Early baseball in Texas/Club 22
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| Spread of baseball: Home -> Texas -> Early baseball in Texas/Club 22 |
| Location | Texas |
|---|---|
| Year | 1861 |
| Month | 4 |
| Date | 11 |
| Modern address | Houston TX |
| City | Houston |
| State | TX |
| Found by | Bruce Allardice |
The Houston Base Ball Club was formed April 11, 1861, the day before the firing on Fort Sumter. The founders held their meeting "over J. H. Evans' store" [now, 315 Main St.] and (according to the newspaper article) elected the following officers: F. A. Rice, President; E. H. Cushing, VP; W. H. Campbell, Secy.; J. H. Evans, Treasurer; John S. Clute, Corresponding Secy.; G. A. Ellsworth, J. C. Baldwin, C. C. Clute, Directors. [Houston Weekly Telegraph, April 11, 1861]
Of the founders: Frederick Allyn Rice (1830-1901) was the younger brother and business parter of William Marsh Rice, who endowed Rice University. William, born in Massacusetts, was reputed to be the wealthiest man in Texas prior to the Civil War, running a business empire with his younger brother and with E. B. Nichols. Fred served as captain of a local defense unit during the Civil War. Afterwards he engaged in various business enterprises in the Houston area. Edward Hopkins Cushing (1829-79), born in VT, came to Texas in 1850. He used his Dartmouth education to help edit a newspaper in Houston. Despite his northern birth, he was very pro-secession and after the Civil War was a vocal foe of Reconstruction. Jonas Cutler Baldwin (10-10-1829 4-18-1905) was born in NY, and was son of Horace Baldwin (1801-50), Mayor of Houston. His sister married Fred Rice. From 1857 to 1861 he sold furniture at the store of his brother in law Fred Rice. A quartermaster, CSA. Postwar he ran a grocery store, and later a livery stable, in Houston. He is buried in Houston's Glenwood Cemetery. Joseph H. Evans (1836 2-3-1863) was the son of Henry Evans, a MA-born druggist who worked in Houston by 1850. Joseph ran a dry goods store at 315 Main St. During the war, he enlisted in Waul's Legion, and was promoted to adjutant of the infantry bttalion of the Legion. He died of disease in Yazoo City, MS. William Henry Campbell (2-22-1840 1901) was a "clerk" in 1860 Houston. Born in TX, son of MS-born planter Giles M. Campbell, he was raised in New Orleans by his stepfather, Thomas V. Mortimer. During the war he was Sgt. of Waul's Legion, and taken prisoner at Vicksburg in 1863. Postwar he moved to NYC, and was a bookeeper there in 1870. John Stillwell Clute (6-15-1840 3-3-1929) was born in Ontario, Canada and grew up in Kingston. He moved to Houston in 1860 to become Secretary of the Texas Telegraph Company. He returned to Canada a few months after the war broke out. Later in life he was a prominent merhcant in Vancouver, British Columbia. He died there and is buried in Fraser Cemetery, New Westminster. Charles C. Clute (9-26-1828 10-8-1906) is John S's brother. Born in Canada, he was in 1861 Supt. of the Texas Telegraph Company. During the Civil War he served as CAptain and Quartermaster in the Confederate army. After the war he moved to Illinois. He died in Chicago and is buried there in Oakwoods Cemetery. George A. Ellsworth (1843-99) is perhaps the most famous of all the early Houston directors. The Canadian-born Ellsworth worked as a telegrapher for the Clute operations. During the Civil War he put his telegraph expertise to work for the Confederate cause, winning worldwide fame as "Lightning" Ellsworth. He joined Morgan's KY Cavalry and was used by Morgan to send telegraph messages to confuse the Union army about Morgan's movements. After the war Ellsworth practiced his trade all over the south, finally dying near Baton Rouge, LA.
Sources
Houston Weekly Telegraph, April 11, 1861. Bio information from research by Bruce Allardice.
