Very little is recorded about J. W. Rider. A company letterhead of March 1, 1897, states that J. W. Rider was a “Wholesale Retail Dealer in General Merchandise, Saw Mill Supplies, etc.” with its office at Bettie, in Upshur County, Texas. The same letterhead claimed that the firm was a “Manufacturer and Wholesale and Retail Dealer in Lumber, Shingles, Doors, Sash, Blinds, Mouldings, Building Material, Etc.,” with its office at Tyler, in Smith County, Texas.