Daughter of James L Bales and Martha Susan Tippit Bales.

The late Katie Bales Sprott of Arlington, Texas, Josie Bell's older sister, wrote her recollection of Josie's death.

"Josie Bell Bales, by Aunt Katy Sprott

Josie Bell Bales was born April 7, 1912, the fifth child of James Lazarus Bales, and his wife, Susan Martha (Tippit) Bales. Josie Bell was born while her parents were living on a rented farm in the Little Elm community of Milam County. In the fall of 1913, the Baleses rented a larger farm in the Val Verde Community between the Val Verde Church and Davilla. Two other families, the Moores and the Thomases rented houses on the same farm. The Bales house and the other houses were all to the east of the Davilla-Rogers road, now known as Farm Road 437. The Bales farm and the Thomas farm shared the northern banks of the Donaho Creek. The Moores lived to the north of the Bales farm.

Harvey Moore was a nephew of T. T. Moore, who owned the rental properties. The Moores and the Bales families shared a close friendship. Not only did the children play together, but also the parents enjoyed each other’s company.

The Donaho Creek was lined with large pecan trees. It was a lovely shaded area, perfect for picnics in warm weather. In the fall of the year, the trees would shed their fruit and there were excursions to the northern banks for pecan picking. In November 1914, Josie Bell toddled along behind the others as pecans were gathered . No one really knows what happened to Josie Bell that day, but it was speculated she had swallowed a cracked pecan shell that caused internal injuries. The doctor was unable to successfully treat her illness. Josie Bell Bales died on November 11, 1914, three months shy of her second birthday.

Mrs. Harvey (Mamie) Moore went to work on a dress for Josie Bell’s body. She gave the beautiful white satin used for the dress as well as her labor in making it. She sewed several vertical rows of narrow-band white lace on either side of the center from the shoulders to the hem. She brought the lace down the center of the dress in shorter strips sewn horizontally from the neckline to the hemline. Mrs. Moore then laid the little body in the coffin. She brought chrysanthemums from her flower bed, removed the stems and placed them along the interior of the casket, completely lining the casket with the pretty colored mums. The casket was placed in the Bales dining room to await burial at McCann Cemetery located north of Little River near Rogers.

There was no church service for Josie Bell. Instead, Reverend Tom Lockhart delivered a graveside service. He, and his wife Martha (known in the community as Uncle Tom and Aunt Martha) were friends of the Bales, he having performed the marriage of James and Susie Bales in 1901.

McCann Cemetery had been chosen, as Susie Bales’s parents, Louis and Betty Tippit, were buried there. In her grief, Susie was consoled by the idea that Josie Bell’s grandparents would watch over her in eternal sleep."
Contributor:
John Wayland Bales - [email protected]