married in

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NEW ENCYCLOPEDIA OF TEXAS

Houston, March 31st, 1907, to Miss Dena Knypers, a native of Michigan. They have three children- Robert L. Cole, Jr., Richard Ray and Rosemary. Mr. and Mrs. Cole reside at 945 Harvard Street, Houston Heights. In frateral, social and civic or- ganizations Mr. Cole is a member of the following: Modern Woodman, I. O. O. F., Houston Country Club, River Oaks Country Club, Glenbrook Coun- try Club, Old River Fishing Club, Texas Bar As- sociation, Harris County Bar Association, chairman Heights Improvement Club, member City Planning Commission, member and secretary of the Board of Trustees Methodist Hospital, and chairman of the Board of Stewards of the Grace Methodist Church. He has served on several occasions as special dis- trict judge by election of the bar and appointment of the governor.

ARRY W. FREEMAN, attorney at law, has for more than a decade practiced his pro- fession before the Houston Bar and has established a place of marked distinction in the legal profession of the Lone Star State. Mr. Freeman is engaged in a general civil practice, and has a large land title practice in his chosen branch of law. He has always practiced alone and has well appointed offices at 526 Bankers Mortgage Building, Houston, Texas. Mr. Freeman was admitted to the Bar in 1913, when he immediately established his home and office in this city, and began his prac- tice in which he has met with great success. It was in 1908, that Mr. Freeman came to the United States and Houston acquired a new citizen, and he is an example of what industry and application can accomplish. When young Freeman faced the prob- lem of securing an education he applied himself to the task with enthusiastic determination. He used the school training he had received in his native country as a foundation, and devoted himself dili- gently to home study. The liberal education which he has received was almost entirely through self help, and he is a recognized leader among the younger lawyers of Houston. He came to Houston when twenty-two years of age, and secured employ- ment, attending night school and working during the day. Later he took a course in shorthand, and started to work as a stenographer in the law office of Judge Henry J. Dannenbaum, well known Hous- ton Lawyer, and remained in this law office for a period of three years, during which time he studied law during his spare moments. He then went with with the United States government in the Depart- ment of Justice in New York City, and while in this position he continued his studies of law at the New York University Law School at night for a period of two years when he was recalled to Hous- ton. Shortly after his return he was admitted to the bar and has continued the practice of his pro- fession in this city since that time, and has met with success in his chosen line of endeavor.

Mr. Freeman was born in Poland on May 12th, 1886. His father died when he was three years of age, and Mr. Freeman was raised by his mother, who is still a resident of Poland. His early education was strictly of a religious nature. His secular edu- cation was obtained through self study.

Romance came into Mr. Freeman's life before leaving his native land, and after coming to America he never forgot his boyhood sweetheart, Miss Frieda

Friedman, whom he sent for and married in Houston on February 26th, 1911. They have two children- Bernard, who is a Junior in the Houston high school and Celia, who is a student of the Montrose public school. Mr. and Mrs. Freeman reside at 1420 West Alabama Street. Mr. Freeman is a member of the Lawyers Club and the Y. M. C. A., in the latter he takes an active interest. Among the younger pro- fessional men of Houston who have sought their fortune in this city, there are few to whom the future seems more full of promise and prosperity than to Harry W. Freeman.

ODGE H. NEELD, attorney at law, began the practice of his profession in Houston in 1919, and since that time has become well bar. known among the lawyers of the Houston Mr. Neeld is a member of the firm of York and Neeld, with offices at 323 Kress Building, and this partnership, which was formed in 1922, has a large general law practice. Mr. Neeld's partner is Mr. John B. York, well known in the legal circles of Houston and South Texas. For six months after locating in Houston, Mr. Neeld was associated with John H. Crooker in the practice of his profession, after which he removed to Fort Worth, Texas, where he remained for one year and then returned to Hous- ton. Following his return to this city, Mr. Neeld be- came associated with the law firm of Val Velzer and York and remained as a member of this firm until 1923. During the latter part of 1923, Mr. Val Vel- ber removed to California, when Mr. Neeld formed the present partnership with Mr. York. Mr. Neeld began his business career as a school teacher, and for a time was principal of the Llano High School, after which he became principal of the High School at Athens, Texas. After this experience as a teacher, he entered the law department of the Uni- versity of Texas, and was admitted to the Bar in 1919, when he came to Houston and started his career as a lawyer, and which has been uniformly successful.

A native Texan, Mr. Neeld was born at Halletts- ville on February 28th, 1893. His father, H. W. Neeld, a native of Tennessee, came to Texas as a young man, and for many years was engaged in ranching and the stock business in this state. He is now a resident of Lampasas County, Texas. His mother was Miss Margaret Dean, a member of a well-known Texas family. His early education was obtained in the public schools of Lampasas, after which he entered Allen Academy, a school for boys, located at Bryan, Texas, and remained in this in- stitution for a period of three years. He then be- came a student of the Southwestern University at Georgetown, Texas, where he pursued the academic course for three years, and later went to Texas University.

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New encyclopedia of Texas, volume 2, Part 45

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