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Bonner and Howard Families papers

 Collection
Identifier: MS 627
Finding aid note: Stored off-site at the Library Service Center. Please request this material via woodson@rice.edu or call 713-348-2586.

Scope and Contents

Photographs, correspondence, business records, diaries, scrapbooks and more, documenting the family and business lives of the Bonner and Howard families in Texas in the 20th century.

Dates

  • 1900-2012

Creator

Conditions Governing Access

The collection is open for research.

Conditions Governing Access

Stored off-site at the Library Service Center. Please request this material via woodson@rice.edu or call 713-348-2586.

Conditions Governing Use

Permission to publish from the Bonner and Howard families papers must be obtained from the Woodson Research Center, Fondren Library, Rice University.

Biographical / Historical

Benjamin Franklin Bonner, son of William Henry and Matilda Blackburn Bonner, was born April 14, 1869 in Angelina County, TX. During his youth he operated his parent's ferry on the Neches River while attending school in Angelina County, and then became a correspondent for the Houston Post and Galveston News and involved with the lumber and mercantile business. In 1894 he cames to Houston as president of the Joe Davis Oil Co., organized Southwestern Oil Co., and established the first oil refinery in Houston and the first lubricating plant in the South. In 1901 Bonner organized the Bonner Oil Co. and in 1904 became vice president and general manager of the Kirby Lumber Co., rising to president from 1919 to 1923. He assisted Robert W. Wier organizing and incorporating the R.W. Wier Lumber Co. in 1907 and the Wier Long Leaf Lumber Co. and Gulf & Northern Railway in 1917, serving as president until 1926. From then until 1944 he served as vice president and a director of the Wier Long Leaf Lumber Co. and R.W. Wier Lumber Co. He helped organize the San Jacinto Trust Co. and San Jacinto National Bank and served as vice president of the trust company and a director of the bank. Service also included a director of the Houston Belt & Terminal Railway and board member of the Methodist Hospital, Houston. He married Annie Wier on April 22, 1891 and had two daughters, Garland (Mrs. George Howard) and Annie Wier (Mrs. Sheppard W. King). He died in Houston on Feb. 29, 1944.

Extent

12 Linear Feet (14 boxes)

Language of Materials

English

Additional Description

Arrangement

The collection is arranged in six series: Series I: Benjamin Franklin Bonner and Annier Wier Bonner; Series II: Garland Bonner Howard; Series III: George Francis Howard; Series IV: Frank Bonner Howard; Series V: Family; Series VI: Photographs/albums

Immediate Source of Acquisition

The collection was gifted by the family, via Sandy Howard Turner, Feb. 20, 2015.

Subjects

Record Groups

Related Names

Creator

Finding Aid & Administrative Information

Title
Guide to the Bonner and Howard families papers, 1900-2012
Status
Completed
Author
Lee Pecht
Date
2016
Description rules
Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Language of description
English
Script of description
Latin
Language of description note
English

Repository Details

Repository Details

Part of the Woodson Research Center, Rice University, Houston, Texas Repository

https://library.rice.edu/woodson
Contact:
Fondren Library MS-44, Rice University
6100 Main St.
Houston Texas 77005 USA

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Harmful Content Statement
© 2023 Woodson Research Center
Fondren Library, Rice University
Physical Address: 6100 Main, Houston, Texas 77005-1827
Mailing Address: MS-44, P.O. Box 1892, Houston, Texas 77251-1892