Dr. Timothy ("Tim") Deason was born June 27, 1856 in Tyler County, Texas. He died at his home in Brachfield, November 5, 1940. Tim was the son of John and Mary Jane (Howell) Deason. Margaret Jane Welch, his wife, was born January 22, 1854 at Welch Springs. She was the daughter of Robert W. and Mary Ann (Nelson) Welch. Tim and Margaret were married September 15, 1875. After Margaret's death, he married Mary (Akin) Leslie, widow of Hugh Leslie.

When Tim was a young man he received an injury to his knee while cutting wood with his brother, Jesse. This injury caused him to have a stiff knee for the remainder of his life. He began the practice of medicine in 1892 and continued until his death in 1940. During the last year of his life, though he was bed-ridden, patients sought him out at his home and he prescribed for their ailments until two days before his death. This veteran Rusk County physician was well known and loved throughout the county for the untiring service he rendered during his long career.

Dr. Deason's children who grew to adulthood were: Vada (1876-1960), who married W. A. (Bill) Farley; Charles L. Deason (1877-1968), who married Willie Osborn; Thomas Mansfield Deason (1879-1907), who married Mary S. Deason and was killed in a sawmill accident at the age of twenty-eight; Minnie Lee Deason (1881-1963), who married Benjamin F. Jones; Edwin DeWitt Deason (1886-1957), who married Josie Deason; Giles Arthur Deason, called "Giley" and "G.A.", (1888-1958) who married Cleo Dunklin and became a well-known physician in Henderson; Franklin Bruce Deason (1890-1978), who married Abbie Irene Rushton and lived near the Deason home place at Brachfield; Andrew Jackson Deason (1892-1967), who married Leila Bell Hays and lived at Port Arthur and in Pennsylvania but retired to Henderson; and Loyd Stephen Deason (1897-1963), the youngest child, who became a well-known physician in Henderson and married Sarah Taylor.

The hallway and porch of the Deason home was always filled with patients, visitors, and friends. Some patients came and lived in the home a month or more while being treated. Meals at the long dining table were replete, and anyone who happened to be there at mealtime was invited to partake – and someone was always there. Life was so interesting at Grandpa's house!

In the corner of the yard, there was an office which was really a drug store because he stocked his own medicine. There were shelves of big brown bottles. A showcase was filled with bottles, medical instruments, and jars of "preserved innards" or growths. Even a human skull could be pondered by a five-year-old.

Though Margaret Jane remained a staunch member of the Cumberland Presbyterian church at Pine Grove all her life, "Tim" was a Missionary Baptist at Zion Hill, where both are buried.

Submitted by Mary Frank Dunn
The following bio was taken from page 175 of the book entitled "Rusk County History" compiled and edited
and used with permission of the Rusk County Historical Commission.