JOHN PRESTON TILLERY
John Preston Tillery, b June 8, 1857 at Brantley, Alabama (in the area
which became Crenshaw County in 1866), d August 10, 1929 at Reagan, Falls
County, Texas and buried in Waite Cemetery there - a son of Alfred and Harriett
(Vines) Tillery, who both died in 1866 in Alabama - leaving four orphaned
children: Caroline, age 12, John Preston, age 10, Benjamin, age 7, and Robert
Warren, b January 1,1866. They lived with their widowed maternal grandfather,
Dozier Caswell Vines, until his death in 1872.
Caroline and John Preston took care of their younger brothers, harvested
the crop to raise about $50, and signed an agreement with a Methodist preacher,
John W. Broxson, to come to Texas to the west side of Palestine and work for one
year to repay him for their transportation.
On July 1873, Caroline Tillery married Anthony Wayne Beard, and kept her
young brother, Robert Warren Tillery, until he was aged 12 years, at which time
he came to Falls County and lived with a Mrs. Wells, and part of the time with
Charles Howard. Robert attended school at Blue Ridge and Reagan, and did farm
work. In the Fall of 1889, he entered Sam Houston Normal, graduating in 1891. He
returned to Reagan and lived for a short time with his older brother, John
Preston Tillery, who married on December 31, 1891 to Mary Rebecca Hetherington,
b February 28, 1873 at Monroeville, Alabama, d September 11, 1951 at Reagan and
buried by her husband in Waite Cemetery - a daughter of John Monroe and Margaret
Ann (Broughton) Hetherington. Robert Warren Tillery obtained a teaching position
at Red Oak, in Nacogdoches County, where he remained until 1893.
After teaching a year at Hickory Flag, Robert married a former pupil on
May 6, 1894, Leola Thrash. His teaching career extended to 1901 when he moved to
Rusk County, Texas for two years, and then became Superintendent of the
Nacogdoches County Schools until. 1910. After their marriage, John Preston and
Mary Rebecca (Hetherington) Tillery acquired a total of 226 acres of land
through a series of small purchases and Mary Rebecca's fifty acre inheritance
from her father. They believed in education, the church, and in a honorable way
of life. John Preston and Mary Rebecca (Hetherington) Tillery had eight children
- six of whom lived to be adults:
Jesse Grady Tillery, b May 8, 1894, was the first child. He married on
September 9,1930 to Valentine Harmon and had one daughter, Mary Helen Tillery, b
December 19, 1932, who married on February 28, 1952 to Sam McCombs. Jesse Grady
was a veteran of the U.S. Navy during World War I, became an Auditor at the
State Auditor's Office in Denton, Texas.
Charles Benjamin Tillery, b January 16, 1896, was the second child of
John Preston and Mary Rebecca Tillery. On May 27, 1922, he married Edna Saxon, a
daughter of John and Lida (Woodland) Saxon. They had two children: John Paul
Tillery, b December 31, 1927, and Dorothy Louise Tillery, b March 18, 1933, who
married Edward Nowland on August 12, 1953 and had a son, Charles Edward Nowland,
b October 18, 1954. Charles Tillery died about 1981 and was buried in the Blue
Ridge Cemetery in Falls County. Edna resides with her children in the Fort Worth
metroplex area.
Margaret Lee Tillery, b March 19, 1899, was the third child of John
Preston and Mary Rebecca Tillery. She married on February 9, 1924 to David Ervin
Gathings, b January 26, 1879, d September 7, 1940. Margaret became a telephone
operator, and on July 31, 1949, she married second to James Aaron Wallace
-
a
widower who had two children. Margaret Lee (Tillery) Gathings
Brown died January 13, 1955.
Robert Preston Tillery, b April 22, 1901, was the fourth child of John
Preston and Mary Rebecca (Hetherington) Tillery. On November 24, 1928, he
married Sallie May Fountain, and had one son, Preston James Tillery, b February
20, 1932. Robert Preston and Sallie moved to Port Arthur, Texas, where he is
employed by the Gulf Company.
Ola May Tillery, b March 10, 1904, was the fifth child of John Preston
and Mary Rebecca Tillery. She married on August 4, 1928 to Robert Francis Brown,
b July 14, 1898 at Crossmaglen, County Armagh, Ireland. They reside in Chicago,
and had two daughters: Frances Brown, b June 14, 1929, married Bill Franz and
had Stephen William Franz and Phyllis Lynn Franz; and Christine Brown, b
December 19, 1931, married Kenneth M. Ziems on November 29, 1952.
Alice Ellen Tillery, b May 4, 1909, was the sixth child of John Preston
and Mary Rebecca Tillery. She married at Austin, Texas on February 28, 1931 to
Jerome L. Kerby, and had two children: Jerome Howard Kerby, b October 31,1941,
and Catherine Jane Kerby, b October 8, 1944. They reside at Weatherford, Texas.
The seventh child was an infant, b July 5, 1893, d July 6, 1893, and
buried in Covington Cemetery at Reagan.
The eighth and last child of John Preston and Mary Rebecca Tillery was
John Broughton Tillery, b February 23, 1907, d March 10, 1907, and also buried
in Covington Cemetery at Reagan.
Copyright Permission granted to Theresa Carhart for printing the biographies of
these Falls County Families to this Web page.
"Families of Falls County", Compiled and Edited by the Falls County Historical
Commission, page 452 column 2 and page 453 column 1 and 2.
Member of Falls County Historical Commission.