JOE GRAHAM HEARNE 

The following bio was taken from page 230 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 Texas 

At the age of twenty-six, I, Julia Emma Drennan, (See Julian Drennan family.) married Joe Graham Hearne on January 4, 1916.  The following February, we moved in the house in which I still live.  This house, built in 1912, is located between Crims Chapel and Monroe, in Northern Rusk County.  In this home I have many memories.

 Graham’s bachelor uncle, Al Alston, lived with us from 1916 until about 1926.  He was a big, old man who enjoyed trapping.  I remember his coming, smelling really bad, especially after trapping a skunk.  We’d have to tell him to take a bath and change clothes.  How I hated washing his overalls on a rub board!

 We raised one child in our home, an adopted boy we named Thomas Graham Hearne.  He and his wife, Annie Belle Black Hearne, now live on the home place, next door.

 Graham died in his sleep in our home on June 24, 1959, but I’ve stayed on.

 Besides Thomas Graham, I’ve enjoyed other children in my home.  In addition to numerous nieces, nephews, and friends, there have been my two grandchildren, Julie Gale Hearne and Elizabeth Anne Hearne.  Julie and Liz loved to race up and down the open hallway in my dog-run style house.  Now Julie and her husband, Larry Tanner, have a son, Eric, who enjoys the front porch and high steps. 

Perhaps the biggest event that my old house withstood was a tornado.  It was the afternoon of April 30, 1933.  My maid-neighbor-friend, “Crip” Pearce, was in the kitchen and I was outside.  I don’t recall any rain, but I remember the dark sky and a roaring noise.  The horses were running crazy.  I saw a big, black, twisting cloud on the ground.  I ran into the house and told Crip, ‘There’s going to be a storm!” 

As I went into the living room, the windows crashed into the room.  Crip and I rushed into the bedroom, and we felt the whole house move and twist around.  I looked up and saw that the ceiling and the entire roof were gone!  I hollered, “Oh Crip!  The walls will come down next!  Let’s get under the bed!”  By that time, everything was over. 

We went outside and found that many other houses and barns were flattened, but my house was still standing – on another site, facing North instead of East. 

Thomas Graham, then five years old, had been playing at the Pegues house.  The children there had found shelter behind a wood heater.  The casualties included horses, mules, numerous chickens scattered everywhere, and even a cat in a well.  While our neighbors experienced structural damage and loss of livestock, I don’t recall any person’s being killed or seriously injured.  Praise God for that! 

I have lived in this same home for the past sixty-six of my ninety-two years, and I thank God for protecting me and providing me with such a wonderful home, family, and life. 

Submitted by Mrs. Julia Hearne