Alfred Byrum Pike was born on January 13, 1881, in Wise County, Texas, the third of nine children born to William Madison and Frances (Fullingim) Pike. After both of his parents died in 1905 in Franklin County, northeaastern Texas, Alfred went north to Ada, Indian Territory [soon to become Oklahoma], looking for work and taking along his younger siblings as well. There he met Rena Leana Burton, and they were married on 15 December 1907. After Alfred and Rena were married, they moved to Hall County, Texas, where they stayed about a year.
Their youngest daughter stated, "My dad and mom moved back to Ada, Oklahoma, in a covered wagon and lived there for awhile. Eventually they returned to Hall County, Texas, where mother's parents were living. They remained there until late 1915, when they moved near Lela in Wheeler County, Texas."
One of the older sons remembered, "My parents bought a farm one mile southwest of Lela, Texas, and moved there either in December, 1915, or January of 1916. They raised chickens, hogs, and cows that provided a lot of the food we had. The hogs provided our bacon, ham, and sausage while the roosters were killed for our meat. We also had beef from time to time. We had from 200 to 300 laying hens during the depression years. A lot of money we had was from eggs that we sold for five cents to ten cents a dozen. The depression years were hard, but we made it much better than a lot of people. We were taught early to work, and we all worked hard."
In the History of Wheeler County, Texas, the following account appeared. "A. B. Pike and his wife Rena Burton were some of the early settlers in Wheeler County. Alfred was raised around Decatur and came to Wheeler County in 1917 and bought a farm near Lela. Alfred was a descendant of early American settlers. They arrived in North Carolina in 1674 and were devout Quakers. The state of N.C. erected a monument to John and Abigail Pike who were Alfred's third great-grandparents. Abigail was a traveling Quaker minister. The Quaker people were self-sustaining, and Alfred inherited this trait.
"Alfred had an orchard of 250 trees, berry bushes, and gardens. He had his own shop with a blacksmith forge. He raised his own meat, hogs, cows, and chickens. He sold 50 to 60 dozen eggs per week using the money to buy groceries. They butchered their own animals. He had a huge vat that he heated water in to scald hogs, and neighbors and relatives would spend a full day butchering pigs. People came from Pampa and over the county to buy peaches, and A.B. always heaped the basket high for good measure. He sold the peaches for $1.00 per bushel. Alfred was a generous and religious man. He served on the school board for many years and believed in a good education for all, being deprived of one himself."
Alfred and his wife had a very large family of eleven children, the last seven of whom were born in Lela, Texas. All the children helped with the work in the fields—hoeing, picking cotton, and harvesting crops. When Alfred died in 1945, he had five sons serving in World War II. Alfred and Rena taught their children the merit of honest labor and the value of earned money. Their children were all hard working people and an asset to their respective communities.
Contributed by J Michael Fullingim.