Acadia Parish, LAGenWeb
Biographical Sketches - Page 6
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William S. Gault
June 13, 1903
William S. Gault was born in Ripley Co., Indiana, Jan. 11, 1864, and was educated in the public schools of the Hoosier State. When he was about fifteen years old his parents moved to Iowa, and he spent fourteen years of his life in that State, where he followed farming as an occupation.
Feb. 2_, 1892, he came to Louisiana and located at Morse. Until three years ago he successfully followed farming as an occupation. In 1900 he opened a general merchandise store in Morse, and has been successful.
The same qualities which made Mr. Gault a good farmer have contributed to his successful career as a merchant. He is careful and industrious and is regarded very highly by his neighbors. Having lived in Louisiana for more than eleven years he has become a true Southerner. Mrs. Gault has been the postmistress at Morse since 1887. Mr. and Mrs. Gault were married Feb. 2, 1893.
John Green
October 27, 1894
The only exclusive grain store in Crowley is that of Green & Shoemaker, of which firm the subject of our sketch is a member.
John Green is a native of England, being born there on October 2, 1848. In 1851 his parents came to the United States and settled in Cleveland, Ohio, but four years thereafter removed to Clayton county, Iowa, where Mr. Green spent his early years in gaining a common school education. In 1873 he purchased a farm in Rock county, Minn., and engaged in agriculture. In 1880 he accepted an important position with the Standard Oil Company at Luverne, Minn., which he retained until coming to Louisiana in 1891. Mr. Green also held for eight years the government contract for the mail delivery at Luverne and with the two express companies operating there, and also owned the transfer lines of the town.
Since coming to Crowley Mr. Green has, in addition to the wholesale and retail grain business, extensively engaged in rice planting in connection with J. F. Shoemaker, their plantation being one of the best in the parish.
Dallas Bosman Hayes
October 27, 1894
The gentleman whose likeness accompanies this sketch is the well-known postmaster of Crowley and ex-State Senator from this district. He was born in Prairie Hayes, only a few miles from where Crowley now stands, December 17, 1844. His early life was spent on the farm, where he attended the country school for a few months each year, and later took a course under Rev. C. A. Frazee who kept a boarding school in Opelousas.
Mr. Hayes enlisted in the Confederate army early in ’63, giving two and a half years faithful service to the lost cause. After his discharge he engaged in the mercantile business, opening up an extensive country store which he conducted for seven years. Selling this he engaged in farming and stock raising until accepting the position of deputy clerk of this parish in 1887. He was elected to the upper house of the Legislature in 1892 by a good majority, but resigned the office after having served one term. His appointment to the postmastership of Crowley took place in July of 1893.
Rev. Charles Herron, D. D.
December 3, 1904
Rev. Charles Heron D. D., former pastor of the Presbyterian church of Crowley, left Monday evening for Omaha, Nebraska, to take the chair of Ecclesiastical History and Missions in the Presbyterian Theological Seminary of Omaha. Dr. Herron is one of the ablest men who ever occupied a pulpit in Southwest Louisiana and his departure is deeply regretted, not only by the members of his own congregation, but by all the citizens of Crowley, irrespective of creed or church affiliation.
Rev. Charles Herron was born at Pittsburgh, Pa., and was educated in the Pittsburgh High School and the Western University of Pennsylvania. He subsequently graduated at the Western Theological Seminary and after completing his course took a post-graduate course in Edinboro, Scotland, at the Free Church College. He was given the degree of Master of Arts by his alma mater, and in 1900 Miami College bestowed upon him the degree of Doctor of Divinity. Before coming to Crowley, in June, 1903, when he succeeded Rev. D. F. Wilkinson, Dr. Herron had occupied pulpits in Pennsylvania and Ohio, his last charge having been at Troy, Ohio.
Dr. Herron is a man of wide learning and a preacher of unusual power. In his new field, where he will have charge of the training of young preachers, Dr. Herron will find congenial employment. He will be missed in Crowley, and the best wishes of the Rice City go with him to his new home.
Edward T. Hoyt
May 16, 1903
In 1886, when the present site of Crowley was an open prairie with scarcely a sign of human habitation visible for miles, and the culture of our great cereal was confined to an occasional patch of “Providence” rice grown along the banks of a bayou or coulee, Edward T. Hoyt helped his father put in his first crop of rice in Acadia parish. The Hoyts planted seventy-five acres with rice near Mermentau that year, breaking the ground with oxen and sowing the seed broadcast by hand. They owned a large tract of land in the western part of the parish, near the town of Mermentau, and have been engaged in rice culture long enough to be familiar with every phase the industry has passed through since its beginning in Southwestern Louisiana.
Edward T. Hoyt was born in Clearfield Co., Pa., August 13, 1864, and was educated in the common schools and at the Valparaiso State Normal School.
In 1886 he moved to Southwestern Louisiana with his father and brothers and located near Mermentau, where a large tract of land was purchased. Soon afterwards he moved to what is known as the Hoyt farm two miles west of Estherwood. In 1900 he went into business in Estherwood, and is now a member of its city council.
Sept. 16, 1896, Mr. Hoyt married Miss Mary Rhodes. He has one child, Lucille.
Mr. Hoyt is one of the best posted men in this section on matters pertaining to the rice industry, and is one of the leading citizens of Acadia parish.
T. B. Hutts
October 27, 1894
T. B. Hutts was born September 19, 1868, on a farm in Callaway county, Mo. He received a good common school education, completing his studies with one year at Westminister College. After graduating he taught in the public schools of Missouri for two years. In 1890 he began the study of pharmacy with J. T. Pollard at Auxvasse, Mo., which he has since followed very closely.
Mr. Hutts came to Crowley the first of the present year and after four months with Dr. R. R. Lyons, accepted his present position of manager of Dr. J. F. Morris’ drug store, where he has displayed the possession of excellent business judgment and a thorough knowledge of his profession. Being of an amiable and pleasing disposition he has made a host of friends during his brief residence here which speaks highly in his favor.
Bernard Isaacs
May 9, 1903
The present postmaster of Gueydan, Mr. Bernard Isaacs, is a native of Alabama, having been born in Mobile Oct. 8, 1886. His parents removed to Mississippi when he was still a child, and his early education was acquired in Jackson, Miss. He afterwards went to school in New Orleans and in Grand Coteau, and acquired an excellent education.
After leaving school Mr. Isaacs entered a merchandise store as a clerk and was for several years employed in many important capacities.
In 1898 he became manager of the Gueydan Lumber Co., and remained in this capacity until 1901, when he formed a partnership with Walter W. Fisher under the firm name of Fisher & Isaacs.
Sept. 29, 1899, he was appointed postmaster of Gueydan. He was appointed as a fourth class postmaster, but in December, 1902, a census of the town was taken which showed over 1000 inhabitants and the office was raised to the presidential class.
Mr. Isaacs is regarded as one of the safe and conservative business men of his town and is a very popular and accommodating official.
Dr. Walter Allen Jenkins
September 26, 1903
One of the best practical surgeons of Southwest Louisiana is Dr. Walter Allen Jenkins, of Church Point. Dr. Jenkins is a practitioner of both medicine and surgery, and has been unusually successful in both branches of the healing art, but he is a natural surgeon and his tastes run in this direction. He has performed successfully several operations requiring a notable degree of skill.
Dr. Jenkins is a Mississippian by birth, having been born at Crystal Springs, March 20, 1860. He inherited from his father his taste for his present profession, and after his graduation in 1887 from the Louisville Medical College he located with the elder Dr. Jenkins at Eunice for a few months. In the fall of 1887 he opened an office in Church Point, where he soon took high rank as a practitioner.
Dr. Jenkins is not only a good doctor, but he is a good citizen. He is a man of sound learning, wide reading, and a large fund of general information.
In October, 1887, just before locating at Church Point, Dr. Jenkins married Miss Mattie Hundley of Eunice. No children have blessed this union, but the Jenkins home is one of the most pleasant in the parish.
Dr. Jenkins has never aspired for political place or preferment, preferring to devote his life to his chosen profession. He has acquired considerable property and is regarded as one of Church Point’s substantial citizens.
Frank Joseph Klein
September 19, 1903
Among the prominent citizens of Acadia parish is numbered Mr. Frank Joseph Klein of Trilby. He is not only one of the most substantial and enterprising men, but is one of the oldest residents of Southwest Louisiana, having settled on the fertile prairies of Mamou in 1871. Since that time he has accumulated a goodly store of the world’s goods and is one of the recognized leaders in his section of the parish.
Mr. Klein is thirty-six years old and is a native of Germany, coming to this country with his parents in 1870. They first settled in New Orleans, but the elder Klein came out to where the town of Eunice now stands and settled in 1871. He took a quarter section of land and farmed for seven years. He then entered the mercantile business with J. A. Frey under the name of Frey and Klein at Trilby. In 1900 he purchased Mr. Frey’s interest in the business and since that time has conducted the business for himself. He has occupied the office of postmaster since the postoffice was established at trilby.
Mr. Klein is at present serving the Parish of Acadia in the capacity of police juror, and his record as a member of that body warrants the statement that his re-election is assured. He has announced that he will make the race for re-election to this important office, which will be met with general favor among the people of that section.
Mr. Klein was married to Miss Mary Frey on Feb. 9, 1893, and the union has been blessed with five children, namely Jos. A., John, Mary, George and Nettie.
Mr. Klein began business on a small scale, but his energetic nature and fine business qualifications have enabled him to meet with more than ordinary success in all of his undertakings.
Frank C. Labit
January 25, 1902
The people of Crowley will learn with no small degree of pleasure that Frank C. Labit has been reappointed postmaster for this city. The appointment was announced in Washington Monday, but Mr. Labit has not yet been officially notified of it. His first knowledge of his selection came through the press reports sent out from the capital, but there is not the slightest doubt of their authenticity and the official notice should be received in Crowley in a short time.
Mr. Labit is a McKinley appointee, having taken charge of the office in October, 1897. He is thirty years of age and is a native of Abbeville, Vermilion parish. He came to Crowley in 1890 and in 1894 was married to Miss Orie Green.
Since taking up his residence here Mr. Labit has always taken an active part in politics and has been honored more than once by his party. He is looked upon as one of the leading Republicans of this section and there is every reason to believe that his political career will be an exceptionally brilliant one. Personally Mr. Labit is a gentleman to be admired. His joviality and the sunniness of his nature have won him legions of friends and the very practical endorsement of his administration of the affairs of the local post office by the government will be a source of genuine satisfaction to them.
Dupre LeBlanc, Jr.
August 1, 1903
If it proper to describe a town as having two fathers then the honor of being the “Father of Estherwood” belongs to Dupre LeBlanc, Jr., as well as to Jacob Kollitz. LeBlanc is at least the stepfather of Estherwood. He settled near Coulee Trief before Estherwood was Estherwood. He has watched the little town grow and helped it to grow from nothing to a good sized hustling little city. When the town began to grow he started a grocery store and saloon and devoted himself to the management of his city property, of which he owns a large amount within the corporate limits. He has been deputy sheriff and postmaster of Estherwood and a member of the town council.
Mr. LeBlanc was born in Vermilion parish June 7, 1855. Prior to coming to Estherwood he was several years engaged in the show business. He was married May 24, 1875, to Miss Celine Broussard, and has nine children: Clesme, Anna, Anease, Alicia, Clebert, Cleomere, Ernest and Fernest (twins), and Ella.
Mr. LeBlanc relates that when he was married he had one five dollar bill and a wife to begin life with, and did not know how to ask for a piece of bread in English. He has picked up and English education as he picked up his material possessions, - by hard knocks.