BURNA MONROE BATTLES

The following bio was taken from page 105 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

I married "Burn" on December 25, 1927 at the home of my parents, the B. F. Lovetts of Carbon, Texas, with Reverend A. W. Cunningham officiating. His parents were Hannah Isabelle Holt and Jake Battles and they were deceased at the time of our marriage. They had seven surviving children and Burn was the only son. They lived in Eastern Oklahoma.

During World War I, Burn volunteered for the Navy. When the war ended, he came to Ranger, Texas, and was an engineer at the gasoline plant near where I was teaching school. We have three children.

My father, from Tennessee, married my mother, Helen Elizabeth Williams in 1901, with Pastor Cobb performing the ceremony. His first wife had died, leaving four children who were living on a farm near Carbon. My mother’s parents had traveled by wagon train to settle in Eastland County, near Carbon. My parents had three children: Iva Irene, a son who died at birth, and me, Clarice Ann Lovett, born February 17, 1906. We were all born at Carbon.

I graduated from Carbon High School in 1923, went to Baylor that fall, and began teaching, going to college each summer.

Our only daughter, Wan Elaine, was born at Ranger on September 30, 1928, when the depression was on. The plant was sold, so we moved to beautiful East Texas, to New London and made it our home.

On March 18, 1937, Elaine was in the second grade and was among the children entertaining the PTA. My mother and husband went with me for that event. This was the time of the terrible New London explosion which killed 289 children and adults. We were all safe. My husband was among the first who searched through the ruins for the bodies, to be laid in rows outside. After this tragedy we moved away for two years to return to our newly-built home. In 1964 this home was struck by lightning and completely burned, eight years after Burn had retired, when both our sons were studying for degrees at Baylor.

Elaine graduated from New London High School in 1947 and Mary Hardin- Baylor in 1951. She began teaching that year in Ft. Worth. There she met William B. Easterling. He received his Theology Degree from Southwestern Seminary, and he and our daughter were married in 1958. Their home is in Alabama.

Burna Frank, our first son, was born here September 2, 1940. He graduated from New London High School in 1958, from Kilgore College, 1960, entered Baylor University and received his BS degree in 1963, his MA in 1966, and became a professor that fall at Baylor. He married Mary Helen Bonilla, also a Baylor graduate, in 1972. She is a geology teacher at McClellan Junior College. They have three children: Aaron, six; Chris, four; and Jay, two.

Freddie Ray, our youngest son, was born in 1943. He graduated from London High School in 1961; from Kilgore College, 1963; and from Baylor with a BS, 1966; and an MA in 1967. Then he became professor that fall at Tarrant County Junior College. In 1968 he married Judy Pruett, also a Baylor graduate who taught government at this college. Fred moved to Mountain View Junior College in 1973. He received a Doctors Degree from North Texas State University at Denton. Freddie and Judy have two children, Kristi, 4; and Brittany, 2.

On February 4, 1981, Burn passed away. He had been honored by the Masons three years before with two Masonic pins for fifty years of service. My family and I received a certificate saying, "The United States of America honors the memory of Burna Monroe Battles in grateful recognition of devoted and selfless consecration to the service of our county". Signed Ronald Reagan, President.

Submitted by Mrs. B. M. Battle (Clarice)