Thomas William House

(March 4, 1814 - January 17, 1880) A native of Stoke St. Gregory in Somersetshire, England, T. W. House emigrated to the United States in May 1835. A baker by trade, he soon was employed by the St. Charles Hotel in New Orleans. By 1838 he had moved to Houston and established the company of House and Loveridge, Bakers and Confectioners.

Destined to become one of Houston's most influential citizens, House soon expanded his business interests to include general merchandise, cotton brokerage, and banking. He helped organize the Houston and Galveston Navigation Company; promoted the city's first street railway; organized the Houston Gas Light Company; and was a director and stockholder in several railroad companies, including the Houston and Texas Central.

House was elected a city alderman in 1857 and 1861, and in 1862 became mayor of Houston. Eventually, his business empire grew to include properties in at least 63 Texas counties, the most notable being his sugar plantation near Arcola in Fort Bend County. Married to Mary Elizabeth Shearn (1822-1870), House was the father of eight children, including Edward Mandell House (1858-1938), principal advisor to President Woodrow Wilson during World War I. Thomas William House is buried in Houston's Glenwood Cemetery.