OSCAR F. BURTON

The following bio was taken from page 137 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

After the Civil War was over, many Southern families were faced with the grim reality of no home, no land, and no way to make a living for themselves. Among these families was a young married couple, Oscar F. and Laura Ann Peek Burton, who had married in 1872 and had two small children – Emma, about three years old, and Luther, just a few months old. The Burtons were my grandparents, who lived in Cedartown, Georgia, which had been hard hit by the war.

In the family, there has been told many times the story of how Laura, a young girl of seven, had to sit on the front porch of their home, with the rest of her family, and watch the Union soldiers carry off all of their livestock, chickens, and every bit of any kind of food they could find. The Peeks were left with nothing. Soon afterward, in his despair and desperation at the fate of his family, Laura’s father, W. C. Peek, hanged himself in their barn. How the family survived, I don’t know.

Oscar and Laura wanted a better life for their children; therefore, like so many others, they decided to move to Texas. There has also been a story handed down in the family, that Oscar’s great-grandmother Burton was a full-blooded Cherokee Indian, a heritage of which we’ve always been proud. Maybe it was those few drops of Indian blood that helped give Oscar the courage and determination to decide to start over somewhere else.

In 1876, the Burtons packed their belongings in a covered wagon and started for Texas. Some other members of both the Peek and Burton families came with them. The Beall family also joined their small wagon train.

When the group reached Rusk County, they decided that this was where they wanted to live. It must have affected them as it had so many others, who said it reminded them of the red clay hills of Georgia. Rusk County was thickly settled by pioneer families from Georgia. They knew that red soil would raise good cotton, and that’s what they meant to do.

The three families settled in the Church Hill Community first; but later Oscar and Laura moved on to Oak Hill.

With all the cotton that was being raised everywhere, Oscar decided a cotton gin was needed, so he built one across the road from their house. The old home place is now included in the Oak Hill Cemetery. Gin work was hard and dirty, however, and Oscar eventually developed what was then call consumption, from inhaling the dust and lint. He died at the early age of forty-four, before his youngest son was even born.

About two months after Oscar F. died, Laura had their youngest son, Oscar Vinson. Then, at thirty-seven she was faced with the formidable task of rearing their six children alone. She did it well, though, with the help of the older children. Laura lived to be ninety-seven years old, and retained her indomitable spirit and sweet, loving disposition to the end.

Oscar F. Burton (1848-1892), and Laura Ann Peek Burton, (1855-1952), are buried at New Prospect Cemetery.

In all, the Burtons had eight children, but lost two as infants. The others were: Emma (1873-1930); Luther T. (1875-1945); Mary Frances (1881-1970); Jesse Lee (1881-1970); Charlie Wilburn (1890-1963); and Oscar Vinson (1892-1961).

All of the children of Oscar and Laura Burton accomplished many things in their lives. They married and reared fine families and were hardworking, and well-liked and respected members of their respective neighborhoods.

Emma Burton married Ingram Hudson Wright, usually known as "Hud". They lived for a while in Oak Hill Community, then moved to Elderville, where he farmed and reared their family. They had six children; Dee, Willis, I. H., Inez, Emma, and Molly. All three of their sons died at an early age and under tragic circumstances. Dee was shot; Willis fell from the top of an oil derrick; and I. H. died of pneumonia at the age of sixteen. Ingram Hudson Wright, (1869-1926) and Emma Wright are buried at Elderville Cemetery.

Mary Frances Burton married Joe Tyler Watson, son of Mr. And Mrs. James M. Watson of the Peatown Community. Their children were: Horace, Agnes, Claude, Virginia, Travis, Randolph, who was president of Kilgore Junior College at one time, and Mary Frances. They lived in the old Watson home place in Peatown for nineteen years while Tyler taught school in the surrounding area. Then they moved to Henderson and built a beautiful two-story home on North Marshall Street. He was, at one time, County Judge of Rusk County. The new courthouse was erected during his administration. He also served as School Superintendent for four years. Joe Tyler Watson, (1875-1951) and Mary Frances Watson (1881-1970), are buried at Lakewood Memorial Park in Henderson.

Luther T. Burton, son of Oscar F. and Laura Burton, was married twice. His first wife was Mary Frances Nolan (1876-1905), who he married in 1896. They had two children, Lucille and Lillian Burton. Fannie died of pneumonia when she was twenty-nine years old. Then, Luther married a young widow, Ethel Williams Gray, whose first husband was Peter Burnett Gray (1863-1903). He died a tragic and seemingly needless death at the age of twenty. He had a tooth pulled one morning, went home and couldn’t stop the bleeding, and lay on his front porch and bled to death. It is hard to believe in these days of modern medicine that such a thing could have happened.

Ethel was left with a small son, Peter A. Gray (1903-1945), and she and Luther were married sometime before 1908. They had four children of their own. They were: Laura Bernice, William Langston (1908-1970); Forest M. (1913-1976); and Adrian Moss. Luther ran a general store in Oak Hill, which also contained the post office. In 1908 he moved his family to Henderson, where he opened a hardware, buggy, saddle, and harness store. Several years later he went into partnership with A. Crim and they added furniture to the store and built a funeral home. Luther was a member of the first Board of Directors of the Rusk County Chamber Of Commerce in 1926. He sold his interest in the business in the early 1930’s and retired. L. T. Burton (1875-1945), and Ethel Burton (1885-1954) are buried at Lakewood Memorial Park in Henderson.

Jesse Lee Burton married May Gray, who was a sister to Peter B. Gray the first husband of Ethel Burton. They built a nice home in Oak Hill and lived there for quite a while, with their daughter, Thelma. About 1912, Jesse bought each of his brothers’ and sisters’, and mother’s part of the Oscar F. Burton estate and put all the land together to use for farming. Unfortunately, he was drowned in 1926, while fishing in Brown’s Pond near Henderson. At least part of the Burton land is still in the family, though, in the hands of Jesse’s grandson, Graves Spivey. The old house they lived in is still standing on the land. Jesse Lee Burton (1884-1926), and May G. Burton (1885-1967) are buried at New Prospect Cemetery.

Oscar Vinson Burton married Ermine Ivers Adams from around Tatum. She was casually called Erma, by most people. They lived in several communities – Oak Hill, Prospect, and Dirgin – but finally settled in Karmack, Texas. Oscar V. was a farmer most of his life. They had four children: Dorothy, who married Bill Waldrop, Nadine, James, and Merrell.

Both Erma and Dorothy were very artistic in many ways, and Dorothy is now a very accomplished artist, specializing in oil painting. She lives in Marshall, Texas. Oscar Vinson Burton 1882-1961) and Erma Burton (1892-1973) are buried in the Andrews Cemetery at Karnack.

Submitted by Charline Burton Pool