CURTIS SMITH

The following bio was taken from page 389 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

Albert Smith and his wife, Susan (Jones) Smith, came to Texas from Tennessee by wagon about 1860 and settled near what is now Pine Hill, Texas. Their children – Harvey, Albert, James, and Toby – all married and settled in East Texas.

James (Jim) Smith married Mattie Ann Wylie. Her father was William Wylie, a widower with three children – Bud, Evie, and Frank. Her mother’s maiden name was Elizabeth Ross. She first married a Bullock and had two children; a son named Jim and a daughter. After her husband’s death, Elizabeth married William Wylie, and to this union were born Joe, George, Mattie and Samantha.

Jim Smith was a farmer and rancher and served as constable for thirty-one years. His children –Sudie, Tipps, Lizzie, Tom, Bessie, Cassie, John G., Harvey, Frank, and Curtis – grew up and reared families in East Texas. Curtis taught school for thirty-three years, the last twelve in Marshall. He served as postmaster at Tatum for seventeen years, retiring in 1979. He served in the army from 1942 to 1945, the last fifteen months in Europe.

While teaching in Tatum, Curtis married Mary Effie Young, who was also a teacher there. Mary Effie’s grandfather, Dr. A. O. Menefee, was born in Goldhill, Alabama. His parents, William Tate Menefee and Sue Webb Menefee, moved to Harmony Hill when he was about three years old. He was born in 1865. Dr. Menefee married Effie Gladney. He received his degree in medicine at Tulane University, New Orleans, and practiced medicine in Tatum and surrounding territory for about fifty years, traveling to visit the sick in their home, first by buggy and later by car. He received patients in his office at all hours. Many residents speak of him as their family doctor and often as the one who brought them into the world, many before the time of hospital births. (See Dr. A.O. Menefee story.)

Dr. and Mrs. Menefee had two boys, Tate and Albert, and three girls – Minnie Belle, Grace and Agnes. Minnie Belle married Dock Young, who was County Commissioner for sixteen years and died in office. Minnie Belle was appointed to succeed him and was elected for a full term.

Dock and Minnie Belle had two daughters, Margaret and Mary Effie. Margaret married Francis Murray. They live in Tatum, and Margaret teaches in Henderson. Mary Effie married Curtis Smith, December 25, 1941, and they have three children – Curtis Larry, Ross Menefee, and Jim Bob. Larry received a Master’s Degree from Stephen F. Austin State University and taught school for twelve years in Marshall. He married Nancy Ross, a teacher in Tatum. Larry and Nancy have three children – Suzy, Tate, and Curt. Larry now works for Texas Utilities.

Ross Menefee graduated from Baylor and received his law degree from The University of Texas. He accepted a position in the law offices of Butler, Binion, Rice, Cook, and Knapp in Houston and was later employed in the offices of Exxon in Houston. Jim Bob graduated from The University of Texas and is employed in the office of Hudson and Associates in Houston.

Submitted by Curtis Smith