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The rise of William H. Wray from the position of salesman of
pianos to that of president and chairman of the board of directors of
the Bush & Gerts Piano and Organ Company, Incorporated, is a series
of advances pleasing to contemplate, in view of the circumstances of his
early life, and his lack of advantages in a material way. Individual
worth and effort have been the influences that have directed his
continued advancement, and he is today regarded as one of the foremost
business "men of Dallas, and one whose opinion is sought and valued
by the leading men of the city and county. He is prominent in politics
as well as in business and has had an important part in some of the
recent developments along lines of civic improvement in Dallas. Mr. Wray was born in Sumner County, Tennessee, on July 26, 1869,
in a little town forty miles north of Nashville, and is the son of John
P. and Permelia (Cooper) Wray. The maternal grandfather of Mr. Wray was
Colonel Cooper, who in Civil war times, raised the first regiment in the
state of Tennessee and served throughout the war with honor and
distinction. His great-grandfather was the distinguished Judge Martin
Cooper, commonly known as Judge Mart Cooper throughout the South. Up to
his fifteenth year William H. Wray was denied attendance at any school,
owing to the fact of the family home being maintained at a distance of
forty miles from what might be termed civilization, but at that age he
began his common school career and he made rapid strides in book
knowledge. Mr. Wray attended Vanderbilt University but his course was
cut short almost at its beginning, by reason of the fact that he was
compelled to go to work for his living, and he began his independent
career by taking a position with the Jesse French Piano Company of
Nashville, Tennessee. He remained with that firm for some littletime
then in 1887 came to Texas and located in the city of Waco, where he
entered the employ of Thomas Goggan & Bros., piano dealers. He was
two years with them, and then accepted a position with the Cotton Belt
Eailway as special passenger agent. He remained with the railroad
company for the short space of a year, when his services were
requisitioned by the Bush & Gerts Piano Company, and Mr. Wray became
their representative, in charge of the business of four counties. Later
he became their representative for one half the state, and after two
years he was placed in charge of the selling activities for the entire
state of Texas. At the end of three years he became southwestern
representative of the company, then general southwestern and southern
states representative, with full charge of their wholesale and retail
business. Still he continued to outgrow his position, and in 1900 he
became vice president and chairman of the board of directors of the Bush
& Gerts Piano & Organ Company of Texas, incorporated with a
capital stock of $20,000. In 1904 the capital stock was increased to
$90,000, and later it was again increased to $200,000. In 1909 the
capital stock of the company was raised to $250,000 with a surplus of
$147,000, at which time Mr. Wray became the president of the company.
Two large branches are maintained at Houston and Fort Worth, Dallas
being the general headquarters of the concern. Mr. Wray is a man of many interests, aside from his business
activities, and is shown to possess many of the qualities of the
philanthropist. He is regarded as an authority on many subjects of
public import, including those of political and civic variety, and he
has given excellent service to the city of Dallas as a citizen of public
spirit and open-mindedness. He was one of the committee of twenty-seven
selected by the city to bring Dallas into the commission form of
government and make the selection of its mayor, and has in many other
ways evidenced his interest in the well being of the city. Mr. Wray is-
a member of the Retail Piano Dealers Association of America, and
fraternally is a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. He is
treasurer of the Odd Fellows Home Fund, situated at Corsicana, Texas,
and is also a member of the Woodmen of the World. In the line of his
business, he is a director in the Southland Life Insurance Company of Two
children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Wray —Ophelia M., born
December 18, 1892, and William H., Jr., born August 14, 1894. -- History
of Texas and Texans, Volume 3, Francis
White Johnson, 1914 |
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