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Become a Member 6-19. Homes Tour Biographies
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BONDIES-ROBERTSON HOUSE, BUILT 1877, ADDITIONS AND ALTERATIONS 1886-1904 1212 SEALY .......................
George Bondies was born in Nacogodoches, Texas, in 1848, and moved to Galveston during the 1850s, where his father, George Sr., established a cotton factoring firm with offices in the Hendley Building on The Strand. In 1869, Bondies married Anna Dickinson Crane. Anna was born in Vicksburg, Mississippi in 1848. Her father, William Carey Crane, was a Baptist minister who later served as president of Baylor University from 1864 until his death in 1885. Bondies joined his father’s firm and the couple resided with the Bondies family until 1877, when they built this two-story house as their residence. In 1886, Bondies and Anna divorced and sold the house to Joseph Archibald Robertson, a cotton broker with John D. Rogers & Company. Robertson and his wife, Claride Vernon Scott, were both from Alabama. Claride was born in 1848 in Dallas County and moved to Waverly, Texas, with her mother in 1854. Robertson was born in 1841 in Gainesville, Alabama. In 1861, he volunteered for service with the Fourth Alabama Regiment. When the war ended, Robertson moved to Galveston in April 1870 and married Claride. Between 1871 and 1893, their family grew to include eight children. After they purchased 1212 Sealy, the Robertsons enlarged the house multiple times to accommodate their large family. Insurance records note alterations and additions in 1886,
with the Bondies family until 1877, when they 1894 and 1904. These changes included the double gallery and chamfered bay front that dominate the main elevation of this two-andone-half story Victorian Eastlake house and extraordinary interior staircase with elaborate Eastlake details. In 1909, Robertson added the two-story stucco garage and servant’s quarters. By 1916, the twin-gabled house contained nine rooms, two halls, two tiled bathrooms, eight closets, seven porches and a finished attic, noted on the property record as a “tower room.” The Robertsons maintained their residence until their deaths. In 1937, Ward and Cora Benson purchased the house. Benson owned and operated Benson Auto Service, and Cora managed a boarding house from the residence. After their deaths the house remained vacant and fell into disrepair. Albert and Gail Pressman bought the property from the Benson estate in 2004 and completed a thorough rehabilitation in 2007. The current owner purchased the property in 2015 and completed a second rehabilitation in 2019. The dedication to the preservation of the Bondies-Robertson house executed by the current and past owners secures its place as one of the most prominent residences in the East End Historic District.
JOSEPH ROBERTSON
RONALD AND ANNIE CASKIE BUNGALOW, BUILT 1916 2805 AVENUE P ...................................................................
Building contractor Walter Gwynne Tabb built this Arts and Crafts bungalow in 1916 as a speculative house. The Galveston City Directory noted Tabb was a real estate agent and builder of homes “on easy payments.” He and his wife, Willie Eunice, relocated to Galveston from Houston to capitalize on the building boom that occurred after the Great Storm of 1900. The 1908 Galveston City Directory included the first notice of their business. During his tenure in Galveston, Tabb focused on residential buildings. The Galveston Architecture Guidebook includes nine identical houses erected on the same block by Tabb in 1913 (2002, 2006 and 2010 25th, 2001 and 2011 24th Street and 2405, 2411, 2415 and 2419 Avenue P ½). The scale and repetitive form of the buildings are similar to a row of five houses on the south side of the 2500 block of Avenue M built by Tabb in 1908.
On April 3, 1916, Tabb ran the first of several advertisements for the “modern bungalow” on the corner of 28th and Avenue P. Galveston Daily News real estate advertisements noted the purchase price was $2750. The original insurance record described a frame “bungalow” with a metal roof elevated two feet on brick piers that contained four rooms, one hall, a bathroom, three closets and two porches.
Ronald and Annie Caskie bought the bungalow from Tabb on April 26, 1916. The Galveston Real Estate & Loan Company financed their purchase. Ronald and Annie were both born in Galveston in 1886 and married on the island in 1908. When they purchased the bungalow on Avenue P, Ronald worked for the Galveston Houston & San Antonio Railroad as a fireman. He became an engineer in 1923 and held the position with the Southern Pacific Railroad until he retired.
After Annie died in 1953, Ronald maintained the family residence until his own death in 1976. In 1977, their daughter Bettie Jo Caskie sold the house to realtor Gerald Dyer. Frank and Isbell Romas purchased the house from Dyer the following year and resided there until 1987.
Ownership of the Caskie Bungalow transferred several more times before the current owners acquired the building in 2019. It is located in the Kempner Park Neighborhood known to contain two of the oldest houses on the island. Named in honor of the Kempner family, development of the area began in earnest after the 1900 Storm. As a result, the Galveston Architecture Guidebook notes a wide range of architectural styles represented within the neighborhood’s boundaries. After Annie died in 1953, Ronald maintained the family residence death in 1976. In 1977, their daughter Bettie Jo Caskie sold to realtor Gerald Dyer. Frank and Isbell Romas purchased
JOHN AND CORDIA SWEENY TENANT HOUSE, BUILT 1914 3125 AVENUE O .................................
Completed in May 1914, real estate investor John Samuel Sweeny built this two-story Colonial Revival house for use as rental property. Situated on the eastern part of his lot, Sweeny, and his wife, Cordia, resided next door at 3127 Avenue O (built 1905-06). Born in Tennessee, Sweeny arrived in Galveston during the 1880s and worked as a master mechanic before he opened the wholesale commission house Perry & Sweeny with partner Charles Perry. In 1908, the Galveston City Directory noted Sweeny’s transition into real estate when he and partner Robert Zapp established an office for Zapp & Sweeny Real Estate and Land Agents at 205-07 Tremont.
The original insurance record for the Sweeny’s tenant house described a respectable sixroom dwelling. Francis Boyd and Cecil Wheeler were the first tenants. Boyd and Wheeler worked for the Gulf, Colorado & Santa Fe railroad as a clerk to the general superintendent (Boyd) and manager of the telegraph department (Wheeler). Each man resided at the house with their wife and child. The Sweenys used the house as rental property until they divorced in1921. They sold 3127 O and Cordia moved to San Antonio. Sweeny relocated to 3125 O and remained there until 1922 when James E. Haden, night captain for the fire boat CHARLES CLARKE, purchased the house.
James Edward Haden was born in Cold Spring, Texas, in 1870. The son of a physician, Haden followed his brother, William D. Haden, into the maritime industry on Cedar Bayou where he captained steam and tug boats. In 1893, James married Cedar Bayou native Katherine “Katie” Lee McCrary (1871-1946). The couple moved to Galveston after the 1900 Storm and by 1902 Haden was captain of the dredge boat LEVIATHAN. After they purchased 3125 Avenue O, Captain Haden and Katie resided there until their deaths. Their daughter Clara Lee inherited the house and lived there with her husband, Eugene Jackson, until 1965. The Jackson’s children utilized the house as rent property until 1983 when they sold it and ended over half a century of ownership by the Haden family. Located in the Kempner Park Neighborhood, the Sweeny Tenant House transferred ownership several more times before the current owners purchased the house in 2014. After they acquired the property, Michael Gaertner AIA designed a primary suite at the rear of the building that includes a sleeping area with en suite bath and walk-in closet separated from a master lounge by a feature wall with a fireplace. The addition is connected to the main house by a new hallway with custom cabinetry, designated work space and wet bar that overlooks a tranquil outdoor living area centered on a compact spa/pool.
FIRE BOAT, CHARLES CLARK
SEALY AND MARY HUTCHINGS HOUSE, BUILT 1896, GEORGE B. STOWE, ARCHITECT 2805 AVENUE O ...................................................................
In 1896, banker John Henry Hutchings deeded five lots to his son, Sealy, on which to build a house for his young family. The lots were located on the south side of Avenue O, across the street from the Hutchings’ home (2816 Avenue O, built 1859, altered 1892 by N. J. Clayton), where Sealy was raised. Born in Galveston in 1869, Sealy was the seventh child of John Henry and Minnie (Knox) Hutchings. He was educated in Galveston’s school system and attended the University of the South in Sewanee, Tennessee. In 1887 Sealy joined his father’s banking firm, Ball, Hutchings & Company, and four years later he married Mary Emily Moody (1870-1943), daughter of William L. and Pherabe (Bradley) Moody. Between 1893 and 1906 the couple had seven children with the last four born at their new residence at 2805 Avenue O.
Prominent Galveston architect George B. Stowe (1873-1932) designed the new Hutchings house. Construction of the immense frame building took almost one year and cost $14,160. Stowe was born on the island and attended Galveston’s schools and Crawford’s Private Academy. When he completed his education he opened an architectural practice on the island. His brother Elwood joined the business in 1908 and the firm, known as Stowe & Stowe, opened a second office in Houston. Existing examples of Stowe’s work include the Ikelheimer & Company Building (2102 Postoffice, 1898), the William Meininger House (1722 Church, 1896) and the Charles Clarke House (1728 Sealy, 1900).
The two-and-one-half story Queen Anne style residence Stowe designed for the Hutchings family features an asymmetrical plan and Classical Revival details. The interior, centered on a grand entrance hall and adjoining stair hall, retains original millwork, hardware and massive pine pocket doors that connect the entry halls with adjoining rooms. After the 1900 Storm, the house was raised during the grade-raising and a few years later, Hutchings enclosed the sleeping porch over the portecochere and added three bedrooms in the attic. As Hutchings aged and was no longer able to climb stairs, he also installed an elevator at the back of the house.
After Hutchings died in 1936, Mary remained at their home until her own death, after which their daughter Mary Moody Hutchings inherited the family estate. Born in 1896, Hutchings attended Mt. Vernon College in Washington, D. C., studied horticulture at Columbia University in New York and was an early member of Galveston Historical Foundation. Driven by desire to keep the house within the family after she died, two of Hutchings’ great-grandchildren purchased the property in 1991. In 1994, the Texas Historical Commission recommended the Sealy Hutchings House be added to the National Register of Historic Places. Located in the predominantly residential Kempner Park Neighborhood, the current owners acquired the house in 2020. In 2021, the City of Galveston designated the house a local historic landmark.
HOME, 1900
DR. FREDERICK AND ADELAIDE FISHER HOUSE, BUILT 1888 3503 AVENUE P ...................................................................
On February 25, 1888, Dr. Frederick Fisher purchased two lots along the 3500 block of Avenue P originally part of the homestead of Texas banker, Samuel May Williams. After Fisher acquired the lots, he had a one-story house built to serve as his family’s residence. The building’s original insurance record described a five-room frame dwelling that included a kitchen, bathroom, four closets and three porches. Prominent features of the Queen Anne house include a cross-gabled and hipped roof and an inset wraparound porch that addresses its corner location ornamented with unusual cross-and-clover-patterned millwork. The house was originally elevated seven feet on brick piers. The reduction in elevation observed today is attributed to the island grade-raising that occurred upon completion of the Galveston’s protective seawall, constructed after the Great Storm of 1900. Frederick Kenner Fisher was born in Matagorda, Texas, in 1852. His grandfather, Samuel Rhodes Fisher signed the Texas Declaration of Independence and served as the first secretary of the Texas Navy. Fisher attended Washington and Lee University and the University of Virginia before he graduated from Tulane Medical School in 1873. He married Lucy Adelaide “Addy” Selkirk in 1877. Her grandfather, William Selkirk, was one of Stephen F. Austin’s original 300 colonists. After they married, the Fishers settled in Indianola on Matagorda Bay where Fisher acted as the quarantine officer. When a hurricane destroyed Indianola in 1886, the couple moved to Galveston where Fisher resumed his position as quarantine officer and served as staff physician and associate surgeon at St. Mary’s Infirmary.
Although the Fishers never had children, they were surrounded by family. Fisher shared office space with his brother, Dr. William Compton Fisher, and brother, Walter Fisher, a pharmacist, lived nearby with his family. During the 1900 Storm, Walter, his wife, and six of their seven children drown. Fisher and Addy adopted their surviving nephew, F. Kenner. Tragedy struck again in 1910 when Kenner died from complications related to Queen Anne house include a cross-gabled appendicitis. first secretary of the Texas Navy. Fisher attended Washington and Lee University and After Dr. Fisher died in 1920, Adelaide After Dr. Fisher died in 1920, Adelaide Selkirk Secretan moved in with Addy, who Selkirk Secretan moved in with Addy, who willed the Fisher House to the Sisters of Charity of the Incarnate Word upon her death in 1939. The Sisters passed the house to Adelaide Secretan in 1942. A year later, she sold the house to Henry and Clara Barnes. Ownership of the Fisher house changed several more times before the current owners purchased it in 2020. Through the efforts of past owners, Jim and Margaret Earthman, the Fisher House was designated a Recorded Texas Historic Landmark in 1993. The City of Galveston designated the house a local landmark in 2021. The Fisher House is located in the Kempner Park Neighborhood.
LEAGUE-KEMPNER HOUSE, BUILT 1893 NICHOLAS J. CLAYTON, ARCHITECT; BIRDSALL BRISCOE, ARCHITECT, ADDITIONS 1920
Real estate investor and self-described “capitalist” John Charles League and his wife Cornelia “Nellie” Ball commissioned Nicholas J. Clayton to design their new residence in1892. Consultations between Clayton and League began in August 1892 with completed plans delivered on December 31st to League and building contractor, Henry Kissinger. Clayton worked closely with League to design a “modern” house as illustrated in major architectural publications of the late 19th century and perhaps influenced by the nearby home of the Sealy family designed by the New York firm of McKim Mead &White and known today as Open Gates. Clayton’s daybooks from 1892 indicate that he shared images with League from The Inland Architect and News Record published in Chicago as inspiration for exterior finishes and design.
John Charles League (1850-1916) became one of the island’s most important entrepreneurs and wealthiest residents by the late 19th century. His parents, Thomas Massey League and Esther Yarnold Wilson, moved to the island in 1842. By 1850, T. M. League was an established community leader with extensive land holdings across Galveston County. In 1874, J. C. League married Cornelia “Nellie” Ball, daughter of Sarah Perry and George Ball, the namesake of Galveston’s Ball High School and Ball Avenue. League City in northern Galveston County is J. C. League’s modern day namesake as it was developed on land he owned.
As one of Clayton’s last residential designs, the League’s house is decidedly different from his earlier residential work and less influenced by Victorian design including the very vertically focused Gresham House at 1402 Broadway completed in 1892. The expansive, largely horizontal three-story house with basement covers one of the largest lots on Broadway and includes the principal dwelling, a Clayton designed garage for League’s automobile (1913), once extensive gardens and a greenhouse. Clayton’s design incorporates influences from Open Gates such as the original turret with clusters of twin columns as well as a Colonial Revival entry way popular in contemporary residential design. Architectural historian Margaret Culbertson associated the dormers with upturned ends as derivative of the F.R. Hazard House in Syracuse, New York, by J.L. Silsbee of Chicago and published in the March 1892 Inland Architect.
The League House represents the highly sophisticated and well-travel League family familiar with the latest architectural work around Chicago, New York, and the midAtlantic region. The records from the League family from 1893 indicate the extent of their travel while the house was under construction. Excursions to wealthy resorts, Chicago, Niagara Falls, New York City, and Philadelphia suggest how these progressive designed areas influenced the design of their residence. The League’s daughter, Daisy, was attending the prestigious Ogontz School for Young Ladies in Pennsylvania while the house
School and Ball Avenue. from his earlier residential work and less
was under construction and appears to have rarely returned to Galveston that year. In 1898, Daisy married wealthy Galveston native Waters Davis, Jr. and they built a grand residence two blocks west of the League House on the corner of 19th and Broadway (1904 Broadway, built 1899, demolished). In memory of Daisy after her death in 1922, Nellie became the major financial supporter of Galveston’s Young Women’s Christian Association and provided much of the capital for construction of their building at 621 21st designed by Houston architect William Ward Watkin (1924).
After League’s death in 1916, Nellie maintained the residence two more years. She sold the house in 1918 to Eliza Seinsheimer Kempner, matriarch of the Kempner family and widow of Harris Kempner. One of Galveston’s most influential families, the Kempners played a significant part in the social and economic development of the island. Their family maintained ownership of 1702 Broadway until 1972, when John Samuels III purchased the property.
The current owners acquired the property from the Samuel’s estate in 2021 and began extensive stabilization and restoration work on the house and grounds after decades of neglect. It is located in the East End Historic District.
SELF-GUIDED HIGHLIGHTS
• Built in 1893, renowned architect Nicholas J. Clayton designed this house for John Charles League and his wife, Cornelia Ball. The couple married in New York in 1874 and had one child, Sarah Daisy Ball
League (1876-1922). • Nicholas Clayton (1840-1916) was born in Ireland and immigrated to the United States in 1848 with his mother. He moved to Galveston in 1872 to supervise construction of First Presbyterian Church (1903 Church Street). During the 1880s and 1890s Clayton’s contributions to the architectural landscape of the city were so great, architect Howard Barnstone deemed the period “The Clayton Era” in his book
The Galveston That Was. • Clayton worked closely with the Leagues to design the house, which has an interior floor plan reminiscent of the Bishop’s Palace, designed by Clayton for the family of Walter and Josephine Gresham (1402 Broadway, completed 1892). • The current owners purchased the building in December 2020 and immediately began to address decades of deferred maintenance and neglect, including decades of roof and window leaks that caused structural damage in areas of the building. • As you enter the house, note the original vestibule tile designed to look like a mosaic. The house also retains the original millwork and hardware. The original gas fireplaces all retain the original logs. Four original light fixtures also remain, including the fixture in the entry and in the dining room. • The first floor entry hall is flanked by a parlor (west) and library (east). The dining room is connected to the east side of the stair hall. • As you proceed up the stairs, note the Garden Room, designed by architect Birdsall Briscoe in 1920. • The second floor hosts three bedrooms and sitting room. An upper porch on the east side, enclosed by
Briscoe in 1920 contains a bathroom addition dated to the 1960s. • As you pass from the private family quarters into the servant’s wing, note the original family bathroom that dates to the 1893 construction with original tile work and sink. • Two rooms off of the utilitarian hallway served as servant’s quarters and bathroom, noted as “slophopper” on the building’s plans and where chamber pots were emptied. The servant’s staircase leads to the third floor, where three additional bedrooms are located. • The servant’s staircase leads downstairs to the first floor utilitarian hall that connects the kitchen and butler’s pantry to formal areas of the house. The elevator is original to the 1893 construction. The original motor is housed on the third floor. • The kitchen restoration will maintain the original tile. A company in Arkansas will use existing tile to reproduce additional tiles to replace missing and damaged tiles. • As you exit via the back door of the house, please watch your step.
1892 BISHOP’S PALACE
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1877 TALL SHIP ELISSA
