HomeMy WebLinkAboutSimpson, James Hendley 1901
JAMES HENDLEY SIMPSON was
born in Columbus, Texas on June 19,
1884, the youngest of four children of
Friench Simpson and Ann Virginia (Har-
bert) Simpson. He spent his childhood
and school days in Columbus until Sep-
tember, 1898, when he decided not to
await his graduation from high school but
to enroll at the Agricultural and Mechani-
cal College of Texas, where his brother,
Harbert, was already a student. '
He passed the entrance examinations
and other tests, and was allowed to enter
the third (sophomore) class at the tender
age of fourteen. Because of his age, he ~ ,
lived as a day student in the home of the
college treasurer during his first year,
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moving into the dormitory for his last two
years. He graduated from A & M on June
11, 1901 with a B.S. degree in Civil Engi-
neering. As he was still 8 days short of
being 17 years of age, it is believed that he
is the youngest student to graduate from
the A & M College of Texas.
Hendley (as he was usually known) ob-
tained his first job as a rodman with a
surveying crew of the Houston & Texas
Central Railroad Company. This crew was
to survey and supervise construction of a
25-mile extension of the railroad from
Burnet to Lampasas, Texas. This job en-
ded in 1902 when the project was
completed.
Early in 1903, he passed a civil service
examination for deck officer of the U.S.
Coast and Geodetic Survey and was or-
dered to Washington D.C. for instruction
and assignment. The next 5'/z years were
spent aboard government survey ships
where hydrographic surveying was done in
nearly all of the states along the coast from
Maine to Texas, and including Puerto
Rico. In 1907 he qualified for a Mate's
license authorizing him to act as Chief
Mate of steam vessels of any tonnage on
any ocean.
In July 1908, after being ordered to pre-
pare for three years of service in the Phil-
ippine Islands, and realizing there was no
satisfactory future in the work he was do-
ing, Hendley resigned from government
service and returned to Columbus, where
he began learning the banking business in
his father's private bank there.
About a year later, he obtained employ-
ment with the First National Bank of San
Angelo where he worked as a clerk until
January, 1910. At that time he was elected
vice president of Lavaca County National
Bank in Hallettsville, where he had been a
member of the board of directors since
1909. This bank was the successor to The
Lavaca Bank, a private bank, and later
changed its name to First National Bank
of Hallettsville. In 1915 he became cashier
and in 1941 vice president and cashier. He
became president of the bank in January,
1961, following the death of this brother,
Harbert, and served in that capacity until
March 10, 1970 when he became chair-
man of the board, a position he held until
his death. The 68 years that he was associ-
ated with the bank (1909-1977) ranks
among the longest tenures in Texas for
bankers associated with the same
institution. '
In 1913 his father made Hendley an as-
sociate in his fire insurance agency in
Hallettsville, under the name of Friench
Simpson and Son. After his father's resig-
nation from the bank the following year,
the insurance business was turned back to
him by his son. After Friench Simpson's
death in 1923, the two brothers operated
the agency along with Harbert's son-in-
law, William W. Davis, after 1950. In
1970 the agency was sold to another firm
in Hallettsville.
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James Hendley Simpson
Hendley Simpson became interested in
Masonry after returning from government
service. Both his father and brother were
active in Masonic work, and he followed
in their footsteps, becoming a Shriner on
March 19, 1910 in Galveston. He later
transferred his membership to Arabia
Temple in Houston when that temple was
organized. He was past master of Murchi-
son Lodge in Hallettsville, and past high
priest of the Hallettsville Chapter.
When interest in starting a Rotary Club
surfaced in 1928, Hendley was one of the
organizers and a charter member. He
served as president of the club in 1934-35
and maintained a perfect attendance re-
cord for 20 years, until a heart attack in
1948.
While serving as a young man in the
U.S. Coast and Geodetic Survey, he be-
came aware of how little he knew about
his ancestors. He began to collect and
compile data on the Simpson family and
Harbert family, and for the next 70 years
this was his principal hobby. Much of the
information contained in this book came
from his records.
James Hendley Simpson was married to
Alma Willie Carpenter on April 2, 1926,
in San Antonio. She was the daughter of
Albert William Carpenter and Martha Ce-
linda (Edwards) Carpenter. James Hen-
dley Simpson, Jr. is their only child.
One of their mutual interests was to see
that Hallettsville had a modern city li-
brary. On December 22, 1962, Hendley
and Alma deeded to the city a lot across
the street from their home, to be used to
build a library, and further monetary con-
tributions were made by the couple during
the years that followed. The city named
the library after his father, the Friench
Simpson Memorial Library, and it was
dedicated on March 20, 1966.
James Hendley Simpson continued his
participation in the daily activities of First
National Bank until a few weeks before his
death on May 23, 1977. He was 92 years
of age, and was buried in the City Ceme-
tery in Hallettsville.
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