Charles William RETTIG

The following bio was taken from page 358 of the book entitled "Rusk County History" compiled and edited and used with permission of the Rusk County Historical Commission.

Transcribed by Gloria Freeman Riley

Submitted by Gloria Briley Mayfield, Rusk County TX Coordinator

Charles William Rettig, the eldest child of Paul and Martha Rettig was born March 4, 1867 in Minden, Texas, and attended Rock Hill Institute. He came to Henderson in 1887 and worked in his uncle Ed Barthold’s general merchandise store. In 1894 he returned to Minden, where he bought a shingle mill, a gristmill, and a cotton gin.

Charles married Mary Alice McPherson on June 1, 1904, and after a trip to the Louisiana Purchase Exposition in St. Louis, the couple settled in Minden.

He and his brother, Frank, bought two sawmills in 1907, locating one at their cotton gin in Brachfield and the other at the cotton gin in Minden. In 1911 the holdings in Minden and Brachfield were sold and the family moved to Henderson, where he built a modern gin near the T & H Depot. In addition to the cotton gin, he had a brickyard and was agent for Gulf Refining Company. This was a time when more kerosene than gasoline was sold, and lubricating oil came in wooden barrels. He stayed with Gulf until 1931, having built the operation into the largest oil distributorship in Rusk County.

Mr. Rettig was a member of the Cumberland Presbyterian Church where he served as Sunday School superintendent as a ruling elder. He was a member of the Knights of Pythias, the I.O.O.F., and the Masonic Lodge. He was a city alderman and a member of the Chamber of Commerce, also serving as its president in 1935-36.

Mrs. Rettig, the daughter of Samuel Archibald and Adaline (Brewer) McPherson, was born in 1879, in Dade county, Missouri, attended Missouri Valley College, and taught school in Missouri. Her parents moved to Texas in 1902. She was active in the school Parent-Teacher Association, her church, women’s clubs, and in many other civic activities.

Four boys and three girls were born to the Rettigs: Christine, Mattie, William, Ruth, Charles, Walter, who died in 1923, and Arch, who died in 1981. Christine married Dr. C.E. Georke (now deceased) and lives in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida. She has four children and six grandchildren. Mattie married Dell C. Mitchell and lives in Englewood, Florida. Arch (now deceased) married Clorice Lokey, who now lives in Henderson. They have two children and one grandchild. William married Rose Gory Munves. They now live in Henderson and have three children and four grandchildren. Ruth lives in Athens. Charles married Virginia Goodby and lives in Brookfield, Wisconsin. They have four children.

Written by W. Rettig