Hi, ill tell all I know I remember some Frys in Stephenville, but I thought they spelt it Frey. One was an officer in Farmers First National Bank, now Nations Bank. IT seems that one ran a boarding house with public family style meals, like the Minter house. I ate at the Minter house sometimes, or the Stigler Grocery back room for the rural cracckers and cheese crowd. Don't remember the Johnsville ones, but in 1936-1940-s the old two story blacksmith shop across from the Belcher's Johnsville store and postoffice, was still there. It was in the corner of the Mills family farm and was a parking lot for Bosque valley league baseball- . The teams were Johnsville, Iredell, Stephenville, Dublin, White Settlement, and another or two. The Mills boys, Bobby Joe Stacy, and Bob Ford & Leonard Christopher were the ones which stand out in memory.Bobby Joe had played in the old Texas League for Roswell against the Fort Worth Cats. The blacksmith ship I remember was a two story unpainted building. We used to get a Whistle Vess or Coke and have some serious horseshoes and washer toss games in the bottom. It was the community gym, I guess. The doors and windows were gone downstairs, if it ever had any. We did not lock our houses. There had been a Lodge hall upstairs, like Chalk Mountain and I think someone had lived in it. We stayed out upstairs- the stairs were gone. ULOTH? I taught Johnny Uloth at Walnut Springs about 1960. I taught him Algebra, geometry, and history. We alternated Algebra II and Geometry. He married Kay Tanner. Her dad was a law officer killed in line of duty. Her mom remarried the widowed Ag Teacher who had 3 sons. - W.H.Heartsill. Johnny or his dad had a dairy across from the cemetery at one time. Blakeley? I think some of the older Blakeleys still were in Walnut Springs. During the Railroad shop and roundhouse days Blakeleys had stores in Stephenville, Walnut Springs, and others, I think. Cox? I grew up in the old Reed Cox home north of George Cox. The barn was an older 3 or 4 room house. I understand there were at least 3 Cox brothers in the Civil War. One had stores in Stephenville, Waco, and Fort Worth. Dad bought his shoes there from Lonnie Hicks. He followed Cox's to Waco and then opened Lonnie Hicks shoes in Marlin. He was living in 1990 and younger family ran the store. Ask the oldest there if Pearl Hicks, Stephenville teacher and her blind sister were his sisters. Reed Cox lived between us and school. I can still hear Granny Cox under the Johnsville tabernacle singing "There's an all seeing Eye Watching You". She reported behavior such as smoking by students walking home to our parents. Sometimes she was that eye. I understand that Reed had a brother who was an Indian agent in Oklahoma and married one of Quannah Parker's daughters. HOPE? I remember Alva Hope well. That generation built their own homes like Grandad did, set by theNorth star at night. They lived frugal enough that a one year drought would not cost them their farm and home. Alva lived past Evergreen in Rabbit Center (Welcome Valley) in a neat small house , gardened, and did mechanic and other work. After retirement he made yard decorations in his shop and sold them and watermellons and sometimes fruit from his front yard. He lived next door to Jimmy Green. SHAW? When I attended Pony Creek church, Russell Bunch did also. He had fixed a garage for a home for Tom shaw and Aunt |Celia. She lived to 112. Tom had a buggy mail route but gave it up when cars were retired as his palsy shakes would not allow him to drive a car. After that, she moved in with "Aunt Marthy and Uncle Ed" Cox in their new home they bought from Mr, Hale, In grade chool she would pull in me and J.R. Wright and others our age who might be coughing, set us down by the fireplace, and give us a cookie and a spoon of whiskey in honey to stop our cough. The "Big Boys" would cough their heads off trying to gether attention, but she just ignored them until she heard a REAL cough. Grandad's Uncle Guss Hatcchett, farmer and baptist preacher, like his dad Dr. Hatchett, married a shaw before my time . Her family ran the Johnsville Store. JOHN BUNCH was a self taught folk medicine veterinarian. He used to treat cows for "Hollow Horn" and Hollow Tail. He split the skin on their tail and wraped it with a handfull of salt. The cow would sure gert up and move some way. Our Ag teacher taught us that ALL cows have hollow horns. John Bunch, John Little, John Belcher, John Skipper, and 10 or more we learned in Grade school with Mrs. Clara Atkins probably got Johnsville its name. Before that some called it POODLEVILLE. Someone from Stephencille took a Sunday buggy ride towards Glen Rose and saw several new houses. They remarked-"Whooda thought it- ther'e building now houses way out here" so Mrs. Atkins said some nicknamed it Whodathotit" I think homes on the Dufffau and Pony Creek were older than Stephenville. Duffau and Thurber and Hico had trains long before Stephenville. Thurber records should be in Stephenville. There was a suburban overflow of people who did not work for TP Coal or Acme Brick or the TP railroad into Palo Pinto County aroung Mingus, when Erath County went dry. Some records should be in Palo Pinto. Mineral Wells is not the county seat. Immigrants to Newcastle mines at Graham were mostly Czech and some migrated to West which has become Heavily Czech and many Germans nearby. The Thurber Historical Association is in Stephenville. The company owned Union town had 10, ooo. Some claim that was workers, not their wives and kids. I don't know. When the largest bar between Fort Worth and El Paso was built across the county line, some claims say there more around the city limits than in it- con artists, peddlers, fruit stands, & people outside the town and the union. This was the first town in the U.S. with citywide treated water, fire plugs each corner, and synchronized Traffic lights. John L Lewis strike made oil from Hogtown and Ranger than coal, if Union demands were met, so the town died. The workers were paid in Company script which Stephenville merchants discounted. The company owned the homes. The Johnson Ranch is still there. Near Thurber there is a library owned and well maintained with heat & moisture controlled with all minig records, including each immigrant, and each American worked there, how much they mined or what they did the members of the family , I misse Grade school to help dad and Uncle Lewis Wyly haul bricks from Thurber to build chickenhouse foundations . This library is not open to the public. I wish it was,on Computer Disc. One of dad's cousins, Velma, married a Tackett. A Tackett from Wisconsin contacted me- her family had worked in the Thurber mines and Madison libraries had no record of Thurber. Mrs. Atkins was a niece of Crid Hatchett, a Tennessee Church of Christ Elder, cousin of Dr. Hatchett, who settled in Chalk Mountain. When she retired at Granbury, The Hood and Tarrant County PTA's gave her a free trip to Europe. Take care- happy hunting. Charles Wyly On Thu, 13 Aug 1998 19:03:19 EDT Ldfrje@aol.com writes: >Hello Charles Wyly, > >I would appreciate any information you or anyone else might have on my >family. >I find my Grandfather Bartlett FRY (b 1843) in the 1870 census in >Stephenville >with wife Amanda ?, and daughter Nancy one year old. I would love to >know who >this Amanda was, as I do not find marriage records for them. My >grandfather's >brother Thomas J. FRY is also living in Stephenville with wife >Elizabeth >Sylvina CARMACK. Thomas and "Vinnie" as she was called, had three >daughters. >Florence Nightengale FRY (b. 1867 in Stephenville) married James >Miller >STEPHEN in 1887 in Erath county. Florence and James children were: >Olin (b >1887) in Stephenville, Ethel Abbarilla (b 1891) married Elvest C. POND >in >1917, and Edith Ester (b 1897) married a Mr. Hays. Thomas and >Vinnie's second >daughter was Susan FRY (b 1871) in Stephenville and the third daughter >was >Julia FRY (b 1875). Julia married N. Bates COX in Stephenville in >1895. Julia >had a daughter named Nieta COX born 1895 in Stephenville. In 1880 my >grandfather's other brother Isaac Newton FRY is living in Erath county >with >wife Narcissus COOK. In the 1880 census my Great Grandmother Delilah >(FRY) >MCNEILL is living with her son Isaac FRY. I think at that time they >were >living in Clairette. My Great Grandmother died after 1880 probably in >Calirette. Do not know where she is buried - probably no marker. >Isaac & >Narcissus had a daughter Mary Safronia FRY (b 1873) near Greens Creek, >between >Alexander & Stephenville. Mary Safronia (Fronie for short) married >Fred ULOTH >in Walnut Springs (Bosque county) in January of 1900. Isaac & >Narcissus also >had a son, Newton Franklin FRY (Newt was b 1887) in Clairette. Newt >married >first Ruth SALMON then Anna BLAKELY. My grandfather Bartlett FRY's >oldest >son, George David FRY married Mary (Mollie) Hanson HOPE in 1899 at the >Stephenville courthouse. Aunt Mollie was married previously to a Lee >DAVIDSON >and had a son by Lee. Their son was Rector Lee DAVIDSON. Aunt >Mollie's >parents (Rector Christman HOPE & Sarah Jane LUSTER) raised Rector >DAVIDSON in >Johnsville. Rector married Vinnie SHAW. My uncle David FRY was a >blacksmith >in the community of Johnsville. My cousin Lola was born in Johnsville >on >January 29, 1902. Lola is still living. She was 96 years old in >January of >1998. She still remembers the community of Johnsville and talks about >it >often. She said they lived above the blacksmith shop and when she was >2 or 3 >days old the blacksmith shop burned at night. All they got out with >was the >clothes on their back. It was in January and there was snow on the >ground and >very cold. Uncle David left Johnsville in 1907 and moved to Hamilton. > In the >summer of 1909 - August or September - they moved to west Dallas where >Uncle >David was again a blacksmith. In 1910 Uncle David contracted typhoid >- he >almost died. His brother John FRY, who lived next door and was also a >blacksmith, did die on Feb. 10, 1910 of typhoid. My Uncle John FRY >married >Janie Mae BUNCH of Johnsville in 1906 in Cedar Hill in Erath county. >Janie's >parents were John Blackwell BUNCH & Mary Elizabeth SHAW. My Dad >(Charles >Newton FRY born 1879) who lived in the community of Webb in Tarrant >County >went to Dallas in a wagon to pick up his brother's body. He brought >his >brother's wooden coffin back and placed it on the back porch for a >couple of >weeks (according to my half sister Susie who is 93) while he dug the >grave. >The ground was frozen in February so it took a while to chisel out a >grave. >Aunt Janie's father (John BUNCH) came to Dallas and took her back to >Johnsville after Uncle John died. I have been told that Aunt Janie >died in >Johnsville 28 days after Uncle John died. She is buried in Pony Creek >Cemetery behind Box Church. She has no marker. Aunt Mollie was >pregnant - >after she had the baby she contracted the measles and was very ill. >While he >had the measles the baby died. In the fall of 1910 Aunt Mollie told >Uncle >David that she had had enough illness and death and she wanted to >leave Dallas >and go back to the country. They moved back to Erath County. In the >fall of >1913 they moved to Thurber. Uncle David had a job working in Thurber >as a >blacksmith for T&P Coal. They lived there for five years. In 1917 >they moved >to Fort Worth because Uncle David had a job working on Camp Bowie. If >anyone >has any information, no matter how minor, on any of these families I >would >love to hear from you. > >Lola > > _____________________________________________________________________ You don't need to buy Internet access to use free Internet e-mail. Get completely free e-mail from Juno at http://www.juno.com Or call Juno at (800) 654-JUNO [654-5866]