TRUITT BROWN

The following bio was taken from page 131 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

James Truitt Brown was born February 14, 1874 and died February 27, 1922. He was the only son of James Henry Brown and Elizabeth Truitt Brown and the grandson of George W. Truitt and Jane Yarborough Truitt. He was married to Lottie Maria Todd, December 27, 1899. Lottie was the daughter of Frank Monroe Todd and Charlotte Ann (Lottie) Gibson Robertson Todd and the granddaughter of James Calvin Todd and Malissa Boles Todd. Her maternal grandparents were Allen Gibson and Marila Gibson. Lottie was born January 4, 1878 and died July 10, 1970.

Truitt and Lottie had a pretty wedding at the home of the bride in Millville Community at two o’clock on December 27, 1899, with many of their friends present, including Tatum Gladney, Sam Gaut, DeWitt Oliver. Rev. J. A. Livsey performed the ceremony, after which the couple left for the groom’s home, where they were honored with an "infare" dinner.

For several years the Browns lived in a small house on Truitt’s father’s farm where three of their sons were born. This was in the Fountain Head Community. They next moved to Jacobs. While living here, three daughters were added to the family.

Truitt’s spinster aunt, Nannie Truitt, owned a pretty home in London, Texas, which she gave to her nephew, in which he ran a small store for about two years. One son was born here in 1915, but Lottie decided that London was not a good place to raise her boys, so she brought the family back to the Jacobs’ home.

For a while Truitt Brown attended school at the well-known "Old Omen College" in Smith County, but had to leave because of illness. He worked in Henderson in the Kangerga Store, met many people, and had numbers of friends.

While cutting down a tree with the help of his sons, Truitt was badly injured when the tree fell on him. He was carried to Galveston for treatment but died there. He was brought back and buried at Pleasant Hill.

Lottie was left to bring up her eight children, the youngest of whom was only four years of age. She did a good job and lived on until 1970 when she died at the age of ninety-two years.

Lottie and Truitt had eight children. Their first son, James Todd, married Frances Hindrichs. J. Todd was a good businessman, for everything he did was successful. He owned a prosperous fabric shop in Henderson for many years. He died September 2, 1977.

The second son, George Tatum, married Lorene March. (See Benjamin F. March) Sam Gordon, another son, married Margaret Wright. (See Gordon Brown)

The first daughter of Lottie and Truitt was Helen Nora who married Tom Parmley. She was a teacher and a successful businesswoman. She died July 25, 1974. The second daughter, Beatrice Elizabeth, died April 24, 1927 at the age of sixteen.

Louie Elliott worked for the Farmer’s Home Administration for thirty-seven years. He remained single.

J. H. (Jake) married Lorell Gibson. He was in the 1^st Texas Cavalry during World War II in the South Pacific for three years and was with General Douglas MacArthur when he freed the American prisoners in Manila. He was also a member of the Honor Guard which accompanied the General to Tokyo. Jake died March 4, 1972. Their son, William Hale, married Sharon Ramsey. They have three children: Traci, Lori, and Adriananne.

Kelly Spivey Brown was first married to Opal Burk and later Josie Standard. Kelly was an employee of the Beacon Oil Company and other oil companies. Opal died June 16, 1970, Kelly died August 3, 1975. Kelly and Opal had two sons, Adrian Kelly, who was killed July 16, 1963 in an auto-train accident, and James (Jimmy) Truitt Brown.

Submitted by Margaret Brown