A thoughtful grandfather. He was 1 of 10 children born to Moses Philip and Mary Ammer Lowe Pipkin. Moses had two half-brothers, Sam and Ace. They were Baptist preachers and lived near Houston. Grandpa was born at Smiths Prairie located 6 miles south of Commerce, Texas. He married Belva Mae Fleenor October 11,1911 at Commerce. They had nine children. They all married and had families, except the youngest son. Grandpa had the following brothers and sisters that we know about. Cora Pipkin Bruns, Eva P. Nichols, Ewell(He died at 18). Lowell, who died at 8. Horace and Aris Pipkin & an infant sister, Eulira, who lived only a few days.
They lived most of their married lives in Hopkins County near Ridgeway and Cumby/Miller Grove. Two years they lived near Petty, Texas in Lamar County. They reared their children at Pea Ridge, located between Ridgeway and Emblem.
**************************************************************************************
SPOTLIGHT: Grover Alton Pipkin, Sr.
Grover Alton Pipkin was a farmer, shown here with his team of mules.
(Above) Shown in his garden. He was known for growing beans, flowers, and children (below).
Pictures
(all 9 grown children pictured above)
Like many grandparents, Grover was better appreciated as a grandfather. For example, a common memory shared by many grandchildren, was provided by Vicki Pipkin Andrew:
Going to Ed Gilley's Store where Granddad played dominoes out back. This was our chance to get more candy. The store had wooden floors and a tall thick concrete front entrance with BIG steps (something you had to overcome to get to the candy).
He was known to love to play domino's out back of Ed Gilley's store in Miller Grove and often took a grandchild or two along to enjoy candy from the store.
Kathy Pipkin Voss also remembers…
Drinking cokes with the lid still on them but, we would punch a hole in the lid with an ice pick and suck the coke out through the hole.
Another grandchild, Jeanean Roberson Butler, Esther's daughter records the following memories:
I remember riding on a trailer with him probably pulled by his team. Every time we came to visit he would go into town and buy us some fruit. I always loved to get water out of their well using that long cylinder that held water until you released it into the water bucket. And of course I remember having to use the outhouse.
My older sisters, Odessa and Maredia, remember going to the store and all the other things mentioned above, but the two things they remember the most were his love for flowers and his pleasant personality.
Also, Maredia said,
Our mother learned from him, to put flowers around her garden and be pleasant and kind to others..
A thoughtful grandfather.
Grover Alton Pipkin was my maternal grandfather. Born on December 29, 1892, in Hunt County, Texas, his father, Moses, (Moses "Doc" Pipkin (sometimes misspelled 'Pipkins') 1852–1931) was 40 and his mother, Mary (Mary Ammerson "Ammer" Lowe (sometimes spelled 'Low') 1859–1928), was 33.
Moses had two half-brothers, Sam and Ace. They were Baptist preachers and lived near Houston.
As a youth, Moses "Doc" Pipkin had served as a drummer in the Civil War and moved to Texas from Georgia in the early 1870's. There he met and married Mary "Ammer" Lowe who had moved to Texas with her family from Alabama and was living near Campbell by 1870. Records show Doc and Ammer married by 1874. It is thought that both families trace back to English origins and had moved to Texas to escape the harsh conditions of the South during Reconstruction.
As was the case in those days, the Pipkin and Lowe families apparently lived near each other at Smith's Prairie, which contributed to the marriage. This area was originally settled by Godfrey Smith, a Missouri native who settled in what was then the Republic of Texas, south of present-day Commerce. Smith's Prairie is a stretch of land bordered loosely on the north by the South Sulphur River, on the east by the Hopkins County line, the South by the Cumby-Campbell highway (FM 499) and on the west by Dunbar Creek. The present-day Maloy road (FM 1568) runs through Smith's Prairie.
One of 10 children, Grover Alton Pipkin said he was born at Smith's Prairie, probably on the 60 acres his mother had inherited. Because the name was often mispronounced, Grandpa Pipkin routinely spelled out his last name when introducing himself, P-I-P-K-I-N.
[Read column on right for marriage background]
It is unknown what happened to the acreage Grover and Belva were gifted upon marriage.
Although his primary occupation was farming, it appears that Grover didn't maintain ownership of farmland, which made him a sharecropper farmer. Consequently, he moved his family around a lot, mostly in Hopkins and Hunt County, living in different places trying to make a living off the land.
Although he registered for the draft in both world wars, he never served in the military. Farming was considered an essential occupational service that provided an exemption from the draft. As an example of his contribution, a newspaper article published in December 1942 cited Mr. Pip, as he was called, for marketing over a ton of caster beans raised on a little over one acre of land near Lone Oak, Texas. He was also known for raising a good vegetable garden and loved flowers.
Sometime before Belva's death, they both moved into a nursing home in Commerce so she could get assistance in maintaining her diet, since she had diabetes. She died in September 1974 and he continued to live in nursing homes until his death 14 years later.
On the occasion of his 90th birthday, his daughter, Joy Wanda penned the following in a poem:
Mr. Pip your life rolls on, you and your wifes' lives have almost gone.
To the nursing home you did move, for health reasons you did lose.
Your wife Belva Mae passed away. You've lived in that home till this day.
Your daughter Lynna Mae meets your needs and does for you good deeds.
Mr. Pip admit it and grin your ninetieth birthday has begun.
The saying came from your own jaws,
"The devil owed you a debt and paid you in son-in-laws."
He died on February 21, 1988, in Vernon, Texas, at the age of 95, and was buried in the Mt. Zion cemetery, Hopkins County, Texas in the Northeast section, row 8, lot 4 next to Belva Mae, who preceded him in death.
Picture
Picture
On October 29, 1911 Grover Alton Pipkin married Belva Mae Fleenor in Commerce, Texas.
She was one of 12 children, including 10 daughters.
Her father, John Morgan Fleenor (my 6th great grandfather) was of German heritage. His ancestor, Johannes Jacob Flinner (1721–1789), was born in Baden-Wuerttemberg, in southwestern Germany and immigrated to colonial America in 1754 with his small family, probably having been connected to the Germanna Colonies, some of the first German settlers.
The Flinner (later spelled, 'Fleenor') family were among other Lutheran-German families who joined the original Germanna colonies at later dates. The Germanna colonists were fleeing war, ruinous taxes and religious persecution in Germany and first sailed to Philadelphia, where religious freedom was welcome.
Braving hardships, they left Germany and traveled to Holland. There they boarded the ship "John & Elizabeth", which sailed to Portsmouth, England, before crossing the Atlantic Ocean. Their ship carried 330 passengers, some from Hanau, Weurttemburg, & the Palatinate. 120 passengers were Protestants, 11 were Catholic. We do not know how long this journey took, though I'm sure it must have seemed like a very long time to them, but on 7 November 1754, they arrived safely in Philadelphia, PA. Many Germanna families later migrated from Virginia and eventually were located in every state of the United States. Genealogical evidence shows that many of the families intermarried for several generations in Virginia, producing a rich genealogical heritage.
Such was the case for Mr. Pip's wife, Belva who was born in Kentucky after her parents moved from Lee County, Virginia.
Belva's family first appears on the Texas census between 1896-1900. From 1901 and afterwards, John Morgan Fleenor and his daughters are listed as living near Campbell right on the eastern border in Hunt County, Texas and western border of Hopkins County, near what was once called, 'Westport.' This is the same area also called Smith's Prairie.
The John Morgan Fleenor family had at least 12 children, ten of whom where daughters, and they intermarried with nearby families. He reportedly owned sizeable acreage and gave 200 acres to each daughter upon marriage. Of note, is Zelma Dee Fleenor, my great aunt who married Claude Pierce in 1934 and raised their children just down the Cumby highway from Charley Cravens' store in the Branom Community. On joining property backing up to the Pierce place was the Marriott place, Aunt Bertha's marriage gift. Both Aunt Zelma and Aunt Bertha were Belva Mae's sisters, my maternal grandmother.
Belva Mae and Grover Alton had ten children in 19 years with my mother, Elsie Marie PIPKIN Haddock, being one of them.
The picture below was taken when they celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary.
Picture
"No one is truly dead until no one remembers them and no one speaks their name."
Author: Billy D. Haddock
They lived most of their married lives in Hopkins County near Ridgeway and Cumby/Miller Grove. Two years they lived near Petty, Texas in Lamar County. They reared their children at Pea Ridge, located between Ridgeway and Emblem.
**************************************************************************************
SPOTLIGHT: Grover Alton Pipkin, Sr.
Grover Alton Pipkin was a farmer, shown here with his team of mules.
(Above) Shown in his garden. He was known for growing beans, flowers, and children (below).
Pictures
(all 9 grown children pictured above)
Like many grandparents, Grover was better appreciated as a grandfather. For example, a common memory shared by many grandchildren, was provided by Vicki Pipkin Andrew:
Going to Ed Gilley's Store where Granddad played dominoes out back. This was our chance to get more candy. The store had wooden floors and a tall thick concrete front entrance with BIG steps (something you had to overcome to get to the candy).
He was known to love to play domino's out back of Ed Gilley's store in Miller Grove and often took a grandchild or two along to enjoy candy from the store.
Kathy Pipkin Voss also remembers…
Drinking cokes with the lid still on them but, we would punch a hole in the lid with an ice pick and suck the coke out through the hole.
Another grandchild, Jeanean Roberson Butler, Esther's daughter records the following memories:
I remember riding on a trailer with him probably pulled by his team. Every time we came to visit he would go into town and buy us some fruit. I always loved to get water out of their well using that long cylinder that held water until you released it into the water bucket. And of course I remember having to use the outhouse.
My older sisters, Odessa and Maredia, remember going to the store and all the other things mentioned above, but the two things they remember the most were his love for flowers and his pleasant personality.
Also, Maredia said,
Our mother learned from him, to put flowers around her garden and be pleasant and kind to others..
A thoughtful grandfather.
Grover Alton Pipkin was my maternal grandfather. Born on December 29, 1892, in Hunt County, Texas, his father, Moses, (Moses "Doc" Pipkin (sometimes misspelled 'Pipkins') 1852–1931) was 40 and his mother, Mary (Mary Ammerson "Ammer" Lowe (sometimes spelled 'Low') 1859–1928), was 33.
Moses had two half-brothers, Sam and Ace. They were Baptist preachers and lived near Houston.
As a youth, Moses "Doc" Pipkin had served as a drummer in the Civil War and moved to Texas from Georgia in the early 1870's. There he met and married Mary "Ammer" Lowe who had moved to Texas with her family from Alabama and was living near Campbell by 1870. Records show Doc and Ammer married by 1874. It is thought that both families trace back to English origins and had moved to Texas to escape the harsh conditions of the South during Reconstruction.
As was the case in those days, the Pipkin and Lowe families apparently lived near each other at Smith's Prairie, which contributed to the marriage. This area was originally settled by Godfrey Smith, a Missouri native who settled in what was then the Republic of Texas, south of present-day Commerce. Smith's Prairie is a stretch of land bordered loosely on the north by the South Sulphur River, on the east by the Hopkins County line, the South by the Cumby-Campbell highway (FM 499) and on the west by Dunbar Creek. The present-day Maloy road (FM 1568) runs through Smith's Prairie.
One of 10 children, Grover Alton Pipkin said he was born at Smith's Prairie, probably on the 60 acres his mother had inherited. Because the name was often mispronounced, Grandpa Pipkin routinely spelled out his last name when introducing himself, P-I-P-K-I-N.
[Read column on right for marriage background]
It is unknown what happened to the acreage Grover and Belva were gifted upon marriage.
Although his primary occupation was farming, it appears that Grover didn't maintain ownership of farmland, which made him a sharecropper farmer. Consequently, he moved his family around a lot, mostly in Hopkins and Hunt County, living in different places trying to make a living off the land.
Although he registered for the draft in both world wars, he never served in the military. Farming was considered an essential occupational service that provided an exemption from the draft. As an example of his contribution, a newspaper article published in December 1942 cited Mr. Pip, as he was called, for marketing over a ton of caster beans raised on a little over one acre of land near Lone Oak, Texas. He was also known for raising a good vegetable garden and loved flowers.
Sometime before Belva's death, they both moved into a nursing home in Commerce so she could get assistance in maintaining her diet, since she had diabetes. She died in September 1974 and he continued to live in nursing homes until his death 14 years later.
On the occasion of his 90th birthday, his daughter, Joy Wanda penned the following in a poem:
Mr. Pip your life rolls on, you and your wifes' lives have almost gone.
To the nursing home you did move, for health reasons you did lose.
Your wife Belva Mae passed away. You've lived in that home till this day.
Your daughter Lynna Mae meets your needs and does for you good deeds.
Mr. Pip admit it and grin your ninetieth birthday has begun.
The saying came from your own jaws,
"The devil owed you a debt and paid you in son-in-laws."
He died on February 21, 1988, in Vernon, Texas, at the age of 95, and was buried in the Mt. Zion cemetery, Hopkins County, Texas in the Northeast section, row 8, lot 4 next to Belva Mae, who preceded him in death.
Picture
Picture
On October 29, 1911 Grover Alton Pipkin married Belva Mae Fleenor in Commerce, Texas.
She was one of 12 children, including 10 daughters.
Her father, John Morgan Fleenor (my 6th great grandfather) was of German heritage. His ancestor, Johannes Jacob Flinner (1721–1789), was born in Baden-Wuerttemberg, in southwestern Germany and immigrated to colonial America in 1754 with his small family, probably having been connected to the Germanna Colonies, some of the first German settlers.
The Flinner (later spelled, 'Fleenor') family were among other Lutheran-German families who joined the original Germanna colonies at later dates. The Germanna colonists were fleeing war, ruinous taxes and religious persecution in Germany and first sailed to Philadelphia, where religious freedom was welcome.
Braving hardships, they left Germany and traveled to Holland. There they boarded the ship "John & Elizabeth", which sailed to Portsmouth, England, before crossing the Atlantic Ocean. Their ship carried 330 passengers, some from Hanau, Weurttemburg, & the Palatinate. 120 passengers were Protestants, 11 were Catholic. We do not know how long this journey took, though I'm sure it must have seemed like a very long time to them, but on 7 November 1754, they arrived safely in Philadelphia, PA. Many Germanna families later migrated from Virginia and eventually were located in every state of the United States. Genealogical evidence shows that many of the families intermarried for several generations in Virginia, producing a rich genealogical heritage.
Such was the case for Mr. Pip's wife, Belva who was born in Kentucky after her parents moved from Lee County, Virginia.
Belva's family first appears on the Texas census between 1896-1900. From 1901 and afterwards, John Morgan Fleenor and his daughters are listed as living near Campbell right on the eastern border in Hunt County, Texas and western border of Hopkins County, near what was once called, 'Westport.' This is the same area also called Smith's Prairie.
The John Morgan Fleenor family had at least 12 children, ten of whom where daughters, and they intermarried with nearby families. He reportedly owned sizeable acreage and gave 200 acres to each daughter upon marriage. Of note, is Zelma Dee Fleenor, my great aunt who married Claude Pierce in 1934 and raised their children just down the Cumby highway from Charley Cravens' store in the Branom Community. On joining property backing up to the Pierce place was the Marriott place, Aunt Bertha's marriage gift. Both Aunt Zelma and Aunt Bertha were Belva Mae's sisters, my maternal grandmother.
Belva Mae and Grover Alton had ten children in 19 years with my mother, Elsie Marie PIPKIN Haddock, being one of them.
The picture below was taken when they celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary.
Picture
"No one is truly dead until no one remembers them and no one speaks their name."
Author: Billy D. Haddock
A thoughtful grandfather. He was 1 of 10 children born to Moses Philip and Mary Ammer Lowe Pipkin. Moses had two half-brothers, Sam and Ace. They were Baptist preachers and lived near Houston. Grandpa was born at Smiths Prairie located 6 miles south of Commerce, Texas. He married Belva Mae Fleenor October 11,1911 at Commerce. They had nine children. They all married and had families, except the youngest son. Grandpa had the following brothers and sisters that we know about. Cora Pipkin Bruns, Eva P. Nichols, Ewell(He died at 18). Lowell, who died at 8. Horace and Aris Pipkin & an infant sister, Eulira, who lived only a few days.
They lived most of their married lives in Hopkins County near Ridgeway and Cumby/Miller Grove. Two years they lived near Petty, Texas in Lamar County. They reared their children at Pea Ridge, located between Ridgeway and Emblem.
**************************************************************************************
SPOTLIGHT: Grover Alton Pipkin, Sr.
Grover Alton Pipkin was a farmer, shown here with his team of mules.
(Above) Shown in his garden. He was known for growing beans, flowers, and children (below).
Pictures
(all 9 grown children pictured above)
Like many grandparents, Grover was better appreciated as a grandfather. For example, a common memory shared by many grandchildren, was provided by Vicki Pipkin Andrew:
Going to Ed Gilley's Store where Granddad played dominoes out back. This was our chance to get more candy. The store had wooden floors and a tall thick concrete front entrance with BIG steps (something you had to overcome to get to the candy).
He was known to love to play domino's out back of Ed Gilley's store in Miller Grove and often took a grandchild or two along to enjoy candy from the store.
Kathy Pipkin Voss also remembers…
Drinking cokes with the lid still on them but, we would punch a hole in the lid with an ice pick and suck the coke out through the hole.
Another grandchild, Jeanean Roberson Butler, Esther's daughter records the following memories:
I remember riding on a trailer with him probably pulled by his team. Every time we came to visit he would go into town and buy us some fruit. I always loved to get water out of their well using that long cylinder that held water until you released it into the water bucket. And of course I remember having to use the outhouse.
My older sisters, Odessa and Maredia, remember going to the store and all the other things mentioned above, but the two things they remember the most were his love for flowers and his pleasant personality.
Also, Maredia said,
Our mother learned from him, to put flowers around her garden and be pleasant and kind to others..
A thoughtful grandfather.
Grover Alton Pipkin was my maternal grandfather. Born on December 29, 1892, in Hunt County, Texas, his father, Moses, (Moses "Doc" Pipkin (sometimes misspelled 'Pipkins') 1852–1931) was 40 and his mother, Mary (Mary Ammerson "Ammer" Lowe (sometimes spelled 'Low') 1859–1928), was 33.
Moses had two half-brothers, Sam and Ace. They were Baptist preachers and lived near Houston.
As a youth, Moses "Doc" Pipkin had served as a drummer in the Civil War and moved to Texas from Georgia in the early 1870's. There he met and married Mary "Ammer" Lowe who had moved to Texas with her family from Alabama and was living near Campbell by 1870. Records show Doc and Ammer married by 1874. It is thought that both families trace back to English origins and had moved to Texas to escape the harsh conditions of the South during Reconstruction.
As was the case in those days, the Pipkin and Lowe families apparently lived near each other at Smith's Prairie, which contributed to the marriage. This area was originally settled by Godfrey Smith, a Missouri native who settled in what was then the Republic of Texas, south of present-day Commerce. Smith's Prairie is a stretch of land bordered loosely on the north by the South Sulphur River, on the east by the Hopkins County line, the South by the Cumby-Campbell highway (FM 499) and on the west by Dunbar Creek. The present-day Maloy road (FM 1568) runs through Smith's Prairie.
One of 10 children, Grover Alton Pipkin said he was born at Smith's Prairie, probably on the 60 acres his mother had inherited. Because the name was often mispronounced, Grandpa Pipkin routinely spelled out his last name when introducing himself, P-I-P-K-I-N.
[Read column on right for marriage background]
It is unknown what happened to the acreage Grover and Belva were gifted upon marriage.
Although his primary occupation was farming, it appears that Grover didn't maintain ownership of farmland, which made him a sharecropper farmer. Consequently, he moved his family around a lot, mostly in Hopkins and Hunt County, living in different places trying to make a living off the land.
Although he registered for the draft in both world wars, he never served in the military. Farming was considered an essential occupational service that provided an exemption from the draft. As an example of his contribution, a newspaper article published in December 1942 cited Mr. Pip, as he was called, for marketing over a ton of caster beans raised on a little over one acre of land near Lone Oak, Texas. He was also known for raising a good vegetable garden and loved flowers.
Sometime before Belva's death, they both moved into a nursing home in Commerce so she could get assistance in maintaining her diet, since she had diabetes. She died in September 1974 and he continued to live in nursing homes until his death 14 years later.
On the occasion of his 90th birthday, his daughter, Joy Wanda penned the following in a poem:
Mr. Pip your life rolls on, you and your wifes' lives have almost gone.
To the nursing home you did move, for health reasons you did lose.
Your wife Belva Mae passed away. You've lived in that home till this day.
Your daughter Lynna Mae meets your needs and does for you good deeds.
Mr. Pip admit it and grin your ninetieth birthday has begun.
The saying came from your own jaws,
"The devil owed you a debt and paid you in son-in-laws."
He died on February 21, 1988, in Vernon, Texas, at the age of 95, and was buried in the Mt. Zion cemetery, Hopkins County, Texas in the Northeast section, row 8, lot 4 next to Belva Mae, who preceded him in death.
Picture
Picture
On October 29, 1911 Grover Alton Pipkin married Belva Mae Fleenor in Commerce, Texas.
She was one of 12 children, including 10 daughters.
Her father, John Morgan Fleenor (my 6th great grandfather) was of German heritage. His ancestor, Johannes Jacob Flinner (1721–1789), was born in Baden-Wuerttemberg, in southwestern Germany and immigrated to colonial America in 1754 with his small family, probably having been connected to the Germanna Colonies, some of the first German settlers.
The Flinner (later spelled, 'Fleenor') family were among other Lutheran-German families who joined the original Germanna colonies at later dates. The Germanna colonists were fleeing war, ruinous taxes and religious persecution in Germany and first sailed to Philadelphia, where religious freedom was welcome.
Braving hardships, they left Germany and traveled to Holland. There they boarded the ship "John & Elizabeth", which sailed to Portsmouth, England, before crossing the Atlantic Ocean. Their ship carried 330 passengers, some from Hanau, Weurttemburg, & the Palatinate. 120 passengers were Protestants, 11 were Catholic. We do not know how long this journey took, though I'm sure it must have seemed like a very long time to them, but on 7 November 1754, they arrived safely in Philadelphia, PA. Many Germanna families later migrated from Virginia and eventually were located in every state of the United States. Genealogical evidence shows that many of the families intermarried for several generations in Virginia, producing a rich genealogical heritage.
Such was the case for Mr. Pip's wife, Belva who was born in Kentucky after her parents moved from Lee County, Virginia.
Belva's family first appears on the Texas census between 1896-1900. From 1901 and afterwards, John Morgan Fleenor and his daughters are listed as living near Campbell right on the eastern border in Hunt County, Texas and western border of Hopkins County, near what was once called, 'Westport.' This is the same area also called Smith's Prairie.
The John Morgan Fleenor family had at least 12 children, ten of whom where daughters, and they intermarried with nearby families. He reportedly owned sizeable acreage and gave 200 acres to each daughter upon marriage. Of note, is Zelma Dee Fleenor, my great aunt who married Claude Pierce in 1934 and raised their children just down the Cumby highway from Charley Cravens' store in the Branom Community. On joining property backing up to the Pierce place was the Marriott place, Aunt Bertha's marriage gift. Both Aunt Zelma and Aunt Bertha were Belva Mae's sisters, my maternal grandmother.
Belva Mae and Grover Alton had ten children in 19 years with my mother, Elsie Marie PIPKIN Haddock, being one of them.
The picture below was taken when they celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary.
Picture
"No one is truly dead until no one remembers them and no one speaks their name."
Author: Billy D. Haddock
They lived most of their married lives in Hopkins County near Ridgeway and Cumby/Miller Grove. Two years they lived near Petty, Texas in Lamar County. They reared their children at Pea Ridge, located between Ridgeway and Emblem.
**************************************************************************************
SPOTLIGHT: Grover Alton Pipkin, Sr.
Grover Alton Pipkin was a farmer, shown here with his team of mules.
(Above) Shown in his garden. He was known for growing beans, flowers, and children (below).
Pictures
(all 9 grown children pictured above)
Like many grandparents, Grover was better appreciated as a grandfather. For example, a common memory shared by many grandchildren, was provided by Vicki Pipkin Andrew:
Going to Ed Gilley's Store where Granddad played dominoes out back. This was our chance to get more candy. The store had wooden floors and a tall thick concrete front entrance with BIG steps (something you had to overcome to get to the candy).
He was known to love to play domino's out back of Ed Gilley's store in Miller Grove and often took a grandchild or two along to enjoy candy from the store.
Kathy Pipkin Voss also remembers…
Drinking cokes with the lid still on them but, we would punch a hole in the lid with an ice pick and suck the coke out through the hole.
Another grandchild, Jeanean Roberson Butler, Esther's daughter records the following memories:
I remember riding on a trailer with him probably pulled by his team. Every time we came to visit he would go into town and buy us some fruit. I always loved to get water out of their well using that long cylinder that held water until you released it into the water bucket. And of course I remember having to use the outhouse.
My older sisters, Odessa and Maredia, remember going to the store and all the other things mentioned above, but the two things they remember the most were his love for flowers and his pleasant personality.
Also, Maredia said,
Our mother learned from him, to put flowers around her garden and be pleasant and kind to others..
A thoughtful grandfather.
Grover Alton Pipkin was my maternal grandfather. Born on December 29, 1892, in Hunt County, Texas, his father, Moses, (Moses "Doc" Pipkin (sometimes misspelled 'Pipkins') 1852–1931) was 40 and his mother, Mary (Mary Ammerson "Ammer" Lowe (sometimes spelled 'Low') 1859–1928), was 33.
Moses had two half-brothers, Sam and Ace. They were Baptist preachers and lived near Houston.
As a youth, Moses "Doc" Pipkin had served as a drummer in the Civil War and moved to Texas from Georgia in the early 1870's. There he met and married Mary "Ammer" Lowe who had moved to Texas with her family from Alabama and was living near Campbell by 1870. Records show Doc and Ammer married by 1874. It is thought that both families trace back to English origins and had moved to Texas to escape the harsh conditions of the South during Reconstruction.
As was the case in those days, the Pipkin and Lowe families apparently lived near each other at Smith's Prairie, which contributed to the marriage. This area was originally settled by Godfrey Smith, a Missouri native who settled in what was then the Republic of Texas, south of present-day Commerce. Smith's Prairie is a stretch of land bordered loosely on the north by the South Sulphur River, on the east by the Hopkins County line, the South by the Cumby-Campbell highway (FM 499) and on the west by Dunbar Creek. The present-day Maloy road (FM 1568) runs through Smith's Prairie.
One of 10 children, Grover Alton Pipkin said he was born at Smith's Prairie, probably on the 60 acres his mother had inherited. Because the name was often mispronounced, Grandpa Pipkin routinely spelled out his last name when introducing himself, P-I-P-K-I-N.
[Read column on right for marriage background]
It is unknown what happened to the acreage Grover and Belva were gifted upon marriage.
Although his primary occupation was farming, it appears that Grover didn't maintain ownership of farmland, which made him a sharecropper farmer. Consequently, he moved his family around a lot, mostly in Hopkins and Hunt County, living in different places trying to make a living off the land.
Although he registered for the draft in both world wars, he never served in the military. Farming was considered an essential occupational service that provided an exemption from the draft. As an example of his contribution, a newspaper article published in December 1942 cited Mr. Pip, as he was called, for marketing over a ton of caster beans raised on a little over one acre of land near Lone Oak, Texas. He was also known for raising a good vegetable garden and loved flowers.
Sometime before Belva's death, they both moved into a nursing home in Commerce so she could get assistance in maintaining her diet, since she had diabetes. She died in September 1974 and he continued to live in nursing homes until his death 14 years later.
On the occasion of his 90th birthday, his daughter, Joy Wanda penned the following in a poem:
Mr. Pip your life rolls on, you and your wifes' lives have almost gone.
To the nursing home you did move, for health reasons you did lose.
Your wife Belva Mae passed away. You've lived in that home till this day.
Your daughter Lynna Mae meets your needs and does for you good deeds.
Mr. Pip admit it and grin your ninetieth birthday has begun.
The saying came from your own jaws,
"The devil owed you a debt and paid you in son-in-laws."
He died on February 21, 1988, in Vernon, Texas, at the age of 95, and was buried in the Mt. Zion cemetery, Hopkins County, Texas in the Northeast section, row 8, lot 4 next to Belva Mae, who preceded him in death.
Picture
Picture
On October 29, 1911 Grover Alton Pipkin married Belva Mae Fleenor in Commerce, Texas.
She was one of 12 children, including 10 daughters.
Her father, John Morgan Fleenor (my 6th great grandfather) was of German heritage. His ancestor, Johannes Jacob Flinner (1721–1789), was born in Baden-Wuerttemberg, in southwestern Germany and immigrated to colonial America in 1754 with his small family, probably having been connected to the Germanna Colonies, some of the first German settlers.
The Flinner (later spelled, 'Fleenor') family were among other Lutheran-German families who joined the original Germanna colonies at later dates. The Germanna colonists were fleeing war, ruinous taxes and religious persecution in Germany and first sailed to Philadelphia, where religious freedom was welcome.
Braving hardships, they left Germany and traveled to Holland. There they boarded the ship "John & Elizabeth", which sailed to Portsmouth, England, before crossing the Atlantic Ocean. Their ship carried 330 passengers, some from Hanau, Weurttemburg, & the Palatinate. 120 passengers were Protestants, 11 were Catholic. We do not know how long this journey took, though I'm sure it must have seemed like a very long time to them, but on 7 November 1754, they arrived safely in Philadelphia, PA. Many Germanna families later migrated from Virginia and eventually were located in every state of the United States. Genealogical evidence shows that many of the families intermarried for several generations in Virginia, producing a rich genealogical heritage.
Such was the case for Mr. Pip's wife, Belva who was born in Kentucky after her parents moved from Lee County, Virginia.
Belva's family first appears on the Texas census between 1896-1900. From 1901 and afterwards, John Morgan Fleenor and his daughters are listed as living near Campbell right on the eastern border in Hunt County, Texas and western border of Hopkins County, near what was once called, 'Westport.' This is the same area also called Smith's Prairie.
The John Morgan Fleenor family had at least 12 children, ten of whom where daughters, and they intermarried with nearby families. He reportedly owned sizeable acreage and gave 200 acres to each daughter upon marriage. Of note, is Zelma Dee Fleenor, my great aunt who married Claude Pierce in 1934 and raised their children just down the Cumby highway from Charley Cravens' store in the Branom Community. On joining property backing up to the Pierce place was the Marriott place, Aunt Bertha's marriage gift. Both Aunt Zelma and Aunt Bertha were Belva Mae's sisters, my maternal grandmother.
Belva Mae and Grover Alton had ten children in 19 years with my mother, Elsie Marie PIPKIN Haddock, being one of them.
The picture below was taken when they celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary.
Picture
"No one is truly dead until no one remembers them and no one speaks their name."
Author: Billy D. Haddock
Family Members
Siblings
Children
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Lynna Mae Pipkin Willis
1913–1987
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Elsie Marie PIPKIN Haddock
1916–1953
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Esther Lou Pipkin Roberson
1919–2006
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Leathy Adaline Pipkin Henderson
1921–1994
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Joy Wanda Pipkin Richhart
1923–2009
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Bernice Pipkin Long
1925–2013
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G. A. Pipkin Jr
1928–2001
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Ava Magalene Pipkin Brunson
1930–2021
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Buford Leon Pipkin
1933–2007
