Eugene Mayo 

 The following bio was taken from page 302 of the book entitled “Rusk County History” compiled and edited and used with permission of the Rusk County Historical Commission.

 Transcribed by Claudia Schuster

 Submitted by Gloria Briley Mayfield, Cemeteries of TX

Direct ancestors of Eugene Mayo are: Valentine Mayo, birth date unknown, who lived in Massachusetts and Virginia and died in 1716; James Mayo, born in 1711, lived in Virginia and died in 1776; Stephen Mayo, born in 1757, served in the 14th Virginia Regiment during the Revolutionary War and died in 1847; Benjamin Franklin Mayo, born in 1787 in Virginia, moved to Warren County, Tennessee, date of death unknown; Thomas M. Mayo, born in 1822 in Warren County, Tennessee, served in the Civil War and died in 1926 at the age of one hundred and four years of age in Winters, Texas; Benjamin Franklin Mayo, born in 1874 in Warren County, Tennessee, moved to Texas with parents in 1880 and died in 1954; Eugene Mayo, born in 1898 in Grosbeck, Texas, married Lillian B. Miller in 1924 and had four children: Eugene Mayo, Jr. , born in 1925, married Margaret Sutton and has three children; Virginia B. Mayo, born in 1927, married B.J. Cotton and has two children; Betty Jo Mayo, born in 1930, married Les Walker, and ha$ two children; Benjamin Floyd Mayo, born in 1931, married Shirley A. Hayes and has three children. 

Eugene Mayo left farm work at an early age to begin an exciting career in the oil fields. He became acquainted with rough- necking, roustabout, pipeline walking, and pumping in the Mexia, Richland, and Corsicana areas. He married Lillian B. Miller in 1924 at the age of twenty-six and they had four children, named above. 

Trying to recover from depression days, Eugene and Lillian sold their home in Rich- land, Texas, bought two tents, loaded their four kids, and came to Rusk County in 1932. 

"The Mayos set up camp just below the Parade refinery and began to look for work. Eugene built a typical East Texas 3hotgun house close to the Parade refinery. He rough necked for several drilling contractors which on one occasion took 1im to Palacios, Texas. This was lucky for 1is oldest child, because during this time the New London School exploded killing a great number of the boy's classmates. 

Eugene came back to Rusk County and  secured a pumping job with R. H. Dearing, Inc. He moved his family to the Miller Lease  located on Highway 64 between Joinerville  and Turnertown. Their children attended  and graduated from Gaston Independent  Schools. After their retirement in 1978, Eugene and Lillian moved to Overton. They travel on occasions to visit their four children, ten grandchildren, and seven great-grandchildren. Submitted by Eugene Mayo