Abram Morris Gentry

Abram Morris Gentry, legislator and railroad promoter, son of Joseph and Mary (Van Meter) Gentry, was born in Brookville, Indiana, on May 14, 1821. In 1838 he moved to Houston, where he engaged in merchandising. One of the earliest railroad promoters in the state, he was instrumental in securing the charter for the Texas and New Orleans Railroad in 1859. As president of the railroad, Gentry extended surveys and made several trips to New York to secure additional funds for expanding the line, which was in operation before the beginning of the Civil War. After the war, during which he served with the Supply and Commissary Department of the Confederate Army, he spent much of his time in New York City and at Huntington, Long Island, where he also had property. But he maintained his home in Houston and devoted most of his time to financing the Texas Western Narrow Gauge Railroad out of Houston. This road, which was chartered on January 18, 1875, became the Texas Western Railroad by a new charter on April 28, 1881. Gentry also represented Harris County in the Senate for the Eighth and Eleventh legislatures. He married Mary Frances Rather in Houston on October 29, 1844. He died in Huntington, Long Island, on February 20, 1883, and was buried in Glenwood Cemetery, Houston.

Obituary

Glenwood, Houston, Texas