1 Tyrrell Historical Library Finding Aid for the Gilbert Family Papers, 1850-1997 Accession 159 Finding aid created by Tyrrell Historical Library staff Summary Information Title: The Gilbert Family Papers Creator: Gilbert family Inclusive dates: 1850-1995 Extent: 72 cubic feet in 198 boxes Abstract: The Gilbert family, long-time business and civic leaders of Southeast Texas, played a prominent role in the development of Beaumont from the city's modern economic beginnings in the middle of the nineteenth century through the middle of the twentieth century. Their many business interests, based primarily on oil, cattle, rice, and lumber involved every major economic venture in the region for more than a century. They were also leaders in the banking community and in the development of transportation industries, including railroads and deep water shipping. The Gilbert family papers span a long period of time, from 1850 to 1996, containing the papers of over five generations of the family. The collection includes both the business and personal papers of the Gilbert family, and the papers of Wilbur C. Gilbert's wife's family papers documenting the Candee and Bassette families of New York and Connecticut. Call number: AC-159 Language: The material is in English. Repository: Tyrrell Historical Library 695 N. Pearl St Beaumont, TX 77701 Phone: 409-833-2759 Home Page: http://www.beaumontlibrary.org/tyrrell_historical_library.htm Access and Use Acquisition Information: 2 The Gilbert Papers were donated to the Tyrrell Historical Library by W.C. Gilbert, Jr., on May 7, 1992. Wanda Pauler donated 7 cubic feet of papers from the Gilbert Building on April 3, 1996. Processing Information: Processed by Tyrrell Historical Library Staff in 2008. Original finding aid written in 2008. Finding aid revised and encoded 2012 August. Arrangement: This collection is organized into 5 record groups. 1. Businesses 2. Personal Papers 3. Elizabeth Bassette Gilbert’s Family Papers 4. Oversized Business Ledgers 5. Photographs and Other Artifacts Access Restrictions: Some restrictions may apply. Copyright: The Tyrrell Historical Library holds copyright for the collection, with the exception of previously-published items such as newspaper clippings and books. The researcher must secure permission to publish. All requests for permission to publish or quote from manuscripts must be submitted to the Tyrrell Historical Library. The researcher assumes full responsibility for complying with copyright, literary property rights, and libel laws. Related Material: Gilbert-Muse Family Papers, AC-461 Gilbert Papers, AC-486 Separated Material: Bassette, Buell Burdette. One Bassette Family in America: With Connections in America and Many in Great Britain and France. Springfield, Illinois: The F. A. Bassette Company, 1926. In the Shadow of the Lost Pines: A History of Bastrop County and Its People. Bastrop, Texas: Bastrop Adviser, 1955. Polk 1994 Beaumont, Texas City Directory. R. L. Polk and Company. 3 Pump and Circumstance: Glory Days of the Gas Station.1993. Severn School Alumni Directory. 1986. University of California at Los Angeles Southern Campus Yearbook. 1949. Warner, C. A. Texas Oil and Gas Since 1543. Houston, Texas: Gulf Publishing Company, 1939. Whispers, Episcopal High School of Virginia Yearbook. 1941. In Rare Book Division of Archives: Crivelli, Albert F. Shipfitter's Manual. New York and Chicago: Pittman Publishing Company, 1942. Preferred Citation: [Item], [Folder], [Box], Gilbert Family Papers, 1850-1995, AC-159, Tyrrell Historical Library, Beaumont, Texas. Biographical Information The Gilbert family, long-time business and civic leaders of Southeast Texas, played a prominent role in the development of Beaumont from city's modern economic beginnings in the middle of the nineteenth century through the middle of the twentieth century. Their many business interests, based primarily on oil, cattle, rice, and lumber involved every major economic venture in the region for more than a century. They were also leaders in the banking community and in the development of transportation industries, including railroads and deep water shipping. The founder of the famous Gilbert family in Southeast Texas was Nathan Gilbert who was born April 6, 1817 in New Haven, Connecticut. He married Caroline Amelia Louisa Allis on October 8, 1840. The Gilberts had eight children, Nathan Gilbert (1842-1851), John Dutton born 1844, Wilbur Fisk born 1846, Elias Benedict born 1848, Amelia born 1850, John Nathan born 1855, Mary Lucretia born 1858, and Caroline Allis born 1864. The family moved to Texas in the 1850s. They initially settled in Kosse, in Limestone County where John Nathan Gilbert was born. In 1861 the Gilberts moved to Sabine Pass in 1861. Here Nathan Gilbert engaged in general merchandising. Nathan Gilbert speculated in real estate including lands in Jefferson and Hardin counties which he gambled would yield large amounts of petroleum resources. His plans, at least for his lifetime, were short-lived, however, for he died at Houston in 1866. His son, John Nathan, was then eleven years old. After the death of his father, young John Nathan moved to Beaumont where he worked for the Long and Company sawmill for $3 per week. Promoted to clerk in the lumber company store at $40 per month in 1875, Gilbert saved his earnings to invest back into 4 the company. At the age of twenty-two he became a partner in the newly organized Beaumont Lumber Company in 1877, and he was elected secretary, treasurer, and general manager of the company in 1882, serving in that position until Kirby Lumber Company purchased the operation in 1901 for a reported sum of $1.2 million. With the Carroll family John Nathan Gilbert formed other corporations during the nineteenth century, including the Nona Mills Lumber Company which operated saw and planing mills in both Texas and Louisiana and experimental farms in Texas. Although the Beaumont Lumber Company sold out to Kirby Lumber Company in 1901, Nona Mills Company continued operations for many years into the twentieth century and was later managed by his son and grandson. Beginning with John Nathan, the Gilbert family served as directors of First National Bank of Beaumont from its inception in 1889. J.N. Gilbert served as president of the bank from 1892-1894. The bank absorbed many other banks in Beaumont during the twentieth century, eventually becoming First Security National Bank and later First City. The Gilberts had extensive holdings in the petroleum industry. The lands that Nathan Gilbert had obtained in Hardin County were developed into the prolific Sour Lake Oil Field in 1901-1902. J.N. Gilbert organized several companies from this development including the Gilbert Company and the Minor Oil Company. The Gilbert family's financial interests included not only lumber, banking, and petroleum. John N. Gilbert invested in a wide array of business ventures in Southeast Texas. The family was particularly involved in rice production, cattle ranching, the development of a deep water port at Beaumont, and real estate rentals, including the downtown Beaumont four-story Gilbert Building, constructed shortly after the Spindletop boom of 1901. John Nathan Gilbert was a member of numerous civic, social, and religious organizations, including the Beaumont City Council, First Methodist Church, the Neches Club, and the Beaumont Club. He was a 32nd Degree Mason, a Shriner and a Knights Templar. Gilbert married Annie Wilbarger in 1883. They were the parents of four children, Harvey Wilbarger Gilbert born February 18, 1884, Wilbur Carroll Gilbert, born April 11, 1888, Lyn Fuller Gilbert born April 1, 1886, and Annie Wilbarger Gilbert born in 1890. John N. Gilbert's first wife, Annie, died in 1890. J.N. Gilbert married his late wife's sister, Laura, in 1893. John N. Gilbert died June 5, 1924. Harvey Gilbert, J.N. Gilbert's son, had many business interests in lumber and petroleum. He is credited with many ideas to develop the area including the creation of an airport mid-way between Beaumont and Port Arthur and the Neches River Festival. Gilbert was involved in many civic, fraternal and religious organizations. He married Hortense Gibbons on February 18, 1914 and they were the parents of two children, John Nathan II and Eleanor Hortense. The Gilberts divorced. He died in 1955. 5 Lyn Fuller Gilbert died at the age of thirty-three on November 3, 1918. His business activities included serving as president and general manager of the Minor Oil Company. He was also vice president and a director of the Gulf National Bank. Annie Wilbarger Gilbert, only daughter of John N. Gilbert, was educated at the Belle Austin Institute in Beaumont and the Mount Vernon Seminary in Washington, D.C. She married Charles Thompson Butler in 1914. Butler, an attorney, worked for Sun Oil Company for many years. They were the parents of two children, Laura Gilbert, and Charles Thompson Butler, Jr. She died on June 1, 1971 in Pacific Palisades, California. Wilbur Carroll Gilbert graduated from the Eastman Business College in Poughkeepsie, New York in 1908. Upon his return to Beaumont in 1908 he engaged in rice production, cattle raising, and retail grocery business. He soon joined in many of his father's oil, lumber, and agricultural pursuits. He served as a director of the First National Bank for forty-four years. In 1920 he became president of the Pearl Street Property and Renters Association. This organization encouraged the development of Pearl Street as one of Beaumont's leading thoroughfares. This association encouraged the building of the Jefferson County Courthouse, the Goodhue Building, and the Edson Hotel. W.C. Gilbert was active in the community. He was a member of many organizations including the Rotary Club of Beaumont, Beaumont Farm and Ranch Club, Coastal Cattleman’s Association, Inc. He was a member of St. Mark's Episcopal Church. Gilbert developed the Gilbert Ranch near Fannett, which his father established in 1900.