The encyclopedia of Texas, V.1, Part 115

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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His development work during the first three months of 1922 called for a cash outlay of over one hundred thousand dollars and his program for the year calls for continued drilling of his extensive lease holdings. From fifteen to fifty men are em- ployed by Mr. Nelson all the time.

Mr. Nelson was born in the northern part of Louisiana on October 24, 1894. His father was John L. Nelson, a native of Denmark who came to the United States in the early eighties. He is now deceased. After attending the public schools of Louisiana Mr. Nelson, at the age of seventeen, began working for a wholesale drug company but after a short time secured employment with the Gulf Pro- duction Company as lease helper. He remained with this company for six years at Oil City, Louisiana, and then went to Goose Crcek in the coastal fields as lease foreman for the Gulf. After a year and a half at Goose Creek he went to New Mexico and later to the oil fields in Wyoming. He then was forcman for the Mid-West Oil Company for a year and then came to Wichita Falls where he began operating independently. He organized the Uni- versal Drilling and Developing Company and owns a large portion of its capital stock. He is young, aggressive and especially optimistic regarding the future of Wichita Falls and the oil fields surround- ing the city.

On November 15, 1920, Mr. Nelson was married at Saint Louis, to Miss Alpha O'Hara, of Denison, Texas. They have one son, John L., Jr., and reside at 2909 Ninth Street.

Mr. Nelson is a public spirited, progressive type of citizen and is a member of the Masonic Lodge.

JOHN F. O'DONOHOE, independent oil operator with offices at 221 First National Bank Building, is one of the pioneer oil men of Wichita Falls and one of the best known. He has been engaged in various forms of activity in the oil business in this section since 1909 and has been successful. He has been active in the

Electra fields and has just brought in a well that extended the proven arca of that field and is com- mencing other wells on the same lease. For several years Mr. O'Donohoe was connceted with some of the big companies, working as scout and in other field capacities, but since 1916 has operated for himself. He was active in the Burkburnett district during the boom there and has also operated in Oklahonia.

Mr. O'Donohoe is a native of Mississippi and was born on October 19, 1885, but removed to New Or- leans when but little more than a baby and was reared there. He is a son of John R. O'Donohoe, retired business man of New Orleans.

After studying in the public schools of New Orleans, Mr. O'Donohoe began his work as time- keeper for a railroad company, working in the trans- portation department. He began work at the age of sixteen and continued until he was twenty, at which time he left the railroad and began work for the Evangeline Oil Company. He worked in all the Louisiana fields until 1909 when he was sent to Wichita Falls as scout for the old Guffey Petroleum Company, now the Gulf Production Com- pany. He later went with the Texas Company and continued with the latter organization until he entered business for himself in 1916.

In November, 1916, Mr. O'Donohoe was married at Wichita Falls to Miss Carrie Kell, daughter of Frank Kell, banker, railroad owner and financier of Wichita Falls. They have one son, Jack.

Mr. O'Donohoe, besides his oil interests, is heavily interested in various other activities and is a di- rector of the First National Bank of Wichita Falls. He is a member of the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, the Knights of Columbus, Wichita Club, Country Club and Chamber of Commerce. He is an enterprising, progressive citizen and is ever ready to aid in any enterprise that has for its object the betterment of Wichita Falls. He is an en- thusiastic booster for the city and predicts a popu- lation for Wichita Falls of 100,000 by the beginning of the next decade.

ILLIAM J. LYONS, sole proprietor of the Lyons Bros. Company, Williams and Cen- tral Railway, manufacturers of non-al- coholic beverages and vinegar, is another Dallas man who began his business career in the East and step by step moved westward until he came to the "City of the Hour." The early part of his life was spent in that pilgrimage but he reached the city of his final choice with su Feient time left to build up an extensive trade in his par- ticular field and to make his presence felt in Dallas commercial circles.

The business of which Mr. Lyons is the head liad its origin in San Antonio, where, in 1906, in com- pany with his brother, Thomas E. Lyons, he estab- lished his first factory. Six years later, seeing its superiority as a distributing center, he came to Dallas. On January 1, 1919, a branch house was opened in Atlanta, with Mr. Paul Sherrod in charge. The Dallas house employs more than forty people and occupies 20,000 square feet of floor space. In addition to the large quantities of vinegar, the house mixes the well known beverages, "Cherry Tip." "Muscadine Punch," "Mexican Hot" and "Gin Ricky." In 1919 the sales totaled more than $300,000. Mr. Lyons recently established another branch at Omaha. For the increase of the business in Dallas, a quarter of an acre of ground has already been

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MEN OF TEXAS

secured 'on the' Katy tracks where a modern brick factory will soon be erected.

Mr. Lyons was born in Shelby County, Kentucky, in 1874. His father, W. W. Lyons, was in the dis- tillery business in Louisville, Kentucky. His early education was furnished by the public schools of Louisville. When he was twenty-two years old he took a position with R. M. Hughes and Company, of Louisville, and remained with them for four years. In 1900 the Hughes Company established a branch house in San Antonio of which Mr. Lyons became the vice-president and general manager. Six years later he and his brother went into business for themselves where they remained until Mr. Lyons came to Dallas in 1912, and established the present house.

Mr. Lyons was married to Miss Inez Shafer of Detroit. There are five children, the oldest son, Reeder, is with the Atlanta branch of his father's business. The Lyons home is at 5704 Swiss Ave- nue.

In addition to his other interests, Mr. Lyons is a director of the Dallas Trust and Savings Bank. He is a Scottish Rite Mason, with the Dallas Con- sistory Number 2, a member of the Hella Temple, the Dallas Country Club and the Chamber of Com- merce. Since his arrival in the city he has been a liberal promoter of the best enterprises of a public nature in Dallas and expresses himself as being confident that she has the makings of a great city.

LANTON DAVIS, 3026 Elm Street, district representative of the Gullett Gin Company, came to Dallas from Amite, Louisiana, the home office of the company, when the local branch house was established in 1911. Prior to that time he had been connected with the company in its general offices at Amite and altogether has been with the Gullett people for thirty years.

The Gullett Gin Company has an interesting and unique history and cotton gins manufactured by this company were sold from wagons in Texas in 1849, long before the advent of railroads in this state. The business was originally founded in Aberdeen, Missis- sippi, by Benjamin David Gullett, a New England inventor, and in 1869 was removed to Amite, Louis- iana, in order to be nearer the supply of timber and other raw materials used in the manufacture of the gin plants. On July 11, 1883, the company was re- organized and incorporated under the laws of the State of Louisiana with A. Baldwin, prominent banker and business man of New Orleans as its first president. Every modern improvement which facili- tates the handling of cotton has been embodied in the Gullett gins and accessory machinery and based solely on the merit of its products, the business of the company has expanded until it is now recognized as one of the South's leading industrial establish- ments. The factory, storage sheds and warehouses at Amite cover over twenty acres of ground.

Mr. Davis began his experience in selling gin ma- chinery when he became connected with an agency at Rome, Georgia, which was then representing the Gullett Company. Determining to master every de- tail of the business. he became connected directly with the home office and so thoroughly did he come to understand both the manufacturing and distribut- ing end of the business that when the Dallas office was opened he was selected to manage it. Mr. Davis was born at Wetumpka, Alabama, in 1871, and re+

ceived his education in the public schools, embarking in the business world at an early age. He was mar- ried at Spartanburg, South Carolina, in 1895, to Miss Elizabeth Littlejohn. They have four children, Nina, Harriet, Helen and Clanton, Jr. They reside at 5319 Bryan Street.

Since removing to Dallas Mr. Davis has taken a deep interest in the civic and commercial life of the city and is very optimistic regarding its future growth. The business conducted by his company from the Dallas office has been very gratifying and he is expecting a material increase as more atten- tion is paid to agricultural pursuits in the present undeveloped sections of the state.

Mr. Davis is a member of the Mason and Elk Lodges and of the Chamber of Commerce.

LBERT T. WALRAVEN, president of the A. T. Walraven Book Cover Company, also a member of the firm of Walraven Brothers, Manufacturing Stationers and Loose Leaf Equipment, Inc., has been identified with the print- ing industry in Texas since 1902, when he first came to the state and located at Waco, where he was engaged in the business for one year before coming to Dallas. He is the inventor and patentee of an adjustable book cover that is adaptable to all kinds of school books, the patents covering Canada and the United States, and the company expects to mar- ket these covers through agents in all parts of the United States and Canada. The cover is said to be the best of its kind ever manufactured and will no doubt find its way into the schools of the entire country. The Walraven Book Cover Company, which manufactures and markets these book covers, is an incorporated coneern, Curtis E. Calder, treas- trer and C. W. Buffington, secretary.

The firm of Walraven Brothers is one of the lead- ing printing and loose leaf equipment firms of the city, making a specialty of machine posting equip- ment of every character. They enjoy a large trade throughout Texas, their annual business aggregat- ing a quarter of a million dollars. They specialize in special forms for modern machine bookkeeping for every class of business. Their systems are in- stalled free of charge, the only cost to purchasers being equipment and supplies, and they are the only people manufacturing in Texas who furnish this class of service. The company has about thirty employes in the Dallas plant and Mr. Walraven has complete charge of the local business.

Mr. Walraven was born in Nashville, Tenn .. Au- gust 14, 1884, and was educated in the public schools of that city. After coming to Texas in 1902 he worked for Hill Kellner at Waco for one year and then came to Dallas and was with the A. G. Elliott Paper Company, wholesalers, for two years. In 1905 he went with Walraven Brothers and left that firm after one year to go with II. B. Martin, law book agents and stationery, remaining with this firm four years. In 1910 he went into busi- ness for himself under the firm name of Walraven Brothers, consisting of himself and his father, W. H. Walraven.

He was married in 1911 to Miss Bessie Scott, of Missouri, and lives at 1018 North Bishop Street. He is very prominent in Masonic circles. being both a Seottish and York Rite Mason. He is a member of Washington Lodge No. 1117, A. F. & A. M .; Dallas Commandery No. 6, Dallas Council No. 18, Royal and Seleet Masters, Dallas Chapter No. 47,

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P .. A. M., Dallas Lodge of Perfection No. 17. He . uated with the A. B. degree in 1898. Soon after- is a member of Hella Temple Shrine, and his re- ligious affiliation is with the Presbyterian Church.

R OBERT AUSTIN CRAWFORD, Vice Presi- dent and General Manager of the Lone Star Gas Company with headquarters on the eleventh floor of the American Ex- change Bank Bldg., Dallas, is directing the activities of the largest Gas Company in the state of Texas. Other offieers of the concern are L. B. Denning, President, D. L. Cobb, Treasurer, and M. W. Bahan, Ft. Worth, Vice President. Mr. Crawford sells thirty million cubie feet of gas daily during the sum- mer season and sixty million cubic feet daily during the winter months to the Gas Distributors and Com- panies in a third to a half of the gas-consuming part of Texas. Eleven years ago the Lone Star Gas Company was organized for wholesale business, with headquarters at Dallas, and has 500 employees in the organization. In addition to the general supply

of gas for the public, two Government Helium Plants get their gas from the Lone Star Gas Com- pany and the Government's Navy Plant at Ft. Worth and the United States Bureau of Mines Plant at Pe- trolia, Texas. Oil, to the extent of 1,000 bbls. a day, is produced as well as Texas' greatest Gas supply.

Robert Austin Crawford was born June 14, 1885, at Oil City, Penn. His father, J. B. Crawford, was a pioneer oil and gas man and, before retiring, served through his active career as president of the United Natural Gas Company. His mother is Nellie (Comstock) Crawford. After completing the public and high school system of his native city, Mr. Craw- ford prepared himself for his life profession by taking the engineering eourse offered by the Uni- versity of Pennsylvania. Since 1909, as an inde- pendent producer, he has operated in Illinois, Kansas and Texas, and retains his production in Kansas at present.

In October, 1910, at New York City, Miss Laura Strance became the bride of Mr. Crawford. Jane is their young daughter and the family reside at 5444 Gaston Avenue, Munger Place. Mr. Crawford is a member of the American Petroleum Institute, Mid- Continent Oil & Gas Association and the Natural Gas Association, in professional organizations, and of the Masons (the Knight Templars) and the City Club as well. The church affiliation is Presbyterian.

Mr. Crawford is one of the younger business men who have attained prominence state-wide due to in- dividual initiative and ability. He is one of the best men in the public utility business in the South- west and is rendering a service invaluable.

L. COBB, secretary and treasurer of the Lone Star Gas Company, Ameriean Ex- change Bank Building, has been connected with the oil and gas industry in Texas for a number of years and his broad experience and inti- mate knowledge of the business have not been the least faetors in the development of the firm with which he is now associated.

Mr. Cobb missed being a native Texan by only a few months, being born in Arkansas, March 28, 1878, and was brought to Texas by his parents the following year. The family located at Corsicana where Mr Cobb received his primary and high school education. He then attended Southwestern Univer- 'sity of Georgetown, Texas, from which he was grad-

wards he went into the oil business in the Corsicana district and became secretary of the Navarro Oil Refining Company. He remained in this position until the organization of the Lone Star Gas Com- pany in 1909 when he became secretary of the com- pany with headquarters at Fort Worth. In 1919 he came to Dallas where he has since remained.

In 1909 Mr. Cobb was married to Miss Raymond Hesley, of Caldwell, Texas. Their children are D. L., Jr., Robert Heslep, Ann Evelyn and Sarah. The Cobb residence is at 5201 Live Oak Street.

Mr. Cobb has done much for the development of the oil and gas industry in Texas and is an active member of the Texas Gas Association and of the Mid-Continental Oil and Gas Association. He is a Mason and a Shriner of the Moslah Temple. His membership with the University Club and the Lake- wood Country Club shows his interest in the social organizations of the city. He is also a member of the Chamber of Commerce. His exacting duties have not prevented him from doing his full share in the enterprises for community and civie advaneement.

B. ROBINSON, sole owner of the Texas Seed and Plant Company, First and Jefferson Streets, is one of the young men of Dallas who has rapidly forged to the front not only in his own business but also in the commercial circles of his home city and gives promise of be- eoming one of the prominent men of the state.

The Texas Seed and Floral Company was estab- lished in 1879 and during some of the early years of its history did but little more than hold its place. In 1904, however, it eame under the management of some forward looking, enterprising men who put new blood into its veins. Mr. Robinson, in company with his brother, C. W. Robinson, bought the plant in that year and since that time it has partaken of that remarkable development that has been so characteristic of its home city. In 1917 Mr. Robin- son bought the interests of his brother and has since that time been practically the sole owner. More than $75,000 was expended for improvements on the Oak Cliff grounds. The property there consists of eighteen acres of ground all of which is well irri- gated. Fifty thousand square feet of glass is used in green-houses. In their gardens flower seed, fruit trees, shrubbery, ornamental shade trees, vegetables, flower plants and pot flowers are grown. The greater part of the flower seeds are imported from England and France. In addition to the large local trade in cut flowers and funeral designs, there is an extensive mail order business for which more than 200,000 catalogues were issued annually. The territory cov- ered by this trade includes the greater part of Texas, . Louisiana, Arkansas, Oklahoma and New Mexico. This eompany did the largest business in plants and seeds of any house this side of Springfield, Ohio.

The Texas Seed and Plant Company was organized by Mr. Robinson January 1, 1920, who purehased the floral plant from the Texas Seed and Floral Com- pany, of which he was general manager and vice- president, which corporation was dissolved when the present establishment was organized.

Mr. Robinson was born in Oak Cliff, February 3. 1894. His father, William M. Robinson, was one of the pioncer implement dealers in Dallas and was for thirty-five years with the Parlin & Orendorff Imple- ment Company. Mr. Robinson came to Dallas from

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P. a. Crawford

MEN OF TEXAS

Bellair, Maryland, when a young man 20 years of age and spent his entire business career in this city. He was one of the first settlers in Oak Cliff and during his whole life had an active part in the de- velopment of Oak Cliff and Dallas. He was the organizer of the Texas Wheel & Body Co., which his son, R. F. Robinson, still retains. He died Novem- ber 9, 1919, at his home in Oak Cliff. Mr. Robinson did his preparatory school work in the Oak Cliff high school and having finished the course there he took a horticultural course in Cornell University. While in high school he worked part time in the Oak Cliff green house and having finished school he lost no time deciding what he would do. He entered at once with all the enthusiasm of youth into the business for which he was pre-eminently ntted, both oy choice and by training.

On December 4, 1918, Mr. Robinson was married to Miss Norma B. Clark of Terrell, Texas.

Mr. Robinson is a member of the Cedar Crest Country Club.

B. WINGATE president and manger of the Texas Budwine Company, bottlers, decided five years ago that Texas offered a splendid field for a young man and his increasing business has emphatically borne out his estimate. Beginning in a modest way with a small place at 315 North Walton street in 1916, Mr. Wingate, with his associate, S. H. Crawford, secretary- treasurer of the company, has built his busi- ness up to where it is one of the largest bot- tling companies in the city. His capacity when he started was about three hundred cases of soda water a day and now it is eighteen hundred. The company moved to its new location in 1918 and has ten thous- and feet of floor space, employs twenty persons and keeps ten trucks delivering soft drinks throughout Dallas County and adjacent cities.

Mr. Wingate's success is just another example of what experience and grit will bring to a man. Just three years out of college he struck out for a strange town determined to make a success. He hit Dallas during an average season and started his business in an inauspicious manner. However, he worked hard and long and it was not long before this combination brought splendid results.

He was born at Camilla, Georgia, in August, 1890, son of Ransom B. and Margurite West Wingate. He attended public school there and later matriculated in the University of Georgia from which he was grad- uated in 1915 with the degree of Bachelor of Laws. It is to be noted that he worked his way through col- lege as secretary- treasurer of the Budwine Company at Athens, Ga. Following his graduation he remained with that firm about a year before coming to Dallas in 1916. He bought eighty-five percent of the stock in the local company and took charge at that time.

On December 17, 1913, he married Miss Adalene Dobbs, daughter of A. M. Dobbs, a prominent cotton oil mill operator at Athens, Ga. They have three children, Thomas Rosier, Henrietta Elizabeth and Margarite West, and make their home at 710 Hill- crest avenue in Munger Place.

Mr. Wingate is a Mason and a member of the Rotary Club. Dallas Athletic Club, Lakewood Coun- try Club and the Chamber of Commerce. He is ac- tively interested in all Dallas activities and does much for his city. He is a member of the Baptist church.

YRON F. KIRK, assistant manager of the Southwestern Paper Company, 1315 Pacific Avenue, Dallas, is a man who has devoted his life to the paper business. To this in- telligent concentration of energy and effort along a single line of wholehearted endeavor, Mr. Kirk, no doubt, owes much of the opportunity that has come to him as a member of an organization which is justly accorded first place among the paper manu- facturers and distributors of the United States. The Southwestern Paper Company, incorporated in 1903, is the Southern distributing division of the J. W. Butler Paper Company of Chicago. Mr. H. A. Olm- stead, vice-president -- "Harry" Olmstead, as he is familiarly known to his co-workers and the major portion of the citizenry of Dallas-directs the policies of the company, and, by his inspiration of solid "team-work," has built success into the very struc- ture of that -fast-growing and sturdy commercial enterprise.

In 1907 Mr. Kirk was assigned to Dallas from the Butler off.ces in Chicago.

Mr. Kirk is the son of R. L. Kirk, deceased, who had been identified during his life with a hardware firm in Chicago. He married Miss Bessie Wheelock, of Chicago, in 1907. Mr. S. A. Wheelock, father of Mrs. Kirk, is president of the Wilmette Exchange State Bank. Mr. and Mrs. Kirk are the fondly proud parents of four children, Elizabeth, Frances, Ruth and Thomas Kirk. Mr. Kirk holds membership in the Dallas Chamber of Commerce, the Ad League and the Dallas Country Club. He attends the Cen- tral Congregational Church.

The Kirk home is at 3805 Stratford Avenue.

YLE MARSHALL is president of an organi- zation whose size and scope is probably appreciated by but few people in Dallas. His organization turns out enough spring beds and cots every day to comfortably accommodate the population of some of the rural precincts in Dallas County. Situated on a private switch at Dawson and Mays Streets, the factory, occupying thirty-one thousand square feet, ships a tremendous amount of merchandise out of Dallas every day to cities throughout the Southwest. The great trouble now is supplying the great demand that is being made on the concern for its products. Associated with Mr. Marshall is his father, N. T. Marshall.

In normal times the Daltex Spring Bed Company does about $350,000 in business annually.

The company travels three men on the road, spreading the reputation of Dallas as a manufactur- ing center wherever they go. After five years in business here many merchants in this section of the country have come to depend entirely on Mr. Marshall's company for all their supplies along this line. His long experience in the business has made him unusually successful in the manufactur- ing business and he expects to expand his factory in a short time.

Mr. Marshall is a native of Lebanon, Tenn., having been born there in 1884. His father, W. T. Marshall, is one of the best known bankers and farm land owners in the old South. He has been active in business in Tennessee for many years. He has an interest in the Dallas company and intends moving lere and will probably take an active part in its affairs. Lyle Marshall was educated in the public schools at Lebanon and later took his B. A. degree at Cumberland University there. On leaving college

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ENCYCLOPEDIA OF TEXAS

he immediately' went into the bed and spring busi- ness as vice-president of the Anchor Spring and Bed Company at Nashville, Tenn. He then decided to open up his own business and spent considerable time looking over different locations. After several trips to Dallas and back to his home, he decided that this was the proper place so he started his company in 1915. In addition to his manufacturing concern he is interested in several oil companies.

Mr. Marshall is a member of the Rotary Club, the Chamber of Commerce and an enthusiastic worker for Dallas. He has made scores of close friends in his comparatively short residence here and is considered one of the most progressive busi- ness men in the city.

H. BLUM, general manager of the Atlantic Oil Producing Company, a subsidiary of The Atlantic Refining Company. occupying the entire third floor of the American Exchange National Bank Building, Dallas, has been associated with the Atlantic Refining Company for the past sixteen years, has been active in matters pertaining to oil development since coming to Texas. The At- lantic Producing Company specializes in the produc- tion of crude oil and has agencies in a number of states, including Oklahoma, Kentucky, Kansas, Texas, Louisiana and the north and Gulf Coast States. At the present time it is drilling a large number of wells in Oklahoma and Texas, and already has a considerable number of producers in these fields. The Atlantic Oil Producing Company has approximately seventy-five men in its employ and handles all of the business of the larger company in this territory.

A native son of Pennsylvania, E. H. Blum was born at Philadelphia on the 2nd day of August, 1886. He is a son of Jacob Blum, of Pennsylvania, who was engaged in the general merchandise business in that state. The younger Mr. Blum received his general primary educational training in the public schools of Philadelphia and secured his higher education of the Temple College, also located in Philadelphia. Soon after leaving college he began work with the Atlantic Refining Company and gradually worked up to a position of responsibility with that concern.

After fourteen and one-half years with the com- pany, he was appointed general manager of the At- lantic Oil Producing Company. He opened up the Dallas branch of this company in January of 1919 and since that time has been managing all of the business of the company in this and bordering states of the union. The company is now interested in a number of Texas pools and is extending its business to Oklahoma and Louisiana and other states just being under the process of oil development.

In October of 1916 Mr. Blum married Miss Elsie M. Hall, of Pennsylvania, and they now have their home at 3616 Maplewood Avenue, Highland Park. Since coming to Dallas Mr. Blum has become inter- ested in civic affairs and is a member of the Dallas County Athletie and Dallas City Clubs, and the Chamber of Commerce.

S. BENNETT is one of the best known men connected with the oil industry in the North Texas fields. He is the inventor of several oil well tools which are in very general use in the oil fields, especially a patented grab to fish out under reaming lugs, and a collar to be used in fishing out pipe. Ile has had a great deal of experience in railroad and oil well tool shops and has

a practical knowledge of mechanics that enables hin to understand the needs of drillers. For several years he worked in the machine shops of Gamer & Com- pany at Fort Worth, then in the large railroad shops and in oil well tool shops. During the war he worked in the naval gun factory at Washington, and came to Wichita Falls after being discharged from the service in 1919. He organized the W. R. B. Machine and Tool Company in October, 1919, to manufacture all kinds of high grade oil well drilling tools, known over the State as W. R. B. Quality Brand. Associated with him in the organization were Henry Hobbs and E. T. Westmoreland.

Mr. Bennett has an interest in new patents on a grab to be used in fishing out under reaming lugs which have been lost in the hole. It will also take hold of broken rotary bits. The advantage claimed for this particular tool is that one of the prongs can go by the lug in the hole and straighten it up so that the other prong can also get around it, and the two prongs can then take hold and pull the lug out. He is also the inventor of an over shot to be used in fishing out pipe. Its advantages are said to lie in the fact that the two slugs are prevented from ever being lost in the hole by a shoulder inside the over shot, which prevents the slugs from falling through. He is a young man and takes a great deal of interest in his work. He was born in Fort Worth, Texas, in 1886, and educated in the public schools of that city. His parents are T. S. and Julia (Jones) Bennett, and his father, who is a, native of Kentucky, has been connected with the Fort Worth and Denver Railroad at Fort Worth for the past forty years and is still in the service of the company.

EO. E. LEBERMANN, Fort Worth, presi- dent of the Desdemona Oil & Leasing Syn- dicate, is directing official that leads the business world in its activities among Texas leasing agencies. The Syndicate has as other of- ficials who serve with President Lebermann, P. Edw. Glenn as secretary, A. E. Glenn as treasurer, and Judge O. W. Gillespie, attorney for the organization. It is a Trust Association that was formed in Decem- ber of 1919, with a capitalization of $300,000.00. Leases are held in Wichita, Erath, Archer, Young. Eastland, Reeves and Newton Counties of Texas -- 1,332 acres. Two wells are owned in Reeves County. The Desdemona Oil & Leasing Syndicate is one of Texas' largest clearing houses in buying and selling leases.

Mr. Lebermann was born in Illinois, Christian County, on May 14. 1873. His parents were J. A. Lebermann and Bertha Heck Leberman, both of Illi- nois. In 1878, appreciating the advantages afforded by the Lone Star State, they emigrated to Texas, locating at Fort Worth at a time when there was only one train into the place and when the street cars were drawn by mules. After a seven years' residence there, they moved to a ranch in 1885. Here Mr. Lebermann continued his growth and activity until going into the oil business. In 1918, he came from Young County, his residence, and entered into the organization of the company he now directs as a leader, in December, 1919. Prior to that his activities in the oil business had been various.

In 1894, Miss Mollie Gibbs of Young County, Texas. became the bride of Mr. Lebermann. They have a daughter, Fay Lebermann, and the family residence is at 2105 Fifth Avenue. Their church affiliation is Christian.

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The encyclopedia of Texas, V.1, Part 115

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