GULF, COLORADO AND SANTA FE RAILWAY COMPANY

EARLY ISSUES OF CAPITAL STOCK (continued)

Elinore McDonough

Galveston, Texas

May 25, 1927

Some of the first Stockholders (continued)

Certificate No. 86, for 10 shares, was issued Nov. 9, 1875, to F. L. Lee. And certificate No. 135, for one share was issued Dec. 21, 1875, to Joe A. Owens. These gentlemen were both members of the firm of Ricker, Lee & Co., that in 1879 and 1880 constructed long stretches of the original Santa Fe main line. From 1882 to 1900, the firm had put in the bridges on the Lampasas Extension and constructed complete the Navasota Branch, the Dallas and Honey Grove Branches, the Weatherford Branch, the San Angelo Branch, and the Cleveland Extension of the Montgomery Branch. Going farther away from home, they also constructed one part of the Chicago Drainage Canal. Capt. Owens also, a senior member of the firm of Owens, Levy & Owens, in 1910 constructed the second section of thirty miles of the Lometa West Extension. Mr. F. L. Lee, at the time of his death, was collector of the port of Galveston. His home, on the northeast corner of 20th St. and Broadway, in now the residence of Mr. David Fahey.

Capt. Joe A. Owens had been a captain in the army of the Confederate States of America, and a colonel in the Army of the Emperor Maximilian of Mexico. He was sheriff of Galveston County, and later, chief of police for the City of Galveston for one term under Mayor D. C. Stone in 1877. He was a member of the Texas state constitutional convention in 1875; and at the time of his death in 1916, was Superintendent of Public Buildings and Grounds for the State of Texas. Capt. Owens married Miss Katherine Nash, daughter of James Patrick Nash, who had conducted a private school for boys on Tremont St., next to where the Y.M.C.A. Building now stands. Mr. Nash had also been secretary to the Rt. Rev. Jean Marie Odin, first Bishop of Galveston, and was the only layman to sign the documents recording the laying of the cornerstone of St. Mary's Cathedral. Capt. Owens' youngest son, Cap. Edward M. Owens, follows his father's profession of engineering, and was associated with him in some of his later construction work on the Santa Fe. He was on active duty in France in the World War as a captain of artillery with the 90th division, and afterwards as a commander of a German town with the Army of Occupation. He is just now completing his second term as Commissioner of Streets and Public Property for the City of Galveston. Capt. Edward M. Owens married Miss Elizabeth McDonough, whose father, Mr. James McDonough, entered the service of the Gulf, Colorado and Santa Fe in 1880, as a locomotive engineer, when construction had yet reached the Yegua River, and who, on his retirement two years ago, was Master Mechanic for The A. T. & S. F. Railway Company in Chicago. It was Mr. McDonough who brought the first Santa Fe trains into Temple, Belton, and Houston, as construction reached those points. The writer of this sketch is his elder daughter.

Certificate No. 87 was issued Nov. 9, 1875, for 5 shares, to Kirk & Riddell, grocers. Mr. Riddell was afterwards president of the Improvement & Loan Company of Galveston, trustee under the First Mortgage of The Gulf and Interstate Railway Company of Texas. At the time of his death, Mr. Kirk was the proprietor of a grocery store on the southwest corner of Avenue K and 36th St.

Certificate No. 94 for 20 shares was issued Nov. 10, 1875, to C. B. Lee & Co. They were iron founders at Galveston, and for many years in its early history, supplied the Santa Fe with all its iron castings. A daughter of Mr. Lee married John R. Cheek, for whom Cheek station on the Gulf and Interstate Railway of Texas is named.

Certificate No. 95, for one share, was issued Nov. 10, 1875, to J. L. P. Knoll. For many years after that time, Madame Paul Knoll was a fashionable milliner, with a shop on Postoffice St., near Tremont.

Certificate No. 98, for 10 shares, was issued Nov. 11, 1875, to Ballinger & Jack. These were Messrs. Wm. P. Ballinger and Thos. M. Jack, attorneys. Both were of families prominent in Texas since its colonial days, and among the founders of the Republic. Mr. Wm. P. Ballinger was the maternal grandfather of Mr. Ballinger Mills of the law firm of Terry, Cavin & Mills, General Attorneys for the Gulf, Colorado and Santa Fe Railway Company.

Certificate No. 99 was issued Nov. 11, 1875, to G. H. Delesdenier for 3 shares. Mr. Delesdenier had been an alderman of the City of Galveston from 1848 to 1852, both inclusive.

Certificate No. 100, for 3 shares, was issued Nov. 12, 1875, to Menard James, who was the son of Alfred F. James, who died in 1861. Menard James lived for many years afterwards, but was non compos mentis from 1869.

Certificate No. 103, for 5 shares, was issued Nov. 12, 1875, to C. F. Hildenbrand, who was the proprietor of a lumber yard and mill. His youngest son, also C. F. Hildenbrand, still lives in Galveston, but the mill has passed out of the hands of the family long ago.

Certificate No. 106, for 15 shares, was issued Nov. 13, 1875, to Wolston, Wells & Vidor, who were cotton factors and commission and forwarding merchants, located in League's Building, No. 73 Strand. The firm is out of existence long ago, but some members of all three families are still in Galveston. Perhaps the best known of the present generation is the grandson of the Mr. Vidor of this firm -- King Vidor, the well-known motion picture director and producer.

Certificate No. 112, for one share, was issued Nov. 17, 1875, to W. F. Beers, who also receipted for certificate No. 111, for 50 shares, issued the same day to the Union Marine & Fire Insurance Co. Mr. Beers is still in business here, head of the firm of Beers, Kenison & Co., general insurance agents.

Certificate No. 114, for 30 shares, was issued Nov. 27, 1875, to H. Marwitz. The home he built in his later years, on the southwest corner of 22d St. and Avenue H, is now occupied as an office building by the First Texas Prudential Insurance Co. His daughter, now Mrs. Jules Muller, lives on the southwest corner of 33d St. and Avenue K.

Certificate No. 115, for 5 shares, was issued Nov. 27, 1875, to H. Schulte. Mr. Schulte returned to Germany many years ago, and only recently his heirs have been inquiring as to the value of this stock. It was, of course, necessary to tell them that the stock is now worthless.

Certificate No. 117, for 10 shares, was issued Nov. 30, 1875, to Willie & Cleveland. They were attorneys. In the Galveston Mercury of Sunday, March 28, 1875, there is an account of a meeting of the Chamber of Commerce, with the President, Mr. A. M. Hobby, presiding, and Mr. James Sorley acting as secretary. The meeting adopted a resolution of thanks to the Hon. A. H. Willie for his efficient services in all matters pertaining to the interest of the City while a representative in Congress.

Certificate No. 119, for 3 shares, was issued Nov. 30, 1875, to Walter Gresham. Mr. Gresham was a director of the company from 1874 until its dissolution in 1879. He was not among those whom Mr. George Sealy listed as being associated with him in offering the loan of $250,000.00 to the company in 1878. However, he appears to have accepted the invitation extended to all stockholders to join in the loan, as he was among those who organized the new company in 1879, and became one of its original stockholders. Under a contract with the new company, he bought most of its right-of-way, or obtained donations for it, particularly from Fort Worth to the Red River. Most of the deeds were taken to him personally, and the property afterwards transferred to the railway company. He served as a representative in Congress, and did very important and valuable work for the City of Galveston in assisting in obtaining the first Federal appropriation for building the Galveston jetties, which assured the deepening of the harbor. His widow lives with their youngest daughter, Mrs. C. C. Oakes, wife of an army officer in Washington. Two other daughters, Mrs. W. B. Lockhart, and Mrs. W. T. Armstrong, live in Galveston. Two sons live in Dallas. The magnificent mansion which he built on 14th St. and Broadway is now the residence of the Catholic Bishop of Galveston.

Certificate No. 120, for 10 shares, was issued Dec. 1, 1875, to L. LeGierse, who was a wholesale grocer and liquor dealer located about at 24th and Mechanic Sts. Perhaps the best known of the family today is his daughter, famous in concert and opera as Yvonne de Treville.

Certificate No. 121, for 20 shares, was issued Dec. 1, 1875, to C. E. Richards. He was an alderman of the City of Galveston from 1877 to 1880, inclusive. He was elected to the Board of Directors of the Santa Fe in 1878, and was one of those who joined with George Sealy in the loan to the old company and in the organization of the new company of 1879.

Certificate No. 127, for 10 shares, was issued Dec. 11, 1875, to J. N. Sawyer, who was for many years the agent for the Mallory Line of Steamships.

On Dec. 11, 1875, certificate No. 128, for 30 shares, was issued to A. P. Lufkin; certificate No. 129 for 10 shares, was issued to T. D. Lufkin; certificate No. 130, for 10 shares, was issued to W. E. Lufkin; and certificate No. 131, for 150 shares, was issued to the Southern Cotton Press & Manufacturing Co. Capt. A. P. Lufkin, as representing the latter company, had been one of those invited to the meeting of Galveston corporations held on Dec. 23, 1874. Mr. T. D. Lufkin was afterwards for many years secretary of the Galveston Waterworks; and Mr. W. E. Lufkin for a long time Auditor of the Gulf, Colorado and Santa Fe Railway Company. Probably the only members of the family living in Galveston now are Mr. N. S. Lufkin, son of the late T. D. Lufkin; and Mrs. A. S. Van Alstyen, whose late husband was for many years Treasurer of the Galveston, Houston & Henderson Railroad Company.

Certificate No. 133, for 2 shares, was issued Dec. 17, 1875, to J. M. Heiskell, who owned a wood yard.

Certificate No. 141, for 2 shares, was issued Jan. 18, 1876, to Flatto & Bro. For many years, they kept a large shoe store on the west side of Tremont St., near Market St., in a building now occupied by a motion picture theater. Later they moved around on Market St., near 21st St. Both members of the original firm are now dead, and their sons have recently closed out the business.

Certificates Nos. 144, 145, 146, 150, 195, and 230, for a total of 50 shares, were issued to A. H. Belo & Co., publishers at that time of the Galveston News. This was probably all in payment of bills for advertising and various printing in accordance with the contract with Richardson, Belo & Co., recorded in the minutes of the Directors' meeting of April 3, 1875. The grandson of that Mr. Richardson, one of the earlier owners of the News, is Dr. Willard Richardson Cooke of Galveston. The firm of A. H. Belo & Co. recently sold the Galveston News to W. L. Moody of Galveston, and have now consolidated their publishing interests in the Dallas News, an offshoot of the Galveston News.

Certificate No. 143 for 7 shares, was issued Jan. 29, 1876, to V. J. Baulard, owner of a large paint and wallpaper business, known at one time as Rice & Baulard. Some of his family still live in his home on 27th St. and Broadway, and his son, also V. J. Baulard, lives across the street, on the south side of Broadway. The present Mr. V. J. Baulard's wife, recently deceased, was a daughter of that T. Ratto, a candy manufacturer, to whom certificate No. 173, for 5 shares, was issued Nov. 10, 1876.

Certificate No. 148, for 10 shares, was issued March 22, 1876, to H. M. Trueheart, wealthy and prominent, with large real estate interests. Some of his family still resides in their home on 16th St. and Broadway.

Certificate No. 149, for 5 shares, was issued March 29, 1876, to P. J. Davie, a wealthy merchant, of whose family probably Mrs. John Hanna is the only one now residing in Galveston. He left a large property in trust to his heirs, among which is the Washington Hotel Building, on Tremont and Mechanic Sts., in which the Santa Fe city ticket office was located for many years prior to Federal control of railroads.

Certificate No. 151, for 10 shares, was issued April 15, 1876, to Victor Girardin, the proprietor of the Girardin House, on the southeast corner of 24th and Market Sts., a very fashionable hotel in its day, and still operated as a rooming-house. A member of his family married L. Romanet, to whom certificate No. 293, for 10 shares, was issued August 16, 1877.

Certificate No. 153, for one share, was issued April 29, 1876, to W. E. Gregory, the proprietor of a large livery stable. The family still conduct the business, on Tremont St., across the alley from the Tremont Hotel, but the "hacks" of those days have been replaced by taxicabs.

Certificate No. 156, for 3 shares, was issued June 7, 1876, to Gustave Heye ---- transferred from Focke, Wilkens & Co. Mr. Heye was a wholesale grocer, who afterwards closed out his business and removed from Galveston. He returned a few years ago and opened an insurance agency, but died recently.

Certificate No. 158, for one share, was issued June 13, 1876, to W. M. Stafford, who still lives in Galveston,at his home on Broadway near 27th St.

Certificate No. 159, for 5 shares, was issued July 19, 1876, to Mills & Tevis. These were Messrs. A. G. Mills and R. M. Tevis, attorneys. Major Tevis had been recorder of the City of Galveston in 1874. In the newspaper accounts of the meeting of citizens held on March 26, 1875, he is quoted as having spoken strongly in support of the proposition to increase the popular subscription to the capital stock of the new road. His son, also R. M. Tevis, is a resident of Galveston. Mr. A. G. Mills was the father of Mr. Ballinger Mills, of the firm of Terry, Cavin & Mills, General Attorneys for the Gulf, Colorado and Santa Fe Railway Company.

Certificate No. 160, for 200 shares, was issued July 27, 1876, to the Galveston Wharf Company. Mr. J. H. Hutchings, of the firm of Ball, Hutchings & Company, was president of the Wharf Company in 1874 at the time of the meeting of the Galveston corporations with the Santa Fe directors. The Galveston Wharf and Cotton Press Co., organized by Michel B. Menard and his associates, was granted a charter by the Legislature of the State of Texas in 1854. By an act of the Legislature, in 1860, the name was changed to Galveston Wharf Company. After much controversy between the City of Galveston and the Wharf Company, particularly as to the ownership of the flats in front of the city and the street ends, if extended through the flats to the channel line, the City sued the Wharf Company; and by a consent decree entered in the District Court of Brazoria County in 1869, an undivided one-third interest in the property of the Wharf Company was vested in the City. The decree was confirmed by an act of Legislature in 1870.

Certificate No. 162, for 10 shares, was issued August 31, 1876, to A. C. Crawford & Sons. A. C. Crawford had been an alderman of the City of Galveston in 1842, and from 1844 to 1847, both inclusive.

Certificates Nos. 166, 167, 168, and 169, for a total of 20 shares, were issued to Flournoy, Sherwood & Scott. These gentlemen were attorneys for the railway company, and the minutes disclose that their legal services were paid for mostly in stock.

Certificate No. 170, for 3 shares, was issued Sept. 24, 1876, to S. W. Sydnor. He had been among those to whom the City had granted the right to operate a street railway to be known as the People's Railway Company, in 1873. The stock was issued to him in payment of his bill for commission for collecting installments of subscriptions to the railway's capital stock. His name is perpetuated in Sydnor's Bayou, on Galveston Island, west of the City, well known to fishermen. Perhaps the most famous of the family today is the writer, Henry Sydnor Harrison, whose novel, "Queed", was a bestseller a few years ago.

Certificate No. 171, for 15 shares, was issued Oct. 21, 1876, to B. R. Davis & Bro., hardware merchants.

Certificate No. 172, for 10 shares, was issued Nov. 1, 1876, to M. A. Shaw & Bro. This was a firm of jewelers, established in 1856. The original members of the firm are now dead, but two sons of M. W. Shaw still conduct the business in the same location, on the northwest corner of Tremont and Market Sts.

Certificate No. 177, for 7 shares, was issued Dec. 18, 1876, to J. Reymershoffers Sons. They were owners of a flour mill, and interested in other business affairs of the city. The family is still prominent.

Certificate No. 179, for 5 shares, was issued Jan. 15, 1877, to A. Allen & Co., proprietors of a marble yard.

Certificate No. 182, for one share, was issued February 19, 1877, to R. J. John, who was cashier of the National Bank of Texas, of which Mr. M. Kopperl was president. Mr. John was elected treasurer of the railway company on Dec. 20, 1877, and reelected at the meeting of October 30, 1878.

Certificate No. 184, for one share, was issued Feb. 28, 1877, to J. Ziegler. He was an alderman on the City of Galveston, in 1877 and 1878. His eldest son, H. L. Ziegler, is in business in Galveston as an ocean freight broker.

Certificate No. 200, for 10 shares, was issued June 14, 1877, to C. H. Moore & Co. The firm is now Moore & Goodman, dealers in lumber and mill work. Col. Moore died very recently. His younger son, Mr. Bartlett D. Moore, conducts the business in Galveston, while his older son, Mr. Kilburn Moore, lives in California.

C. W. Hurley, to whom certificate No. 204, for 10 shares, was issued August 31, 1877, and certificate No. 209, also for 10 shares, was issued Dec. 11, 1877, was Mayor of the City of Galveston in 1873 and 1874. He was a director of the railway company in 1877 and 1878.

Certificate No. 210, for 5 shares, No. 211, for 5 shares, and No. 212, for 2 shares, were issued Dec. 11, 1877, to James Sorley. He was a member of the first Board of Directors, and a member of the committee that drafted the first by-laws of the company. The other members of that committee were John Sealy and M. Quin. Mr. Sorley was a director of the company continuously until its dissolution in 1879, and was elected vice president in 1877 and again in 1878. His son, an officer of the regular army, served with distinction in the World War.

Certificate No. 215, for 5 shares, was issued June 11, 1878, to M. Strickland. This probably covered, in part, the bill for printing the Galveston County bonds, which had been done by Strickland & Clark. However, the firm had dissolved by the time the bill was presented; and in the minutes of the Directors' meeting of Jan. 17, 1876, there is a report from the Finance Committee, in which Mr. Strickland asked that he be charged with only half of the firm's original subscription of ten shares, and that the bill for this printing be credited against his subscription.

Certificate No. 226, for 5 shares, was issued March 15, 1879, to J. Z. H. Scott -- transferred from C. W. Hurley. Mr. Scott was among the most prominent lawyers of his time in Galveston. His widow (his second wife) and several of his children are still residents of Galveston.

Certificate No. 111, for 50 shares, was issued Nov. 17, 1875, to the Union Marine & Fire Insurance Co. Mr. I. Dyer, president of that company, was among those asked to meet with the Board of Directors on Dec. 23, 1874, to interest the business interests of the city in the new railroad. Mr. Dyer was among those who joined with George Sealy in the loan to the old company in 1878, and was one of the organizers of the new company in 1879. He was a relative of the Kopperl family, and also of Mrs. Alfred C. Torbert, widow of the late Alfred C. Torbert, for so many years secretary and treasurer of the Gulf, Colorado and Santa Fe Railway Company.

Certificate No. 229, for 1 share, was issued April 10, 1879, to C. C. Allen. He was City Clerk for the City of Galveston from 1871 to 1874, both inclusive. He was elected secretary of the railway company on August 16, 1875, to fill out the un-expired term of C. R. Hughes. No secretary's name is signed to the minutes from March 15, 1875, until Mr. Allen's election on August 16, 1875. He was continuously secretary of the railway company thereafter until its dissolution in 1879, and was elected the first secretary of the new company of 1879.