The First Worshipful Master
N.B. Bendy,
ATTORNEY AT LAW
BEAUMONT TEXAS
Promises faithful attention to all business undertaken. May 4th 72—1y.
It is my interpretation of this and other attorney advertisements, within the same newspaper issue, that “May 4th 72---1y” means the years of practice that Brother Bendy had. I interpret this to mean, Brother Bendy received his law credentials on 4 May 1871, in Beaumont, Texas. It makes since that Brother Bendy would have acquired his law credentials during his time as Justice of the Peace. In Trow’s Legal Directory published in 1875, the law firm of O’Brien, Bendy & Chenault has an advertisement for their firm. In the advertisement, next to George E. O’Brien’s name, it says, ‘admitted May 29, 1861, at Beaumont, Texas.” This would have been during the period that O’Brien was Jefferson County Clerk. O’Brien served in this position from August 1856-July 1862. The majority of rural lawyers in the mid-nineteenth century studied law under an apprenticeship system, overseen by a practicing attorney or judge. It wasn’t till 1903 that candidates to the Texas Bar Association took a written exam to be admitted.
As Brother Bendy’s social standing grew within the Southeast Texas legal fraternity, so did his reputation. He was described as “very intelligent and witty.” In 1873, Bendy took part in a play called “Wanted a Husband,” written by John Leonard. John had written the play for a May Day party held at the courthouse for the entertainment of patrons and friends of his new private school. John was an immigrant from England whose uncle was Robert Leonard, a highly respected attorney in Beaumont. On 28 October 1873, the Bendy’s attended the wedding of Viola Ogden. The wedding was quite an affair as all the social elites from Beaumont were in attendance. In the antebellum south, if you were not considered an equal, you were not invited to such an auspicious affair.
Perhaps it was the economic opportunities of Galveston, Texas that enticed Brother Bendy to move his family to the island in 1876. Brother Bendy established a law office in the city and remained there until 1886. On 25 Jun 1883, Bendy files an application with the United States Patent Office and is granted a patent on 4 March 1884, for a window sash-fastener.
Sources: (Articles content taken from the book, “Beaumont Lodge 286, Its History and Member Contributions to Early Southeast Texas” by Brother Gordon D. George, Jr., Beaumont Lodge 286, June 2016.)
On 19 December 1886, Brother Bendy and his family leave for their new home in El Paso, Texas. According to the Galveston Daily News, the move is made “in the interest of promoting the health of his wife.” Brother Bendy establishes his law firm and soon becomes involved in local politics. On 27 October 1888, Brother Bendy announces his candidacy for Justice of the Peace in El Paso, entering the race as an “independent.” Brother Bendy wins the election and begins to serve the county of El Paso in 1889. On 22 August 1890, he is chosen to be the Chairman of the Republican Committee to choose delegates to attend the state convention that was held in San Antonio of that year.
On 7 July 1894, it is reported in the El Paso Times that Judge N. B. Bendy is confined to his home by illness. Brother Napoleon Bonaparte Bendy died on 8 July 1894, at his home in El Paso, Texas. A meeting of the Bar of El Paso County is held on 9 July 1894, and a committee is appointed to draft resolutions in memory of the late Judge N. B. Bendy. It was resolved that the bar meet half an hour before the funeral service to attend the funeral of Judge Bendy in a body. The funeral was largely attended by members of the bar and friends. Funeral services were conducted by Rev. Boyle of the Congregational Church, El Paso, Texas, for P∴W∴M∴ Napoleon Bonaparte Bendy on 10 July 1894.
Brother Bendy was laid to rest in historic Concordia Cemetery, El Paso, Texas. His wife, Fanny, moved the family back to Galveston. The 1900 United States census, taken on 12 June 1900, showed Fanny living alone in Galveston, she was 59 years old. Just three months later, on 8 September 1900, a Category four hurricane pulverized the island of Galveston. A 15 foot tidal surge swept across the island; the island was less than nine feet above sea level. The hurricane killed an estimated 6,000 to 8,000 people and remains the worst weather related disaster in U.S. history in terms of lives lost. Two of Brother Bendy’s daughters died in 1900, it is unclear if their deaths were caused by the hurricane. In 1910, Fanny lived with her only surviving daughter, Annie, in Alvin, Brazoria County, Texas. Fanny died on 13 April 1913, at the age of 72, at her daughter’s home in Alvin. Her body was accompanied back to El Paso by her son-in-law, T.W. Carter and she was buried in Evergreen Cemetery on Tuesday, 15 April 1913.
Past Worshipful Master Napoleon Bonaparte Bendy served as the first Worshipful Master of Beaumont Masonic Lodge No. 286 from February 1866 to December 1869.
Napoleon Bonaparte Bendy was born in 1839 in Calcasieu Parish, Louisiana to Henry and Margaret Bendy and was the oldest of ten children. In 1850, Bendy’s parents moved the family to Tyler County, Texas where his father established a mercantile store . On 19 March 1851, his father Henry was appointed United States Postmaster of Bendy’s Landing in Tyler County; the post office was short lived and closed on 27 July 1852. In1860, the 20 year old Bendy was a merchant living in Concord, Hardin County, Texas.
Concord was in extreme southern Hardin County, just north of Pine Island Bayou, which separates Hardin and Jefferson counties. A post office was established in 1858 and Concord became the center of commerce for Hardin County in the mid nineteenth century. This was due to its close proximity to Pine Island Bayou during the height of the Southeast Texas steamboat era. At one time, the town boasted several saloons and mercantile stores servicing the local area. As the steamboat traffic decreased, Concord lost its influence as the shipping center of Hardin County and the post office closed in 1877. The town was renamed “Loeb” on 12 June 1900, after Henry Loeb, who owned a brick and tile company in the city in the early 1900’s. The town never recovered and is virtually a ghost town today. Perhaps Bendy saw the economic potential in Concord and capitalized on the opportunity by operating his mercantile store during Concord’s heyday. In 1860, Bendy’s net worth is $10,000.00 dollars, which is equivalent to approximately $275,000.00 in 2016; a hefty sum for a single twenty year old man in 1860.
On 17 January 1861, Bendy married Frances “Fanny” Rogers in Hardin County. The couple had three girls. Soon after Bendy’s marriage to “Fanny,” the couple moved to Beaumont and Bendy established another mercantile store. It is in this store, on 30 December 1865, eleven Masons met and drafted a petition requesting dispensation from the Grand Lodge of Texas, to form a Lodge in Beaumont, Texas. With Brother Napoleon Bonaparte Bendy in the east, as Worshipful Master, the Lodge set to work under dispensation on 24 February 1866, on the second floor of his store. On 16 June 1866, Beaumont Lodge 286 was set to work with Brother Bendy as the first Worshipful Master, a position Brother Bendy held until 31 December 1869.
It is not clear when Brother Bendy acquired his credentials to practice law. Brother Bendy’s social life and being at the center of commerce in early Beaumont may have provided the perfect opportunity to study law. Another opportunity came on 3 December 1869, when he was elected, unopposed, to the position of Justice of the Peace to Precinct One for Jefferson County. His elected position also established him as the “Presiding Officer of Police Court” for Jefferson County. Brother Bendy held this position from 1870-1873. In the Saturday, 7 June 1872, edition of the Beaumont News Beacon, Brother N. B. Bendy advertised his law practice. The advertisement read: