AF Biography | Austin History Center Digital Collections

Media documenting William Hobby from the Austin Files Biography collection. William Pettus Hobby (March 26, 1878 – June 7, 1964) was known as the publisher/owner of the Beaumont Enterprise when he entered politics and the Democratic Party. Elected in 1914 as Lieutenant Governor of Texas, in 1917 he succeeded to become 27th Governor of the U.S. state of Texas, after James Edward "Pa" Ferguson was impeached and forced to resign. In 1918 Hobby won the office in his own right, serving a full term. In 1924 Hobby lost the Democratic primary to Miriam A. Ferguson, wife of "Pa" Ferguson and she was elected to the governorship. Hobby returned to publishing, and in 1924 was chosen as president of the Houston Post. He later served as chairman of the board of the Houston Post Company, which had also acquired radio and TV stations.

Fowler, Frank

Photographs documenting Frank Fowler from the Austin Files Biography collection

Fuentes, Santos “Sandy”Acosta

Photographs documenting Santos "Sandy" Acosta Fuentes from the Austin Files Biography collection

Galindo, Emma

Photographs documenting Emma Galindo from the Austin Files Biography collection

Gann, Harvey

Photographs documenting Harvey Gann from the Austin Files Biography collection

Wirtz, Alvin J., 1888-

Photographs documenting Alvin J. Wirtz from the Austin Files Biography collection

Gideon, Samuel Edward, 1875-1945

Photographs depicting Samuel Edward Gideon from the Austin Files Biography collection

Greer, Dewitt C.

Photographs documenting Dewitt C. Greer from the Austin Files Biography collection

Gutsch, Milton R.

Photographs documenting Milton Gutsch from the Austin Files Biography collection

Handcox, Berl

Photographs of Berl Handcox from the Austin Files Biography collection

Harrell, Jacob M., 1804-1853

Photographs documenting Jacob M. Harrell from the Austin Files Biography collection

Hart, James Pinckney and Katherine

Photographs of Katherine Hart and James P. Hart from the Austin Files Biography collection

Heath, Benjamin Franklin, -1916

Photographs documenting Benjamin Franklin Heath from the Austin Files Biography collection

Heath, Charles W.

Photographs of Charles Heath from the Austin Files Biography collection

Herber, Robert L.

Photographs depicting Robert L. Herber from the Austin Files Biography collection

Hudson, Wiley, -1825

Photographs documenting Hudson Wiley from the Austin Files Biography collection

Overton, Volma

Photographs documenting Volma Overton from the Austin Files Biography collection

Passon, W.H.

Photographs documenting W.H. Passon from the Austin Files Biography collection. W. H. Passon, educator, was born near Mumford, Texas in 1864. He moved to Austin, Texas with his parents in 1881. He began his teaching career at a school in Kinchionville, Texas (southwest Austin) in 1883. After teaching at various Central Texas schools he was elected to the position of principal of the Wheatville School in 1894. He would go on to serve as the principal of the West Austin School, Clarksville School, Olive Street School and Gregorytown. Passon married Mittie T. Carr of Oakwoods, Texas in 1884. He was a faithful member of the Metropolitan A. M. E. Church. His effort to commemorate the 25th anniversary of the church in 1907 resulted in The Historical and Biographical Souvenir and Program of Metropolitan A.M.E. Church, Austin, Texas, 1882-1907, one of the earliest written histories of the church and African American life in Austin, Texas. Passon died in 1933. In 1979 the W. H. Passon Historical Society was founded with the aim of promoting the history of Austin's African American community.

Graham, Sunny

Biographical information about Sunny Graham. Sunny Graham and her family lived in Austin from 1973-1991. Prior to coming to Austin she taught 6th grade elementary English and Spelling at Ave E Elementary in Copperas Cove, Texas after her husband Terry served the US Army as a Captain. Sunny is the former Zenaida Sanchez Prodon and hails from Meycauayan, Bulacan. She first came to America as an exchange student when she was merely 15 years old. As an American field Scholar for a year in 1965-66, she attended CK McClatchy Sr. High School in Sacramento, California. Sunny received her Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of the Philippines in 1971; A Masters of Education and a second Masters Degree in Library and Information Science from the University of Texas at Austin. After living in Austin since 1973 she decided to get hooked with other Filipinos here in Austin. One day in 1986 she started with a handful of Filipinos to plan to have a Filipino Association in central Texas. This small group became the central core of now the AUSTIN FILIPINO AMERICAN ASSOCIATION founded by Sunny Graham. The Association became incorporated in 1987 and remained the only viable Filipino Association in Central Texas. Currently Sunny resides in Fort Worth, Texas. Terry and Sunny own and operate The Thornton Inn, a bed and breakfast facility a block away from the University of Texas at Arlington. Sunny is the proud mother of two daughters and is a Lola or grandmother to three grandchildren.

Smith, Felix Ezell, 1831-1891

Photographs documenting Felix Ezell Smith from the Austin Files Biography collection. Felix Ezell Smith, legislator, was born in Lynchburg, Tennessee, on August 10, 1831, the son of William Stark and Nancy A. (Roundtree) Smith. In 1851 he moved to Texas and began farming near Austin. From June 1863 to the end of the Civil War he served as a first lieutenant in the Confederate forces in the Rio Grande district under John S. Ford. Smith was a justice of the peace and a county commissioner of Travis County. He represented the county in the Fourteenth, Sixteenth, Eighteenth, Nineteenth, and Twenty-first legislatures. As a legislator he supported an endowment fund for a state university system and introduced a bill for building a new capitol. He was a Mason. He married Mary S. Mann on October 23, 1856; they had twelve children. Smith died at his home at Bluff Springs on February 5, 1891.