The encyclopedia of Texas, V.1, Part 107

Author: Davis, Ellis Arthur, ed; Grobe, Edwin H., ed
Publication date: 1922
Publisher: Dallas, Texas Development Bureau
Number of Pages: 1204

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Mr. Greve was married to Miss Ethel Parsons, daughter of Mrs. W. E. Whitis of Dallas. A son, James Richard, is their only child. Their home is at Fourth and Pennsylvania Avenues. Although he has not given a great deal of attention to enter- prises of a public nature, Mr. Greve has shown himself to be in sympathy with every progressive movement and is one of Dallas' most highly re- spected citizens.

ENRY C. MILLER, president of the H. C. Miller Company, jobbers for galvanized and enamelware, 300-314 Olive Street, has been a prominent merchant of Dallas for eigh- teen years, and head of a prosperous, growing house. Before establishing this business in 1902, Mr. Miller had a thorough knowledge of this particular line of commodities, having been in the merchandise business all his life, and for the ten years preceding his move to Dallas, having traveled for a St. Louis woodenware house.

The H. C. Miller Company carries every variety of galvanized and enamelware, tinware, glassware, woodenware, and paper bags. The building which the firm occupies is a five story structure with 45,000 square feet of space. Twenty-five people are em-

ployed in the organization in Dallas, including eight traveling salesmen, who cover territory for a radius of two hundred miles out of Dallas. The average amount of business transacted amounts to $500,000 annually. The year of 1919 was the banner year in the history of the organization, and 1920 has seen a marked increase over that.

Mr. Miller was born in Wilmington, Delaware, on May 18, 1855. When he was five years old his family moved to St. Louis and later to Rolla, Missouri. He received his education in the public schools of these two places, and at an early age began his business career by clerking in a mercantile establishment. In 1879, when he was still very young, he went into business for himself in Mountain Grove, Missouri, carrying a line of general merchandise. He con- ducted this business for thirteen years, enlarging his capacity from time to time and making a financial success of it. In 1892 he sold out and came to Texas traveling for a St. Louis woodenware concern with headquarters at Austin. After ten years of experience with this line he determined to established a business of his own, and came to Dal- las as this place seemed to him the jobbing center of the Southwest.

He was married to Miss Ollie Daniel, daughter of Rev. J. B. Daniel, of an Illinois family, but who had been a minister in Missouri for many years. Mr. and Mrs. Miller have two children, Mrs. Arthur J. Grote, whose husband is secretary of the Miller Company, and C. H. Miller, assistant secretary of the firm.

Mr. Miller is a member of the Chamber of Com- merce and the Automobile Club. He states that while Dallas has surprised him in the past in its rapid development as a distributing point, nothing will surprise now, and he expects to see the city make marvelous leaps forward as the development of other and untested resources progresses.

ORTON WILLIAM BRANSFORD, manager of the Dallas Office of Barnhart Bros. & Spindler, 1102 Commerce street, is a busi- ness executive of rare qualities, whose abil- ity has been recognized and rewarded by rapid ad- vancement and final promotion to his present res- ponsible position as manager of his firm.

Barnhart Brothers & Spindler are wholesale deal- ers in printing machinery, type founders, and every- thing used by printers except paper. Thirty people are employed in the Dallas organizaton, with three traveling salesmen working out of Dallas and cover- ing Texas and part of Louisiana. A large stock is carried by the Dallas house, as this branch does the most extensive business of any branch of the firm with the exception of Chicago. During 1919 the vol- ume of business handled through the local office amounted to $775,000 which was as much as the combined efforts of the St. Louis, Kansas City, and Omaha branches.

A native of Tennessee, Mr. Bransford was born in Nashville, January 12, 1886. He was the son of Rev. S. W. Bransford, Methodist minister of Nashville and Tennessee, and a brother of Major John S. Brans- ford, prominent in railroad circles of that state. His mother was Miss Willie Horton, also of a well known family. He received his education in the Nashville public schools and the Mooney Preparatory School at Franklin, from which he was graduated in 1900. Immediately upon finishing his education, he

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came to Texas, and entered the firm of A. G. Elliot Paper Company as office boy. He was seventeen years old at this time. During the next five years spent with this company he received a number of promotions, finally leaving them to become shipping clerk of the company he now manages. His ability attracted notice and he was given a responsible cler- ical position in the office, and later made traveling salesman. In 1913 he was sent to Kansas City as as- sistant manager of that branch and his splendid work in this capacity resulted in his being promoted to the management of the Dallas office in July, 1919.

Mr. Bransford was married to Miss Leslie Dawson, of Illinois, daughter of Charles P. Dawson, on the second day of June, 1908, the ceremony being cele- brated in Dallas. Mr. and Mrs. Bransford have three children, Betty, Billy and Burt, and reside at 113 South Clinton Street, Oak Cliff.

He is a member of the Masonic Lodge, 32d degree Scottish Rite, Hella Temple Shrine, Chamber of Commerce, Rotary Club, Ad League, Cedar Crest Country Club, and the Christian Science Church.

Enthusiastic in his praise of Dallas, Mr. Bransford believes that development opportunities are greater here than in any other section of the country, and that Dallas has a wonderful future.

A. BRYAN, president and general manager of Bryan Oil Corporation, American Na- tional Bank Building, Wichita Falls, is a leader in one of Texas' greatest industries of today. Associated with him in official capacity are his brothers, L. J. Bryan, as vice-president and treasurer, and R. S. (Bob) Bryan, as secretary.

The Bryan Oil Corporation operates in Wichita and adjoining counties, owns several pieces of proven oil land on which they have many producing wells with attractive daily output, and are drilling others in proven territory. They hold leases on approximately 200 acres of proven oil land in the heart of the producing country, and have several thousand acres of wild cat leases.

C. A. Bryan is a native Texan, he was born in Washington County, on January 11, 1885. His parents are Samuel S. Bryan and Alice Strickland Bryan, both early Texans. His father is a merchant at Temple, Texas.

After completing the public school system of Temple, he began his business career as a stenog- rapher for a railroad at Houston, then later for a lumber company, and still later decided to enter the lumber business for himself, establishing two lumber yards in Jackson County, Texas.

In 1911 he started his oil operations in the Humble field near Houston with his brother, L. J. Bryan, and they operated at Humble and in the Goose Creek territory until 1917, where the Bryan brothers were known as successful oil operators.

In 1917 the Bryan brothers shifted their activities to Wichita County where since that date they have been steadily gaining a place among the leaders, and are known as one of the most successful and substantial oil operators in Wichita County.

On December 26, 1907, at Houston, Texas, Miss Eunice Munn of that city became the bride of Mr. C. A. Bryan. She is the daughter of W. C. Munn. a prominent dry goods merchant of that city. Mr. and Mrs. Bryan now reside at the Kemp Hotel. Their church affiliation is Presbyterian. He is a member of the Kiwanis Club and the Wichita Club.

As president and general manager of an able cor-

poration with substantial standing and as one ex- perienced in the oil business, Mr. Bryan will have ar attractive part in the development of the North Texas oil fields.

M. JACKSON, well known manufacturer and oil man, president of the Gilbert Maunfac- turing Co., Incorporated, came to Dallas in 1910 from Omaha, Nebraska, and organized this company, incorporating four years later. The company specializes in fire protection devices, manu- facturing special corrugated iron protections for door and window openings. The factory and ware- house of the company is located at 903 Camp Street where about fifteen men are employed in norinal seasons. Among the buildings -equipped by this company in Dallas are the American Exchange, Great Southern Life, Adolphus Hotel, Southwestern and Southland Life Buildings, Sears Roebuck, Butler Brothers, Texas and Pacific and the Dallas County State Bank Building. They also equipped the Amicable Life Building at Waco and many other important buildings over the state.

The Gilbert Manufacturing Company is sole Texas agents for the Dahlstrom Metallic Door Co., James- town, New York; American Steel Metallic Works, New Orleans; Kinnear Manufacturing Co., Colum- bus, Ohio; Quincy Elevator Gate Co., Quincy, Illinois, and the Richmond Safety Gate Co., Rich- mond, Indiana. The Gilbert Company maintains agents in various cities of Texas and has four travel- ing salesmen. An experienced construction super- 11:tendent looks after the installation of all protective work done by the company.

Mr. Jackson was born at Galena, Illinois, March 22, 1883, a son of Milton Jackson, well known busi- ness man of Omaha, Nebraska. Educated in the public schools of Beatrice, Lincoln and Omaha, Mr. Jackson began work when eighteen years of age with a cold storage company and at nineteen was salesman for the Beatrice Creamery Company, con- tinuing in this line for four or five years and then doing engineering work throughout the west until he came to Dallas in 1910.

A thorough going business man, Mr. Jackson is keenly interested in anything pertaining to the de- velopment of Dallas or of Texas as a whole. He is a member of the Scottish Rite Masonic bodies of Dallas, Chamber of Commerce, Automobile Club, Rotary Club, City Club and the Texas Chamber of Commerce.

AMES H. HARNED, president of the Harned Printing Company, 1929 Main Street, has so well mastered the principles of good printing that his business has more than quadrupled itself in a few years. Established in 1916 by C. D. and J. H. Harned, the Harned Print- ing Company has grown from $30,000 to an $80,000 yearly business. C. W. Harned, a third member of the firm, is secretary-treasurer. Every type of print- ing is done by this progressive firm. Unusually well equipped are they for all catalogue work and all kinds of commercial printing. They number among their customers some of the largest concerns in the city of Dallas.

James H. Harned was born in Denver, Colo., May 25, 1891. His father. C. W. Harned, is now the secretary-treasurer of the present day business. The family moved to Dallas in 1903. James H. was sent to Ft. Worth University for his higher education.

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From childhood he has been about the printing busi- re's where he developed his natural talent. For two years, however, he departed from the trade, to Nome associated with the Liquid Carbonie Com- pany. Just as the Harned Printing Company, founded in 1916, was getting well started, the war came on and C. D. Harned, the brother who started the business, enlisted, entering the First Officers' Training Camp, was made a second lieutenant, and was with the 90th Division when he lost his life at st. Mihiel, in September, 1918. In the meantime, J. H. Harned was also called to the colors. It was then that the girl he had married, Miss Reba Ken- sedy, daughter of Dr. and Mrs. J. W. Kennedy, of Lewisville, Texas, a graduate of C. I. A., met the emergency with her college training and natural talent for she then took over the newly started business and operated it very successfully.

Mr. Harned is a charter member of the Lion's Club, Chamber of Commerce, Junior Chamber of Commerce and Lakewood Country Club, a 30th degree Mason and member of Hella Temple Shrine and a member of the First Presbyterian Church. Congenial and talented, and already successful to a very attractive degree, James H. Harned is one of Dallas' leading business men for the coming gen- eration.

ARVIN M. BLAKENEY, president of the S. G. Davis Hat Company, 800-04 Jackson Street, has been an influence in the financial circles of Dallas for twenty years. Through his keen business judgment and unusual executive ability he has risen to his present position as head of one of the largest corporations in the South and is devoting every energy to increasing the capacity of his concern and enlarging its activities. The Davis Hat Company is an incorporated concern with a capital stock of $100,000 and a surplus of $150,000, the managers being M. M. Blakeney, president; S. L. Smiley, vice-president, and H. K. Duggan, secre- tary and treasurer.

The firm was organized in 1900 and incorporated with a capital stock of $25,000. A specialty is made of hats, caps, gloves and knit goods. Thirty persons are employed, including twelve traveling salesmen who cover Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Louisiana and New Mexico. The building occupied by the company is a six story structure measuring 75 by 100 feet and is kept stocked to its full capacity. Sales have mounted steadily year by year until now they reach approximately a million dollars.

Born in Ladonia, Fannin County, Texas, on Jan- uary 11, 1878, Mr. Blakeney began his education in the public schools of his home town. His parents, G. W. and Nancy Weldon Blakeney, were old resi- dents of that section where his father had for many years been engaged in the mercantile business. After completing the public school course he entered Southwestern University at Georgetown, and was graduated from that institution. In 1901, at the

Joseph Schepps belongs to that class of foreign born citizens who, having left their native shores, have. turned their faces toward America, not with the purpose of exploiting her industries nor of age of twenty-three, Mr. Blakeney came to Dallas . changing her ideals, but with the purpose of mak- as secretary and treasurer of the Davis Hat Com- pany, which had been organized the year before. He has remained with this company since, being one of the powers responsible for its remarkable growth and success. In 1916 he became the head executive of the concern.

His marriage to Miss Dell Perry, of Tyler, was celebrated in 1910 at the home of the bride. Mr. and Mrs. Blakeney have two children, Marvin and Mary,

and own a home in Munger Place, at 5001 Live Oak Street.

Mr. Blakeney is a member of the Chamber of Com- merce, the City Club, Dallas Country Club, Little Sandy Fishing Club, and is a Scottish Rite Mason, a Shriner and attends the Methodist Church.

JOSEPH SCHEPPS, owner of Schepps' Bak- ery, 2225 South Ervay Street, is the head of one of the oldest of the large bakeries of Dallas. The name has for so many years been associated with that famous brand of the "staff of life" that in addition to his rather large acquaintance there is a host of people in the city of Dallas who, although they are not personally acquainted with him, have come to recognize him as one of the outstanding characters of the municipal life. His establishment, the home of Schepps' But- ternut Bread, is one of the best equipped and most efficiently managed bakeries in the South. In addi- tion to the bread, cakes of all kinds are made.

Mr. Schepps was born in Russia in 1869. His parents, Mr. and Mrs. M. Schepps, were of good Russian stock, the type that has furnished us some of our staunchest citizens. They were engaged in the bakery business in Gradna, Russia, and it was there that young Joseph acquired his earliest ideas of bread-making. Since coming to America he has learned that while there are many superficial differ- ences between Russians and Americans their tastes for wholesome, well-baked bread are remarkably similar. As a boy he attended the public schools of Russia and has shown remarkable mental alert- ness in mastering the English language, Having arrived in America, Mr. Schepps went to St. Louis where he established, a short while afterwards, Schepps' bakery which he operated for eight years. Feeling the need of a wider field of activities he came to Dallas in 1903 and later built his present plant in 1907. With bread-making experience in two continents and with almost twenty years of active management, it is not surprising that he was able to establish a bakery, modern in every feature and equipped for producing the best food product that science and engineering have made possible. The delicate and highly scientific processes incident to bread-making are not to be perfected in a day, but are the result of years of experience and constant study. These processes, in all their details, Mr. Schepps has as nearly mastered as any man of his generation.

Mr. Schepps was married in Russia in 1891 to Miss Jennie Nathason, who is also of Russian birth. A daughter, Mrs. Carl Metzger, widely known in Dallas and two sons, Julius and George, complete the family. The Schepps' residence is at 4902 Swiss Avenue.

ing her their home and of giving themselves whole- heartedly to her cause. He has identified himself with American interests and aims and his years of industrious devotion to his work have made a sub- stantial contribution to America's commercial life. He is at present serving efficiently as treasurer of the Texas Bakers' Association and is a member of the Parkview Club and of Temple Emanuel and Shaereth Israel.

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R W. RAMMING, City National Bank Build- ing, Wichita Falls, is one of the most active oil operators in the richest oil district of Texas. He operates in his own name only, in the Ramming pool, the Burkburnett townsite and the Northwest Extension of Breckenridge. He has an interest in the Ramming pool which was discov- ered on the Ramming land consisting of 1,600 acres in the oil producing district, owned by W. F. Ram- ming, L. F. R. Ramming and R. W. Ramming him- self. He has a large share in twenty-five wells al- ready brought in with others arriving on his own estate, and in addition he owns royalties in twenty- seven other wells in other territory. He also holds interest in the lease of 4,000 other acres of proven oil territory. He had 170 acres in the Staley-Lang- ford-Chenault interests when this estate was sold for over $5,000,000. He is a director in the Se- curity National Bank of Wichita Falls and in the First National Bank at Burkburnett.

Mr. Ramming was born at Waseca, Minn., on Jan- uary 15, 1887. His parents were Peter Ramming, deceased in 1915, and Bertha Schenke Ramming, now living in Wichita Falls. His parents moved to Texas in 1892. Mr. Ramming's education was fur- nished by Texas public schools and a Wichita County ranch until he was twenty years of age. He then, in 1908, began as a bookkeeper in the First National Bank of Burkburnett; in 1910 he became cashier of the institution in which capacity he continued until 1914 when he came to Wichita Falls and established the Buick Agency for that district. In 1916 he moved to El Paso as Buick distributor for South- west Texas and Southern New Mexico. In January, 1918, after oil had been discovered upon his property the previous year, he sold his agency and returned to manage his interests here and has followed the oil business since.

Mr. Ramming has one daughter, Helen Virginia, age five. The family residence is at 2013 Eleventh Street. He is a member of the Wichita Gun Club, the Forest Club and of the Chamber of Commerce.

Youthful and energetic and with immense hold- ings backed by a business ability that had already made him a man over big business, Mr. Ramming will be a leading figure in the oil industry and the development of his section of the state for years to come.

ILLIAM F. (BILL) RAMMING, oil operator and drilling contractor, Morgan Building, is one of the best known men in Wichita Falls, having been a resident of the county since 1894. The famous Ramming oil field is located on the farm where his father located on coming to Wichita County and while it has not attracted the outside attention that Electra, Burkburnett and other sensational fields have, has been and still is a consistent producer of high grade oil.

Mr. Ramming has drilled about fifteen wells in and around the Ramming pool and has an average of about nine employees in the field at all times. Be -. sides contract work he has drilled and developed his own holdings and now has some splendid settled production.

Mr. Ramming was born in South Central Minne- sota, January 28, 1876, a son of Peter Ramming and Miss Bertha Schinky.

After attending the public schools Mr. Ramming worked on a farm and came to Wichita County with his father and settled on the farm from which the

Ramming oil field has taken its name. This farm is now dotted with producing oil wells. The discovery well of the Ramming Pool was drilled on W. F. Rammings individual farm in Aug. 1913.

Besides his oil interests Mr. Ramming has some valuable wheat farms in the Panhandle and also has a large ranch in Ellis County, Oklahoma, which is devoted to the raising of pure bred Hereford cattle. He is vice-president of the Sunshine State Oil and Refining Co.

Mr. Ramming was married in Wichita County Aug. 14, 1901 to Miss Henrietta Holtzer, a native of Missouri. They have six children, Wilbert, Harvey. Arnold, Edwill, Lorena and Lucille. The family home is at 800 Filmore Street.

An enterprising and energetic business man, Mr. Ramming is thoroughly imbued with the Wichita spirit and is enthusiastic over the future possibilities of the city.

H. TERRELL, president of the Crusaders Petroleum Company, a corporation organ- ized in February, 1919, with a capital of $27,000, believes that the real development of the industry is in its infancy. His company holds 12412 acres in Erath and Comanche counties, with production around all of it except about thirty acres, and the company expects to drill around that. Mr. Terrell has been connected with the oil industry about seventeen years, first as an oil engineer and oil well supply dealer in Tulsa, Okla., where he spent eight years. Coming back to Dallas in May, 1918, he continued in the business, handling oil well supplies, dealing in oil, and making reports on oil lands and refineries.

Mr. Terrell is a native of Texas, born at Calvert, Robertson County, August 8, 1867, and educated in the public schools of Dallas. His father, T. P. Ter- rell, was a pioneer in the state, coming here in the '30's, and was an engineer. Except for the eight years he spent in Tulsa, Okla., Mr. Terrell has lived in Dallas thirty-five years. By profession he is an engineer, and was for a long time connected with the Houston and Texas Central shops. In fraternal circles he is prominently identified with the Moose Lodge, being colonel commander of the Moose De- fenders and Degree Team, noted for its fine cos- tumes.

HARLES H. SEIDENGLANZ, vice-president and general manager of the Ruud-Hum- phrey Water Heater Company of Texas, with offices and store room at 1501 Com- merce Street, Dallas, has been actively engaged in business in Texas for the past decade and has gained no small measure of success in his special line of endeavor. His company has the states of Texas and New Mexico for the sale of all kinds of gas water heaters and maintains branch offices at Hous- ton, San Antonio, and Fort Worth. It is a sub- sidiary company of the Ruud-Humphrey Manufac- turing Company of Pittsburg, Pennsylvania, and was organized in 1915.

Mr. Seidenglanz, the son of Joseph and Anna Seidenglanz, was born in Lincoln, Wisconsin, on November 3, 1881, but later removed to Marinette. Wisconsin, where he received his education in the public schools. After receiving a business education at a commercial college in Wisconsin, he was em- ployed as salesman for the Marinette Gas Engine Company in his home city. Here he worked from 1898 until-1906 when he accepted a position with the

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Milwaukee Gas Light Company of Milwaukee, Wis., and remained in their employ for about two years. From 1908 until 1910 he was in the service of the Rockford Gas Company of Rockford, Illinois, and during 1910-1911 with the General Gas Light Com- pany of Kansas City.

During the year 1911 he came to Dallas and made an advantageous start by opening a store for mer- chandising gas appliances after the completion of pipe-lines from the North Texas gas fields to Dallas. In 1915 when the Ruud-Humphrey Water Heater Company of Texas was organized, he was made head of the company with the title of vice-president and general manager.

Mr. Seidenglanz was married to Miss Anna Bar- rett at Kaukauna, Wis., in January, 1905. Miss Barrett is the daughter of Thomas Barrett, a re- tired business man of Kaukauna, Wis. Mr. and Mrs. Seidenglanz have two children, Charles B. and Mary Anna, and they reside at 5424 Vickery Boulevard,

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The encyclopedia of Texas, V.1, Part 107

Author: Davis, Ellis Arthur, ed; Grobe, Edwin H., ed Publication date: 1922 Publisher: Dallas, Texas Development Bureau Number of Pages: 1204

Author: Davis, Ellis Arthur, ed; Grobe, Edwin H., ed
Publication date: 1922
Publisher: Dallas, Texas Development Bureau
Number of Pages: 1204