GULF, COLORADO AND SANTA FE RAILWAY COMPANY

EARLY ISSUES OF CAPITAL STOCK (continued)

Elinore McDonough

Galveston, Texas

May 25, 1927

The Commissioners for Organization

On reference to the attached supplement of nineteen pages, listing all the stock issued by the original company, it is interesting to note that not all the gentlemen named in the charter as commissioners to effect organization of the Gulf, Colorado and Santa Fe Railway Company evidenced their faith in the project sufficiently to subscribe to its capital stock. They may all have subscribed to the stock, of course, but, if so, not all of them completed payments on their subscriptions. There is no record in the stock book, for instance or any certificate of stock having been issued to the following gentlemen, all of whom were named as commissioners in the Company's charter: J. P. Palmer, W. H. Ledbetter, A. C. McKeen, W. X. Little, E. Sterling, Frank W. Latham, Thomas Allen, B. O'Connor, W. E. Scott, E. Pelot, I. S. Catlin, M. A. Bryan, Wm. Wagner, B. H. Bassett, J. W. Carroll, J. L. D. Morrison, George Lawrence, and John S. Sellers. Nor is there any record of the issuance of! stock certificates to the following gentlemen, who were subsequently named as associate commissioners: H. Miller, John Adriance, J. T. Harcourt, and Guy M. Bryan. It may be that they were instrumental in securing subscriptions from firms with which they were connected, but there is no record of subscriptions from them individually.

Mr. Wm. R. Smith, one of the commissioners named in the charter, died before the company organized. And Mr. I. C. Higgins (or J. C. Higgins?), also named in the charter, resigned at the meeting of June 19, 1873.

Of the other commissioners named in the charter, and of those afterwards appointed associate commissioners, the following notes may be of interest:

Albert Somerville, elected first president of the Gulf, Colorado and Santa Fe Railway Company on Nov. 26, 1873, had been Mayor of the City of Galveston in 1871 and 1872. He was senior member of the firm of Somerville & Davis, to whom Certificate No. 26 was issued on Nov. 3, 1875, for 15 shares of stock. The other member of the firm was Waters S. Davis; and they did a large shipping business and were commission merchants for cotton ties, domestic jute, bagging, etc. Both were almost continuously directors of the railway company; and the firm of Somerville & Davis joined with George Sealy in lending money to the railway company just before its final collapse. Somerville & Davis were among the organizers of the new company in 1879.

P. J. Willis was a member of the firm of P. J. Willis & Bro., to whom certificate No. 116, for 100 shares was issued on Nov. 30, 1875. They were large cotton merchants, and wholesalers in dry goods, groceries and liquors. Mr. R. S. Willis was almost continuously a director of the original company. He was among those joining with George Sealy to lend money to the company, and was also among the organizers of the new company of 1879. Mr. George Sealy, who was chiefly instrumental in organizing the company of 1879, married Miss Magnolia Willis. The firm of P. J. Willis & Bro. went out of existence long ago, but the children and grandchildren of its members are interested in many concerns both in Galveston and in other parts of the country.

J. L. Darragh, to whom certificate No. 126, for 10 shares, was issued Dec. 11, 1875, was invited to the meeting of Galveston corporations held on Dec. 23, 1874, as a representative of the Galveston City Company. The family was wealthy and prominent in those days, but is scattered now. John L. Darragh had been an alderman of the City of Galveston in 1848 and 1849.

Leon Blum was a member of the firm of Leon & H. Blum, to whom certificate No. 93, for 50 shares, was issued Nov. 9, 1875. They were cotton merchants, with large land holdings. They afterwards gave to the Railway Company the site of the present station of Algoa, constructing the station buildings and putting in a fifteen hundred foot side track free of charge. Leon Blum was among those to whom the City of Galveston granted the right to construct and operate a street railway, on July 10, 1873, to be known as the People's Railway Company ---- afterwards known as the Galveston City Railroad Company.

N. B. Yard, to whom certificate No. 219, for one share, was issued August 24, 1878, had been an alderman of the City of Galveston in 1839, having come to Galveston shortly before that time from Trenton, New Jersey, where the family had been settled since colonial days. Mr. Yard served at various times afterwards as alderman of the City of Galveston and as a member of the Commissioners Court of the County of Galveston. In the latter capacity, he voted the County's stock at some of the stormy meetings before the demise of the original company. He was at one time Treasurer of the Galveston, Houston and Henderson Railroad Company. He had been a colonel in the Confederate Army during the war between the states, and was in charge of the military district of Galveston. It was while he was maintaining headquarters at Harrisburg that his youngest son was born -- now Mr. Geo. N. Yard, Secretary and Treasurer of the present Gulf, Colorado and Santa Fe Railway Company.

Mr. C. E. Broussard was a member of the firm of C. E. Broussard & Co., to whom certificate No. 66, for 2 shares, was issued Nov. 5, 1875.

Mr. M. Kopperl, to whom certificate No. 161, for 20 shares, was issued August 28, 1876, was president of the National Bank of Texas, to whom certificate No. 125, for 25 shares, was issued Dec. 10, 1875. He had been an alderman of the City of Galveston in 1871 and 1872, and was always prominent in financial circles. He was a member of the Board of Directors of the original company, and was elected president on Dec. 17, 1877, serving in that capacity until the dissolution of the company after the Trustee's sale in 1879. He was one of those who joined with George Sealy in the loan of $250,000.00 to the Company, and was one of the incorporators of the new company in 1879. Both his sons are now dead, but some of his grandchildren still reside in Galveston. His residence, on the southwest corner of 24th St. and Broadway, was purchased several years ago by the late Brewer W. Key, and after some alterations and enlargements, was given to the Y.W.C.A. as a residence for girls, as! a memorial to his wife, under the name of the Julia Key Memorial Home.

Mr. J. M. Brown, to whom certificate No. 40, for 10 shares, was issued Nov. 4, 1875, was president of the First National Bank of Galveston, to whom certificate No. 41 was issued the same day for 50 shares. Mr. Brown was not among the organizers of the new company in 1879. The First National Bank of Galveston -- the oldest national bank in Texas -- is still flourishing, one of the strong financial institutions of the city, on the corner of 22d St. and the Strand. Mr. Brown died many years ago, and his children are also dead. One grandson, Mr. J. S. Sweeney, still lives in Galveston. The family mansion, known as Ashton Villa, on the northeast corner of 24th St. and Broadway, is now unoccupied, having descended by inheritance to a granddaughter, Mrs. Henry J. Jumonville of New Orleans.

Henry Rosenberg, to whom certificate No. 1, for 50 shares, was issued Nov. 1, 1875, was the owner of the Rosenberg Bank. This institution, sold by his estate after his death, became the South Texas State Bank, and is now the South Texas National Bank, one of the financial institutions of the Sealy family. It is still located in the same bank building on the south side of Market St., in the middle of the block, between 22d and Tremont Sts. Mr. Rosenberg was elected president of the railway company on Dec. 21, 1874, serving until the election of Mr. Kopperl in 1877. It was Mr. Rosenberg, as president, who turned the first shovelful of dirt at 37th and Mechanic Sts. on May 1, 1875, when the first construction work on the road was begun. It was the occasion of great rejoicing and much "eagle oratory", with refreshments of crackers and cheese and champagne, furnished by the contractors, Messrs. Burnett & Kilpatrick. Mr. Rosenberg joined with George Sealy in the loan of $250,0! 00.00 to the financially embarrassed company in December 1878, and was one of the organizers of the new company in 1879. Born a Swiss, Mr. Rosenberg amassed a large fortune in Galveston. Though twice married, no children survived him, and the bulk of his fortune was left for charitable and philanthropic purposes, some to his native town, but mostly in Galveston. Some of these monuments to his generosity are the Y.M.C.A. Building, the Laetitia Rosenberg Home for Aged Women, the Galveston Orphans' Home, Grace Episcopal Church, the monument to the Heroes of the Texas Revolution of 1836, at the intersection of 25th St. and Broadway, and a series of drinking fountains for man and beast, some of which have since been removed from their former commanding position at street intersections, in these days of traffic congestion when the horses they were mainly designed to serve have almost disappeared from the streets. A bronze seated statue of Mr. Rosenberg is at the entrance to the ! Rosenberg Library, another one of his benefactions. It is interesting to note that the library, on the corner of Tremont St. and Avenue I, occupies the site of the former home of a member of the Willis family, also among the builders of the Santa Fe.

John D. Rogers, to whom certificate No. 37, for 10 shares, was issued Nov. 3, 1875, was a cotton planter and a merchant of the City of Galveston. His son, Mr. William R. Allen Rogers, resides in the family home on the southwest corner of Tremont St. and Avenue I, directly across the street from the residence of the late Mr. John Sealy. Col. John D. Rogers was one of those associated with George Sealy in the loan to the railway company in December, 1878, and was one of the organizers of the new company in 1879.

Mr. W. L. Moody, was at the time of the organization of the Santa Fe, a member of the firm of Moody & Jemison, cotton merchants and bankers, to whom certificate No. 42, for 50 shares, was issued Nov. 4, 1875. Col. Moody was a member of the first Board of Directors and served the old company in that capacity almost continuously. The firm of Moody & Jemison joined with George Sealy in the loan of December, 1878, and was one of the organizers of the new company in 1879. Although Col. Moody has been dead for several years, his son ---- of the same name ---- the present head of the family, still carries on its various interests. The firm name, for many years has been W. L. Moody & Co., under which name they conduct a private bank on the northeast corner of Market and 21st Sts., in the building of the American National Insurance Company, which they also control. In addition, they own the City National Bank, on the south side of Market St., near Tremont.

The names of some of the organizers and early stockholders of the Santa Fe are perpetuated in the stations named for them along the line, as Rosenberg, Wallis, Dyer, Sealy, Landes, Somerville, Rogers, Heidenheimer, Moody, Kopperl, Blum and Kempner.