JOHN HENRY WESSELS. Of the men whose,participation in business activities and agricultural operations has lent encouragement to the growth of various industries in Fayette County, few are held in higher esteem than is John Henry Wessels, of Halsted, leading farmer, merchant and public-spirited citizen. He has been a resident of this county since 1872, coming to America as a lad of eight years from Oldenburg, Germany, where he was born April 8, 1864, and where his father, George Wessels, had died shortly before. The mother, then Sophie Wessels, brought her family to the United States, sailing from Bremen on one of the vessels of the North German Lloyd line, Frankfort, bound for Galveston, at which place she arrived in due course of time. From Galveston she took her children to. Fayette County, where she had relatives, and during her first year in this country she accomplished something in the way of farming. In the meantime she became acquainted with William Hancord, a farmer and sheepman of Fayette County, whom she married during her second year in America. He finally identified himself, with the Wessels children, with farming exclusively, near Rutersville, in Fayette County, and in this line continued to be engaged until the time of his death. Mrs. Hancord still survives in advanced years and makes her home near Rutersville on the old homestead place. The Wessels children were as follows: John H., of this review; George D., of Rutersville; Fred, who died at LaGrange, Texas, and left a family. One child was born to Mr. and Mrs. Hancord, Willie, who died young. Before Mrs. Hancord's first marriage she was Sophie Lange, and she has one sister, Mrs. Dietrich Niemeyer, of Moulton, Texas. Mrs. von Lienen, the wife of Bernard von Lienan, of Moulton, is a sister of George Wessels; Mrs. Annie Lucke, who died at Rutersville, was a half-sister.
In the vicinity of Rutersville and Halsted, Texas, John Henry Wessels grew to manhood, his education being obtained in the country schools which he attended in a limited way. From early youth he worked out from home as a farm hand, as a well digger and section hand, and in whatever direction honorable employment was offered. His industry was rewarded by the securing of a thirteen-dollar pony, which comprised the equipment owned by him at the time he decided to enter upon an agricultural career of his own, but he finally managed to borrow $600 for equipment, with which he began operations on his stepfather's farm on the Colorado River, near Halsted. He worked faithfully and industriously and directed his movements in such an able manner that he made a success of this venture, worked himself out of debt, and became the possessor of some small capital. Just before his marriage he purchased a tract of thirty acres of bottom land, located on the Ellinger Road, and this forms a part of his large land holdings, and was, indeed, the nucleus from which they have grown to their present proportions. As soon as he was able to gather together the means he purchased a thirty-five-acre tract adjoining the original purchase, and of this he is also still the owner. Mr. Wessels began buying at Halsted with a small tract of twenty-three acres, and became something of a buyer of farm lands and city properties, and his holdings lie principally along the Colorado River and north of Halsted, making an aggregate of 901 acres. His farming expanded beyond the limits of his own domain and for several years he has been a leaser of agricultural land nearby, his combined areas of land cultivated totaling 1,000 acres.
Another important enterprise which Mr. Wessels has built up at Halsted is the gravel industry. He began this work with the opening of a pit near Halsted Station, in 1906, known as. Pit No. 1, and opened Pit No. 2 in 1912. This has led to the employment of much labor, from twenty to thirty men, as well as twenty teams, and his product has gone to concrete work, railroad macadam and public road and street contracts. Mr. Wessels is one of the shrewdest business men in the county, active, alert and progressive, his hand being always at the throttle of his business enterprises, and all of these being kept in steady and constant motion. Without a doubt he is the "father" of Halsted, in that his industries have built up the town, as well as at Wessel's Switch, where Gravel Pit No. 2 is located. He has shipped 16,000 cars of gravel and has skinned the surface of the country by the acre to secure this product.
Mr. Wessels engaged in merchandising at Halsted in 1894, when he established himself in a general line. The place at that time was nothing but a field, but Mr. Wessels realized that it was a good point for trade and commerce, and he accordingly erected a gin, store building, saloon and lumber shed, and put in stocks for all of them. He operates all these businesses at this time with the aid of his sons. For a few years there was a post office established at this point, but with the expansion of the rural free delivery from La Grange the office here was discontinued. Mr. Wessels was the postmaster here. Here he also erected a handsome residence and planted shade and ornamental trees which are now in splendid shape, and has a dance and lodge hall where the Herman Sons and Sisters hold their regular meetings. Mr. Wessels also built a schoolhouse, and while it is a public school, issued stock to the patrons of the district for its construction.
In politics Mr. Wessels is a democrat, and is one of the school trustees, has attended numerous conventions as a delegate, and has aided in the nomination of many candidates for governor. He has served- on the committees of various state conventions, and was elected county commissioner for Precinct No. 1 in 1896, and served four years. During his term the matter of grading roads by contract was promoted, beginning on road work, and this, together with the erection of numerous new bridges, constituted the chief feature of his administration. Mr. Wessels is a Pythian knight and a member of the Sons of Hermann. He was reared in the faith of the Lutheran Church, while Mrs. Wessels was reared as a Catholic.
Mr. Wessels was married in the Halsted community, February 14, 1888, to Miss Mary Heller, a daughter of Platza F. Heller, one of the German farmers of Fayette County, and a native of Weimar, Texas, now residing at Columbus, this state. Mr. and Mrs. Wessels have the following children: Garland P., who married Matilda Harnisch, has two children, Nelda and an infant, and is associated in business with his father; Eddie, who is also his father's partner in the gravel industry; Miss Sophie, who resides at home; Leon, who is a clerk in his father's store at Halsted; Johnnie, who met an accidental death in childhood; and Lloyd and Irene, who are attending the public schools. -- pp. 1595-1596.
In the vicinity of Rutersville and Halsted, Texas, John Henry Wessels grew to manhood, his education being obtained in the country schools which he attended in a limited way. From early youth he worked out from home as a farm hand, as a well digger and section hand, and in whatever direction honorable employment was offered. His industry was rewarded by the securing of a thirteen-dollar pony, which comprised the equipment owned by him at the time he decided to enter upon an agricultural career of his own, but he finally managed to borrow $600 for equipment, with which he began operations on his stepfather's farm on the Colorado River, near Halsted. He worked faithfully and industriously and directed his movements in such an able manner that he made a success of this venture, worked himself out of debt, and became the possessor of some small capital. Just before his marriage he purchased a tract of thirty acres of bottom land, located on the Ellinger Road, and this forms a part of his large land holdings, and was, indeed, the nucleus from which they have grown to their present proportions. As soon as he was able to gather together the means he purchased a thirty-five-acre tract adjoining the original purchase, and of this he is also still the owner. Mr. Wessels began buying at Halsted with a small tract of twenty-three acres, and became something of a buyer of farm lands and city properties, and his holdings lie principally along the Colorado River and north of Halsted, making an aggregate of 901 acres. His farming expanded beyond the limits of his own domain and for several years he has been a leaser of agricultural land nearby, his combined areas of land cultivated totaling 1,000 acres.
Another important enterprise which Mr. Wessels has built up at Halsted is the gravel industry. He began this work with the opening of a pit near Halsted Station, in 1906, known as. Pit No. 1, and opened Pit No. 2 in 1912. This has led to the employment of much labor, from twenty to thirty men, as well as twenty teams, and his product has gone to concrete work, railroad macadam and public road and street contracts. Mr. Wessels is one of the shrewdest business men in the county, active, alert and progressive, his hand being always at the throttle of his business enterprises, and all of these being kept in steady and constant motion. Without a doubt he is the "father" of Halsted, in that his industries have built up the town, as well as at Wessel's Switch, where Gravel Pit No. 2 is located. He has shipped 16,000 cars of gravel and has skinned the surface of the country by the acre to secure this product.
Mr. Wessels engaged in merchandising at Halsted in 1894, when he established himself in a general line. The place at that time was nothing but a field, but Mr. Wessels realized that it was a good point for trade and commerce, and he accordingly erected a gin, store building, saloon and lumber shed, and put in stocks for all of them. He operates all these businesses at this time with the aid of his sons. For a few years there was a post office established at this point, but with the expansion of the rural free delivery from La Grange the office here was discontinued. Mr. Wessels was the postmaster here. Here he also erected a handsome residence and planted shade and ornamental trees which are now in splendid shape, and has a dance and lodge hall where the Herman Sons and Sisters hold their regular meetings. Mr. Wessels also built a schoolhouse, and while it is a public school, issued stock to the patrons of the district for its construction.
In politics Mr. Wessels is a democrat, and is one of the school trustees, has attended numerous conventions as a delegate, and has aided in the nomination of many candidates for governor. He has served- on the committees of various state conventions, and was elected county commissioner for Precinct No. 1 in 1896, and served four years. During his term the matter of grading roads by contract was promoted, beginning on road work, and this, together with the erection of numerous new bridges, constituted the chief feature of his administration. Mr. Wessels is a Pythian knight and a member of the Sons of Hermann. He was reared in the faith of the Lutheran Church, while Mrs. Wessels was reared as a Catholic.
Mr. Wessels was married in the Halsted community, February 14, 1888, to Miss Mary Heller, a daughter of Platza F. Heller, one of the German farmers of Fayette County, and a native of Weimar, Texas, now residing at Columbus, this state. Mr. and Mrs. Wessels have the following children: Garland P., who married Matilda Harnisch, has two children, Nelda and an infant, and is associated in business with his father; Eddie, who is also his father's partner in the gravel industry; Miss Sophie, who resides at home; Leon, who is a clerk in his father's store at Halsted; Johnnie, who met an accidental death in childhood; and Lloyd and Irene, who are attending the public schools. -- pp. 1595-1596.
JOHN HENRY WESSELS. Of the men whose,participation in business activities and agricultural operations has lent encouragement to the growth of various industries in Fayette County, few are held in higher esteem than is John Henry Wessels, of Halsted, leading farmer, merchant and public-spirited citizen. He has been a resident of this county since 1872, coming to America as a lad of eight years from Oldenburg, Germany, where he was born April 8, 1864, and where his father, George Wessels, had died shortly before. The mother, then Sophie Wessels, brought her family to the United States, sailing from Bremen on one of the vessels of the North German Lloyd line, Frankfort, bound for Galveston, at which place she arrived in due course of time. From Galveston she took her children to. Fayette County, where she had relatives, and during her first year in this country she accomplished something in the way of farming. In the meantime she became acquainted with William Hancord, a farmer and sheepman of Fayette County, whom she married during her second year in America. He finally identified himself, with the Wessels children, with farming exclusively, near Rutersville, in Fayette County, and in this line continued to be engaged until the time of his death. Mrs. Hancord still survives in advanced years and makes her home near Rutersville on the old homestead place. The Wessels children were as follows: John H., of this review; George D., of Rutersville; Fred, who died at LaGrange, Texas, and left a family. One child was born to Mr. and Mrs. Hancord, Willie, who died young. Before Mrs. Hancord's first marriage she was Sophie Lange, and she has one sister, Mrs. Dietrich Niemeyer, of Moulton, Texas. Mrs. von Lienen, the wife of Bernard von Lienan, of Moulton, is a sister of George Wessels; Mrs. Annie Lucke, who died at Rutersville, was a half-sister.
In the vicinity of Rutersville and Halsted, Texas, John Henry Wessels grew to manhood, his education being obtained in the country schools which he attended in a limited way. From early youth he worked out from home as a farm hand, as a well digger and section hand, and in whatever direction honorable employment was offered. His industry was rewarded by the securing of a thirteen-dollar pony, which comprised the equipment owned by him at the time he decided to enter upon an agricultural career of his own, but he finally managed to borrow $600 for equipment, with which he began operations on his stepfather's farm on the Colorado River, near Halsted. He worked faithfully and industriously and directed his movements in such an able manner that he made a success of this venture, worked himself out of debt, and became the possessor of some small capital. Just before his marriage he purchased a tract of thirty acres of bottom land, located on the Ellinger Road, and this forms a part of his large land holdings, and was, indeed, the nucleus from which they have grown to their present proportions. As soon as he was able to gather together the means he purchased a thirty-five-acre tract adjoining the original purchase, and of this he is also still the owner. Mr. Wessels began buying at Halsted with a small tract of twenty-three acres, and became something of a buyer of farm lands and city properties, and his holdings lie principally along the Colorado River and north of Halsted, making an aggregate of 901 acres. His farming expanded beyond the limits of his own domain and for several years he has been a leaser of agricultural land nearby, his combined areas of land cultivated totaling 1,000 acres.
Another important enterprise which Mr. Wessels has built up at Halsted is the gravel industry. He began this work with the opening of a pit near Halsted Station, in 1906, known as. Pit No. 1, and opened Pit No. 2 in 1912. This has led to the employment of much labor, from twenty to thirty men, as well as twenty teams, and his product has gone to concrete work, railroad macadam and public road and street contracts. Mr. Wessels is one of the shrewdest business men in the county, active, alert and progressive, his hand being always at the throttle of his business enterprises, and all of these being kept in steady and constant motion. Without a doubt he is the "father" of Halsted, in that his industries have built up the town, as well as at Wessel's Switch, where Gravel Pit No. 2 is located. He has shipped 16,000 cars of gravel and has skinned the surface of the country by the acre to secure this product.
Mr. Wessels engaged in merchandising at Halsted in 1894, when he established himself in a general line. The place at that time was nothing but a field, but Mr. Wessels realized that it was a good point for trade and commerce, and he accordingly erected a gin, store building, saloon and lumber shed, and put in stocks for all of them. He operates all these businesses at this time with the aid of his sons. For a few years there was a post office established at this point, but with the expansion of the rural free delivery from La Grange the office here was discontinued. Mr. Wessels was the postmaster here. Here he also erected a handsome residence and planted shade and ornamental trees which are now in splendid shape, and has a dance and lodge hall where the Herman Sons and Sisters hold their regular meetings. Mr. Wessels also built a schoolhouse, and while it is a public school, issued stock to the patrons of the district for its construction.
In politics Mr. Wessels is a democrat, and is one of the school trustees, has attended numerous conventions as a delegate, and has aided in the nomination of many candidates for governor. He has served- on the committees of various state conventions, and was elected county commissioner for Precinct No. 1 in 1896, and served four years. During his term the matter of grading roads by contract was promoted, beginning on road work, and this, together with the erection of numerous new bridges, constituted the chief feature of his administration. Mr. Wessels is a Pythian knight and a member of the Sons of Hermann. He was reared in the faith of the Lutheran Church, while Mrs. Wessels was reared as a Catholic.
Mr. Wessels was married in the Halsted community, February 14, 1888, to Miss Mary Heller, a daughter of Platza F. Heller, one of the German farmers of Fayette County, and a native of Weimar, Texas, now residing at Columbus, this state. Mr. and Mrs. Wessels have the following children: Garland P., who married Matilda Harnisch, has two children, Nelda and an infant, and is associated in business with his father; Eddie, who is also his father's partner in the gravel industry; Miss Sophie, who resides at home; Leon, who is a clerk in his father's store at Halsted; Johnnie, who met an accidental death in childhood; and Lloyd and Irene, who are attending the public schools. -- pp. 1595-1596.
In the vicinity of Rutersville and Halsted, Texas, John Henry Wessels grew to manhood, his education being obtained in the country schools which he attended in a limited way. From early youth he worked out from home as a farm hand, as a well digger and section hand, and in whatever direction honorable employment was offered. His industry was rewarded by the securing of a thirteen-dollar pony, which comprised the equipment owned by him at the time he decided to enter upon an agricultural career of his own, but he finally managed to borrow $600 for equipment, with which he began operations on his stepfather's farm on the Colorado River, near Halsted. He worked faithfully and industriously and directed his movements in such an able manner that he made a success of this venture, worked himself out of debt, and became the possessor of some small capital. Just before his marriage he purchased a tract of thirty acres of bottom land, located on the Ellinger Road, and this forms a part of his large land holdings, and was, indeed, the nucleus from which they have grown to their present proportions. As soon as he was able to gather together the means he purchased a thirty-five-acre tract adjoining the original purchase, and of this he is also still the owner. Mr. Wessels began buying at Halsted with a small tract of twenty-three acres, and became something of a buyer of farm lands and city properties, and his holdings lie principally along the Colorado River and north of Halsted, making an aggregate of 901 acres. His farming expanded beyond the limits of his own domain and for several years he has been a leaser of agricultural land nearby, his combined areas of land cultivated totaling 1,000 acres.
Another important enterprise which Mr. Wessels has built up at Halsted is the gravel industry. He began this work with the opening of a pit near Halsted Station, in 1906, known as. Pit No. 1, and opened Pit No. 2 in 1912. This has led to the employment of much labor, from twenty to thirty men, as well as twenty teams, and his product has gone to concrete work, railroad macadam and public road and street contracts. Mr. Wessels is one of the shrewdest business men in the county, active, alert and progressive, his hand being always at the throttle of his business enterprises, and all of these being kept in steady and constant motion. Without a doubt he is the "father" of Halsted, in that his industries have built up the town, as well as at Wessel's Switch, where Gravel Pit No. 2 is located. He has shipped 16,000 cars of gravel and has skinned the surface of the country by the acre to secure this product.
Mr. Wessels engaged in merchandising at Halsted in 1894, when he established himself in a general line. The place at that time was nothing but a field, but Mr. Wessels realized that it was a good point for trade and commerce, and he accordingly erected a gin, store building, saloon and lumber shed, and put in stocks for all of them. He operates all these businesses at this time with the aid of his sons. For a few years there was a post office established at this point, but with the expansion of the rural free delivery from La Grange the office here was discontinued. Mr. Wessels was the postmaster here. Here he also erected a handsome residence and planted shade and ornamental trees which are now in splendid shape, and has a dance and lodge hall where the Herman Sons and Sisters hold their regular meetings. Mr. Wessels also built a schoolhouse, and while it is a public school, issued stock to the patrons of the district for its construction.
In politics Mr. Wessels is a democrat, and is one of the school trustees, has attended numerous conventions as a delegate, and has aided in the nomination of many candidates for governor. He has served- on the committees of various state conventions, and was elected county commissioner for Precinct No. 1 in 1896, and served four years. During his term the matter of grading roads by contract was promoted, beginning on road work, and this, together with the erection of numerous new bridges, constituted the chief feature of his administration. Mr. Wessels is a Pythian knight and a member of the Sons of Hermann. He was reared in the faith of the Lutheran Church, while Mrs. Wessels was reared as a Catholic.
Mr. Wessels was married in the Halsted community, February 14, 1888, to Miss Mary Heller, a daughter of Platza F. Heller, one of the German farmers of Fayette County, and a native of Weimar, Texas, now residing at Columbus, this state. Mr. and Mrs. Wessels have the following children: Garland P., who married Matilda Harnisch, has two children, Nelda and an infant, and is associated in business with his father; Eddie, who is also his father's partner in the gravel industry; Miss Sophie, who resides at home; Leon, who is a clerk in his father's store at Halsted; Johnnie, who met an accidental death in childhood; and Lloyd and Irene, who are attending the public schools. -- pp. 1595-1596.
Family Members
Siblings
Half Siblings
Sponsored by Ancestry
Advertisement
Records on Ancestry
Advertisement
