William Edward Becton
by Winford Becton
William grew up on a farm in Sabine County, TX. It was located about seven or eight miles kinda North West of Hemphill, TX. Papa had four sisters and three brothers, but one boy, and one girl died when they were about a year old, leaving six children to work the farm. They raised cotton, corn, and sugar cane to make syrup in the fall of the year. They raised irish potatoes, sweet potatoes, water melons, cantalopes, okra, and peanuts. They had cattle, for beef to eat, and cows to milk, hogs, for pork to eat, and to make sausauge. They also had mules to pull the plows in the fields, pull wagons, or anything else that needed pulled or moved.
My father was born in a small community north and east of the farm he grew up on called Geneva, Sabine County, TX. Somewhere I read that it was a busy place. The County had an office there so people wouldn't have to go to Hemphill, (County Seat) to conduct County business. I'm sure they had a general store there, maybe a blacksmith shop, etc.
Some way, my Dad found a lady to his liking. She lived in Burkeville, Newton County, which joins Sabine County to the South of the farm, a few miles. He fell in love with this lady, and the country around Burkeville. Her name was Mellie Miranda Cousins. Of course, they got married. Papa liked the lady and the surroundings so well, they got seven children raised. Six of the seven were born in Burkeville, Texas.
After my Grandpa died, Papa moved the children back to the old farm, to take care of Grandma, and work the farm. We farmed the land for several years. Didn't miss too many church services either. We went Sunday morning, Sunday night, and Wednesday nights. It sure was hard on my bones, laying on the floor of the wagon.
I remember in the mid 1930's in the fall and winter my father worked for the W.P.A. He would leave before daylight. He would throw a pick, axe, or shovel on his shoulder, and take off across country to the work site. They were building roads, digging up stumps, or whatever needed doing. Many times when he came home, sometime after dark, his hands were bleeding from the cold winter weather, and Mama would heat up some water so he could warm his hands and put salve on them. The only heat we had was a woodburning cook stove, and a fireplace in the living room. Many times I would look up and see stars shining through the shingles. Those days many people wouldn't put a ceiling in their house. We made our own shingles out of wood. That was when we lived at the old Levi Becton place.
I remember when we lived on the old Keller place where Katie Christine was born, in Sabine County. We had an old pump organ with a high top on it with a mirror in the center. One Sunday, we came home from church and found a snake in the center section where the mirror was. I don't remember how we got it out, but I don't think it ever came into our house again. The organ was played by my mother. Sometimes friends would come to our house, and everyone would gather around the organ and sing, mostly gospel songs. It would have to be after dinner, and before church Sunday night. My father made sure we would go to church three times a week, Sunday morning, Sunday night, and Wednesday nights. We would go to the Rosevine Church of God. That was in the 1920's and 1930's. As I remember, it was a wooden building with windows that were six or seven feet from the ground. Seems someone (a younger boy possible) went to sleep and fell to the ground, broke an arm or leg, that kept the adults from letting young people sit in the windows anymore. We always went to and from church in a wagon that was pulled by mules.
The later part of 1946 three of the boys moved to Corpis Christi to find work, then in 1947 Papa and Mama moved to Corpis Christi to be close to the children. They moved back to Burkeville in 1951 to an old farm that had not been worked in years. They had a beautiful garden on one side of the house, but Papa wanted another garden on another side of the house so he had to cut several trees one to two inches in diameter to make room to plant and work a garden. The doctor had already told Papa not to do any hard work because he had hardening of the arteries. After working hard all day, that evening Papa began to have severe chest pains. Mama got the message to the Pastor of the Church of God in Burkeville, and he came out to their house and prayed for Papa. When he didn't get any better by 2 AM, the Pastor called my sister in Houston, TX, so Verda and Grady took off to Burkeville. They took my parents to a hospital in Houston, where he died a day or two later. Papa was returned to Burkeville for buriel. Mama lived in Houston until her death. She was returned to Burkeville for buriel. They are buried in Tanner Cemetery.
If there ever was a Saint on Earth, I believe William Edward was such a man.
This was some of my recollections of my early childhood days in East Texas. I started this in mid 1995, and finished in May 23, 1996 in Plano, TX.
By Winford V. Becton
Copy of William Edward Becton Birth Certificate available.