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OBEDCHILDRESS, afarmer of Andersoncounty, Texas,located near

Blackfoot, is thesubject of thepresent sketch. Heis a good andworthy man, wellknown in hisneighborhood, andone who took anactive part in thelate war.

Mr. Childress wasborn in the State of

Mississippi,December 17,1846, and is theson of John andNarcissa (Barron)Childress, both ofwhom wereresidents of

Alabama beforeremoval to the State of his birth. The grandfather Childress wasa native of South Carolina, as was also the grandfather on hismothers side. Both were well known people in their own States.Grandfather Childress was a slave-owner, and kept a tavernwhich was known far and wide. The father of our subject wasalso a prominent farmer and slave owner, and well known as amember of the Masonic order. The mother was a daughter ofEzekiel Barron, who removed first to Alabama from SouthCarolina and later to Mississippi, where he died, a prominentplanter of the days before the war. Our subject was the secondson of seven children born to Mr. and Mrs. Childress, as follows:

A. G.; our subject; Ezekiel, now in Brown county; William, whowas found frozen to death on the frontier of Texas in 1871; Marymarried Lane Baskin, but both are now deceased; Sally marriedW. M. Huffman, and lives in Wilson county; and J. T., a farmerof Brown county. The father of the family died in 1860, and Mrs.Childress married J.L. Bell and removed to Texas, dying about1887.

In the fall of 1866 our subject came to Texas with his mother. Hewas then nineteen years of age. The first stop was in Smithcounty, and there he attended, school for one year and. thentaught one term of five months, and later went into Hamiltoncounty, where he taught a term and then returned to Smithcounty, where he rented a farm for one year, and in 1869 hebought an improved farm, which he kept for two years, and thenmoved to Huffrnan county, having first sold his place. Here he

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married, and then bought a tract of raw land, which he improvedfor two years, and then sold and moved on Trinity river, inHenderson county, but later moved to Anderson county, wherehe bought the land he now owns, that being in 1875. To this hehas added until now he owns 260 acres, with 100 undercultivation, and has enough stock to run a fine farm, and hasengaged in the raising of cattle and sheep.

In 1861 our subject answered the call for soldiers, and enlistedfor three months and served during that time in Kentucky, but atthe end of that time he re-enlisted in Company A, Bergansbattalion and Harrisons command, and was sent to the Army ofthe Gulf, and later to the Army of the Tennessee, and took partin the siege of Vicksburg, where he was taken prisoner, hut wasparoled and returned home. Determined to do what seemed tohim his duty, he entered the service again as an independentscout, and so remained until the close of the war. He sawconsiderable skirmishing with colored troops, but was neverwounded nor captured after Vicksburg. After his return home hemade one crop and then came to this State, as above stated.

Our subject was first married to Miss M. O. Baskin, the daughterof Samuel Baskin, a settler of Texas in 1852. He lived in Smithcounty where he owned a large number of slaves and carriedon extensive farming before the war. He died about 1861. Mr.and Mrs. Childress had a family of six children, four of whomare yet living: Lulu B., at home; John A. has been for five yearsa foremost teacher of the county, and at present is thecandidate for Superintendent of County Schools; Lena A. is atalented young lady, a graduate from the Normal School; andLutilus E. is at home. The mother of this family was called fromearth in 1880, having been a devoted member of the Missionary

Baptist Church.

In 1881 Mr. Childress married a sister of the first Mrs. Childress,and from this marriage five children have been born, as follows:Leffa, Obed, Effa, Claude and Maud. Our subject isa prominentman in his church, and has long been recognized as animportant and active member of the Democratic party of thecounty. He is a member of the Masonic order. The whole familyare members of the Missionary Baptist Church, and are valuedmembers of society, being well educated and exceedinglyintelligent. One of the great desires of Mr. Childress has been togive his children a good education, and he has been gratified tosee how the advantages have ben appreciated by his children.

Among all the residents of the county our subject and family areheld in highest esteem.

Lewis Publishing Company. A Memorial and Biographical

History of Navarro, Henderson, Anderson, Limestone,

Freestone and Leon Counties, Texas, Book, 1893;, University

of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History,

http://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Palestine Public

Library, Palestine, Texas.