Robert Alonzo Welch was born in New Berry, South Carolina on February 15, 1872. Due to the hard economic times, in 1886 at the age of fourteen, he left South Carolina for Houston, Texas, where he established his adult life and career. He became interested in the oil and sulfur business during their early development and, through sound judgement and untiring energy, he amassed a substantial fortune. He never married, but was devoted to his immediate family. After his death in 1952, he left a very large estate to be used, by his wishes, to create a charitable Foundation to support his research in chemistry.
Biographical note from the www.welch1.org Web site.
From the guide to the Robert A. Welch Papers MSS 77., 1880s to 1961, (Houston Metropolitan Research Center, Houston Public Library)
