BENJAMIN TERRY CRAIG

The following bio was taken from page 158 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

Ben T. Craig was born to Paul Bunting and Martha Jane Goodlett Craig on February 17, 1878, at their home in the Oakland Community. The home was built of logs and stood about two hundred yards from the site of the Craig Cemetery. The house featured a large kitchen with a fireplace. It seemed to be a meeting place for the youngsters of the community. Many stories survive of taffy-pullings, games, and "skinning the cat" on the log crossbeams. Later, a new home was built nearby.

Fond recollections of playing with the Pools, Yandles, the Stones, the Warrens, and others were shared in later years by Ben and other members of his family.

Ben attended school at Oakland, where his sister, Esther, was the teacher. His sister, Nora, and brothers, Paul and Gene, also attended. George Oliver, who was older, had quit school.

While Ben and Nora were looking out the schoolroom window one day, a family of "movers" came by in a wagon. Ben spied a little girl running along behind the cow that was tied to the wagon. He exclaimed, "Nora, there goes my girl!"

The family was that of J. T. Robertson moving from Prospect to Roquemore by way of Oakland. Only two years before they had come from Alabama.

Roquemore had no school at the time so Ella Robertson came to Oakland School, a walk of three miles. At one point she had to shinny across Martin Creek on a log. From the onset, she was Ben’s girl. While in her early teens she was wearing a ring that Ben purchased with subscriptions to Youth’s Companion.

In August 1901, Ben and Ella were married in a buggy on the Old Pine Hill Road. Her twin brother, Ellis, seated on a horse, served as best man. Ella was seventeen. Her sister, Nollie, had recently married Ben’s brother, Paul.

For almost two years the couple lived in Oak Hill on the Old Spence place. (Oak Hill Raceways is believed to be on that site at present.) After the birth of their first son, the couple returned to Oakland. Their new farm was the Sarah Chapman place. With it came a sheepskin deed.

Dr. Porter Richardson delivered each of the seven Craig children. He was assisted by Hettie McCoy, a dear black lady, who spent three weeks at the home after each birth. Their children were: James Alpheus, Henry Bernard, "Jack," Benjamin Howard, Reuben Terry, Ellis Bunting, Mary Nelwyn (unmarried), and Kathryn Ann.

Howard, who married Annie B. Hubbard, died on December 26, 1962 and is buried in Craig Cemetery.

Alpheus married Maudie Martin. He died in January 1966, and is buried in Martin’s Cemetery near Tatum. He was a retiree from L. E. Myers Construction Company.

Reuben, who married Juanita Pinkston, died November 1979, and is buried in Craig Cemetery. He was a retired rig builder and pipe fitter.

Jack, who first married Katye Brewer and later married Donna Williams, died in March 1980 and is buried in the City Cemetery, Cleburne, Texas. He was a retired supervisor for Southwest Bell Telephone Company.

Ellis Bunting, who first married Pauline Anderson and later married Ernie Shimlyama, is a retired United States Air Force Colonel and lives in Tacoma, Washington.

Mary Nelwyn resides in Oakland and is a teacher of many years.

Kathryn and her husband, Audie Stroud, live in Oakland. She worked for a time as a saleslady.

Ben Craig was a farmer and carpenter. His delight was to plant, cultivate, and harvest his crops. The work of his hands expressed love and pride. A lover of nature, he was an authority on local flora and fauna.

Ella was a natural nurse. My earliest recollections are of her, lantern-in-hand, going to attend a sick neighbor or a stranger. She delivered thirteen babies, one being a grandson. Also, in a time of no funeral homes, she helped to prepare the dead for burial. Four she prepared without assistance. Often she walked through mud that would pull her shoes from her feet.

Ben and Ella lived together for sixty-four years. Their lives were examples of service to and love for her family and neighbors. Each possessed a rollicking sense of humor.

Ben was buried in Craig Cemetery in May 1965. In August 1973, Ella was buried beside him

Precious memories linger.

Submitted by Mary Craig