DEA GOSSETT

The following bio was taken from page 213 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, Cemeteries of TX

Dea Elmer Gossett was the youngest child of Fredonia Lafeyette and Lela Mae Haden Gossett. He was born April 23, 1903 in a little place called Stringtown, which is located near the Roquemore Community in Rusk County. Preceding Dea, the two older children of the Gossetts were a sister, Eula Gossett Bridges, and a brother, Curtis L. Gossett. Eula and her husband W. R. "Willie" Bridges (deceased) lived in the Chapman Community. Curtis married Lois Barbee from Tyler, and they lived in Longview until his death in 1960.

Fred Gossett’s family came from Griffin, Georgia soon after the Civil War and settled in the vicinity of the Chapman Community. Mr. Gossett’s father, Joseph L. was a confederate veteran. His mother, Sallie W. Lawson Gossett, was the daughter of a Methodist minister.

Mrs. Lela Haden Gossett’s parents were James W. "Jim" Haden and Georgiana Rushton Haden. Georgiana was the daughter of Joseph Clifford Demerval Rushton and Melissa Ann Cole Rushton. The Ruston’s came from Randolph County, Alabama in 1869. Jim Haden’s parents were Young Haden and Mary Johnston Haden.

Around 1934 the Fred Gossetts moved from the old home place in Stringtown into the Chapman Community, built a home, and opened a grocery-filling station near the house. Fred operated the store there until the 1940's. Lela Gossett died January 4, 1948, and Fred Gossett died January 26, 1948. Both are buried in the Bridges Cemetery in Rusk County.

Dea attended school in the Chapman Community and was very active on the basketball team. At the age of eighteen he married Nona B. McNeese from Panola County, Texas. Her parents were Joe and Lee Ella Rhodes McNeese, who died when Nona was very young. Her brother, Billy Erbon McNeese, and his family, live in Quanah, Texas; and her sister, Sybil McNeese Bridges, and family live in Orange, Texas. Her oldest brother, Clarence, died at a young age.

Dea and Nona B. bought some land in the Chapman Community, built a house and farmed during the early years of their marriage. During this time they first child, a girl, Joe Ruth, was born. Joe attended school in the Chapman Community and graduated from Henderson High School and Stephen F. Austin State College in Nacogdoches, Texas. She is married to J. M. "Buster" Duran, son of Jack (deceased) and Era Lee Duran of Pine Hill, and is a physical education teacher at Henderson High School. Buster is a veteran of World War II and in 1981 retired from the post office department in Henderson, Texas after thirty-six years of service.

In 1933, Dea began work for the Highway Department in Henderson. Three years later, he and Nona B. had another daughter, Freddie June. She attended school in Chapman, graduated from Henderson High School, attended the University of Houston School of Nursing, and graduated from Stephen F. Austin State College in Nacogdoches. She is married to Charles Stephen "Steve" Hale, son of Douglas D. (deceased) and Effie Musslewhite Hale of Troup, and is a Social Studies teacher in the Troup Middle School. Steve is a veteran of the Korean Conflict and is a retired school teacher, having taught in the Houston and Tyler school systems. They have one child, Frederick Stephen "Rick" Hale, who was born November 16, 1960 in Henderson, Texas. Rick is a 1979 graduate of Troup High School and completed his Associate Degree in Petroleum Technology at Tyler Junior College in May 1981. He is a member of the Sigma Phi Epsilon Fraternity. He is now employed by Cities Service in Midland, Texas in exploration and production in the Energy Resources Group as an engineering technician.

In 1936, Dea began work for the county and for twenty-five years was county engineer of Rusk County. At age fifty-seven, his job of county engineer was discontinued and Dea retired to work with his cattle and land. Dea Gossett died July 6, 1962 and is buried in the Bridges Cemetery. Nona B. is active in community and church activities and attends the Blossom Hill Methodist Church. In 1981 she was honored by her church with a supper and a silver tray on her retirement as Sunday school secretary after thirty-eight years of service. Mrs. Gossett is visited regularly by her children and grandson, who know her affectionately as "Mama B."

Submitted by Mrs. Dea Gossett