[] Search for genealogical information Author: Carroll Welch [] Date: 17 Nov 1998 12:00 PM Surnames: Charles Ibsen Welch I have been hunting my grandfather, Charles Ibsen Welch, for over a year and have good reason to believe he was the son of William and Elizabeth Welch of Limestone County, Texas. Charles Ibsen was born on July 12, 1849, but I cannot confirm his place of birth. According to 1850 census records, only three families in Texas had a son, named Charles, who was less than one year old. The 1850 Limestone County Census records list a Charles Welch (son of William & Elizabeth Welch), but do not list a middle initial or name, such as Charles I. or Charles Ibsen Welch. With the limited State Archives records, previous to 1903, is there any way I can find Limestone County records to possibly confirm the full name of Charles Welch? I would appreciate any help or suggestions anyone might give. [] RASCO FAMILY RESEARCH Author: JAMES R. RASCO [] Date: 17 Nov 1998 12:00 PM Surnames: RASCO, RASCOE I AM A RASCO FAMILY RESEARCHER AND FAMILY HISTORIAN. MANY DESCENDANTS OF JOHN AND LUCY (TAYLOR) RASCO AND WILLIAM M. AND MARGARET ELIZABETH RASCO CAME AND SETTLED IN LIMESTONE COUNTY TEXAS ABOUT 1852. THEY CAME FROM BALLARD, TRIGG AND CHRISTIAN COUNTIES KENTUCKY. THEIR FORBEARERS CAME FROM BERTIE COUNTY NORTH CAROLINA VIA TENNESSEE. HAVE IDENTIFIED SOME 8000 DESCENDANTS OF THIS LINE OF THE RASCO FAMILY. tWO VERY FINE BOOKS ON THE FAMILY HAVE BEEN PUBLISHED IN RESENT YEARS. WOULD BE PLEASED TO HERE FROM OTHER DESCENDED FROM OR RESEARCHING THE RASCO FAMILIES. i CAN BE E-MAILED AT OR S-MAIL AT 2000 ALEJO DEL SUR, HARVEY, LA. 70058-2901. [] [] david fort davis Author: frankie davis glenn [] Date: 4 Apr 2001 12:00 PM I am Cassandra Rasco Davis's grandaughter. I am hunting a grave or will showing that her husband David Fort Davis died. Frnkie Davis glenn [] HILL FAMILLY Author: Howard W. Hill [] Date: 14 Nov 1998 12:00 PM Surnames: HILL I am looking for any information on Edward Hill and his wife Emeline Hopkins Hill, may be buried somewhere in Limestone Co. Their son, my grandfather, Van Hopkins Hill lived in Limestone Co. for about 20 years, before moving to Robertson Co. This family was in Limestone Co. 1880-1914. Any help appreciated. Howard Hill 4007 N. Texas Ave. Bryan,Tx. 409-778-1154 [] [] CHANGE OF ADDRESS Author: Howard W. Hill [] Date: 9 Sep 1999 12:00 PM Surnames: HILL PLEASE refer to my new address howlen@tca.net in reference to the above message. Thanks Howard Hill howlen@tca.net [] HILL FAMILY Author: Howard W. Hill [] Date: 14 Nov 1998 12:00 PM Surnames: HILL I am looking for info. on Edward Hill and wife Emeline Hopkins Hill. May have lived in Limestone Co. after 1880. Their son Van Hopkins was living near Mexia in 1900. Edward and Emeline may be buried somewhere in county. Grateful for any help Howard Hill [] [] Change of E-Mail Author: Howard W. Hill [] Date: 6 May 2000 12:00 PM Surnames: Hill Please note my new E-Mail adress. Thanks Howard W. Hill [] [] Hill Family Author: Thomas Hill [] Date: 27 May 2000 12:00 PM Surnames: hill I am looking for Hill family in a around Wichita Falls Tx. I have a family picture taken by Wiley's Studio, 4-11-1947 in Iowa Park, Texas. There are 20 members of the Hill family in this picture. [] Limestone County Marriages Author: Lois Owens Willett [] Date: 4 Nov 1998 12:00 PM Surnames: Talley, Savage In answer to Pat Talley's request, I found the following marriages for Talleys and Savages: Grooms list: F.O. Talley m. Belle Lilloh Dec 20, 1924; J.A. Talley m. Artie Herring Nov 16, 1904; James Alford Talley m. Mary Matildy Moody Apr 8, 1950; James Edward Talley m. Ethel Lee Hadley Apr 22, 1974; Mack Talley m. Caddie Teer Aug 17, 1910; R. H. Talley m. Blanche Newberry Jul 25, 1911; Russell D. Talley m. Bettye Smith May 1, 1948; S. J. Talley m. Nancy Pearson Jul 8, 1917; S. T. Talley m. Susie Ann Pruitt Jul 6, 1898; Vernon Talley m. Lula Mae Webb Apr 20, 1940; W. T. Talley m. Bell Day Oct 19, 1899; and Wesley Leroy Talley m. Mary Helen Brown May 16, 1920. Grooms of Savage marriages: Alan Glenn Savage m. Lesa Doylene Magness Sep 12, 1981; Dennis Savage m. Sandra Mansell Aug. 15, 1958; Emil Savage m. Christine Amonette Jun 27, 1933; Roosevelt Savage m. Adalee Davis Jun 24, 1923; and Stanley Price Savage m. Melanie Paige McCann Aug 20, 1988. Brides of Savage marriages: Carolyn Sue Savage m. John Ryder Crundwell Sep 15, 1990; Ether Savage m. Daisy Wilson Aug 6, 1914; Jay Ann Savage m. Billie Frank Maisen Aug 4, 1978; Maggie R. Savage m. M. Dunagan Oct. 24, 1885; Naomi Savage m. Thomas Leonard West Jun 30, 1920. Brides of Talley marriages: Gladys Talley m. Marvin Wilson Jun 4, 1934; Marie Talley m. V. L. Sheffield Oct 6, 1930; Mollie Talley m. J. W. Lyle Dec. 9, 1900; Myrtle Talley m. M. G. Robertson Sep 25, 1919; Opal Talley m. Benny Robinson Feb. 25, 1947; Ruby E. Talley m. Billy G. Carpenter May 8, 1953; Sallie Talley m. John C. Liles Oct. 26, 1912; Sheryl Lea Talley m. Marcus Wayne Sheffield Aug. 8, 1981; Shirley Dawn Talley m. Kenneth Paul Little Nov. 13, 1972; and Susan Ranee Talley m. Randall Dean Miller Aug 4, 1978. Hope this helps several of you with your research. [] Thomas A./V. Hyden Author: Ron Hyden [] Date: 4 Nov 1998 12:00 PM Surnames: Hyden, Nicholas, Adeline Looking for information on a Thomas A./V. Hyden who was married in Limestone Co. in 1882 to a Sarah M. Barnett. A Thos' Heighden(Hyden)(8) was in the 1870 census living in the home of Alex Nicholas(20) and Nancy A. Nicholas(37) with his brother(?) Columbus Hyden(Heighden)(6) and sisters(?) Sarah Hyden (Heighden)(13) and Annie Hyden(Heighden)(4). Columbus was the son of James A. Hyden and Nancy Adeline. Were all the children of James and Nancy? According to one Molly Cornwell, Sarah was also the daughter of James A. Hyden and Nancy Adeline Hyden. Could also use information on Annie. Was she living with Alexander Hyden in the 1880 census? James A. Hyden was the son of Alexander Hyden. The Nicholas family lived near Alex Heighden(Hyden)in the 1870 census. [] LEWIS familiy Author: Terry Sikes [] Date: 4 Nov 1998 12:00 PM Surnames: LEWIS Seeking information on the LEWIS family the formerly lived in the Limestone/Robertson Co. area, near Kosse and Bremond. One brother of my g-grandmother was named Hugh Lewis and another had the initials W.T. One of the brothers ran a store and gas station in Kosse many years ago, possibly around 1950. Would welcome any information. Terry Sikes [] McALISTER Author: J. K. Achille [] Date: 4 Nov 1998 12:00 PM Surnames: McALISTER I am trying to find anything about a Joseph or Joe S. McALISTER or various spellings. He was in Limestone County in the 1870 Census: Joe S. McAlister, age 20, b. IN and wife Katie, maiden name unknown. He was a clerk. Also in the household was a Leander Williams, age 25 b. TX, stock- raiser. I don't know if he married in TX or Iowa or ???. Any help, advice, suggestions welcome Thank you! [] Morris family in Limestone county Author: Tim Willingham [] Date: 3 Nov 1998 12:00 PM Surnames: Morris I am trying to find information on any Morris's living in Limestone county sometime between 1864 and 1902. Particularily looking for any information on Sharach, Amon or Mary Morris. [] [] Morris Author: Teresa Penny [] Date: 14 Dec 1998 12:00 PM Hi, I am researching the Morris' of Limestone county also. I have Henry T. Morris. He had several sons and daughters. I do not know of the one's you list, but if you would like to know more about my Morris line in Limestone county, you can personally contact me through my email address. tpenny@glade.net Thanks [] Moss-Brown marriage Author: glenda sandifer [] Date: 3 Nov 1998 12:00 PM Surnames: Moss, Brown Anson F. Moss and wife #2 Nancy Jane were parents of MARY ELIZABETH MOSS. She married BENJAMIN FRANKLIN BROWN. Their daughter ORA EDNEY BROWN was born in Limestone Co., in 1885. I am seeking birth, death, marriage on Mary Moss and Benjamin F.Brown. Any help muchly appreciated. [] [] Moss Family Author: Doris Chaney [] Date: 3 Jan 2000 12:00 PM Do you by any chance have any information on an Anderson Moss b. 1815 and d. after 1860 in Limestone Co. Texas? Would appreciate any help out there? Doris Chaney [] [] Anderson/Anson F. Moss Author: Glenda Sandifer [] Date: 3 Jan 2000 12:00 PM Surnames: Moss Hello Doris, My Anson F. Moss is found on a few records as Anderson. I have no doubt Anderson/Anson are one in the same. His birth is July 20, 1816 and death Sept. 14, 1888. He is buried in a marked grave in Limestone Co. He, his father, Turner as well as brothers Marcellus and Samuel were in Texas as early as 1838. There is lots of information on this family in Robertson and Limestone Co. as well as in Granville Co., NC. Let me know what you are looking for and I will be glad to share the information I have found. Glenda [] [] Moss-Brown Author: Stephen Mitchell [] Date: 4 Jan 2000 12:00 PM Surnames: Mitchell, Morrow, Morton, Brown, Murphy Please let me know if you run across William Franklin Morton married to Amanda Brown on 07/29/1869. They lived in Palestine, Anderson County, Texas. The Mortons came from NC also. [] [] Morton/Brown Author: Glenda [] Date: 4 Jan 2000 12:00 PM Surnames: Morton, Brown Stephen, I will be happy to contact you if I find anything relating to your Brown and Morton. Glenda [] WEAVER Author: Charlotte Ramsay [] Date: 1 Nov 1998 12:00 PM Surnames: WEAVER My gggrandfather William Hunt WEAVER died in Limestone County, Tx in 1928. His first wife and the mother of 2 daughters is unknown. They married abt. 1874 and she died in 1878. At his funeral a brother of his told a daughter, Alcia that he had a picture of her mother. I need her name and would love to see the picture [] [] Joseph T. Weaver, Co. B, 10th Texas Infantry Author: Scott McKay [] Date: 17 Dec 1998 12:00 PM Surnames: WEAVER Charlotte, Did your GGGrandfather have a relative known as Joseph T. WEAVER? Pvt. Joseph T. Weaver of Co. B, 10th Texas Infantry, a resident of Springfield, Limestone County, Texas, joined the service on February 2, 1862. He was mortally wounded at Pickett's Mill near Dallas, Georgia on May 27, 1864; later dying on June 29, 1864. His grave is at the Confederate Section of Oakland Cemetery of Atlanta, Georgia. If you are a descendant of this man, I would love to hear from you. Scott McKay [] 1880 Census Author: Billy Prichard [] Date: 31 Oct 1998 12:00 PM Surnames: Prichard My GG Grandfather was married in Limestone County in 1872 and died in Limestone County in 1912. Sources have told me that he was not in the 1870 census. Looking for 1880 Census info on where he is from. His name was J.A.Prichard and would have had three small children. My GG Grandmother died in 1880 so do not know if she was alive during census. thanks for any help you could provide. [] [] J.A. Prichard Author: Tina Prichard [] Date: 17 Jul 2000 12:00 PM Surnames: Prichard My name in Tina Prichard and my family is from Limestone Co. I have located a Jacob Aster Prichard who was a gin worker from Georgia. He married Francis Elizabeth Johnson born in Bethel, Limestone Co. I know of two children they had: Martha Adella Prichard 1-3-1877 and Naomi E. Prichard 2-9-1879 died 1-17-1904. I not sure where they were married but both above children were born in Limestone Co. If this infomation helps please let me know. I have not been able to link them to my family yet. They are all buried in the Old Bethel Cememtary, which is where my family is buried. TSP212@aol.com Tina Prichard [] [] J.A. Prichard Author: Billy Prichard [] Date: 19 Jul 2000 12:00 PM Surnames: Prichard Tina, I have tried to send you e-mail, Would like to discuss the Prichards in Limestone county Billy Prichard Hobbs,NM 505-392-9100 [] Limestone Cty Marriage Records Author: Lois Owens Willett [] Date: 26 Oct 1998 12:00 PM I will volunteer to look up as many marriage records as possible each week. Please only make five requests per person per week. Most of the time I can get to the library for this research on Monday. Will post the info as soon as possible. Lois Owens Willett [] Marriage Between F.Anderson & Molly Thompson Author: Donald (Don) Dewitt Grooms [] Date: 27 Oct 1998 12:00 PM Surnames: Anderson, Thompson I would appreciate any information you are able to share with me concerning the marriage in Limestone Co., TX between Frank Anderson and Molly Thompson. I do not know the year of their marriage but believe it to be between 1865 and 1873. Any information and/or suggestions would be appreciated. Name:Frank L. (or M.) ANDERSON Sex:Male Individual Facts Birth17 Oct 1844 Death29 Jan 1908 in Mexia, Limestone Co., TX (age 63) Burial in Mexia City Cemetery - Mexia, Limestone Co., TX Marriages/Children 1. Molly Thompson ANDERSON ChildrenHallie Anderson HEARN (-) Mary Anderson TURNER (-) Flora Anderson Johnston VOGHT (-) Leon Anderson HAM (-) Roberta Mae Anderson ROSS (25 Apr 1875-23 Oct 1951) Frank ANDERSON (-) Cook ANDERSON (-) Warren ANDERSON (1873-1947) Arch L. ANDERSON (28 Aug 1883-3 Feb 1949) [] [] Thank you! Author: David Morgan [] Date: 28 Oct 1998 12:00 PM Thanks, Lois! David [] Mary Elizabeth Clancy Rutherford Author: Frank Butcher [] Date: 26 Oct 1998 12:00 PM Surnames: Clancy, Rutherford, Thomason Classification: Biography Mary Elizabeth (Lizzie) Clancy's life is a story of perseverance in the face of great hardship and misfortune, a testimony of how a faith in God and a sense of humor can allow a person to remain cheerful and positive in the hardest of times. Lizzie was the first of 12 children born to Alfred Joseph (Job) and Sarah Elizabeth Ganey Clancy. She was born in Pike County, Alabama and came with her parents to Grimes County, Texas shortly before 1870. Her formal schooling in Alabama extended only through the third grade. Lizzie married Sam Rutherford on 24 December, 1873 and the couple started their family near the Johnson County town of Alvarado. The couple had seven children: Lucy, who died as an infant, Beatrice, who died of pneumonia at the age of four, and Naoma, Frances (Allie), Bob, Will, and Hassie. Within a week of Hassie's birth, Sam died of pneumonia. Lizzie never remarried and raised her family alone, moving to Groesbeck to be near her daughter, Naoma, who had married and moved to that town. She eventually moved in with Naoma when Naoma’s husband, George Rutherford (no kin), died. Lizzie had to be both father and mother to her family, and was known to go hunting with her boys, who became excellent marksmen under her tutelage. The most tragic episode in Lizzie's life involved the death of her sons, Bob and Will. Will Rutherford married Katherine (Katie) Thomason, and the young couple had two children, Eva and Lena. Katie's dad, Daniel Benjamin Thomason, had given his daughter 4 acres of land. Katie died in 1902 of pneumonia at the age of 23, and on her deathbed asked Lizzie not to allow Eva (5 months old) and Lena (2 years old) to be raised by her family, the Thomasons. Her father and brothers (Wal and Charlie) were heavy drinkers and mean, and Katie did not want her children to be raised in that environment. Katie also asked to be buried with Rutherford kin because of the love she had been shown by that family. So Lizzie undertook to help Will raise the girls. Complicating the situation was the fact that Lizzie's daughter, Allie, was married to Wal Thomason, son of Daniel and brother-in-law to Will. After Katie’s death, Daniel Thomason wanted his 4 acre gift back, and pressured Will to return it. Will told the elder Thomason that he could not do that since the deed to the 4 acres was in the name of Katie, Eva and Lena, but that the Thomasons were welcome to use the land since it was too little for him to farm and that he and Bob were going to Palestine to work as carpenters. This explanation did little to satisfy Daniel and tensions built up. One might also speculate that some of the hard feelings had to do with Daniel’s daughter, Katie, showing a preference for the Rutherford family over her own kin. Bob and Will were warned by their sister, Allie (Wal's wife), to avoid the Thomasons because they were drunk and planning mischief, but the boys apparently took this warning too lightly. Bob and Will were loading firewood into their wagon at Red Hill (probably on the disputed land) when they were ambushed by Wal and his father. Will was mortally wounded, and as he fell into the wagon, he grabbed a gun from under the seat (used to shoot rabbits) and shot Daniel Thomason through the heart, killing him instantly. At Will's funeral, the preacher commented that "if ever there was a bullet directed by God, it was the bullet that Will Rutherford shot through Daniel Thomason's heart". Bob Rutherford was also wounded but managed to get to the porch of a nearby house where Wal caught up with him. Bob pleaded with Wal, "For God's sake, don't shoot me again. You've already killed me". Wal is alleged to have replied "Yes, and by God, I'm going to finish the job", before shooting Bob to death on the porch. Wal fled to Louisiana where he stayed for a year with his uncle, John Thomason. When Wal returned, he was tried and acquitted because there were no reliable witnesses, and his Uncle John paid for him to be represented by top lawyers. Also, his brother, Charlie, is said to have given perjured testimony to support Wal. The story is told that after the trial, as Wal drove his wagon past her house, Lizzie grabbed a gun, aimed at Wal, and pulled the trigger, but the gun misfired. When her brother, Ben Clancy, saw what happened, he pulled out his pistol and tried to shoot Wal, but it also misfired. Ben was so angry that he took the offending gun to the woodpile and chopped it to bits with an axe. Lizzie interpreted this turn of events as a divine sign that it was not God's will for her to seek revenge for the killing of her sons. Lizzie's daughter Allie Rutherford Thomason (whose brothers had been killed by her husband, Wal) and her year-old daughter, Kate, lived with Lizzie for three years, estranged from her husband. Eventually Allie went back to Wal, possibly because she was fearful for the family's well-being in light of threats from Wal. The consequence of her return was that Allie was estranged from her mother and Rutherford and Clancy kin who were greatly angered by Allie’s reconciliation with a husband who had killed her two brothers. Even 40 years after the killings, resentment in the Clancy and Rutherford families was such that when Lizzie died, her obituary did not include Allie as one of the surving children. Lizzie’s grandaughter, Eva Rutherford, insists that Lizzie told Allie that she would always be welcome in her house, but that she (Lizzie) could never visit Allie at Wal's. Other members of the Clancy family have a contrary opinion and say that Lizzie made her children promise never to mention Allie’s name again. Lizzie’s grandchildren report that Lizzie did occasionally visit with Allie at Kate and Bart Lenamon’s home, and it is known that Lizzie wrote to Allie when she traveled. These contacts suggest that Lizzie eventually forgave her daughter for going back to Wal. The disputed four acres of land was eventually sold by Lizzie to purchase a piano for Will and Katie’s girls. More grief was added to Lizzie's life in 1904 when her daughter Naoma died, leaving her three children, Henry and twins Claude and Clyde*, for Lizzie to raise. So Lizzie, who had already raised five of her own children to maturity, now had 5 grandchildren to raise. To make a living for her new family, Lizzie at first tried to operate a hotel, but found that to be incompatible with the job of being a mother. She took in sewing, and raised vegetables in a garden that was reputed to be "the best in Groesbeck". Lizzie kept a cow for milk, raised and killed one hog a year for meat, and somehow managed to keep the family afloat. In spite of all of her misfortune and hardship, Lizzie had a jovial (Irish) personality, and was prone to practical jokes. Once she dressed up as a man to scare the ladies next door whose husbands were out of town. The ladies called the police, so good was her act. The police chief threatened to jail Lizzie and lock himself in the cell with her. Lizzie replied to the effect that he might lock her up, but he was darned sure not going to be in that cell with her. Lizzie came from a family of 12 Clancy children, known for their practical joking. One favorite story involves the boys, who painted the penis of their youngest brother with black shoe polish while he was sleeping. (He must have been a sound sleeper.) The older boys had set the stage for this prank by telling him that if he dreamed about certain sexual activities, his privates would turn black, rot and fall off. The next morning the youngster was nearly hysterical and his brothers had a great time at his expense. On another occasion the preacher visited Lizzie, curious to know why her children were at church each Sunday but Lizzie was not. Lizzie told him "Next Sunday, you come to my house, cook breakfast, dress my five kids for church, and then get lunch started--and I'll go to church and preach for you". The preacher told Lizzie that he wouldn't bother her again. Although Lizzie was working too hard for regular church attendance, she was a very religious woman, reading her Bible daily. As an older lady, Lizzie lost her eyesight. Her granddaughter Eva confessed that she was very resentful that "mama" lost her sight since Lizzie had already gone through so much. Lizzie told Eva that she was wrong to think that way, because God had been good to her, allowing her to retain her hearing. Lizzie said that she remembered how her children and her grand and great grandchildren looked, and was thankful that she could hear them when they talked to her. She was able to listen to the radio, to the preacher, to political speeches, and could hear the birds sing. Lizzie told Eva "If I kept my sight I might have lost my strength. I just thank the good Lord for all that I have been given". Eventually Lizzie went to stay in Houston with her daughter, Hassie. She suffered from the effects of a stroke and fell down the stairs at Hassie's house, broke her neck, and died the next day at the age of 91. Lizzie is buried in the Faulkenberry Cemetery in Groesbeck, in the family plot with her grandsons, Claude and Clyde, daughter Naoma, and Naoma’s husband, George Rutherford. Lizzie seemed to have a "saying" for just about any occasion, and they must have made an impression on her children and grandchildren, because a substantial list has been compiled to be shared with her descendants. Some sayings are probably Clancy originals, and some are certainly not, but all of them speak to her character: >You didn't mean to do it, but you sure got there in time to do it. > Just remember--You like your friends, faults and all, or you don't like your friends at all. > You can't help the way you are born, but you can surely help the way you die. > Just remember--Ill words spoken are like chaff in the wind; once they are spoken they can never be taken back. > A woman can throw away more at the back door than a man can bring in the front door. > A long little is better than a short heap. > It isn't what you make that counts, it's what you save. > Never tell what you can or can't do. It doesn't take a smart person to find out what you can do. > Before finding fault with the other person, take inventory of yourself. > Hard work never killed anyone, but worry will. > If you have hard jobs to do, tackle the hardest one first and you will enjoy doing the easy ones. > It only takes minutes to make a mess, but it takes hours to clean it up. > Every pancake has two sides, even though one side is browner than the other. > If you can't say something good about a person--don't say anything. > Don't bite off more than you can chew. > Every tub must sit on its own bottom. > You are judged by the company you keep. > Jealousy is as cruel as the grave. > It isn't what you have been, but what you are today. > Just remember--You have a good name, so live up to it. > Just remember--The one you marry will be the parent of your child. > When you marry it is a 50/50 agreement, but most of the time you will go 3/4 of the way. > Get a smile on your lips. They could get stepped on held so far out. > The man who curses doesn't show strength, he shows weakness. > Two bad paymasters are ones who pay too soon and ones who never pay. > We like comers and goers, but not comers and stayers. > Actions speak louder than words. > If you tell one lie, it takes a thousand to explain that one. > It isn't what you have, it is the way you take care of it. > You can't believe all that you hear, and only half of what you see. > If you do a kindness for a neighbor, do not accept anything for it -- that kills the deed. Later if they want to do something for you, that is ok. > Don't ever marry someone beneath you as you can never bring him up to your standard, but he can bring you down to his. > Don't expect anything and you won't be disappointed. > A woman can make or break a man. > If you lose a loved one or friend, always think of the nice things you did for each other and the good times you had together while they were here. > Don't ever say your child wouldn't do this or that, for what your neighbor's child does, yours is liable to do. > You can't buy love--you just pass it on. > Be a good listener and you will be a good conversationalist. > Willful waste makes woeful want. > Do not say what you would or would not do. Put yourself in the other's place and you might not do as well as he. > You can be a lady regardless of the circumstances. > Remember--God made you, but you are responsible for what you become. > It is never too late to apologize for something you have said or done. > Keep your temper; no one else wants it. > It is not how much you read that counts, it is the type of reading and what you retain. > If you cannot keep a secret, do not expect that the other person you tell it to will keep it. > Beware of a man's compliments, they seldom mean what they say. But a woman does, for she seldom pays you one. > It is easy to love someone who loves you, but it takes a real Christian to love someone who does not love you. > Be careful what you say when you are not feeling well--the person you say it to may not feel too well either. > Watch what you say for you never know what influence you are having on the other person. > They way to success is looking ahead and up, not behind and down. > Giving is living. > When you make your tracks, do not expect someone else to cover them up for you. > Do not have your fun at the other fellow's expense. > Never start a bad habit and you will not have to worry about quitting it. > Everything that God made is good. It is what man makes out of it that makes it bad. > Remember--Tomorrow never comes, so make the best of today. > If you make your bed hard, remember that you are going to be the one to lie on it. > If things are pleasant, life is too short, but if they are not, then life is too long. > Children, as you are now, so once was I; but as I am now, so you must be. Prepare yourselves to follow me. Considering the heartbreaks and tragedies of her life, one might expect to see a saying like "when it rains, it pours" on the above list. However, Lizzie was ever the positive person, and that kind of remark would be too negative to be included in her repertoire. ---------------- There are competing versions of the shootout between the Thomasons and Rutherfords and events that followed. This bit of history was a taboo topic in the Thomason household, and children and grandchildren only learned about it from sources very remote to the actual event. This silence seems to have led to an abundance of speculation and rumors. I have chosen to accept the account of the person closest to the principals, Eva Rutherford, who was Will's daughter, and who was raised by Lizzie (whom she called 'Mama'). Eva heard from Lizzie the account of the gunfight, and had first hand knowledge of other facts concerning Lizzie. Eva was interviewed in 1996 at the age of 94 to get the information for this article. One version of the shootout I have chosen to discount was related in a letter written by Troy Thomason in 1987: “Seems ‘Dee’ (Daniel Thomason) and son Wal were in a wagon when Wal’s two brother-in-laws came up and shot Dee. Wal killed one immediately and killed the second as he was trying to enter a house (Dad said he was going in to get a shotgun). Wal rode a horse all the way to my grandfather Wallace A. Thomason’s place at Old Union....my father Henry was there when he arrived, said horse was staggering from fatigue. Wal went to Provencal, Louisiana for about a year and lived with his Uncle John Thomason’s folks.” There are at least three problems with this account which cause me to doubt its veracity: First, there is no known motive for the Rutherford men to have started the fight. Secondly, Wal’s flight to Louisiana is hardly the action of an innocent victim. Finally, if the Rutherfords planned and initiated the shooting, why would one of them have to go to a nearby house to get a weapon after the gunfire started? Another version related to me by a member of the Thomason family was that Daniel Thomason’s daughter, Katie, who was married to Will Rutherford, had tuberculosis. Supposedly, Will was going to move his family to West Texas where the climate would be easier on his wife. Daniel was angered by this planned move, leading to an eventual confrontation and shootout. According to this story, Katie and Will’s daughters, Eva and Lena, were then raised by Jo Thomason (Daniel’s wife). Two facts argue against this version of events. First, Katie was already deceased at the time of the shootout, making moot any plans that her husband had for a move. Additionally and indisputably, Eva and Lena were raised by Lizzie Rutherford as told by Eva, and described previously in this article. Frances DuPlantis remembers being told by her grandmother Allie (Wal’s wife), that Wal told Allie late in their marriage that he greatly regretted the incident--that “it never should have been”, and that Wal blamed it on his “not having been raised right.” This statement from Wal himself, strongly suggests that the blame for this tragic event rests with the Thomasons. Frank Butcher August, 1998 [] Frances Aline Rutherford Thomason Author: Frank Butcher [] Date: 26 Oct 1998 12:00 PM Surnames: Rutherford, Thomason Classification: Biography Frances Aline (Allie) Rutherford was born in Grimes County at Navasota, and lived for a time in Johnson County before moving to Limestone County. She married Wal Thomason on January 25, 1900, at Lovelady in Houston County. This match makes a case for the attraction of opposites, because Wal was a rough character with a reputation for meanness and heavy drinking--in remarkable contrast to Allie's soft-spoken, temperate, and kind personality. Allie is mostly remembered for her faithfulness as a Christian. She committed her life to God at an early age, and her faith never wavered. Her grandchildren remember that she sang hymns as she worked, and when she wasn't singing, her lips were moving in silent prayer. Allie was a true prayer warrior, and prayed for every person in her family, for the mates-to-be of her children, and for her grandchildren and great grandchildren who were yet to be born. She said that God gave her the promise that, because of her faithfulness, He would bless her progeny to the fourth generation. Allie was a serious student of Bible prophecy, and preachers would often come to her house to solicit her thoughts. Any visitor who came into Allie's house heard about the Lord. Her granddaughter and namesake, Frances Lenamon DuPlantis, fondly remembers Grannie summoning her grandchildren into the house for a time of Bible reading. On other occasions Allie and her grandchildren would kneel in front of the fireplace while she voiced a prayer. Allie was also known for her great cooking, especially french fries. She floured and salt and peppered thick-cut potato strips before frying, and added a skillet of delicious cornbread to make a meal that her grandchildren remember as being just this side of Heaven. Allie is also remembered as an encourager, making sure that her children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren knew that they were smart enough do anything. Her granddaughter, Frances, also recalled that her friends enjoyed going with her to "Grannies", because Allie was such a loving and caring person and made everyone feel welcome. She was an incredibly intelligent lady, and self-educated. Allie sold eggs and milk to buy magazines and books and took advantage of every educational opportunity. She could see the picture of a dress in a magazine, cut out a pattern from newspapers, and then sew that dress. Allie was a super perfectionist and a fastidious housekeeper. Her great granddaughter, Linda Fife Butcher, remembered that when drying glasses at Allie's, two dish towels were required- one to dry, and one to polish the glasses. Allie laughed about the comment of a neighbor who told her " I don't know why you make such a fuss over keeping dust out of your house, since you yourself are going to turn into dust eventually". She placed great value in education, an attitude which filtered down through her children to her grandchildren and great grandchildren. Allie is remembered as a great story teller, talking her grandchildren to sleep in her feather bed with stories of the abduction of Cynthia Ann Parker by Comanches, wild panthers and mountain lions that roamed the area in her childhood, and tales of Texas caverns and caves used as hideouts by Indians and outlaws. Sometimes Allie would punctuate her stories with panther screeches to add a touch of drama to her rendition. She never told the same story twice and her granddaughter Mary Beth Fife was convinced that Allie could have been an author of childrens books. Allie was renowned as the family historian and could rattle off dates of births and weddings many generations into the past. She told her children that they were distantly related to a number of famous people including Thomas Jefferson, John Hancock, and Sul Ross. Mary Beth wrote, “Even when I was little Grannie said we were kin to John Hancock and Robert E. Lee -- and she traced it back for me. We are also kin to the Morgans, whose ships plied the Atlantic to Liverpool, England. Grannie said Sul Ross was Grannie Thomason’s (Mary Josephine Ross Thomason) first cousin”. Allie was apparently afraid of a break-in at night and conveyed some of that fear to her grandchildren when she involved them in preparations for bed. Her great-grandson, Brad DuPlantis, remembers his Grannie arming him with a bottle of chlorox, a window stick, and a coke bottle. If an intruder broke through the door, her instructions were to throw the chlorox in his eyes to blind him, hit him on the head with the stick to stun him, and then knock him out with the coke bottle. No doubt speaking for all the great-grandchildren, Brad said “You can imagine how easy we slept after she told all of this.” Allie had the mind of an entrepreneur, and was very inventive. If she had been born at a later time when women had more opportunities, her grandchildren feel certain that she would have been a very successful business person. Allie and Wal lived in a "shotgun house", a style so named because you could fire a shotgun through the front door, and the pellets would go through the house and out the back door without hitting anything inside. Due to the fire hazard, the kitchen was separated from the house by a "dog run", an open porch-like area. The house itself was one large room, sparsely decorated and containing only minimal furniture in a time when there was not so much emphasis on material possessions. Allie is remembered as being very modest and even Victorian in her demeanor. Her grandchildren recall that Allie bound her breasts with a flour sack, because she thought “jiggling” breasts were nothing short of scandalous. Great granddaughter, Linda Fife Butcher, said Allie was “the most modest person I ever knew”, and commented that the grandchildren wondered how a person with such an exaggerated sense of modesty ever managed to have children. Allie made a point of teaching her children that the role of sex was solely for the purpose of procreation, but her granddaughter, Frances Lenamon DuPlantis, also remembers Allie’s premarital advice that a wife should always powder herself before going to bed in order to smell good for her husband. Allie looked starched and ironed at all times and was also devoted to the correct use of the English language, making sure that her children and grandchildren used proper grammar. She had rheumatic fever as a teen, and doctors thought she would die of the resulting heart problems by the age of 18. This bout with rheumatic fever caused Allie to have spells of very poor health for most of her life, including one period when she was confined to a wheel chair for more than a year. Remarkably, in spite of her health problems, Allie lived to be 91 years old. Allie's life with her husband was marred by a tragic event that almost ended their young marriage. Wal and his father, in a dispute over 4 acres of land, shot and killed Bob and Will Rutherford, who were Allie's brothers. As might be expected, this event put quite a strain on the relationship between Allie and Wal. Allie and her year-old daughter Kate lived for three years with her mother, Lizzie Rutherford, but eventually reunited with Wal. The entire episode was never talked about in the family, but her grandchildren feel that Allie went back to Wal for a combination of reasons: First, Allie probably felt that she and her baby were a burden on Lizzie, who already was raising 5 orphaned grandchildren. Then, those who knew Allie’s strong principles, are convinced of her commitment to marriage as a life together for better or worse. In addition, Allie truly loved Wal. She told her grandchildren that it had been love at first sight for both she and Wal. Finally, a persistent rumor in the family is that Wal sought out Allie, and told her that because he could not live without her, he intended to kill her, Kate, and himself if Allie did not come back to him. Regardless of Allie’s motive(s), the consequence of her return was that Allie was effectively excommunicated from the Rutherford and Clancy families who were greatly angered by Allie’s reconciliation with a husband who had killed her two brothers. Even 40 years after the killings, the resentment was such that when Lizzie died, her obituary did not include Allie as one of the surviving children. Lizzie’s granddaughter, Eva Rutherford, insists that Lizzie told Allie that she would be welcome in her house, but that she (Lizzie) could never visit Allie at Wal's. Other members of the Clancy family express the contrary view that Lizzie made her children promise never to mention Allie’s name again. In at least one Clancy household, the children were not even allowed to say Allie’s name because “she no longer existed”. However, Allie’s grandchildren report that Lizzie did occasionally visit with Allie at Kate and Bart Lenamon’s home, and it is known that Lizzie wrote to Allie when she traveled. These contacts, though infrequent, suggest some measure of reconciliation between mother and daughter and that Lizzie forgave her daughter for going back to Wal. Regardless, Allie’s grandchildren remember that she never quit loving her Rutherford and Clancy kin and always spoke lovingly of her mother and her brothers and sisters in spite of this estrangement and its resulting heartache. After Wal died, Allie took turns living with her three children. When she was 85, Allie bought a house and moved it to her Box Church acreage where she lived until her death. Her son Paul lived with her the last two years of her life. Allie was an exceptional cook and some of her recipes were so tasty that they have filtered down through many generations to grateful descendants. An all time favorite is her hot water cornbread. The recipe that follows was written up by her granddaughter, Mary Beth Lenamon, for the Lenamon Family Cookbook: GRANNIE'S HOT WATER CORNBREAD I guess the thing I like most that my grandmother cooked was her hot water cornbread. I, along with my sister and my sisters-in-law and some of the grandkids still make it today, and the whole family considers it a real treat. When all of my nephews would come in from college with their friends, I would cook a big vegetable meal, a roast and always hot water cornbread. You can make up any amount you want, but if Haskell and I are really, really hungry, I will make up 1 cup of meal for us. It takes a very large black skillet to cook 1 cup of meal made up, so if there are LOTS of you to eat, you will need two skillets going and 2 cups of meal. In a pan, mix 1 cup of corn meal with 1/4 teaspoon of baking powder and a small amount of salt. Have your water at a rolling boil and keep it that way while you are using it. Add the boiling water to the meal, stirring all the time. Add as much water as you think it can take and wait a few minutes and then it will take some more. Keep resting awhile and adding boiling water until it just won't take any more at all. This is what makes it light on the inside of the pone. Too little water makes it gummy and heavy and no good to my way of thinking. Have your grease very hot, but not burning. Let the cold water run slowly and put some on your hand and then spoon a spoonful of hot mix onto your palms and shape into a flat, rounded pone, and place it in the grease. Even being careful, if you fry a lot, you will make a mess on the stove, but it is so good, you don't care too much. Use up all you mix and let brown as much as you want on one side and then turn and let the other side do the same. Drain on paper toweling. Have your food ready to serve so you can eat your cornbread hot. I love it so much that I can make a meal on just it and a glass of tea. Frank Butcher July, 1998 [] Wallace Allison Thomason Author: Frank Butcher [] Date: 26 Oct 1998 12:00 PM Surnames: Thomason, Rutherford Classification: Biography Wal Thomason lived the first 30 years of his life in the remnants of the wild west, and perhaps the toughness of that time helps to explain the dichotomy of his life. As a young man, Wal was a fighter and has been described as a “violent” man. It was said that Wal Thomason "would fight at the drop of a hat, and he would drop the hat". Wal was not the kind of person to start a fight, but he never backed away from one, and his fuse was very short. He was a heavy drinker, which made a large contribution to his violent ways. Wal almost killed a man on the streets of Mart, beating him senseless and then in uncontrolled anger, kicking and stomping him until he was pulled off. When Wal married Allie Rutherford, he showed up for the wedding scuffed up--apparently from a fight, but never explained what had happened. As shown by the picture above, Wal was a slightly built man, close to six feet tall and weighing no more than 150 pounds. In a fight, Wal made up for this less than imposing physical stature with a bulldog mentality that meant he was either going to whip his adversary or die trying. As a married man, Wal mellowed considerably under the faithful influence of his wife who was a devout Christian. However, occasionally his rough side would resurface. The story is told about an ex-slave called Auntie who weekly helped Allie with the washing, but showed up hours late on one occasion. Wal asked for an explanation for her tardiness, and was told that she was stopped by some white men who would not let her pass in an area that was off limits to blacks. Wal did not say a word, but retrieved his 44 pistol from his trunk, and walked out the door. Hours later, when he returned, Wal simply told Auntie that "you won't have that problem again." Wal gave no details on how he managed to be so persuasive, but given Wal's reputation, it is not hard to imagine. Several years into his marriage, Wal and his dad were involved in a dispute with Will Rutherford over 4 acres of land. Eventually, there was a confrontation and a shootout, leaving his wife's brothers, Will and Bob Rutherford dead, as well as Wal's dad. In the repercussions of this shooting, Wal left town temporarily to avoid a possible lynching, and Allie separated from Wal, moving with her baby daughter, Kate, to live with her mother. Wal was tried and acquitted for his role in the shooting, mostly because there were no reliable witnesses and because his brother Charlie is reputed to have lied on the witness stand to protect Wal. As an older man Wal told Allie that he greatly regretted the killings, saying that "it never should have been", and blamed his rough behavior on not being taught right as a child. This episode made life-long enemies for Wal among members of the Rutherford and Clancy families. One member of the Clancy family reports thinking as child that Wal’s name was “Old Sorry” because she never heard his name mentioned except as “Old Sorry Wal”. When Allie returned to Wal after a three year separation, she was excommunicated from the Clancy and Rutherford families who would not even allow their children to mention her name, because “she no longer existed”. As a father, Wal was a harsh disciplinarian, routinely using a buggy whip to beat his children. Once, after he whipped his 25 year-old daughter, Erin (still single and living at home), she ran into the house and came out with a shotgun, letting Wal know that if he ever tried that again, she would shoot him dead. As a grandfather, Wal is remembered more kindly. His grandchildren recall that he always used clean language and was very ethical. When he went to town, he wore overalls, a white Stetson hat, and spotless shoes. He took great pride in keeping his shoes and hat clean, always brushing his shoes when he came inside and putting his hat away in a hat box. Wal’s grandchildren recall that even on the wettest days, he could walk down the dirt lane to the store, and somehow arrive without a speck of mud on his shoes. He loved peppermint candy, and delighted in listening to the "Lone Ranger" and the "Grand Ole Opry" on the radio. Wal chewed tobacco, but was very neat about it, probably due to the influence of Allie who by all accounts was a fastidious housekeeper. He was a quiet man, reserved about demonstrations of affection except when it came to his grandchildren and great grandchildren, whom he thought could do no wrong. Wal bought apples and oranges by the box during the winter as treats for his grandchildren. He called each of the boys "sugar man", and he called his daughter Kate "Sweet Baby", his son Paul, "Bud", and his daughter Erin, "Peg". In the summer Wal would take his grandchildren to the tank and let them swim, sitting patiently for hours. His granddaughter Frances remembers Wal taking her and John to Groesbeck on Saturdays, feeding them at Lynn's Cafe, and letting them go to the double feature movie at the local theater, while he sat and visited with friends on the street. Wal raised watermelons in the summer and sweet potatoes in the fall, taking his produce to Mart and Groesbeck in a wagon to sell on the street. According to notes left by his granddaughter, Mary Beth Fife, Wal raised sugar cane and had a syrup mill on his farm. He also had one of the largest pear orchards in the area, and as late as 1990, kin were picking pears from the few remaining trees. Wal was not a religious man, but exposure to his wife's steadfast faith and Bible readings possibly made him into a believer. On his death bed just before dying, Wall told Allie that he could see a dove hovering above him. Wal’s granddaughter, Mary Beth Lenamon Fife, wrote the following description of times she and her siblings spent with Wal and Allie for the Limestone County Family Genealogy Book: “I am the oldest grandchild and the only one born in the big house on the hill near the stores at Box Church (Wal and Allie’s home), but all the grandchildren have the fond memories of our grandparents that I have. They made us rope swings, let us climb in the two-story barn, washed and warmed our feet in winter, provided cheese, crackers, apples and peppermint candy to munch on while we sat around a winter’s roaring fire in the fireplace and listened to The Lone Ranger or some such radio program, and let us gather the eggs to sell to buy candy--a seldom had treat for us. Our Sundays were spent there playing with cousins and always glad when we graduated from the little table to the big table. Love, patience, prayers and good training are what we think of when we think of our grandparents.” Frank Butcher August, 1998 [] Col. Zachariah Thomason Author: Frank Butcher [] Date: 26 Oct 1998 12:00 PM Surnames: Thomason Classification: Biography From page 2197 of the book, A History of Texas and Texans by Frank W. Johnson: "Colonel Zachariah Thomason was a Tennessean by birth, a farmer and trader, whose birth occurred near Woodbury, in Wilson County. He was trained to the life of a farmer, and married Miss Matilda Hancock, daughter of Lewis Hancock, a slaveholding planter of Wilson County. Before the Indians were moved from Alabama beyond the Mississippi, Zachariah and Matilda Thomason settled near Valley Head in DeKalb County, where he became a justice of the peace and during the war against Mexico was commissioned a captain of infantry in Col Coffey's regiment, and was in the army of General Scott. Subsequently, Captain Thomason became a prominent figure in the Confederacy. As lieutenant-colonel in the Seventh Alabama Cavalry, he was in the command of General Joe Wheeler, was captured at Duck River in Tennessee, and was confined with other Confederate officers at Johnson's Island until the end of the war. From the beginning of the great struggle between the states he had been a strong secessionist, and was never reconciled to the reunion of the states. Following the war he resumed his residence in Limestone county and remained there until shortly before his death. His property interests in Tennessee and in Pontotoc County, Mississippi, caused him to return to those states for the purpose of converting his lands into cash, and he died while away and is buried near Coffeytown, Mississippi. As an unreconstructed Confederate, Colonel Thomason never voted after the war. He belonged to no church, had secured little education, was a man of firmness and obstinacy, and his practical business sense made him more than ordinarily successful. While in the Yankee prison at Johnson's Island he practiced penmanship and became something of an artist for a farmer with the pen. His wife died in Limestone county near Oletha during the 1890’s. Their children were: Martha Ann, now deceased, who married T. J. Slayton, a business man at Jacksonville, Texas; Daniel B., who was killed near Groesbeck and left a family; Charles M., who was a captain in the army of Stonewall Jackson, was on the scene in the memorable evening when the great Confederate general was shot by his own men and heard the volley which took that leader's life, returned to Texas after the war, became a farmer and merchant, and died at Guy's Store; John C., of Provineall, Louisiana, who served in the Nineteenth Texas Cavalry and spent his life as a farmer; Newton B., and Wallace of Oletha." The same article reveals that Zachariah headed the small family party that left Alabama and by wagon crossed the intervening country to the Mississippi River at Helena, and finally stopped near Mexia, where their relatives, the Hancocks, lived. According to notes left by Zachariah’s great-great grandaughter, Mary Beth Lenamon Fife, Zachariah was a RARE horseman, and traveled all over the United States. [] Benjamin Bart Lenamon Author: Frank Butcher [] Date: 26 Oct 1998 12:00 PM Surnames: Lenamon Classification: Biography Benjamin Bart Lenamon was the sixth of ten children born to Benjamin Levi Lenamon and Nancy Permelia Herod. He grew up and attended school in the Rocky Point community. Bart was the last of the ten children to wed, and by the time he married Lillie Kate Thomason at the age of 29, he had his own wagon and team as well as a truck. Benjamin Levi and Nancy gave each of their children 100 acres of land while they were single and later each of the ten received an additional 100 acres. Bart and Kate later acquired another 200 acres that they farmed until Bart's death in 1958. Bart was an excellent farmer, raising watermelons to sell in the summer, and sweet potatoes in the fall. He also raised tomatoes, peas, cantaloupes, and berries. Bart had a reputation for producing top quality produce, and was known for crop rows that were straightest anywhere. Bart was smart enough not to take all the risk of growing crops as he would often buy up the produce of neighboring farms, and market those vegetables along with his own. Some say that Bart was at his best when marketing his produce. It was not unusual for him to sell out his truck of produce on the streets of Groesbeck or Mart at prices higher than his competitors, go across the street and buy out another farmer, and then sell that produce for top dollar. Bart's reputation for merchandising produce was such that local grocery stores tried to recruit him as a produce manager. Life was hard for Bart and Kate and their children on their sandy-land truck farm, especially during the Great Depression, and with the arrival of World War II, Bart was tempted to join the exodus of farmers leaving the land for the lure of good money in defense plants. In the end, his love of the land, the farming life, and the independence he had as his own boss kept him on the farm. Bart, like most people, had a mixed personality. He had a tough veneer, was very harsh with his children and was a strong disciplinarian--although his children point out that he never spanked Frances. He was hardheaded, and clashed with his strong-willed children (especially Mary Beth and John), perhaps sensing a threat to his authority. On the other hand, Bart was a generous man and a very hard worker. He was well liked and highly respected in the community, serving several years as a trustee of the Box Church Common School District. Beneath Bart’s tough veneer was a kind heart, and he was proud of his family and a great supporter of the children. Mary Beth remembered fainting, and regaining consciousness to find Bart crying beside her bed. Mary Beth also recalled that her dad was the only person to write her at college, and was present at the births of both of her babies. Bart always remembered his mother's birthday, and would choke up when talking about her to his children. He loved hunting and sports--especially baseball. Bart’s son, Joe, believes that his father was the best male correspondent he has ever known, writing cards to his children when they were away from home and sending regular notes to grandchildren. He wrote Joe often while he served in the Korean War, usually including a commentary on the rivalry between their favorite major league baseball teams. Bart was also good with animals. While his children would have to chase down horses to bridle them, those same horses would come to Bart and remain still while he put the bridle on. His son-in-law Bill DuPlantis recalled that Bart talked to his first tractor, cussing it and yelling “gee” and “haw” to the tractor just like it was his mules, Jenny and Rat. Bart also spent considerable time with his dogs, teaching them many tricks. His grandson, David Fife, remembered that Bart would let him drive as many nails as he wanted into wood, but when he drove a nail into the dirt, Bart got angry. His thinking was that driving nails into wood was a learning experience for a youngster, but hammering them into dirt was just wasteful. David also commented that he would rather have been whipped than have to endure a lecture from his grandfather. When David stepped on a nail, he got an insight into the medical practice on the Lenamon farm where cuts and bruises were soaked in kerosene. Bart was a heavy smoker that may account for his several heart attacks, although the farm diet of greasy food cooked in lard likely made a contribution. There is also some suspicion that Bart may have done some bootlegging during prohibition to make extra spending money. Bart was a large man for his time, stood 6',0" tall, weighed about 200 pounds, and was a very strong man. He was an excellent baseball player, once striking out 21 batters in a game. Bart is also credited with hitting some of the longest home runs ever seen by the locals of Limestone County. His children were told by Bart's peers that he could have had a career in professional baseball. Bart was a patient craftsman in the construction work that he performed, but seemed to lose interest afterwards and did not maintain his farm well. As a result, things around the farm seemed to be in a constant state of disrepair. The Depression years were hard on the Lenamon family, but his children recall that Bart was a good provider even in the leanest of times. Bart was a good manager, and handled the growing and marketing of his produce efficiently so that his family never lacked for necessities. Bart often sold his produce to local grocery stores, and was paid mostly with “due bills”, which could be redeemed only for goods sold by the store. In the worst part of the Depression, Bart took advantage of a government program that paid $8 a head for farmers to kill their cattle, which were buried in huge trenches dug out by bulldozers. 1948 is remembered by the Lenamon children as the year that the farm got electricity. The REA (Rural Electrification Administration) lines had been tantalizingly extended to within one mile of the farm in 1941, but when the United States entered World War II, all copper was diverted to military use, and the Lenamons had to wait another seven years to enter the electrical age. John recalls that the biggest impact brought about by electricity had to do with refrigeration. The family could keep meat and milk, and the huge effort necessary to reduce spoilage by obtaining and preparing fresh food daily, was greatly reduced. Another 1948 milestone was Bart’s purchase of a Ford tractor that allowed him to accomplish four times the amount of work that could be done with his mules. One negative aspect of Bart’s personality mentioned by his children was his tendency to pout when he got angry, sometimes not talking for a day or two. Bart once borrowed one of his father-in-law’s mules, and when he did not return it, Wal came after the mule and trotted it behind his truck back to his farm. For some reason, Bart was upset by Wal reclaiming his mule, and for the next month would not attend the ritual Sunday afternoon family gathering at the Thomason home. Wal, who was not known for his subtleness, eventually took Bart to task for this pouting behavior with a tongue lashing that sent the women scurrying from the room. Bart was a good musician and singer, occasionally leading the singing at church. Mary Beth remembered Bart playing "Red Wing" on a borrowed violin. Bart’s Aunt Emma Herod told members of the family that Bart sat under a tree with one of their violins and worked all day until he mastered it. His sister-in-law, Erin Thomason Allen, told that Bart played with her musical group and could play several instruments. Bart was not the spiritual leader of his family, but supported the Christian upbringing of his children and was a hospitable host to traveling preachers, who often stayed at his home. For Bart however, church attendance sometimes took a back seat to the Sunday domino game at the local store. Bart's last heart attack occurred in Groesbeck where he was making a produce delivery at Steven's Grocery Store. He was rushed to the hospital and died a few days later, on May 29, 1958 at the age of 61. In addition to his heart problems, Bart suffered from a malady called sleep apnea, which caused him to stop breathing in his sleep, then suddenly resume breathing with disconcerting gasping sounds. Bart took great pride in everything that he raised on the farm, and was a master at hog killing and preparation of the meat. Bart was noted for his sausage recipe, which is included here as described in the Lenamon Cookbook by his daughter Mary Beth Lenamon Fife: Ingredients: 60 pounds of meat, 1-2/3 cups salt, 4 ounces of sage, 2 ounces of red cayenne pepper, and 1 ounce of black pepper. Approximately 1/3 of the meat should be fat. "Daddy would grind these up and we would stuff the casings or cloth sacks. Mother would give me an old sheet to cut up when I was big enough to treadle the machine. I would make the sacks at 'ninety miles an hour'. Daddy would bring green hickory wood from "down in the bottom", and make a fire under an old galvanized tub that had openings to let the smoke waft up to cure the sausage, hams, and bacon." "Everyone who ever ate any of Daddy's sausage thought it was 'the best'. He always used good parts of the hog and was so clean and careful in preparing any of the meat. Mother gave us this recipe and if he did anything different, I don't know it". "I can close my eyes now and see the rafters just full of meat and the shelf full of meat and the bacon box in the back left corner. Nice crock jars of white lard were all around the walls. When it got too hot to keep the sausage safely, Mother would fry them a bit and then pack them in their own grease in quart jars. She'd open and warm them in the wood stove and how we hated to see them all eaten up". Frank Butcher January, 1998 [] Benjamin Levi Lenamon Author: Frank Butcher [] Date: 26 Oct 1998 12:00 PM Surnames: Lenamon, Herod, Etheredge Classification: Biography Benjamin Levi Lenamon was born in Cherokee County, Alabama in 1863. After the death of his father, Levi, Ben moved with his mother to Dallas County, Alabama. From there the family moved on to Sumter County for a few years until they finally departed for Texas in 1881. Ben, his mother Sarah, his stepfather, Joshua Carrell, and three or more sisters arrived by train at Thornton, Texas. Ben had one dime in his pocket upon their arrival. Not too long after Ben and his mom arrived in Texas, Ben went to the local dry goods store to purchase a sack to use in picking cotton so that he could make some sorely needed cash for the family. He had only 35 cents, and the price was 50 cents. The merchant refused to extent the 15 cent credit Ben needed. In his anger, Ben told the man, "I gannies" (a phrase he used to express anger and/or determination), "I'll see the day I'll buy and sell you." Later, Ben bought the store and then closed it down to fulfill his pledge. Ben married Nancy Permelia Herod, the daughter of Thomas Jefferson Herod of Attala County, Mississippi. The Herod family had moved to Texas about 1851. Nancy's grandfather, James Herod, was called Dr. Herod. He was a lay Methodist minister and practical physician who used his own medicine to treat the early pioneers. Ben was a pioneer builder and even though he could neither read nor write, it was said that he could figure one of his construction jobs down to the point that any excess materials could be carried off in a wheelbarrow. It has also been said that Ben could calculate the proceeds from the sale of boxcar loads of cattle in his head faster than others could with pencil and paper. His son Bart took great pride in once having corrected his dad's calculations. Bart told Ben "Pa, if I can show you where they are cheating you, will you buy me the gun I’ve been wanting". Ben said he would.... and he did. One of Ben's construction jobs was the building of the opera house in Groesbeck, Texas. Tradition has Ben going by train to Dallas with gold in a money belt to pay for furnishings for the opera house. His four sons helped with this construction. The building was well built from bricks made at the local brick plant and is currently (1997) still in use as the home of the Groesbeck Journal newspaper. Ben is remembered by his grandchildren as truly a unique person. He had imagination and was an innovator, entrepreneur, and developer who had no peer in the Groesbeck area. Ben got his start by buying land in the Box Church / Rocky Point area, with much of the money coming from the backbreaking work of cutting cord wood and splitting rails for fences. He worked his farm by day and cut wood at night, using a gasoline powered saw. Eventually, Ben became a very large landowner and made money renting out his land, financing his tenant’s crops, and serving as a middleman in the selling of those crops. Ben maintained a commissary on his home place where the tenants on his many farms and other locals could buy supplies without traveling a great distance to the nearest store. He also built homes on each farm. Ben maintained a small black- smith shop to make repairs. Once in the barnstorming era of flying, an airplane was forced to land in one of Ben's pastures due to mechanical trouble. Ben manufactured the part needed in his shop, and sent the plane on its way. He had the first telephone in the area, and had an old Saxon car. He first got a well pump, and then a windmill to provide cold running water to the barn. In 1921, possibly prompted by oily seepages into tanks on his farm, Ben drilled the first well looking for oil in the area, drilling down to 1400 feet and finding nothing. Although his well came up dry, enormous natural gas reserves were found on his property in later years by drillers with the capability of going deeper. Ben and Nancy gave each of their ten children one hundred acres of land and a house when they married, and on her death bed Nancy persuaded Ben to give each child an additional 100 acres. This was not difficult for a man who owned thousands of acres, some of it bought for fifty cents to two dollars an acre. What is admirable is that he taught his children the value of hard work. He felt that hard work never hurt anyone. Ben’s father, Levi Lenamon, was shot and killed by “bushwhackers” just three years after returning to Alabama from service in Lee’s Army of Northern Virginia at the conclusion of the Civil War. This event left his family destitute and 5 year-old Ben was reduced to gleaning fields for food to help the family through the crisis. This plunge into poverty was a character molding experience that helps to explain Ben’s fierce determination to be financially successful, as well as his generosity to people in dire straits. On the streets of Groesbeck, Ben encountered the wife of a friend who was quite ill. Ben inquired about the health of the lady’s husband, and was told that he was doing poorly and probably dying. Ben reached into his pocket, pulled out $1,000, offered it to the lady and asked, “Will this help?”. One thousand dollars in 1920 would be equivalent to about $20,000 in 1997 dollars, so the amount of the offer is probably exaggerated, but the story still makes a significant statement about Ben’s generosity and his empathy for people going through tough times. This story was told to Ben’s grandson, Joe Lenamon, by a descendant of the lady who was the beneficiary of Ben’s offer. Nancy died at her home near Rocky Point after a long illness on June 28, 1923. Ben then married Clara V. Ethridge on October 20, 1924. According to family hearsay, Clara set her sights on Ben and his assets shortly after Nancy’s death. This marriage certainly introduced considerable turmoil into the family. Clifton Lenamon and several of the older children had large families of their own when their mother died. Probably fearing that Clara would maneuver them out of their rightful inheritance, they asked Ben to divide the estate of their mother in order that each child might receive a child’s share. Since Nancy Permelia died intestate, half of her estate would go to her spouse, Ben, and the other half to the ten children. Each child was thus entitled to 1/20 of the community property of Ben and Nancy. Ben refused to divide the estate, resulting in case number 6441-A, filed in district court by Clifton C. Lenamon et. al. against B.L. Lenamon, dated January 5, 1926. The children received their 1/20 share following an appeal of the case that allowed the land that each child had previously received to count in their share. Each child received only a small amount of acreage after payment of the large attorney fees. Ben made a new will on August 29, 1927 following the suit by his children. He named Clara Lenamon to be the beneficiary of his estate with any residue following the death of Clara to go to only three of his children--Lillie Engram, Inez Gorman, and Bart Lenamon. After Ben died on September 30, 1930, the children also contested the second will. Suspicion is strong in the family that Clara with assistance from corrupt local officials stole the small fortune in gold that Ben had accumulated in his lifetime. Family members related that the case made a sudden and unexpected change in Clara’s favor, and rumors still remain that the shift in the family’s legal fortunes coincided with an increase in the wealth of the judge and lawyers involved in the case. Lillie, Inez, and Bart received a small negotiated settlement for their expected inheritance following the death of Clara, and the other 7 children received nothing. According to some versions of the story, Clara plotted with a local lawyer from the very start to marry Ben and steal his money and land. Lending some credence to this story is the fact that the lawyer ended up owning a significant amount of Lenamon land after Ben’s death. Clearly, by whatever version of the story one accepts, Clara did take advantage of a lonely, vulnerable man. She manipulated him and deprived his children of their rightful inheritance, enriching her own family at the Lenamon’s expense. Ultimately and sadly, Ben’s children received very little of his large estate. The children who did not sell the land they were given, or kept the mineral rights to that land, eventually profited handsomely when enormous gas deposits were found beneath Ben’s land. If all of Ben’s thousands of acres had been kept in the family, the gas royalties would have been worth hundreds of millions of dollars to his descendants. Ben was buried in the Lenamon Family Cemetery with Nancy. Ben and Nancy were both members of the Church of Christ. Frank Butcher June, 1998 [] [] A Lenamon Legend Author: Frank Butcher [] Date: 25 Feb 2000 12:00 PM Surnames: Lenamon, Fife, Herod Classification: Biography A LENAMON LEGEND A man who at Christmas could give each of his ten children a twenty dollar gold piece, Benjamin Levi Lenamon was a man of great wealth, and was reputed to have hidden the bulk of his money. Sometime after the death of Nancy Permelia, Ben’s daughter-in-law, Carrie, consulted a fortune teller who told her that her father-in-law had buried his money. The psychic further told Carrie that papers in the buried vessel were worth much more than the money itself. Time would show that only Clara knew the location of Ben’s treasure. Ben died just six years after his marriage to Clara. The Lenamon children were convinced that in some way Clara was responsible for his death, and speculated that she poisoned him gradually by adding increasing amounts of some toxic substance to his food. Ben had established a family cemetery on his property, and was buried next to his first wife. The day after his burial, his daughter Lillie and her husband, who lived close to the cemetery were leaving to visit the grave when they saw Clara drive by with her son and daughter. Lillie postponed her visit to the cemetery for a short while to give Clara privacy, and then started walking down the road toward the cemetery. As Lillie and her husband approached, they were again passed by Clara and her children as they drove away. Arriving at the grave, Lillie was shocked to see that Nancy Permelia’s grave had been disturbed, with the ground dug away to reveal a layer of brick that covered Nancy’s casket. Family speculation is that Ben buried his money there, and Clara dug up the money for her family, stealing it from Ben’s children. The valuable papers buried with Ben’s money according to the psychic were assumed by the family to have been gold certificates. After Ben’s death, many members of the family witnessed strange lights in the Lenamon family cemetery. The lights were described as “balls of fire” that would rise into the air, and go in different directions before fading away. Most of those who saw the lights claimed that when they tried to get close, the light would go out. However Carrie, who lived next to the cemetery, had a different experience. She and her son were gathering stove wood shortly after dark, and Carrie made the comment that she wished that they could see that light. No sooner did she make her wish than there it was, coming closer and closer. Carrie and her son became frightened, dropped the wood, and ran into the house. One theory to explain the lights at the Lenamon Cemetery is that it is the ghost of Benjamin Levi Lenamon, haunting the area in response to the wrong that was done to him and his family by Clara. [] Lillie Kate Thomason Lenamon Author: Frank Butcher [] Date: 26 Oct 1998 12:00 PM Surnames: Lenamon, Thomason Classification: Biography Kate was born in Box Church, Texas. She was named after her aunts, Lillie and Katie Rutherford, wives of Bob and Will Rutherford. As a toddler, she lived for three years with her grandmother Lizzie when her mom (Allie) separated from her father (Wal) in the emotional fallout resulting from the gunfight in which Wal shot and killed Allie's brothers (Bob and Will Rutherford). Kate attended the Box Church schools, and went through the ninth grade twice because she loved school so much and had no transportation to Groesbeck where there were upper grades. In her late teens she went to "Summer Normal" at the University of Texas in Austin, came back to Box Church and briefly taught elementary school at Old Union. Kate was a good friend to Deanie Lenamon Clancy who lived in Rocky Point (3 miles south of Box Church), resulting eventually in an introduction to Deanie's brother Bart Lenamon. During their courtship, they dated in groups and walked almost everywhere since cars were rare. Sunday was the big social day, with church and then after-church 'sings', and visits to friends and relatives. Kate and Bart married on October 6, 1926 and lived for about a year in a 2-story log house which had gun ports left over from the days when Comanche Indians were a constant threat. This house was one of the oldest buildings in Limestone County, built with wooden pegs and the second roof was made using homemade nails. Shortly after being married, both Kate and Bart came down with typhoid fever, incapacitating them for almost two months. Dr. Holton said that every person who had lived in their house and drank from the cistern, contacted typhoid. Bart filled in the cistern and later dug a deep well. 13 months after being married, Kate and Bart's first child (Mary Beth) was born, followed by Joe, Frances, and John. The house Kate and Bart eventually called home was a simple two bedroom frame house. There were no closets in the bedrooms, so clothes were hung on nails and wooden orange crates were stacked to provide shelving. One of the bedrooms had two double beds with room for very little else. The other bedroom had a single double bed. A typical sleeping arrangement might have Kate sleeping with Frances, Bart sleeping with Joe, and Mary Beth sharing a bed with John. Everyone bathed in a #3 washtub, and towels were the cloth from fertilizer sacks. In the winter when heating water was more difficult, family members bathed only when absolutely necessary. In the summer, tubs of water were left outside to warm for an evening bath. Monday was wash day and the work was done outside. Clothes were rubbed on a washboard using lye soap in a first tub, then transferred to a pot of boiling water. From the boiling water the clothes were put in a rinse tub, then to a final rinse tub, then wrung and hung out to dry on the clothesline and any available barbed wire fence. Whatever the job, Kate is remembered as a hard worker and perfectionist, whether it was sewing, cooking, cleaning, or working in the fields. Life was hard on the farm, but Kate never complained and constantly encouraged the children as they worked (while longing to live in town). She also encouraged her children to go to college, sensing that an education would allow them to escape the rigors of farm life. Kate was an exceptionally strong Christian and prayer warrior with a very real faith that was obvious to everyone. She taught her children to trust God in everything, and follow His guidance in their lives. She told children and grandchildren to pray about everything. "Even if you just drop a needle, ask God to help you find it" was Grannie's advice to granddaughter Linda Fife Butcher. Kate’s daughter, Mary Beth, wrote that “Mother and Grannie (Allie Thomason) were both excellent seamstresses, making all the clothes we girls wore. They made lovely quilts, crocheted, tatted, and read a lot to us. Each read the Bible and Bible Story Book to us ‘a million times’ I guess.” Kate and Bart were baptized in the Church of Christ, but mostly attended the Church of God. During World War II, the Church of God disbanded as many of its leaders left Box Church for good paying defense work in the cities. After that time, the couple attended a newly formed Baptist Church and were eventually baptized into the Groesbeck Baptist Church. According to daughter, Mary Beth, entertainment was simple and family oriented--singing around the piano, playing games, going to church and “singings” and visiting grandparents. Kate’s niece, Marvis Engram Sherrod, in a letter to Kate’s children after her death, remembered that “when we were kids we used to spend the night; we would sit at the dining table and talk, laugh, eat, and have a good time until midnight. We would jump up and say that we had to wash the dishes but NO, Aunt Kate would make us go to bed and the next morning there would be a GOOD, BIG breakfast ready on the table (with all the dirty supper dishes washed) and we would eat and be off to school, leaving behind another table of dirty dishes.” Marvis also wrote that “Aunt Kate gave of herself to all of us all of her life. She was truly a lady in my books. I had never heard of a ‘white tablecloth’ until Aunt Kate and Uncle Bart had one on their table---I thought I was in New York!!!” Grandson Mickey Lenamon wrote to Kate, expressing his appreciation for the love she gave to her grandchildren. “You have always been willing to listen when I wanted to talk. You have taught me to put my life in God’s hands and let him direct my life. I’ll never forget the Bible stories you used to read to us, teaching us to love the Bible at an early age.” While Kate will be mostly remembered for her kindness and Christian disposition, she also had a spirited and even fiery side. A favorite family story that shows off Kate’s strong personality occurred when she was a young girl and encountered her father beating her brother unmercifully with a buggy whip. Kate, who was very protective of her younger siblings, grabbed a nearby pitchfork, and in all seriousness threatened Wal with her makeshift weapon, promising to “run him through” if he did not stop the whipping. Addressing the topic of his mother’s feisty nature, John Lenamon said “My mother got sweeter every day of her life, but on the day she died, she would have fought a bull”. “Kate was a real pistol” is the phrase her children and grandchildren most often use to describe the spirited side of her personality. When Kate’s children challenged her authority, they were quickly granted the indignity of selecting the branch from the nearest peach tree which Kate would then use as a switch to further their education. In 1951, Kate was in Groesbeck to watch the high school King and Queen Coronation, in which her daughter Frances was the freshman class representative in the court. She was standing in the street next to a parked car talking to her sister, when the car was sideswiped by a drunk driver. Kate was rolled beneath the car and bent almost double, suffering injuries that were nearly fatal. She was taken to the Groesbeck hospital and received poor care (not even an x-ray was taken). Several years later, x-rays revealed that Kate's back had been broken in the accident. At the time of the accident, Kate was greatly concerned that she would be paralyzed, and prayed intensely to be spared from that fate. Her prayers were answered, but she lived with pain from this injury for the rest of her life, and had a "hunchback" appearance afterwards. After Bart died in 1958, and with her children gone, Kate moved to Groesbeck to escape the loneliness of the farm. Kate did not know how to drive at that time, and was taught this skill by her children. In Groesbeck Kate worked as a home nurse, a waitress, and she sewed and took in a boarder to make ends meet. She also served in the 'grandparents' program at the Mexia State School for mentally retarded children. Kate's grandchildren loved to visit her in Groesbeck, where she lived in a house on Navasota Street with a large yard. Kate would drive the kids down country roads to collect soda bottles (grocers gave a 2 cent deposit refund on each one) so they would have spending money for trips downtown. Kate began to travel with her friends Ollie and Normie Wilson of Box Church, and greatly enjoyed this activity. In her previous years, Kate had gone not much farther from home than Dallas, but with Ollie and other friends she traveled coast to coast, eating just one restaurant meal a day and staying in budget motels to conserve funds. In 1978, natural gas was discovered on her land near Box Church, and the royalties from the well allowed Kate to quit work, buy a new car, and even take a Caribbean cruise with her daughter, Frances, and grandchildren. Kate' health began to deteriorate in 1981. She was feeling poorly, but was able to carry on with her daily activities. Even in illness, Kate had a positive effect on others as reported by her daughter, Frances. During a visit to her daughter’s home in 1982, Kate had been hospitalized in Houston for a blood clot in her leg, and turned this misfortune into an opportunity to be a Christian witness to the lady who was her roommate. Afterwards, Frances received letters from both the lady and Kate’s doctor expressing admiration and appreciation for her mother. The serious illness (blood clot and mild stroke) that lead to her death was brief (another answered prayer) and Kate died a little more than one month short of her 82nd birthday in a Waco hospital. Like her grandmother, Mary Elizabeth Clancy Rutherford, Kate had a repertoire of sayings that she used to admonish or encourage her children and grandchildren: > "A half-done Polly isn't worth doing" -- Kate's reaction to a mediocre job. > "If wishes were horses, then beggars would ride" -- Her comment when her child/grandchild wished for something unreasonable. > "You're as good as the best, and better than the rest" Kate's way of giving confidence to her loved ones. > "Fool's names and fool's faces are always seen in public places"-- Kate's reaction to graffiti. > "That's layovers to catch meddlers, and you just got caught"-- Her comment to children being nosy about an adult conversation topic. > "A long little is better than a short heap" -- Kate's way of saying that slow and steady beats flashy and sporadic. Upon her death, a friend penned the following poem: A TRIBUTE TO KATE LENAMON A voice on earth is stilled. No more its earnest prayers are heard, Or its infectious, joyous laughter. Her road of life never held a stranger. Adored by family; loved by all-- A pied-piper Urging friends to hear God’s call. Abundant, inward beauty o’erflowed Upon this loving compassionate, Christian soul. The Lenamon Family Cookbook contains a recipe for Kate's pineapple pie, which is still a family favorite. It was written by her daughter, Mary Beth Fife. MOTHER'S DOUBLE CRUST PINEAPPLE PIE Mix 3 cups of sugar and a "well rounded" 1/2 cup of flour. Then add 1 large can of crushed pineapple in heavy syrup and 1/3 can of water. Put in a bottom crust and dot well with butter. Cover with a top crust, making slits to let the steam escape. Brush on a mix of beaten egg and milk to make it brown nicely. Bake in a 350 degree oven until brown as desired. This pie freezes as well as a pecan pie. Good cold, but especially good slightly warm with Blue Bell ice cream. Back in the 20's and 30's, this was a good and inexpensive pie that went a long way. Mother canned her own pineapple and she added more water and made thinner pies than we kids do - it went further that way. I can remember Daddy bringing in pineapples after a day of selling produce and Joe and I would help her peel and cut the eyes out of the pineapple, and "chew on the core and scraps as best we could". Daddy traded lots of produce for nice things for Mother's pantry and I don't ever remember it not having lots of things, including "luxury" items. There was no money spent. Today they call it bartering. Frank Butcher June, 1998 [] Mary Beth Lenamon Fife Author: Frank Butcher [] Date: 26 Oct 1998 12:00 PM Surnames: Lenamon, Fife Classification: Biography Mary Beth was the oldest child of Bart and Kate Lenamon and was possibly named after her great grandmother, Mary Elizabeth Clancy Rutherford. Mary Beth always hungered for knowledge and wrote that “I could hardly wait to read- I would prop myself up in a big chair on days the snow was deep on the ground and read Bible stories all the way through. I would read on the front porch until the sun went down, so much until it ruined my eyes.” Commenting on Mary Beth’s love of reading, her cousin Colleen Clancy, said Mary Beth would beg and plead with her to spend the night. “Then when I came over, she would get out a book and start to read. I knew then that she was going to be a teacher. I told her that I wasn’t going to spend the night any more if she wasn’t going to talk with me.” Mary Beth attended elementary school at Box Church, Texas, and graduated from Groesbeck High School near the top of her class at the age of 16. She attended Southern Methodist University for one semester and Southwest Texas State Teachers College (now SWTSU) for one semester. Her bags were packed for a return to SWTSU, when the Ben Hur school board president showed up at Mary Beth’s door pleading with her to teach. Because money was tight, she accepted--and at the age of 18, with one year of college experience, Mary Beth was teaching sixth graders. While teaching in Ben Hur she met Haskell Fife, a local farmer and rancher. After a whirlwind courtship of three months they were married in December, 1946. The wedding took place at Haskell's parents' home in Ben Hur so that Haskell's mom (who was in poor health) could participate in the wedding. Mary Beth's dad, Bart Lenamon, did not attend the wedding because he had reservations about a 19 year-old marrying a 32 year-old, and because he did not think it proper for the wedding to be at the groom's parents' house. Mary Beth worked as a housewife for five years and had two children (Linda and David). She returned to school at Baylor University, and received a bachelors degree in 1956, and a masters degree in 1962. Mary Beth resumed teaching at the fourth grade level in Mart, Texas when the Ben Hur school consolidated with Mart schools. Mary Beth had a rugged schedule, balancing college studies with full time teaching duties and the demands of young children and a husband. It is a testimony to her character and ability that Mary Beth made excellent grades under these very difficult conditions. The home that Haskell and his brother James built for their parents on the family farm in Ben Hur in 1941 became Mary Beth's and Haskell's home in 1954, but burned to the ground on November 12, 1963. Valuable collections of silver dollars and Fostoria crystal were lost and many irreplaceable photos burned. The Fife family moved to Mart after this tragedy and thereafter Haskell commuted to work on the farm. In Mart, Mary Beth's house was a social hub where frequent church parties, teas, showers, and family gatherings took place. Neighbors referred to their spacious home at 203 North Pearl as the "Mart Hilton" due to the constant influx of visitors. After Kate's death, Mary Beth's house became the site for Lenamon family Christmas reunions. Like her grandmother Frances Rutherford Thomason, Mary Beth had a gift for remembering names and connections of even distant relatives. She spent considerable time at "Grannies" when she was growing up, and absorbed a lot of family history. Mary Beth was the unofficial family historian and editor of the Lenamon-Lenamond family newsletter. Family was everything for Mary Beth and even as an in-law, she was the driving force behind many Fife family reunions. Mary Beth also loved to attend plays, and was an active member of the American Association Of University Women in Waco. Mary Beth was a very intelligent woman, and as a child had an independent and boisterous spirit, often invoking the disapproval of her mother. Kate wanted her daughter to be a petite, soft spoken, gentile southern belle, but that was not Mary Beth's genetic disposition. Kate's disapproval was a heavy burden that affected Mary Beth for all of her life. The later years of Mary Beth's marriage to Haskell were somewhat stormy brought on by the difference in their educational backgrounds, and aggravated by Mary Beth's independent spirit. Nevertheless, they continued to love each other and persevered in their marriage which lasted for 46 years until Mary Beth's death. As one of the four children of Kate and Bart Lenamon, Mary Beth received a quarter interest in the natural gas deposits beneath the old family farm in Box Church. For a long time Mary Beth had wanted to retire from teaching, and this royalty income enabled her to quit work at the age of 62. Gas royalties also enabled her to make an inspirational visit to the Holy Land, and she enjoyed trips to Hawaii and Branson, Missouri with Haskell. Mary Beth and Haskell used their newfound freedom to take grandchildren to Disney World in Florida and Mary Beth vacationed with her daughter Linda and husband Frank and their children, when Frank attended summer programs at Princeton and Montana State University. Mary Beth was a devout Christian lady and a pillar of the First Baptist Church of Mart, taking leadership roles in almost every area of church service. She sang in the Sanctuary Choir and had a beautiful voice that was often featured in solos. Mary Beth was active in the McLennan Association Womens Missionary Union and was the Baptist Women’s president at the time of her death. Mary Beth was generous to a fault, giving money and time to Christian activities and causes. She had a very distinctive and infectious laugh that everyone enjoyed. Letter writing was a passion with Mary Beth. When her daughter was going through family files after Mary Beth’s death, she found letters to publishers, congressmen, senators, the president, state and local officials, as well as family and friends. The problems she addressed in her correspondence included an opposition to abortion, a decline in academic standards, and opposition to the New Age movement. Mary Beth was part of the “dirty thirty”, a group of Mart teachers who challenged a decision by the local school board to give only the football coaches a pay raise. This politically active group also addressed other educational concerns, and Mary Beth’s active participation was in character with her desire to translate her convictions into actions. At her funeral, Pastor Bill Smith made the comment that Mary Beth had strong feelings about political and religious issues, but unlike most people who are satisfied to just complain, Mary Beth acted on her concerns. Mary Beth was an excellent cook, carrying on in the tradition of the many good cooks in the Lenamon family. Her family kidded Mary Beth that every dish she cooked started off with two sticks of butter and a cup of sugar. She was especially renowned for her sourdough bread, making 20+ loaves at Christmas to give to friends and loved ones. Mary Beth's recipe is attached to this article. Mary Beth was 5', 8" tall and weighed about 140 pounds as a young lady, increasing to approximately 220 pounds in middle age. She had dark brown (almost black) eyes and brown hair. Mary Beth had very painful knee problems that began as arthritis in her 30’s. She eventually had two knee replacement operations which were moderately successful. She also suffered from hypertension, and experienced problems with congestive heart disease, but maintained an active lifestyle. Mary Beth was being given a pedicure by a friend in the living room of her home in the afternoon of April 20, 1993, when she suddenly complained of feeling faint, and fell forward out of her chair onto the floor, unconscious. Medical help was summoned from the clinic across the street and was on the scene within minutes, and the nurses managed temporarily to restore her heartbeat. However, Mary Beth died in an ambulance in route to a Waco hospital without ever regaining consciousness. She was 65 years old and the cause of her death was listed as congestive heart failure. MARY BETH'S SOUR DOUGH BREAD (As she wrote the recipe for the Lenamon Family Cookbook): STARTER: Sprinkle 1 package of yeast in 1 cup of lukewarm water in a small plastic or glass bowl. (A large Cool Whip container will do nicely). Allow to stand 5 minutes and add 3 heaping tablespoons of sugar, 3 heaping tablespoons of potato flakes and 1 cup of flour. Beat until smooth. Cover with wax paper (loosely) and leave at room temperature for 3-4 days. This ferments. Stir down several times. Put into a large stainless or plastic bowl for step two. STEP TWO: Add to the starter 4 level tablespoons of potato flakes, 1/2 cup of sugar, 1 cup of water and 1 cup of flour. Mix well and cover loosely, leaving it out of the refrigerator for 10-12 hours (overnight or all day). Divide the mixture into halves. If you don't want to use both mixtures, and be through with it, you can put half (loosely covered) in the refrigerator and continue with step three. You can leave it in the refrigerator for 4 to 9 days. STEP THREE: Add 1/3 cup of sugar, 1 teaspoon of salt, 1/2 cup cooking oil, and 1-1/2 cups of water. Mix well and add 5 or more cups sifted flour. This makes a stiff dough, yet it is easy to knead. I don't like to make cooking a chore, so I just stir my dough with a spoon and let it rise (covered with wax paper) 8 to 10 hours (or all day or all night). Turn out on a floured board or pastry sheet. Knead a short time, then make the dough into loaves, round pones, or rolls. Put them in well-greased pans (I use oleo). Let them rise uncovered for 3 to 4 hours or until as desired. Place in a COLD oven. Bake 1 hour at 300 degrees. Turn out on a rack to cool. Brush tops of hot bread with melted oleo. (I just keep a stick ready and brush the stick on top). It is easier to make up just half of the starter, but since I make up so much, especially around Christmas, I usually make up 2 starters. In fact, I often make 2 starters up and when I divide them, have 4 makings of bread. That is almost too much, but then I run out of time as much as I run out of oven space. The thing I love about this recipe is that you can make your own starter anytime you want.