William Lewis Moody, Jr.
Galveston, Galveston County, Texas
Marker Inscription
(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.
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
Born in 1865 and educated at Virginia Military Institute, William Lewis Moody, Jr. joined his father's Galveston cotton firm in 1886 and built one of the great business empires of early-twentieth-century Texas — a private bank, American National Insurance Company, a hotel chain, newspapers, and eleven ranches. He threw himself into the relief and rebuilding of Galveston after the catastrophic 1900 hurricane, the deadliest natural disaster in U.S. history. With his wife Libbie he founded the Moody Foundation in 1942, which has since given millions to charitable and educational causes across Texas.
Why it matters
Moody embodies the Gilded Age-to-modern rise of the self-made Texas financier, and his foundation channeled a private fortune into lasting public philanthropy still felt statewide.
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Related people
- · William Lewis Moody, Jr.
- · Libbie Rice Shearn Moody
Related events
- · Galveston hurricane of 1900
- · founding of the Moody Foundation (1942)
Themes & tags
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