JAMES LAUDERDALE (LOD) ANDERSON

The following bio was taken from page 93 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 Lauderdale (Lod) Anderson of the West Tennessee branch of Andersons, was transplanted to Texas when his parents, Arthur David and Sarah Louise Wood Anderson, moved their family to Henderson in the early 1890’s.

Being farmers, they settled in the Highland Park area and purchased a fifty acre farm nearby. But the rich, dark delta land of the farm back home near the mouth of the Hatchie River where it empties into the Mississippi beckoned them to return sometime after selling the Rusk County farm to Arthur David’s older brother in 1906.

Lod, however, remained, having by this time met and married Ella Frances Beard, the lovely seventeen year old daughter of James Mitchell and Betty Nevils Beard of Rusk County.

The couple made their home on their farm almost all of the sixty-five years of their life together and there in the Ebenezer Community raised their ten children. As time passed, Lod became a skilled carpenter, much in demand for his ability and his unfailing honesty and integrity. Buildings and bridges over the area still stand as evidence of his handiwork.

Today all except one of the Lod Anderson children are still living. Lod died December 27, 1970 and Ella, on August 18, 1971. Both are buried in Ebenezer Cemetery.

The first Anderson child, Gilbert and one daughter are residents of Rusk County. Gilbert, longtime employee of Beall’s Department Stores, retired in 1966 and moved with his wife, the former Faye Joplin, to their cattle farm near Henderson. They have two children, Nelwyn Penley of Denton and James Gilbert Anderson, Jr., veterinarian and teacher in Texas A & M at College Station.

Lurene Billingsley, retired teacher and newspaper reporter, and her husband, Preston, retired school principal, reside on a small farm in Timpson. Their two children are David, branch chief at Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center in Houston, and Linda Craig, librarian in the Austin School System.

Arthur, a veteran of World War II, owned and operated a cleaning shop in Longview for many years. He died in 1966 and is buried in Ebenezer Cemetery near his parents.

Arlin is an independent Insurance agent in Pickton, Texas. He and his wife, Florence Snow, are the parents of four children. Jan died at six. Judy Gordon teaches in the University of Mississippi. Jonell Nixon is with Exxon in Houston, and David Arlin is an Air Force captain in Fort Worth.

Clifton, World War II veteran, and his wife, Mary Katherine Moss (deceased 1981), owned and operated the Dr. Pepper Bottling Company in Shawnee, Oklahoma for twenty-eight years. He continues as consultant to the firm. Their daughter, Dr. Mary Ann Mullican, practices medicine at Pasadena General Hospital in Houston. Their son John is engaged in social work in Shawnee.

Lois was married to Preston Rogers, who died three years later. She is now married to Finis Rogers, cousin to Preston and a World War II veteran. They live on a large farm near Henderson and raise cattle and horses. Lois retired after twenty-eight and a half years as chief program assistant with the Rusk County Agricultural Stabilization and Conservation Service. By her first marriage, she has one son, Neal, who is an independent salesman in Tyler.

Fred and his wife, Dorothy Ross, also live in Tyler where he has his own business, Gas Services, Inc., specializing in gas measurement in oil and gas fields. They have two children: Karen Cochrum, who teaches in Houston; and Fred Ross, vice-president and manager of Gas Services.

Bertie Fay Oliver and her husband, Clinton Ellis, World War II veteran, live in Lufkin, where he is head of transportation for Brookshire Brothers and she an Avon representative. They have no children.

J. L., Jr. and his wife, Eleanor Jones, live in El Dorado, Kansas, where he is unit operator for Getty Refinery. He and his former wife, Dorothy Hicks, are parents of Jimmy, a welder and iron worker; Donny, a welder for Trinity Industries in Longview; Nancy Bennett of Mesquite; and Martha Lou Olendorf of Dallas.

Marvis Nell’s husband is Kenneth Eagleton, a Free Will Baptist minister. Both have been missionaries to Brazil since 1958. Their oldest son, Kenneth, Jr., at twenty-five is a practicing physician in a Brazilian hospital. The last three sons, born in Brazil and having dual citizenship, are now in United States colleges: Terry and Stephen in Nashville, Tennessee; and Andrew, studying flight technology at LeTourneau. All plan careers in missions in Brazil.

All of us are humbly grateful for the memory of our strict and loving Mama and Papa.

Submitted by Lurene Billingsley