Alba Heywood (1859 - 1921)

Born 1859 in Kingsville, Ohio

Ancestors

Died 15 Sep 1921 at about age 62 in San Benito, TX

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Biography

Alba Heywood was a Texan.

HEYWOOD, ALBA (1859–1921). Alba Heywood, oil producer and land developer, son of Chester Wright and Clarissa Beancia (Bannister) Heywood, was born at Kingsville, Ohio, on April 9, 1859. He attended public schools and worked as a newsboy in Cleveland as a teenager. After a stint as a farm laborer, he became a canvassing agent and impersonator; he and his three brothers, Dewey, O. W., and W. Scott, eventually formed a vaudeville team and traveled throughout the country. The Heywood brothers acted quickly upon the discovery of the Spindletop oilfield to form the Heywood Brothers Oil Company, which acquired profitable oil leases at the field. With secure storage, pipelines, and markets, the Heywoods survived the depressed oil prices in the wake of the booms of the early 1900s. Expanding rapidly, the Heywood Company discovered oil at Jennings, Louisiana, in 1902. Alba was on Louisiana governor N. C. Blanchard's staff with the rank of lieutenant colonel from 1904 to 1908. He returned to Texas and helped develop a massive irrigation project in the Rio Grande valley that developed 55,000 acres and founded the city of San Benito. He served as president of the San Benito Land and Water Company, the Jennings-Heywood Oil Syndicate, and the San Benito Bank and Trust Company. In addition, he was secretary of the Jennings Oil Company and of Cameron County Water Improvement District Number Two. Heywood was married to Genevieve Stoy in 1892 and to Francis Turner on July 19, 1906. He was a Bryan Democrat and a member of the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks. He ultimately made his home at San Benito. He died November 15, 1921.^[1]

Please click link to Wiki Tree free page: Alba Heywood, "Prince of Comedians"

San Benito’s Alba Stimson Heywood led colorful life

ByNORMAN ROZEFF

Special to the Daily Star

SAN BENITO — The early 20th-century Rio Grande Valley did not lack for characters and Alba Stimson Heywood certainly fits into this category of individuals. This northeast Ohio native, born in Kingsville to Clarissa Brencie Bannister and Chester Wright Heywood on April 9, 1859, sailed through his life as if it was painted on as colorful a diorama as one could imagine.

His father was a teacher at Hiram College in Ohio while his mother was a schoolteacher. They had five sons and two daughters.

Alba attended public schools, but for how long we do not know. We do know that his family moved to Cleveland, where Alba as a teenager worked as a newsboy, later taking up farm laboring, canvassing orders and then becoming an impersonator. This latter occupation alone provides us a clue as to his extroverted personality and outgoing nature.

Eventually, he and three of his brothers (Chester) Dewey, Otho Wright and (Walter) Scott, formed a vaudeville act that traversed the country. On the circuit, Alba was given the name, “Prince of Comedians.” In 1892, he married Genevieve Stoy, while in July 1906 a second marriage was to Frances Turner.

Musician brother Scott visited the Florence, Colo., oilfield while touring with the brothers’ band. In the late 1890s, he formed oil companies in Fresno and San Francisco to develop oil leases in those areas. The collective perceptions, business acumen or perhaps just gambling instincts of the brothers was obviously high for, upon the discovery of easily exploitable oil in the Spindletop Oilfield south of Beaumont on Jan. 10, 1901, and at the urging of Scott, they quickly formed the Heywood Brothers Oil Co. It soon acquired valuable and profitable oil leases in this field.

This discovery, in effect, marked the birth of the modern petroleum industry. After laying a secure infrastructure for their Texas enterprise, the brothers branched out in 1902 to oil discoveries at Jennings, La. This was this state’s first major oil strike.

Alba was appointed to the staff of Louisiana Gov. N.C. Blanchard and served with the rank of lieutenant colonel from 1904 to 1908, hence his title thereafter of colonel.

Sam Robertson, who played such a major role in the Valley’s development, first met the Heywoods when they asked his aid in constructing earthen berms around well facilities in order to reduce fire probabilities.

Alba returned to Texas in the following manner. In June 1904, Robertson, who was then engineering the construction of the tracks and infrastructure for the St. Louis, Brownsville and Mexico Railway into the Valley, made the acquaintance of Oliver Hicks and James Landrum of the Powers Estate. A verbal agreement was made to construct what eventually was named the San Benito Canal. Work was not started on it until November 1906, and Robertson worked on the canal’s construction until 1913.

It was in 1907, however, that Alba and two of his brothers, at the behest of Robertson, joined him and Judge R.L. Batts, Mrs. Ed Rowson, William Stenger and A.C. Swanson to form the San Benito Land and Water Co. with a capital of $500,000. This company executed the massive irrigation project to develop about 55,000 acres and found the city of San Benito. Some of these individuals later were involved in the formation of the Heywood Connor Bank in the young town.

Scott and Alba founded the San Benito Bank and Trust Co. in 1908. By 1911, they had constructed the handsome and impressive two-story bank at 198 S. Sam Houston. This Spanish colonial revival structure held offices in its second story.

In 1914, the San Benito Library was organized and occupied part of its upstairs. The bank offered a service to local farmers as it hoisted warning flags over the building when inclement weather was forecast for the area.

In 1980, the building was awarded a Texas State Historical Commission marker.

By April 1907, 15 miles of the San Benito canal had been excavated, with a completion date forecast for July 1907. An engine was brought in by the newly renamed San Benito Land and Water Co. and its president, Alba Heywood. Its purpose was to power an immense dredge.

The canal, which had 18 miles in its major run and 70 miles of laterals, was capable of irrigating 45,000 acres. The Houston Post of July 20, 1907, reported that, in addition to the 15 miles already completed, 23 miles of laterals were finished. By October, the SBL&W purchased an additional 14,700 acres from James A. Browne and his wife for $200,000, or $13.60 per acre. By December, the company was running ads offering 20,000 acres for sale at $50 per acre — one-third down and 6 percent interest on the balance due in three annual payments.

On March 6, 1909, a Brownsville Herald headline read, “San Benito Sugar Enterprise,” with the story revealing the San Benito Land and Water Co.’s commitment to a future factory. One thousand acres for sugar cane culture were to be set aside, and the land that was being cleared north of the railroad track was to be the site of a 1,000-ton cane/day mill. Those involved included Col. Heywood, president; R.E. Filcher of San Francisco, vice president; E.H. Cox of Chicago, secretary; S.A. Robertson, treasurer; and Robert Lynn Butts of Austin, director and counsel.

The San Benito Sugar Co. took out a full-page advertisement. It stated, “We cultivate the land and market the crops for the absent owner.” It said that the San Benito Land and Irrigation Co. had set aside 1000 acres of choice irrigated land to be cleared and planted to sugar cane. With no qualms about making exaggerated claims, it stated, “Sugar cane has been a demonstrated success in the Lower Rio Grande Valley for over 30 years. It is a staple crop, involving no risk, and yields 50% to 100% net year after year.”

The company was offering tracts of five acres, or multiples thereof, at $200 an acre, of which the purchaser would pay $100 in cash or easy installments and the crop pay $100.

Alba, who was actively farming south of San Benito, visited Mineral Wells in October 1910. He learned of the major problems being caused by aggressive Johnson grass and wrote an open letter to caution Valley growers and ranchers not to import Johnson grass because it would be fiercely competitive and nearly impossible to eradicate. His admonition was too late; the weed pest was already here and has offered problems to growers ever since.

Shortly after the sugar mill’s construction was rapidly apace in July 1911, Heywood sold 15,000 acres of his Espiritu Santo Irrigated Land Co., Los Indios land and some Landrum acreage to A.C. Swanson and Co. and its partner, Allison Richey Land Co., for $125 an acre.

On his farm 4½ miles south of San Benito, Heywood planted 1,000 acres of sugar cane.

Unbeknown to him, the Harlingen clay soil in this location was underlain by very poorly draining subsoil. As a result, the subsurface salts rose over time, and his cane yields plummeted to the point of abandonment.

By 1912, Robertson’s Spiderweb Railroad — officially, the San Benito and Rio Grande Valley Railway, ran north and south of San Benito. Along the latter leg in order were Boulevard Junction, the Highland School and Heywood, on the way to Landrum Station, Carricitos (Alcala), Los Indios, Rangerville and Santa Maria.

Farmers in the early 20th century faced the same marketing problems as they do to this day — namely, not having control of the price received for their produce. San Benito cabbage growers, who were selling to only three shippers, considered forming a marketing organization when prices dropped precipitously at one point. Mission-area growers faced similar problems. Five hundred attended a discussion in early March 1914. From this time on, Valley truck growers attempted to exercise some control of their economic destiny.

The movement took on the name “unit marketing” in the popular media. In August, the Rio Grande and Gulf Association was established at Harlingen, with 800 to 1000 members attempting unit marketing. Heywood was a vocal proponent of the approach. In September, the system was approved by a vote of 617 to 146. Twenty-four directors representing 24 units were elected by 1,240 members. Also approved were control of acreage, “shut-off” orders, and “free on board” sales, or “dumps.”

During the next few years, numerous overextended Valley canal companies ran into financial difficulties. By December 1914, San Benito farmers were ready to take over the canal company. Of the $650,000 cost, the farmers paid $350,000 and bondholders assume another $150,000 in debt.

The district would be approved by the county in June and encompass 70,000 acres. The landowners committee consisted of J.L. Landrum, P.R. Foley, T.H. Kindig and Alba Heywood. It took another seven months before area growers voted, 103-4, to proceed with the takeover of the water district, requiring the issuance of $600,000 worth of bonds. The final vote in December was 123-2, but county approval didn’t come until mid-March of 1917. Half the bond issue was payment for the purchase and the remaining $300,000 was for improvements.

In 1918, Heywood was one of the Valley proponents of federal funding to dredge the Port Isabel Harbor in order to make it usable for deeper draft vessels. After many years of delay, some funding finally was made available.

Because of their reputations for successfully exploiting new oil discoveries, brothers Alba and Scott often were sought out to investigate new ventures. So it was in 1918 that West Texas rancher William Thomas Coble asked the bothers to come to the Panhandle and look into oil prospects for what was called the Turkey Tract Lands. Drilling soon proved fruitful. They leased 10,000 acres with Coble and formed the Coble-Heywood Oil Co.

This set the stage for numerous other oil developments by major companies in the Panhandle area.

While newspapers and others frequently characterized the Heywoods as geologists, use of that nomenclature that might have been a stretch. Perhaps they were more akin to wildcatters. They were, however, sharp enough to learn from their many drilling experiences and also to utilize the knowledge of professionals in a period when scientific information on geologic formations, oil strata and petroleum reserves was scant.

Despite his wealth, Alba had a populist leaning and was a William Jennings Bryan Democrat. He died Sept. 15, 1921. While termites, fire, old age or simply progress may have taken the attractive Heywood homestead from the scene, Alba Heywood’s memory lives on through his strong efforts in helping to successfully establish San Benito.^[2]

Sources

1. ↑ http://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/fhe38
2. ↑ http://www.valleymorningstar.com/news/article_9e0cacae-c313-5f38-bb84-cc0932064406.html

The Successful American, Volumes 5-6, The Heywood Brothers

Alba Heywood Family Papers, 1858-1948 | Manuscripts, University of North Texas Special Collections

Collection Title: Alba Heywood Collection Archives and Special Collections Department, Frazar Memorial Library, McNeese State University

The Fabulous Heywood Brothers by Jerry Frazee ..." a wonderful slice of Texas history about the earliest days of the oil boom in Texas and Louisiana."

Doubling Back, autobiography of an actor, Serio-Comical by Edwards Hoag Meade ; Published 1916 by Hammond Press, W.B. Conkey Co. in Chicago . "In addition to the friends of my childhood and youth there are several thousand people throughout the rural districts of the middle west and Pacific west whom I regard as my friends, because they were kind enough at some time to attend my show or some show of which I was a member, and to whom I may have afforded a good laugh..."