HATTIE TOWNS BERRY

The following bio was taken from page 110 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

Hattie M. Towns was born January 15, 1892 in Rusk County, Texas. She was the daughter of Jeff L. and Louisa Porter Towns, who were married in December 1887 in Rusk County.

Louisa Towns was blind, so Hattie was reared by Elias and Julia F. Crim, as were her brother, Sam, and her sister, Kate. Hattie also had three sisters – Carrie, Mattie, and Jessie – but they were raised in different households. Louisa would visit Hattie when she was young and touch her and tell how much she had grown.

Hattie grew up in the town of Henderson. While in her teens, Hattie met and dated brothers, William and Henry Berry. William was attending college in Jacksonville, Texas during this time. On October 29, 1911 in Rusk County, Hattie married William Spence Berry, born January 14, 1889 in Rusk County. William was the son of William Stephen and Maria Louisa Spence Berry who married January 28, 1875 in Angelina County, Texas.

William and Hattie lived in Henderson with the Crims when they were first married. William was building a home for his family in Oak Hill Community (originally called Motley) on land he had purchased from his father. The house was finished about the same time their second son was born in 1916. A sleeping porch was added to the home around 1926 or 1927. I remember my grandmother Hattie’s home with the well on the back porch, the black wood-burning pot-bellied stove in the living room, the high ceilings, the sleeping porch with all the beds, and my favorite spot, the swing on the front porch.

William was a carpenter and a farmer. Hattie would help William in the fields and cook all her meals for the day before leaving the house. Also, Hattie would completely sweep her home before daylight, moving her kerosene lamp across the floor from one area to another in order to see where she was sweeping.

On the farm were some outer buildings that housed the farm help. Buck and Annie Morris, a black couple, helped on the farm. Annie helped to care for the Berry children, along with her own children, and Annie always spent Christmas with the Berry Family. I can never remember a Christmas at my grandmother’s home without Annie being there. Hattie especially loved Christmas and having her family gather in her home at that time.

In 1922 William bought their first car, a Model T. William had said a horse and buggy wasn’t good enough for his first daughter born in 1921. In 1934 Hattie learned to drive a car.

Hattie loved to fish, sew, quilt, and embroider. She was known to her family as "Mammy," a loving mother and grandmother. William and Hattie were Methodist and attended church regularly with their family. On July 15, 1933, William died of tuberculosis. Hattie died January 8, 1970. Both are buried at Prospect Cemetery in Rusk County, Texas.

The children of William and Hattie Towns Berry are: William Eugene, who was born September 7, 1914 and died 1972; James Elbert (my father) born August 14, 1916; John Towns, who was born October 4, 1918 and died May 23, 1951; Mattie Louise, born December 24, 1921; Mae Nell, born February 22, 1926; Harold Porter, who was born February 26, 1928 and died February 26, 1928; and Frances Cleo born March 14, 1929.

Submitted by Beverly Berry Fogarty