On the first day of March there passed into the Great Unknown, Samuel Fain Carter, of Houston, TOn the first day of March there passed into the Great Unknown, Samuel Fain Carter, of Houston, Texas, age 70 years.

At the time of his death he was Chairman of the Board of The Second National Bank, of Houston, one of the great financial institutions of the Southwest. A few years ago he relinquished into the hands of his most able son-in-law and business associate, Guy M. Bryan, the Presidency of that institution which he created, built, and cherished. His active participation in the every day affairs of the bank continued, however, without abatement until he was stricken with the illness which finally carried him away. He organized that institution as The Lumberman’s National Bank on January first, 1907. In 1923 the name of the bank was changed to that of The Second National to keep up with the tide of the times.

But through this all and back of this twenty years of highly successful banking activity, there was always S. F. Carter, Lumberman. For a lumberman he always was. Truly, you can take a man out of the lumber business, but you can never take the lumber out of the man. At the time of his death, after twenty years of separation from active participation in the lumber industry, Mr. Carter was as closely in touch with the lumber business as most men inside the industry, was an active member of the Lumbermen’s Club of Houston, of the Lumbermen’s Association of Texas and of the Concatenated Order of Hoo Hoo. His interest never flagged in lumber, lumbermen and everything that lumbermen did.

And behind this lifelong experience as a lumberman, and this twenty years of devoted activity as a banker, there was always S. F. Carter, the man, one who was equipped by a kindly Providence with many of the elements of greatness, and who did in his quiet and decisive way, innumerable things on every hand as he traveled his three score and ten years of life, to make the world a better place to live in and to make those with whom he came in contact better and happier because of him.

It has been agreed by all wise philosophers that ah truly worth while men possess three plain and fundamental elements; they are, gentle, kindly, and simple. Mr. Carter was all of these. And he was essentially a strong man. Lynch Davidson, of Houston, his devoted friend through life, always says that S. F. Carter reminded him of a powerful but smooth flowing river, quiet, unostentatious, but always going straight on its way, strong and thoroughly dependable. He possessed great courage. When he decided upon an action, he drove through regardless of objections. And yet he was not of the sort that over-rode objections without regarding their worth. He met them, considered them, opposed them with his logic and his faith, and overcame them in a way that left no sting. Throughout his life this ability was manifest in him.

He was a man of vision, of courage, of ambition, and of great faith in his right to do the things he set out to accomplish. Yet he stomped not on the toes of others, violated no rights of other men. And there was always in his heart that most sacred of human elements, kindliness. He desired and sought always the good opinion, and the affection of other men. Perhaps his considerable deafness in later years covered to some extent to the casual glance the great depth of his humanity, the abundance of his affection, and his genuine sentimentality. He was a wonderful husband and father, a friend who never failed, and a kindly, gentle, honorable, human, useful citizen always.

He was a natural born cooperator. He believed that in union there is strength. He was one of the first men in the lumber industry of the great Southwest to undersand and promote the idea of cooperation among lumbermen. At the councils of the industry he was always present, his hand was always ready for the work assigned him, and his counsel was always safe, sane, and good. He knew that good would come, not to those who "help themselves” but to those who "help one another,” and he had that useful consciousness of mutual self interest being better than just selfish interest. He was one of those rare men of whom good men could unhesitatingly say— "You can depend on him to do his part, even without asking him.” You could always "put your finger on” S. F. Carter.

Lumber folks will be interested in his history, because that continual succession of upward steps marks, better than words can tell, the indomitable person that he truly was.

He was born in Alabama, September 14, 1857, the son of J. Q. A. and Mildred Richards Carter. The family moved to Sherman, Texas, when Samuel Fain was one year old. He left school at 14 years of age, and went to work as a typesetter on the Sherman Courier. He stayed at it five years, then moved to Galveston and set type on the Galveston News four years.

Then he went to Beaumont where the late Capt. Fletcher of lumber fame hired him as bookkeeper for the old Texas Tram & Lumber Company. He learned lumber so fast that Capt. Fletcher sent him to Village Mills to manage his saw mill plant there. He did that so well that Capt. Fletcher brought him back to Beaumont and made him Manager of the business, with a stock interest to be worked out. The first part of 1892 he sold his interest to Capt. Fletcher for about $25,000, and moved to Houston, where he accepted the position of vice-president of the M. T. Jones Lumber Company, with an interest in the business. The M. T. Jones Lumber Company had a distributing lumber yard at Laredo, Texas, and when Mr. Carter visited that yard he got acquainted with a youngster named Lynch Davidson, who was selling lumber out of that yard for M. T. Jones.

Very quickly Mr. Carter, who stayed still with difficulty, organized the firm of Jones & Carter, with Mr. M. T. Jones so convinced of his ability that he became his business partner, and he went up and bought the timber and built the mill at Emporia, Texas, and began operating it.

About that time Lynch Davidson also got ambitious and quit M. T. Jones and came to Houston and started in the wholesale lumber business. He very promptly went broke. Then, Mr. Carter, still forging forward, bought out Mr. Jones, killed the firm of Jones & Carter, and organized the Emporia Lumber Company, and he hired Lynch Davidson to work for him as Secretary of the Company, with a stock interest. That happened in 1898. About four years later, Mr. Carter, with Mr. Davidson as an associate, created the Sunset Lumber Company, and bought from the old firm of Doucette & McCready the sawmill and timber at Doucette, Texas, and they operated both Doucette and Emporia from that time.

The lumber business developed fast about that time, so that in 1902 Lynch Davidson sold his interest in the Emporia and Sunset Lumber Companies to Mr. Carter and organized The Continental Tie & Lumber Company, of Houston, with the money he had made, and built for himself a fine fortune in that business.

In 1906 the yellow pine market took its first real big bulge upward, prices of lumber and timber rocketed, and Mr. Carter was offered one million dollars for his Doucette plant and timber by J. Lewis Thompson. He accepted it. About the same time the Emporia mill cut its last log, and S. F. Carter went out of the lumber business, and stayed out.

He kept right on with his never-slowing river-like movement ahead, however. First he bought a corner on Main Street, in Houston, on the corner of Rusk Ave., paying $110,000 for same. His friends thought he had lost his balance, because he said he was going to hold it until it was the center of the business district and then put a bank on it. That site was then in the suburbs, practically speaking.

Then he organized the Lumbermans National Bank in a little brick one story building on Franklin Ave., in Houston, and started in the banking business. He took in with him Guy M. Bryan, of Galveston, an experienced young banker. In a few years they moved to the corner of Main Street and Prairie Ave., following the business tide as the city grew.

He could easily see his dream coming true, and in 1910 he built a magnificent office building 17 stories high at Main and Rusk, but kept the bank at Main and Prairie for a while. He called the building The S. F. Carter Building. Another few years and he moved the bank into the big building, and he had his two business children united. In 1923 he changed the name of the bank to The Second National, and sold the building to the bank, changing the name of the building to that of the bank. In 1927 he added five stories to the building, making it 22 stories high. He barely lived to see this work completed.

Such is a terse statement of the business life of this pioneer lumberman, far-sighted business man, and kindly, useful gentleman.

He was buried in Houston. He is survived by his wife to whom he had given a life of marvelous devotion, and by four children, Mrs. Clara Roos, Mrs. Guy M. Bryan, Mrs. E. L. Crain, and S. F. Carter, Jr. and by a brother, J. P. Carter, and a sister, Mrs. J. R. Lockerd.

exas, age 70 years.

At the time of his death he was Chairman of the Board of The Second National Bank, of Houston, one of the great financial institutions of the Southwest. A few years ago he relinquished into the hands of his most able son-in-law and business associate, Guy M. Bryan, the Presidency of that institution which he created, built, and cherished. His active participation in the every day affairs of the bank continued, however, without abatement until he was stricken with the illness which finally carried him away. He organized that institution as The Lumberman’s National Bank on January first, 1907. In 1923 the name of the bank was changed to that of The Second National to keep up with the tide of the times.

But through this all and back of this twenty years of highly successful banking activity, there was always S. F. Carter, Lumberman. For a lumberman he always was. Truly, you can take a man out of the lumber business, but you can never take the lumber out of the man. At the time of his death, after twenty years of separation from active participation in the lumber industry, Mr. Carter was as closely in touch with the lumber business as most men inside the industry, was an active member of the Lumbermen’s Club of Houston, of the Lumbermen’s Association of Texas and of the Concatenated Order of Hoo Hoo. His interest never flagged in lumber, lumbermen and everything that lumbermen did.

And behind this lifelong experience as a lumberman, and this twenty years of devoted activity as a banker, there was always S. F. Carter, the man, one who was equipped by a kindly Providence with many of the elements of greatness, and who did in his quiet and decisive way, innumerable things on every hand as he traveled his three score and ten years of life, to make the world a better place to live in and to make those with whom he came in contact better and happier because of him.

It has been agreed by all wise philosophers that ah truly worth while men possess three plain and fundamental elements; they are, gentle, kindly, and simple. Mr. Carter was all of these. And he was essentially a strong man. Lynch Davidson, of Houston, his devoted friend through life, always says that S. F. Carter reminded him of a powerful but smooth flowing river, quiet, unostentatious, but always going straight on its way, strong and thoroughly dependable. He possessed great courage. When he decided upon an action, he drove through regardless of objections. And yet he was not of the sort that over-rode objections without regarding their worth. He met them, considered them, opposed them with his logic and his faith, and overcame them in a way that left no sting. Throughout his life this ability was manifest in him.

He was a man of vision, of courage, of ambition, and of great faith in his right to do the things he set out to accomplish. Yet he stomped not on the toes of others, violated no rights of other men. And there was always in his heart that most sacred of human elements, kindliness. He desired and sought always the good opinion, and the affection of other men. Perhaps his considerable deafness in later years covered to some extent to the casual glance the great depth of his humanity, the abundance of his affection, and his genuine sentimentality. He was a wonderful husband and father, a friend who never failed, and a kindly, gentle, honorable, human, useful citizen always.

He was a natural born cooperator. He believed that in union there is strength. He was one of the first men in the lumber industry of the great Southwest to undersand and promote the idea of cooperation among lumbermen. At the councils of the industry he was always present, his hand was always ready for the work assigned him, and his counsel was always safe, sane, and good. He knew that good would come, not to those who "help themselves” but to those who "help one another,” and he had that useful consciousness of mutual self interest being better than just selfish interest. He was one of those rare men of whom good men could unhesitatingly say— "You can depend on him to do his part, even without asking him.” You could always "put your finger on” S. F. Carter.

Lumber folks will be interested in his history, because that continual succession of upward steps marks, better than words can tell, the indomitable person that he truly was.

He was born in Alabama, September 14, 1857, the son of J. Q. A. and Mildred Richards Carter. The family moved to Sherman, Texas, when Samuel Fain was one year old. He left school at 14 years of age, and went to work as a typesetter on the Sherman Courier. He stayed at it five years, then moved to Galveston and set type on the Galveston News four years.

Then he went to Beaumont where the late Capt. Fletcher of lumber fame hired him as bookkeeper for the old Texas Tram & Lumber Company. He learned lumber so fast that Capt. Fletcher sent him to Village Mills to manage his saw mill plant there. He did that so well that Capt. Fletcher brought him back to Beaumont and made him Manager of the business, with a stock interest to be worked out. The first part of 1892 he sold his interest to Capt. Fletcher for about $25,000, and moved to Houston, where he accepted the position of vice-president of the M. T. Jones Lumber Company, with an interest in the business. The M. T. Jones Lumber Company had a distributing lumber yard at Laredo, Texas, and when Mr. Carter visited that yard he got acquainted with a youngster named Lynch Davidson, who was selling lumber out of that yard for M. T. Jones.

Very quickly Mr. Carter, who stayed still with difficulty, organized the firm of Jones & Carter, with Mr. M. T. Jones so convinced of his ability that he became his business partner, and he went up and bought the timber and built the mill at Emporia, Texas, and began operating it.

About that time Lynch Davidson also got ambitious and quit M. T. Jones and came to Houston and started in the wholesale lumber business. He very promptly went broke. Then, Mr. Carter, still forging forward, bought out Mr. Jones, killed the firm of Jones & Carter, and organized the Emporia Lumber Company, and he hired Lynch Davidson to work for him as Secretary of the Company, with a stock interest. That happened in 1898. About four years later, Mr. Carter, with Mr. Davidson as an associate, created the Sunset Lumber Company, and bought from the old firm of Doucette & McCready the sawmill and timber at Doucette, Texas, and they operated both Doucette and Emporia from that time.

The lumber business developed fast about that time, so that in 1902 Lynch Davidson sold his interest in the Emporia and Sunset Lumber Companies to Mr. Carter and organized The Continental Tie & Lumber Company, of Houston, with the money he had made, and built for himself a fine fortune in that business.

In 1906 the yellow pine market took its first real big bulge upward, prices of lumber and timber rocketed, and Mr. Carter was offered one million dollars for his Doucette plant and timber by J. Lewis Thompson. He accepted it. About the same time the Emporia mill cut its last log, and S. F. Carter went out of the lumber business, and stayed out.

He kept right on with his never-slowing river-like movement ahead, however. First he bought a corner on Main Street, in Houston, on the corner of Rusk Ave., paying $110,000 for same. His friends thought he had lost his balance, because he said he was going to hold it until it was the center of the business district and then put a bank on it. That site was then in the suburbs, practically speaking.

Then he organized the Lumbermans National Bank in a little brick one story building on Franklin Ave., in Houston, and started in the banking business. He took in with him Guy M. Bryan, of Galveston, an experienced young banker. In a few years they moved to the corner of Main Street and Prairie Ave., following the business tide as the city grew.

He could easily see his dream coming true, and in 1910 he built a magnificent office building 17 stories high at Main and Rusk, but kept the bank at Main and Prairie for a while. He called the building The S. F. Carter Building. Another few years and he moved the bank into the big building, and he had his two business children united. In 1923 he changed the name of the bank to The Second National, and sold the building to the bank, changing the name of the building to that of the bank. In 1927 he added five stories to the building, making it 22 stories high. He barely lived to see this work completed.

Such is a terse statement of the business life of this pioneer lumberman, far-sighted business man, and kindly, useful gentleman.

He was buried in Houston. He is survived by his wife to whom he had given a life of marvelous devotion, and by four children, Mrs. Clara Roos, Mrs. Guy M. Bryan, Mrs. E. L. Crain, and S. F. Carter, Jr. and by a brother, J. P. Carter, and a sister, Mrs. J. R. Lockerd.