Carroll Family


515 North Burnett Avenue
Photo by Mavis Anne Bryant, 2010

John T. "J.T." Carroll	Meta Carroll	Mary, Venita, Wilma Carroll, ca1930

Mary Carroll - Pierce

Mary Carroll Pierce & son, Dan Mitchell Pierce	Mary Carroll Pierce, Dan Mitchell Pierce, Dansby Pierce

TWO GENERATIONS LATER: WHAT VINITA KNEW

Some considerable time had passed before we unexpectedly heard from Vinita Pierce Ray, the granddaughter of Mary Carroll-Pierce.
Vinita wrote:

WOW! I think Jim knows more about my family than I do! I was, by the way, named for Venita, only my mother chose to change the spelling slightly. Let's see what I can add to the story.

1. Venita did die in the house fire.

My grandmother, Mary Carroll-Pierce, was shot by my grandfather as she lay sleeping in the downstairs apartment of the Carroll family home.
She was sleeping next to her sister Wilma. My grandfather, Dansby Pierce, then walked upstairs and shot himself. I am unsure of the exact year but believe it was around 1961 or 1962.

My father, Dan Mitchell Pierce, died in a motorcycle accident on Breezy Hill [on Texoma Parkway between Denison and Sherman] August 1968. His Aunt Wilma died within hours of finding out about his passing, due to the heartbreak of so much tragedy.

My mom did not inherit the home because of my dad dying first, just hours before Wilma. Everything reverted to her and her heirs. I do have tons of pictures, some of the china, and a suitcase full of memorabilia.

 WILMA’S STORY, AS JIM SEARS TELLS IT

Wilma Margaret Carroll married Howell W. Nolte in Durant, Oklahoma, in August 1933, when she was 28 & he was about 35.

Mrs. Nolte taught first grade at Raynal School. Howell was a manual arts teacher at Denison High School. He is mentioned three or four times in Bryant and Hunt’s book, Two Schools on Main Street.

In 1930, Howell Nolte is listed in the City Directory with a previous wife, Jewell M. Nolte, also a school teacher. Their son, William Howell (Bill) Nolte, was born in October 1932.

Perhaps Jewell died, for Wilma raised Bill. He graduated from Denison High School in 1949, when he was not yet 17. (Perhaps having three parents and an aunt who teach school is an academic advantage.) In 2010, he was living in Ormond Beach, Florida.

In the 1946 Denison City Directory, Howell Nolte is listed as a school teacher, but by 1949 he had changed careers, becoming a field specialist for the U.S. Veterans Administration. He died in November 1949, at about age 52.

By 1951, Wilma had moved from 624 West Gandy Street back to 515 North Burnett. Howell’s son Bill had moved with her. At that time, the Carroll family home was owned by her mother, Meta D. Carroll.

Bill is listed as a student in 1951. Since he graduated from high school in 1949, he must have been attending college somewhere. I have found so many references to "William Howell Nolte" on the Web that I suspect there may be more than one person with that name. He may have become an English professor, literary critic, doctor, pilot, real estate agent, or all or none of those things.

Wilma Carroll Nolte died in 1968, at age 63. She is buried at Fairview Cemetery. Howell Nolte died in 1949 and was buried in his home town, San Angelo.

Venita Carroll - O'Dell

Venita Carroll married her first husband, Albert Hartson (June 1, 1897 – September 7, 1973), in 1927 or 1928.

Hartson's occupation in the 1930 Census was given as "manager, Texas Co. F." The U.S. National Guard Register for 1922 lists Albert J. Hartson as a 1st Lieutenant in Texas Company E. In 1925 he is listed again as a 1st Lieutenant. His regiment is "Special Division Troops" and his company is "36 Sig Co - Denison." That considerable military service (at least eight years, 1922–30) apparently qualified him for his subsequent career in the Denison Police Department.

Venita teaches at Hyde Park Elementary, 1933

Albert is listed in the 1938 City Directory as a city patrolman. By 1940, he had been promoted to city detective.

Venita is listed in 1938 and 1940 directories as a teacher. In 1938, they were still living at 515 North Burnett, her mother’s home. (Venita's father, John T. Carroll, had died in 1937.)

The 1946 City Directory lists Venita Hartson still at the same address. Albert, however, is missing. Apparently they divorced between 1940 and 1946. In 1946, Venita was still a teacher. For the first time, her school was identified in the directories as "Central School."

The Social Security Death Index lists Van Horn in Culberson County as Albert's last address of record, but the Texas Death Index says he actually died in McLennan County. There is or was a big VA hospital in Waco. He may have gone there from Van Horn for treatment of his last illness. The Texas Death Index says he was single when he died on September 7, 1973.

By 1949 Venita had been promoted to principal at Raynal School. She is listed there again in 1951. Her name is still Venita Hartson.

By the time I (Jim) started first grade in 1957, Venita Hartson had become Venita O’Dell, having married Otha O’Dell, a railroad employee born in Grayson County in 1897. They obviously married sometime between 1951 and 1957. It was the second marriage for him, too.

Venita may have finally moved out of her mother's house after she married Otha. [The 1955 and 1959 phone books list Otha O’Dell (sic) at 1029 East Texas Street.]

Venita died shortly before Christmas in 1965 at age 62. Otha lived until 1980, but they may have been divorced before she died. The Grayson County Death Index lists her as "Single."

If they did divorce, she may have moved back to 515 North Burnett (assuming she moved out when they married) before she died. (I don't have a directory or phone book to check that.)

Venita Hartson O’Dell is buried in Fairview Cemetery. Otha O’Dell is not listed in Fairview's records among those interred.

REMEMBERING VENITA'S HUSBAND, OTHA O’DELL:

Nancy Schmidt spoke up. “I am Mr. O'Dell’s niece, Nancy Colson. My mother was his sister. He had three sisters on Munson Street: Mrs. Tennie, Mrs. Millie Mays, and my mother. Aunt Venita was a very sweet lady. Someone said that Uncle Otha was buried out at our cemetery east of town. He and Aunt Venita are in Fairview Cemetery north of town on the road to the lake [Texoma]. Oh, no, I forgot Aunt Opal; she lived in half of my mother's house at 222 West Munson Street. It's all gone now. It's hard for me to go down Munson … I enjoy these pictures and stories. Thanks to all who send in the stories. God bless.”

Vinita Pierce Ray, granddaughter of Venita’s sister Mary, replied: “I remember Mr. O'Dell's sister then, but I remember her name as ‘Charlie’ Mays (I always called her ‘Aunt Charlie’). Of course I was very little and could be slightly mistaken about the name, but she lived down the street from my mother and me on Munson. We visited her all the time. She was so sweet. I loved her to death. She was about the only family left from my dad's side.”

Biography Index
Susan Hawkins
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