Businessman. Son of William and Katherine Maude Farish and husband of Libbie Randon Rice, he practiced law for three months at Clarksdale, Mississippi before moving to Beaumont, Texas during the Spindletop oilfield boom. One of several oilmen who founded the Humble Oil and Refining Company in 1917 (the others being Ross Sterling, R.L. Blaffer and Harry Wiess), it was eventually purchased by Standard Oil and the name changed to Exxon. He later became the president of Standard in 1937 and was also a founding member of the American Petroleum Institute. During World War II, he was investigated by the government for war profiteering by giving Germany breaks on prices in rubber, and selling oil and patent rights to the Luftwaffe – while his own grandson was in the US Air Force. The exposure of his subversive business dealings with the enemy presumably led to his death,  from a reported heart attack. (bio by: Screwtape)  Family links:  Spouse:  Elizabeth Randon Rice Farish (1888 – 1978)*  Children:  William Stamps Farish (1912 – 1943)* *Calculated relationship