DUANE
Duane's take
Here's how the official marker tells it, friends — and this one's worth every mile. Now, Thomas H. Ball, Jr. came into this world on January 14, 1859, in Huntsville, Texas — son of the Reverend and Mrs.
Thomas H. Ball. You get the feeling from the start that this man was never going to sit still for long.
He graduated from Austin College right there in Huntsville in 1877, married Minnie F. Thomason in 1882, and together they raised four children. So far, sounds like a man settling in nicely to a quiet life.
But here's where it gets interesting. Ball studied law in a Huntsville law office, and in 1887 — one full year before he was even admitted to the Texas Bar — the people of Huntsville elected him mayor. That's right.
Not yet a licensed attorney, already running a city. He served three terms. The bar exam, apparently, was a formality.
Then in 1896, Ball was elected to the United States Congress, where he served four terms. And during those four terms, he played a key role in gaining federal authorization and the funding to build the Houston Ship Channel. Sit with that a moment.
A channel that would reshape the entire economic destiny of southeast Texas, and this man from Huntsville was in the room making it happen. He returned to Houston in 1903 as the law partner of Frank Andrews, and from there he provided many years of free legal counsel and lobbying on behalf of the Harris County Navigation District. Free.
Years of it. They called him the Father of the Port, and given what he'd done, nobody argued the point. He also represented the Trinity and Brazos Valley Railroad, and a town established in north Harris County on that very line was named for him — Tomball.
Still on the map. Still bearing his name. Now, in 1914, Ball ran for governor in the Texas Democratic Gubernatorial Primary.
He lost — narrowly. The word the marker uses is narrow, and you can almost feel the sting of it across the decades. But he didn't fold.
He kept practicing law in Houston, and in 1923 he was appointed counsel of the Harris County Navigation District, the same body he'd been advocating for all those years. Thomas H. Ball, Jr. died on May 7, 1944, and he is buried in Forest Park Cemetery in Houston.
A ship channel. A town. A port that still moves the lifeblood of Texas commerce.
Not a bad accounting for one man's time on earth.
What the marker says
Son of the Rev. and Mrs. Thomas H. Ball, was born in Huntsville, Texas, on January 14, 1859. He graduated from Austin College in Huntsville in 1877. He married Minnie F. Thomason in 1882, and they became the parents of four children. Ball studied law in a Huntsville law office and in 1887, one year prior to his admittance to the Texas Bar, he was elected mayor of Huntsville. He served three terms. In 1896 Ball was elected to the U. S. Congress. During his four congressional terms he played a key role in gaining Federal authorization and funding for the building of the Houston Ship Channel. He returned to Houston in 1903 as the law partner of Frank Andrews. Ball provided many years of free legal counsel and lobbying on behalf of the Harris County Navigation District and earned local acclaim as the "Father of the Port." The town of Tomball, established in north Harris County on the Trinity and brazos Valley Railroad which Ball represented, was named for him. After a narrow defeat in the 1914 Texas Democratic Gubernatorial Primary, Ball practiced law in Houston and in 1923 was appointed counsel of the Harris County Navigation District. Ball died on May 7, 1944, and is buried in Houston's Forest Park Cemetery. Sesquicentennial of Texas Statehood 1845 - 1995