Ada Belle slipped from her parents home in the wee hours of the morning of December 8, 1902 and joined Alonzo "Lon" waiting nearby in his wagon. They made their way to Billy Scott's ranch. At about four A.M. on that Sunday morning they were united in marriage. C. R. Maddox, a Church of Christ minister performed the ceremony, and C. R. Nichols, another minister, served as witness. Lon had obtained the license the day before. He was 21 and Ada was 16. She had slipped away because her mother had forbidden Ada to marry while so young.They moved into a new log cabin "with a smooth lumber floor" in the area between Dublin and Proctor. Their first child, Pearl Marie, was born in that cabin September 18, 1903. Marie was the namesake of Ada's sister, Bertie Pearl Embry.
Billy Scott, Lon's cousin (son of John Willis and nephew of Mary Jane) had an 800-acre ranch seven and one-half miles west of Dublin plus some pasture and farmland in Wise County eight miles out from Bridgeport. In the fall of 1910, Lon and Ada moved to Wise County to farm Billy's land and see to the few cattle he had there. They stayed on this farm through the 1912 crop year and Marie attended a one-room school into the third grade. They then returned to Dublin.
In 1914 Billy persuaded Lon to go back to Bridgeport and farm on the "halves" and see to the cattle for $40 a month. The boll weevils were so bad, however, that they could not make much farming. Lon and two other men discussed moving to West Texas, having heard stories about how well cotton did in that area. That fall they loaded up four wagons and started west.
Lon in his later years operated a laundry till about 1943, but continued to work at the Palace Theater until his retirement. After Ada's death, he moved into an apartment. In 1968 he developed an aneurism in his groin, after a successful operation in Lubbock, he died from other complications on February 15. 1958. Lon, 86, was buried beside Ada Belle in the Spur Cemetery.
Couple Celebrate 50th Anniversary at Spur Reception
SPUR (Special) — On Monday, December 8, 1952, Alonzo and Ada Belle celebrated fifty years of marriage. The family honored them on this golden anniversary with a Sunday afternoon reception in the American Legion Hall at Spur. A newspaper clipping listed the 11 children present as: Mrs. J. C. Morin of Fort Worth; A. V. Hoover, Travis Hoover, Mrs. Elmer Cross, Mrs. Louis Arnold, Mrs. John Dunaway and Mrs. Pat Fletcher, all of Spur; Mrs. K. P. Brantner of Jayton, Mrs. W. V. McKay of Whiteface, Doyal Hoover of Portales, N. M., and Ray Hoover of Ireland, Texas. The clipping said, �The couple have 24 grandchildren and six great-grandchildren. They were married Dec. 8, 1902, at Dublin and came to Dickens County in 1915. Approximately 200 guests called.©Lubbock Avalanche Journal, December 1952
Funeral services for Mrs. A. M. Hoover, 72, were held Saturday morning [July 25, 1959] at the Spur Church of Christ.C. V. Allen officiated, assisted by Robert Bankhead.
Mrs. Hoover suffered a heart attack and died Thursday night [July 23, 1959].
Born in Webster [County], MO, Mrs. Hoover came to Texas in 1900. She married A. M. Hoover in Dublin, Texas on December 8, 1903. She came to Dickens County in 1914 and resided at Spur.
Survivors include the husband and three daughters, Mrs. Elmer Cross, Mrs. Louis Arnold, and Mrs.John Dunaway, and two sons, A. V. Hoover and Travis Hoover, all of Spur.
Four other daughters, surviving include Mrs. H[K.] P. Brantner, Jayton; Mrs. W. V. McKay, Whiteface; Mrs. Pat Fletcher, Brownfield; Mrs. J. C. Morin, Ft. Worth.
Two other sons are Doyal Hoover, Lovington, NM and Ray Hoover, Hamilton.
Two sisters, Mrs. Pete Kendall, Graham and Mrs.Mattie Hill, Mineral Wells survive along with one brother, Carl Embrey[Embry], Mineral Wells.
Twenty-nine grandchildren and 20 great grandchildren survive.
Interment was in Spur Memorial Cemetery. Grandsons served as pallbearers.
©The Texas Spur; Thursday, July 30, 1959
from the records of Lillian Grace Nay
Funeral services for Alonzo Marion Hoover, 86, were held Friday at 3 p.m. in the Spur Church of Christ with Gary Williams, minister, officiating; he was assisted by Cleston Pritchett.Loyd Womack was in charge of music.
Mr. Hoover died Feb. 15 in West Texas Hospital, Lubbock. He was a retired farmer.
Mr. Hoover had been a resident of Dickens County since 1915. He was a member of the Church of Christ. His wife preceded him in death in 1959.
He is survived by four sons, A.V. Hoover, Travis Hoover, both of Spur; Ray Hoover, Hamilton; and Doyle Hoover, Lovington, NM; seven daughters, Mrs. K.P. Brantner, Jayton; Mrs. W.V. McKay, White Face; Mrs. Elmer Cross, Mrs. Lewis Arnold, and Mrs. John Dunaway, all of Spur; Mrs. Robert Brisco and Mrs. Jimmy Morin, both of Brownfield; 30 grandchildren and 31 great great grandchildren.
Pallbearers were his grandsons, Ralph Branter, Jerry Dunaway, Merle McKay, Linsey Hoover, Wayne Hoover, Jack McKay.
Burial was in Spur Cemetery.
©The Texas Spur February 22, 1968
Transcribed by Becky Hodges, September 2004
© Dickens County Historical Commission 1997-2022
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