DUANE
Duane's take
Here's how the official marker tells it — and it's some story worth tellin'. William Lewis Moody, Junior. Born January 25, 1865, in Freestone County, Texas.
Died July 21, 1954. Nearly ninety years on this earth, and if you're wonderin' whether he made use of them — well, let's just say the man didn't idle. His father was William Lewis Moody Senior, his mother Pherabe Elizabeth Bradley Moody.
Young William got himself educated at Virginia Military Institute, then traveled and studied abroad. He was seein' the world, shapenin' his eye for opportunity. And when the time came, he came home — or near enough to home — to Galveston.
That was 1886, when he joined his father's cotton firm. He was twenty-one years old. That is where it started.
Now, what came next was a long succession of things that would make your head swim a little if you try to tally 'em all up. In 1889, he organized W. L.
Moody and Company, a private bank — and here's the part that'll stop you — that bank is still operating. Then came American National Insurance Company, founded in 1905. Then City National Bank, which would later be called the Moody National Bank.
Then the National Hotel Company, in 1930. And that's just what fits neatly into a list. He also owned the Galveston News — Texas' oldest newspaper — along with the Galveston Tribune and the Texas City Sun.
He held eleven ranches. And other interests the marker describes only as many, which tells you somethin' about the sheer scale of the man's reach. In 1890, he married Libbie Rice Shearn.
Together they had four children — Mary Elizabeth, who became Mrs. E. C.
Northen; W. L. the Third; Shearn; and Libbie, who became Mrs. Clark W.
Thompson. Now, through all of that building and accumulating, Galveston itself threw something terrible at the world in 1900 — the disastrous hurricane that hit this island city and didn't spare anyone. W.
L. Moody, Junior took an active part in the relief and reconstruction that followed. That's the kind of detail that sits quietly in a list of business achievements and deserves a moment of its own.
A city in ruins, and he was in it, helping put it back together. By the time the ledger of his life was fully written, he was counted among the ten richest men in America. And yet the marker doesn't end there — and neither should we.
In his lifetime, he gave the state of Texas a school for cerebral palsied children. And in 1942, he and Libbie set up the Moody Foundation, which has since given millions of dollars for charitable, scientific, educational, and religious purposes throughout Texas. Dynamic leadership in business, civic affairs, and philanthropy — that's how the marker sums him up.
Born in Freestone County, built in Galveston, and the foundation he and his wife created is still sending what they built out into the world. Some men leave a marker. W.
L. Moody, Junior left a foundation.
What the marker says
(January 25, 1865 - July 21, 1954) Famed for a long career of dynamic leadership in Galveston business, civic affairs, and philanthropy. Born in Freestone County; son of William Lewis and Pherabe Elizabeth Bradley Moody. Educated at Virginia Military Institute, he later traveled and studied abroad before joining his father's cotton firm in Galveston in 1886. He organized in 1889 W. L. Moody and Co., a private bank (still operating). He founded American National Insurance Co. (1905); City National Bank, later called the Moody National Bank; National Hotel Co. (1930); and other firms. He owned "Galveston News" (Texas' oldest newspaper), "Galveston Tribune," "Texas City Sun," 11 ranches, and many other interests. He took active part in relief and reconstruction after the disastrous Galveston hurricane of 1900. He married Libbie Rice Shearn in 1890. Their children were Mary Elizabeth (Mrs. E. C. Northen), W. L., III, Shearn, and Libbie (Mrs. Clark W. Thompson). Known as one of the ten richest men in America, W. L. Moody, Jr., in his lifetime gave the state a school for cerebral palsied children. With his wife he set up (1942) the Moody Foundation, which has since given millions of dollars for charitable, scientific, educational, and religious purposes throughout Texas.