James William Mason ^{1 2 3 4}

  General Notes:

J W (James Wilson) was born in Virginia, later going to Illinois with his parents, brothers and sisters. he married Eliza Pasley Dec 28, 1871 in Chanderville, Illinois. James and Eliza started their family and George was born 1877 in Illinois. James, Eliza, John(Father) and John (brother) and family started a treacherous journey from Illinois to Texas in a covered wagon. They left Illinois and went to McPherson County, Kansas. James and Eliza had two more boys, James in 1880 and Clarence in 1887. They stayed there for several years. Their daughter Emma stayed in Kansas, while her family headed south to Texas. James had to have eggs for breakfast every morning, he bought his chickens in coupes, he stopped earlier enough each day so he could let them out to eat and scratch around so they would lay eggs, the children would watch the hens to see where they would laid, then would gather the eggs. Food was scarce , the Mason's had to eat anything they could hunt and kill for supper. They had Willie on the way to Texas; she was born in 1889 in Lehigh Oklahomas ( Indian Territory). James was 40 at the time of her birth and Eliza Pasley Mason was 39 at the time. They arrived in Texas and settled by a spring at Big creek in Mills County at Christmas time in 1892. Prudence was born in June 1893. The Mason family lived at Gainesville, Texas the first three years and then moved to Ranger, Texas, living there three years. In 1895 the Mason family traveled back to Illinois in a covered wagon to visit Eliza's family. It took a month to get there, they stayed a month and then it took a month to come back to Texas. This was the only time Eliza went back home. While traveling through Indian Territory, the Indians stopped the Mason's wagon to see what they were carrying, the mules were scared, they would rear and paw at the Indians. It was spring and rain was abundant, many rivers were over their banks, the mules had to swim across pulling the floating wagon. After returning to Texas, the Masons lived in Mills County for three years then went back to Range, Texas for three years and then they came back to Mills, County. James taught school several years in Gainesville, Texas. James was the Road Commissioner in Mills County; he was also the first in the county to own a car. The Mason's boys ran around with Hardy Collier, one night at the supper table Hardy was there as usual, and while they was eating JW ask him which one of his girls was he going to marry. A few days later he ask Willie if he could walk her home from school, they starting dating and fell in love and married four years later. Years later, Willie's home was where the family would gather. Mark Morgan said they lived in Joshua when he was a child and it would take nearly all day to get to Star, they came in a Model T and would stop at the creek and clean up before they would go on up to Willie's home. What Mark remembers was the children would go fight the bees and yellow jackets, with a goal of not getting stung. They always had a great time at Aunt Willie. ⁷

  Additional Information:

• Alt. Birth, Oct 1849, Virginia. ²

James married Eliza Susan Pasley on 28 Dec 1871 in Illinois. (Eliza Susan Pasley was born on 21 Jan 1848 in Illinois,⁵ died on 5 Apr 1938 in , Mills County, Texas ⁵ and was buried in Center City Cemetery, Center City, Mills County, Texas ⁸.)