CHARLIE JUTSON SANDERS

The following bio was taken from page 380 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, Rusk County TX Coordinator

Charles Jutson Sanders was born in Rusk County, November 5, 1904, the son of Robert B. and Sally A. Israel Sanders. On October 7, 1923, he married Sallie Mae Duncan, who was born May 5, 1905, in Ragley, Texas. She was the daughter of Joseph "Franklin" Duncan and Sara "Ella" Elizabeth Young.

The couple had five children. Charlene Mae, who was born September 13, 1924, in Rusk County, married Tommy Delton Collum, October 27, 1942 in Orange, Texas. They have three children. Bob Allen, who was born April 1, 1928 in Rusk County on the Moss farm, married Aubert Jeanette Weaver in Orange, Texas, in March 1949. They have two children. Barbara Vanek married in 1976 and has two children. Glen Frank, who was born September 19, 1930 in Rusk County, died in an industrial accident in which he was electrocuted August 25, 1950. Jack Duncan, who was born May 31, 1933 in Rusk County, died of diphtheria on January 14, 1935. Melba, who was born February 27, 1935 in Tatum, Texas, married Travis Charles Hudson, August 9, 1952 in Orange, Texas. They have four children.

Charlie and Sallie Mae were married in the New Hope (Chicken Feather) Community where her family came as pioneers. The Reverend Egbert Jimerson performed the ceremony and John and Fannie Mae Gray were the witnesses. Fannie Mae was Sallie Mae’s first cousin. The times were hard, and the young couple were offered scrap cotton for a mattress. Monday morning following their wedding during the weekend, they were in a cotton field picking cotton.

Charles worked on farms most of his life, starting work for the Menefee family as an overseer and sharecropper. The family moved from farm to farm trying to make a living as the depression became more of a reality. At each place Sallie Mae planted bulbs, roses, and shrubs. Then after moving she would drive back by to see the beautiful results of her effort. Generations later, her handiwork still blooms at her old homesites.

When World War II broke out, the family moved to Orange to work in the shipyards as many other East Texas farm families were doing.

Even though Charlie DJ. Sanders had only a third–grade education, he taught himself enough to become a respected real estate agent and broker in Orange County. Before his death, Charlie had requested that his burial be in Rusk County. He lies beside his sons and parents in the Stewart Cemetery. As was the tradition, his black friends of years past were at the cemetery to view his body and pay their respects. One tribute by Dan Kindle tells the story best, "Charlie Sanders was color blind. I never had a better friend."

Sallie Mae still lives in Orange County, as do Melba and her family. Bob Allen and Charlene and their families live in Houston.

Submitted by Cecil Williams