Escambia County FlArchives Biographies.....Hyer, William Kopman, Jr. 1861 - ************************************************ Copyright. All rights reserved. http://www.usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm http://www.usgwarchives.net/fl/flfiles.htm ************************************************ File contributed for use in USGenWeb Archives by: Joy Fisher sdgenweb@yahoo.com February 12, 2008, 10:04 pm Author: B. F. Johnson (1909) William Kopman Hyer, Jr. In Florida no man of ability and discernment is necessarily confined to any one line of business. There are so many opportunities for profitable employment in every line that the energetic man may have as many profitable interests as his ability will permit his giving attention to and frequently when engaged in one business to which he has more or less exclusively devoted his attention he will recognize the opportunity for something better and make the change. There is plenty of room for industry and enterprise and it meets with better rewards here than in most any section of the growing and developing South. One of the most prominent financiers of the city of Pensacola, who was in his early years successfully devoted to the lumber business is William Kopman Hyer, Jr., President of the First National Bank, and interested in and connected with several of the most important industrial enterprises of this section. Mr. Hyer is one of the younger members of an old family, the representatives of which have uniformly been among the successful and leading men of Pensacola since their first American ancestor settled here in 1822. He is a son of William Kopman and Belle Abercrombie Hyer, and was born in Russell county, Ala., where his mother had taken refuge during the war, on July 20, 1861. He was, however, reared in Pensacola, receiving his early education in the public schools here and later attending the Episcopal High School at Alexandria, Va. He began his business career in Pensacola, in 1879, with the lumber firm of Hyer Brothers. During the eight years that he remained with this firm he had the opportunity of mastering every phase of the lumber business and acquired a commercial experience that has since proven of inestimable value to him, learning the intricacies of banking through his connection with the private banking house of his father and uncle. In 1887 he went to Chattanooga, Tenn., where he was engaged in the wholesale oil and grain business until February, 1889, when he was called back to Pensacola to take the position of Cashier of the Merchants Bank. This bank a year later purchased the stock of the First National Bank, and he became cashier of the consolidated concern which continued business under the name of the First National Bank. There was another consolidation in 1892, of the First National Bank with the banking house of F. C. Brent and Company, and he then became assistant cashier, which position he held with marked ability until 1897, when he was elected manager of two important industries, the Brent Lumber Company, and the Pensacola Land and Lumber Company. His thorough familiarity with the lumber business enabled him to render valuable services to these interests. In 1900, however, he was again officially interested in banking through his election as Cashier of the First National Bank. He retained his interests in the industrial concerns, and was for a while manager of the Land and Lumber Company. On January 1, 1909, Mr. Hyer with his friends purchased a controlling interest in the First National Bank with which he had been identified for nearly twenty years. This institution with a capital and surplus of $560,000 is one of the leading banks in the South, and occupies a marble building in the center of the city which is one of the most beautiful banking houses in the country. He is also largely interested in other enterprises in Pensacola and has been a powerful factor in promoting the commercial and industrial welfare of the city. He was for a time President of the Young Men's Business League, and since September, 1905, has been a member of the Board of Bond Trustees of the city of Pensacola. He is a Democrat in politics and a communicant of the Protestant Episcopal Church, having for several years been a vestryman of Christ Episcopal Church. He is a member of the Osceola Club, of which he has been president for the past two years. He is also a member of the Pensacola Country Club, of which he was for two years the secretary and treasurer. For several years Mr. Hyer has served as President of the Florida and Alabama Land Company, one of the most important land and milling companies of the Pensacola district. This like every other interest committed to his hands has the most careful attention. On January 1, 1909, Mr. Hyer with his friends, purchased a controlling interest in the First National Bank, with which he had been identified for nearly twenty years, and of which he is now the efficient president. This institution, with a capital and surplus of $560,000, is one of the leading banks in the South and occupies a marble building in the center of the city which is one of the most beautiful and best equipped banking houses in the country. Mr. Hyer was married December 9, 1884, to Leila M. Stone, a daughter of Joseph T. and Victoria A. (Morton) Stone, of Georgia. They have one son, Albert Marion Hyer. Additional Comments: Extracted from: FLORIDA EDITION MAKERS OF AMERICA AN HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL WORK BY AN ABLE CORPS OF WRITERS VOL. III. Published under the patronage of The Florida Historical Society, Jacksonville, Florida ADVISORY BOARD: HON. W. D. BLOXHAM COL. FRANK HARRIS HON. R. W. DAVIS SEN. H. H. McCREARY HON. F. P. FLEMING W. F. STOVALL C. A. CHOATE, SECRETARY 1909 A. B. CALDWELL ATLANTA, GA. COPYRIGHT 1909 B. F. JOHNSON File at: http://files.usgwarchives.net/fl/escambia/bios/hyer85gbs.txt This file has been created by a form at http://www.genrecords.org/flfiles/ File size: 6.1 Kb