ROY A. PARKS

 The following bio was taken from page 333 of the book entitled “Rusk County History” compiled and edited and used with permission of the Rusk County Historical Commission.

Transcribed by Claudia Schuster

Submitted by Gloria Briley Mayfield, Rusk County

 My daddy, William C. Parks, was born May 21, 1881, in Bowling Green, Kentucky.  An old man stole Daddy when he was about 15 or 16 years old, over there in Kentucky.  My grandaddy had Daddy hired out to an old man, and this old man got ready to come to East Texas.  He had two wagons and two teams.  He drove one team and made Daddy drive one.  He just told Daddy that they were moving, and that’s all.  When Daddy woke up one day, he was in East Texas.  Daddy ended up 12 miles north of Henderson at the Crossroads Community.  He grew up here from the age of 15. Dad was a farmer – all he ever did was farm.

 My mother, Lorena A. McHaney, was born November 10, 1883, here in Rusk County.  Mother and Daddy got married December 24, 1902 and had 10 of us.  Ruby Mae, the oldest, was born April 27, 1904.  I was the second, born on December 28, 1905.  After me was John Willard, born January 16, 1908; James Lynn, born January 10 1911; Annie Ruth, born March 14, 1913; Olive Francis, born July 18, 1915; Barney Wayne, born September 26, 1917; Donald Ralph, born September 15, 1920; Mariam Ealine, born September 9, 1922; and Doris Nelwyn, born September 21, 1925.  Five of them are dead, and three sisters, me and my third brother, Barney Wayne, are living.  All my folks are buried at Hickory Grove Cemetery.  My brother moved to Illinois about 25 or 30 years ago and got into the oil business and started drilling oil wells.

 I’ve been living for 75 years now at the place Daddy bought.  He made a crop over there in the Crossroads Community with an old man by the name of Adams.  Then he bought the place where I live now.  It has 76 2/3 acres.  We moved over there when I was three years old.  I went to the seventh grade at the Crossroads school in the country there.  It had two rooms.  They had the little ones in one room and the big ones in the “big room.”

 My job is in Kilgore.  I lack three months having in 30 years.  On my own time I’m a farmer and a rancher.  I got a bunch of cattle.  I go to church, and like to bird hunt.

 Submitted by Roy Alton Parks