Ogden, Ethel Johnson, 1878-1963

A descendent of Texas pioneers, Ethel Johnson (1878-1963) was born to postmaster Samuel M. and Helen Ogden Johnson in San Antonio, Texas. In June 1910, she married Ralph Rogers Ogden of Kimball’s Bend and moved to Cahuila, Mexico, where Ralph owned a plant that extracted wax from candelilla shrubs. Shortly after their arrival, revolution broke out, the plant burned, and the couple escaped to Texas with what they could carry. After several more failed investments, Ralph made his fortune wildcatting in the oil boom of the 1920s. Helen was an active member of the Philanthropic Educational Organization, the Daughters of the Texas Revolution, and the United Daughters of the Confederacy. In the early 1940s, the Ogdens commissioned a monument to wild Texas mustangs for the University of Texas, which was completed after Ralph’s death in 1945.

Source:

“Ogden, Ralph R. (Mrs.).” Vertical Files, Dolph Briscoe Center for American History, University of Texas at Austin.

A descendent of Texas pioneers, Ethel Johnson (1878-1963) was born to postmaster Samuel M. and Helen Ogden Johnson in San Antonio, Texas. In June 1910, she married Ralph Rogers Ogden of Kimball's Bend and moved to Cahuila, Mexico, where Ralph owned a plant that extracted wax from candelilla shrubs.

Shortly after their arrival, revolution broke out, the plant burned, and the couple escaped to Texas with what they could carry. After several more failed investments, Ralph made his fortune wildcatting in the oil boom of the 1920s. Helen was an active member of the Philanthropic Educational Organization, the Daughters of the Texas Revolution, and the United Daughters of the Confederacy. In the early 1940s, the Ogdens commissioned a monument to wild Texas mustangs for the University of Texas, which was completed after Ralph's death in 1945.