FAIRPLAY, Texas
By Dr. V.M. Holland
Location: On US No.79 in West-Central Panola Co.
In 1836, Elijah Allred, after coming from Randolph County, N.C., to fight in the Texas Revolution, arrived in Nacogdoches to find the Revolution to be over. He decided to remain in Texas and was advised that there was land to be had for a reasonable price to the north of Nacogdoches off of Trammel’s Trace. In 1836 he built his simple log cabin about ¼ mile north of where the store now stands. His nearest neighbors were the Daniel Martin family near Tatum and Isaak Reed’s settlement near Clayton.
Within a short time this section of Panola County was rapidly filled with settlers. In 1838, Purviance Willaims and his brother John H. Williams arrived from Tennessee. Both had large families. In the same year, Abner Herrin, from Camden, Tennessee, Edward Sweat from Tennessee, and the Elijah Wyatt family, consisting of two sons and three daughters all with families, settled in the community. Stephen Allred with his son-in-law James Robinson arrived from North Carolina in 1841. He was a brother of Elijah Allred. Samuel Gentry, with a large family, came from Alabama in 1847. John M. Tompkins and Chris Barbee came from Georgia in the same year. In 1848 Spencer and Alford Harri, brothers, came from Tennessee with their families. John Allison with his son Thomas G. Allison, both with families, moved into the community from the North East side of Panola County in 1849. Leonard B. Murray with his family came from South Carolina in the same year. Wesley C. Sealy came from Mississippi in 1853, and Daniel Shaw came from Alabama in 1858. These are most of the families who remained several years in the community and who settled there before 1860.
It is of some interest to note, that of these first settlers in the community of Fairplay, although most came to Texas from Tennessee, the following were born in North Carolina:
Elijah Allred, Purviance Williams, Stephen Allred, Edward Sweat, Spencer Harris, Alford Harris, John Allison, Daniel Shaw. This patter of migration is repeated in most section of East Texas. North Carolina has been called the cradle of the southern and western states, because it was to a large extent the intrepid and at times irascible Scots from North Ireland who settled most of the North Carolina back country, that continued their westward march to play a major role in settling the whole tier of southern states and many of the western states as well.
Bethesda, later Allison’s Chapel, the Methodist church was organized between 1837 and 1839, at a log building near the Williams cemetery. It was moved to approximately its present site in 1868. Although most of the early settlers appeared to have been Baptist, a Baptist church was nor organized until 1869.
Fairplay Post Office was started in 1851 with J. F. Gill being appointed the first postmaster. Except for the Civil War Period, a post office remained until 1904 with the advent of rural free delivery. Mordicai G. Harris was the last Postmaster.
Fairplay has had some form of school since the early 1840’s. Until 1868, when the building burned, the school was taught in the church near the William’s Cemetery. Since 1868 at least three school buildings have stood on a site about ¼ mile north of the store.
Fairplay’s first store was located about a mile north of the present store, and was run by James Heifner who came from Kentucky in 1853. Alter John Allison arrived in the community he dug wells for a camping site, and established a blacksmith shop and a tan yard near the site of the present store. Later he built a store also which he, and later his sons, continued to operate until it was sold to Spencer Harris in 1882.
Tuesday, September 22, 2009
Friday, August 21, 2009
Stories are the changing colors of your family tree.
Stories are the changing colors of your family tree.
A glimpse into the lives of relatives helps you understand how your family became who they are.
Plan visits to grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins with the mission of gathering
reminiscences of earlier years and any information on the family background. It’s a good idea to tape-record these sessions. (My suggestion is we video tape the interview with the child asking the questions and the older relative answering the questions.)
Every family has fascinating stories that make a real connection to history — the depression, World Wars, civil rights, etc. Some relatives need a little coaxing, but here’s where the kids come in handy.
People are more willing to open up to a child. Other than genealogy questions about dates and names, you will want to ask some of these to help spark some good stories.
What’s the favorite thing you remember about your mother/ father when you were a child?
What were your grandparents like?
How were birthdays celebrated in your family?
What was the best present you ever received?
Were you in the military?
What did you do?
What is your favorite family recipe?
Tell me about your first car.
Did you share your room?
What was your house like?
What chores were you responsible for?
What was your school like?
Who was your favorite teacher?
What was your favorite book as a child?
Tell me something you got in trouble for.
A glimpse into the lives of relatives helps you understand how your family became who they are.
Plan visits to grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins with the mission of gathering
reminiscences of earlier years and any information on the family background. It’s a good idea to tape-record these sessions. (My suggestion is we video tape the interview with the child asking the questions and the older relative answering the questions.)
Every family has fascinating stories that make a real connection to history — the depression, World Wars, civil rights, etc. Some relatives need a little coaxing, but here’s where the kids come in handy.
People are more willing to open up to a child. Other than genealogy questions about dates and names, you will want to ask some of these to help spark some good stories.
What’s the favorite thing you remember about your mother/ father when you were a child?
What were your grandparents like?
How were birthdays celebrated in your family?
What was the best present you ever received?
Were you in the military?
What did you do?
What is your favorite family recipe?
Tell me about your first car.
Did you share your room?
What was your house like?
What chores were you responsible for?
What was your school like?
Who was your favorite teacher?
What was your favorite book as a child?
Tell me something you got in trouble for.
One of the goals of this Blog is to Expand the Living History of the Holland Family to other Media
You find ideas for how to do a family history in interesting places... like your local Kroger cereal asle.
I was shopping and thinking about how to do a DVD project for the Holland Reunion in a couple of years with family members filming on cellphones and digital video cameras material to be put on a DVD for August 13, 2011 AD.
If you want to participate post a comment here are email me at fredddallas@gmail.com . I will be hosting the Fairplay Holland Union on August 14, 2010 AD. Let's get together and share some ideas.
Here is one... read the back of this cereal box. (Just click on the image to enlarge it.)
Fred Holland
I was shopping and thinking about how to do a DVD project for the Holland Reunion in a couple of years with family members filming on cellphones and digital video cameras material to be put on a DVD for August 13, 2011 AD.
If you want to participate post a comment here are email me at fredddallas@gmail.com . I will be hosting the Fairplay Holland Union on August 14, 2010 AD. Let's get together and share some ideas.
Here is one... read the back of this cereal box. (Just click on the image to enlarge it.)
Fred Holland
Monday, August 10, 2009
Bevelyn Holland Shepherd's Photos - Holland Family Scrapbook
This book is in memory of my Daddy Samuel Leroy Holland
and his brothers and sister Virgil Mordie Holland,
Leland Rosser Holland, James William Holland, and Minnie Margaret Holland Along with those family members who have received their reward. We are who we are today, because of them and we are so blessed to be a part of this wonderful family.
None are ever gone as long as we remember them.
This book is for all the Hollands past and for the Hollands yet to be.
The genealogy information for the Family Trees was compiled by Sam & Helen Holland and Virgil M. Holland. The hours and miles traveled to research our family was a labor of love.
Bevelyn Holland Shepherd
Great Great Great Granddaughter of Lewis Holland
Great Great Granddaughter of Gilbert Holland
Great Granddaughter of Andrew Jackson Holland
Granddaughter of David Mordie Holland and Adrain Jackson Holland
Daughter of Samuel Leroy and Helen Joyce Holland
Bevelyn Holland Shepherd's Photos - Holland Family Scrapbook Facebook:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=4338&id=1756819417&l=fd48cfe881
Tapley Holland in Painting in the Alamo, showing him as the first to cross Col. Travis' Line in the Sand.
I have but one life to give to Texas ... Tapley Holland
Friday, July 24, 2009
The Author as a young man. V.M. Holland standing next to WHOM?
I had a good guess that it is simply his Grandmother Minnie.
Posted the comment below. Do you agree?
Wednesday, July 22, 2009
This is a photo of Minnie Allison, Dr. V. M. Holland's Grandmother and mother of Lois Allison Holland, his Mother.
If you have photos to share with other members of the Holland family please email me at fredddallas@gmail.com .
If you have a family tree started and need photos of some of the Holland family for it, email me for the image and I will look for it and post a request for it on this blog.
If you have found a family photo and don't know the names (like me), then email it to me and it will be posted for someone else to provide the captions for it.
If you have a family tree started and need photos of some of the Holland family for it, email me for the image and I will look for it and post a request for it on this blog.
If you have found a family photo and don't know the names (like me), then email it to me and it will be posted for someone else to provide the captions for it.
Friday, July 17, 2009
Monday, June 29, 2009
Video Segments off the DVD that my Sister Mary produced of my Father's narration of Trails and Tales of the Holland Family
Dr. V.M. Holland narrated a video produced by Mary Holland Yamagata for the Holland Reunion in 1979. The video was titled "Trails and Tales of the Holland Family" and will be presented to family groups at the Holland Reunion in 2009 as a DVD.
Friday, June 26, 2009
Holland Stories Continue. Ranching is a Life Style if it does not kill you first....
My brother Terry broke his leg yesterday morning.
Well, actually, a cow broke it for him. An event, which we refer to as, "it got a little western!" Terry runs all the cattle operation since Daddy died. Terry and Khaki were working a pen of cows, worming them. The process we use now is to apply a liquid to the backs of the cows, which is absorbed through the skin. This particular group of cows are as we say, "bad." This term means they display tendencies desired in rodeo stock, they will fight you, so to speak. A little on the wild side. Well, Terry and Khaki (16 year old daughter) had the cows in the pen (a sucker-rod fence) and were just about finished working them. They had 3 cows in the chute. Terry was standing on the outside of the chute, leaning over attempting to apply the liquid wormer to the backs of the cows. When a cow kicks, she does not kick straight back, but rather, kind of sideways. Well, one of the cows kicks. How she got her leg through the fence without getting hung is a mystery. She caught Terry on his right leg just above the knee. Her leg came down Terry's leg and just below his knee, she had full extension and broke both bones about 4 inches below his knee. The force of the kick knocked him off the fence and he landed on his backside. He knew immediately that his leg was broken and that it was pretty bad. It was 20 years ago when he was rodeoing that a bull step on the same leg, down closer to the ankle, and shattered both bones. Remember I said he was standing on the outside of the chute, but he was on the inside of the main pen - where a couple more of the cows were located. And remember what I said about the cows being "bad" cows. Well, the 2 cows that were in the main pen where still there because they were fighting so that Terry and Khaki could not get them in the chute earlier. Well, the story just seems to get a little better. The event is unfolding about 11:00 AM yesterday morning (Thursday). If any of you get outside you will know that yesterday morning around 11:00 it was pretty hot. Well, here Terry lies on his back with his right leg broken, he knows this for sure because of the intense pain and also the fact that his foot is lying sideways on the ground. Ok, get this picture in your mind, you just got kicked in the leg by a cow, really hot, lot of pain, lying on your back in a cow pen and you know that there are 2 cows in the pen with you, one has large horns, which would just about as soon stomp on you as to look at you. Khaki remains fairly calm - this is her dad, remember. Terry says, "It's broke, that hussy broke my leg." "Khaki, open the gate and let these cows out." Well, just one little, small detail here. Terry is lying right next to the gate and the cows would just about have to step on him or jump over him to get out. He told Khaki, "Just open the gate, they will jump over me." Khaki did as he told her and the cows blew and snorted as they ran by him, jumping over his sideways leg. Khaki called 911 on her cell phone to get an ambulance. Terry was turning very pale, partly from the heat and partly from the pain. Khaki had a bottle of cold water she got out of the truck for him. He really could not move. Then he said he had a "tingling" sensation on his back. He thought maybe he was paralyzed or something. They he realized it was fire ants. The story kind of slows down now, as far as the action and excitement. The ambulance arrived at the cow pen. And as luck would have it, one of the ambulance guys was a cowboy and his leg had been broken in a similar accident many years ago. They took Terry to Longview where they did X-rays. The doctor told Terry, Debbie and Khaki that he could not do surgery yet because of all the swelling. They would have to wait until Monday or so. They stabilized his leg and sent him back home to Delray. Sue and I went over late yesterday evening to see him. He was pretty upset for allowing himself to be "stupid" and put himself in a position that allowed that to happen. He said he knew how bad those cows were and he was always very careful with them. He was doing pretty good, was not in too much pain. Remember, he rodeoed, riding bulls professionally for 20 years, his pain tolerance is a little different than most. So when I say he was "not in much pain," you and I would probably be screaming! Well, the doctor told him that with a brace and the plate that they will have to install to hold the bones together, that he could be in his tractor within a couple of weeks - which is where he will most likely be. Mother was pretty upset too, even though she would not let on that much.
Terry's address is:1500 CR 225Carthage, TX 75633
Things are always exciting on the ranch.
Have a good day!
Tim
Well, actually, a cow broke it for him. An event, which we refer to as, "it got a little western!" Terry runs all the cattle operation since Daddy died. Terry and Khaki were working a pen of cows, worming them. The process we use now is to apply a liquid to the backs of the cows, which is absorbed through the skin. This particular group of cows are as we say, "bad." This term means they display tendencies desired in rodeo stock, they will fight you, so to speak. A little on the wild side. Well, Terry and Khaki (16 year old daughter) had the cows in the pen (a sucker-rod fence) and were just about finished working them. They had 3 cows in the chute. Terry was standing on the outside of the chute, leaning over attempting to apply the liquid wormer to the backs of the cows. When a cow kicks, she does not kick straight back, but rather, kind of sideways. Well, one of the cows kicks. How she got her leg through the fence without getting hung is a mystery. She caught Terry on his right leg just above the knee. Her leg came down Terry's leg and just below his knee, she had full extension and broke both bones about 4 inches below his knee. The force of the kick knocked him off the fence and he landed on his backside. He knew immediately that his leg was broken and that it was pretty bad. It was 20 years ago when he was rodeoing that a bull step on the same leg, down closer to the ankle, and shattered both bones. Remember I said he was standing on the outside of the chute, but he was on the inside of the main pen - where a couple more of the cows were located. And remember what I said about the cows being "bad" cows. Well, the 2 cows that were in the main pen where still there because they were fighting so that Terry and Khaki could not get them in the chute earlier. Well, the story just seems to get a little better. The event is unfolding about 11:00 AM yesterday morning (Thursday). If any of you get outside you will know that yesterday morning around 11:00 it was pretty hot. Well, here Terry lies on his back with his right leg broken, he knows this for sure because of the intense pain and also the fact that his foot is lying sideways on the ground. Ok, get this picture in your mind, you just got kicked in the leg by a cow, really hot, lot of pain, lying on your back in a cow pen and you know that there are 2 cows in the pen with you, one has large horns, which would just about as soon stomp on you as to look at you. Khaki remains fairly calm - this is her dad, remember. Terry says, "It's broke, that hussy broke my leg." "Khaki, open the gate and let these cows out." Well, just one little, small detail here. Terry is lying right next to the gate and the cows would just about have to step on him or jump over him to get out. He told Khaki, "Just open the gate, they will jump over me." Khaki did as he told her and the cows blew and snorted as they ran by him, jumping over his sideways leg. Khaki called 911 on her cell phone to get an ambulance. Terry was turning very pale, partly from the heat and partly from the pain. Khaki had a bottle of cold water she got out of the truck for him. He really could not move. Then he said he had a "tingling" sensation on his back. He thought maybe he was paralyzed or something. They he realized it was fire ants. The story kind of slows down now, as far as the action and excitement. The ambulance arrived at the cow pen. And as luck would have it, one of the ambulance guys was a cowboy and his leg had been broken in a similar accident many years ago. They took Terry to Longview where they did X-rays. The doctor told Terry, Debbie and Khaki that he could not do surgery yet because of all the swelling. They would have to wait until Monday or so. They stabilized his leg and sent him back home to Delray. Sue and I went over late yesterday evening to see him. He was pretty upset for allowing himself to be "stupid" and put himself in a position that allowed that to happen. He said he knew how bad those cows were and he was always very careful with them. He was doing pretty good, was not in too much pain. Remember, he rodeoed, riding bulls professionally for 20 years, his pain tolerance is a little different than most. So when I say he was "not in much pain," you and I would probably be screaming! Well, the doctor told him that with a brace and the plate that they will have to install to hold the bones together, that he could be in his tractor within a couple of weeks - which is where he will most likely be. Mother was pretty upset too, even though she would not let on that much.
Terry's address is:1500 CR 225Carthage, TX 75633
Things are always exciting on the ranch.
Have a good day!
Tim
Thursday, June 18, 2009
The Holland Reunion is August 8 this year.
The Holland reunion will be held on Saturday, August 8 at the Allison Chapel on the Henderson Highway (US 75) on the same side of the road as the Fairplay store, sitting further East towards Carthage. MAP: http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&geocode=&q=Fairplay+Texas&sll=34.089061,-95.866699&sspn=8.638218,15.864258&ie=UTF8&ll=32.154833,-94.534092&spn=0.069032,0.12394&z=13&iwloc=C
People begin to gather around 10:30 AM and a pot-luck meal is served at Noon. Pot-luck means you bring a dish of food and share it with others. Martha Melton is the program chair, this year her email is cheshirea@sbcglobal.net and her phone # is 903-690-0642 for futher details.
Please share this information with your branch of the family, since the traditional date has been the first Saturday of August. The date moved to permit Holland family members from Tennessee to attend this year. If you have Holland Family Scapebook pages for Bev Shepard's Holland History Scrapebook, this is the year to attend and bring them for her. She is planning to attend.
My personal goal was to have this blog up for Dad's histories by Father's Day and to have my sister Mary's history DVD as a handout for the next Reunion and those two things are done. My school teaching has ended for the academic year, but I have fallen behind on my fence mending at Fairplay. It will be a busy summer for me.
Please feel free to comment on the blog site. If you have something to contibute, I would love to read it and post it for you.
I want to have all Dr. V.M. Holland's Blue Book histories available by the Holland reunion in August 2010, with both bound and loose PDF files available for down load through a publisher called LuLu (http://www.lulu.com/) .
The next goal is to pass the growing Holland History to the next generation and keep it available in this ever widing, digital world. That one falls to you and other readers of this blog.
Thank you.
Fred Holland
People begin to gather around 10:30 AM and a pot-luck meal is served at Noon. Pot-luck means you bring a dish of food and share it with others. Martha Melton is the program chair, this year her email is cheshirea@sbcglobal.net and her phone # is 903-690-0642 for futher details.
Please share this information with your branch of the family, since the traditional date has been the first Saturday of August. The date moved to permit Holland family members from Tennessee to attend this year. If you have Holland Family Scapebook pages for Bev Shepard's Holland History Scrapebook, this is the year to attend and bring them for her. She is planning to attend.
My personal goal was to have this blog up for Dad's histories by Father's Day and to have my sister Mary's history DVD as a handout for the next Reunion and those two things are done. My school teaching has ended for the academic year, but I have fallen behind on my fence mending at Fairplay. It will be a busy summer for me.
Please feel free to comment on the blog site. If you have something to contibute, I would love to read it and post it for you.
I want to have all Dr. V.M. Holland's Blue Book histories available by the Holland reunion in August 2010, with both bound and loose PDF files available for down load through a publisher called LuLu (http://www.lulu.com/) .
The next goal is to pass the growing Holland History to the next generation and keep it available in this ever widing, digital world. That one falls to you and other readers of this blog.
Thank you.
Fred Holland
Wednesday, June 17, 2009
The Shivaree
A shivaree, or charivari, or chivaree is a North American term for a clamorous salutation made to a newlywed couple by an assembled crowd of neighbours and friends.
Dad used to tell a family story about a shivaree that ended with a porch being blown off a house.
If you have a copy. Leave me a note by clicking on O comments below.
Thanks
Fred Holland
Dad used to tell a family story about a shivaree that ended with a porch being blown off a house.
If you have a copy. Leave me a note by clicking on O comments below.
Thanks
Fred Holland
Complete and Un-edited Version of Fairplay Neighbors as my Father wrote it on his Royal typewriter with two fingers.
"Neighbors"
Fairplay in the Depression Years
(1920-1930)
Written by Dr. Virgil M. Holland
This tract maybe reproduced or duplicated
in any manner if the author is given proper credit.
In growing up in a rural East Texas community in the 1920’s early in life, you realize the importance of neighbors. There is a dependency for assistance physical and other wise, and a dependency f or fellowship as our contact with the outside world were pretty limited. Before I was six. I had probably been out of the immediate community less than ten times. I thought it would be of some interest to write about all the people who lived in the community of Fairplay. Texas between 1920 and 1930 in so far as I can remember and determine with a little research. I am sure this will be of more interest to me than anyone else.
When I first remember, we lived in a house on the Carthage— Henderson road about one mile east of the store at Fairplay. Early on frosty mornings, we could hear a train whistle to the northeast. This was the train from Carthage to Beckville and already trains and especially train whistles conjured up visions of faraway places that at this time, I’ had very little hopes of ever seeing. Our world centered about our neighbors and in the early years about our closest neighbors. Our closest neighbors were Andrew and Margaret Futch who lived about 50 yards west of our house on the same side of the road. One time at about four years. I was sent to borrow a cup of sugar from Margaret which is the first time that I can remember going anywhere by my self. The fifty yards seemed a terrible distance at the time; and I kept a wary eye for dogs and other ferocious beasts. They were from Louisiana and for some reason had moved to Panola County. They had two daughters Versie and Blondell. Blondell married Linus Steger a son of Melville Steger and Estelle Ross in the Deiray community. Versie married Hoyt Pierce in the same community who was born Sep. •24, 1894 and who died Oct. 24, 1915 leaving her pregnant. She later was to deliver twin boys, Clyde and Claude. Hoyt was a member of a large family of Pierces in the Deiray Community including a brother later to marry Lois Lawrence. Dennis Austin who lived a bit further up the road to the west had lost his wife Axie Dobbins who was the daughter of Kate and Lafayette Dobbins. and who died with complications of her leg following gangrene. Alex and Dennis had four children who were Doyle. Addis, Cozette. and Alegra. He needed a second wife badly and heard of the comely widow in the next community. They were soon married and Versie brought her twins to live in the household. Shortly, he and Versie Futch had a daughter Laretta who was about three years younger than the twins, and shortly another daughter. Doris. Dennis had a large tract of excellent farm land and he prospered. He had one of the best houses in Fairplay and was one of the first to own a car in the community. Shortly. he moved Versie’s parents to live in the house on his land previously mentioned. Later, Linus and Blondell moved into another house between the two.
Dennis was an avid birdhunter and owned a large English Setter. During bird season, it was a common sight to see him on his mule. bareback. gun in hand. and bird dog at heel on the way to suitable bird cover. He was very well thought of in the community and a member of the Baptist Church which he attended every Sunday with the kids who could not get in the car swinging on the running board and kicking at every dog along the way that condecended to chase the car.
This idyllic situation came to an abrupt end when Dennis died of some type of heart condition. Dennis and Axie’s children refused to stay with Versie. The two girls were taken by Charlie Austin. their uncle. Doyle and Addis moved out to live in a small house near by in which they batched. There was a division of the land. Versie and her two daughters received the house and about eighty acres of land around the house and a tract of pasture and timber of about 100 acres on Buckners Creek that was reached through a lane about one half mile down the road from the house. Andrew and Margaret Futch moved in with Versie. Linus and Blondell moved into the house in which the Futches had been living. The Steger children were Hershal (named after and Uncle), Ruth. Winston and Olive Vee. Herhal was near my age and the others closely matched my siblings’ ages. I remember many hours playing with Hershal as we visited back and forth. Mother always told us when we visited there that we could stay an hour and to have Blondell tell us when the hour was up. I do not remember her ever calling time. As I remember it. we were enticed with wheels. We rolled steel hoops from wagon wheel hubs with wire guides taken from the tops of old wash tubs. We nailed lids of suitable size to the ends of boards and another on the other end to serve as a steering wheel. When all these were being moved, we made the suitable noises with our mouths to imitate an automobile traversing the roads. When we became exhausted from the running, we would sit on bales of cotton in the fall or any thing else available and watch the cars pass trying to name the make of each that passed. This was easy to do at the time as each make was different enough to be readily recognized.
Clyde and Claude were not old enough initially to do much farming. Andrew Futch could, for a time, farm most of the land with some help. Claude did not do very well in school and liked to stay home and plough. He did more of this than Clyde. In the late twenties, Clyde developed a fulmanating fever from which he died in about three days. This was probably a meningitis, and any effective treatment for this disease was still ten plus years in the future.
Down the road to the east was first a colored family. Guy and Babe Gates. Guy was a son of Leoma Wallace who was a daughter of Stewart Wallace. He was a deacon in the Baptist Church and was one whose word could be trusted, and a good neighbor. They had a daughter 3—4 years older than I. She was an intelligent little girl doing well in school. I can remember her reading “Chicken Little to me when I was 4—5 years old. She was later encouraged. by Babe, I think to marry Jerry Brown at least ten years her senior. She had one child and died of complications of child birth.
Next in the same direction were members of the Samuel Sidney Harris and Ophelia Amos family. Sam was a son of John Cullen Harris and Nancy Caroline Dunlap. His siblings who also lived in the community at one time or another were Alfred Brown Harris and James Robert Harris. Sam married Ophelia who grew up in the Dotson community. After his marriage he lived there for several years. His older son, Curtis. married Bobbie Boucher of this community. She was a granddaughter of Gade B. Boucher and Barbara Hoyle. Barbara was a sister of the father of Sarah Hoyle who married Thomas G. Allison. Curtis and Bobbie lived in the next house past us to the east. At this time, they had two children, Edward and Marie. Edward was probably the best childhood friend I ever had. He and I visited frequently and played constantly while we were together. The next neighbor was Robert “Bob’ Harris and Pearl Phillips. They had two children, Hayward, about my age and John D. about 4 years younger than I. When he was about 4 years old Hayward fell in a syrup mill furnace and sustained severe burns to his head, face, arms and back. This was before the advent of skin grafting for this type burn. He recovered, but was about two years in the process.
Sam Harris and Ophelia Amos lived in a house with an octagon shaped parlor on the front and a lông hail with rooms on each side that was built by Arthur Henigan. In front of the house was a small building which Arthur had used as a store, but which was used as a cotton seed house by Sam. When Sam moved back to Fairplay, he had bought land on the Beckvilie road about a quarter mile from the store. The two swapped land and houses. I can barely remember when Cora and Arthur Henigan lived here. Sam and Ophelia’s children were Robert, Curtis, Lucy (N. Colbert Holland), Raymond (M. Christine Harris), Tommy (M. Mary McGraw), Marvin, Turner and Durward. The last three were living at home at this time. Durward was about my age and one of my best friends. Later Durward and Edward moved with their families to Carthage. I remember feeling a distinct loss at the time and really had no other friends as close. Tommy Harris too had married a Dotson girl, Mary. and they later had children Tommy Jewel, Mildred. Mozelle. and Lonnie.
On the left, just before you reached Irons Bayou was a house on a hill on the north side of the road. This belonged to Jessie James Sealey who owned a tract of land that extended along the Irons Bayou almost to the Beckviile road. Lem Owens and wife Rena. Colored, lived here. Lem had a number of children by his first wife, and he and Rena had only one Cayce Lee. Lem was a powerful man in his prime. In the day when East Texas cattle were being dipped every month during tick season to get rid of the fever tick, I once saw him grab a cow that had gotten turned around in the dipping vat by the tail and bodily lift her to turn her around. Lem farmed, but he and his sons spent time helping Jess handle his cattle.
When I first remember. the road to Carthage on which these people lived was unpaved arid a narrow country road with high banks on either side. In winter and spring these roads could be muddy. About 1923 they began making a highway out of this road. The first thing they did was widen the road considerably. Fences had to be moved back and timber cleared. The timber was cut into lengths that could be dragged out by a team. The stumps were removed by dynamite. This was the first dynamite I had ever seen used. One stick under an average stump would blow it out of the ground where it could be dragged off with a team. One time they left a sack of this dynamite after they quit work. Clyde and Claude Pierce and Hershal Steger found it and decided they would blow up some persimmon trees near their pond. They had cut back the case to expose the explosive had it under a tree and were building a fire over it to set it off when discovered. They say dyanamite will only burn when set a fire, but this is a risky way to make this discovery.
We watched this project daily and collected huge stores of the gravel being hauled for the -concrete for the culverts to shoot in “negro shooters”, and occasionally fitched a piece or two of the reinforcement steel. It was amazing how many fire pokers were made of this. Andrew Abernathy, a blacksmith, made dozens of them for 25 cents a piece if you furnished the rod. The dirt for the bed of the road was all moved with fresno pulled by teams of three mules. Sections of the road were contracted. Crawford Parker had the contract for the section from the Rusk County line to Fairplay. The work on all sections was going on at the same time. Most of the dirt work was done one summer and fall and when it rained that winter, we really had a muddy road. At the worst points people with teams stationed themselves and would pull cars through at 25 cents each. The next year it was graveled or maybe it was two years before the iron ore gravel was on. At any rate, it was not paved with asphalt until about 1932.
Directly in front of our house across J.R. Harris’s field lived Mack Hunter, colored with two daughters, Mary and Dilsey and two sons, William and Jack. Mary had a daughter about four years. Before Mack moved here, Bertus Walton Hill and James Hill had lived here one year. Mack was near the bottom of the economic ladder. He owned one grey horse on which he kept a cow bell at all times it was loose in the pasture or field. I don’t think he was ever a “half and half”, but was allowed to work a garden and patches for peas and potatoes. etc. He worked by the day at farm work for who ever needed him, and his children worked where ever they could in the field or house work. Mack could take the oldest, smelliest billy goat he could find, and after cutting its throat with his razor and after barbecuing it by his receipt turned it into tasty morsel of meat. He did this frequently selling barbecue sandwiches for ten cents a piece after passing the word that he was having a barbecue to the colored brethren. What was not sold was eaten by Mack’s family usually the next day. In the winter things got tough. Mary sometimes made a dead fall to catch black birds to feed her daughters. This time of the year they most frequently ate thickened gravy made with flour, hog lard and cracklins when they could get them. They made the gravy in a small dishpan and all sat around and sopped the gravy with biscuits. Frequently, the girls helped people kill hogs and brought home backbone livers and other perishable cuts of meat. They cleaned chitlings on the halves. They also canvased the neighborhood for collards and turnip greens which most people grew in the winter in amounts that exceeded their needs. This was their only source of Vitamin C during the winter. The children eventually moved to Carthage where they fared little better.
About a quarter of a mile west on the left side of the Henderson road was a road that ran in a general southerly direction for about a mile then made a large square at the southeast corner of which was a road that ran east for a spell then turned south, crossed Irons Bayou. ran by the Bethel Colored cemetery and church, and then to Clayton. This was a well traveled road at the time, and Clayton was an active trade center. Along a spring branch that wandered off to the right behind the church was one of the areas in which chinquepin trees grew. The first house on this road was a small house just about two hundred yards on the right. This house had been built by a saw mill that put a miller near by. Later this mill was bought by Colbert Holland and Bob Harris and Warner Thompson who had married Gettis Harris, daughter of James Robert Harris, and who lived in the house and fired the boiler of the saw mill for the year or two that the mill was in operation. The next house was a frame house in the shape of an Li’. This was built by James T. Allison and at one time. Gus Allison had lived here. Bonnie Shaw Robb inherited the land and this house from James T. Allison. She sold her part to Richmond Shaw. Shortly after Richmond bought the land. Sandy Maines and family, Sidney. Irene, Ludie B.. Buck, and Helen moved into this house.
The next house on the northwest corner of the square was a rent house owned by Matthew Holland. When I first remember, Bro. Burns and wife lived here. Bro. Burns farmed and was a Methodist supply preacher. His wife was prone to shout. A long series of tenants lived in this house over the next several years.
Down the road a hundred yards was a large frame house once owned by Lum Baily who was a brother of Mrs. Ophelia Wills and who had a son, John Monroe Bailey. Matthew Holland bought this house and land when Lum Bailey moved. Romie Holland and Beulah Melton moved to Panola County for the second time about 1920. They had previously been here for one year in 1907. Beulah’s father was David Putnam Melton, her mother was a Paf ford. We visited there frequently. and we were always ready to go as they had Hurley, Norman, and Eugene that were close to our age. When we were there, we kids wandered all over the surrounding territory, down in the pasture. up to the Wills, and over to Uncle Matthews. Frequently, we came for Sunday dinner and more often than not, there were about six other people to eat. Aunt Beulah usually had chicken and dumplings as this was the best way to make one or two chickens go the farthest. Even on the days when there were lots of dumplings and sparse chicken, her chicken and dumplings were always good. The decimation of her flock every Sunday kept her stock of chickens down to the point that they never had enough eggs to have eggs for breakfast for even one time. Their thing for breakfast every morning was cream gravy made from bacon grease or hog lard, biscuits and black coffee. At this time Wadford, Opal, Donald, Hurley, Norman, and Eugene were at home. Nelene, Dan and Betty Sue were to be born later. Romie had once been a blacksmith in Benton County. Tennessee as had his father before him. He was also a good carpenter and farmer. In spite of his skills, they always seemed to be on the cutting edge of poverty. They did not own any “Sunday clothes”, tight shoes, and stiff suits, a thing I most envied at the time.
About 50 yards down the road was a large dog run house that was never painted and remnants still stand. William 0. Wills and wife, Ophelia Bailey, lived here. William “Bubby” was the son of John J. Wills who with his family moved to Panola County about 1859 and settled North of Fairplay towards Beckville. Buddy had many siblings none of which remained in the area. Buddy was an excellent farmer and relatively prosperous. He had an orchard of fruit trees and all the subsidiary buildings of a complete farm, carriage house, barn, smokehouse, chicken house and cow barn. A sister of Ophelia’s who married a Searcy died of hydrophobia when she dressed the dog bites of the two boys when they were bitten by a mad dog. The boys were sent to Austin for the vaccine. Vickie had not even thought that she was exposed. She later developed hydrophobia. Her sons Cecil arid P.3. were taken to raise by the Wills. At this time, they had Ruth and Verna of their own children at home. Their only son, Sam Houston. had married Myrtie Birdwell whose mother and stepfather lived about a mile east of the Wills place on land owned by Luther Henigan. They first lived in a shot—gun house behind the Wills. Later, they moved to a little house just across the road in front of Houston’s parents. Ophelia liked this better as she could keep closer check on her grand—son, Wilbert, who was prone to take pneumonia. She kept him swaddled with a granny rag on his chest, and the house sweltering the whole winter. In August of 1927. Buddy went to the store late in the afternoon. He did not return home and had not returned home well after dark. The whole community finally were out looking for him, and there were hints that he might have been the victim of foul play. Just before daylight, they found him dead, apparently the victim of a heart attack.
At the south east corner of the square, Matthew Gilbert Holland and Mary Ida Warmack lived. Matthew was the son of Mary Francis Brigham and Gilbert Holland of Benton County, Tennessee. Mary Ida was a grand daughter of Mary Allison, a daughter of John Allison through which the land had been inherited. Matthew was and excellent carpenter and mechanic as well as a good farmer. He bought various surrounding tracts of land and by the time he died, he had increased his holding to at least twice what he started with. He was a Methodist and for years the Sunday School Superintendent at the Allison Chapel Methodist Church. At one time he had a saw mill, a shingle mill, a grist mill, an a peanut thrasher. All but the first of these were run with a huge one cylinder gasoline motor that was rated as 10 horsepower and was mounted on a steel wheeled farm wagon so that it could be moved from site to site with a team of mules. Matthew developed diabetes in his later years, nearly a decade before insulin was available. This was a death sentence at the time. At this time, Colbert had married Lucy Harris. a daughter of Samuel Sidney Harris and Ophelia Amos. Ethel, Vivian, Broxie, Cayce. Talmadge and Mabel were at home. Matthew owned a victrola, one of the first that I remember seeing, that played the cylindrical records. He had boxes of these which I remember as being chiefly march music and humorous sketches by Josh Billing and others. In a few years, the flat disc records became the thing, and every body had a record player.
Directly east from Matthews lived Almus “Nat” Cartwright and Mittie Wormack who was a sister of Mary Ida’s. They too had married in Benton County, Tennessee and the two couples had moved together to Panola County. They came by train with their household effects and a part of their livestock. The men had to ride with the livestock to take care of them. Somewhere this car got switched to the wrong train and they ended up somewhere in Oklahoma. Their families disembarked in Beckville and in time, they were all united. Nat had a number of hor5es which he had raised. They were said to have been beautiful animals. Nat and Mittie had three daughters Benthal, Eva, and Theiris. Benthal had married John Gaston, and they lived in a little house down the road from Nat and Mittie.
As the road turned south and before it crossed Irons Bayou, there was a house owned by Andrew Reed. Emory Allison farmed and helped Andrew work his cattle. He had a beautiful roan horse which he rode in a fast fox trot every where he went. Pathena milked a number of cows from which she sold cream. Each Saturday, Emory took this cream in cans to Pinehill to be sold. This was a common practice on the farms at this time. Emory kept a number of hounds. I do not know whether he hunted coon or fox with these. I remember that during the depression when the government was buying cows and killing them, while everyone else was cutting out choice cuts to eat. Emory was laying in a stock of meat to cook in a washpot to feed his hounds.
On the south west corner of the square was the house in which Colbert and Lucy lived. I remember the tragedy when their 2 year old son fell into the fire and sustained burns which were fatal.
West from the northwest corner of the square was the home of James T. Allison and his wife Louisa Shaw. James was the eldest son of Thomas G. Allison and Louisa was a daughter of Daniel Shaw and Elizabeth Morgan. Louisa died in 1920, Jimmy died in 1921. I can barely remember Jirnrriy and cannot remember Louisa. Malcolm Shaw, nephew of Ouisa who the two had raised as well as his sister Bonnie inherited this house and south half of Jimmy’s land. It seemed that no one lived in this house for a year or so after Jimmy died, then Ebb Maines and Odessa Abernathy rented the place. Ebb was a son of Thomas Daniel and Alice Maines with siblings Barney, Sandy, Lof ton, Arnold and Phillip. Odessa was a dau1hter of Daniel Barto Abernathy and Ephosey Garland with siblings Andrew, Tom. Mettie, Annie. San, Sidney. John and rol”t. By his third wite, Lula Mae Garland Herrin, John David had Ray, Elbert. Bc:ot, and the twins Shorty and Cotton. At one time, Elbert and Boots were living with their half sister Alma and Andrew. The Garlands were the family for which the Garland Hall was named. This place had a large barn built by James T. Allison. It was built on hugh sills of hewed pine logs that had originally been a part of a mule powered cotton gin operated by John Allison. At one time, the road across the loop ran through a gate at Jimmy’s barn across his pasture and came out on the road just north of the site of Thomas Allison’s old house. When we moved on Mrs. M. C. Harris’s place in 1928, a new road was cleared and fence out that started at the Allison—Shaw line followed this to the house in which we lived and here followed the line between Malcolm Shaw and Mrs. M.C. Harris’ line. Initially, this road was not graded; and one winter, a track of logs was constructed so the mail carrier could get over one of the worst places. At the west end of this road was the home of Richmond Shaw and Elsie Dobbins. Richmond and his brother Robert
M. Shaw were the Sons of Matthew Shaw and his second wife who was Lucye Williamson Buckner who had previously been married to John Buckner who had died and was the mother of Arie Buckner Browning. Elsie was the daughter of Kate and Lafayette Dobbins with siblings Will, Axie, Austin and Mrs. Will sparks. They had children, Ariel, Edith, Durward, Richie, Helen Ruth and Richmond Jr. Behind Richmond’s house was the house in which his father had lived and in which his mother Lucye Shaw still lived. In later years. she would walk a foot log across Shaw branch to spend the night at Richmond’s. Richmond and Elsie lived in this house with Lucye until they build their house closer to the road. The house was also the home of the Daniel Shaw family. For years. Richmond ran a syrup mill in the fall. I remember that when the price of cotton hit bottom about 1929. Richmond started holding his cotton. He had a good part of his barn and other buildings full when cotton finally got over 20 cents a pound in 1941. He could afford to do this. Most of Richmond’s land was further down the road. He had only enough to pasture his milk cows and mule in a pasture by his house. Further down the road to the south Robert M. (always known as “Bus”) and Ruby Nelson lived. Euby was the daughter of J.H. Nelson and Amanda Sheppard and a sister of Mrs. Malcom Shaw and Mrs. Pink Ash. At a later date, he had a wind—mill and the only running water in Fairplay until R.E.A. Their children were Mildred. Illene. Dorthy and Myrtle. Dorothy had beautiful red hair and died of acute appendicitis in 1923 at acre of 12 years.
Going back on the same road past Richmonds on the left was a rept house of S.T. Allisons’ in which Texas Wallace whose husband had been killed several years prior lived with her family. Clemet, Kid. Ivory. Beatrice, Lometa, Mattie Lou and Oreese. About fifty yards up the road was another rent house in which Norman Fields lived. Norman was a half brother to Texan. About 1928. Norman moved to another farm across the Irons Bayou creek and Diamond Wallace and Bennie Pope moved into this house and were to stay here longer than S.T. Allison from whom they were renting lived.
This land was owned by S.T. Allison, a son of Thomas G. Allison. and wife Sarah Hoyle. Most of it was part of a tract bought in 1846 by Sam’s grandfather. John Allison. The Allison home had once been at the site of the house lived in by Bennie Pope. At this site one house had burned in 1874. and a replacement house was completely destroyed by a cyclone about 1900. After the cyclone, Sam rebuilt about 150 yards north on the same side of the road. Thomas G. allison died in 1898. Sam lived here with his mother and Mamie. In 1911, Mamie married M.C. Harris. His mother died in 1922. after which Sam lived by himself until Mamie moved back about 1927. For at least one year, he had Weaver McElroy and wife Lila Mae Jones living with him, Lila Mae doing the housekeeping and Weaver working by the day.
Continuing on this road for about 300 yards. you came to the home of Charlie Austin and wife Zelma Browning. Charlie had bought this place from Lafette Dobbins and part of it may have been land owned by Tom Buckner. The first house I can remember was a square frame house painted a shade of brown. He later remodeled this house and added about the first car—port in the community. This was only a cover over apart of a driveway to protect the boarding passenger from rain with very little protection for the vehicle. At this time, the place to store your automobile was thought to be in a garage or barn as the common style of car purchased was the touring car which had only a top and not protected from the elements except curtains with celluloid windows stored under the back seat. Charlie was a hard worker, a staunch Baptist. and a skilled and frugal farmer. He prospered.
Continuing up this road, you came to the cotton gin owned by Ed Gentry when I first remember. The cotton gin was big business in any community. Everyone raised cotton. In season, there were lines of wagons each containing a bale of cotton awaiting ginning. During the height of the picking season, there sometimes were twenty and thirty waiting, and the gin frequently ran to 9 or 10 p.m. to get it all baled. At this time the gin was run by a steam engine fueled by huge stacks of cord wood. The cotton was removed from the wagon by a telescoping suction pipe that made quick work of unloading. The gin stands were up stairs and the space on the ground floor was taken over by drive shafts and belts to transmit the power where needed. It was not long after the cotton was unloaded until it was ginned. The wagon was pulled up under a hopper that held the cotton seed, and these were dumped into the wagon by pulling a lever. The wagon was moved up again to the platform on which the finished bale was dumped. There was a beam scale and a winch on a rotating stand. the bale was picked up, weighed then lowered into the wagon. On turning left at the gin, the first house was a small house on the edge of George Wyatt’s land adjoining the gin. Audy Wyatt and Vetra lived here. Audie fired the boiler at the gin in season and raised a crop between ginning seasons. At this time, they had children. Drennon and George “Mutt” who were near my age.
Audie’s parents, George Wyatt and Virginia Harris, lived a short distance further. George was the son of William W. Wyatt who was killed in the Civil War. Virginia was the daughter of Spencer Murphy Harris. At this time, the only children they had at home were Cecil and Veita. Later. George bought a store at Fairplay that had been run by Frank whose wife was a daughter of Tom Woods. They had lived in a house near the store and had children, Ross and Juanita. who attended Fairplay School. When they bought the store. George and Virginia moved into this house and Audie and Vetra moved into theirs. When the highway to Henderson was surveyed, it went through the middle of Georges place cutting it in half. For about a year, he kept replacing his fences across the road each time they tore them down. George was an easy going person well liked by all. Virginia had a temper which she gave vent to on occasion.
The next house on the right was where Will Scarborough and wife, Emma lived. Will was the son of Milton Lee Scarborough and Eliza Williams. Milton Lee was born in Americus. Georgia. He moved to Hunt County. Texas. A son, S. Newt Scarborough moved to Rusk County in 1906. Among other things, he grew peanuts on his farm. He perfected a peanut sheller and started a small factory on his farm to produce and sell peanut butter under the name “Star Brand”. Will probably moved to Panola County about the same time his brother moved to Rusk County. Two of his children are in a Fairplay school picture 1917. When I first remember, all of his children were at home Myrtle(Virgil Ernmons), Clara (Barney Alired), Milford, Ethel (M. Permenter), Floyd and Weldon.
Just past the Scarborough house, a branch of this road angled off to the northwest and ran behind Andrew Abernathy’s barn; then another branch turned due north. This led to my grandparents at the line to their place. About fifty yards from the gate was a dilapidated structure behind a huge oak tree. This house I can barely remember. It had previously been lived in by George Wyatt when it belonged to Jimmy Allison. The house was completely destroyed by a cyclone in 1923 and was replaced by another dog run type structure of box construction. The hail a side room off the living room and the kitchen dining room were never sealed. This was good for the long summers and, they were as cool as outdoor shade; but in winter, they were cold cold. The canned goods had to be wrapped with quilts to keep them from freezing and breaking the jars in real cold weather. Due to the lack of funds, a “Mud—Cat” chimney was built. These were made with chimney clay mixed with straw stacked on a lattice wood frame. No wood was left exposed, and this chimney was still being used in 1940. Gustavus was a son of Elizabeth Shaw and Thomas G. Allison. Minnie was a daughter of Richard Vastine Sharp and Eliza Hodge. Bernice and Allun were still at home. Gus was old enough that his working days were limited.
Down this road, about one hundred yards, and across a small stream was another building that was a log building that had been sealed over with boards. This was once the home of John 0. Shaw and Martha Sealey, They both died with in a year of each other. James T. Allison and Louisa Shaw took Malcolm and Bonnie to raise and James T. bought the land in the settlement of the estate. He had sold about 200 acres of this to his brother. Gus and later. sold the rest to Clarence and Byron Taylor. At this time, the Tipton family were renting it from the Taylors. Later, Charlie Osborne and Minnie Alired moved here.
Now, to go back to the Pinehill road where a branch was taken to go to the Allison’s. The next house was owned by George Henigan. Andrew Abernathy was renting this. Andrew was an elder son of Daniel Barto Abernathy and Ephposey Eugenia Garland. Daniel and wife had moved to Panola County in 1895 settling in the Macedonia community from Alabama. Later, they moved to Fairplay where he ran a blacksmith shop and farmed. Tom and Andrew both learned the blacksmith trade here. Andrew married Alma Herrin and whose mother was a Garland that later married John Daniel Maines. Their children Doyle. Lorene. Helen. Harold. and Charles lived here as did Andrew’s brothers, Sidney, John. Forrest and sister Abbie lived here also as did his father Daniel Barto. They all worked, and this translated into quite a work force.
Clarence’s children were Polly (M. Sidney Abernathy), Jewel (M. Sepaugh), and J.M.. Clarence and Byron kept their calves until they were 2—3 years old. Then, they drove them to stockpens in Carthage and shipped them to Fort Worth by train. They harvested no hay and the only feeding they did was some cotton—seed cake fed to the cows that seemed the weakest. Pat Clarence Taylor’s was a box house with a hall down the middle. This was the home of George Taler Sealey and his wife Almedia Trulock Crawford. George was the son of Wesley Sealey and wife Eliza Brown. Wesley was from South Carolina and one of the early settlers of Fairplay. George had married first. Julia Ann Smith and had children Mary Elizabeth (M. Carol Gentry), John William (M. May Harris), Della (M. Jim Allison), Minnie Bell (M. Edward Belew), Jessie James (M. Lirinie Snelgrove) and Earl Brown (M. Georgia Harris). By his second wife, he had Ben (M. Annie Abernathy), Linnie (M. Jack Brady), Jim (M. Sarah Bridges) and Annie Laura (M. Phillip McElroy).
Several hundred yards past the George Sealey house was the home of Jim Sealey and Sarah Bridges. They had no children. A half brother of Jim’s, Pitt Crawford’s wife had died: and Jim and Satah kept Pitt’s son Baidridge Crawford. Baldridge was a natural athlete. He brought with him a style of chinning the bar an event of the interscholastic league meets of the day that revolutionized this event. His style consisted of a rhythmic swing of the body with a synchronized pulling the chin into the bar from a near horizonal position. With a little practice. almost anyone could easily chin a hundred; where as. the winning numbers previously had been on the order of 25 or less. Baidridge married, got a job with an oil company and moved to Midland, Tx. where he died of a coronary before he was fifty years old.
The next house was that of Ben Sealy and Annie Abernathy. Annie was a daughter of Daniel Barto and Ephposey Eugenia Garland. Ephposey died of measles at an early age. Ben and Annie married late in life and had only two children.
We go back now to the center of Fairplay, the store. In this period, it was known as Harris and Browning and was a joint venture of James Robert (Bobbie) Harris and Robert Douglas (Bob) Browning. Bobbie’s wife Linnie was sister of Bob’s. There was a covered unfloored portico on front. A single manual gasoline pump was on the front of this. Up against the wall was the motor oil tank. In these days, there was only one weight; and it was not prepackaged, but had to be pumped into quart containers before being put into the car. At a later date, a well was dug on one side of this shed, and a pump run by a gasoline motor was installed. This pumped water into a wood tank on a 40 foot scaffold, and this fed a water hose at the front of the portico to fill radiators just like in town. It was also much used indiscriminately by kids to hose down the dust and each other. On the back of the store was a porch that served as a loading platform; and also in the summer. Bert Canton cut hair here on Saturday. In the center of the store to the left was the candy counter, the center of every kid’s attention. On shelves back of this were shelves filled with patent medicines and drugs, Castor Oil, Turpentine. Black Drought, 666 Tonic. Spirits of Camphor Vick’s Salve, Mentholatum. and Vaseline were standard. On the next section was snuff in boxes and glasses, chewing tobacco and smoking tobacco. Prince Albert and Bull Durham were the most popular of the roll—your--owns. Camels. Lucky Strikes, and Chesterfields were under the counter. The store was a general store. Stacks of flour, meal and feed were in the back. Sacks of coffee and sugar were down the center and were scooped into paper sacks and weighed. In the center was a whole tier of shelves loaded with baking soda, baking power, and continents with oatmeal and Post Toasties on the end. In the back was a pretty good stock of horse collars, plow points, bridles, axes and hammers. There were trace chains hanging on the wall and a stack of axle grease in the corner. In this area was a huge ice chest with a lid counter weighted over a pulley that usually had one or two 300 lb blocks of ice and the space between and around packed with cold drinks. Cokes were popular. but fruit drinks
and cream sodas more so. The other side of the store was given over to dry goods. There were bolts of cloth, men’s and boys’ work clothes, buttons and thread. A few hats were stocked and in season, a whole stack of men and boys straw hats. On the first isle were several egg crates. For minor purchases, eggs were a more common medium of exchange than currency of the land. Kids always knew how may eggs it took to be worth a nickel. James Robert was a son of John Cullen Harris and Nancy Dunlap. John Harris was a son of Spencer Murphy Harris that had land up the Pine Hill road. His wife. Linnie was a daughter of Jacob Alva Browning of the Youngblood Community, and Louisa Emma North whose father, Robert ran a blacksmith shop in the Beckville area. At this time Narcissa Calahan, a sister of Jacob Browning and a daughter of Hosea Douglas Browning, stayed with them part of the time. Linnie and Bobbie’s children were Evelyn (M. Bert Canton). Gertis (M. Chester Hill). Syble. Gettis (M. Warner Thompson). Saxon. Thelris (M. Edward Strong), Juanita (M. Wendel Gentry) and Sylvan.
East past the store lived John Raley and Opal Harris. John was the son of John Lafayette Raley and Valicia Eldora Mangham who lived in the Youngblood community. Their children were Thomas Craig, John Alfred, and Nannie Bell. Craig left home and worked in St. Louis. He married there and had three or four children. While on a trip to Louisiana, his car was forced off a bridge over a bayou into deep water. He was able to save his wife, but all of his children drowned. Nannie taught school for years and was an excellent teacher. She married Johnny Morton while teaching school in the Gill Community where he lived on the south side of Harrison County. Opal was a daughter of Mordie Cai Harris and Orra Stone. Opal’s siblings were Lois (M. Julian Smith), Christine (M. Raymond Harris). Jake and Joe Bailey. John and Opal had two children, Helen (M. J.R. Underwood) and Sam Tom.
On the Beckville road, on the left, and about half way to where the school was then was an old frame house then vacant. It was known as the Smith house at the time as this was the last family that had lived in it. The house, how ever, was built and lived in by Samuel G. Allison who gave the land for the site of the Allison Chapel Methodist Church just before he sold his land and moved to Wise County about 1885. This house was vacant when I first remember it. The windows and floor were intact. The windows succumbed to herds of little boys throwing rocks. As the roof deteriorated, water rotted the floors. When I started to school in 1924, the school was about 50 yards past this old house. The school ground was about five acres. On the front west corner was a Baptist Church of a variety that we called “Hard Shell” as distinguished from the Missionary Baptist Church. This church had an organ, and services were held about once a month. There were outside tables under the trees for the occasions when they had dinner on the ground. In my first year in school, they were a favorite place for us to eat lunch. I guess because they got us well above the dogs and hogs that hung around at lunch time f or any scrap of food that was thrown away and to snatch any bits they could when we were not looking.
The school in 1924 was three rooms arranged in a “L” shape with all the entrances on one front porch. When the bell rang for Thooks’, all three rooms lined up facing the porch; and after some shuffling to get lines straight enough to suit the teachers, they marched into their respective rooms on command. I never got any explanation for this procedure other than that was the way it was done. There were folding doors between two of these rooms that could be opened for assemblies, and there was a stage at one end of one on which various programs were given and sometimes plays.
Almost directly across the road from the school ground lived Arthur Henigan and wife, Cora Osborne. Arthur was the son of Elizabeth and Allen H. Henigan and had once lived east of Fairplay where Sam Harris lived. The two had swapped places about 1920. Cora’s parents were John’ P. Osborne from Newton County. Georgia and Mary Eliza Nelson, daughter of William F. Nelson and Louisa Sheppard. Cora had first married Jessie Walton by whom she had children Wilbur Walton B. 1888, Floyd Walton B.1891. Bertus Walton (M. James Hill) B. 1883. Jessie Mae B. 1895 and Arden B. 1897. She and Arthur had children Ivis 1903—1918. Rosa Pearl 1905—1932 (M. Bud Hickman), Acey, Casey Allen 1910— 1918. and Elvie. Cora was a regular attendant at the Methodist Church where she taught the primary Sunday School class for years. Arthur farmed, but his heart was not particularly in his farming. Cora milked cows and sold cream owning one of the old hand cranked cream separators. She had a brooder house and raised about a hundred chickens at a time in it which is a piddling number compared to the 15,000 raised in one house today. Arthur eventually started to buying chickens which he took to Shreveport, Louisiana to sell. There was no organized chicken industry at the time, but there was an army of people who bought chickens from farmers who always had some to sell above their needs; and when they had a load hauled it to some metropolis to sell. When George Wyatt retired from his store at Fairplay. Arthur and Cora bought it; and Arthur gave up farming to run the store.
Past Arthur Henigans on the left was an old house in which A.R. Garland once lived. He died in 1918, but someone lived in the house after this as I can distinctly remember stopping by there to see some one at one time. Garland Hill, just north of this house, was named for him and for a generation was the proving ground of every owner of a Model T Ford in the community as they tested it to see if it would go up Garland Hill in high gear.
After crossing Buckner Creek was the Browning dipping vat on the left. At the top of the hill. in a house about fifty yards off the road,and on the left lived Robert Douglas (Bob) Browning and wife. Arie Buckner. Arie was a daughter of John Buckner and Lucye Williamson. John Buckner died in 1877. Lucye then married Matthew Shaw whose recently deceased first wife was her sister. Bob was the son of Jacob Alva Browning and Louisa Emma North. Louisa’s father, Robert, was a blacksmith in Beckville. They had children Douglas. Zelma. Richmond, Jacob. Ouida, Fate, Lonnie B. and Hugh.
Across the road from the Brownings lived Arlen Mangham and Olla Malone. Arlin was the son of Charles Mangham who married a Steger. Olla was a Malone who had previously been married to Carl Henigan who died in 1909 with out children.
Past the Browning’s that went off to the left down this road lived Emily arid Frank Murray, neither of which ever married. They were the children of William R. and Martha Murray who had lived in the same house with a family of five or six children. William P. and Martha had one daughter who became pregnant out of wedlock. She died during childbirth and was buried on their land without a marker. At this time, this was a cataclysmic thing to happen to a family of their status. For the rest of their lives. they lived almost as recluses. Neither they or Emily and Frank have any dates on their headstones. Emily taught a Sunday School class at the Methodist Church for years, and she and Frank never missed a service. They drove a buggy with yellow wheels and never negotiated the age of the automobile. Other children of Wi-lliam R. and Martha Murray were Henry B.1859, Mary B. 1860. Julia B. 1862 (M. Cunningham). Emily B. 1864. Ida B. 1867 (M. Tiller), William B. 1869, and Frank.
Just past this road was a house on the right side of the road where Joe Hull lived with his wife Lillian Riddle. Joes first wife was Johnny Pearl Smith who was a sister to Ida Hull. They had one daughter which they named Johnny Pearl. His first wife died shortly after Johnny Pearl was born.
On the left was a white frame house on a hill where John Homer Hull arid Ida Smith lived. John Homer as well as Joel were children of Asberry Thorton Hull and Ella Octave Buckner other children of Asberry and Ella were Robert Lawrence. Arthur Clarence. John Homer, Joel Gaines, Oscar Asberry, and Lillian (M. Joe Hayes), Children of John and Ida were Dorothy, Joella (N. Royce Crawford). Myrtle (M. Marvin Harris), James Beard, and Preeby(M.______ Wallace.
About a quarter of a mile further down this road in a house on the right lived John Sealey and May Harris. May was a daughter of Samuel Stephen Harris and Willie Ernaline Wyatt. Children of this couple were Gray, Annie May, Fulton, Blanch, Ollie, Oscar, Dewey, Bernard, Georgia. and Austin. John’s brother, Jessie James Sealey lived with them for a number of years. John and May had one daughter. Itasca, who married R.E. Stevens, lived in a little house on the right. R.E. taught school at Fairplay for one or two years and was a good teacher.
A little past this house was a cross roads. The east road ran by the house of Roy and Della Mangham. Roy lived in the house built by his father, Charles Mangham and his wife who was a Steger. The Stegers and the Manghams all came to Panola County together. They were the last house on this road on the west side of Irons Bayou, but the road crossed the Bayou and continued past the Dan Ross place in Deiray and eventually ran to Carthage. The west branch ran past the Brooks School house and then into Rusk County to Church Hill and eventually to Henderson. Their children were Opal. Kilby, Ollie, Alton, Louise. Aliene. and Weiton.
Past the cross roads was the house of George Pelham and Nettie Faucett. George had grown up in Herford. Texas and worked as a cowboy on the West Texas ranches. He married the daughter of Major Faucett and came to Panola County with his father—in—law. He left Panola County one time to live in New Mexico bu.t returned and bought land in the Youngblood Community. George was killed in a dispute over a boundary line in 1921. Obie, his oldest son continued to operate the farm. Children were Olla May. Obie. Diah, Willie B., Arbie L., Georgia Fay, Jimmy Mozelle. Lisa Lucille, and Woodrow.
When I started to school in 1924. the dirt work had been done on what was to be a paved road from Carthage to Henderson. At this time however, it was not paved even with iron ore gravel. I can remember going to Henderson once or twice before this road was in place. I know that we started out on the Pine Hill road and came to a fork in which one road went to Pine Hill, and the other went to Henderson. I suspect that we went up the county line road to the Church Hill road which I know ran to Henderson.
West of Fairplay near the Rusk County line lived a number of families that came to school at Fairplay. Most of these were Alireds or were related to the Allreds. In my first year at school, the children of Bill Mired came to school at Fairplay. Their mother was dead and the older girls did the housekeeping. Those attending school at Fairplay when I started to school from oldest to the youngest were Vera. Demetria, Juanita(?). Raymond (in my class) and Ralph. They had more than three miles to walk to school every day. About 1927. Charlie Mired who was a brother to Bill and a son of William Carol who was a son of Alfred Alired. moved back to Panola County from somewhere near Wichita Falls. They built a house and also a small store and filling station. All of their children were in school, and they were from oldest to youngest Virgil, Leland, Charles, Beria. Syril. Ruth and Pansy. Other brothers of these two were Ben. married but no children at this time, and Carol unmarried and Barney (later to marry Clara Schaborough). A sister married Sam Holt. They had a son named Ray.
Off the Henderson road to the right on the road to Brooks lived John Hardin and wife. John was the son of John Thomas and Harriet Hardin who lived near Gary. John had several siblings who lived near Gary also. Marline and Bonnie Pearl came to school at Fairplay for at least one year.
Fairplay in the Depression Years
(1920-1930)
Written by Dr. Virgil M. Holland
This tract maybe reproduced or duplicated
in any manner if the author is given proper credit.
In growing up in a rural East Texas community in the 1920’s early in life, you realize the importance of neighbors. There is a dependency for assistance physical and other wise, and a dependency f or fellowship as our contact with the outside world were pretty limited. Before I was six. I had probably been out of the immediate community less than ten times. I thought it would be of some interest to write about all the people who lived in the community of Fairplay. Texas between 1920 and 1930 in so far as I can remember and determine with a little research. I am sure this will be of more interest to me than anyone else.
When I first remember, we lived in a house on the Carthage— Henderson road about one mile east of the store at Fairplay. Early on frosty mornings, we could hear a train whistle to the northeast. This was the train from Carthage to Beckville and already trains and especially train whistles conjured up visions of faraway places that at this time, I’ had very little hopes of ever seeing. Our world centered about our neighbors and in the early years about our closest neighbors. Our closest neighbors were Andrew and Margaret Futch who lived about 50 yards west of our house on the same side of the road. One time at about four years. I was sent to borrow a cup of sugar from Margaret which is the first time that I can remember going anywhere by my self. The fifty yards seemed a terrible distance at the time; and I kept a wary eye for dogs and other ferocious beasts. They were from Louisiana and for some reason had moved to Panola County. They had two daughters Versie and Blondell. Blondell married Linus Steger a son of Melville Steger and Estelle Ross in the Deiray community. Versie married Hoyt Pierce in the same community who was born Sep. •24, 1894 and who died Oct. 24, 1915 leaving her pregnant. She later was to deliver twin boys, Clyde and Claude. Hoyt was a member of a large family of Pierces in the Deiray Community including a brother later to marry Lois Lawrence. Dennis Austin who lived a bit further up the road to the west had lost his wife Axie Dobbins who was the daughter of Kate and Lafayette Dobbins. and who died with complications of her leg following gangrene. Alex and Dennis had four children who were Doyle. Addis, Cozette. and Alegra. He needed a second wife badly and heard of the comely widow in the next community. They were soon married and Versie brought her twins to live in the household. Shortly, he and Versie Futch had a daughter Laretta who was about three years younger than the twins, and shortly another daughter. Doris. Dennis had a large tract of excellent farm land and he prospered. He had one of the best houses in Fairplay and was one of the first to own a car in the community. Shortly. he moved Versie’s parents to live in the house on his land previously mentioned. Later, Linus and Blondell moved into another house between the two.
Dennis was an avid birdhunter and owned a large English Setter. During bird season, it was a common sight to see him on his mule. bareback. gun in hand. and bird dog at heel on the way to suitable bird cover. He was very well thought of in the community and a member of the Baptist Church which he attended every Sunday with the kids who could not get in the car swinging on the running board and kicking at every dog along the way that condecended to chase the car.
This idyllic situation came to an abrupt end when Dennis died of some type of heart condition. Dennis and Axie’s children refused to stay with Versie. The two girls were taken by Charlie Austin. their uncle. Doyle and Addis moved out to live in a small house near by in which they batched. There was a division of the land. Versie and her two daughters received the house and about eighty acres of land around the house and a tract of pasture and timber of about 100 acres on Buckners Creek that was reached through a lane about one half mile down the road from the house. Andrew and Margaret Futch moved in with Versie. Linus and Blondell moved into the house in which the Futches had been living. The Steger children were Hershal (named after and Uncle), Ruth. Winston and Olive Vee. Herhal was near my age and the others closely matched my siblings’ ages. I remember many hours playing with Hershal as we visited back and forth. Mother always told us when we visited there that we could stay an hour and to have Blondell tell us when the hour was up. I do not remember her ever calling time. As I remember it. we were enticed with wheels. We rolled steel hoops from wagon wheel hubs with wire guides taken from the tops of old wash tubs. We nailed lids of suitable size to the ends of boards and another on the other end to serve as a steering wheel. When all these were being moved, we made the suitable noises with our mouths to imitate an automobile traversing the roads. When we became exhausted from the running, we would sit on bales of cotton in the fall or any thing else available and watch the cars pass trying to name the make of each that passed. This was easy to do at the time as each make was different enough to be readily recognized.
Clyde and Claude were not old enough initially to do much farming. Andrew Futch could, for a time, farm most of the land with some help. Claude did not do very well in school and liked to stay home and plough. He did more of this than Clyde. In the late twenties, Clyde developed a fulmanating fever from which he died in about three days. This was probably a meningitis, and any effective treatment for this disease was still ten plus years in the future.
Down the road to the east was first a colored family. Guy and Babe Gates. Guy was a son of Leoma Wallace who was a daughter of Stewart Wallace. He was a deacon in the Baptist Church and was one whose word could be trusted, and a good neighbor. They had a daughter 3—4 years older than I. She was an intelligent little girl doing well in school. I can remember her reading “Chicken Little to me when I was 4—5 years old. She was later encouraged. by Babe, I think to marry Jerry Brown at least ten years her senior. She had one child and died of complications of child birth.
Next in the same direction were members of the Samuel Sidney Harris and Ophelia Amos family. Sam was a son of John Cullen Harris and Nancy Caroline Dunlap. His siblings who also lived in the community at one time or another were Alfred Brown Harris and James Robert Harris. Sam married Ophelia who grew up in the Dotson community. After his marriage he lived there for several years. His older son, Curtis. married Bobbie Boucher of this community. She was a granddaughter of Gade B. Boucher and Barbara Hoyle. Barbara was a sister of the father of Sarah Hoyle who married Thomas G. Allison. Curtis and Bobbie lived in the next house past us to the east. At this time, they had two children, Edward and Marie. Edward was probably the best childhood friend I ever had. He and I visited frequently and played constantly while we were together. The next neighbor was Robert “Bob’ Harris and Pearl Phillips. They had two children, Hayward, about my age and John D. about 4 years younger than I. When he was about 4 years old Hayward fell in a syrup mill furnace and sustained severe burns to his head, face, arms and back. This was before the advent of skin grafting for this type burn. He recovered, but was about two years in the process.
Sam Harris and Ophelia Amos lived in a house with an octagon shaped parlor on the front and a lông hail with rooms on each side that was built by Arthur Henigan. In front of the house was a small building which Arthur had used as a store, but which was used as a cotton seed house by Sam. When Sam moved back to Fairplay, he had bought land on the Beckvilie road about a quarter mile from the store. The two swapped land and houses. I can barely remember when Cora and Arthur Henigan lived here. Sam and Ophelia’s children were Robert, Curtis, Lucy (N. Colbert Holland), Raymond (M. Christine Harris), Tommy (M. Mary McGraw), Marvin, Turner and Durward. The last three were living at home at this time. Durward was about my age and one of my best friends. Later Durward and Edward moved with their families to Carthage. I remember feeling a distinct loss at the time and really had no other friends as close. Tommy Harris too had married a Dotson girl, Mary. and they later had children Tommy Jewel, Mildred. Mozelle. and Lonnie.
On the left, just before you reached Irons Bayou was a house on a hill on the north side of the road. This belonged to Jessie James Sealey who owned a tract of land that extended along the Irons Bayou almost to the Beckviile road. Lem Owens and wife Rena. Colored, lived here. Lem had a number of children by his first wife, and he and Rena had only one Cayce Lee. Lem was a powerful man in his prime. In the day when East Texas cattle were being dipped every month during tick season to get rid of the fever tick, I once saw him grab a cow that had gotten turned around in the dipping vat by the tail and bodily lift her to turn her around. Lem farmed, but he and his sons spent time helping Jess handle his cattle.
When I first remember. the road to Carthage on which these people lived was unpaved arid a narrow country road with high banks on either side. In winter and spring these roads could be muddy. About 1923 they began making a highway out of this road. The first thing they did was widen the road considerably. Fences had to be moved back and timber cleared. The timber was cut into lengths that could be dragged out by a team. The stumps were removed by dynamite. This was the first dynamite I had ever seen used. One stick under an average stump would blow it out of the ground where it could be dragged off with a team. One time they left a sack of this dynamite after they quit work. Clyde and Claude Pierce and Hershal Steger found it and decided they would blow up some persimmon trees near their pond. They had cut back the case to expose the explosive had it under a tree and were building a fire over it to set it off when discovered. They say dyanamite will only burn when set a fire, but this is a risky way to make this discovery.
We watched this project daily and collected huge stores of the gravel being hauled for the -concrete for the culverts to shoot in “negro shooters”, and occasionally fitched a piece or two of the reinforcement steel. It was amazing how many fire pokers were made of this. Andrew Abernathy, a blacksmith, made dozens of them for 25 cents a piece if you furnished the rod. The dirt for the bed of the road was all moved with fresno pulled by teams of three mules. Sections of the road were contracted. Crawford Parker had the contract for the section from the Rusk County line to Fairplay. The work on all sections was going on at the same time. Most of the dirt work was done one summer and fall and when it rained that winter, we really had a muddy road. At the worst points people with teams stationed themselves and would pull cars through at 25 cents each. The next year it was graveled or maybe it was two years before the iron ore gravel was on. At any rate, it was not paved with asphalt until about 1932.
Directly in front of our house across J.R. Harris’s field lived Mack Hunter, colored with two daughters, Mary and Dilsey and two sons, William and Jack. Mary had a daughter about four years. Before Mack moved here, Bertus Walton Hill and James Hill had lived here one year. Mack was near the bottom of the economic ladder. He owned one grey horse on which he kept a cow bell at all times it was loose in the pasture or field. I don’t think he was ever a “half and half”, but was allowed to work a garden and patches for peas and potatoes. etc. He worked by the day at farm work for who ever needed him, and his children worked where ever they could in the field or house work. Mack could take the oldest, smelliest billy goat he could find, and after cutting its throat with his razor and after barbecuing it by his receipt turned it into tasty morsel of meat. He did this frequently selling barbecue sandwiches for ten cents a piece after passing the word that he was having a barbecue to the colored brethren. What was not sold was eaten by Mack’s family usually the next day. In the winter things got tough. Mary sometimes made a dead fall to catch black birds to feed her daughters. This time of the year they most frequently ate thickened gravy made with flour, hog lard and cracklins when they could get them. They made the gravy in a small dishpan and all sat around and sopped the gravy with biscuits. Frequently, the girls helped people kill hogs and brought home backbone livers and other perishable cuts of meat. They cleaned chitlings on the halves. They also canvased the neighborhood for collards and turnip greens which most people grew in the winter in amounts that exceeded their needs. This was their only source of Vitamin C during the winter. The children eventually moved to Carthage where they fared little better.
About a quarter of a mile west on the left side of the Henderson road was a road that ran in a general southerly direction for about a mile then made a large square at the southeast corner of which was a road that ran east for a spell then turned south, crossed Irons Bayou. ran by the Bethel Colored cemetery and church, and then to Clayton. This was a well traveled road at the time, and Clayton was an active trade center. Along a spring branch that wandered off to the right behind the church was one of the areas in which chinquepin trees grew. The first house on this road was a small house just about two hundred yards on the right. This house had been built by a saw mill that put a miller near by. Later this mill was bought by Colbert Holland and Bob Harris and Warner Thompson who had married Gettis Harris, daughter of James Robert Harris, and who lived in the house and fired the boiler of the saw mill for the year or two that the mill was in operation. The next house was a frame house in the shape of an Li’. This was built by James T. Allison and at one time. Gus Allison had lived here. Bonnie Shaw Robb inherited the land and this house from James T. Allison. She sold her part to Richmond Shaw. Shortly after Richmond bought the land. Sandy Maines and family, Sidney. Irene, Ludie B.. Buck, and Helen moved into this house.
The next house on the northwest corner of the square was a rent house owned by Matthew Holland. When I first remember, Bro. Burns and wife lived here. Bro. Burns farmed and was a Methodist supply preacher. His wife was prone to shout. A long series of tenants lived in this house over the next several years.
Down the road a hundred yards was a large frame house once owned by Lum Baily who was a brother of Mrs. Ophelia Wills and who had a son, John Monroe Bailey. Matthew Holland bought this house and land when Lum Bailey moved. Romie Holland and Beulah Melton moved to Panola County for the second time about 1920. They had previously been here for one year in 1907. Beulah’s father was David Putnam Melton, her mother was a Paf ford. We visited there frequently. and we were always ready to go as they had Hurley, Norman, and Eugene that were close to our age. When we were there, we kids wandered all over the surrounding territory, down in the pasture. up to the Wills, and over to Uncle Matthews. Frequently, we came for Sunday dinner and more often than not, there were about six other people to eat. Aunt Beulah usually had chicken and dumplings as this was the best way to make one or two chickens go the farthest. Even on the days when there were lots of dumplings and sparse chicken, her chicken and dumplings were always good. The decimation of her flock every Sunday kept her stock of chickens down to the point that they never had enough eggs to have eggs for breakfast for even one time. Their thing for breakfast every morning was cream gravy made from bacon grease or hog lard, biscuits and black coffee. At this time Wadford, Opal, Donald, Hurley, Norman, and Eugene were at home. Nelene, Dan and Betty Sue were to be born later. Romie had once been a blacksmith in Benton County. Tennessee as had his father before him. He was also a good carpenter and farmer. In spite of his skills, they always seemed to be on the cutting edge of poverty. They did not own any “Sunday clothes”, tight shoes, and stiff suits, a thing I most envied at the time.
About 50 yards down the road was a large dog run house that was never painted and remnants still stand. William 0. Wills and wife, Ophelia Bailey, lived here. William “Bubby” was the son of John J. Wills who with his family moved to Panola County about 1859 and settled North of Fairplay towards Beckville. Buddy had many siblings none of which remained in the area. Buddy was an excellent farmer and relatively prosperous. He had an orchard of fruit trees and all the subsidiary buildings of a complete farm, carriage house, barn, smokehouse, chicken house and cow barn. A sister of Ophelia’s who married a Searcy died of hydrophobia when she dressed the dog bites of the two boys when they were bitten by a mad dog. The boys were sent to Austin for the vaccine. Vickie had not even thought that she was exposed. She later developed hydrophobia. Her sons Cecil arid P.3. were taken to raise by the Wills. At this time, they had Ruth and Verna of their own children at home. Their only son, Sam Houston. had married Myrtie Birdwell whose mother and stepfather lived about a mile east of the Wills place on land owned by Luther Henigan. They first lived in a shot—gun house behind the Wills. Later, they moved to a little house just across the road in front of Houston’s parents. Ophelia liked this better as she could keep closer check on her grand—son, Wilbert, who was prone to take pneumonia. She kept him swaddled with a granny rag on his chest, and the house sweltering the whole winter. In August of 1927. Buddy went to the store late in the afternoon. He did not return home and had not returned home well after dark. The whole community finally were out looking for him, and there were hints that he might have been the victim of foul play. Just before daylight, they found him dead, apparently the victim of a heart attack.
At the south east corner of the square, Matthew Gilbert Holland and Mary Ida Warmack lived. Matthew was the son of Mary Francis Brigham and Gilbert Holland of Benton County, Tennessee. Mary Ida was a grand daughter of Mary Allison, a daughter of John Allison through which the land had been inherited. Matthew was and excellent carpenter and mechanic as well as a good farmer. He bought various surrounding tracts of land and by the time he died, he had increased his holding to at least twice what he started with. He was a Methodist and for years the Sunday School Superintendent at the Allison Chapel Methodist Church. At one time he had a saw mill, a shingle mill, a grist mill, an a peanut thrasher. All but the first of these were run with a huge one cylinder gasoline motor that was rated as 10 horsepower and was mounted on a steel wheeled farm wagon so that it could be moved from site to site with a team of mules. Matthew developed diabetes in his later years, nearly a decade before insulin was available. This was a death sentence at the time. At this time, Colbert had married Lucy Harris. a daughter of Samuel Sidney Harris and Ophelia Amos. Ethel, Vivian, Broxie, Cayce. Talmadge and Mabel were at home. Matthew owned a victrola, one of the first that I remember seeing, that played the cylindrical records. He had boxes of these which I remember as being chiefly march music and humorous sketches by Josh Billing and others. In a few years, the flat disc records became the thing, and every body had a record player.
Directly east from Matthews lived Almus “Nat” Cartwright and Mittie Wormack who was a sister of Mary Ida’s. They too had married in Benton County, Tennessee and the two couples had moved together to Panola County. They came by train with their household effects and a part of their livestock. The men had to ride with the livestock to take care of them. Somewhere this car got switched to the wrong train and they ended up somewhere in Oklahoma. Their families disembarked in Beckville and in time, they were all united. Nat had a number of hor5es which he had raised. They were said to have been beautiful animals. Nat and Mittie had three daughters Benthal, Eva, and Theiris. Benthal had married John Gaston, and they lived in a little house down the road from Nat and Mittie.
As the road turned south and before it crossed Irons Bayou, there was a house owned by Andrew Reed. Emory Allison farmed and helped Andrew work his cattle. He had a beautiful roan horse which he rode in a fast fox trot every where he went. Pathena milked a number of cows from which she sold cream. Each Saturday, Emory took this cream in cans to Pinehill to be sold. This was a common practice on the farms at this time. Emory kept a number of hounds. I do not know whether he hunted coon or fox with these. I remember that during the depression when the government was buying cows and killing them, while everyone else was cutting out choice cuts to eat. Emory was laying in a stock of meat to cook in a washpot to feed his hounds.
On the south west corner of the square was the house in which Colbert and Lucy lived. I remember the tragedy when their 2 year old son fell into the fire and sustained burns which were fatal.
West from the northwest corner of the square was the home of James T. Allison and his wife Louisa Shaw. James was the eldest son of Thomas G. Allison and Louisa was a daughter of Daniel Shaw and Elizabeth Morgan. Louisa died in 1920, Jimmy died in 1921. I can barely remember Jirnrriy and cannot remember Louisa. Malcolm Shaw, nephew of Ouisa who the two had raised as well as his sister Bonnie inherited this house and south half of Jimmy’s land. It seemed that no one lived in this house for a year or so after Jimmy died, then Ebb Maines and Odessa Abernathy rented the place. Ebb was a son of Thomas Daniel and Alice Maines with siblings Barney, Sandy, Lof ton, Arnold and Phillip. Odessa was a dau1hter of Daniel Barto Abernathy and Ephosey Garland with siblings Andrew, Tom. Mettie, Annie. San, Sidney. John and rol”t. By his third wite, Lula Mae Garland Herrin, John David had Ray, Elbert. Bc:ot, and the twins Shorty and Cotton. At one time, Elbert and Boots were living with their half sister Alma and Andrew. The Garlands were the family for which the Garland Hall was named. This place had a large barn built by James T. Allison. It was built on hugh sills of hewed pine logs that had originally been a part of a mule powered cotton gin operated by John Allison. At one time, the road across the loop ran through a gate at Jimmy’s barn across his pasture and came out on the road just north of the site of Thomas Allison’s old house. When we moved on Mrs. M. C. Harris’s place in 1928, a new road was cleared and fence out that started at the Allison—Shaw line followed this to the house in which we lived and here followed the line between Malcolm Shaw and Mrs. M.C. Harris’ line. Initially, this road was not graded; and one winter, a track of logs was constructed so the mail carrier could get over one of the worst places. At the west end of this road was the home of Richmond Shaw and Elsie Dobbins. Richmond and his brother Robert
M. Shaw were the Sons of Matthew Shaw and his second wife who was Lucye Williamson Buckner who had previously been married to John Buckner who had died and was the mother of Arie Buckner Browning. Elsie was the daughter of Kate and Lafayette Dobbins with siblings Will, Axie, Austin and Mrs. Will sparks. They had children, Ariel, Edith, Durward, Richie, Helen Ruth and Richmond Jr. Behind Richmond’s house was the house in which his father had lived and in which his mother Lucye Shaw still lived. In later years. she would walk a foot log across Shaw branch to spend the night at Richmond’s. Richmond and Elsie lived in this house with Lucye until they build their house closer to the road. The house was also the home of the Daniel Shaw family. For years. Richmond ran a syrup mill in the fall. I remember that when the price of cotton hit bottom about 1929. Richmond started holding his cotton. He had a good part of his barn and other buildings full when cotton finally got over 20 cents a pound in 1941. He could afford to do this. Most of Richmond’s land was further down the road. He had only enough to pasture his milk cows and mule in a pasture by his house. Further down the road to the south Robert M. (always known as “Bus”) and Ruby Nelson lived. Euby was the daughter of J.H. Nelson and Amanda Sheppard and a sister of Mrs. Malcom Shaw and Mrs. Pink Ash. At a later date, he had a wind—mill and the only running water in Fairplay until R.E.A. Their children were Mildred. Illene. Dorthy and Myrtle. Dorothy had beautiful red hair and died of acute appendicitis in 1923 at acre of 12 years.
Going back on the same road past Richmonds on the left was a rept house of S.T. Allisons’ in which Texas Wallace whose husband had been killed several years prior lived with her family. Clemet, Kid. Ivory. Beatrice, Lometa, Mattie Lou and Oreese. About fifty yards up the road was another rent house in which Norman Fields lived. Norman was a half brother to Texan. About 1928. Norman moved to another farm across the Irons Bayou creek and Diamond Wallace and Bennie Pope moved into this house and were to stay here longer than S.T. Allison from whom they were renting lived.
This land was owned by S.T. Allison, a son of Thomas G. Allison. and wife Sarah Hoyle. Most of it was part of a tract bought in 1846 by Sam’s grandfather. John Allison. The Allison home had once been at the site of the house lived in by Bennie Pope. At this site one house had burned in 1874. and a replacement house was completely destroyed by a cyclone about 1900. After the cyclone, Sam rebuilt about 150 yards north on the same side of the road. Thomas G. allison died in 1898. Sam lived here with his mother and Mamie. In 1911, Mamie married M.C. Harris. His mother died in 1922. after which Sam lived by himself until Mamie moved back about 1927. For at least one year, he had Weaver McElroy and wife Lila Mae Jones living with him, Lila Mae doing the housekeeping and Weaver working by the day.
Continuing on this road for about 300 yards. you came to the home of Charlie Austin and wife Zelma Browning. Charlie had bought this place from Lafette Dobbins and part of it may have been land owned by Tom Buckner. The first house I can remember was a square frame house painted a shade of brown. He later remodeled this house and added about the first car—port in the community. This was only a cover over apart of a driveway to protect the boarding passenger from rain with very little protection for the vehicle. At this time, the place to store your automobile was thought to be in a garage or barn as the common style of car purchased was the touring car which had only a top and not protected from the elements except curtains with celluloid windows stored under the back seat. Charlie was a hard worker, a staunch Baptist. and a skilled and frugal farmer. He prospered.
Continuing up this road, you came to the cotton gin owned by Ed Gentry when I first remember. The cotton gin was big business in any community. Everyone raised cotton. In season, there were lines of wagons each containing a bale of cotton awaiting ginning. During the height of the picking season, there sometimes were twenty and thirty waiting, and the gin frequently ran to 9 or 10 p.m. to get it all baled. At this time the gin was run by a steam engine fueled by huge stacks of cord wood. The cotton was removed from the wagon by a telescoping suction pipe that made quick work of unloading. The gin stands were up stairs and the space on the ground floor was taken over by drive shafts and belts to transmit the power where needed. It was not long after the cotton was unloaded until it was ginned. The wagon was pulled up under a hopper that held the cotton seed, and these were dumped into the wagon by pulling a lever. The wagon was moved up again to the platform on which the finished bale was dumped. There was a beam scale and a winch on a rotating stand. the bale was picked up, weighed then lowered into the wagon. On turning left at the gin, the first house was a small house on the edge of George Wyatt’s land adjoining the gin. Audy Wyatt and Vetra lived here. Audie fired the boiler at the gin in season and raised a crop between ginning seasons. At this time, they had children. Drennon and George “Mutt” who were near my age.
Audie’s parents, George Wyatt and Virginia Harris, lived a short distance further. George was the son of William W. Wyatt who was killed in the Civil War. Virginia was the daughter of Spencer Murphy Harris. At this time, the only children they had at home were Cecil and Veita. Later. George bought a store at Fairplay that had been run by Frank whose wife was a daughter of Tom Woods. They had lived in a house near the store and had children, Ross and Juanita. who attended Fairplay School. When they bought the store. George and Virginia moved into this house and Audie and Vetra moved into theirs. When the highway to Henderson was surveyed, it went through the middle of Georges place cutting it in half. For about a year, he kept replacing his fences across the road each time they tore them down. George was an easy going person well liked by all. Virginia had a temper which she gave vent to on occasion.
The next house on the right was where Will Scarborough and wife, Emma lived. Will was the son of Milton Lee Scarborough and Eliza Williams. Milton Lee was born in Americus. Georgia. He moved to Hunt County. Texas. A son, S. Newt Scarborough moved to Rusk County in 1906. Among other things, he grew peanuts on his farm. He perfected a peanut sheller and started a small factory on his farm to produce and sell peanut butter under the name “Star Brand”. Will probably moved to Panola County about the same time his brother moved to Rusk County. Two of his children are in a Fairplay school picture 1917. When I first remember, all of his children were at home Myrtle(Virgil Ernmons), Clara (Barney Alired), Milford, Ethel (M. Permenter), Floyd and Weldon.
Just past the Scarborough house, a branch of this road angled off to the northwest and ran behind Andrew Abernathy’s barn; then another branch turned due north. This led to my grandparents at the line to their place. About fifty yards from the gate was a dilapidated structure behind a huge oak tree. This house I can barely remember. It had previously been lived in by George Wyatt when it belonged to Jimmy Allison. The house was completely destroyed by a cyclone in 1923 and was replaced by another dog run type structure of box construction. The hail a side room off the living room and the kitchen dining room were never sealed. This was good for the long summers and, they were as cool as outdoor shade; but in winter, they were cold cold. The canned goods had to be wrapped with quilts to keep them from freezing and breaking the jars in real cold weather. Due to the lack of funds, a “Mud—Cat” chimney was built. These were made with chimney clay mixed with straw stacked on a lattice wood frame. No wood was left exposed, and this chimney was still being used in 1940. Gustavus was a son of Elizabeth Shaw and Thomas G. Allison. Minnie was a daughter of Richard Vastine Sharp and Eliza Hodge. Bernice and Allun were still at home. Gus was old enough that his working days were limited.
Down this road, about one hundred yards, and across a small stream was another building that was a log building that had been sealed over with boards. This was once the home of John 0. Shaw and Martha Sealey, They both died with in a year of each other. James T. Allison and Louisa Shaw took Malcolm and Bonnie to raise and James T. bought the land in the settlement of the estate. He had sold about 200 acres of this to his brother. Gus and later. sold the rest to Clarence and Byron Taylor. At this time, the Tipton family were renting it from the Taylors. Later, Charlie Osborne and Minnie Alired moved here.
Now, to go back to the Pinehill road where a branch was taken to go to the Allison’s. The next house was owned by George Henigan. Andrew Abernathy was renting this. Andrew was an elder son of Daniel Barto Abernathy and Ephposey Eugenia Garland. Daniel and wife had moved to Panola County in 1895 settling in the Macedonia community from Alabama. Later, they moved to Fairplay where he ran a blacksmith shop and farmed. Tom and Andrew both learned the blacksmith trade here. Andrew married Alma Herrin and whose mother was a Garland that later married John Daniel Maines. Their children Doyle. Lorene. Helen. Harold. and Charles lived here as did Andrew’s brothers, Sidney, John. Forrest and sister Abbie lived here also as did his father Daniel Barto. They all worked, and this translated into quite a work force.
Clarence’s children were Polly (M. Sidney Abernathy), Jewel (M. Sepaugh), and J.M.. Clarence and Byron kept their calves until they were 2—3 years old. Then, they drove them to stockpens in Carthage and shipped them to Fort Worth by train. They harvested no hay and the only feeding they did was some cotton—seed cake fed to the cows that seemed the weakest. Pat Clarence Taylor’s was a box house with a hall down the middle. This was the home of George Taler Sealey and his wife Almedia Trulock Crawford. George was the son of Wesley Sealey and wife Eliza Brown. Wesley was from South Carolina and one of the early settlers of Fairplay. George had married first. Julia Ann Smith and had children Mary Elizabeth (M. Carol Gentry), John William (M. May Harris), Della (M. Jim Allison), Minnie Bell (M. Edward Belew), Jessie James (M. Lirinie Snelgrove) and Earl Brown (M. Georgia Harris). By his second wife, he had Ben (M. Annie Abernathy), Linnie (M. Jack Brady), Jim (M. Sarah Bridges) and Annie Laura (M. Phillip McElroy).
Several hundred yards past the George Sealey house was the home of Jim Sealey and Sarah Bridges. They had no children. A half brother of Jim’s, Pitt Crawford’s wife had died: and Jim and Satah kept Pitt’s son Baidridge Crawford. Baldridge was a natural athlete. He brought with him a style of chinning the bar an event of the interscholastic league meets of the day that revolutionized this event. His style consisted of a rhythmic swing of the body with a synchronized pulling the chin into the bar from a near horizonal position. With a little practice. almost anyone could easily chin a hundred; where as. the winning numbers previously had been on the order of 25 or less. Baidridge married, got a job with an oil company and moved to Midland, Tx. where he died of a coronary before he was fifty years old.
The next house was that of Ben Sealy and Annie Abernathy. Annie was a daughter of Daniel Barto and Ephposey Eugenia Garland. Ephposey died of measles at an early age. Ben and Annie married late in life and had only two children.
We go back now to the center of Fairplay, the store. In this period, it was known as Harris and Browning and was a joint venture of James Robert (Bobbie) Harris and Robert Douglas (Bob) Browning. Bobbie’s wife Linnie was sister of Bob’s. There was a covered unfloored portico on front. A single manual gasoline pump was on the front of this. Up against the wall was the motor oil tank. In these days, there was only one weight; and it was not prepackaged, but had to be pumped into quart containers before being put into the car. At a later date, a well was dug on one side of this shed, and a pump run by a gasoline motor was installed. This pumped water into a wood tank on a 40 foot scaffold, and this fed a water hose at the front of the portico to fill radiators just like in town. It was also much used indiscriminately by kids to hose down the dust and each other. On the back of the store was a porch that served as a loading platform; and also in the summer. Bert Canton cut hair here on Saturday. In the center of the store to the left was the candy counter, the center of every kid’s attention. On shelves back of this were shelves filled with patent medicines and drugs, Castor Oil, Turpentine. Black Drought, 666 Tonic. Spirits of Camphor Vick’s Salve, Mentholatum. and Vaseline were standard. On the next section was snuff in boxes and glasses, chewing tobacco and smoking tobacco. Prince Albert and Bull Durham were the most popular of the roll—your--owns. Camels. Lucky Strikes, and Chesterfields were under the counter. The store was a general store. Stacks of flour, meal and feed were in the back. Sacks of coffee and sugar were down the center and were scooped into paper sacks and weighed. In the center was a whole tier of shelves loaded with baking soda, baking power, and continents with oatmeal and Post Toasties on the end. In the back was a pretty good stock of horse collars, plow points, bridles, axes and hammers. There were trace chains hanging on the wall and a stack of axle grease in the corner. In this area was a huge ice chest with a lid counter weighted over a pulley that usually had one or two 300 lb blocks of ice and the space between and around packed with cold drinks. Cokes were popular. but fruit drinks
and cream sodas more so. The other side of the store was given over to dry goods. There were bolts of cloth, men’s and boys’ work clothes, buttons and thread. A few hats were stocked and in season, a whole stack of men and boys straw hats. On the first isle were several egg crates. For minor purchases, eggs were a more common medium of exchange than currency of the land. Kids always knew how may eggs it took to be worth a nickel. James Robert was a son of John Cullen Harris and Nancy Dunlap. John Harris was a son of Spencer Murphy Harris that had land up the Pine Hill road. His wife. Linnie was a daughter of Jacob Alva Browning of the Youngblood Community, and Louisa Emma North whose father, Robert ran a blacksmith shop in the Beckville area. At this time Narcissa Calahan, a sister of Jacob Browning and a daughter of Hosea Douglas Browning, stayed with them part of the time. Linnie and Bobbie’s children were Evelyn (M. Bert Canton). Gertis (M. Chester Hill). Syble. Gettis (M. Warner Thompson). Saxon. Thelris (M. Edward Strong), Juanita (M. Wendel Gentry) and Sylvan.
East past the store lived John Raley and Opal Harris. John was the son of John Lafayette Raley and Valicia Eldora Mangham who lived in the Youngblood community. Their children were Thomas Craig, John Alfred, and Nannie Bell. Craig left home and worked in St. Louis. He married there and had three or four children. While on a trip to Louisiana, his car was forced off a bridge over a bayou into deep water. He was able to save his wife, but all of his children drowned. Nannie taught school for years and was an excellent teacher. She married Johnny Morton while teaching school in the Gill Community where he lived on the south side of Harrison County. Opal was a daughter of Mordie Cai Harris and Orra Stone. Opal’s siblings were Lois (M. Julian Smith), Christine (M. Raymond Harris). Jake and Joe Bailey. John and Opal had two children, Helen (M. J.R. Underwood) and Sam Tom.
On the Beckville road, on the left, and about half way to where the school was then was an old frame house then vacant. It was known as the Smith house at the time as this was the last family that had lived in it. The house, how ever, was built and lived in by Samuel G. Allison who gave the land for the site of the Allison Chapel Methodist Church just before he sold his land and moved to Wise County about 1885. This house was vacant when I first remember it. The windows and floor were intact. The windows succumbed to herds of little boys throwing rocks. As the roof deteriorated, water rotted the floors. When I started to school in 1924, the school was about 50 yards past this old house. The school ground was about five acres. On the front west corner was a Baptist Church of a variety that we called “Hard Shell” as distinguished from the Missionary Baptist Church. This church had an organ, and services were held about once a month. There were outside tables under the trees for the occasions when they had dinner on the ground. In my first year in school, they were a favorite place for us to eat lunch. I guess because they got us well above the dogs and hogs that hung around at lunch time f or any scrap of food that was thrown away and to snatch any bits they could when we were not looking.
The school in 1924 was three rooms arranged in a “L” shape with all the entrances on one front porch. When the bell rang for Thooks’, all three rooms lined up facing the porch; and after some shuffling to get lines straight enough to suit the teachers, they marched into their respective rooms on command. I never got any explanation for this procedure other than that was the way it was done. There were folding doors between two of these rooms that could be opened for assemblies, and there was a stage at one end of one on which various programs were given and sometimes plays.
Almost directly across the road from the school ground lived Arthur Henigan and wife, Cora Osborne. Arthur was the son of Elizabeth and Allen H. Henigan and had once lived east of Fairplay where Sam Harris lived. The two had swapped places about 1920. Cora’s parents were John’ P. Osborne from Newton County. Georgia and Mary Eliza Nelson, daughter of William F. Nelson and Louisa Sheppard. Cora had first married Jessie Walton by whom she had children Wilbur Walton B. 1888, Floyd Walton B.1891. Bertus Walton (M. James Hill) B. 1883. Jessie Mae B. 1895 and Arden B. 1897. She and Arthur had children Ivis 1903—1918. Rosa Pearl 1905—1932 (M. Bud Hickman), Acey, Casey Allen 1910— 1918. and Elvie. Cora was a regular attendant at the Methodist Church where she taught the primary Sunday School class for years. Arthur farmed, but his heart was not particularly in his farming. Cora milked cows and sold cream owning one of the old hand cranked cream separators. She had a brooder house and raised about a hundred chickens at a time in it which is a piddling number compared to the 15,000 raised in one house today. Arthur eventually started to buying chickens which he took to Shreveport, Louisiana to sell. There was no organized chicken industry at the time, but there was an army of people who bought chickens from farmers who always had some to sell above their needs; and when they had a load hauled it to some metropolis to sell. When George Wyatt retired from his store at Fairplay. Arthur and Cora bought it; and Arthur gave up farming to run the store.
Past Arthur Henigans on the left was an old house in which A.R. Garland once lived. He died in 1918, but someone lived in the house after this as I can distinctly remember stopping by there to see some one at one time. Garland Hill, just north of this house, was named for him and for a generation was the proving ground of every owner of a Model T Ford in the community as they tested it to see if it would go up Garland Hill in high gear.
After crossing Buckner Creek was the Browning dipping vat on the left. At the top of the hill. in a house about fifty yards off the road,and on the left lived Robert Douglas (Bob) Browning and wife. Arie Buckner. Arie was a daughter of John Buckner and Lucye Williamson. John Buckner died in 1877. Lucye then married Matthew Shaw whose recently deceased first wife was her sister. Bob was the son of Jacob Alva Browning and Louisa Emma North. Louisa’s father, Robert, was a blacksmith in Beckville. They had children Douglas. Zelma. Richmond, Jacob. Ouida, Fate, Lonnie B. and Hugh.
Across the road from the Brownings lived Arlen Mangham and Olla Malone. Arlin was the son of Charles Mangham who married a Steger. Olla was a Malone who had previously been married to Carl Henigan who died in 1909 with out children.
Past the Browning’s that went off to the left down this road lived Emily arid Frank Murray, neither of which ever married. They were the children of William R. and Martha Murray who had lived in the same house with a family of five or six children. William P. and Martha had one daughter who became pregnant out of wedlock. She died during childbirth and was buried on their land without a marker. At this time, this was a cataclysmic thing to happen to a family of their status. For the rest of their lives. they lived almost as recluses. Neither they or Emily and Frank have any dates on their headstones. Emily taught a Sunday School class at the Methodist Church for years, and she and Frank never missed a service. They drove a buggy with yellow wheels and never negotiated the age of the automobile. Other children of Wi-lliam R. and Martha Murray were Henry B.1859, Mary B. 1860. Julia B. 1862 (M. Cunningham). Emily B. 1864. Ida B. 1867 (M. Tiller), William B. 1869, and Frank.
Just past this road was a house on the right side of the road where Joe Hull lived with his wife Lillian Riddle. Joes first wife was Johnny Pearl Smith who was a sister to Ida Hull. They had one daughter which they named Johnny Pearl. His first wife died shortly after Johnny Pearl was born.
On the left was a white frame house on a hill where John Homer Hull arid Ida Smith lived. John Homer as well as Joel were children of Asberry Thorton Hull and Ella Octave Buckner other children of Asberry and Ella were Robert Lawrence. Arthur Clarence. John Homer, Joel Gaines, Oscar Asberry, and Lillian (M. Joe Hayes), Children of John and Ida were Dorothy, Joella (N. Royce Crawford). Myrtle (M. Marvin Harris), James Beard, and Preeby(M.______ Wallace.
About a quarter of a mile further down this road in a house on the right lived John Sealey and May Harris. May was a daughter of Samuel Stephen Harris and Willie Ernaline Wyatt. Children of this couple were Gray, Annie May, Fulton, Blanch, Ollie, Oscar, Dewey, Bernard, Georgia. and Austin. John’s brother, Jessie James Sealey lived with them for a number of years. John and May had one daughter. Itasca, who married R.E. Stevens, lived in a little house on the right. R.E. taught school at Fairplay for one or two years and was a good teacher.
A little past this house was a cross roads. The east road ran by the house of Roy and Della Mangham. Roy lived in the house built by his father, Charles Mangham and his wife who was a Steger. The Stegers and the Manghams all came to Panola County together. They were the last house on this road on the west side of Irons Bayou, but the road crossed the Bayou and continued past the Dan Ross place in Deiray and eventually ran to Carthage. The west branch ran past the Brooks School house and then into Rusk County to Church Hill and eventually to Henderson. Their children were Opal. Kilby, Ollie, Alton, Louise. Aliene. and Weiton.
Past the cross roads was the house of George Pelham and Nettie Faucett. George had grown up in Herford. Texas and worked as a cowboy on the West Texas ranches. He married the daughter of Major Faucett and came to Panola County with his father—in—law. He left Panola County one time to live in New Mexico bu.t returned and bought land in the Youngblood Community. George was killed in a dispute over a boundary line in 1921. Obie, his oldest son continued to operate the farm. Children were Olla May. Obie. Diah, Willie B., Arbie L., Georgia Fay, Jimmy Mozelle. Lisa Lucille, and Woodrow.
When I started to school in 1924. the dirt work had been done on what was to be a paved road from Carthage to Henderson. At this time however, it was not paved even with iron ore gravel. I can remember going to Henderson once or twice before this road was in place. I know that we started out on the Pine Hill road and came to a fork in which one road went to Pine Hill, and the other went to Henderson. I suspect that we went up the county line road to the Church Hill road which I know ran to Henderson.
West of Fairplay near the Rusk County line lived a number of families that came to school at Fairplay. Most of these were Alireds or were related to the Allreds. In my first year at school, the children of Bill Mired came to school at Fairplay. Their mother was dead and the older girls did the housekeeping. Those attending school at Fairplay when I started to school from oldest to the youngest were Vera. Demetria, Juanita(?). Raymond (in my class) and Ralph. They had more than three miles to walk to school every day. About 1927. Charlie Mired who was a brother to Bill and a son of William Carol who was a son of Alfred Alired. moved back to Panola County from somewhere near Wichita Falls. They built a house and also a small store and filling station. All of their children were in school, and they were from oldest to youngest Virgil, Leland, Charles, Beria. Syril. Ruth and Pansy. Other brothers of these two were Ben. married but no children at this time, and Carol unmarried and Barney (later to marry Clara Schaborough). A sister married Sam Holt. They had a son named Ray.
Off the Henderson road to the right on the road to Brooks lived John Hardin and wife. John was the son of John Thomas and Harriet Hardin who lived near Gary. John had several siblings who lived near Gary also. Marline and Bonnie Pearl came to school at Fairplay for at least one year.
Allison Chapel Methodism Church, where the Holland Reunion is held in August
Elijah Allred(1801-1868)(Elijah, William, William)(Elijah, Patience, Catherine, John)
The following information was contributed by Carole Gregory
http://www.allredfamily.org/elijahallred.htm
East Texas Family Records, Summer 1986, Vol 8, No.2, published by the East Texas Genealogical Society, Tyler Texas, founded 1977: Panola County pg 19: The Allred Family by Leila B LaGrone, Carthage Texas
"Elijah Allred was born October 20, 1801 in North Carolina. The son of William and Patience Julien Allred of Randolph County, North Carolina, he heard for Sam Houston’s plea for volunteers; and he left for Texas. He was 34 years old and single. .He rode to Texas on "his good horse Shirk" and his equipment and provisions included a blanket, a rifle, an axe, a frying pan, a sack of corn meal and a slab of bacon. A descendant, S.T. Allison, said, "It must have been the close of 1835 or beginning of 1836 when Elijah, with a few dollars in his pocket, left the home of William and Patience Allred, in North Carolina, to go to Texas to fight for her independence."
Upon reaching Nacogdoches in 1836, he learned that Texas had won independence; so he moved northward along Trammel Trace until he found unclaimed land that suited his fancy, "off Trammel’s Trace to the East in what is now the community of Fairplay, in late 1836." Here he built his first home, his closest neighbor being the Reverend Isaac Reed family, four miles south.
He chose his home site among pines just north of present Fairplay. He bought land from Lewis Sanchez and built a cabin of small logs or poles which he could manage by himself. This was the first house built in that community.
Wild game was plentiful, but he needed bread, so he cleared a patch and planted corn. When the corn was gathered, he rode Shirk to Elder Reed’s or to Nacogdoches, some forty five miles away for grinding. He became closely associated with people at Reed’s Settlement when he and Isaac Reed Jr., married sisters, daughters of Abner Herrin.
A dogwood tree stood in the chimney corner of his log house. He tied his horse to this tree at night for fear the Indians might steal it. In the fall, the Indians became so active that he went to the home of Isaac Reed for protection.
He was at Reed’s Settlement during the Indian hostilities at the time when Isaac Reed, Jr was killed by Cherokee Indians. He (Elijah) volunteered to ride alone that night to notify one of Rev. Reeds daughters at Mount Enterprise.
Allred said that it was a clear moonlight night, the ground was frozen and he fancied he never heard a horse make so much noise traveling over the icy ground. When Allred went home, the Indians had gathered his corn for him and had put it in his cabin.
In 1839, when the Indians were driven out of this section of Texas, Elijah Allred was named "Captain Allred", for he volunteered for service with Texas forces that moved the Indians our of East Texas. From that time, he was known as Captain Allred.
In 1841, Elijah married Sarah (Sallie) Herrin. She was the daughter of Abner Herrin, brother to Rev Lemuel Herrin. He lived out his life near where he first settled and he was buried at Old Macedonia in 1868.
Elijah and Sarah had one child, Kizziah Jerucuia Allred, born October 2 1843. Sarah died about two years later. Elijah did not re-marry until his daughter married Samuel G. Allison in 1859, at age 15.
Kissiah and Samuel G. Allison had 12 children. They donated land for the school and Allison Chapel Methodism Church. In 1884 they moved with their children to Wise County, Texas. There at Paradise, Texas, they are buried. Their daughter Lou Allison Atkins born 1864 wrote a manuscript about the family. { I have a copy of that manuscript}
Elijah later re-married to Lizzie Akard and to them were born two children; Moses and John Julian. Moses died as a child and John Julian moved to Hobart. ( This is in error, John Julian Allred never lived in Hobart OK cg) No descendants of John Julian Allred remain in Panola County today.
Stephen Allred, Sr., born May 2, 1796, in North Carolina, and Renne Allred, brothers of Elijah, left Randolph County, North Carolina in 1838. They had delays due to broken wagons and Stephen rented land in Tennessee to make a crop and repair the wagons.
Renne Allred came on to Fairplay, near his brother Elijah. Here he remained a year or two before moving on to Grayson County, Texas. There he reared his family and his great grandson became governor of Texas. James V. Allred.
Stephen set out again for Texas when crops were gathered and wagons repaired, arriving in Fairplay n 1839. He bought 4,605 acres and settled there with his two sons, Seymore and Stephen, Jr. With him also came a daughter and son-in-law, the James Robinsons and they settled nearby. His elder son, Alfred, had married Margaret Whatley in Tennessee and remained there until 1841 when they also came to Fairplay, Texas, buying land west of Fairplay. Stephen, Sr., lived there until his death February 13, 1894 and was buried in Williams Cemetery."
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Elijah Allred was born 20 Oct 1801 in Randolph Co., N.C. He died in 1868 in Fairplay, Panola Co., TX and is buried Old Macedonia Baptist Church Cemetery, Fairplay, Panola Co., TX..
More Info on Elijah and family
He was married twice: m1 1841, Panola Co., TX to Sarah Herrin, b 1812 TN., d 10 July 1845 Fairplay, Panola Co., TX., daughter of Abner Herrin.
The following information was contributed by Carole Gregory
http://www.allredfamily.org/elijahallred.htm
East Texas Family Records, Summer 1986, Vol 8, No.2, published by the East Texas Genealogical Society, Tyler Texas, founded 1977: Panola County pg 19: The Allred Family by Leila B LaGrone, Carthage Texas
"Elijah Allred was born October 20, 1801 in North Carolina. The son of William and Patience Julien Allred of Randolph County, North Carolina, he heard for Sam Houston’s plea for volunteers; and he left for Texas. He was 34 years old and single. .He rode to Texas on "his good horse Shirk" and his equipment and provisions included a blanket, a rifle, an axe, a frying pan, a sack of corn meal and a slab of bacon. A descendant, S.T. Allison, said, "It must have been the close of 1835 or beginning of 1836 when Elijah, with a few dollars in his pocket, left the home of William and Patience Allred, in North Carolina, to go to Texas to fight for her independence."
Upon reaching Nacogdoches in 1836, he learned that Texas had won independence; so he moved northward along Trammel Trace until he found unclaimed land that suited his fancy, "off Trammel’s Trace to the East in what is now the community of Fairplay, in late 1836." Here he built his first home, his closest neighbor being the Reverend Isaac Reed family, four miles south.
He chose his home site among pines just north of present Fairplay. He bought land from Lewis Sanchez and built a cabin of small logs or poles which he could manage by himself. This was the first house built in that community.
Wild game was plentiful, but he needed bread, so he cleared a patch and planted corn. When the corn was gathered, he rode Shirk to Elder Reed’s or to Nacogdoches, some forty five miles away for grinding. He became closely associated with people at Reed’s Settlement when he and Isaac Reed Jr., married sisters, daughters of Abner Herrin.
A dogwood tree stood in the chimney corner of his log house. He tied his horse to this tree at night for fear the Indians might steal it. In the fall, the Indians became so active that he went to the home of Isaac Reed for protection.
He was at Reed’s Settlement during the Indian hostilities at the time when Isaac Reed, Jr was killed by Cherokee Indians. He (Elijah) volunteered to ride alone that night to notify one of Rev. Reeds daughters at Mount Enterprise.
Allred said that it was a clear moonlight night, the ground was frozen and he fancied he never heard a horse make so much noise traveling over the icy ground. When Allred went home, the Indians had gathered his corn for him and had put it in his cabin.
In 1839, when the Indians were driven out of this section of Texas, Elijah Allred was named "Captain Allred", for he volunteered for service with Texas forces that moved the Indians our of East Texas. From that time, he was known as Captain Allred.
In 1841, Elijah married Sarah (Sallie) Herrin. She was the daughter of Abner Herrin, brother to Rev Lemuel Herrin. He lived out his life near where he first settled and he was buried at Old Macedonia in 1868.
Elijah and Sarah had one child, Kizziah Jerucuia Allred, born October 2 1843. Sarah died about two years later. Elijah did not re-marry until his daughter married Samuel G. Allison in 1859, at age 15.
Kissiah and Samuel G. Allison had 12 children. They donated land for the school and Allison Chapel Methodism Church. In 1884 they moved with their children to Wise County, Texas. There at Paradise, Texas, they are buried. Their daughter Lou Allison Atkins born 1864 wrote a manuscript about the family. { I have a copy of that manuscript}
Elijah later re-married to Lizzie Akard and to them were born two children; Moses and John Julian. Moses died as a child and John Julian moved to Hobart. ( This is in error, John Julian Allred never lived in Hobart OK cg) No descendants of John Julian Allred remain in Panola County today.
Stephen Allred, Sr., born May 2, 1796, in North Carolina, and Renne Allred, brothers of Elijah, left Randolph County, North Carolina in 1838. They had delays due to broken wagons and Stephen rented land in Tennessee to make a crop and repair the wagons.
Renne Allred came on to Fairplay, near his brother Elijah. Here he remained a year or two before moving on to Grayson County, Texas. There he reared his family and his great grandson became governor of Texas. James V. Allred.
Stephen set out again for Texas when crops were gathered and wagons repaired, arriving in Fairplay n 1839. He bought 4,605 acres and settled there with his two sons, Seymore and Stephen, Jr. With him also came a daughter and son-in-law, the James Robinsons and they settled nearby. His elder son, Alfred, had married Margaret Whatley in Tennessee and remained there until 1841 when they also came to Fairplay, Texas, buying land west of Fairplay. Stephen, Sr., lived there until his death February 13, 1894 and was buried in Williams Cemetery."
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Elijah Allred was born 20 Oct 1801 in Randolph Co., N.C. He died in 1868 in Fairplay, Panola Co., TX and is buried Old Macedonia Baptist Church Cemetery, Fairplay, Panola Co., TX..
More Info on Elijah and family
He was married twice: m1 1841, Panola Co., TX to Sarah Herrin, b 1812 TN., d 10 July 1845 Fairplay, Panola Co., TX., daughter of Abner Herrin.
Tuesday, June 16, 2009
East Texas Genealogical Society Member and Co-Founder of "Old Red" or Old Jail Museum
Dr. V. M. Holland was a member of the Panola County Branch of the East Texas Genealogical Society and worked with Leila B. LaGrone, both lived in Carthage, Texas. Their shared passion was history, especially local history. Just before his death in 1990, The Old Red Brick County Jail would become a historical museum and storehouse for historical records of the Panola County Genealogical Society. A major achievement of Dr. V. M. Holland after a live time of medical and civic service to the community.
http://files.usgwarchives.org/tx/panola/history/walljmdournal.txt
MEDICAL JOURNAL OF DR. JAMES EDGAR WALL,I PANOLA CO.,TX
Assembled by Leila B. LaGrone Carthage, Texas
Two well-known doctors who practiced family medicine in Panola County intheearly times were named WALL, father and son: Dr. Alexander S. (Sandy) WallandDr. James Edgar Wall, his son. Dr. Sandy Wall moved to Beckville, Texas in1853.To him and his wife, Dr. Edgar was born in 1857. Later, Dr. Sandy Wallmoved toCarthage, and when his son graduated from Medical School in Kentucky, hejoinedhis father in Carthage. Dr. Wall, Sr. died in Carthage in 1907; and the Dr.Wall, Jr., died in 1910.Dr. James Edgar Wall also owned and operated a drug store in Carthage. Twoofhis sons became pharmacists.His Medical Journal of 325 births (several of them twins) is beautifullydone.He was an expert penman. My friend and co-worker on heritage papers, the late Dr. V. M. Holland, said he would give Dr. Wall "A" for his birth records.We are indebted to Dr. Wall's granddaugher, Mrs. Marilyn Harris, fortrustingour LaGrone Family History Center as the safe-preservation of this valuablepieceof area heritage. These births are registered to the mother as the babieswerenot named at once; but this is the only official register. No governmentrequire-ments were given at that time.One page of this record was torn out of the book at some point in time bysomeonewho took family names #281 to 300 - 20 names. This is tragic, because onlythenames were torn out; dates remain in the book with no names for thosedates.I am told by my friend, Louise West, a descendant of the Bounds family,thatGeorge W. Bounds, Jr., was one of those names for they know the story ofhisbirth at Old Pulaski in January, 1898. George W. Bounds, Sr. ran the FerryatPulaski at that time.At the date of these birth records, the doctors used a horse and buggy.Duringchildbirth, they sometimes had to spend the night, depending on how thepatientgot along, the weather, and how far away they were from home at the time.
The Panola Watchman Story on the Old Jail Museum in Carthage
http://legacy.panola.edu/library/PanolaWatchman/1990/10-28-90.pdf
The Panola Watchman Story that reported the death of Dr. V.M. Holland
http://legacy.panola.edu/library/PanolaWatchman/1990/11-04-90.pdf
http://files.usgwarchives.org/tx/panola/history/walljmdournal.txt
MEDICAL JOURNAL OF DR. JAMES EDGAR WALL,I PANOLA CO.,TX
Assembled by Leila B. LaGrone Carthage, Texas
Two well-known doctors who practiced family medicine in Panola County intheearly times were named WALL, father and son: Dr. Alexander S. (Sandy) WallandDr. James Edgar Wall, his son. Dr. Sandy Wall moved to Beckville, Texas in1853.To him and his wife, Dr. Edgar was born in 1857. Later, Dr. Sandy Wallmoved toCarthage, and when his son graduated from Medical School in Kentucky, hejoinedhis father in Carthage. Dr. Wall, Sr. died in Carthage in 1907; and the Dr.Wall, Jr., died in 1910.Dr. James Edgar Wall also owned and operated a drug store in Carthage. Twoofhis sons became pharmacists.His Medical Journal of 325 births (several of them twins) is beautifullydone.He was an expert penman. My friend and co-worker on heritage papers, the late Dr. V. M. Holland, said he would give Dr. Wall "A" for his birth records.We are indebted to Dr. Wall's granddaugher, Mrs. Marilyn Harris, fortrustingour LaGrone Family History Center as the safe-preservation of this valuablepieceof area heritage. These births are registered to the mother as the babieswerenot named at once; but this is the only official register. No governmentrequire-ments were given at that time.One page of this record was torn out of the book at some point in time bysomeonewho took family names #281 to 300 - 20 names. This is tragic, because onlythenames were torn out; dates remain in the book with no names for thosedates.I am told by my friend, Louise West, a descendant of the Bounds family,thatGeorge W. Bounds, Jr., was one of those names for they know the story ofhisbirth at Old Pulaski in January, 1898. George W. Bounds, Sr. ran the FerryatPulaski at that time.At the date of these birth records, the doctors used a horse and buggy.Duringchildbirth, they sometimes had to spend the night, depending on how thepatientgot along, the weather, and how far away they were from home at the time.
The Panola Watchman Story on the Old Jail Museum in Carthage
http://legacy.panola.edu/library/PanolaWatchman/1990/10-28-90.pdf
The Panola Watchman Story that reported the death of Dr. V.M. Holland
http://legacy.panola.edu/library/PanolaWatchman/1990/11-04-90.pdf
Panola Watchman Newspaper Columnist
Many of Dr. V.M. Holland's Histories
appeared in the Panola Watchman in 1980's
http://legacy.panola.edu/library/Panola%20Watchman.htm%20
Today's Panola Watchman is still the local newspaper:
http://www.panolawatchman.com/
appeared in the Panola Watchman in 1980's
http://legacy.panola.edu/library/Panola%20Watchman.htm%20
Today's Panola Watchman is still the local newspaper:
http://www.panolawatchman.com/
Sunday, June 14, 2009
Neighbors of Fairplay 1920 - 1930
In growing up in a rural East Texas community in the 1920’s, early in life you realize the importance of neighbors. There is a dependency for assistance, physical and otherwise, and a dependency for fellowship as our contact with the outside world was pretty limited.
Before I was six, I had probably been out of the immediate community less than ten times. I thought it would be of some interest to write about all the people who lived in the community of Fairplay, Texas between 1920 and 1930 in so far as I can remember and determine with a little research. I am sure this will be of more interest to me than anyone else.
When I first remember, we lived in a house on the Carthage-Henderson road about one mile east of the store at Fairplay. Early on frosty mornings, we could hear a train whistle to the northeast. This was the train from Carthage to Beckville and already trains, and especially train whistles, conjured up visions of faraway places that, at this time, I had very little hopes of ever seeing. Our world centered about our neighbors and, in the early years, about our closest neighbors.
Our closest neighbors were Andrew and Margaret Futch, who lived about 50 yards west of our house on the same side of the road. One time at about four years, I was sent to borrow a cup of sugar from Margaret, which is the first time that I can remember going anywhere by myself. The fifty yards seemed a terrible distance at the time and I kept a wary eye for dogs and other ferocious beasts.
They (the Futch family) were from Louisiana and, for some reason, had moved to Panola County. They had two daughters, Versie and Blondell. Blondell married Linus Steger, a son of Melville Steger and Estelle Ross in the Delray Community. Versie married Hoyt Pierce in the same community who was born September 24, 1894 and who died October 24, 1915 leaving her pregnant. She later was to deliver twin boys – Clyde and Claude.
Hoyt was a member of a large family of Pierces in the Delray Community including a brother later to marry Lois Lawrence.
Dennis Austin, who lived a bit further up the road to the west, had lost his wife Axie Dobbins who was the daughter of Kate and Lafayette Dobbins. She had died with complications of her leg following gangrene. Axie and Dennis had four children who were Doyle, Addis, Cozette and Alegra. He needed a second wife badly and heard of the comely widow in the next community.
They were soon married and Versie brought her twins to live in the household. Shortly, he and Versie Futch had a daughter, Laretta, who was about three years younger than the twins, and shortly another daughter, Doris. Dennis had a large tract of excellent farm land and he prospered. He had one of the best houses in Fairplay and was one of the first to own a car in the community. Shortly, he moved Versie’s parents to live in the house on his land previously mentioned. Later, Linus and Blondell moved into another house between the two.
Dennis was an avid bird hunter and owned a large English Setter. During bird season, it was a common sight to see him on his mule, bareback, gun in hand and bird dog at heel on the way to suitable bird cover. He was very well thought of in the community and a member of the Baptist Church which he attended every Sunday with the kids who could not get in the car swinging on the funning board and kicking at every dog along the way that condescended to chase the car.
This idyllic situation came to an abrupt end when Dennis died of some type of heart condition. Dennis and Axie’s children refused to stay with Versie. The two girls were taken by Charlie Austin, their uncle. Doyle and Addis moved out to live in a small house near by in which they batched.
There was a division of the land. Versie and her two daughters received the house and about eighty acres of land around the house and a tract of pasture and timber of about 100 acres on Buckner Creek that was reached through a lane about one half mile down the road from the house.
Andrew and Margaret Futch moved in with Versie. Linus and Blondell moved into the house in which the Futches had been living.
EDITOR NOTE THIS MIGHT NOT BE COMPLETE - TAKEN FROM
http://www.txgenweb4.org/txpanola/vmholland_recollections1.htm
Panola County Web Site: http://www.txgenweb4.org/txpanola/
Texas Web Site: http://txgenweb.org/
Before I was six, I had probably been out of the immediate community less than ten times. I thought it would be of some interest to write about all the people who lived in the community of Fairplay, Texas between 1920 and 1930 in so far as I can remember and determine with a little research. I am sure this will be of more interest to me than anyone else.
When I first remember, we lived in a house on the Carthage-Henderson road about one mile east of the store at Fairplay. Early on frosty mornings, we could hear a train whistle to the northeast. This was the train from Carthage to Beckville and already trains, and especially train whistles, conjured up visions of faraway places that, at this time, I had very little hopes of ever seeing. Our world centered about our neighbors and, in the early years, about our closest neighbors.
Our closest neighbors were Andrew and Margaret Futch, who lived about 50 yards west of our house on the same side of the road. One time at about four years, I was sent to borrow a cup of sugar from Margaret, which is the first time that I can remember going anywhere by myself. The fifty yards seemed a terrible distance at the time and I kept a wary eye for dogs and other ferocious beasts.
They (the Futch family) were from Louisiana and, for some reason, had moved to Panola County. They had two daughters, Versie and Blondell. Blondell married Linus Steger, a son of Melville Steger and Estelle Ross in the Delray Community. Versie married Hoyt Pierce in the same community who was born September 24, 1894 and who died October 24, 1915 leaving her pregnant. She later was to deliver twin boys – Clyde and Claude.
Hoyt was a member of a large family of Pierces in the Delray Community including a brother later to marry Lois Lawrence.
Dennis Austin, who lived a bit further up the road to the west, had lost his wife Axie Dobbins who was the daughter of Kate and Lafayette Dobbins. She had died with complications of her leg following gangrene. Axie and Dennis had four children who were Doyle, Addis, Cozette and Alegra. He needed a second wife badly and heard of the comely widow in the next community.
They were soon married and Versie brought her twins to live in the household. Shortly, he and Versie Futch had a daughter, Laretta, who was about three years younger than the twins, and shortly another daughter, Doris. Dennis had a large tract of excellent farm land and he prospered. He had one of the best houses in Fairplay and was one of the first to own a car in the community. Shortly, he moved Versie’s parents to live in the house on his land previously mentioned. Later, Linus and Blondell moved into another house between the two.
Dennis was an avid bird hunter and owned a large English Setter. During bird season, it was a common sight to see him on his mule, bareback, gun in hand and bird dog at heel on the way to suitable bird cover. He was very well thought of in the community and a member of the Baptist Church which he attended every Sunday with the kids who could not get in the car swinging on the funning board and kicking at every dog along the way that condescended to chase the car.
This idyllic situation came to an abrupt end when Dennis died of some type of heart condition. Dennis and Axie’s children refused to stay with Versie. The two girls were taken by Charlie Austin, their uncle. Doyle and Addis moved out to live in a small house near by in which they batched.
There was a division of the land. Versie and her two daughters received the house and about eighty acres of land around the house and a tract of pasture and timber of about 100 acres on Buckner Creek that was reached through a lane about one half mile down the road from the house.
Andrew and Margaret Futch moved in with Versie. Linus and Blondell moved into the house in which the Futches had been living.
EDITOR NOTE THIS MIGHT NOT BE COMPLETE - TAKEN FROM
http://www.txgenweb4.org/txpanola/vmholland_recollections1.htm
Panola County Web Site: http://www.txgenweb4.org/txpanola/
Texas Web Site: http://txgenweb.org/
History of Fairplay Texas
http://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/FF/hnf1.html
FAIR PLAY, TEXAS. Fair Play, a farming community at the junction of U.S. Highway 79 and Farm roads 124 and 1251, eleven miles west of Carthage in western Panola County, is one of the oldest settlements in the area. The site occupies part of Immanuel Antonio Romero's land grant. The first settler there was John Allison, who operated a general store, boardinghouse, and blacksmith shop and became county judge when the county was organized in 1846. A post office was granted to the community in 1851 and was officially named by the comment of a traveler who was impressed with the fair rates and treatment he had received at Allison's store, where the post office was located. A church, used by whites and blacks, was built on Allison's place, and buried in the churchyard were the Allison slaves and family, among them Thomas G. Allison, a member of the Constitutional Convention of 1875. By 1885 Fair Play had two schools, two churches, a sawmill, gristmills, a cotton gin, and an estimated population of 100. Its population dropped to fifty by 1890, and its post office was closed in 1904, when the mail was sent to Beckville. In the mid-1930s Fair Play had a reported population of ninety-five and a church, a school, a sawmill, and several stores. Its school was consolidated with the Carthage school in the 1940s, and after World War II many of the remaining residents moved away. In the mid-1960s the settlement still had three churches, a school, and a store. In 1990 and in 2000 Fair Play reported a population of eighty.
BIBLIOGRAPHY: History of Panola County (Carthage, Texas: Carthage Circulating Book Club, 1935?). Leila B. LaGrone, ed., History of Panola County (Carthage, Texas: Panola County Historical Commission, 1979). John Barnette Sanders, Postoffices and Post Masters of Panola County, Texas, 1845-1930 (Center, Texas, 1964). Claudia Hazlewood
http://texas.hometownlocator.com/tx/panola/fair-play.cfm
Fairplay today and map location.
FAIR PLAY, TEXAS. Fair Play, a farming community at the junction of U.S. Highway 79 and Farm roads 124 and 1251, eleven miles west of Carthage in western Panola County, is one of the oldest settlements in the area. The site occupies part of Immanuel Antonio Romero's land grant. The first settler there was John Allison, who operated a general store, boardinghouse, and blacksmith shop and became county judge when the county was organized in 1846. A post office was granted to the community in 1851 and was officially named by the comment of a traveler who was impressed with the fair rates and treatment he had received at Allison's store, where the post office was located. A church, used by whites and blacks, was built on Allison's place, and buried in the churchyard were the Allison slaves and family, among them Thomas G. Allison, a member of the Constitutional Convention of 1875. By 1885 Fair Play had two schools, two churches, a sawmill, gristmills, a cotton gin, and an estimated population of 100. Its population dropped to fifty by 1890, and its post office was closed in 1904, when the mail was sent to Beckville. In the mid-1930s Fair Play had a reported population of ninety-five and a church, a school, a sawmill, and several stores. Its school was consolidated with the Carthage school in the 1940s, and after World War II many of the remaining residents moved away. In the mid-1960s the settlement still had three churches, a school, and a store. In 1990 and in 2000 Fair Play reported a population of eighty.
BIBLIOGRAPHY: History of Panola County (Carthage, Texas: Carthage Circulating Book Club, 1935?). Leila B. LaGrone, ed., History of Panola County (Carthage, Texas: Panola County Historical Commission, 1979). John Barnette Sanders, Postoffices and Post Masters of Panola County, Texas, 1845-1930 (Center, Texas, 1964). Claudia Hazlewood
http://texas.hometownlocator.com/tx/panola/fair-play.cfm
Fairplay today and map location.
NEIGHBORS
FAIRPLAY 1920 – 1930
In growing up in a rural East Texas community in the 1920’s, early in life you realize the importance of neighbors. There is a dependency for assistance, physical and otherwise, and a dependency for fellowship as our contact with the outside world was pretty limited.
Before I was six, I had probably been out of the immediate community less than ten times. I thought it would be of some interest to write about all the people who lived in the community of Fairplay, Texas between 1920 and 1930 in so far as I can remember and determine with a little research. I am sure this will be of more interest to me than anyone else.
FAIRPLAY 1920 – 1930
In growing up in a rural East Texas community in the 1920’s, early in life you realize the importance of neighbors. There is a dependency for assistance, physical and otherwise, and a dependency for fellowship as our contact with the outside world was pretty limited.
Before I was six, I had probably been out of the immediate community less than ten times. I thought it would be of some interest to write about all the people who lived in the community of Fairplay, Texas between 1920 and 1930 in so far as I can remember and determine with a little research. I am sure this will be of more interest to me than anyone else.
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