Longcope, Charles 1969
Charles Longcope recalls Houston in the early 1900s and his career in the oil lease business. He tells of the Texas A & M graduating class of 1917 who volunteered for service in World War I, with emphasis on a man named Mason, one of their number, who overcame wartime disabilities to become a successful educator. In addition, he discusses his family history, including his grandfather who participated in the Texan-Santa Fe Expedition of 1841, and various prominent people with whom family members were associated.
General Interview Information
Interviewee Name: Charles Longcope
Additional Parties Recorded: None
Date: 1969
Location: Brownwood, Texas
Interviewer: Fred A. Carpenter
Length: 2 hours, 15 minutes
Abstract
Tape 1, Side 1: Letter to uncle from Mellon discussed,
Mellon family background,
Career in oil lease business,
Buying and selling interests in mineral rights,
Stephens County oil field,
Letter discussed (again).
Tape 1, Side 2: Grandfather’s riverboat service between Houston and Galveston,
Houston in the early 1900s,
Education received,
Family vacations,
Galveston flood in 1900 recalled secondhand,
Lighting and telephone,
Groceries and seafood,
Home on Galveston Bay at Kemah described,
Roy Cullen Family.
Tape 2, Side 1: Texas A&M acquaintances recalled,
Graduating class volunteered as whole—World War I,
Leon Springs training camp described,
Mr. Mason recalled as outstanding A&M graduate,
Loss of arm and eye in World War I,
Advanced education—M.A., Ph.D.,
Training camp reunion—speech,
UT exes in Brownwood—speech.
Tape 2, Side 2: Blank
Tape 3, Side 1: Grandfather’s life discussed,
Was a friend of Daniel Baker,
Operated a passenger boat from Galveston to New Orleans c. 1840,
Uncle was a friend of prominent Mellon family,
Describes career in entertaining,
Trip to New York recalled,
Ancestry traced,
One family member was in American Revolution,
Brother mentioned.
Tape 3, Side 2: Athlete from New Braunfels recalled,
Family history discussed again,
Parents background given,
Describes a slave named Henry owned by grandfather,
Father’s work in banking explained,
Knew E. M. House,
Grandfather knew William Marsh Rice,
Stopped a run on the Rice bank,
Former mayor of Austin mentioned Received officer training at Leon,
Springs during World War I.
Tape 4, Side 1: Grandfather’s life discussed,
Went on Santa Fe Expedition of 1841,
Family background given,
Brief mention of other family history.
Tape 4, Side 2: Blank
Range Dates: 1840-1969
Bulk Dates: 1840-1919
Access Information
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Recording Format Notes:
Transcript:
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