Emerson Francis Woodward
Encyclopedia
Emerson Francis Woodward (February 23, 1879 – May 24, 1943) was an oilman who co-founded the Yount-Lee Oil Company
which made a major discovery at the Spindletop
field near Beaumont, Texas
. In 1935, Woodward and partners sold the company to Standard Oil & Gas for $46 million.
He was born at Podunk, New York
to William W. and Ida May LaGrange Woodward. Because his father made his living in the oil business in its earliest days at Titusville, Pennsylvania
, Emerson wanted to follow in his footsteps. After receiving an early education in the Goodwill Hill public schools in Pennsylvania, Woodward, at the age of eleven, went to work in the oil fields, and before the end of his career, he would be affiliated with the industry in various other states, including Oklahoma
, Ohio
, Arkansas
, Louisiana
, and Texas
. He married Bessie McGarry in 1901 at her hometown of Woodsfield, Ohio. The couple had only one child, a son, Harley E. Woodward, who died at age age 34 when the private plane he was in crashed into Rich Mountain
, Arkansas
.
The Producers Oil Company employed Emerson Woodward for eleven years, and during this stretch, he met his lifelong associate, Thomas Peter Lee
, who worked for the same firm. Woodward advanced quickly within the organization and received a promotion to assistant superintendent of its southern division, which encompassed the area from New Orleans to El Paso
. Later, he helped organize the Farmers Petroleum Company, held the position of superintendent, and in 1921 became president of the Republic Production Company, a subsidiary of American Republics Corporation. With the formation of the Yount-Lee Oil Company
, Woodward eventually became one of its largest stockholders.
these Thoroughbred
s competed head to head with some of the best the American racing world had to offer. Valdina Myth was the 1940 two-year-old-fillies earnings Champion and the 1941 Kentucky Oaks
winner.
Valdina Orphan, with jockey Carroll Bierman aboard, won 1942 Derby Trial Stakes then ran third in the Kentucky Derby
. Irish
bred Rounders won several top races in the United States including the 1942 Arlington Handicap
in which he beat the great Triple Crown
champion, Whirlaway
. For his contributions to the industry, the Texas Horse Racing Hall of Fame inducted him as a member in 2001.
. They sent many girls through the Abilene Christian College, paying all their expenses.”
Unfortunately, an automobile driven by Woodward collided into the side of a train at a grade crossing near D'Hanis, Texas
, close to Hondo in Medina County, and the accident claimed both his life and that of his wife, the only other passenger in the vehicle. Bessie Woodward died of injuries on May 22, 1943, and Emerson followed at age sixty-four two days later while a patient at the Medina Hospital in Hondo
.
A double funeral was held in Houston at Heights Church of Christ, and they were entombed in a mausoleum at the city's Forest Park Cemetery. Their fifteen-year-old grandson, Robert Woodward, would inherit their entire estate.
Yount-Lee Oil Company
The Yount-Lee Oil Company, founded in 1914, was the successor to the Yount-Rothwell Oil Company which had been formed earlier by Miles Franklin Yount and Talbot Frederick Rothwell. Yount headed up the new enterprise and counted among his partners Thomas Peter Lee, William Ellsworth Lee, Emerson...
which made a major discovery at the Spindletop
Spindletop
Spindletop is a salt dome oil field located in the southern portion of Beaumont, Texas in the United States. The Spindletop dome was derived from the Louann Salt evaporite layer of the Jurassic geologic period. On January 10, 1901, a well at Spindletop struck oil . The new oil field soon produced...
field near Beaumont, Texas
Beaumont, Texas
Beaumont is a city in and county seat of Jefferson County, Texas, United States, within the Beaumont–Port Arthur Metropolitan Statistical Area. The city's population was 118,296 at the 2010 census. With Port Arthur and Orange, it forms the Golden Triangle, a major industrial area on the...
. In 1935, Woodward and partners sold the company to Standard Oil & Gas for $46 million.
He was born at Podunk, New York
Podunk, Ulysses, New York
Podunk is an old hamlet located along Taughannock Creek in the town of Ulysses, just south of Trumansburg, Tompkins County, New York State.-External links:*...
to William W. and Ida May LaGrange Woodward. Because his father made his living in the oil business in its earliest days at Titusville, Pennsylvania
Titusville, Pennsylvania
Titusville is a city in Crawford County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 6,146 at the 2000 census. In 1859, oil was successfully drilled in Titusville, resulting in the birth of the modern oil industry.-History:...
, Emerson wanted to follow in his footsteps. After receiving an early education in the Goodwill Hill public schools in Pennsylvania, Woodward, at the age of eleven, went to work in the oil fields, and before the end of his career, he would be affiliated with the industry in various other states, including Oklahoma
Oklahoma
Oklahoma is a state located in the South Central region of the United States of America. With an estimated 3,751,351 residents as of the 2010 census and a land area of 68,667 square miles , Oklahoma is the 28th most populous and 20th-largest state...
, Ohio
Ohio
Ohio is a Midwestern state in the United States. The 34th largest state by area in the U.S.,it is the 7th‑most populous with over 11.5 million residents, containing several major American cities and seven metropolitan areas with populations of 500,000 or more.The state's capital is Columbus...
, Arkansas
Arkansas
Arkansas is a state located in the southern region of the United States. Its name is an Algonquian name of the Quapaw Indians. Arkansas shares borders with six states , and its eastern border is largely defined by the Mississippi River...
, Louisiana
Louisiana
Louisiana is a state located in the southern region of the United States of America. Its capital is Baton Rouge and largest city is New Orleans. Louisiana is the only state in the U.S. with political subdivisions termed parishes, which are local governments equivalent to counties...
, and Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
. He married Bessie McGarry in 1901 at her hometown of Woodsfield, Ohio. The couple had only one child, a son, Harley E. Woodward, who died at age age 34 when the private plane he was in crashed into Rich Mountain
Ouachita Mountains
The Ouachita Mountains are a mountain range in west central Arkansas and southeastern Oklahoma. The range's subterranean roots may extend as far as central Texas, or beyond it to the current location of the Marathon Uplift. Along with the Ozark Mountains, the Ouachita Mountains form the U.S...
, Arkansas
Arkansas
Arkansas is a state located in the southern region of the United States. Its name is an Algonquian name of the Quapaw Indians. Arkansas shares borders with six states , and its eastern border is largely defined by the Mississippi River...
.
The Producers Oil Company employed Emerson Woodward for eleven years, and during this stretch, he met his lifelong associate, Thomas Peter Lee
Thomas Peter Lee
Born on March 19, 1871, in Petroleum, West Virginia to Alexander and Martha Jane Mount Lee, Thomas Peter Lee left school at the age of sixteen and went to work in the oil fields, first in his native state and then in Ohio...
, who worked for the same firm. Woodward advanced quickly within the organization and received a promotion to assistant superintendent of its southern division, which encompassed the area from New Orleans to El Paso
El Paso
El Paso, a city in the U.S. state of Texas, on the border with Mexico.El Paso may also refer to:-Geography:Colombia:* El Paso, CesarSpain:*El Paso, Santa Cruz de TenerifeUnited States:...
. Later, he helped organize the Farmers Petroleum Company, held the position of superintendent, and in 1921 became president of the Republic Production Company, a subsidiary of American Republics Corporation. With the formation of the Yount-Lee Oil Company
Yount-Lee Oil Company
The Yount-Lee Oil Company, founded in 1914, was the successor to the Yount-Rothwell Oil Company which had been formed earlier by Miles Franklin Yount and Talbot Frederick Rothwell. Yount headed up the new enterprise and counted among his partners Thomas Peter Lee, William Ellsworth Lee, Emerson...
, Woodward eventually became one of its largest stockholders.
Trapshooting
Emerson Woodward, in January 1924, advanced $28,000 to build the Houston Gun Club on Westheimer Road, and he actively participated in his favorite hobby of trapshooting in the company of friends such as Hank A. Hausmann of LaGrange, Texas and Forest McNeir, a fellow Houstonian. His expert marksmanship earned for him places in the National Trapshooting Hall of Fame, which inducted him on August 24, 1973, and in the Texas Trapshooters Association Hall of Fame, which reciprocated in 1983. One of his records “in 1933 … set a yearly ATA (American Trapshooters Association) 16-yard average record of .9950 that was not broken or tied until 1965, some thirty-two years later.Valdina Farms
After the Yount-Lee sale , Emerson Woodward announced, “Well, I sold the last of my oil interests today. I’ve got nothing to do but fool with horses.” He kept his word, retired from the oil business and spent much of his time occupied with the sport of the kings. During the late 1930s and early 1940s, on his ranch, Valdina Farms, spanning 18127 acres (73.4 km²) located in both Uvalde and Medina Counties in Texas, hence the name Valdina, he raised, trained, and sent his horses such as Valdina Myth, Valdina Orphan, and Rounders to racetracks all over the country. Called by the New York Times as "one of the largest and most famous racing stables of its time," under trainer Frank CatroneFrank Catrone
Frank Catrone, Jr. was an American Thoroughbred horse racing jockey who best known for winning the 1965 Kentucky Derby as a trainer....
these Thoroughbred
Thoroughbred
The Thoroughbred is a horse breed best known for its use in horse racing. Although the word thoroughbred is sometimes used to refer to any breed of purebred horse, it technically refers only to the Thoroughbred breed...
s competed head to head with some of the best the American racing world had to offer. Valdina Myth was the 1940 two-year-old-fillies earnings Champion and the 1941 Kentucky Oaks
Kentucky Oaks
The Kentucky Oaks is a Grade I stakes race for three-year-old Thoroughbred fillies staged annually in Louisville, Kentucky, United States. The race currently covers 1⅛ miles at Churchill Downs; the horses carry 121 pounds . The Kentucky Oaks is held on the Friday before the Kentucky Derby each year...
winner.
Valdina Orphan, with jockey Carroll Bierman aboard, won 1942 Derby Trial Stakes then ran third in the Kentucky Derby
Kentucky Derby
The Kentucky Derby is a Grade I stakes race for three-year-old Thoroughbred horses, held annually in Louisville, Kentucky, United States on the first Saturday in May, capping the two-week-long Kentucky Derby Festival. The race is one and a quarter mile at Churchill Downs. Colts and geldings carry...
. Irish
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
bred Rounders won several top races in the United States including the 1942 Arlington Handicap
Arlington Handicap
The Arlington Handicap is an American Thoroughbred horse race held annually since 1929 at Arlington Park racetrack in Arlington Heights, Illinois, a suburb of Chicago, Illinois. Open to 3-Year-Olds & Up, it is currently a Grade III stakes run in July at a distance of 1¼ miles on turf...
in which he beat the great Triple Crown
United States Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing
In the United States, the "Triple Crown" is usually the Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing, a series of three Thoroughbred horse races for three-year-old horses run in May and early June of each year consisting of the Kentucky Derby, Preakness Stakes, and Belmont Stakes.While Daily Racing Form...
champion, Whirlaway
Whirlaway
Whirlaway was an American champion thoroughbred racehorse.The chestnut horse was sired by English Derby winner Blenheim II, out of the broodmare Dustwhirl. Whirlaway was bred at Calumet Farm in Lexington, Kentucky....
. For his contributions to the industry, the Texas Horse Racing Hall of Fame inducted him as a member in 2001.
Philanthropy
Emerson and his wife were also recognized for their philanthropic accomplishments. According to Jack Meyer, their pastor at the Heights Church of Christ in Houston, “They financed an orphanage in Hope, Arkansas …, built the Church of Christ at College Station, contributed heavily to the Boles Orphans home at Quinlan, TexasQuinlan, Texas
Quinlan is a rural city in the southern part of Hunt County, Texas, United States located within the US Government designated Dallas–Fort Worth metropolitan area.-Demographics:...
. They sent many girls through the Abilene Christian College, paying all their expenses.”
Unfortunately, an automobile driven by Woodward collided into the side of a train at a grade crossing near D'Hanis, Texas
D'Hanis, Texas
D'Hanis is a small unincorporated community in central Medina County, Texas, United States. It is part of the San Antonio Metropolitan Statistical Area.D'Hanis is located at the intersections of U.S...
, close to Hondo in Medina County, and the accident claimed both his life and that of his wife, the only other passenger in the vehicle. Bessie Woodward died of injuries on May 22, 1943, and Emerson followed at age sixty-four two days later while a patient at the Medina Hospital in Hondo
Hondo, Texas
Hondo is a city in and the county seat of Medina County, Texas, United States. According to the 2000 Census, the population was 7,897...
.
A double funeral was held in Houston at Heights Church of Christ, and they were entombed in a mausoleum at the city's Forest Park Cemetery. Their fifteen-year-old grandson, Robert Woodward, would inherit their entire estate.