M. K. FINDLEY
The following bio was taken from page 200 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
On October 11, 1978, one hundred and twenty-three years after J.L. (Squire) Findley came to Rusk County, his great-great-great-grandson, Laramie Wayne Findley was born. Laramie is the only son who will carry on the Findley name.
In the 1800’s, George Findley was born in Georgia. He married Lucinda Connelly in 1826. Lucinda was born in South Carolina in 1810 and was the daughter of George Connelly. The J. L. Findley's had eight children: James Lawrence, Richard, Tom, Tyler, Columbus, Augusta, Sally, and Lucy Ellen. They owned a plantation in Coosa County, Alabama on the Coosa River. George died on June 15, 1853. The family continued to operate the plantation but lost it after the Civil War.
James Lawrence (Squire) Findley was born on November 9, 1827. He married Jane Angeline Carlisle on December 2, 1847. Jane was born in Abbeville, South Carolina on July 13, 1813. They came to Harmony Hill, Texas in 1858, where Squire was a general merchant. He served as Justice of the Peace for about thirty years and was the last Postmaster of Harmony Hill. After his death on March 31, 1905, the area was served by a rural route out of Tatum. He was a veteran of the Civil War, having served in Company B., 11th Texas Infantry, Randall’s Brigade, Robert’s Cavalry Regiment. He was also a Mason, Worshipful Master, in the Harmony Hill Lodge number 289, which was chartered June 24, 1867.
All members of Squire’s family came to Harmony Hill, except for Lucinda, his mother, and Lucy Ellen, his sister, they moved on to other parts of Texas. Lucinda died in 1879 and was buried in the Harmony Hill Cemetery.
J. L. (Squire) and Jane had three sons: Newton Quitman (1848-1927), who married Rebecca Wilhelm; Benjamin Griffin (1859-1910), who married Mary E. Reese; and Samuel Young (1862-1936), who married Juda L. Turlington.
Samuel Findley was the only son who remained in Rusk County, where he married Juda in 1883. They purchased a farm from Paul (Fox) Tatum. The deed was dated 1899. The land is still in the Findley family’s possession, occupied by Mrs. Jewel Findley and Gayle and Walter Findley.
S. Y. Findley worked for the Santa Fe Railroad, farmed and was elected Public Cotton Weigher. “Sy,” as the relative called him, was also an active Mason. He and Juda Turlington had three children: Emma Lee (1888-1960), who married Charlie Jackson Kuykendall; Noel Young (1901-1966), who married Minnie Lee Robertson; and Lonnie Pascal (1891-1963), who married Jewel Kuykendall. Emma Lee and Charlie Kuykendall had two children, Nadine and Charlie Findley Kuykendall. Noel Findley served in World War II, and he and his wife resided in Longview.
Lonnie Findley, who was born in Harmony Hill, became the blacksmith of Tatum during the Great Depression. He served in World War I, Company 32, 8th Battalion, 165th Division Battalion. They had two sons: Burl Glenn (deceased) and Malthus Kendall.
M. K. Findley was born on February 23, 1921 in Tatum, Texas. Her served in the Air Force during World War II. On June 19, 1944 he married Edna P. Walker and they had four children: Jerry Quinn (deceased), Terry Lynn, born April 26, 1947 and married to Laila Torgeson; Gayle Laraine, born December 4, 1945, and married Walter A. Henry, and Cheryl Elaine, born January 15, 1949 and married to Larry B. Woods. Cheryl and Larry have two daughters, Stacey and Stephanie; Terry and Laila have one son, Laramie.
Kendall was a rural mail carrier at Tatum for twenty-five years. He owns and operates a ranch, which is part of the old Ware Plantation.
Submitted by M. K. Findley