This post is of little historical value. Hence the word Trivial used in the title. The letters, however, reflect upon the character of A. G. Abbott. Hence the word Repute used there also. It's simply a catchy title to help remind you to return to this post after you have examed most of the others. They are transcribed as written. My comments are in italics.
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CITY OF SABINAL
SABINAL, TEXAS
A RESOLUTION OF THANKS.
At a meeting of the City Council Tuesday night December 5th the following resolution was passed.
1. WHEREAS WE: The Mayor and Aldermen of the City of Sabinal, and the President and Directors of the Chamber of Commerce desire to express our deep appreciation to our friend and Brother, A.G.Abbott for the many services rendered the public as distributor of Red Cross supplies, and other civic activities while in our midst, and to wish him success and happiness in his new home.
2. That this resolution be published in the Sabinal Sentinel, recorded on the minutes of the City Council and Chamber of Commerce, and a copy given Mr Abbott.
Signed,
Mayor, W.E.Heard
Aldermen, K.T.Biggs
Frank Sutherland
G.W.Proctor
J.M.Fowler
J.P.Cullins
W.M.Fowler.
Pres Chamber of Commerce, H.G.Peters
Vice Pres H.M.Waldrip
Directors C.A.Griffin
W.O.Woodley
G.W.Proctor
H.L.Stuckey
Frank Sutherlan
Mrs Rosalie McCaule
A copy of the envelope apparently used to mail the copy to A. G. is at the bottom of the copy of the letter. The postmark is Dec (?) 1933. Postage was 1¢. The address was simply:
Rev. A.G.ABBOTT.
SABINAL TEXAS.
— — — — —
CAMPBELL & CAMPBELL ¹
Furniture & Undertakers Supplies
SPUR, TEXAS
March 6/30.
Mr A.G.Abbott:
Sabinal TExas:
Dear Preacher:
Dont kno of any one that might have left here, that I could miss more that I do you, it is lonesome, now more so that ever for when you were here, I always did look forward to your little visits to the Store, for they were always a pleasure.
I want to thank you for the many time that you have helped me, in kindness, deed, an they way you lived your life, you not only Preached it, but you lived it, an that is what we are needing now in this old world, more that any thing else, (A MAN THAT WILL PREACH, AN LIVE WHAT HE PREACHES.
I want you to kno that I valued your friend ship more maby that you thot for. I have not been around much, but I believe I kno a man when I have lived around him, as much as I did you.
Am sorry that you had to run into all of that bad weather, but Preach, it just stayed cold out here, an I thot several times, I did not kno wheather I could make it or not. For more than two weeks, I carried water from town out home, our mains froze up on us.
If I ever get down that way, I will see if you can remember, what you said about a few days on the river. Telll Rogers Howdy, give my best regards, to you an yours,
Yours, Webber.
(signature, possibly ?. B. Williams)
A copy of the envelope used to mail the letter to A. G. is at the bottom of the copy of the letter. The postmark is Mar 7 1930. Postage was 2¢ and the envelope had the postage printed on it rather than a stamp. There is no explaination as to why postage was more on this one than the letter mailed 3+ years earlier.
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Except for the letterhead, this final letter is handwritten. It is transcribed as best possible. The date is unclear.
LEON F. HEARD
HARDWARE — HOUSE FURNISHINGS
COFFINS — FUNERAL SUPPLIES
Sabinal, Texas______________________192__
To Whom It May Concern
Bro & Sister Abbott have been with the Sabinal church nearly four years will be four years in Jan. Their work has been a successful one from the very first and today is in splendid condition. Our Midweek Prayer Meeting has for the entire time run well above fifty in attendance - This is about one third of the Membership. On those Meetings Mrs Abbott has with her group of teachers taken care of the young folks and children where they all were given splendid instruction in the Bible. Bro Abbott had charge of the adults
Bro & Sister Abbott are popular in the church and out of the church and are highly regarded by all for their honesty & (unreadable) service to the church and community.
In my opinion this is a (undecipherable) couple for work. They seem to never tire and today though planning on making a church are as attractive to the work as they have ever been. Frankly the church and town do not want them to go but our finances are growing bad on account of several contributors becoming unable to keep on. And we would not ask a further reduction in salary.
(unreadable) F. Heard
Chairman of the Board
¹http://www.spurtexas.com/
Showing posts with label Beth. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Beth. Show all posts
Friday, December 12, 2008
Saturday, November 22, 2008
A. G. and Beth Abbott
Ann Elizabeth (Beth) Muir Abbott
born February 15, 1900 White Settlement, TX
died August 5, 1979 Sherman, TX (Crestview Cemetery, Wichita Falls, TX)
Beth was the youngest of seven children of George Thomas and Ida May Redford Muir. She was a petite woman, somewhat frail, and had brown eyes. Beth was a homemaker until her two children, Margaret and Roger, were out of school. She later commuted weekly to North Texas State Teachers College (now the University of North Texas). On August 25, 1950, she graduated with a B.S. degree, majoring in elementary education and minoring in history and English. Years later she also attended Midwestern State University taking two workshops, one in music education and the other in English. Beth taught elementary school in the Electra ISD until (her first) retirement.
At some point, most likely in the early 1960s, Beth and her husband, A. G., took a vacation to the Black Hills of South Dakota. That trip always brought back fond memories to her and was quite possibly the only "big" vacation they ever took.
Beth loved nature. Apparently her favorite flower was the iris. Television finally arrived in their house in the late 1950s or early 1960s. Reception from stations in Wichita Falls came from a pole-mounted antenna. Her favorite show was Mutual of Omaha's Wild Kingdom.
After the death of A. G. in 1964, Beth moved to Sherman to be near her daughter, Margaret. She resumed elementary school teaching in nearby Whitewright. During those few years she rented a room in a house owned by another woman. Beth used the proceeds from the sale of her house in Electra to buy one at 1628 N. Binkley in Sherman. Her second and final retirement gave her time to volunteer at Wilson N. Jones Hospital.
OBITUARY
Services will be held at 10 a.m. Tuesday at the Waldo Funeral Chapel for Mrs. Ann E. Abbott, 79, retired school teacher of Sherman, who died Sunday at a Sherman hospital.
Services will be conducted by Rev. Fred Hall of the Central Christian Church, with graveside services at 4 p.m. Tuesday at the Crestview Cemetery, Wichita Falls.
Mrs. Abbott was born at Fort Worth, daughter of the late Mr. and Mrs. George Thomas,¹ and married Rev. A. G. Abbott Nov. 24, 1921, at Fort Worth. She taught school at Electra for 19 years and three years at Whitewright. She was a graduate of North Texas State University and a member of the National Retired Teachers Association, Wilson N. Jones Auxiliary and the Central Christian Church.
Survivors are a daughter, Mrs. Margaret Grigg of Sherman; and four grandchildren.
The family will be at the funeral home from 7 to 8 p.m. Monday and other times at the Homer Grigg residence, 1601 Nall St.
¹last name of "Muir" left out
Arthur Guy (A. G.) Abbott
born November 27, 1887 New Market, IA
died September 30, 1964 Wichita Falls, TX (Crestview Cemetery)
A. G. was the 13th of fourteen children of Isaac Warren (I. W.) and Margaret Elizabeth Abbott. As the youngest child died within her first year, A. G. was always the baby.* Oral history tells of A. G.'s dislike of the winters in Iowa. When the United States entered World War I in 1917, A. G. had just turned 30. There are some photos of A. G. in uniform and a few notes of him being a veteran of World War I. He seldom mentioned it and it is doubtful he ever went overseas.
The 1920 U. S. Census shows A. G. residing as a boarder in Fort Worth, occupation foreman in a packinghouse. He had moved there from Wichita Falls to persue the ministry with the Disciples of Christ church. He was a student at Texas Christian University , but it is unknown if he ever graduated. There is one mention of him attending Drake University. His ministry will be covered in another post.
By his adult years and after the birth of his two children, A. G. became large in girth. He had blue eyes. He was quite studious when it came to religion and had a bookcase full on the subject including the Book of Mormon and other beliefs. Being a man of the cloth, he always wore a tie in public and was well respected.
Upon retirement from full-time ministry, he became a Sunday preacher in two small towns in West Texas. Both congregations were small and consisted of a group of Methodists and a group of Christians (Disciples of Christ) meeting in the same church building. Each Sunday while A. G. was preaching in one church, a Methodist was preaching in the other. The next Sunday they would switch towns. One town was near enough that he could leave early Sunday morning and arrive in time for the service. The other town required leaving on Saturday afternoon and staying in a motel. His grandchildren never heard him give a sermon.
Then came one fateful day in 1964. A. G. was traveling between Electra and Wichita Falls and came to a stop sign. He apparently didn't see the other car which had the right-of-way. The accident totaled his car and if he survived, it wasn't for long. He was almost 77.
OBITUARY
Electra, Tex. — Services will be held at 2 p.m. Friday for Rev. Arthur Guy Abbott, 77, former pastor of the First Christian Church here who was killed in an auto accident in Wichita Falls Wednesday.
Funeral will be from Totten & Son Funeral Home here with the Rev. Jesse Iwig, ministerof the First Presbyterian Church, officiating, assisted by Rev. Ward Gregg of the First Christian Church and Rev. Joe Wilson, former pastor of the Electra Community Church.
Burial will be in Crestview Memorial Park of Wichita Falls. Members of the Ministerial Alliance here will serve as pallbearers.
Rev. Abbott, who attended Texas Christian University, was pastor of churches in Quanah, Rule, Pecos and the San Antonio area before becoming minister at Electra.
After his retirement here he served as district missionary and for the last four he has been pastor of churches at Truscott and Roaring Springs.
His widow, Beth, is a teacher at Dinsmore Elementary School here. Other survivors are a son, Roger, formerly of Wichita Falls and now of Longview; a daughter, Mrs. Homer Grigg of Sherman; and four grandchildren.
Abbott was the brother-in-law of Mrs. T. E. Durett² of 701 Harrison in Wichita Falls.
²spelled Durrett in the Muir Family Directory.
A. G. and Beth married November 24, 1921, in Fort Worth. It was Thanksgiving Day. Woodrow Wilson was President. Pat Morris Neff was Governor of Texas. The Ford Model T was the most popular selling car.
Around the family A. G. was referred to as Dad (or Granddaddy). Although formally he always preferred to use his initials, in public Beth would usually call him Guy. She, in turn, was alway called Mother (or Grandmother) around the family. A. G. would call her Beth while in public.
A. G. and Beth had two children:
Ida Margaret Abbott Grigg Atkins
born October 5, 1922 Fort Worth, TX
died July 14, 2002 Sherman, TX (Westhill Cemetery)
Calvin Roger Abbott
born June 5, 1925 Rule, TX
died July 2, 1974 Duncanville, TX (Crestview Cemetery)
— — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — —
Addendum - This information was found in a file in late November, 2008. It is transcribed from a photocopy of the September, 1947 issue of (most likely) The Christian Courier¹. Atop the short article is a photograph of A. G. Abbott wearing his usual glasses, dark suit with a four point handkerchief in the breast pocket, starched white shirt and tie. Note the address at the bottom, typical of large cities before zip codes were introduced.
born February 15, 1900 White Settlement, TX
died August 5, 1979 Sherman, TX (Crestview Cemetery, Wichita Falls, TX)
Beth was the youngest of seven children of George Thomas and Ida May Redford Muir. She was a petite woman, somewhat frail, and had brown eyes. Beth was a homemaker until her two children, Margaret and Roger, were out of school. She later commuted weekly to North Texas State Teachers College (now the University of North Texas). On August 25, 1950, she graduated with a B.S. degree, majoring in elementary education and minoring in history and English. Years later she also attended Midwestern State University taking two workshops, one in music education and the other in English. Beth taught elementary school in the Electra ISD until (her first) retirement.
At some point, most likely in the early 1960s, Beth and her husband, A. G., took a vacation to the Black Hills of South Dakota. That trip always brought back fond memories to her and was quite possibly the only "big" vacation they ever took.
Beth loved nature. Apparently her favorite flower was the iris. Television finally arrived in their house in the late 1950s or early 1960s. Reception from stations in Wichita Falls came from a pole-mounted antenna. Her favorite show was Mutual of Omaha's Wild Kingdom.
After the death of A. G. in 1964, Beth moved to Sherman to be near her daughter, Margaret. She resumed elementary school teaching in nearby Whitewright. During those few years she rented a room in a house owned by another woman. Beth used the proceeds from the sale of her house in Electra to buy one at 1628 N. Binkley in Sherman. Her second and final retirement gave her time to volunteer at Wilson N. Jones Hospital.
OBITUARY
Services will be held at 10 a.m. Tuesday at the Waldo Funeral Chapel for Mrs. Ann E. Abbott, 79, retired school teacher of Sherman, who died Sunday at a Sherman hospital.
Services will be conducted by Rev. Fred Hall of the Central Christian Church, with graveside services at 4 p.m. Tuesday at the Crestview Cemetery, Wichita Falls.
Mrs. Abbott was born at Fort Worth, daughter of the late Mr. and Mrs. George Thomas,¹ and married Rev. A. G. Abbott Nov. 24, 1921, at Fort Worth. She taught school at Electra for 19 years and three years at Whitewright. She was a graduate of North Texas State University and a member of the National Retired Teachers Association, Wilson N. Jones Auxiliary and the Central Christian Church.
Survivors are a daughter, Mrs. Margaret Grigg of Sherman; and four grandchildren.
The family will be at the funeral home from 7 to 8 p.m. Monday and other times at the Homer Grigg residence, 1601 Nall St.
¹last name of "Muir" left out
Arthur Guy (A. G.) Abbott
born November 27, 1887 New Market, IA
died September 30, 1964 Wichita Falls, TX (Crestview Cemetery)
A. G. was the 13th of fourteen children of Isaac Warren (I. W.) and Margaret Elizabeth Abbott. As the youngest child died within her first year, A. G. was always the baby.* Oral history tells of A. G.'s dislike of the winters in Iowa. When the United States entered World War I in 1917, A. G. had just turned 30. There are some photos of A. G. in uniform and a few notes of him being a veteran of World War I. He seldom mentioned it and it is doubtful he ever went overseas.
The 1920 U. S. Census shows A. G. residing as a boarder in Fort Worth, occupation foreman in a packinghouse. He had moved there from Wichita Falls to persue the ministry with the Disciples of Christ church. He was a student at Texas Christian University , but it is unknown if he ever graduated. There is one mention of him attending Drake University. His ministry will be covered in another post.
By his adult years and after the birth of his two children, A. G. became large in girth. He had blue eyes. He was quite studious when it came to religion and had a bookcase full on the subject including the Book of Mormon and other beliefs. Being a man of the cloth, he always wore a tie in public and was well respected.
Upon retirement from full-time ministry, he became a Sunday preacher in two small towns in West Texas. Both congregations were small and consisted of a group of Methodists and a group of Christians (Disciples of Christ) meeting in the same church building. Each Sunday while A. G. was preaching in one church, a Methodist was preaching in the other. The next Sunday they would switch towns. One town was near enough that he could leave early Sunday morning and arrive in time for the service. The other town required leaving on Saturday afternoon and staying in a motel. His grandchildren never heard him give a sermon.
Then came one fateful day in 1964. A. G. was traveling between Electra and Wichita Falls and came to a stop sign. He apparently didn't see the other car which had the right-of-way. The accident totaled his car and if he survived, it wasn't for long. He was almost 77.
OBITUARY
Electra, Tex. — Services will be held at 2 p.m. Friday for Rev. Arthur Guy Abbott, 77, former pastor of the First Christian Church here who was killed in an auto accident in Wichita Falls Wednesday.
Funeral will be from Totten & Son Funeral Home here with the Rev. Jesse Iwig, ministerof the First Presbyterian Church, officiating, assisted by Rev. Ward Gregg of the First Christian Church and Rev. Joe Wilson, former pastor of the Electra Community Church.
Burial will be in Crestview Memorial Park of Wichita Falls. Members of the Ministerial Alliance here will serve as pallbearers.
Rev. Abbott, who attended Texas Christian University, was pastor of churches in Quanah, Rule, Pecos and the San Antonio area before becoming minister at Electra.
After his retirement here he served as district missionary and for the last four he has been pastor of churches at Truscott and Roaring Springs.
His widow, Beth, is a teacher at Dinsmore Elementary School here. Other survivors are a son, Roger, formerly of Wichita Falls and now of Longview; a daughter, Mrs. Homer Grigg of Sherman; and four grandchildren.
Abbott was the brother-in-law of Mrs. T. E. Durett² of 701 Harrison in Wichita Falls.
²spelled Durrett in the Muir Family Directory.
A. G. and Beth married November 24, 1921, in Fort Worth. It was Thanksgiving Day. Woodrow Wilson was President. Pat Morris Neff was Governor of Texas. The Ford Model T was the most popular selling car.
Around the family A. G. was referred to as Dad (or Granddaddy). Although formally he always preferred to use his initials, in public Beth would usually call him Guy. She, in turn, was alway called Mother (or Grandmother) around the family. A. G. would call her Beth while in public.
A. G. and Beth had two children:
Ida Margaret Abbott Grigg Atkins
born October 5, 1922 Fort Worth, TX
died July 14, 2002 Sherman, TX (Westhill Cemetery)
Calvin Roger Abbott
born June 5, 1925 Rule, TX
died July 2, 1974 Duncanville, TX (Crestview Cemetery)
— — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — —
Addendum - This information was found in a file in late November, 2008. It is transcribed from a photocopy of the September, 1947 issue of (most likely) The Christian Courier¹. Atop the short article is a photograph of A. G. Abbott wearing his usual glasses, dark suit with a four point handkerchief in the breast pocket, starched white shirt and tie. Note the address at the bottom, typical of large cities before zip codes were introduced.
REPORT ON EVANGELISM
I have been with Texas Christian Missionary Society as State Evangelist for the past six weeks, and in that time I have conducted three revival meetings with 23 additions — 12 confessions and 11 transfers of membership. These meetings have been in the smaller and weaker churches, two without ministers. The church financial budget was raised and a minister was installed in one of the churches.
It is indeed a great challenge to evangelize Texas, and with the missionary program Texas Christian Missionary Society is presenting to the churches of Texas you will find Texas is marching forward in the "Crusade for a Christian World."
Every church in Texas can have a meeting. Write to Texas Christian Missionary Society, 2909 Lubbock Street, Fort Worth 4, Texas.
A. G. Abbott, Evangelist
¹The photocopy only showed: THE CHRISTIAN CO
*see Long Ago & Far Away post for siblings names.
Thursday, November 20, 2008
The Muirs of Fort Worth and Kentucky
Unless footnoted otherwise, information comes from research done in 1986 by Normaleene Muir, wife of Ben Muir (grandson of George Thomas and Ida May Redford Muir), and is considered reliable.
George Thomas Muir
born November 18, 1849 Allensville, Todd County, KY
died June 9, 1915 Fort Worth, TX (buried Mt. Olivet Cemetery, Fort Worth)
Ida May Redford
born October 10, 1860 Todd County, KY
died March 4, 1939 Fort Worth, TX (buried Mt. Olivet Cemetery)
Family records show them marrying October 20, 1885, in Fort Worth. George was almost 36. Ida May had just turned 25. The Muirs had 7 children and the youngest was Ann Elizabeth (Beth).
Listed below are the children (plus their spouses) and grandchildren (italicized) of George T. and Ida May Muir.¹ With the exception of Beth, the dates of birth and death are unknown. It can be reliably assumed that they are listed in birth order.
1. Guy and Nola Muir
Tom and Helen Muir
Ida Nell and Al Snider
Ben and Dixie Muir
Nola Ruth and Ed Stewart
2. Ruth and Jim Drake
Carl and Ruby Nell Drake
Floy and Ed Little
Ruby and George Studdard
3. Helen Wadley and Lewis Carmichael
Moses Franklin Wadley
4. Martha and John Blessing
Myrtle and John Hirstine
R. C. Blessing
Mary and Don Townsend, Sr.
Doris and Gordon Lund
Dorothy and Rex Garland
John and Gloria Blessing
5. Mary and Earnest Durrett
Lou and Dick Ristine
Mil and Pat Dinnin
6. Jack and Oree Muir
John and Judy Muir
7. Beth and A. G. Abbott
Margaret and Homer Grigg (Margaret and Zeke Atkins)
Roger and Doris Abbott
As the information known about the ancestry of George Thomas Muir and Ida May Redford is extensive, it will be covered in separate posts. It is unclear why these two moved to Fort Worth. As both of Ida May's parents are buried there, it is possible that the Redford family moved to Fort Worth and George followed.
The 1910 U. S. Census lists George as a laborer.
¹"Muir Family Directory" updated October, 1991, by Margaret Abbott Grigg Atkins.
— — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — —
The following paragraph was among family history papers. At the bottom of the typewritten page, in faint handwriting, is what appears to be From Margaret Abbott. There is a good possibility that this was oral history that Beth Abbott passed down to her daughter, Margaret Abbott Grigg, who then retold it by telephone to Norma Muir.
Ida May Redford Muir was born in Kentucky October 9, 1861.² The family moved to Texas when she was 12 years old. The railroad went as far as Dallas, so they had to go by wagon from Dallas to Fort Worth. They settled about 10 miles west of Fort Worth in a log cabin. She was married to George Thomas Muir.
²Numerous other references cite her year of birth as 1860. The "61" was the only part of the paragraph that was handwritten, as if added later.
George Thomas Muir
born November 18, 1849 Allensville, Todd County, KY
died June 9, 1915 Fort Worth, TX (buried Mt. Olivet Cemetery, Fort Worth)
Ida May Redford
born October 10, 1860 Todd County, KY
died March 4, 1939 Fort Worth, TX (buried Mt. Olivet Cemetery)
Family records show them marrying October 20, 1885, in Fort Worth. George was almost 36. Ida May had just turned 25. The Muirs had 7 children and the youngest was Ann Elizabeth (Beth).
Listed below are the children (plus their spouses) and grandchildren (italicized) of George T. and Ida May Muir.¹ With the exception of Beth, the dates of birth and death are unknown. It can be reliably assumed that they are listed in birth order.
1. Guy and Nola Muir
Tom and Helen Muir
Ida Nell and Al Snider
Ben and Dixie Muir
Nola Ruth and Ed Stewart
2. Ruth and Jim Drake
Carl and Ruby Nell Drake
Floy and Ed Little
Ruby and George Studdard
3. Helen Wadley and Lewis Carmichael
Moses Franklin Wadley
4. Martha and John Blessing
Myrtle and John Hirstine
R. C. Blessing
Mary and Don Townsend, Sr.
Doris and Gordon Lund
Dorothy and Rex Garland
John and Gloria Blessing
5. Mary and Earnest Durrett
Lou and Dick Ristine
Mil and Pat Dinnin
6. Jack and Oree Muir
John and Judy Muir
7. Beth and A. G. Abbott
Margaret and Homer Grigg (Margaret and Zeke Atkins)
Roger and Doris Abbott
As the information known about the ancestry of George Thomas Muir and Ida May Redford is extensive, it will be covered in separate posts. It is unclear why these two moved to Fort Worth. As both of Ida May's parents are buried there, it is possible that the Redford family moved to Fort Worth and George followed.
The 1910 U. S. Census lists George as a laborer.
¹"Muir Family Directory" updated October, 1991, by Margaret Abbott Grigg Atkins.
— — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — —
The following paragraph was among family history papers. At the bottom of the typewritten page, in faint handwriting, is what appears to be From Margaret Abbott. There is a good possibility that this was oral history that Beth Abbott passed down to her daughter, Margaret Abbott Grigg, who then retold it by telephone to Norma Muir.
Ida May Redford Muir was born in Kentucky October 9, 1861.² The family moved to Texas when she was 12 years old. The railroad went as far as Dallas, so they had to go by wagon from Dallas to Fort Worth. They settled about 10 miles west of Fort Worth in a log cabin. She was married to George Thomas Muir.
²Numerous other references cite her year of birth as 1860. The "61" was the only part of the paragraph that was handwritten, as if added later.
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