DONNELL'S LIFE STORY

PART 1

This is Part 1 of my story as I lived it over the first 85 years. Many of theses historical events were reconstructed from photos, letters, and such that I have in my possession. Some facts came from family members, others solely from my memory.

BORN IN DAVILLA

I was born October 3, 1921 on a small farm near Davilla, Texas, in the County of Milam. Here's an early picture of me. My mother was Myrtle Mandy Johnson, born May 11, 1898, to Delbert William Johnson and Mandy Ward Johnson. The only other child from this marriage was Charlie Johnson.

FAMILY MEMBERS

My dad was Theodore Edis (Ted) Hoggatt, born February 11, 1893. His parents were William Lee Hoggatt and Allie Aurelia (Pope) Hoggatt. There were three children from this marriage: James Lawrence, born October 19, 1890, died November 7, 1923; Ethel Effie, born December 27, 1891, died January 2, 1892; and my dad Ted, born February 11, 1893, died January 10, 1943.

My granddad Lee Hoggatt was only forty when he died, and my dad was two at that time. Lee Hoggatt is buried in the Val Verde Cemetery, a few miles north of Davilla, Texas, next to his infant daughter, Effie. His epitaph, barely readable, says: “Farewell precious husband and father dear, your sorrows and suffering are o’re.” The epitaph for Effie reads, “Sweet flower transplanted to another clime.”

DILLARD- HOGGATT FAMILY

After the death of my granddad Lee Hoggatt, my grandmother Hoggatt married Richard Dillard. From this marriage my dad obtained five brothers: Thelma, Beauford, Tince, Dalton, and Chance Lee; and four new sisters: Addie Bell, Jewel, Ruth, and Ruby.

In this photo taken around 1902, my dad is standing on the left. Next in the photo is Grandpa Dillard, then Dad's only full brother Lawrence, who is also standing. Dad and Lawrence are the only two Hoggatts in this photo.

The little boy who is seated is my Uncle Thelma. Standing next to him is Aunt Addie Bell with Aunt Ruth seated below and Grandmother Dillard to the right.

TED AND MYRTLE FAMILY

My dad Ted and mother Myrtle were married March 25, 1917. There were five children from this marriage: Bonnie Dell Hoggatt, born December 31, 1917, died January 1, 1991; Burl Lee Hoggatt, born December 1, 1919, died January 12, 2004; Richard Donnell Hoggatt born October 3, 1921; Billie Ted Hoggatt, born September 20, 1923; Joyce Gwyn Hoggatt, born February 17, 1932, died December 11, 1933.

All the above were born in or near Milam County, Texas except Joyce, who was born in Rifle, Colorado. After the death of Granddad Johnson’s first wife, Mandy, he married Annie Moore on May 1, 1904. My mother at that date was 6 years old. I cannot remember her ever mentioning anyone as her mother except Annie, whom we dearly loved.

By the time my mother and dad married on March 25, 1917, mother had five new brothers and sisters: Ezra Ray Johnson, born February 1, 1905, Johnnie Delbert, born December 4, 1906, Gladys, born September 24, 1908, Mary Edith, born June 14, 1910, and Waymond, born December 9, 1912.

By the time the Johnsons moved to Colorado in 1923, my mother had two more brothers and one more sister: Ray, born August 17, 1917, Winnie, born January 18, 1920, and Ira (Pat), born December 4, 1922.

After arriving in Colorado, the Johnsons added two more children: Virginia, born July 11, 1924 and Beverly, born April 8, 1927. According to the above, mother gained five new brothers and five new sisters. This ten exceeds by only one the number that Dad gained after his mother Allie Hoggatt married Richard Dillard. This proves that second marriages really work!

MOTHER HAD HEALTH PROBLEMS

As long as I can remember, my mother had health problems.

Brother Burl said that he believed it was caused by her eating habits, and I’m sure he is correct. Many times, he said that she would not eat with us, saying that she had already eaten her special foods.

Things were tough for all farmers back then.

TENANT FARMING

Here is a photo of Mother, Bonnie, Burl and me as a toddler. My Dad was a tenant farmer. Trying to make a decent living was almost impossible for the small farmers in central Texas, even for those that owned their own land. Those that did had many advantages over us, the tenant farmers. They were able to put down roots and stay with their farms year after year, enabling them to have better homes and living conditions. Because of their stability, they were able to grow gardens, plant fruit trees, raise pigs, chickens, several horses and mules and several milk cows. Us tenant farmers were at the mercy of the landowners, controlled by a few handshakes, rules and conditions based on the general rule often referred to as “the Thirds and Fourths Agreement.” If the tenant owned his own horses or mules and such, he would get one-third of the crop. If he didn’t, he would get only one-fourth of the crop. I can remember only a couple of years living on the farm, but still recall that we owned no horses or mules, had no garden of our own, and owned only a milk cow or two and a few chickens.

If the landowner had good land, knew his business well, and had enough money to spend on new equipment and the best seed, he could do pretty well. Providing, of course, there were no bad “acts of God,” which could be not enough rain, too much rain, etc. If he happened to have a good year, the tenant farmer would do much better, too.

I learned much later that this is called, “Pump Priming” and “The Trickle Down Theory.” Meaning, of course, it’s good for all the people with the money to spend wisely with controls in their favor, so that they can expand and get richer. Then a little would trickle down to the poor. As I recall from my own experiences and that of my uncles, there never was much that trickled down to us.

In spite of such conditions for the tenant farmer, we were not unhappy and never hungry but we were limited to the most basic of foods such as eggs, milk, flour, sugar and such. We seldom had fresh vegetables and fruit of any kind was rare except at Christmas. I wasn’t aware of it, but Burl told me many times that Mother often went to bed hungry so that us kids and Dad would have plenty. Although I often questioned some of Burl’s statements, I believe these to be true. I know that Mother made many sacrifices for all of us that led to her early sickness and premature death at 34 years of age.

Starting in the early 1920’s many of the tenant farmers, as well as the landowners, gave up the hard life and started moving to towns. This applied to the Hoggatts and also the Dillards. Somewhere around 1923, my mother’s family moved to Colorado. They were seeking a better life for the same reasons as the Hoggatt/Dillards and wanted to leave farming.

MOVING TO TOWN

As it turned out, all the Dillards and our family moved to town where jobs were plentiful. The economy was expanding and creating a new market for cloth of all kinds. New mills were being built in many of the towns where raw cotton was available. Cotton was cheap and labor in demand and inexpensive.

All of our men got jobs in the mills and also some of the ladies that wanted to work. Some families had two or three working in the mills. Things got better for all of us, and we were able to buy fresh vegetables and some fruit in season. For some reason, our family moved often but we were never far from lots of uncles, aunts, cousins and relatives. Dad became a weaver and I recall that we lived at different times in Hillsboro, McKinney, Waxahachie, and Corsicana, Texas.

JOHNSONS MOVE TO COLORADO

The move of the Johnsons to Colorado must have been difficult for all concerned, especially Mother. The closeness of her to her family is confirmed by the photo of the four generations taken sometime in 1918, about five years before they moved to Colorado. The picture indicates the importance and togetherness placed on family ties back in that era: A proud great-granddad, a granddad and a mother getting together in their best “Sunday Go to Church Clothes” to capture for future generations the birth of the first new member of the Johnson-Hoggatt union, my dear sister Bonnie Dell Hoggatt. For those that may need guidance, this picture includes my Great-Granddad Ezra Ray Johnson on the left holding my sister Bonnie. Sitting beside him is my Granddad Delbert William Johnson and my mother Myrtle Mandy Johnson.

I can only wonder just who was responsible for this photo. My own experience of such a task assures me that credit cannot go to a man. My guess is that Mother was the one pushing for this very good picture. It must have taken much time and effort for her to arrange this photo.

HOGGATTS MOVE TO COLORADO

Although things were much better after moving to town, mother’s condition had gotten worse. After discussions with her doctor and her parents in Colorado, it was determined that she must move to a drier climate and Colorado was recommended. Some time in 1928 she went to Colorado to stay with the Johnsons. After a year, it seemed that she was getting better, and the rest of us moved up there to be with her. If my memory serves me correctly, we arrived in Colorado by train in December 1930.

While living there on Piceance Creek, a new member joined us, a little sister arrived February 17, 1932 and was named Joyce Gwyn. During Mother’s pregnancy, it was learned that she was seriously ill. It seems as though Mother made another great sacrifice by insisting on having this baby, regardless of her own very poor condition.

SORROW ON ROAD BACK HOME

Sometime later it was decided that we all would move back to Texas. The exact reason for our returning is unknown but it was clear that our family would never be separated again. Certainly, the living conditions were not suitable for a family of seven, one a small baby and also a very ill mother. We were living in a two-room log house with a two-foot layer of dirt on our roof, right next to Piceance Creek. It was after we returned that I learned that Mother and Dad knew she had only a few weeks to live, and Mother wanted to leave as soon as possible so she could die and be buried in Texas.

Grandmother Dillard had a large hearse with a driver and his assistant leave Waxahachie, Texas and drive to Colorado for us. All seven of us loaded into the hearse and started out for Texas on May 22, 1932. Burl rode up front with the two drivers. A baby crib had been attached to the upper front of the back part of the vehicle. Mother had a bed prepared on the right side. Dad, Bonnie, Billie Ted and I sat on comfortable places that had been arranged back in Waxahachie.

I still recall how excited we children were to be able to ride in the big black car all the way to Waxahachie. Our enjoyment quickly vanished on the morning of May 23, 1932. We had stayed the night of May 22^nd at a tourist court in New Mexico. Before going to bed that night, Dad called all of us into his and Mother’s room to give Mother a hug and say, “Good Night.” I don’t recall all the details but seem to remember somehow that something made it a little different from all the other “Good Nights.” I thought it special because we were all together and on our way to Grandmother’s house in Texas. As it turned out, it was the last time we saw Mother alive. She died peacefully sometime during the night. Her body was taken to the funeral home in that town before we awakened. She got only one of her wishes—to be buried in Texas.

The next morning the hearse arrived and picked us up. My Mother’s body was carefully wrapped in blankets, and she way lying on her bed as before.

The rest of the trip was made in haste with stops only when necessary. We had police escorts several times to rush us through towns and also when traffic was heavy. It was a ride like no one could ever forget! We made it to Waxahachie and the Dillard house still in a state of shock and sadness.

Mother was buried in the Dillard plot in the Waxahachie cemetery as she had requested.

This completes Part 1. Donnell, 10/16/06.