Edmund Andrews (circa 1814–1843) was a settler in Stephen F. Austin's colony, arriving in Brazoria County, Texas, in 1830 December from Carolina. He remained there and served as a judge and postmaster of San Luis. In 1830, Andrews married Isabella Maria Barclay, a widow. He adopted her three children, two of whom were Henry and Edwin Marston Barclay.
Edmund's adopted stepson Henry Barclay Andrews was born on 1828 September 21 on the island of St. Thomas in the West Indies. Henry moved to Galveston in 1844 and became a merchant. Over the next decades, he held various positions in Galveston, including a district court attorney, postmaster, and Civil War soldier. In 1863 he was made chief of the Texas Labor Bureau and in 1864 was elected to the Texas legislature. Andrews' railroad career began in 1868, and he eventually became a vice-president and general manager of the Galveston, Harrisburg, and San Antonio Railroad. Andrews moved to San Antonio in 1877, and he died there on 1895 April 14. On 1846 July 10, Andrews married Martha E. Wynn, with whom he had nine children. He later married Mary (Mollie) Huston Smith (1837-1917), widow of Frank Smith, with whom he had one son.
Members of the Groos family came to Texas from Strass-Ebersbach, Dukedom of Hesse-Nassau, Germany, in 1848. In 1854, brothers Friedrich Wilhelm Carl (1827-1912), Carl Wilhelm August (1830-1893), and Gustav (1832-1895) Groos formed the mercantile and banking business F. Groos and Co. from what began as a contract to haul supplies to Fort Duncan. Initially, the business's headquarters were in Eagle Pass with branches in San Antonio, New Braunfels, and Matamoros; the headquarters were moved to San Antonio in 1866. In 1874, the company's mercantile operations were displaced by its banking functions and the company began functioning as a private bank. In 1912, it was chartered as the Groos National Bank.
Bettina James (1890-1981), a granddaughter of Henry B. Andrews and John James, married Carl F. Groos, a son of one of the pioneer banking brothers.
Hazlewood, Claudia. "Henry Barclay Andrews."
Gideon, Margaret Guenther. "Gustav Groos."
York, Miriam. "Carl Wilhelm August Groos."
York, Miriam. "Friedrich Wilhelm Carl Groos."
Legal documents, letters, and printed material are part of the Andrews and Groos families papers, representing two San Antonio, Texas, families joined by marriage. Included are certificates for lots in the town of San Luis, Texas, issued to Edmund Andrews in connection with stock for the Brazos and Galveston Railroad Company. Letters from two members of Texas' congressional delegation, Senator Sam Houston and Representative David S. Kaufman, respond to their honorary membership in the Galveston Lyceum, extended in 1847 by Henry B. Andrews. Also included are two physicians' certificates which exempt Charles Groos from service in the Confederate Army, and a business letter from F. Groos and Co.
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Please be advised that the library does not hold the copyright to most of the material in its archival collections. It is the responsibility of the researcher to secure those rights when needed. Permission to reproduce does not constitute permission to publish. The researcher assumes full responsibility for conforming to the laws of copyright, literary property rights, and libel.
Gail Borden Papers, 1818-1897, 25-0001 thru 25-0521, Galveston and Texas History Center, Rosenberg Library, Galveston, Texas.
Eliza Anderson Cramer Papers, 1860-1866, 70-1150 through 70-1178, Galveston and Texas History Center, Rosenberg Library, Galveston, Texas.
J. F. Perry Papers, 67-0059, Galveston and Texas History Center, Rosenberg Library, Galveston, Texas.
[Identification of item], Andrews and Groos Families Papers, 1839-1877, Doc 9476, Daughters of the Republic of Texas Library, San Antonio, Texas.
Gift of Gilbert M. Denman, Jr., on behalf of the Bettina James Groos estate, 1997 March.
Processed by Warren Stricker, 1997.
Finding aid edited by Kay Garsnett, 2010 January.
Finding aid edited and encoded by Caitlin Donnelly, 2010 October.
The items are arranged chronologically.