Texas History Notebook

David Lee “Tex” Hill

David Lee Hill was the youngest son of Pierre Bernard “P. B.” Hill (1877 – 1958) and Ellen Lee Thraves Hill (1875 – 1958). David Lee was born in Korea on July 13, 1915 while his parents were serving as Presbyterian missionaries there. His three older siblings were born in Virginia between 1906 and 1912.

Maxime Faget

Maxime A. “Max” Faget was a NASA engineer. He served as Director of Engineering and Development at the Houston facility then known as the Manned Spacecraft Center and was instrumental in the development of the Mercury, Gemini and Apollo manned space flight systems.

Dr. Glenn Blodgett

Dr. Glenn Paul “Doc” Blodgett was the horse division manager of the 6666 Ranch for many years. He was born December 31, 1948 in Perryton, Texas and died November 20, 2022 in Fort Worth, Texas. His parents were Clarence Ralph Blodgett, Jr. and Helen Johanne Studer Blodgett. Dr. Blodgett grew up in Spearman where his father operated a grain elevator business called B & B Grain. The family also operated a farm and cattle operation for their own account. There they also raised wheat and leased their grassland. They lived in town but Dr. Blodgett grew up working on the farm and ranch. He was a third generation Texan. Both his father and paternal grandfather were not only born in Texas, but born in the Panhandle. Dr. Blodgett was the oldest of two children.

Jerry Grote – MLB Player

Gerald Wayne “Jerry” Grote was born in San Antonio, Texas on October 6, 1942 and died April 7, 2024 in a hospital in Austin, Texas. He played during sixteen season in Major League Baseball, mostly as a catcher, with four different teams that reached the World Series. His World Series appearances were two each with the New York Mets (1969 and 1973) and though he made one plate appearance, the Los Angeles Dodgers (1977 and 1978).

Dr. Sofie Herzog

Dr. Sofie (also sometimes spelled Sophie) Herzog, as she is usually known, was a colorful doctor in Brazoria for many years. “Dr. Sofie” was born in Austria in 1846. Little else is seems to be known about her Austrian family or their background, other than their last name was Daligath, or some variation of this name. When she was still very young, she married a doctor by the name of August Moritz Herzog. She had the first of their fifteen children (including three sets of twins) in 1866 in Austria. Sophie was interested in medicine and received training in the field in Austria. Her original goal may have been to help her husband, so she first earned credentials to become a midwife. Soon, however, she became inspired to study medicine on her own. After earning her medical degree in 1886, she began practicing medicine in Austria.