|
Martha Elizabeth Thurmond Brown
submitted by Martha
Thompson
Martha E. Thurmond was born in the
Fairview Community, near Rhome, in Wise County, Texas on Dec. 18, 1880,
and the daughter of John Faver Thurmond and Amanda Merrifield Thurmond.
She grew up on the farm where she was born. There is a story that
when she was but an infant, a tornado hit the farmhouse where she slept
in her crib and carried her into the cornfield, crib and all. The
other members of the family had all come in from the field where they
were working and had headed to the root cellar. Each thought the
other had gotten Martha out of the house. She survived the
incident unharmed.
She attended and
graduated from Decatur Baptist College. On December
5, 1905, she married Robert Jarvis Brown, a rancher from Bellevue,
Texas, in the Thurmond home north of Rhome. They
resided outside of Bellevue until 1910 when they moved to Henrietta.
Martha was very
active in community affairs: a member of the First Baptist Church, the
Henrietta Garden Club, the Unity Club, the Woman’s Forum of Wichita
Falls, the Delphian Club, and served on the Henrietta School Board.
During World War 1, Martha assisted by making bandaging for the
soldiers.
Martha and Robert
had 3 children: Don, Born March 2, 1901 on the ranch, Earle (later named
Rachel Earle), born June 20, 1911, and Robert Jarvis, jr. (Bob), born
Oct. 17, 1917 in Henrietta.
Martha loved to
garden and raised Irises in her large back yard. She
experimented with crossbreeding the plants, and it is told that she
created the first truly pure white iris. And she
loved butterflies, especially the Monarch. You could
often see her chasing them with her large butterfly net. But
her favorite thing was to entertain. She hosted many
parties in their home: played lots of Bridge and Canasta.
Martha
E. Thurmond Brown passed away on Sunday, Feb. 12, 1961 in the farm home
where she had been born and married, while attending the funeral
services of her sister-in-law, Mrs. Forrest Thurmond of Fort Worth.
Funeral services were held at the First Baptist Church in
Henrietta, Monday, Feb. 13 at 2p.m. Conducted by Rev.
Kenneth Cantrell, pastor. Interment was in the
Bellevue Cemetery in the Brown Family Plot. Under the
direction of the Hawkins Funeral Home. Pallbearers
were David A.Greer, Macon Boddy, A.V. Slagle, Bryant Edwards, Ham
Douglas, Frank Bunting, Myers Barker, Jim Hill, Gordon Shamburger, Clyde
King, and William Burnside. She was survived by her
husband of 56 years, Robert Jarvis Brown, two sons: Don Brown of Fort
Worth and Robert J. Brown, jr. of Wichita Falls, and one daughter,
Rachel Shaffer of Wichita Falls, one brother, Joe Thurmond of Rhome, six
grandchildren, several nieces and nephews.
A Tribute
Mrs. Robert Jarvis Brown presented the following to the Museum at
Decatur Baptist College from which she had graduated as a Tribute to her
Mother: Amanda Merrifield Thurmond, and her Grand Mother: Elizabeth A.
Thurmond. This is quoted from a style show script.
“The dress Mrs. Oheim is modeling is a calico dress
copied from a plaid silk worn by Mrs. R. J. Brown’s Mother in the
1870’s. The taffeta cape is an original belonging to Mrs.
Brown’s grand mother, Mrs. Elizabeth A. Thurmond, of Newman, Georgia.
The cape and handmade fringe was made by Mrs. Thurmond’s personal
maid: a slave called Clarie, whom Mrs. Thurmond had taught to do fine
sewing and needle work in the 1800’s. Most of Clarie’s fine
sewing was done when the 4 Thurmond daughters attended the Fayetteville
Female Academy - the school where Margaret Mitchell’s famous character
Scarlet in “Gone With the Wind” went to school.
The beaded net made to wear over the “waterfall”, a coiffure
term to describe a style of hair dressing, was made by Katherine
Greenwood Thurmond in 1960. She was Mrs. Brown’s Aunt.
RETURN
TO CLAY COUNTY MAIN PAGE
|