Diligent research found *Jesse and Nancy Jeter Hardy, ( and Hardys all the way back to Wales in the 1600's!) They were the parents of *Whitmel H. Hardy born in 1820 and married to *Julyann
Louise Barefield (1827-1884) who lived in Clay County, Alabama.
Their THIRTEEN children were:
[SIDE NOTE] I include this collateral branch to illustrate how the family names were repeated back and forth between cousins...The third child of Whitmel, and older brother of *William J., John Henry Hardy (b.1846 d. 1884) married Margaret Elizabeth Mary "Molly" Smith (b.1844- d.1938) and migrated to Hico, Louisiana. Here we see a Nealy Tyson, and a Willie... names that will be borrowed from our line...
John Henry Hardy was wounded at least twice during the Civil War while serving in Company E, of the 62nd Alabama Infantry. He fought in the battle of Spanish Fort and was promoted to corporal before being sent to heal up from his injuries. Later he was captured by the Yankees and spent too much time as a POW and neglected his wounds, which probably brought about his premature death. John Henry Hardy and Molly were charter members of the Caney Valley Missionary Baptist Church in Hico, Louisiana. He and Mollie had many children... half of which came to Texas... They may have spawned the original Nealy Tyson...
James W K b. 2/10/1873
Joseph Wash "D" 2/15/1875-5/11/1959
Nealy Tyson b. 7/19/1866 Lineville, AL d. 8/1/1925 Mabank, TX m.1. 6/6/1888 Pike Co, AR to Martha Ella Bankston b. 4/2/1869 Amity, Clark Co, AR d. 10/21/1904 Frenchport, AR d/o William Greene Bankston & Mary Polly Greeson m.2. c1920 May ???
Ella Francis 11/14/1868-1/11/1945 Conroe, TX m. 12/20/1883 Union Parish, LA to James B Fuller
Etta E 10/12/1870-5/10/1872
John Jesse b. 10/25/1879 Hico, Lincoln Parish, LA (or Roanoke,TX?) d. 4/8/1976 Broussard, Lafayette Parish, LA (or Beckville, TX?) m. 7/31/1903 Colorado City, Mitchell Co, TX to Ola Ruth Gilstrap b. 7/23/1885 Blueridge, TX d. 10/26/1965 Lufkin, TX; d/o George Washington Gilstrap & Nancy Ann Wilson
Anna Cora 9/5/1876-8/27/1963 m. Walter Wyatt Herring
Willie Thomas ???
At least three of the eight children were future Texans, including Nealy Tyson Hardy and baby brother John Jesse who would move to Texas and work as a farmer and contractor, but never find a home. Their sister Ella Frances married James B. Fuller and moved to Conroe. Nealy was a doctor and lived in several towns in Arkansas. Tragically his wife and child died in Frenchport, Arkansas and eventually he moved to Mabank, Texas. Later he was hired on as a doctor for the railroad in south Texas. Meanwhile, their uncle (our ancestor) *William Jackson Hardy was settling down in Fisher County, and his sister Roxie was married and in Temple, Texas.
*William "Billy" Jackson Hardy came to Fisher County, Texas around 1896. He was a farmer and out of his two marriages, he had five daughters and eight sons.
While still a young man, William married Sarah Sallie Levisy Barnhill. She was the daughter of Lelander and Elizabeth Barnhill.
Children of *William "Billy" J. Hardy and *Sallie Barnhill Hardy:
By 1894 William had a new wife, Ida Eleanor Moore. She had been married before, to a man named Duquette and she had at least one child (a little Ida) by him. After bearing *William Hardy five children, she divorced him and married a man named Skinner, and bore him several children. Later in Life she married a man named Parker.
Ida Eleanor and William "Billy" Hardy had five children:
There seems to have been a split after the family moved to Bowie around 1908 and Ida left and remarried, AGAIN, in 1910 to widower Allen Albert Skinner of Comanche County... They first settled in Liberty... I assumed she would have taken the smallest children... Willie Royce, William Oscar and Ezra lived to maturity... They appeared in 1910 Census records with their mother, and being so young, were probably as estranged from the Hardys as our side was later. However, William O. moved back to the Fisher County area when he grew up.
Meanwhile, wifeless and having lots of children to feed... by 1910 *William Jackson Hardy had settled in Falls County, Texas where oldest son *Wiley T. had settled and was raising his family.
*William Jackson Hardy died in 1941 and his body was buried in Rotan, which had become the Hardy ancestral home. Apparently, both William J. and his brother John Henry had sons named Nealy Tyson! William also named one of his daughters after his sister, Roxie Hardy Jenkins of Temple. His son Wiley T. followed suite and named one of his sons *Nealy Tyson Hardy. This third Nealy Tyson was my wife Linda's grandfather.
Wiley Hardy was a very popular name in the Hardy clan.. all over Texas there were Wiley Hardys... and distant kin. Wiley Alexander, Wiley Vernon... and just plain Wiley.
OUR *Wiley T. was born in Alabama and followed his father to Texas as a youth. In 1898 he married *Willie May Johnson (b.1877- d. 1925) and they went to farming in Chilton, Texas in Falls County, where some of our Hardy family names can be found on local tombstones.
William "Bill" Thomas Hardy (b. 1901- 1963, born in Moran, TX ) m. Margaret Myrtle Smith (b. 1904, d. 1977) had four children; Lila Lee, Eugene Robert, Willie Sue, and Alleyne, d.1936
*Tyson "Tice" Nealy Hardy (b.1905 in Waco - d. 1981 in Ventura CO, CA)
Wesley Garland Hardy (b. 1913 Falls CO- d. 2000 Roby, TX) m. Lila Ashley/ Hazel Price
Had one daughter: Fayma Cullene Hardy.
After his first wife died in 1925, Wiley T. returned to Fisher County and settled near other Hardy relatives around Rotan City, leaving at least one son (Bill) behind and bringing Wesley with him. (It was Wes who provided the info for his death cert) *Wiley T. Hardy (b.1879 - d. 1941) was a farmer and then went into the ministry, preaching in the Baptist Church. He remarried to Maudie Walker and had one daughter, (at age 50!) and was buried in Rotan in 1962.
*Nealy Tyson "Tice" Hardy (b. 1905- d.1981) married Lillian Betz (Colley) (b. @ Rosenthal,TX 1905- d. 2003 @ Waco,TX) in 1924 and they had two children:
Clarence Wendell Hardy (b. @ Chilton, TX, 1925- d. @ Waco,1998)
*Allan Ray Hardy was born in Rosenthal, Texas in 1930.
Very little is known about *"Tice" Hardy. We do not have a picture of him. He was accused of murder in 1926 after a tragic mishap between friends on the Brazos River near Waco, Texas. After a fellow named Claude Glenn disappeared on a friendly fishing trip, his father filed murder charges, even though no murder was proven and no body was ever recovered. Mr. Glenn then tried to kill Tice during his arraignment in Marlin, and then he was put in jail as well. Mrs. Hardy passed away while Tice was in jail, and he was allowed to visit his mother's wake and, afraid of the Glenns as much as the law, he somehow escaped custody and left the area forever, never to be seen again. It was learned much later that he had started a new life in California. His wife Lillian lost contact with him and his two sons never really knew him.
After leaving Waco, Tice married Zada Latham.(1916- 1982)
Born in Chilton, Clarence Hardy married Emma Lee Mirick in 1948 and became a nurseryman. They had one daughter, Sondra Ann.
*Allan Ray Hardy served n the United States Navy during the Korean War and then went to Baylor University and became an accountant after graduation. He married *Patricia Hicks, also a Baylor graduate, in 1951. Their children were:
Marilyn b.1954 m. Ricky Stephens, two children: Shawn and Julie /
m. David Jones; one son Jeremy David.
Linda Ann b.1955 m. Russell Cushman: one daughter Raegan Joy
Allan Ray Jr. b.1957 - d.1980 no issue
Karen b.1959 m. Robert Neeley, two daughters: Jennifer and Christina; m. Richard Vannatta, Steve Smith
Allan Hardy was raised around his maternal grandparents and therefore we know more for sure about the Betz side...
Betz
Charley Betz was born in 1846 and came from Germany in an apple barrel, or so the family legend goes... He was brought on the ship as a stowaway, with an older brother looking after him. Charley was just 10 years old at the time. I have not been able to identify this brother any of his ancestry. But I did find that he and his sister Teresa were living with a couple in San Antonio by 1860. Just 14 and 12 years old, the two had been "farmed out" to the Copeland family. This appears to have been a common arrangement for orphans at the time, to be taken in to work for their room and board. Thomas and Eliza Copeland lived in the 4th Ward of San Antonio, where he worked as a "gingerbread maker." I assume that this was carved wooden architectural bric-brac for the decoration of houses.
We have always been told that Charley landed in Galveston, Texas and was accompanied by an older brother, who went on to San Antonio. Perhaps the brother did not share his last name, but their is no trace of him. It is possible and even probable they were headed to one of the famous German settlements at New Braunfels or Fredericksburg where some Betzs were settled, but never made it that far. This part of Texas was still a frontier inhabited by hostile Comanches and Lipans, and was not a safe place for children. By this time German orphans in central Texas were a common site. The authorities would have forbidden their travel and assigned them guardians.
By 1870 *Charlie Betz was on his own in Gonzales County, married to *Mary "Molly" Taylor, (b. 1847, d. 1936) and raising stock. Some of their children, George (b. 1873) and Izora (b.1875) were born there. Stockraising turned into cattle driving, and the family lore is that Charley Betz drove cattle on the Chisholm Trail, which would stand to reason since at some point he would have to pick the best market destination for his cattle, and drive them there.
*Walter Ralph Betz, known to his grandchildren as "Pappy."
*Walter Ralph “Pappy” Betz was born June 14th, 1880 in Rosenthal. He was the McClennan County bridge superintendent and lived in Rosenthal as well.
Vilas, David & Lotus Betz Brock
Lotus Mae Betz (b. @ Rosenthal, TX, April 28, 1902- d. Nov 25,1949 @ Waco,TX) married Vilas Brock and had one son David.
Lillian Betz (Hardy) Colley
*Lillian Irene Betz (“Granny”) (b. @ Rosenthal, TX, Oct 21, 1905- d. May 21, 2003, @ Waco, TX) married Tyson Nealy Hardy of Chilton, TX on July 31, 1924 and had two sons;
Clarence Wendell Hardy (b. Sept. 6, 1925 @ Chilton, Tx - d. Feb 6, 1998, @Waco, TX) a nurseryman, married Emma Lee Mirick on June, 1948 (d. June 27, 1998, Waco, TX)
The wedding of Allan Hardy to Patricia Hicks in 1951.
*Allan Ray Hardy (b. Mar 12, 1930) married *Patricia Hicks on July 4, 1951.
Allan served in the Navy during the Korean conflict. Afterwards Allan and Patricia made their home in Houston after graduating from Baylor University and Allan worked as an accountant. In later years he owned Dixon Management Company, an oil-field management service. Patricia became a school teacher for the Klein ISD, and still later she worked for Shell Oil Company. They had four children:
Marilyn Hardy: b. July 17, 1954
Linda Ann Hardy: b. Aug 26, 1955
Allan Ray Hardy Jr.: (b. Aug 18, 1957- d. July 20, 1980 @SFA, Nacogdoches, TX) (nev. m’d.)
Karen Hardy: b. Mar 4, 1959
Much later, Feb 1953, Lillian Betz Hardy married Charley Colley.
Lillian Colley with granddaughter Linda Hardy Cushman
Whitmel and Julyann Hardy, about 1880. (From Ancestry.com)
Nancy Ann b. 12/9/1850 Randolph Co,
AL d. 12/4/1915 Dubach, LA m. c1866 Clay Co, AL to Thomas Florence Owen s/o
Thomas Owen & Nancy Weldon
James Marion b. 5/26/1844 Campbell
Co, GA d. 4/26/1928 Clay Co, AL m. 6/3/1866 Clay Co,
AL to Nancy E Payne
John Henry
b. 6/12/1846 Lineville, Randolph Co, AL d. 10/11/1884 Dubach, LA m. 1/1/1865 Lineville, Clay
Co, AL to Margaret Elizabeth Mary-Molly Smith b. 10/30/1844 Chambers Co,
AL d. 3/13/1938 prob d/o Washington S Smith & Emily K ???
Jesse b. 1849 Randolph Co, AL m.
c1873 Clay Co, AL to Sallie W ???
Marge J b. c1852 Randolph Co, AL
Mary J b. c1854 Randolph Co, AL
*William Jackson b. 1854-6 Clay Co, AL - m.1st. 10/2/1876
Lineville, Clay Co, AL to *Sarah Sallie Levisy Barnhill (b. 1862- d.1941) Her parents were Lelander (b.1814) and Elizabeth Walston (1823- 22 Apr- 1889) W.J. & Sallie had seven children.
m.2nd. to Ida Moore and had perhaps 6 children.
Dicey E b. Oct 1857 Randolph Co, AL m. 11/2/1876 Lineville, Clay Co, AL to Thomas M Reaves.
m.2nd. to Ida Moore and had perhaps 6 children.
Dicey E b. Oct 1857 Randolph Co, AL m. 11/2/1876 Lineville, Clay Co, AL to Thomas M Reaves.
Jacob R b. Feb 1860 Randolph Co, AL
d. 1945 Clay Co, AL m. 10/10/1881 Clay Co, AL to Alice F McClintock
Sarah Melissa Sallie b. Feb 1862
Clay Co, AL m.10/29/1879 Clay Co, AL to William McEagor Arnett
Elvira b. Apr 1867 Clay Co, AL m.
11/29/1887 Lineville, Clay Co, AL to James D Jeter
Roxanne A b. c1868 Clay Co, AL came to Temple, Texas m.
L O (Lemuel?) b. c1871 Clay Co, AL
Whew!
(From Ancestry.com)
Posing for a photographer in Hubbard, Texas, is *William Jackson Hardy and his growing family around 1896. This photo was made about two years after he married his second wife Ida, and about the time they arrived in Texas. The two oldest children Birdie & Wiley were not in the picture, which suggests they may have initially stayed in Alabama near their mother.
Of interest to us in this sea of humanity is *William Jackson Hardy. [An underlined name with an asterisk on this blog means THIS IS THE GUY in our immediate lineage!] He was too young to enlist during the Civil War. After two marriages he left for Texas at about the same time that his brother John Henry came to Louisiana. Thanks to my cousin Richard Cushman Jr. for helping to solve this mystery!
(From Ancestry.com)
James W K b. 2/10/1873
Joseph Wash "D" 2/15/1875-5/11/1959
Nealy Tyson b. 7/19/1866 Lineville, AL d. 8/1/1925 Mabank, TX m.1. 6/6/1888 Pike Co, AR to Martha Ella Bankston b. 4/2/1869 Amity, Clark Co, AR d. 10/21/1904 Frenchport, AR d/o William Greene Bankston & Mary Polly Greeson m.2. c1920 May ???
Ella Francis 11/14/1868-1/11/1945 Conroe, TX m. 12/20/1883 Union Parish, LA to James B Fuller
Etta E 10/12/1870-5/10/1872
John Jesse b. 10/25/1879 Hico, Lincoln Parish, LA (or Roanoke,TX?) d. 4/8/1976 Broussard, Lafayette Parish, LA (or Beckville, TX?) m. 7/31/1903 Colorado City, Mitchell Co, TX to Ola Ruth Gilstrap b. 7/23/1885 Blueridge, TX d. 10/26/1965 Lufkin, TX; d/o George Washington Gilstrap & Nancy Ann Wilson
Anna Cora 9/5/1876-8/27/1963 m. Walter Wyatt Herring
Willie Thomas ???
At least three of the eight children were future Texans, including Nealy Tyson Hardy and baby brother John Jesse who would move to Texas and work as a farmer and contractor, but never find a home. Their sister Ella Frances married James B. Fuller and moved to Conroe. Nealy was a doctor and lived in several towns in Arkansas. Tragically his wife and child died in Frenchport, Arkansas and eventually he moved to Mabank, Texas. Later he was hired on as a doctor for the railroad in south Texas. Meanwhile, their uncle (our ancestor) *William Jackson Hardy was settling down in Fisher County, and his sister Roxie was married and in Temple, Texas.
*William "Billy" Jackson Hardy came to Fisher County, Texas around 1896. He was a farmer and out of his two marriages, he had five daughters and eight sons.
William Jackson Hardy (From Ancestry.com)
While still a young man, William married Sarah Sallie Levisy Barnhill. She was the daughter of Lelander and Elizabeth Barnhill.
Lelander and Elizabeth Barnhill, about 1840. (From Ancestry.com)
Children of *William "Billy" J. Hardy and *Sallie Barnhill Hardy:
1) Birdie Lee b. 1876, m. John Idas Moore 1895; three children: Henry '96, Sallie '97, Wm '99. She died in 1902 and family moved to Hubbard, Texas. Henry had many children in Hill CO.
2) *William "Wiley" (W. T.) Thomas Hardy b. 1879, see details below.
3) Casrie Allen Hardy b. 1880 m. Eva Leonora Cummins 1900; had seven children: Thomas Jefferson '01, Audrey Mae '04, William J. '05, Lillie Izadell '07, Osceola '18, "baby girl" '23, Horace '25, d. 1956
Casrie lived in Denton and Tarrant Counties.
4) Nealy Tyson Hardy b. 1884, m. Monte Hull, 1910, one son: Nealy Clifton, d. 1952
Nealy spent most of his life in Fisher CO.
5) Nena F. Hardy b. 1885? no more info
6) Henry Clay Hardy b. 1888. m. Dora Summers; had 4 children d. 1933
Henry was an engineer and lived in Oregon during the prime of his life.
7) Roxie Eugene Hardy b. 1891 (this may be the Roxie Granny remembered) m. Emory Page 1908, Eliza Richardson, 1925, d.1969, Clarksville, Ind.
8) Blanche Hardy b. 1892 , stayed in Ala., m. Wm. B. Mullins 1908; one son: Wm. Irby Mullins, d.1926 Tuscaloosa, Ala
By 1894 William had a new wife, Ida Eleanor Moore. She had been married before, to a man named Duquette and she had at least one child (a little Ida) by him. After bearing *William Hardy five children, she divorced him and married a man named Skinner, and bore him several children. Later in Life she married a man named Parker.
(From Ancestry.com) Sons of William and Ida Hardy, and Blanche, Sallie's last daughter, about 1901. The defacement appears to be intentional.
9) Willie Royce Hardy b. 1896
10) William Oscar b. 1898 in Hill CO, m. Hallie Olee Dodd 1921, had 4-5 children; Newton T. '21, Willie Royce '23, Thoma La Rue/ Leona T. '28, Loretta H. '34, d. 1986, Snyder. Had a Grocery Store.
11) Ezra Jackson b. 1899? Ezra never married, lived in Kerr County until he died.
12) Mattie Lou b. 1903
13) Leslie Hill Hardy b. 1904, d. 1943
There seems to have been a split after the family moved to Bowie around 1908 and Ida left and remarried, AGAIN, in 1910 to widower Allen Albert Skinner of Comanche County... They first settled in Liberty... I assumed she would have taken the smallest children... Willie Royce, William Oscar and Ezra lived to maturity... They appeared in 1910 Census records with their mother, and being so young, were probably as estranged from the Hardys as our side was later. However, William O. moved back to the Fisher County area when he grew up.
Mr. Parker and Ida Eleanor Moore (Duquette- Hardy- Skinner) Parker. (From Ancestry.com)
Meanwhile, wifeless and having lots of children to feed... by 1910 *William Jackson Hardy had settled in Falls County, Texas where oldest son *Wiley T. had settled and was raising his family.
All grown up, three of William Jackson Hardy's sons pose together.
*William Jackson Hardy died in 1941 and his body was buried in Rotan, which had become the Hardy ancestral home. Apparently, both William J. and his brother John Henry had sons named Nealy Tyson! William also named one of his daughters after his sister, Roxie Hardy Jenkins of Temple. His son Wiley T. followed suite and named one of his sons *Nealy Tyson Hardy. This third Nealy Tyson was my wife Linda's grandfather.
Wiley Hardy was a very popular name in the Hardy clan.. all over Texas there were Wiley Hardys... and distant kin. Wiley Alexander, Wiley Vernon... and just plain Wiley.
OUR *Wiley T. was born in Alabama and followed his father to Texas as a youth. In 1898 he married *Willie May Johnson (b.1877- d. 1925) and they went to farming in Chilton, Texas in Falls County, where some of our Hardy family names can be found on local tombstones.
Children of *William "Wiley" (W.T.) Thomas Hardy , and *Willie
May Johnson, (if I am correct!) they had: (I got this information from daughter in law, Lillian Irene Betz Hardy Colley aka "Granny!")
Loude "Ludie" Ann Hardy (Florence?) b. 1899 d.1985 m. Clark Forney, Falls CO, TXWilliam "Bill" Thomas Hardy (b. 1901- 1963, born in Moran, TX ) m. Margaret Myrtle Smith (b. 1904, d. 1977) had four children; Lila Lee, Eugene Robert, Willie Sue, and Alleyne, d.1936
*Tyson "Tice" Nealy Hardy (b.1905 in Waco - d. 1981 in Ventura CO, CA)
Wesley Garland Hardy (b. 1913 Falls CO- d. 2000 Roby, TX) m. Lila Ashley/ Hazel Price
Had one daughter: Fayma Cullene Hardy.
[Wiley T. Married Maudie E. Walker around 1929, had one daughter]
Billy Jene b. 10/27, 1930 m. John Norwood, then Sanders After his first wife died in 1925, Wiley T. returned to Fisher County and settled near other Hardy relatives around Rotan City, leaving at least one son (Bill) behind and bringing Wesley with him. (It was Wes who provided the info for his death cert) *Wiley T. Hardy (b.1879 - d. 1941) was a farmer and then went into the ministry, preaching in the Baptist Church. He remarried to Maudie Walker and had one daughter, (at age 50!) and was buried in Rotan in 1962.
*Nealy Tyson "Tice" Hardy (b. 1905- d.1981) married Lillian Betz (Colley) (b. @ Rosenthal,TX 1905- d. 2003 @ Waco,TX) in 1924 and they had two children:
Clarence Wendell Hardy (b. @ Chilton, TX, 1925- d. @ Waco,1998)
*Allan Ray Hardy was born in Rosenthal, Texas in 1930.
Very little is known about *"Tice" Hardy. We do not have a picture of him. He was accused of murder in 1926 after a tragic mishap between friends on the Brazos River near Waco, Texas. After a fellow named Claude Glenn disappeared on a friendly fishing trip, his father filed murder charges, even though no murder was proven and no body was ever recovered. Mr. Glenn then tried to kill Tice during his arraignment in Marlin, and then he was put in jail as well. Mrs. Hardy passed away while Tice was in jail, and he was allowed to visit his mother's wake and, afraid of the Glenns as much as the law, he somehow escaped custody and left the area forever, never to be seen again. It was learned much later that he had started a new life in California. His wife Lillian lost contact with him and his two sons never really knew him.
After leaving Waco, Tice married Zada Latham.(1916- 1982)
Born in Chilton, Clarence Hardy married Emma Lee Mirick in 1948 and became a nurseryman. They had one daughter, Sondra Ann.
*Allan Ray Hardy served n the United States Navy during the Korean War and then went to Baylor University and became an accountant after graduation. He married *Patricia Hicks, also a Baylor graduate, in 1951. Their children were:
Marilyn b.1954 m. Ricky Stephens, two children: Shawn and Julie /
m. David Jones; one son Jeremy David.
Linda Ann b.1955 m. Russell Cushman: one daughter Raegan Joy
Allan Ray Jr. b.1957 - d.1980 no issue
Karen b.1959 m. Robert Neeley, two daughters: Jennifer and Christina; m. Richard Vannatta, Steve Smith
Allan Hardy was raised around his maternal grandparents and therefore we know more for sure about the Betz side...
Betz
Charley Betz was born in 1846 and came from Germany in an apple barrel, or so the family legend goes... He was brought on the ship as a stowaway, with an older brother looking after him. Charley was just 10 years old at the time. I have not been able to identify this brother any of his ancestry. But I did find that he and his sister Teresa were living with a couple in San Antonio by 1860. Just 14 and 12 years old, the two had been "farmed out" to the Copeland family. This appears to have been a common arrangement for orphans at the time, to be taken in to work for their room and board. Thomas and Eliza Copeland lived in the 4th Ward of San Antonio, where he worked as a "gingerbread maker." I assume that this was carved wooden architectural bric-brac for the decoration of houses.
We have always been told that Charley landed in Galveston, Texas and was accompanied by an older brother, who went on to San Antonio. Perhaps the brother did not share his last name, but their is no trace of him. It is possible and even probable they were headed to one of the famous German settlements at New Braunfels or Fredericksburg where some Betzs were settled, but never made it that far. This part of Texas was still a frontier inhabited by hostile Comanches and Lipans, and was not a safe place for children. By this time German orphans in central Texas were a common site. The authorities would have forbidden their travel and assigned them guardians.
Charley Betz adapted quickly to the Texan culture, starting out by raising cattle and driving them to market.
By 1870 *Charlie Betz was on his own in Gonzales County, married to *Mary "Molly" Taylor, (b. 1847, d. 1936) and raising stock. Some of their children, George (b. 1873) and Izora (b.1875) were born there. Stockraising turned into cattle driving, and the family lore is that Charley Betz drove cattle on the Chisholm Trail, which would stand to reason since at some point he would have to pick the best market destination for his cattle, and drive them there.
Betz family lore told to me was that this compass belonged to Charley Betz, and he carried it with him on the cattle trail drives.
Charley and Molly Betz. Charley died in 1927.
Like many German immigrants, Charley Betz was a carpenter and farmer and finally settled near Rosenthal, Texas in McClennan County. He and Molly had nine children:
1 George
Betz b. 1873 ( nev md.)
2
Izora b. 1875
3
Mattie Martha b. 1877
4
*Walter Ralph b. 1880
5 Robert
b.1882
6 William
Wesley Betz
7 Fred
“Freddie” b. 1887
8 Theresa
“Thracie” b.1887 (never md.)
9 Mary
b. 1900
Izora married Mansel Robert Box and had 6 children.
William Wesley married Beulah Baxley and had 2 children.
George, Fred and Thracie never married. Fred
owned a garage in Waco.
A homemade ironing board made for his daughter Lillian by Pappy Betz.
*Walter Ralph “Pappy” Betz was born June 14th, 1880 in Rosenthal. He was the McClennan County bridge superintendent and lived in Rosenthal as well.
*Annie Porter was raised in Tennessee.
He married *Annie Elizabeth Porter (b. @ Tenn.,
Dec _6th? 1881- d. Feb2, 1948,
@ Waco,TX) and they had two daughters, *Lillian Irene and Lotus Mae. Annie
died in 1948. Pappy remarried to Lola _, and later died in 1970 in Rosenthal. 
The youth of Rosenthal-Lorena at school. Lillian is on extreme left, the bottom row. That may be Lotus in the middle in the white dress.
Lillian Betz (Hardy) Colley "Granny" when young.
Lotus Mae Betz (b. @ Rosenthal, TX, April 28, 1902- d. Nov 25,1949 @ Waco,TX) married Vilas Brock and had one son David.
*Lillian Irene Betz (“Granny”) (b. @ Rosenthal, TX, Oct 21, 1905- d. May 21, 2003, @ Waco, TX) married Tyson Nealy Hardy of Chilton, TX on July 31, 1924 and had two sons;
Clarence Wendell Hardy (b. Sept. 6, 1925 @ Chilton, Tx - d. Feb 6, 1998, @Waco, TX) a nurseryman, married Emma Lee Mirick on June, 1948 (d. June 27, 1998, Waco, TX)
Allan Ray Hardy around 1936.
*Allan Ray Hardy (b. Mar 12, 1930) married *Patricia Hicks on July 4, 1951.
Allan served in the Navy during the Korean conflict. Afterwards Allan and Patricia made their home in Houston after graduating from Baylor University and Allan worked as an accountant. In later years he owned Dixon Management Company, an oil-field management service. Patricia became a school teacher for the Klein ISD, and still later she worked for Shell Oil Company. They had four children:
Marilyn Hardy: b. July 17, 1954
Linda Ann Hardy: b. Aug 26, 1955
Allan Ray Hardy Jr.: (b. Aug 18, 1957- d. July 20, 1980 @SFA, Nacogdoches, TX) (nev. m’d.)
Karen Hardy: b. Mar 4, 1959
Much later, Feb 1953, Lillian Betz Hardy married Charley Colley.
No comments:
Post a Comment