Allison Asbury Head ^{2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9}

   Cause of his death was bulbar paralysis.¹¹

   Another name for Ben was Alanson Asbury Head.

  General Notes:

In the 1860 census he was listed as a laborer in Leon County, Texas. In the 1870 census he was listed as a farmer in Johnson County, Texas. He had $200 in real estate and $240 in personal assets. In the 1880 census he was listed as a retired farmer in Alvarado, Johnson County, Texas.

In the 1900 and 1910 census he was listed in Johnson County, Texas, with his wife and a niece Sarah E Head, born Dec 1859 in Alabama with parents born in Alabama, and a cousin Daniel L. Clowdus, born Sept 1850 in Alabama with parents born in Alabama. This seems to be the same Sarah that was living with Sampson Head at the time of the 1880 census. Daniel was living with Levi Head at the time of the 1880 census. His occupation was general farming. At the time of the 1920 census, Allison was a general farmer in Johnson County, Texas. Daniel was living with him.

A. A. and Susanna Head Homestead - Alanson Asbury (A. A.) Head (1843-1925) and his wife, Susanna Alabama Bethany (1843-1924) built a two-story residence here about 1877. Over the years A. A. and Susanna, known as Uncle Ben and Aunt Sukie, terraced about 300 acres here on which they cultivated various orchards, vineyards, and berry patches. Their farm prospered and in 1903 they donated two acres across the road from their home for the building of the Head Chapel Methodist Church. In 1908 the Heads donated an adjoining 2 acres to establish the Bethany Rest Cemetery, where they were later buried side by side. (1993)

Ben also kept a number of bees from which he sold the honey.

From the tombstone: They steer'd their course to the same quiet shore, Not parted long, and now to part no more.

Excerpt from "Johnson County History":

The annual Homecoming at Bethany Church, three miles northwest of Alvarado, is held during June each year. Constructed in 1903 and originally known as Head's Chapel, it was a Methodist church, but all faiths were welcome. The land for the church and cemetery were donated by A. A. (Uncle Ben) Head, and the people of the community constructed the building under the direction of their two most able carpenters, Jim Sanders and Walton Murphree. Sanders was a Methodist, but the Murphree family was Baptist. J. Otis Murphree, a son of Walton, told me a brush arbor and later a tabernacle had stood to the west of the church. He said other leaders, in addition to the Heads, were Wm. Bast, Will Thompson, Hugh Howard, and the Brownlees. Chet Ritchie, a grandson of Will Head, said the church was organized in the old log school house, a couple of miles to the north, and meetings were held in the school and under brush arbors for some time.

Discontinued as a church in 1960, the building has since been used as a community center. The Women's Home Demonstration Club, and the Johnson County Citizens Band Radio Club hold meetings here. The yearly meeting of the Bethany Water Supply Corp. is held here each January to elect officers. The building is also available for private parties. Everyone is working to raise money to re-roof the old building, which has begun to leak.

The homecoming was a reunion for the Eaves family. Mr. and Mrs. A. C. Eaves, Mrs. Alice (Eaves) Bradford and Mrs. Ethel (Eaves) Hudson came all the way from California. Essie Sanders, a half-sister, came from Abilene, Texas, Mr. and Mrs. J. C. Cantrell came from Breckenridge, and Mr. and Mrs. L. W. Eaves came from Fort Worth. They were house guests of Howard and Jewell Eaves of Alvarado.

The Murphree and Head families were well represented, and Russell McGowen, a grandson of the famous Indian fighter, Riley Denis (Den) Richardson, was present. Another grandson, Don Baker, lives just south of Hwy. 67. Darius Baker, an early settler, bought the Wm. C. Billingsley head right, which lies south of what is now Hwy. 67.

The community, which is now thought of as Bethany, is actually Fairview community, begun in the 1850's, and certainly the view from the churchyard and the old Head homesteads is more than fair; it is beautiful.

"Uncle Ben" Head, son of Sampson Head, lived in the lovely two story home across the road from the church. As Johnson County had two Bethany churches, this Methodist church became known as New Bethany.

A teenager, D. E. (Elihu) Clowdus, a cousin of the Heads, drove one of the ox-drawn covered wagons from Alabama to Texas. He made his home with Ben Head. Together they owned a very large section of land. Ben willed his part to a spinster, Miss Sallie Head, and after Ben's death in 1925 (at 82), Miss Sallie and Elihu willed their property to each other. Clowdus lived a year longer than Miss Sallie and he willed all the property to the Methodist Orphans Home at Waco.

  Additional Information:

• Alt. Birth, 8 Dec 1844. ¹¹ from death certificate. Daniel Elihu "Hugh" Clowdus was the informant.

• Military Service: Confederate States Army: the Civil War. ⁷ He answered positive to the question about being a survivor of Union or Confederate army or navy. The space has CA written in it.

• Death Certificate Image: here.

• FindAGrave: Memorial# 30317613.

Ben married Susan Alabama Bethany Newby, daughter of Samuel F. Newby and Elizabeth Baine McAdams, on 4 Jan 1866 in , Johnson County, Texas.¹ (Susan Alabama Bethany Newby was born on 5 Nov 1843 in Texas,¹⁰ died on 2 Oct 1924 in , Johnson County, Texas ^{10 13} and was buried on 5 Oct 1924 in Bethany Cemetery, Alvarado, Johnson County, Texas ^{13 14}.). The cause of her death was apoplexy due to age and general disability.¹¹