John Henry Phelan (December 11, 1877 – May 19, 1957), was an American oil producer and philanthropist. In partnership with

Miles Franklin Yount Miles Franklin "Frank" Yount (born January 31, 1880 in Monticello, Arkansas, died November 13, 1933 in Beaumont, Texas Yount-Lee Oil Company The Yount-Lee Oil Company, founded in 1914, was the successor to the Yount-Rothwell Oil Company which had been formed earlier by Miles Franklin Yount and Talbot Frederick Rothwell. It was part of the Texas Oil Boom The Texas oil boom, somet ...

. After the oil company’s success at

Spindletop Spindletop is an oil field located in the southern portion of Beaumont, Texas, in the United States. The Spindletop dome was derived from the Louann Salt evaporite layer of the Jurassic geologic period. On January 10, 1901, a well at Spindleto ...

, Yount-Lee was bought in 1935 by

Stanolind Oil Amoco () is a brand of filling station, fuel stations operating in the United States, and owned by BP since 1998. The Amoco Corporation was an American chemical and petroleum, oil company, founded by Standard Oil Company in 1889 around a oil re ...

, when Phelan was treasurer of the firm, a deal the

Handbook of Texas The ''Handbook of Texas'' is a comprehensive encyclopedia of Texas geography, history, and historical persons published by the Texas State Historical Association (TSHA). History The original ''Handbook'' was the brainchild of TSHA President Wal ...

calls "the third largest cash transaction in American business history". Before going into oil, he formed the Phelan-Josey Wholesale Company, a regional grocery distributor in

Southeast Texas Southeast Texas is a cultural and geographic region in the U.S. state of Texas, bordering Southwest Louisiana and its greater Acadiana region to the east. Being a part of East Texas, the region is geographically centered on the Greater Houston ...

, upon his arrival in

Beaumont, Texas Beaumont is a coastal city in the U.S. state of Texas. It is the county seat, seat of government of Jefferson County, Texas, Jefferson County, within the Beaumont–Port Arthur, Texas, Port Arthur Beaumont–Port Arthur metropolitan area, metropo ...

in 1902. Phelan was noted for his philanthropy, especially to Catholic causes. He donated his homestead to the

Sisters of Charity of the Incarnate Word The Congregation of the Sisters of Charity of the Incarnate Word is the name of two Roman Catholic religious institutes based in the U.S. state of Texas. They use the abbreviation C.C.V.I. ( la, Congregatio Caritatis Verbi Incarnati). History Hous ...

and the property is now Christus St. Elizabeth Hospital in Beaumont.

Pope Pius XI Pope Pius XI ( it, Pio XI), born Ambrogio Damiano Achille Ratti (; 31 May 1857 – 10 February 1939), was head of the Catholic Church from 6 February 1922 to his death in February 1939. He was the first sovereign of Vatican City fro ...

appointed him a Knight of St. Gregory in 1933 and he received the

Laetare Medal The Laetare Medal is an annual award given by the University of Notre Dame in recognition of outstanding service to the Catholic Church and society. The award is given to an American Catholic or group of Catholics "whose genius has ennobled the a ...

from the

University of Notre Dame The University of Notre Dame du Lac, known simply as Notre Dame ( ) or ND, is a private Catholic research university in Notre Dame, Indiana, outside the city of South Bend. French priest Edward Sorin founded the school in 1842. The main campu ...

in 1951.

Personal life

One of eleven children born to Patrick Henry Phelan, a wholesale grocer, and Adele (Myers) Phelan, in

Charlotte, North Carolina Charlotte ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of North Carolina. Located in the Piedmont region, it is the county seat of Mecklenburg County. The population was 874,579 at the 2020 census, making Charlotte the 16th-most populo ...

, Phelan worked as a traveling salesman before moving to Beaumont in 1902. Phelan had three children with wife Johanna Cunningham, who he married in 1905. Phelan's great-grandson,

Dade Phelan Matthew McDade Phelan (born September 18, 1975) is an American real estate developer and Republican member of the Texas House of Representatives for District 21. He has served as Speaker of the Texas House of Representatives since January 2021. ...

, was elected as

Speaker Speaker may refer to: Society and politics * Speaker (politics), the presiding officer in a legislative assembly * Public speaker, one who gives a speech or lecture * A person producing speech: the producer of a given utterance, especially: ** In ...

of the

Texas House of Representatives The Texas House of Representatives is the lower house of the bicameral Texas Legislature. It consists of 150 members who are elected from single-member districts for two-year terms. As of the 2010 United States census, each member represents abou ...

in 2021.

Sources

Phelan, John Henry (1877–1957)
Handbook of Texas Online

New York Times, May 20, 1957

Personal life

Sources

Further reading