Olga Keith^[1]

1888 - 1978  (89 years)

• Name	Olga Keith
  Born	Dec 08, 1888
  Gender	Female
  Social Security Number	455-76-2197
  	SSDI lists:  OLGA WIESS 455-76-2197 last residence: 77027  Houston, Harris, TX 8 Dec 1888  Aug 1978 issued: TX (1962).
  Died	Aug 07, 1978	Harris county, Texas, USA   [2, 3]
  Notes	She was a deeply religious woman and a large contributor to the First Baptist Church in Beaumont.     The Department of Earth Science at Rice was founded in 1952 with funds provided by Olga Keith Wiess in memory of her husband, Harry C. Wiess (it was originally the Department of Geology).  Olga and her daughters donated the funds to construct Keith?Wiess Geological Laboratories, completed in 1958.  The first chair of the department was Carey Croneis, who took his position in 1953 and not only served as the Wiess Professor of Geology but as provost of the Rice Institute, as Rice was then known.  The department became the Department of Geology and Geophysics in 1987 and the Department of Earth Science in 2001.  The Wiess School of Natural Sciences has an Olga Keith Wiess Professorship.  The 500 acre Keith-Wiess Park (12300 Aldine-Westfield Loop) and the Wiess Park (100 N Post Oak Lane) in Houston were donated by the family. Houston Chronicle; March 4, 2003 Rice University fixing up a new presidential palace By SHELBY HODGE; Copyright 2003 Houston Chronicle     "When Rice University welcomes its next president in July 2004, the new big man -- or woman -- on campus will be moving into new quarters. Well, old quarters made fresh.     "The historical Wiess House at the corner of Sunset Boulevard and Main Street -- a stone's throw from the gates of Rice -- will be renovated as the new presidential palace. Work begins in May.     ....     "Rice University has owned the Wiess property since 1974, when it was given to the school by Olga Keith Wiess. She and husband Harry Wiess, a Humble Oil Co. founder, built the Mediterranean-style villa in 1919. The architect was William Ward Watkin, the first chair of Rice's architecture department.     "Key donors to the $3.3 million renovation project are Caroline Wiess Law, who grew up in the house, and Lee Jamail.     "When completed, the house will be an enviable 9,750 square feet, situated on an oak-shaded lot that is just under two acres. Hold onto your purse strings, Rice patrons. Another fund drive is in the works for furnishings and landscaping."
  Person ID	I1501	mykindred
  Last Modified	Jan 14, 2008

  
  

  Father	Jehu Frank "J. Frank" Keith,   b. Dec 18, 1857, Jasper county, Texas, USA ,   d. Oct 26, 1921, Beaumont, Jefferson county, Texas, USA  (Age 63 years)
  Mother	Alice Letitia Jane "Bess" Carroll,   b. Oct 29, 1862, Louisiana, USA ,   d. Dec 19, 1956, Beaumont, Jefferson county, Texas, USA  (Age 94 years)
  Married	Nov 29, 1882
  Family ID	F18882	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  
  

  Family	Harry Carothers Wiess,   b. Jul 30, 1887, Beaumont, Jefferson county, Texas, USA ,   d. Aug 26, 1948, Houston, Harris county, Texas, USA  (Age 61 years)
  Married	Sep 29, 1909	Beaumont, Jefferson county, Texas, USA
  Notes	1920 census, Texas, Jefferson county, 1-WD Beaumont, series T625, roll 1823, pg. 116 enumerated JAN 13, 1920; lines 3-10 Wiess, Harry C, head, home owned & free (of debt), M, W, 32, married, read&write-yes, TX, TX, TX "  , Olga K., wife, F,W, 30, M, read&write-yes, TX, TX, LA "  , Elizabeth, dau, F, W, 3-11/12, single, TX, TX, TX "  , Caroline, dau, F, W, 1, single, TX, TX, TX Averill, William, gardener, M, W, 33, TX, Maine, TX Dunn, Ida, nurse, F, W, 38, Eng, Eng, Eng Robinson, Stella, servant, F, B, 30, LA, LA, LA King, Aadie, servant, F, B, 25, LA, LA, LA 1930 census, Houston, Harris, Texas, series T626, roll 2348, pg. 126 lines 20-25 Wiess, Harry C., head, own, $75,000, M, W, 42, married at 22, TX, TX, TX, vice president, oil company "  , Olga K., wife, F, W, 40, married at 20, TX, TX, TX "  , Elizabeth, daughter, F, W, 14, TX, TX, TX "  , Caroline, daughter, F, W, 11, TX, TX, TX "  , Margaret, daughter, F, W, 7, TX, TX, TX Lombard, Henrietta M.L., (???) governess, F, W, 32, France, France, France
  Children	1. Elizabeth Keith Wiess,   b. Feb 09, 1916, Texas, USA ,   d. Apr 01, 1996  (Age 80 years)   2. Caroline Wiess,   b. Dec 24, 1918, Beaumont, Jefferson county, Texas, USA ,   d. Dec 24, 2003, Houston, Harris county, Texas, USA  (Age 85 years)   3. Margaret Wiess,   b. Oct 26, 1922, Houston, Harris county, Texas, USA ,   d. May 19, 1999  (Age 76 years)
  Family ID	F566	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  
  

• Sources

  [S1988] Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, "Chronology of Events in MFAH History". [S428] Texas Death Records on-line. [S5160] SSDI - Social Security Death Index.