J. J. CLINTON

The following bio was taken from page 152 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

John Allison Clinton, son of William Elias Clinton, came from York County, South Carolina to Pine Hill, Texas, later moving to Rhodes, Texas. John married Laura Ida Nix and they reared ten children.

The Clinton son with whom we are concerned is Jessie James Clinton, better known as J. J., who was born in 1885 at Pine Hill. At the ripe old age of nineteen, J. J. married Martha Taylor from Dotson, Texas in 1906. Together they eked out a living from the good earth, selling some of their fresh produce, eggs and butter to stores and some door to door in Henderson.

J. J. and Martha were the proud parents of ten girls: Robbie; Carrie Elsie, who married Andrew Stover, (deceased); Avis; Syble Irene, who married Oliver Marthiljohni; Margie Lois, who married Fred Rich; Cletis, who married Seth E. Dulin; Bonnie Rachel, who married William Hutchins; Mable Jesse, who married Gilbert McGee; Dorothy Faye, who married Horace Cook; and Easter May, who married Jim Bond. J. J. and Martha’s grandchildren are: Walter, Mary and Martha Stover; Susie, Betsey, and Jim Dulin; Cherl, Larry, and Clifford Hutchins; Debbie, Beverly, and Kieth McGee; and James Bradley Bond. Because of his large family, J. J. barely missed serving his county in World War I.

J. J. and his family moved from Rhodes to Minden, Texas in 1926 because of better farming land and schools, leaving behind their dearest friends, Bob and Kitty Williams. Many times J. J. took his family by wagon to visit Bob and Kitty. When Bob heard J. J. coming, he and his beautiful Eskimo dog "Billy" would come to meet the family. Bob and J.J.’s greeting to each other was, "greens and no meat, get rotten and go to pieces!" the meaning known only to them.

Two of J. J.’s daughters served their country during World War II. Syble, stationed in Pensacola, Florida later became a schoolteacher in Edna, Texas. Cletis spent most of her service time in Des Moines, Iowa. She won a 4-H Club scholarship and attended Texas Woman’s University in Denton, Texas and later served as Home Demonstration Agent of Refugio County.

Birthdays were special and Martha’s always brought on the big ice cream event. J. J. would go into Henderson, get five hundred pounds of ice to make ice cream, and bury the ice in sawdust. The family would enjoy ice cream and cake for a week.

From our heritage impressions, we have one of Mrs. Clinton off to the field with the grim purposefulness of a battleship going into action and Jessie, the object of her driving force. That’s how the land was made. We do well to pause and think, for our windows of the past reveal not only the hardness of life but also the joy these people found by loving one another.

Submitted by Bonnie Clinton Hutchins