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Typed by: Jan Shelfer

HETHERINGTON, Edward Nathaniel

Surnames: HETHERINGTON, BROUGHTON, MCCANTS, SNELL, TILLERY, CLAWSON, GRESHAM, JOHNSON, WICHKOSKI, FRANKUM, PRESLEY, IVY, KNOWLES, ROBERTSON, JENINGS, DIXON, THODES, CANTER, WOODS

Edward Nathaniel Hetherington, b. December 20, 1870 at Monroeville, Monroe County, Alabama, d. March 14, 1952 at Reagan, Falls County, Texas, was the second child of John Monroe and Margaret Ann (Broughton) Hetherington. He came to Reagan with his parents at the age of fourteen, working on the farm, attending school at Reagan, and learning the carpentry and construction professions. On October 7, 1894 at the Reagan Baptist Church, Ed married Lillie Valeria McCants, b. January 13, 1877, d. of pneumonia on March 10, 1910-a daughter of James and Rosialena (Snell) McCants. Lillie's father, James McCants, had become an invalid, and died March 18, 1910. Lillie's mother, Rosialena (Snell) McCants was a daughter of J. William and Beneter (sic Bonita) Snell.

Ed built a house on the farm that he and his cousin, James Monroe Hetherington (son of Ed's uncle, William George Hetherington) had bought, and he and Lillie lived on it for four or five years, but decided they did not like farming. They sold the place to Ed's brother-in-law, John P. Tillery, and moved to the Reagan Community, located on the Highbank Road. In 1906, Ed and Lillie moved to Teague, where he worked as a carpenter for three and one-half years, until Lillie died. Ed relocated back to Reagan, to have family help in rearing his four children-even though his eldest daughter was almost fifteen and did her best to keep the household going. Edward did carpentry work and watch repairing.

In 1913, Edward Nathaniel Hetherington married his second wife-a widow, Mrs. Dorcus Clawson-who had two daughters, Lillie Bee and Blanche, ages ten and twelve. Dorcus ran the house until her own daughters were out of school and married, then she left Ed to live with them. When Ed began to lose his sight and hearing, and his health in general, his eldest daughter took good care of him until his death.

The four children of Edward Nathaniel and Lillie Valeria (McCants) Hetherington were:

Rosialena James Hetherington, b. October 6, 1895, married December 14, 1911 to Benjamin Franklin Gresham and had four children: Benjamin Gresham, b. September 17, 1912, d. May 4, 1923; Ishmael Nathaniel Gresham, b. December 26, 1915, married Annie Mae Johnson on June 5, 1935, and had two children: Luther Gresham, b. July 10, 1936, and Alice Gresham, b. March 10, 1939. Ishmael Nathaniel Gresham married second to Josephine Wichkoski, and had four children: Martha Elizabeth Gresham, b. January 4, 1947; Mary Ann Gresham, b. December 14, 1947; Ishmael Nathaniel Gresham, Jr., b. July 27, 1949; and Stephen Joseph Gresham, b. March 27, 1951. The third child of Benjamin F. and Rosialena Gresham was Ida Mae Gresham (a twin), b. August 10, 1918, who married August 22, 1936 to Venter Louis Frankum, and had two children: Margaret Loraine Frankum, b. January 1, 1939, and Wilbur Lewis Frankum, b. September 14, 1944. Ida Mae and Venter were divorced in June 1953, and she married second to First Lieutenant D. D. Presley. The fourth child of Benjamin F. and Rosialena Gresham was James Ray Gresham (a twin), b. August 10, 1918, who married on August 21, 1937 to Vida V. Ivy, and has three children: Edna Ann, James Ray, Jr., and Marca Gresham.

Myrtle Augusta Hetherington, b. May 16, 1897, was the second child of Edward and Lillie Hetherington. She married November 5, 1916 to Barcus J. Knowles of Waco, Texas, b. November 10, 1891, and they had two children: William Jefferson Knowles, b. June 7, 1918, was a World War II veteran of the U.S. Navy, married Myrtle Lee Robertson on June 8, 1940, and had two children: William Michael, b. August 12, 1942, and Linda Carol, b. February 27, 1947. William Jefferson Knowles is in the Harley Davidson Motorcycle Agency with his father. The second child of Barcus J. and Myrtle Augusta Knowles, Robert Neal Knowles, was born October 15, 1931, attended Waco High School and Baylor University, where he was on the varsity football team.

Dora Mae Hetherington, b. May 5, 1903, was the third child of Edward and Lillie Hetherington. She married March 19, 1921 to Charles Edwin Jennings, moved to a farm near Graham, Texas, and had five children: Louise, b. September 25, 1926; Margaret Leona, b. June 19, 1938; Edwina Maria, b. October 6, 1940; and twins, Thelma and Charles Delma, b. April 12, 1942. Louise Jennings married January 29, 1944 to Wiley Dixon, and they have two children: Thomas Edwin, b. May 22, 1945, and Glenda Louise, b. November 18, 1947.

The fourth and youngest child of Edward and Lillie Hetherington was Prince Edward Hetherington, b. September 19, 1904, who married in July 1922 to Thelma Rhodes. Their children were: Edward Alton, b. February 8, 1924, who married February 14, 1942 to Audrey Mae Canter of Houston, and had two sons: Alton David, b. November 7, 1949, and Mark Dennis, who is deceased; and Lillie Virginia, b. February 4, 1926, who married Robert Woods, resided in Houston, Texas, and had two daughters and one son.

Copyright Permission granted to Theresa Carhart for printing these bio of these Falls County Families to this Web page.
"Families of Falls County," compiled and edited by the Falls County Historical Commission, page 222, column 2.