Willie Steve Carlisle was born in Talbert County, Georgia on August 21, 1886 to William Alpheous Carlisle and Minnie Lee Raines Carlisle. There were eight children in all: John Walter, Ila Lou, Minnie Leola, Martha Ada, Willie Steve, Lucy Mae, James Brinkly and Ethel Sopronia. His family moved to Texas around Christmas 1893 and settled at Corsicana. That winter his father was riding up an icy alley; the mule slipped and fell on him and he died in February of 1895. Steve, Lucy Mae, James Brinkly and Ethel were then put in the Corsicana orphan´s home. Ethel died there, probably from eating a rotten cucumber that Steve had helped haul in.When Steve was fourteen he ran away from the orphan´s home, and went to his aunt´s and found out where his mother was. Then he went back and stole Lucy Mae and Brink out of the home.
He learned to plow while in the orphan´s home and became a farmer. He married Mary Jane Massey on August 2, 1908 in Freestone County. Willie Steve and Jennie Massey Carlisle, along with three children, Issac Rex, John Ralph (better known as Buck) and Bertha lived at Winkler until they moved to Dickens County in 1919. Two younger members of the family were born in Dickens County, W.S., Jr., and Mary Avanelle Carlisle Faubus. Rex, Buck, and Avanelle live in Spur; Betha Mae lives in Pine Bluff, Arkansas and W.S. Jr, lives in Lubbock.
They were following Dad´s oldest brother, Walter Carlisle, "to the land of opportunity." He in turn had followed his uncle Jonas, who had preceded him by a number of years. Uncle Jonas and Aunt Martha were the glue that kept the extended family intact.
Steve was a good honest man and stout and stubborn as a bull. He could sure take care of himself if he needed to. He was a good farmer, and raised cattle and hogs. He liked everybody and was able to drive his car and play dominoes up until his death in 1981 at age 95. Many Jane (Jenny) died in 1976. They had 16 grandchildren, 26 great grandchildren, and 9 great great grandchildren.
Information submitted by Edd DillashawSource: "Dickens County, Its Land and People", Dickens County Historical Commission, ©1986
My grandparents´ home remained through their lives almost as much "home" to their children and grandchildren as were those individuals´ own homes. I remember it as a place of bustling activity, frequently providing shelter, food, even employment to extended family, friends, and sometimes farmhands for lengthy intervals. Both my grandparents were skillful and creative. In his well-equipped, backyard blacksmith shop, Granddad shod his workhorses, repaired and sometimes designed and made his own farm implements. An adept mechanic and carpenter, he rarely sought assistance for any sort of repairs. He devised a windcharged generator, albeit of uncertain reliability, to their home, the first electrically lit farmhouse I can remember. Grandmother, an accomplished cook and seamstress, was a compulsively tidy homemaker whose yard was as immaculate as her house. Her gasoline-powered washing machine was prized in an era when laundry was usually done by hand, using cast-iron pots, galvanized tubs and washboards.
Soft-spoken and articulate, Grandmother was a woman of uncommon beauty, wisdom, and almost puritanical virtue whose influence upon her family was profound and lasting. Deeply religious, she held lofty standards for herself and others and viewed life as a serious venture. Her greatest joy was the company of family and friends, and she was deeply grieved by misunderstandings and strife among those she lived. One sensed beneath her quiet dignity an iron will not easily swayed from strong convictions.
Granddad was a robust paradox of a man. Physically powerful, to his sons, he was a strict disciplinarian who early instilled in them a strong work ethic. A stern taskmaster, he demanded of them hard work and unquestioning obedience; recreational, social, even school activities were indulgences permissible only after satisfactory completion of work assignments. Corporal punishment was administered without hesitation whenever he felt it justified. He was an outspoken man of strong view, yet jovial, congenial, generous and hospitable. To distaff members and children of his family, exuding a distinctly masculine, by no means unpleasant, fragrance of the outdoors, leather, tobacco (and sometimes, to Grandmother´s great chagrin, a whiff of something a bit stronger!) Chauvinistic, like most men of his day, his brand of chauvinism would not offend, even today, because of strong components of compassion and chivalry. His deep, resonant voice complemented his gift for spinning spellbinding accounts of experiences of his youth. Fond of young people, "Mr. Steve" would teasingly inquire, "What´s wrong? Is your leg sore?", and area youngsters of several generations have known a chill of anticipation as that massive hand encircled a leg just above the knee, sending a spine-tingling sensation, just short of pain, through the victim´s being, not the least element of which was the sense of utter helplessness that vise-like grip engendered.
...By Mafoi Carlisle BogitshSource: "Dickens County, Its Land and People", Dickens County Historical Commission, ©1986
Funeral services were held Saturday at 3 p.m. in the First Baptist Church for Mary Jane Carlisle, 84. Rev. Norris Taylor officiated assisted by Rev. Bill Sanders of the Bethel Baptist Church, spur.Mrs. Carlisle died March 4 in the West Texas Hospital. A member of the Baptist Church, she had been a resident of Dickens Co. since 1919.
Survivors include her husband, W.S. Carlisle, Spur; two daughters, Mrs. Bertha Mae Hagins, Pine Bluff, Arkansas; Mrs. Avanell Faubus, Spur; three sons; Rex and Buck Carlisle, Spur; W.S. Carlisle, Jr., Lubbock; two sisters, Allie Carlisle, Spur and Pearl Beauchamp, Odessa; 17 grandchildren, 23 great grandchildren and 4 great-great grandchildren.
Grandsons served as pallbearers. They included Henry Hargis, Wesley Hargis, Steve Carlisle, Morris Carlisle, Dwight Dillingham, Ralph Carlisle.
Burial was in the Spur Cemetery.
©The Texas Spur, March 11, 1976
From the records of Lillian Grace Nay,transcribed by Becky Hodges, August 12, 2004
Funeral services were held Tuesday at 2 p.m. in the First Baptist Church for Willie Steve Carlisle, 95. Rev. Norris Taylor officiated, assisted by Sidney Cox, Abilene.Mr. Carlisle died November 28 in St. Mary's of the Plains Hospital, Lubbock. He was a farmer. He came to Dickens County in 1919 from Navarro County. He was a member of the Baptist Church. Mrs. Carlisle died in March of 1976.
Survivors include three sons, Rex and Buck Carlisle, both of Spur; W.S. Carlisle, Jr., Lubbock; two daughters, Mrs. Bertha Mae Hargis, Pine Bluff, Arkansas; Ms. Avanelle Faubus, Spur; 16 grandchildren, 26 great grandchildren, and 9 great-great grandchildren.
Pallbearers included Roy Burden, Ray Faubus, Randal Key, R.D. Hale, Steve Carlisle, III, and Ralph Carlisle.
Burial was in Spur Cemtery.
©The Texas Spur, December 3, 1981
From the records of Lillian Grace Nay, transcribed by Becky Hodges, August 12, 2004
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