OTTIS E. HERRINGTON

The following bio was taken from page 234 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

When I married Ottis E. Herrington in 1939, he had already changed the spelling of his name from "Harrington" to "Herrington". He was born and reared in the Jacobs Community of the county. His father and mother were Thomas Franklin Harrington and Kizzie Cora Hunt Harrington. Ottis worked for the Chevrolet Company for forty years as a salesman.

I am Ottie Mabel Tallaferro Herrington, and my parents were Robert Edward and Ottie Isabell Strickland Tallaferro, Sr. I was born and reared on the Tallaferro farm four miles west of Henderson where we still live today. I graduated from Gaston High School and attended Federal Institute in Tyler before I was married. In 1956, I entered the Vocational Nursing Program at Henderson Memorial Hospital. After receiving my LVN license in 1957, I became office nurse for Dr. C. L. McShan for whom I am still working in 1982.

Ottis and I have one daughter, Sandra Kay Herrington Nierth. She graduated from Gaston in 1959 as valedictorian. She received her BA degree in business from the University of Texas at Austin. She married Larry T. Nierth of Houston, and they have two children, Jason Lee and Erica Noelle. Kay and her family live in Miami, Florida.

My mother was reared on the Strickland farm, (known as the Catalpa Plantation), east of Carlisle. One of the possessions I prize most is an old bell that is mounted on a post in the yard. This bell was on the old Strickland farm where Mother lived. Uncle Gill Kelley farmed the property for many years. When he moved to Henderson and retired, my father, Ed Tallaferro, brought the bell to our house across from the Blackjack Cemetery. The bell was used by pioneer Strickland’s to call the family from the fields to meals or to signal an emergency or sickness.

As I grew up, we lived across from the Blackjack Cemetery. There are pioneer settlers and relatives, including my parents, buried there. My brother, Robert, Jr., and I have been active in the cemetery association which has its homecoming the first weekend in October. The State of Texas has placed a historical marker in the cemetery.

Another possession in the family is an old pendulum mantel clock. My Strickland grandparents’ home burned, many, many years ago, and only a few things were saved. Years later a cousin of Mother’s brought her a clock as a gift. She thought it had belonged to some of his relatives. A friend of Mother’s offered to restore the old clock and make it run after Mother expressed such a wish. When the clock was returned with all the old red paint removed, Mother noticed that one side had been burned and scorched. Immediately she realized that this old mantel clock was the one from their parents’ home near Carlisle.

My mother loved life so much and enjoyed outings with friends. She particularly liked attending the Sacred Harp singing at the churches around the county and going with my father to the East Texas Fox Hunters Association and following the bay of the hounds.

Since I also like to be on the go, I believe I inherited this trait from Mother. I have enjoyed traveling to Mexico, Europe, and the eastern states, and most recently, to South America. All these travels during my adult years have been most satisfying.

Submitted by Mabel T. Herrington