DORIS (EDWARDS) THREADGILL

The following bio was taken from page 410 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

Doris Edwards was born and reared in Teague, Freestone County Texas and married Jack Threadgill, a Rusk County native. They lived in Dallas many years while maintaining land and cattle in Rusk County; then they retired to Henderson in 1970. The Threadgill stories are told in other accounts and the following is the history of Doris’ family and ancestors.

The American empresarios and immigrants who colonized the Mexican territory of Texas were a determined breed; it took all of their determination, backed by pride born of pain, to create and organize the new Republic of Texas in the 1830’s. History records the names of those who turned strong hearts toward the building of the first primitive governments in the Republic, among those appear the names Collard, Robinson, Crabb, and Park, four families who were influential in the formation of the early governments of Montgomery, Walker and Madison counties in south central Texas.

The patriarch of the Collard clan in Texas was Judge Elijah Collard, a Virginian by birth and a veteran of the War of 1812. He took a definite stand on the issue of Texas independence. He served on the General Council of Texas in 1835-1836. He was also president of the Board of Land Commissioners and Justice of the Peace for Montgomery County. His family had a penchant for the cause of Independence: Elijah’s father, Joseph Collard I, was an Irish immigrant who joined the ranks of the embattled patriots in the American Revolution. Elijah died with his work unfinished. He is buried at Gourd Creek Cemetery in Walker County, where two historical markers commemorate his efforts.

The cause of freedom was taken up by his son, Jobe Stark Collard, who served as an officer in the Battle of San Jacinto. He married Sarah Elizabeth Robinson, and their daughter, Elizabeth Collard, became the link that bound the strength of their Texas heritage to that of another family of equal prominence—the Crabb family.

Judge Hillary Mercer Crabb was a noted citizen of the republic who served Walker County as Justice of the Peace. The city of Madisonville is built on land donated by members of the Crabb and Collard families. Surveys, communities, and cemeteries in the area bear their names. The signature of Judge H.M. Crabb appears in the probation of Jobe Collard’s will. The two men apparently enjoyed more than a passing acquaintance, as Judge Crabb’s son Phillip took Elizabeth Collard as his wife around 1860.

Phillip L. Crabb died two months before the birth of his daughter, Philip Mattie, her father’s namesake and only legacy when she was orphaned at the age of two years in 1863. She became heir to considerable property at this tender age and was left in the care of her father’s brother, Warren who reared "Phil" and managed her Madison County lands and property, including a fine string of racehorses.

Phil married George Lewis Park, the son of a family that took root in Texas with the immigration of his grandparents, Andrew and Jane Little Park, who left South Carolina for the frontier state in the 1840’s. Some time after their marriage, Phil and George left her land in search of a more suitable climate for their young asthmatic son. Their intent was to reach Arizona, but they settled in Limestone County, Texas, unable to continue after their wagon became mired in the black mud characteristic of the area. It was here that their daughter, Emma, met O.L. Edwards, son of William Thomas and Sarah Serena (Patty) Edwards. The young couple was married in Freestone County, where they settled to rear a family of nine children.

The actual rearing of the Edwards children fell to O.L. when Emma died in 1929, leaving five children under the age of twelve. O.L. was a landowner and cattleman and co-owner of a cotton gin, and was employed as a section foreman while the tracks were being laid for the railroad at Teague. He was an ambitious, capable worker and businessman whose earnings were literally devoured by his brood of youngsters in the depression years. Since work kept him away from the house all day, O.L. employed various housekeepers. They were paid a "generous" sum of four to five dollars a week, but they assumed fringe benefits, including an assortment of foodstuffs and Emma’s china, silver, and linens, which gradually disappeared from the household.

The Edwards family enjoyed a degree of freedom from the turmoil of the times. Treasured memories recall Dad’s stories told around the fire at bedtime, brother Ervin’s gift of music, holiday dinners, and Christmas Eve when the entire family would gather to listen for Santa’s sleigh bells and to watch the young ones enjoy the gifts and toys. Of course, all was not joys and toys in the motherless household; but O.L. was able to provide nicely for his family, his ever-faithful presence and display of strength and courage providing the most valuable asset for a family of that day or any day—security. In a time when Roosevelt’s relief was too long in coming, when hobos and gypsies, more curiosities than threats, wandered the streets of the railroad town like the transient spirits of fading hopes, O.L.’s example of hard work and ambition spoke to his children as loudly as did his deliberate lessons in honesty, pride for home, and the virtues of a Christian life. He believed strongly in integrity and often remarked that "a man’s word is his bond".

Doris Louise Edwards was O.L. and Emma’s youngest daughter, her birth falling in the midst of those of five brothers. After the older sisters left home, her father gave his consent for her to live with his eldest daughter, Bernice Lee, who was a nurse at Dr. J.D. Davidson’s hospital. Their rooms were on the lower floor of the hospital, which also accommodated the residence of the doctor and his family. Dr. and Mrs. Davidson had been longtime friends of Doris’ family, and it was in their home that she received her early social training, learning much from that genteel lady and the dear sister, "Bun". Her brothers—Jack, W.T., Sammy, and Robert—remained at home, while Ervin and sisters Willie and Evelyn were married, Willie, to Grady Ivy and Evelyn to Sneed Partin.

Life in the home and hospital of the noted surgeon was exciting for Doris, and she experienced many triumphs and tragedies in this environment. She treasured her small-town upbringing because of the close relationships she enjoyed with the townspeople. Her memories are good ones, reflected in the images of the many good friends and teachers who influenced her life.

After graduation, Doris lived with her sister Evelyn’s family in Dallas, where she met Jack Threadgill. They were married in 1945, and the story of their family is told in the preceding story.

Submitted by Susan Threadgill