ANDREW JACKSON THREADGILL

The following bio was taken from page 409 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

My children and I remember Jack sitting in his fireside chair and spinning tales of his boyhood on the farm at Shiloh. Work on the farm was hard, he would say, adding, though, that play was more fun because of the limited time for it. He was one of seven sons of James Arthur and Patrice Kyle Threadgill, who also had three daughters. (See related stories). Each completed the education available in the community; then Jack and the three youngest were awarded scholarships to college, gained mainly by becoming proficient with " a rolled-up piece of burlap, bounced on the hard ground and thrown at a wire hoop on the barn."

Jack’s other tales were of Shiloh Church, where his father was a deacon and charter member; of wagon trips to Minden to visit Grandpa Kyle and of his mother’s always choosing him to drive the teams on these visits; of nights around the fire when his dad would look up from his paper to answer their math problems and Mother would diagram their sentences.

There is an old chinquapin tree still standing behind the smokehouse, a reminder of the many times it was stripped of its switches which were used to deter misbehavior amongst children.

School terms meant early rising to tend farm chores, than trekking to school with lunch of sausage biscuit or "holey" biscuit filled with syrup. (Sometimes these could be traded for something even more delectable). The first to arrive at school always built the fire to warm the small building where one teacher, Miss Faye Kyle, taught the first four grades at Shiloh. Jack was often sent to gather more wood, and this errand would always take a long time. Miss Kyle, however, was not easily fooled and could tell by the bulges in his overall pockets that he had collected chinquapins for a game of "hully gull", come recess.

There was no radio, no automobile, absolutely no luxuries, although just sixteen miles away the city of Henderson was teeming with activity and progress brought by the oil boom of the 1930’s. There was drilling at night, with lights and sounds everywhere in the northern part of the county. Many people became wealthy overnight, and the derrick with the light on top became a symbol of prestige. There was no derrick or drilling on the Threadgill place until, Jack, his brothers, and a cousin, Verlin Faulkner, constructed a "reasonable facsimile", complete with a light on top, a real curiosity in the community. On closer inspection, one would find an ingenious Threadgill boy taking his turn at the pedal, operating the homemade generator, which ran the lone light, no oil, of course!

The children’s father usually went into Henderson alone, but at least twice each year the entire family would make the overnight trip, staying with Grandpa Kyle, who had moved to a small farm out East Main. Their dad would line up the brood for the annual shoe outfitting at Crawford’s while Mother shopped for fabric.

From these modest beginnings, Jack was necessarily mature for his years and was engaged in his own lumber and building business in Dallas at the age of twenty-three. He soon bought a large farm, which joined his father and grandfather’s land at Shiloh.

I am Doris Edwards Threadgill, daughter of O.L. and Emma Park Edwards. Jack and I were married in 1945, and two of our four children were in college when we retired to Henderson in 1970 because of his ill health. He died in December 1976, not having reached all his goals; however, he would have only set others had he succeeded. He is buried at Shiloh Cemetery near his beloved farm, church and childhood home.

I live in Henderson in the old house, now redone, where we first lived while looking for a home here. My children and I enjoy many memories of happy times in this place where they visit often. I am involved in the management of our land and investments and am a member of the board of the Henderson Independent School District and various clubs in the community. I also serve as a director of the new Peoples State Bank of Henderson.

Our oldest of our four children is John David. He attended St. Mark’s School and graduated with honors from Southern Methodist University in Dallas. He is married to the former Karen McCasland and they have two daughters. Whitney Regan and Erin Edwards Threadgill. They live in Dallas.

Andrew Lee attended Arkansas State University and Dallas Baptist College, where he was a member of Kappa Sigma Fraternity and was awarded a baseball scholarship. He is self-employed and lives in Henderson.

Chris Wayne graduated from Henderson High School and Kilgore College, with an associate’s degree in business. He is married to Teresa Lopez, daughter of Tim and Maria Lopez. She is a registered nurse at Henderson Memorial Hospital, and Chris is employed as a tax appraiser with Pritchard and Abbott.

Our daughter, Susan, graduated from Henderson High School, was a National Merit Scholar at Southern Methodist University, and graduated magna cum laude in 1981, with B.A. and B.F.A. degrees, and with departmental distinction in English. She was chosen as a member of SMU’s Mortar Board and Zeta Tau Alpha Sorority, and was named to Who’s Who in American Universities and Colleges. She is now in Austin attending the University of Texas graduate school for playwrights.

Andy, Chris and Susan are fourth generation Rusk Countians, transplanted, but strongly attached to their own deep roots.

Submitted by Doris Threadgill