ISAAC JACKSON WIMBERLEY FAMILY
Submitted
by, George & Lynn Pollak Oct.2009
Isaac Jackson Wimberley's parents were Pleasant Wimberley and Amanda Julian Jackson
Wimberley. Pleasant Wimberley left his home in Wake County, North Carolina,
in 1843 and arrived in Washington County, Texas, on December 1847. There
he met and married Amanda Julian Jackson, daughter of Isaac Jackson and Zillah
Ann Thompson Jackson who were some of Texas’s earliest settlers. Pleasant
and Amanda moved from Washington County to Burleson County and then to the Walnut
Creek area on the Blanco-Llano County line about 1855. While living
on Walnut Creek, Pleasant raised cattle and horses. Isaac “Ike” Jackson
Wimberley, their fourth child, was born on January 15, 1856, in Blanco County.
In 1873, when Ike was 17, Pleasant and Amanda bought the Winters'
Mill in Hays County, Texas, and moved their family there. Eventually, the
community that grew up around the mill became known as Wimberley, Texas.
Texana “Teck” Bell Mayes, Isaac's future wife, was born on February 28, 1862, in Pleasanton,
Atascosa County, Texas. She was sent by her parents Lorenzo M. Mayes and
Joanna Sheppard Mayes as a teenager to live with the Pleasant Wimberley family
because, as the story is told, she would be safer from Indian attack and would
have an easier way of life. [Her father L. M. and two brothers John A.
and Brown are referenced as outstanding citizens of early Llano on Page 7 of Llano:
Gem of the Hill Country, a History of Llano County ,
Texas .] While living with the Wimberley family, Texana was named the "Prettiest Girl in
Wimberley" when she was 15. [An account of Texana’s life was written by her granddaughter Virgie L.
Hardwick Moritz for the October-November 1966 edition of Frontier Times
magazine.] Isaac and Texana married on
January 16, 1878, when he was 22 and she was almost 16. The marriage took
place in the home of Pleasant and Amanda Wimberley in what is now referred to
as the Winters-Wimberley House in Wimberley, Hays County, Texas [The house has
been restored by the Wimberley Institute of Culture].
By 1880 the couple had moved to
Llano County to live next to her parents Lorenzo M. Mayes and Joanna Sheppard
Mayes. Joining Ike and Teck in Llano County
were his younger brother William Hickman “Hick” Wimberley and his bride Johnnie
Amanda Leath Wimberley who had married in August 1879
in Wimberley, Texas. Ike and Hick raised cattle in Llano County as
did Teck’s father.
Although he soon found ranching to
be unprofitable, Isaac at first supported his growing family by raising cattle,
primarily on Miller Creek near Johnson City in Blanco County and in Llano County.
He drove cattle up the Chisholm Trail three times. And, out of necessity,
he was an Indian scout. Eventually, Isaac gave up ranching to become a
farmer. The couple thus moved from Hays County to Llano County (cattle
raiser in 1880 Census) to Uvalde County (birth place of two children) to Blanco
County (birth place of at least four children) to Hays County (farmer in 1900
Census) to Llano County (farmer in 1910 Census) to Runnels County (farmer in
1920 Census) to Llano County (farmer in 1930 Census). It was in Llano
County that the couple put down roots; they lived and farmed there the rest of
their lives. During their marriage, the couple had 14 children.
Texana died at the age of 85 on April 12, 1947, just three months
after the death of her 64-year-old daughter Sariah
Wimberley. Texana was buried in the same
section as Sariah in Llano City Cemetery. [Their
husbands Isaac and Albert would later be buried in the same section around one
large “Wimberley” gravestone.]
Isaac Jackson Wimberley died at the
age of 98 on August 24, 1954, in Llano, Llano County, Texas. His obituary
referred to him as "the oldest man in Llano." Homer Rogers, a
Jehovah's Witnesses minister, officiated at his burial. At the time
of his death, Isaac was survived by approximately192 descendants. He was
survived by daughters Bettie Hardwick of Austin, Hattie Stovall of Llano, and Quinnie Owens of Llano. He was also survived by sons
Andrew of unknown residence; George of Uvalde, Texas; Zachariah of Llano,
Texas; and Joel, John, Richard, and Frank--all four of California. Isaac
was also survived by one sister Eliza "Lidie"
Mary Hughes of Wimberley, Texas. In addition to his wife, his
parents, and nine of his siblings, Isaac was predeceased by daughters Amanda
and Sariah and sons Charley and William.
During their marriage, Isaac and Texana reared 14 children. Their children were
Amanda, George, Sariah, Zachariah, Bettie, Joel,
John, Charley, Richard, Frank, William, Andrew, Hattie, and Quinna.
Amanda Wimberley was the first child of Isaac and Texana.
She was born in 1878 or 1879. Unfortunately, the infant died soon after
her birth. The location of her grave is unknown.
George Pleasanton Wimberley was the second child of Isaac and Texana.
George was born on August 19, 1880. He was most probably born in Llano
County where his parents were living at the time of the June 1880
Census. On May 1, 1905, in Llano, Texas, 24-year-old George married
18-year-old Effie Lorena Spurlin. Their
first five children—Cornelius Grant, Lloyd Ralph, Elva Lois, Edwin Roy, and
Edna Joyce--were all born in Llano County. Between 1915 and 1918, the
couple moved their family to Christoval, Tom Green County.
Two more children—Georgia Blanche and Albert Lewis--were born there.
Between 1921 and 1924, the couple again moved their family. This time the
move was to Uvalde County where they put down roots and remained the rest of
their lives. The last three of their ten children—Allie Grace, Helen
Faye, and Donald Boyd—were born after the move to Uvalde County. George
died in 1966; Effie, in 1981. Both were buried in the Uvalde Cemetery.
Sariah “Saidie” Wimberley was the third child born to Ike and Teck.
She was born on August 2, 1882, probably in Uvalde County. When her
parents moved back to Wimberley, Texas, she fell in love with her first cousin
Albert Andrew Wimberley who was living in Wimberley with his parents Zachariah
Taylor Wimberley and Mary Elizabeth Franklin Wimberley. Saidie and Albert married about 1905. They soon moved
to Llano County, and there they remained their entire lives. Albert
worked as an electrician. In 1918 he was an electrician working for the
Llano Milling and Manufacturing Company. He eventually had his own
electrical and plumbing business working in new building construction.
While Albert was building his electrical business, Saidie
stayed at home to care for their five children—Ima,
Allie, Kelly, Margaret and Lee. All five children remained in Llano
for their entire lives. [In 1989 Lee Wimberley wrote an account of the
Wimberley family on Page 324 of Llano County: Family Album, a History.]
Saidie and Albert and all five of their
children were buried in Llano Cemetery in Llano.
Zachariah “Zach” Taylor Wimberley was Ike and Teck’s fourth
child. He was very probably named after his uncle by the same name.
Zach was born on March 15, 1884, in Blanco or Uvalde County. In the
1910 Census he was living at home in Llano with his parents and siblings.
In 1918 on his WWI Draft Registration Card, he was living in Llano and farming
for his father. In the 1930 Census, when he was 46, he was living in his
parents’ household in Llano and was single. He died on February 19, 1967,
in Llano, Llano County, and was buried in an unmarked grave in Llano Cemetery.
Per his death certificate, Zach was married at the time of his death.
Bettie Wimberley and her twin Joel were born to Isaac and Texana on March 24, 1886, on Miller Creek which is 9 miles
southeast of Johnson City, Texas, in Blanco County. They were their
fifth and sixth children. When she was 17, on September 6, 1903,
Bettie married 29-year-old Edmund “Edie” Asa Barker
who also was from Miller Creek. Bettie and Edie soon divorced.
In 1905 or 1906 she married Nathan Cooper. Bettie had a child by
Nathan on November 12, 1906, whom they named Ruby Moselle
Cooper (the future Mrs. Samuel Grant McPherson, Sr., of Llano). Little is
known about the rest of Nathan Cooper’s life, even whether his marriage to
Bettie ended with his death or with divorce. On February 3, 1910, Bettie
married James Jackson Hardwick. By 1911 Bettie and James had moved to
Groesbeck in Limestone County where they had a daughter named
Virgie. By 1914 the couple had moved to Llano County where their
children Eva Bell and E. J. were born. Then, the couple moved to Gouldbusk, Runnels County, where daughters Hazel, Millie
Brown, and Melba B. were probably born. Bettie’s husband James died
in Gouldbusk in 1932 of typhoid. He was buried
in an unmarked grave. Bettie died on March 4, 1958, in her home in Austin,
Travis County. She was buried in Llano Cemetery in Llano County.
Joel Wimberley, the twin to Bettie, moved as a toddler with his parents to
Hays County by 1900. By 1910 he and his parents and siblings had moved to
Llano County. It was in Llano County that he probably met and married
Maud Bell Wootan, the daughter of Llano residents
Isaiah “Buck” and Cordelia Wootan.
The two married on March 24, 1913, on Joel’s 27th birthday.
Maud was 17 when they married. Their first child was a daughter named
Bernice. And their second was a son named Howard H.; he was born on June
1, 1916. Two years later, in September 1918 when he signed his WWI
Draft Registration Card, Joel and Maud and their children Bernice and Howard
were living in Ft. Stockton, Pecos County, Texas, where Joel was working as a
trapper for the government. Unfortunately, Maud died an early death
at the age of 24 on August 16, 1925, at Seton Hospital in Austin, Travis County,
of pneumonia following laparotomy
surgery. Her body was returned to Llano for burial, but the exact
location of her grave has been lost. Apparently, Joel and his two children
moved to California after Maud’s death. Bernice was living in 1930
with the family of David Crockett Wimberley, Joel’s first cousin, in Los
Angeles County. Joel died in Los Angeles County on July 10,
1963. The location of his grave is unknown. His son Howard returned
to Texas and died in 1994 in Uvalde.
John Wimberley, Ike and Texana’s seventh child,
was born on August 20, 1888, also in the Miller Creek area near Johnson City,
Blanco County. As did his older brother Joel, John married a daughter of
Llano residents Isaiah and Cordelia Wootan. Her name was Lona “Lonie” S. Wootan. She was
born on February 27, 1893. John and Lonie
probably met in Llano County. They married there on April 1, 1913, about
a week after Joel and Maud’s wedding. In 1915 their first child
Nolan was born. On his 1918 WWI Draft Registration Card, John stated that
he was a cement work for his own business in Llano County. By 1920 the
couple had moved to Culberson County, Texas; and John was working as a farm
laborer. Then, at some time between 1920 and 1922, John, Lonie, and their son Nolan moved to California. John
and Lonie’s daughter Virginia was born there in 1922,
and a second daughter Joy Dawn was born in California in 1924. Lonie died in 1970 in Tulare County, California; John died
in 1988 in Siskiyou County. John and Lonie were
buried in the Home of Peace Cemetery in Porterville, Tulare County, California.
Charley Wimberley,
who was Ike and Texana’s eighth child, was born in
February 1890. Like his sister Amanda, Charley died as an infant,
probably in 1891. The location of his grave is unknown.
Richard Wimberley was born on October 1, 1891, in Uvalde or Blanco County, Texas,
to Isaac and Texana. He was their ninth
child. In 1911, 20-year-old Richard married 18-year-old Pauline
"Polly" Walker. Richard and Polly had 12 children from 1912 to
1930—Thelma, Ira, Ruth, Elmo, Richard, Dorothy, Raymond, Bobby, unnamed twins,
Lyman, and Audry. Eight of the children were
born in Texas; four, in Arizona. Richard and Polly's marriage, however,
grew to be troubled; eventually they divorced. Polly lived the rest of her life
in Graham County, Arizona, where she had the support of her parents and siblings.
Richard moved to California and eventually married again. His second wife was Annis A. Wimberley. Richard died on August 12, 1976,
in San Diego, San Diego County, California. His first wife Polly died on April
29, 1983, in Graham County, Arizona. His second wife Annis
died on March 12, 1970, in San Diego, California. Richard and Annis were buried side-by-side in the El Camino Memorial
Park, San Diego County, California. Polly, who never remarried, was buried in
Pima Cemetery, Pima, Graham County, Arizona.
Frank Wimberley was born on October 8, 1893, in Blanco County, Texas.
He was the tenth child of Ike and Teck. When
Frank was about 21, he married Altha A. Roberts. The
couple had one son Jennings in 1915 and two daughters Doris and Wanda in 1917
and 1923. All three children were born in Llano County. By 1918 Frank was
supporting his young family as a worker for the City of Llano. Sometime in 1929
or 1930, Frank, Altha, and their children moved to
Santa Cruz County, Arizona. Frank worked there as a night watchman for a mine.
It was in Arizona in the early 1930's that Altha and
Frank decided to divorce. Frank moved on to California where three of his
brothers were living. Altha returned to live in Texas,
taking the couple's two daughters with her. Frank died in Tulare, Tulare County,
California, on November 29, 1969. Altha died in
Robert Lee, Coke County, Texas. Frank was buried in an unmarked grave in
the Visalia Public Cemetery in Tulare. Altha
was buried in the Robert Lee Cemetery in Robert Lee.
William “Willie/Willis” James
Wimberley was born on February 9, 1896, in
Blanco County, Texas. He was the eleventh child of Isaac and Texana. His family and friends often shortened
"William" to "Willie" or "Willis." When he
was 18, Willie married 18-year-old Iva Callaway, the daughter of Gaddah Callaway and Laura Kyle Callaway. Iva's sister
Myrtle would later marry Jennings Bryant Wimberley, Willie’s nephew by his
brother Frank. Willie and Iva had at least four children—Damon, Herbert, Velma,
and Robert. Willie supported his family by farming in Llano County and Runnels County,
Texas. When he was 36, on January 10, 1933, Willie died in the City
Hospital in Austin, Travis County, Texas, from an intestinal obstruction. His body
was returned to Llano for burial in Llano Cemetery. With her youngest
child just seven years old and her oldest 19 when their father died, Iva
Callaway Wimberley became the breadwinner of the family. She eventually
moved her family to Houston where she had the support of her oldest brother
William Frank Callaway. Iva died in 1966 in Houston, Harris County,
Texas, where she had long been a hospital employee. She was buried in the
Brookside Memorial Park in Houston.
Andrew Wimberley, who was Ike and Teck’s twelfth
child, was born on February 7, 1899. He was probably born in Llano County,
Texas. In 1918 he was farming in Llano County. In 1920 Andrew had
moved with his parents and some of his siblings and their children to Miles,
Runnels County, Texas. There he was working as a shoemaker. Later
in 1920 Andrew married an offspring of John S. Robbins and his wife Marianna
Genevieve “Jennie” Bigley Robbins who were residents
of Concho County, Texas. Andrew married their 18-year-old daughter Jessie
E. Robbins. In 1921 Andrew and Jessie’s daughter Bettie L.
Wimberley was born. On New Year’s Eve in 1925, another daughter Joneviewe/Genevieve was born in Millersview,
Concho County, Texas; she died at age two on New Year’s Day in 1928 in Wink,
Winkler County, Texas, and was buried in Millersview Cemetery.
In 1930 Andrew and Jessie and their daughter Bettie were living in Abilene,
Taylor County, Texas, where Andrew worked as a truck driver. Little more
is known about Andrew’s life. Possibly, he moved to California.
Where he, Jessie, and Bettie were buried is unknown. His father’s
1954 obituary listed Andrew as a surviving child.
Hattie Ray Wimberley was born in Llano County on August 17, 1902.
She was the thirteenth child of Isaac and Texana.
In 1920, when she was 17 and living with her parents and siblings in Runnels County,
Texas, Hattie married John Charles Robbins. John was the son of John S. Robbins
and his wife Marianna Genevieve “Jennie” Bigley
Robbins of Concho County. Hattie’s brother Andrew had married Jessie, the
sister of John Charles Robbins, the same year. Hattie and John moved from
Concho County where John's parents lived to Dallas County and to Llano County
where Hattie's parents lived. Hattie and John had had at least four
children—Marie, John, Earl, and Bruce--before John died suddenly in 1944 in
Gatesville, Coryell County, Texas, not far from his parents’ home. So
Hattie became the breadwinner of the family with four children ages 10 to 21.
Some time before 1954, Hattie married Louis Fox Stovall who was 16 years her
senior. Louis died on March 11, 1955, in Austin, Texas, at the Austin
State Hospital. Although his residence was Llano at the time of his
death, Louis was buried in Eckert Community Cemetery in Eckert, Gillespie County,
Texas, where various members of his family had been buried. On January
14, 1969, Hattie married a third time. Her third husband was Tim
Jackson-Cummins who was 5 years her junior and worked as a cook in a restaurant
owned by his nephew in Llano. This third marriage was not a happy one for
Hattie and Tim. The couple had already separated when, fourteen months after
their marriage, Tim was killed in an automobile accident near Llano. He
was buried in Oak Hill Cemetery in Lampasas, Lampasas County, Texas, where
various members of his family had been buried. Hattie died when she was
92, on March 18, 1995, in Llano, Llano County, Texas. She was buried in
Llano Cemetery in Llano where her parents and many of her siblings were buried.
Quinna Mae “Quinnie/Mae” Wimberley was the fourteenth and last child of Ike and Teck. She was born on May 12, 1905, in the house
purchased for her parents by her older siblings in Llano, Llano County, Texas.
Texana was 43 and Isaac was 49 when Mae was
born. Mae fell in love with a man who also grew up in Llano County. His
name was Leroy Robinson Owens. She was 22 and he was 31 when they married on
March 16, 1928, in Llano County. From 1929 to 1945, the couple had four
children—Billy, Jean, Charles, and Janice. Leroy, while working as a
ranch hand, died at the age of 49 in February 1946 from an accidental fall from
a horse. Mae and her children, ages 1 to 16, returned to her parents’ home in
northwest part of the city of Llano. Mae lived until the age of
82, dying on May 15, 1987. Both she and Leroy were buried in Wrights
Creek Cemetery in Llano where various members of his family were buried.