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Note: John worked on the barges around Baton Rouge, Louisianna as a young man. He was drafted into the army during WWI, sometime in 1917. The war was over before he could be sent overseas.
He returned to Norwood, Mississippi where Quillie and their first daughter, Maybelle stayed while he was in the service. Maybelle was born while John was in the service, so she was several months old before he saw her.
John was a farmer in Norwood. Around 1923 he went to Texas and got a job in the oilfields, which were booming at the time. By this time his family had grown. Two more daughters - Eva and Mildred. I'm not sure when the family moved to Lytton Springs, Texas. John was in charge of an oil lease there that consisted of several wells and a powerhouse . The family increased again with the birth of John, Jr. and Betty Jean.
John was also a carpenter and built the house we lived in. He also built a grist mill and a saw mill. To supplement his income he ground grain and cut lumber for people. No money exchanged hands - he just took a toll of grain and lumber for his own use.
In the early 40's the company closed the oil lease, so John went to south Texas and got a job as a pumper at Mills Bennett Oil Camp. By this time the three older girls were graduated high school and away from home. So Quillie, John, John, Jr. and Jean moved to Mills Bennett Oil Camp, which was midway between Bruni, and Freer, Texas. About 20 miles to either town. John stayed at that job until he retired at age 65.
Upon retirement, John and Quillie moved to Harlingen, Texas just across the street from their oldest daughter, Maybelle and her husband Bill. They lived there until John's death .
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