JOHN LANKFORD WORLEY
The following bio was taken from page 453 of the book entitled "Rusk County History" compiled and edited and used with permission of the Rusk County Historical Commission.
Transcribed by Claudia Schuster
Submitted by Gloria Briley Mayfield, Rusk County TX Coordinator
John Lankford Worley (1843-1918) farmer and Civil War veteran, was born in Cherokee County, Georgia. In 1870 he married Sarah Antoinette Haley (1851-1941). The family arrived in Panola County in 1885. They came by train, crossing the Mississippi River by ferryboat. When they arrived in Henderson in February, the trees and roads were covered with ice. With them were their seven children: Bob, Joe Tate, Emily, Fairy, Kate, and Sallie.Joe, a farmer, married Roberta Mitchell. They had one child, Annie. Roberta died in 1899 and later Joe married Mary Jane (Jennie) Wallace. They had eleven children, nine of whom survived: Bonnie, Erwin, Mary Kate, Corine, Gladys, Preston, Winston, Evelyn, and Nell.
The Worleys, having come from mountainous north Georgia, were happy to find a hill farm near Wood Glenn Community, Rusk County, which they purchased in 1896. There Emily married Holland McCann, a farmer. They had six children: Julia, Willis, Carl, Bennie, Tate, and Sallie. Bob, a teacher, married Mary Wallace. Their children were Lelia, Bill, and Grace. His teaching took Bob to other counties, but most of his work was in Rusk County. Tate had polio as a child and was left slightly handicapped. He never married but was a Justice of the Peace and bill collector. Florence married John Propes, and their surviving children were Weldon, Margaret, and John Taylor. Mr. Propes, a teacher, was killed in the New London School explosion. Kate married Jesse Jimmerson, a neighboring farmer. Their children were Howard, Willard, Ethel, and Edna. John, a farmer, married Velma Jackson, a teacher, and their children were John, Clayton, Olean, and Linda. Fairy and Sallie never married but lived at home and cared for their widowed mother who lived to the ripe old age of ninety.
Being avid readers, the Worleys were well supplied with daily newspapers and magazines, such as "Farm and Ranch," "McCalls," "Holland Magazine," "Delineator," "Henderson Times," and others. They also had a keen interest in politics and current events. Their interest in progressive farming was shown by the improvement of their dairy herd, hogs, poultry, and gardens. Fairy and Sallie provided family income by selling, milk, eggs, butter, dressed poultry, and vegetables to customers in Henderson.
The Worleys were good neighbors. Their kindness was truly shown when they brought a terminally ill neighbor into their home so they could care for her and continue their daily chores.
Education was very important to the Worley family. In the early days they helped with school programs and with socials. Several teachers boarded in the Worley home. Among them were: a Mr. Willborn, a Mr. Burton, Miss Mabel Irwin, and Miss Lula Kate Evans.
Three of John Lankford Worley’s grandchildren now live in Rusk County. They are Mary Kate Sledge, Nell Keeling, and Ethel Jimmerson.
Submitted by Bonnie Worley Holder