First published in 1958, this book is a biography of Fort Worth businessman Earnest O. (Soapy) Gillam, who rose from humble beginnings to become America’s best known independent soap manufacturer.
“‘Every generation or so, someone should sit down and sum up the history of a family so it can be passed down to future generations.’
“The man who spoke these words early in 1957 was Earnest О. Gillam, the subject of this book. His words are the reason for this book, written at his request to “sum up” his life and times and to put into permanent record all that is known of his ancestors
“There was a note of urgency in Gillam’s decision to publish this book He is the last of his family likely to bear the name of Gillam. His sisters gave birth to boys, but he and his brothers have no male lineage to perpetuate the Gillam name. So his branch of the Gillam family will end with his death. At least, the part of family bearing the name of Gillam will end.
“The remarkable history of the Gillams in general, and E. O. Gillam in particular, made this publication a must—a must for a permanent history of this remarkable family, and a must to emphasize once again that Horatio Alger-type men are still to be found in our land. For Gillam started life during the hardest times imaginable—on the frontier of Kansas—and by tireless” efforts of body and mind, managed to accumulate a fortune.
“He spent years gathering information for this book, a lifetime in fact….”—C. A. Sellers
