New encyclopedia of Texas, volume 2, Part 6

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

USA > Texas > New encyclopedia of Texas, volume 2 > Part 6

Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).

Sam Weston Foster was born at Richmond, Texas, the ninth of January, 1871, the son of Guilford Foster, who was also born at Richmond, and Sallie Jones Foster, daughter of Randall Jones. Both his paternal grandfather, Randolph Foster, and his ma- ternal grandfather, Randall Jones, were members of Stephen F. Austin's colony which settled at Fort Bend, now known as Richmond, in 1823. Mr. Foster spent his boyhood at Richmond, attending school there. His first business experience was in the printing business, in 1882, at Houston, where he remained until 1897, when he went to Mexico, spend- ing two years in that country. This was followed by two years at Galveston, after which he came to Beaumont, in 1902, where he has since made his home. Shortly after coming here he went with the Beaumont Journal and was with that paper for six years, later spending two years with the Amer- ican Printing Company, after which he established his present business.

Mr. Foster was married at Houston, in 1895, to

Miss Vibella McGary, daughter of Daniel McGary, noted publisher and newspaper man, who was fea- tured in the cartoons and stories of Alex Sweet, famous newspaper character and publisher of the Houston Age. Mr. and Mrs. Foster reside in Beau- mont, at 1169 Broadway Avenue, and have one child, Sam Weston Foster, Jr. The family attends the First Methodist Church, where Mr. Foster is a very prominent church worker, and where he has been one of the most regular attendants at Sunday school, missing but three times in forty years. Mr. Foster belongs to the Kiwanis Club, the Lions Club, and fraternally is a Woodman of the World. He finds recreation in hunting and fishing, and is interested in all civic and development activities.

ILL F. GRAHAM, well known merchant and business man, has been a resident of Beau- mont for about fourteen years, having come here in August, 1912, following the com- pletion of his education. Mr. Graham is one of the best known business men of the city and numbers his friends and acquaintance among people in every walk of life.

Mr. Graham is secretary-treasurer and general manager of the White House Dry Goods Company, founded in 1904 by his father, Chas. F. Graham, who is president of the company. Chas. F. Graham, Jr., is vice president and each of the three is active in the management of the business,

The White House store is the leading dry goods emporium of the city, carrying a stock of high class, dependable and thoroughly up to date merchandise that would do credit to a city much larger than Beau- mont. The stock carried includes clothing for both men and women, dry goods, dresses, millinery, no- tions and practically everything f und in the modern department store. The store occupies thirty thou- sand square feet of floor space and employs one hundred people in its various departments.

Will F. Graham was born at Hillsboro, Texas, on March 3, 1888. He is a son of Chas. Fletcher and Etta Graham and spent his boyhood in Hillsboro where his father was engaged in business for many years before removing to Beaumont. The younger Graham attended the public schools and the high school at Hillsboro and then entered Baylor Uni- versity at Waco, later attending Vanderbilt. After completing his studies at Vanderbilt he came to Beaumont where his father had established the Store and entered actively upon the management of the business.

Mr. Graham was married at Hillsboro in June, 1913, to Miss Nautie Bird Kirksey, daughter of James S. Kirksey, well known hotel man. Mr. and Mrs. Graham have one son, Chas. Fletcher, nine years of age.

Besides his business Mr. Graham takes an active interest in civic affairs and has been identified with numerous movements in Beaumont of a public char- acter. He is a Mason and a member of the Beau- mont Country Club, the Beaumont Club and Neches Club. He is affiliated with the Presbyterian church and is a director of the American National Bank.

Friends of Mr. Graham regard him as one of the most active of the younger business men of Beau- mont. The White House Dry Goods Company under his management has achieved a splendid success and is experiencing a gratifying increase in business year by year.

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ERBERT J. HALLIDAY has for upwards of two decades taken an active part in the commercial and industrial development of Beaumont, where he is interested in enter- prises of wide scope, and has been for the past sev- eral years a factor in the lumber business in this section. The Turnbow Lumber Company, of which Mr. Halliday is president, is one of the largest lum- ber companies in the city, and under the capable management of D. M. Caffall, has expanded rapidly. The business was organized in 1907, and until 1919 operated by the original management. In this latter year the present officers took over the business, re-organizing along modern and progressive lines. The yards and offices are located on a three acre tract, with railroad frontage, at the corner of Park and Austin Streets. Adequate buildings, of modern construction, are used for storing the large stock of lumber, and a modern office building insures per- fect working conditions in the office. An excep- tionally complete line of lumber and building mate- rials is carried, and in addition to the large retail business in this commodity, the company has been active in financing building. The officers are Her- bert J. Halliday, president; H. H. Howell, vice pres- ident; and D. M. Caffall, secretary and treasurer.

Mr. Halliday was born at Dundee, New York, the ninth of January, 1880, the son of C. H. Halliday, a farmer and land owner of that state. He was edu- cated in the public schools at Wellsville and Andover, New York, graduating from high school. He then began working in the oil fields of New York and Pennsylvania, where he spent three years, after which, in 1902, he came to Beaumont, and began operating in the oil fields at Spindletop, and where he has since been active. Mr. Halliday is a prac- tical oil operator, familiar with every phase of oil development, and through experience knows how everything in the fields should be done. In 1907 he organized the Stella Oil Company, with D. M. Caf- fall, and one other partner. Two years later Mr. Halliday, with Mr. Caffall, bought the interests of the other owner, and have since operated the com- pany, which has been active in drilling and produc- tion. They also own the Halliday and Caffall Oil Company, organized in 1917, and a factor in drill- ing and production activities until its consolidaton with the Stella Oil Company.

Mr. Halliday was married at Beaumont, in 1905, to Miss Anna Bonham, daughter of M. Bonham, a cot- ton man at Corsicana. Mr. and Mrs. Halliday have three children, Herbert B., Elizabeth and David, and make their home at 1696 Victoria. Mr. Halliday is a member of the Beaumont Club, Masonic Lodge, Knights of Pythias, Oddfellows and Hoo-Hoos. Few men have done more in a material way, for the de- velopment of Beaumont, than has Mr. Halliday. The many enterprises in which he has been interested have been of vital importance to commercial devel- opment, and he has taken pride in the accomplish- ments of his city.

N. DOUGLAS a few years ago became identified with the oil city of Daisetta, and since that time has been one of the most enterprising men in the oil industry here, holding a responsible position with a large com- pany, and attaining the reputation of a produc- tion expert. Mr. Douglas is production superin-

tendent for the Houston Production Company, and has been in charge of the work here since September, 1922. He is now in charge of all production, averaging at the present time around a thousand barrels, and is managing the affairs of the com- pany in a capable and efficient manner.

Mr. Douglas had his first oil experience at Goose Creek, where he began with the Humble Company in December, 1916, and until April of the next year was roughnecking and working in various other capacities for that company. In April, 1917, he went to Sour Lake, with the Lake Graham Oil Company, remaining with them until August, after which he went to Humble with the Texas Company, remaining there until November, 1917. He returned to Sour Lake around the first of the year, later en- listing in the navy, and after receiving his discharge returning to the fields in Sour Lake, August, 1919, when he went to Spindle Top, pushing tools, and was there until March, 1920, when he went to West Columbia as timekeeper for the Texas Com- pany. He came to Hull in 1920, with the Gulf Company, remaining with them for one year, after which he went with the Houston Production Com- pany, as timekeeper, and was sent by them to Daisetta in 1922 as production superintendent. In January, 1925, Mr. Douglas went in the retail grocery business at Daisetta, and is now engaged in this line.

Mr. Douglas was born at Colmesneil, Texas, the twenty-ninth of October, 1897, son of Irwin B. Douglas, a druggist, and Nannie Fowler Douglas. He moved to Sour Lake as a boy and attended the public schools there. After leaving high school he began work in the oil fields, and worked there until enlisting in the navy in 1918. He was dis- charged in July, 1919, as second class machinist, and returned to the oil fields, where he has since been.

Mr. Douglas was married at Beaumont, Texas, the eleventh of November, 1920, to Miss Lillian Bryant, whose parents came from Massachusetts. Mr. and Mrs. Douglas make their home at Daisetta, and have one child, Melva Jack. They attend the Methodist Church. Mr. Douglas is a Mason, Blue Lodge Chapter at Dayton. He is a young man who has made rapid progress in oil field work, and his as- sociates foresee a real future for him in production activities.

H. SEXTON has recently become identified with the oil city of Hull, and since coming here has been one of the most enterprising and enthusiastic men in the industry, and has taken an active part in development work. Mr. Sexton is the representative of the Houston Oil Company, at Hull. Mr. Sexton has been with the Houston Oil Company since May, 1922, at which time he was stationed at Mexia, where he had charge of running the oil away for the company, and experimented with wells. From Mexia he went to Curry, as general utility man. In November, 1922, he went to Live Oak County, where he also acted as general utility man. Prior to going with the Houston Oil Company Mr. Sexton spent a year and a half roughnecking at Hull for the Republic Company.

L. H. Sexton was born at Baltimore, Maryland, the twenty-second of November, 1890, son of S. B. Sexton, of the B. B. Sexton Stove Manufacturing Company, of Baltimore, a business established in

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1839. Mr. Sexton attended the public schools of Baltimore until he entered St. John's School, at Annapolis. Later he attended Tome School at Port Deport, and the University of Virginia, where he was in the engineering school. After leaving the university in 1910 Mr. Sexton was with the Kline Motor Corporation for a time, and later in the banking business at Baltimore for three years, after which he was associated with Mackubin Goodrich and Company. He enlisted in the Aviation Section of the Signal Corps, the thirteenth of December, 1917, and was sent to Princeton U. S. School of Aeronautics, where he was commissioned second lieutenant, and sent with the Motor Transport Corps to Camp Meigs, Washington, handling heavy trucks. Later he was at Camp Meade, in the heavy Motor Transport Division, and was discharged from there in April, 1919.

Mr. Sexton was married at York, Pennsylvania, in December, 1910, to Miss Bessie Ragsdale, daugh- ter of a prominent New York and Baltimore family. Mr. and Mrs. Sexton have two children, Jean and Mary, and make their home in Houston, at 3505 Graustark Avenue. Mr. Sexton is a member of the Sigma Pi Epsilon fraternity at the University of Virginia, and belongs to the Baltimore Yacht Club and the Baltimore Athletic Club. He formerly own- ed the yacht "Cheneden", winning a number of trophies on the Atlantic in the years from 1908 until 1917.

HOMPSON MELTON THAMES, president and manager of the Neches Creamery Com- pany, 1494 Park Street, has been a resident of Texas for more than twenty years and since 1918 has been actively identified with the com- mercial interests of Beaumont, coming to this city from Port Arthur.

The Neches Creamery Company was organized by Mr. Thames in 1918 and succeeded to the business of the former Beaumont Dairy Products Company, the Neches Company buying the plant and business of the Dairy Products Company. The company manufactures ice cream and butter, which it sells over a wide territory. Most of the milk, cream and other dairy products are sold in Beaumont. The plant and equipment is thoroughly modern through- out and the superior quality of its products is known throughout a large trade territory. The company has ten employees. James S. Kennedy is secretary- treasurer of the company and has been actively associated with Mr. Thames for several years.

Mr. Thames is a native of Alabama and was born at Clayborn on April 2, 1872, a son of John and Ame- lia Thames. His father was a well known farmer and land owner and Mr. Thames received his educa- tion in the public schools of his native state. For sev- eral years he was engaged in various lines of work, including the manufacture of lumber, the operation of a grist mill, cotton gin, etc. He also followed the contracting business for a number of years. Com- ing to Texas in 1902, he operated as a contractor and builder until 1912, when he engaged in the creamery business.

Mr. Thames organized the Thames Ice Cream Company at Port Arthur in 1913 and operated this business successfully until 1916 when he organized the Milk Products Company at Port Arthur, contin- uing this business until his removal to Beaumont in

1918. The business of the Neches Creamery Com- pany under the management of Mr. Thames has ex- panded until it is the largest concern of its kind in this section of the state. No small portion of its suc- cess is attributed to the close, personal attention given the business by Mr. Thames, who personally supervises the making of all its products.

In 1897 Mr. Thames was married in Alabama to Miss Amelia Slater, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. B. N. Slater. They have nine children, Norvell Leigh, Dollie, Antonette, Sarah, Marschael, Joe, Amy Lee, James P. and Mollie. The family home is at 1418 North Street.

Mr. Thames has always taken an active interest in civic affairs and is a member of the Knights of Pythias and the Beaumont Rotary Club. He is a communicant of the Baptist Church. He is a strong booster for Beaumont and ever ready to aid in any movement for the city's development.

ALTER C. A. BENEKE, one of the progres- sive business men at Orange who has taken an active part in the commercial develop- ment of the city, has been a factor in the business world here for a number of years, and is well known in Southeast Texas. Shortly after his arrival in Orange in 1919 he engaged in the filling station business which he conducted along with his other interests until going with the Orange Car and Steel Company, with whom he is now associated.

Walter C. A. Beneke was born in Oshkosh, Wis- consin, the fifteenth of June, 1881, the son of Wil- liam Beneke, a native of Germany, who came to the United States with his brother as a boy, and who en- gaged in the mercantile business for many years, and Elizabeth (Schneider) Beneke. The family moved to Fort Worth in 1893, where both parents' death occurred, and Mr. Beneke received his educa- tion in the schools of that city. As a young man he went to Hot Springs, Arkansas, where he was with the Great Northern Hotel for two years, and in 1904 came to the Sour Lake oil field, later going to Batson, and still later to Saratoga, where he was with the A. T. & S. F. Oil Company, as field super- intendent, for a time. He later went to Wheelan, Oklahoma, where he located the Healdon field, and

after a year there returned to Texas, going to Hous- ton where he was chemical inspector for a group of railroads for a period of three years. He then went to Mexico, spending three years in the Tampico oil fields, after which he again returned to Texas, this time coming to Orange, where after six months with the chemical department of the Seaboard Oil and Refining Company, and a year and a half as pur- chasing agent for a Dry Dock and Ship Building Company he entered business for himself.

Mr. Beneke was married twice, the first time to Mrs. Ada Taylor Gary, a member of the Tyre Tay- lor family, one of the pioneer families of Wharton, County, Texas, this marriage occurring at Hot Springs. He was married the second time at Orange, in 1921, to Mrs. Nellie Simmons Phillips, a native of Mississippi. Mr. and Mrs. Beneke have one child, Walter, Jr., and reside at Orange. Mr. Beneke is a member of the Elks Club, the Country Club, the Rotary Club, the Orange Chamber of Com- merce and the Young Men's Business League, and takes a deep interest in all civic activities, giving his active support to all development measures.

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MEN OF TEXAS

HOMAS HENRY LANGHAM. The name of Thomas Henry Langham, distinguished pioneer of Jefferson County, and one of those early residents of Beaumont to whom this city owes much of its present development, will ever be prominently associated with the history of this city and accorded the high honor that is justly due one who took so active and unselfish a part in the life of his day. Mr. Langham, for years a factor in public life, was that type of public of- ficial who finds in his office opportunity to serve his community, and uses his influence to advance his city, rather than to serve his own private ambitions. In few counties has an official held an elective of- fice for so many consecutive years, and while this was in part a tribute to the high esteem in which he was held, it was also a tribute to the untiring devotion he gave to the duties his office involved, and the loyal interest he took in his city and its welfare.

Thomas Henry Langham, a native of Texas, was born the third of August, 1845, in Jefferson County, where his father, James Biddle Langham, settled in the early forties, coming from his native State of Tennessee. He lived here, engaged in agricultural pursuits, until his death. His mother, whose maiden name was Miss Sarah Jane Nettles, was a native of Louisiana. Growing up under pioneer conditions Thomas Henry Langham had few educational oppor- tunities, and although he attended school at Cold Springs for several terms his education was largely by self help. At the age of seventeen he enlisted in the Confederate Army, serving throughout the war, and at its close returning to Jefferson County, where he began farming some four miles from Beaumont.

After a number of years thus engaged Mr. Lang- ham came to Beaumont, in 1875, having been elected Sheriff and Tax Collector of Jefferson County, be- ginning a public career that was marked by many distinctions. He held the combined offices for twen- ty-six years, at which time the two offices were sep- arated. He then became a candidate for tax collector, being elected by a large majority, and was re- elected each succeeding term until his resignation. Later, at the urging of his many friends, he became a candidate for mayor, being elected to this office, which he held for four years, during which time he was active in securing many civic advantages for Beaumont. At the expiration of four years he resigned to look after his extensive private in- terests, which included much property acquired from his real estate dealings. Mr. Langham, although, a candidate for office on many occasions was never defeated, and there have been few men in public life so generally esteemed and admired. In the "Story of Beaumont" there was a statement that Mr. Langham had been defeated for mayor at one time, but this was a mistake, because he was never defeated for office.

Thomas Henry Langham was married at the old French home, on Voth Road, the twenty-ninth of December, 1869, to Miss Mary Elizabeth French, who was born in that home, the daughter of David R. French, who came with his father to Jefferson County as a boy of twelve years, settling on that place, where he lived until his death, at the age of ninety-five years. Her mother was Miss Amelia Guidry, a native of Louisiana. Mr. and Mrs. Lang-

ham had an ideal married life, he finding in his home, his wife and children an interest which left no room for clubs and lodges. Mrs. Langham, a woman of many accomplishments, and a talent for home making, was his constant companion and inspira- tion throughout the many years of their married life. They had three children: Lula, wife of Guy W. Junker of Beaumont, and who has one child, Lyle, who is married to John Spencer, and also has one child, Junker Spencer; Henry C. Langham, who is married to Hancel Finley, and has two sons, T. Henry, who is married to Arline Stewart and has one child, Hancel, and R. W. Langham; and Sadie, wife of W. F. Treadaway and who has two sons: W. F., Jr., and Tom Langham Treadaway.

Mr. Langham's death, which occurred at Beaumont the ninteenth of April, 1919, was a deep loss to Beaumont, and it will be long before his place will be filled. He had friends by the hundreds, men and women who appreciated his fine qualities, and who knew him for a real man, honest and upright in all his dealings. Even criminals, while fearing him, yet admired him for his square dealing at all times. His name was synonymous with a high integrity, and on many occasions he was sought to act as receiver for some bankrupt concern because of his high stand- ing as a business man of sound and constructive ideals. During the almost half a century of his life in Beaumont he stood for the highest type of civic development and betterment, using his in- fluence at all times to secure for his city the ad- vancement that he so firmly believed in, and there are today many memorials to him in this city that will stand as long as Beaumont shall stand, and recall his memory to the citizens as one of the real builders of his city.

OHN WILKINS HUTCHISON, attorney at law, Houston, Texas, began the practice of his profession here in April, 1916, and in a very short time had established an en- viable reputation in his chosen branch of legal jurisprudence. Prior to taking up the study of law, Mr. Hutchison had for almost fifteen years been active in the business and railroad world. He started his career in the railroad service in a minor position when eighteen years of age, continuing in this field of activity until 1907, during which time he had occupied many positions of trust and as an offical of one of the largest railroads of the Lone Star State. He later engaged in the real estate business in the State of Pennsylvania, and still later returned to this State and was associated with some of the largest interests of North Texas.

A native Texan, Mr. Hutchison was born at Bryan on April 6th, 1870. His father, Abraham Young Hutchison (now deceased), was a native of Spring- field, Tennessee, and throughout his life was en- gaged in the mercantile business and was known as one of the most progressive merchants of his native State and of Texas. His mother, Mrs. Mary K. (Wilkins) Hutchison, was a native of Brenham, Texas, where she was a member of one of Texas' most prominent families. Mrs. Hutchison is well and favorably known as a composer of sacred music. Mr. Hutchison's education was obtained in the public and high schools of Brenham, Texas, after which he became a student of Baylor University, where he pursued a commercial course, but did

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not graduate from this institution. In 1888,

entered Mr. Hutchison the employ of the Houston and Texas Central and the Texas and Pacific Railroad at Sherman, Texas, as assistant ticket agent. In 1895 he was made city passen- ger and ticket agent at Sherman of the Cotton Belt Railroad, where later he became joint passenger agent of the Cotton Belt and the Santa Fe railroads. He continued in this position until 1902, when he removed to San Antonio and accepted the position of passenger agent of the San Antonio and Aransas Pass Railroad, and was made travel- ing passenger agent of this line of road in 1905. He continued in this capacity until 1907, when he removed to Altoona, Pennsylvania, in order to en- gage in the real estate business there. He was suc- cessful in this field of activity, and during 1908, he became associated with the Henry L. Doherty in- terests at Altoona, Pennsylvania, but remained with this organization but a few months when he returned to Texas in order to accept a position with the Hob- son Electric Company at Dallas, Texas. He remained with this company until 1910, when he went with the Western Electric Company at Dallas, and remained with this company until 1912, when ill health forced him to sever his connection with this organization. Mr. Hutchison had had throughout his life, a desire to become a lawyer, and after the failure of his health, he began the study of law, continuing to read under some of the State's leading attorneys for a period of four years. He passed the bar examination of the Court of First Civil Appeals of Galveston, Texas, in April, 1916. He then established his home and office in Houston and began the practice of law alone, continuing in this profession until the be- ginning of the World War, when he entered the service of the United States War Department. He was particularly fitted for a position of a military nature on account of the training which he had at various times received. Prior to the beginning of the war he was captain and personnel adjutant, 8th Infantry of the National Guard of Texas. During the war, he was assigned to Selective Service Law Department, adjutant general's office, stationed in the war department at Austin, Texas. Mr. Hutchi- son had direct and complete charge of draft induc- tions and allocation of all calls from the provost marshal general's office to the two hundred and eighty-two draft boards in the State of Texas. This position was a very responsible one in that he was responsible for all reports and records pertaining to the draft induction. He originated and designed many of the report forms used by the war depart- ment for the draft. During his period of service, Mr. Hutchison was promoted to the rank of major. He was discharged in June, 1919, and on January 5th, 1924, he was appointed by the president of the United States as major adjutant general and rated as a specialist, thereby establishing a record in military circles that is equal in honor to any ever bestowed on a man without being a graduate of some of the leading military institutions of the country. Mr. Hutchison was a member of the A. F. and A. M. with membership in Temple Lodge No. 4, of Houston, where he belonged to Ruthven Com- mandery No. 2, and was a Knight Templar of Texas Consistory No. 1. He also was a member of the Scottish Rite body of this order at Galveston, and was a Shriner of Arabia Temple of Houston, being a

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New encyclopedia of Texas, volume 2, Part 6

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