John Wesley Cordray Family

Submitted by John Wesley Cordray, Panola County Judge, (Retired

Panola County, Texas

John Wesley Cordray was born in Chattahoochee County, Georgia on September 10, 1865; he was the son of Daniel C. and Louisa Malvina Williams Cordray. Daniel C. Cordray was a veteran of Company B, 6^th Georgia Militia, serving as a 2^nd Lieutenant. His father and his maternal grandfather, Hilliard Judge Williams, were both justices of the peace in Chattahoochee County, which was created in 1854. After coming to Texas, Judge Williams also served as a justice of the peace in Sabine County. John Wesley had an older sister, Martha Zilla, and an older brother, Judge Daniel, who were also born in Georgia.

In 1869, the family moved to Texas, settling around Geneva in Sabine County. Shortly after arriving in Texas, another child, Charles Henry, was born, and in 1875, a daughter, Mary, was born, but she died within a few days. In early 1878, Louisa Malvina died, and later that year, Daniel married Martha Williams Honeycutt, a widow and a relative of his late wife.

In 1883, John Wesley married Irene Lillian Hays, whose mother was Mary Ann Simpson, daughter of Confederate soldier Charles Holland Simpson, who had served as a justice of the peace in Talbot County, Georgia before the War Between the States. While living in Sabine County, three sons were born to John Wesley and Irene: John McNeal "Mack", born in 1884; Calvin Yancy or Yancee, born in 1886, and Albert Alfonza "Fonce", born in 1888.

John Wesley bought 95 acres of land in Panola County, about 2 miles west of Beckville, in 1888 and moved his young family to the property. In 1890, a fourth son, William Ellis, was born on the recently acquired property. The family was affiliated with the Methodist Episcopal Church, South, in Beckville. On March 18, 1891, tragedy struck the family when a tree fell on John Wesley while he was burning log heaps in some "new ground" he was clearing. He was not yet 26 years of age, and he left a 23 year-old wife and four children under the age 7. Irene and the boys moved to Sabine and Shelby counties for awhile, but returned in the late 1890s. In 1901, she married Joseph E. Robinson, a prominent lumber man. (A newspaper article about him can be found in BECKVILLE TEXAS History of the Town and its Schools by Jane Metcalf, pp. 82-83.) In 1913, Irene Cordray Robinson died and was buried next to John Wesley in Youngblood Cemetery.

In 1908, Albert Alfonza "Fonce" married Essie Turner and John McNeal "Mack" married Bettie L. Welch. Bettie Cordray died between 1910 and 1920 and is buried in Rockhill Cemetery. Mack and Bettie had no children. Fonce and Essie moved to Harrison County around Gum Springs and remained there until their deaths, she in 1935 and he in 1982. Fonce and Essie were the parents of Albert Evan (1909-1991) who married Julia Moore; Inez (1911-1981), who married William Latham; Rabon (1914-1923); and Harold Leo "Bob"(1917-1971), who married Minnie Brightwell Tompkins.

In 1924, Calvin married Ava Brightwell; they were the parents of Margie Irene, who married Clenton Mitchell LaGrone; Calvin Barnette, who married Dorothy Estelle Brevard (1933-2005); and Elsie Joyce, who married Perry Suggs.

In 1938, Mack married Mrs. Addie Clark Kennimer. They had one son, John Wesley, named for his grandfather; John Wesley married Patricia Ann Moody.

William Ellis Cordray never married; he served with the Battery B, 345^th Field Artillery during World War I, being discharged in 1919.

In 1990, John Wesley Cordray, who had a great-grandfather (Daniel C. Cordray) and two great-great grandfathers (Hilliard Judge Williams and Charles Holland Simpson) who all served as justices of the peace, was elected County Judge of Panola County, Texas; he was reelected in 1994 and 1998, retiring in 2002.

The four children of John Wesley Cordray I (Mack, Calvin, Fonce, and Ellis) were all involved in farming, sawmilling, and ranching. Their children have been involved in farming, ranching, education, banking, various public jobs and politics. Their grandchildren and great-grandchildren have followed the professions of education, the legal profession, the medical profession, various public jobs and farming/ranching. Although John Wesley Cordray I did not live long in Panola County, and in fact died quite young, his descendants have had an impact on Panola County and many other parts of the state.

John Wesley Cordray (1865-1891): Irene L. Cordray (1868-1913): Youngblood Cemetery

John McNeal Cordray (1884-1953) Youngblood Cemetery: Addie Cordray (1904-1981) Restland

Calvin Y. Cordray (1886-1957): Ava Cordray Thomas (1905-1987) Youngblood Cemetery

Albert A. "Fonce"Cordray (1888-1982): Essie Cordray (1891-1935) Youngblood Cemetery

William Ellis Cordray (1890-1981) Youngblood Cemetery

Submitted by John Wesley Cordray, Panola County Judge, (Retired)