Luling philanthropist celebrates oil deal with huge barbecue
June 11, 1926
On this day in 1926, Luling oilman Edgar Byram Davis threw a free barbecue for friends, associates, and employees to celebrate the sale of his leases to Magnolia Petroleum in what may have been the biggest oil deal in Texas to that time. Davis, born in Massachusetts in 1873, made millions in the shoe business and as an investor in the rubber industry, but gave much of his fortune away. He came to Texas in 1919 to manage his brother's oil leases in Caldwell County. A deeply religious man, Davis believed that he was directed by God to deliver Luling and Caldwell County from the oppressive one-crop (cotton) economy that dominated the area.
He believed he would do this by finding oil, though geologists claimed there was none there. In 1922, Davis was proven correct with the discovery of the Luling oilfield. Four years later, he sold out to Magnolia for $12 million, half in cash. In addition to the barbecue, which was attended by thousands, Davis gave his employees from 25 to 100 percent of their total salaries as bonuses. He also gave the citizens of Luling a golf course, an athletic clubhouse for local blacks, various other facilities, and endowments for each. He established the Luling Foundation for the teaching of improved agricultural methods. In all, Davis donated at least $5 million to charity. Davis died in 1951 and was buried in Luling.
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He believed he would do this by finding oil, though geologists claimed there was none there. In 1922, Davis was proven correct with the discovery of the Luling oilfield. Four years later, he sold out to Magnolia for $12 million, half in cash. In addition to the barbecue, which was attended by thousands, Davis gave his employees from 25 to 100 percent of their total salaries as bonuses. He also gave the citizens of Luling a golf course, an athletic clubhouse for local blacks, various other facilities, and endowments for each. He established the Luling Foundation for the teaching of improved agricultural methods. In all, Davis donated at least $5 million to charity. Davis died in 1951 and was buried in Luling.
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Armed robbers hit state treasury
June 11, 1865
On this day in 1865, an estimated fifty desperadoes broke into the state treasury in Austin, one of the boldest crimes in Texas history. The robbery occurred during the chaotic period immediately after the downfall of the Confederacy in the spring of 1865. Gen. Nathan G. Shelley informed George R. Freeman, a Confederate veteran and leader of a small company of volunteer militia, that the robbery was imminent. By the time Freeman and about twenty of his troops arrived at the treasury, the robbers were in the building.
A brief gunfight erupted in which one of the robbers was mortally wounded; all the other robbers fled toward Mount Bonnell, west of Austin, carrying with them about $17,000 in specie, more than half of the gold and silver in the state treasury. None was ever captured. The loot was never recovered, although some of the money was found strewn between the treasury building and Mount Bonnell. Freeman and his company of volunteers were later recognized by the state for their service in defending the public treasury, but the resolution providing a reward for their services never passed the legislature.
A brief gunfight erupted in which one of the robbers was mortally wounded; all the other robbers fled toward Mount Bonnell, west of Austin, carrying with them about $17,000 in specie, more than half of the gold and silver in the state treasury. None was ever captured. The loot was never recovered, although some of the money was found strewn between the treasury building and Mount Bonnell. Freeman and his company of volunteers were later recognized by the state for their service in defending the public treasury, but the resolution providing a reward for their services never passed the legislature.
Pioneer public-health doctor dies
June 11, 1991
On this day in 1991, Connie Yerwood Connor died in Austin. Connor, born around 1908 in Victoria, became the first African-American physician named to the Texas Public Health Service (now the Texas Department of Health) in 1937. In the beginning her duties were limited to work among the black population in East Texas, but she eventually worked with all cultures throughout the state. She led the state's efforts in early periodic screening diagnosis, treatment, and chronic diseases for pregnancy and pediatrics. When she retired in 1977, she was director of health services. Connor was president of the Lone Star Medical, Dental, and Pharmaceutical Association and a member of the Texas Medical Association. In 1952 she was one of the trustees who signed the merger agreement of Huston-Tillotson College, which she served for a total of fifty-four years.
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posted by C ~ 6.11.2011 The Texas State Historical Association
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June 11, 1936
On this day in 1936, author Robert Ervin Howard committed suicide in Cross Plains, apparently distraught at the approaching death of his mother. The Texas native finished high school in Brownwood and, while attending Howard Payne College, began writing his very successful heroic fantasies. Conan the Barbarian is the most widely known of his characters. Others include Solomon Kane, who fought the ghosts and vampires of Elizabethan England; Bran Mak Morn, who battled the iron legions of Rome; and King Kull, a warrior of fabled Atlantis. Describing his protagonists, Howard said, "They're simpler. You get them in a jam, and no one expects you to rack your brains inventing clever ways for them to extricate themselves. They are too stupid to do anything but cut, shoot, or slug themselves into the clear."
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posted by C ~ 6.11.2011 The Texas State Historical Association
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