WILLIAM OSCAR BALLOW

The following bio was taken from page 102 of the book entitled "Rusk County History" compiled and edited and used with permission of the Rusk County Historical Commission.

Transcribed by Shirley Koym

Submitted by Gloria Briley Mayfield, Rusk County TX Coordinator

"Miss Mattie" always planned on having the new preacher and his family for dinner on their first Sunday at Oakland Methodist Church, so nobody but the Ballows dared invite him. William Oscar Ballow and Martha Arminta (Mattie) Ballow loved Oakland Methodist Church, and most of the social activities of that family centered around that church and the Oakland School. Oscar Ballow was one of the chief hand shakers there for nearly fifty years and a school trustee for half that long.

Oscar Ballow met young, dark-haired Mattie at Fair Play in Panola County, Texas and later married her on June 15, 1899 in Rusk County.

Martha A. Copeland had come from a mother who could trace her ancestry back to England. Her parents were Tabitha Jones Prior and William Cannon Copeland. Her grandparents were Sarah Antionette Whatley and Andrew Jackson Prior; her great-grandparents were Wilson Whatley and Sarah Heard.

Mattie always told her children that they came from "good stock," having the Wilson Whatley line in their ancestry. She was a proud woman who wanted her children to "do well." She never kept them home to do chores as most people did during the early 1900’s but insisted on school attendance.

William Oscar Ballow spent the first years of his married life either running the company store at a sawmill or helping in the mill itself. He later followed the farming trade.

To this union were born six children: Gertie Earl Ballow, born September 15, 1900, married Richard Bryan Yandle April 26, 1924. Richard was born June 30, 1897. He worked for Houston Transit Company from which he is now retired and the couple moved back to Henderson in 1962.

Lyda Achsa Ballow, born March 26, 1903, married Rexford William Stephens (June 12, 1902) January 1, 1929. The couple lived in Gurdon, Arkansas where Rexford was co-owner of Stephens Hardware Store from which he is now retired.

Bonnie Maskline Ballow, born July 7, 1905, died on January 5, 1953 and is buried in Strong Cemetery in Rusk County. She had married Robert Lee Edmonds (September 15, 1905) on October 6, 1934. They lived at Grand Prairie at the time of Bonnie’s death from Cancer. He is now retired from Hughes Tool Company of Houston and lives in Longview, Texas.

William Samuel Ballow, born October 13, 1908, married Irene Parr Johnson (September 20, 1907) on June 23, 1934. William worked for Southwestern Bell Telephone Company in Houston, but he is now retired and lives in Henderson.

Fae Marie Ballow, born December 16, 1917, married Frank Vial, Jr. (October 17, 1922) on April 18, 1947. Frank was employed by Exxon Company in Houston. He died on January 24, 1974 of a heart attack and is buried in Memorial Gardens in Henderson. Fae Marie continues to live in Houston.

Mattie Mae Ballow, born February 11, 1923, married Harvey Benton Cunningham (January 12, 1922) on July 19, 1947. Harvey is Superintendent of School in Henderson.

William Oscar and Mattie Ballow spent their entire lives for the good of the community and county in which they lived. They provided a happy and wholesome home for their children so each could grow and make the most of his potential. They enriched Rusk County by having been a part of it. Martha Arminta Copeland was born December 8, 1880 and died April 21, 1955 of a stroke. William Oscar Ballow was born December 8, 1880 and died April 21, 1955 of a stroke. William Oscar Ballow was born January 6, 1871 and died September 7, 1944 of uremic poisoning. Both are buried in Strong Cemetery, Rusk County, Texas.

Submitted by Mattie Mae Cunningham.