PRESTON ALLISON

The following bio was taken from page 92 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, Rusk County TX Coordinator

The Allisons came to East Texas from Rockbridge County, Viriginia, where they were neighbors of the Stonewall Jackson family. I am Preston Allison and my grandfather Allison raised his family in Longview, Texas, and his children were Nick, Preston (my father), Donaghey, and Zoe Allison. Grandfather Allison was a cotton buyer and cotton compress operator in Longview. The old Chick-Allison home in Pine Tree is one of the historical show places in Gregg County.

My father, Preston Allison, married Frankie Culp of Kilgore, Texas, in 1924. Her father, Frank Culp, taught school at Crim’s Chapel, Rusk County. Her mother, Mary Jane, was the sister of Judge Robert Taylor Brown, who was the District Judge here in Henderson during the oil boom and for many years thereafter. Judge Brown’s brother, Clint, was a prominent contractor and builder in Longview, and his brother, Joe Brown, was an assistant attorney general of Texas and a leading attorney for the Gulf Oil Company in Houston. Their grandfather, Robert W. Smith, who was my great-great-grandfather, was the first sheriff of Rusk County and fought against the dictator, General Santa Anna, at the Battle of San Jacinto. Grandfather Smith’s name is among those of the Army of the Republic of Texas inscribed on the San Jacinto Monument.

My father, Preston Allison, was a soldier, also. He fought in WWI in France in the battles of San Mihiel and the Meuse-Argonne. He received a battlefield commission for bravery under battle fire, and was wounded by a German machine gun in the Argonne Forest. Later, during WWII, he was the commander of Company D, Henderson, Texas, 23^rd Battalion, Texas State Guard, which helped protect the oil fields and refineries in this area from sabotage as well as served as a training unit for men about to enter the national military. Father was also an accountant here in Henderson for many years and was well known in business, civic, church and political circles. He was an elder in the First Southern Presbyterian Church here and also served as Secretary of the Rusk County Democratic Executive Committee. My mother, Frankie Culp Alison, was well known here too, and was active in various clubs and was the church organist for a number of years.

My brother, Robert (Bob) C. Allison, married Ruby Ann Boren of Henderson. Bob is an accountant for Union Oil Company in Houston. Ruby is a teacher there, and they have a son, Clint, who is a top-notch student.

Bob’s twin brother, Joe F. Allison, has his doctorate and is a mathematics professor in Dallas. Joe married Mary Helen Baxter of Price. Mary is very active in church work, and they have a daughter, Cindy, who is a very excellent scholar and a musician as was her Grandmother Allison.

My younger brother, Johnny, is a supply manager for Texas Utilities in Glen Rose. He and I are old bachelors.

I was born in Houston, Texas in the year of the crash, 1929. When we lived in Houston, my father was an auditor for the E. P. Rankin Audit Company. His office was in the Esperson Building, then the tallest building in Houston. Mother, accompanied by me standing up in the back seat, would drive from our home in Garden Villas to downtown Houston to pick up Father after work at the Esperson Building.

We moved to Kilgore in 1934, where my twin brothers, Joe Frank and Robert Clinton, were born. They were delivered by Dr. J. B. Crane, Aunt Lucy’s husband. Aunt Lucy was Judge R. T. Brown’s sister. Her daughter, Mary Alice, taught school at one time in Henderson. Another daughter, Mrs. Nannette Wickham, is also well known to many Hendersonites. She is active in Presbyterian Church activities as my father and mother were.

In 1935 we moved to Henderson, where I started to school. My first grade teacher was Mrs. Josie Wright. Kindness and patience were two of her virtues that I can remember. Anyhow, I managed to complete school in Henderson and graduated in 1947. Kilgore College was next, and then I went on to Austin College, where I obtained my B. S. in 1951.

My youngest brother, Johnny, came along in 1944. When he was born, Father came out to Bass’s Sawmill, where Jim Flanagan, Bill Parker and I were working, to break the news. I wanted to take the rest of the day off, but I couldn’t as we had to load a truck.

Submitted by Preston D. Allison