John B Donald Jr
DOB: March 21, 1896, DOD: October 18, 1968 Born: Panola County
John B Donald Jr had two sons, Ben Baker Donald (DOB: 08/01/1929—DOD: 12/22/1980 interred at Adams Cemetery in Panola County), and John Robert Donald (DOB: 07/27/1932, DOD: 12/22/1978 interred at Antioch Cemetery in Panola County) His spouse was Ila Savannah Farmer Donald (DOB: 04/15/1899, DOD: 01/24/1982 interred at Antioch Cemetery in Panola County). Ila did have a miscarriage and lost a third child between the birth of Ben Baker and John R.
Ben and Ila were both born in Panola County, and lived out their entire lives in that area on the family Homestead. In the early 1960’s after Ben had his first stroke, his son John Robert Donald purchased a small house and property at 821 N Brassell and relocated Ben and Ila there to live out the remainder of their lives. This property was deeded over to Ben and Ila on January 6 1965 for the sum of $10.
I have vague memories of Ben. He had his stroke shortly after my birth in 1960 and I never remember him speaking clearly. As I child I remember him as a very big man. Since my family relocated out of Carthage when I was five, and Grandpa Donald passed away when I was eight, sadly most of my memories of him are in a hospital bed that was located in the front room of their home on Brassell St. Amazingly, I do have some very early memories of visiting Grandpa and Grandma Donald on the homestead, drawing water from the well, and using the outhouse. Quiet and experience for a young child from the city! The well bucket, well pullies and drinking gourd from that well are part of my treasure from the Donald Homestead.
Until I was about twelve, my family owned the property at 817 N Brassell and I frequented my grandparents house, after trekking through the yard of the neighbor in between us—who I know only as “Grandmother Hodges”. Her chickens always provided an adventure in reaching Grandmother Donald's house. Bare feet was the name of the game in Carthage in 1965 for kids—and I have very vivid memories of the “sticker patch” between Grandmother Hodges house and Grandmother Donald’s that I always carefully avoided.
My memories of Ila—Grandmother Donald—are much clearer as I was fortunate enough to spend much more time with her. She taught me how to do all kinds of hand work, how to clean fish, and how to find a use for everything and be frugal with resources. I loved to watch her piece quilts. Neighbors from the community would bring her grocery bags of fabric trimmings from having their clothes made and she made beautiful quilts all completely hand pieced and quilted. Several of those are in my possession today, as well as a large collection of her handwork, both embroidery and tatting. Most of her clothes were home-made and she nearly always had a handmade bonnet on if she was working outside.
She kept the most beautiful garden, and I remember spending hours with her tending her zinnia’s and working the vegetable plants of many varieties that could always be found in her yard. She had a large fig tree in the back yard that produced bushels of figs and I spent many hours by her side at the old style gas stove she had in her kitchen making fig preserves, watermelon rind preserves, and fried pies from fresh peaches in the early summer.
She visited us in many of the sundry places we lived over the years. When we moved to Houston and would bring her to visit from Carthage, she would always bring a couple of bushels of peas to shell in the car. She could not stand to sit idly and not have her hands busy. She was a beautiful, industrious, earthy woman with strong religious faith and stern moral backbone. She was raised in a time when she saw events from the advent of the automobile and indoor electricity and plumbing to the new invention of TV and even a man on the moon. I remember her amazement at the site of our first dishwasher but she was never confident that this newfangled machine would get the dishes as clean as her own hot water, soap and elbow grease. What an incredible adventure her life was. I was so lucky to have been a small part of that.
Much of my own tenacity and confidence that “God will provide and we will get by” was learned over and over at her knee watching her live out the life God gave her with a quiet, unsophisticated grace and integrity. She would truly have marveled at this mode of communication called the internet where I can publish my fond memories of her. And she would have brushed off my praise with a bright smile, the ever present laugh, and a soft hug around the shoulder.
Documentation Tombstone
John B Donald Jr, Ila Savannah Farmer Donald circa 1960
John B Donald Jr, Ila Savannah Farmer Donald and Ben Baker Donald— 12/14/1958
Ben Baker and Johnny ~1947
Ila. Ben and Jessie Williams at the Family Homestead—1950’s
Funeral Program—John B Donald Jr
DOB: March 21, 1896, DOD: October 18, 1968 Born: Panola County
John B Donald Jr had two sons, Ben Baker Donald (DOB: 08/01/1929—DOD: 12/22/1980 interred at Adams Cemetery in Panola County), and John Robert Donald (DOB: 07/27/1932, DOD: 12/22/1978 interred at Antioch Cemetery in Panola County) His spouse was Ila Savannah Farmer Donald (DOB: 04/15/1899, DOD: 01/24/1982 interred at Antioch Cemetery in Panola County). Ila did have a miscarriage and lost a third child between the birth of Ben Baker and John R.
Ben and Ila were both born in Panola County, and lived out their entire lives in that area on the family Homestead. In the early 1960’s after Ben had his first stroke, his son John Robert Donald purchased a small house and property at 821 N Brassell and relocated Ben and Ila there to live out the remainder of their lives. This property was deeded over to Ben and Ila on January 6 1965 for the sum of $10.
I have vague memories of Ben. He had his stroke shortly after my birth in 1960 and I never remember him speaking clearly. As I child I remember him as a very big man. Since my family relocated out of Carthage when I was five, and Grandpa Donald passed away when I was eight, sadly most of my memories of him are in a hospital bed that was located in the front room of their home on Brassell St. Amazingly, I do have some very early memories of visiting Grandpa and Grandma Donald on the homestead, drawing water from the well, and using the outhouse. Quiet and experience for a young child from the city! The well bucket, well pullies and drinking gourd from that well are part of my treasure from the Donald Homestead.
Until I was about twelve, my family owned the property at 817 N Brassell and I frequented my grandparents house, after trekking through the yard of the neighbor in between us—who I know only as “Grandmother Hodges”. Her chickens always provided an adventure in reaching Grandmother Donald's house. Bare feet was the name of the game in Carthage in 1965 for kids—and I have very vivid memories of the “sticker patch” between Grandmother Hodges house and Grandmother Donald’s that I always carefully avoided.
My memories of Ila—Grandmother Donald—are much clearer as I was fortunate enough to spend much more time with her. She taught me how to do all kinds of hand work, how to clean fish, and how to find a use for everything and be frugal with resources. I loved to watch her piece quilts. Neighbors from the community would bring her grocery bags of fabric trimmings from having their clothes made and she made beautiful quilts all completely hand pieced and quilted. Several of those are in my possession today, as well as a large collection of her handwork, both embroidery and tatting. Most of her clothes were home-made and she nearly always had a handmade bonnet on if she was working outside.
She kept the most beautiful garden, and I remember spending hours with her tending her zinnia’s and working the vegetable plants of many varieties that could always be found in her yard. She had a large fig tree in the back yard that produced bushels of figs and I spent many hours by her side at the old style gas stove she had in her kitchen making fig preserves, watermelon rind preserves, and fried pies from fresh peaches in the early summer.
She visited us in many of the sundry places we lived over the years. When we moved to Houston and would bring her to visit from Carthage, she would always bring a couple of bushels of peas to shell in the car. She could not stand to sit idly and not have her hands busy. She was a beautiful, industrious, earthy woman with strong religious faith and stern moral backbone. She was raised in a time when she saw events from the advent of the automobile and indoor electricity and plumbing to the new invention of TV and even a man on the moon. I remember her amazement at the site of our first dishwasher but she was never confident that this newfangled machine would get the dishes as clean as her own hot water, soap and elbow grease. What an incredible adventure her life was. I was so lucky to have been a small part of that.
Much of my own tenacity and confidence that “God will provide and we will get by” was learned over and over at her knee watching her live out the life God gave her with a quiet, unsophisticated grace and integrity. She would truly have marveled at this mode of communication called the internet where I can publish my fond memories of her. And she would have brushed off my praise with a bright smile, the ever present laugh, and a soft hug around the shoulder.
Documentation Tombstone
John B Donald Jr, Ila Savannah Farmer Donald circa 1960
John B Donald Jr, Ila Savannah Farmer Donald and Ben Baker Donald— 12/14/1958
Ben Baker and Johnny ~1947
Ila. Ben and Jessie Williams at the Family Homestead—1950’s
Funeral Program—John B Donald Jr
