Grayson County TXGenWeb

Woodard Street
Denison, Texas

1214 W. Woodard St.
ca1910

This was a boarding house operated by Sarah I. Higdon Parker (1868 - 1935), widow of Robert Porter Parker who died in Caldwell Co., Texas. After her husband died in Caldwell Co., Texas, Sarah came to Denison to raise her family as well as nieces and nephews of her deceased brother
Four of the children in the photo are 2 nephews and 2 nieces whom Sarah raised after the death of their parents, her brother Jesse James Higdon, and his wife.
Boarders listed in the 1910 census as living with her were:
Frank R. Kellonal, railroad worker, 27
Samuel A. McReynolds, teacher, 25
Lincoln D. Thayer, railroad worker, 31
John D. Freels, railroad worker, 36

Identified persons in the photograph are:
Sarah Higdon Parker, center of gate
Millie Parker, daughter, on the right of Sarah
Pertina "Tina" Parker, daughter, on the left of Sarah; Tina married Oscar Bruton, October 1905. Oscar was a widower with a 3-year-old daughter.
In front of the gate, left to right: Bill Parker (Sarah's son), Millie Bruton (little blonde, Tina Parker Bruton's daughter), and Henrietta Parker (Sarah's youngest daughter)

Others in the photograph are unidentified; however, two of the boys are probably Jesse Higdon's sons - Joseph and Robert. Another person who might be in the photograph is Jesse's son, Wesley Higdon, who was murdered in 1910.
Sarah Parker ran boarding houses in several locations throughout Denison over the course of her lifetime and was never a wealthy woman:
1905 - 203 W. Day
1907 - 419 S. Austin Ave.
1909 - 113 E. Morton
1910 census - 1214 W. Woodard
At the time of her death in 1935, she was living with her daughter and son-in-law, Tina and Oscar Bruon at 630 Owings St. Sarah died of tuberculosis.

Note: There is a slight possibility that this photograph shows a different location - 419 S. Austin Ave., and is a little earlier than 1910.