| J. A. Guthrie was born in Indiana around 1840. He moved to Iowa,
where he married and fathered five children: S. Y.; Creed; Dan; Lewis Washington;
and Belle. In 1897, he moved to Coleman County to visit his son,
S. Y. Here he married a Mrs. Harrod in 1898. They left Coleman
County and went to Rogers, where he died. Little is known about J.
A., but family oral tradition has it that he belonged to the Masonic Lodge.
Lewis, born April 18, 1861, married Nancy Jane Boone in Paris, July
2, 1881, born in Missouri, January 16, 1868. They moved from Lamar
County to Navarro County where they had four children. The family
came to Coleman County by covered wagon in 1904, when L. W. and Nancy bought
160 acres of farm land north of the Santa Anna Mountain. Their children
all married in or around Coleman County and most remained here.
(1) Hetty, June 18, 1882, married Bob Stephenson and had two girls:
(1a) Nancy remained in Santa Anna to marry O. L. Cheaney. They had
two sons: Oscar Lee, Jr., and Robert Joseph. (1b) Ruth married Jodie Baker
in Brownwood and they presently reside in Breckenridge. One daughter,
JoAnn and a son, Billy Don.
(2) Ludie, February 2, 1884, married Richard L. Todd, and settled on
160 acres adjoining the L. W. Guthrie farm (see E. L. Todd).
(3) Montie Lester (Rat), June 6, 1886-November 17, 1971, attended Santa
Anna schools and worked in a Santa Anna dry good store as a young man.
After ten years of courtship, he married Hattie Tom Miles, May 31, 1887-February
19, 1975 (see Miles family). They moved to Clyde after they married
where they purchased a farm. Lester was drafted into service in WW
I, sold his farm and returned his family to Santa Anna. Armistice
was declared before he reported to duty and they settled in the Plainview
community. Lester was a charter member of the Santa Anna Methodist
Church and Hattie was a member of the Santa Anna Presbyterian Church.
Lester made his living in the Santa Anna area as a horse-and-mule trader,
with farming and ranching interests. In 1946, he built, and then
operated for several years, the elevator just north of the railroad tracks
in Santa Anna. He sold real estate and raised registered Angus cattle.
He was a member of the American Angus Association; the Santa Anna Lions
Club; the Coleman Rodeo Association; Santa Anna Livestock Association and
other civic organizations. They had two sons and one daughter:
(3a) Montie Lester, Jr., August 10, 1919, finished high school in Santa
Anna in 1938, and attended Southwest Texas State for one year. He joined
the Air Force in 1941, serving in the European theater during WW II.
Upon his return to Santa Anna, he married Billie Raye Barnett of Coleman
(see William O. Barnett), and worked in the elevator until 1950, when he
went to work in the Post Office as a sub-clerk. In 1961, he started
as a Rural Carrier, where he worked until his retirement in 1979.
He is an active elder in the Santa Anna Presbyterian Church and has been
active in many civic organizations; 4-H, FFA, Livestock Association, Little
League baseball coach, Masonic Lodge, Eastern Star, Lions Club, School
Board member and City Council member. They have two sons: (a) Montie
Lester III, June 13, 1947, graduated from Santa Anna High School in 1965,
and from Tarleton State University in 1969, and took two years post-graduate
work at North Texas State University. He worked in construction five
years, taught school two years at Mozelle and two years in Santa Anna.
He is presently a self-employed carpenter and owns a service station.
He is a member of the Santa Anna Presbyterian Church, serving as trustee,
served on the school board and is active in the summer baseball programs,
4-H and Livestock Association. On September 5, 1967, he married Sandra
Jean Davis (see William H. Rutherford). They have three sons: (1)
Montie Lester IV (Sonny), October 15, 1969, a student in Santa Anna High
School; (2) Rhett Davis, May 12, 1972, a student in Santa Anna Junior High;
and (3) Mitchell Dean, August 31, 1975, a student in Santa Anna Elementary
School. (b) Gordon Lane, January 6, 1956, graduated from Santa Anna
in 1974. After one year at Tarleton State, summer courses at Cisco
Junior College, and night courses at Ranger Junior College, he returned
to Santa Anna, where he worked as a carpenter two years. He joined
the Coleman County Telephone Co-op in 1976, where he serves as Central
Office Repairman. He is a member of the Santa Anna Fire Department
and an active participant in the summer baseball programs. On July
31, 1975, he married Sharon Kay Keeney (see Le Roy Keeney). They
have two sons (and one on the way): Tom Shea, August 23, 1977, a student
in Santa Anna Elementary School, and Aaron Ray, February 1, 1980.
Sharon operates a beauty shop in her home, south of Santa Anna. They
are all active members of the Santa Anna Presbyterian Church.
(3b) Lewis Miles, October 5, 1922, graduated from Santa Anna in 1940.
He has farmed and ranched in the Santa Anna area since that time.
He is an elder in the Santa Anna Presbyterian Church, and has been active
in many civic organizations; serving as director of the Santa Anna Housing
Authority, City Council member, and Livestock Association. He married
Lera McClellan, October 3, 1953 (see Walter Lee McClellan). They
have one son, David Miles, April 12, 1958, graduated from Santa Anna in
1977, and worked three years at Stempel Manufacturing in Coleman, two years
at Brownwood Woolen Mills, and is presently in business with his father
stock farming and trailer sales. He is a member of the Santa Anna
Presbyterian Church.
(3c) Alice Anna, December 11, 1928, graduated from Santa Anna in 1946,
and John Tarleton Agricultural College in 1948, North Texas Teachers College
in 1950, and attended Colorado A & M. She was assistant Home
Demonstration Agent in Runnels and Grayson Counties for seven years.
A member of the Santa Anna Presbyterian Church, she married James Alvy
Spillman, June 22, 1957, born January 29, 1932 in Topeka, Kansas.
He graduated from Topeka High School in 1949, and Washburn University in
Topeka in 1954. He entered the Air Force, September 14, 1954, serving
in Spain, France, Korea, and the Viet Nam conflict. He retired from
the Air Force, March 1, 1976, as a Lieutenant Colonel. He is an elder
in the Santa Anna Presbyterian Church and active in all school activities.
They have one daughter, Monique Ann, July 24, 1967, a student in Santa
Anna High School.
(4) John Lewis, August 19, 1891, married Otha Robinett and fathered
one son, John Lewis, Jr. The five sons of John Lewis, Jr. are presently
residing in the Hill Country. On November 2, 1944, John married Ida
Faye (Bobbie) Wilson, who resides in Santa Anna.
(Images to be added)
Hattie Tom Miles and Montie Lester Gut hrie, an outing on Santa Anna
Mountain - 191 7[?]
Montie L. Gut hrie, Sr. at the Santa Anna Mercantile Company, shown
at far right; center, John Harper being fitted by Ave Collier.
Montie Lester, Sr., Montie Lester, Jr., Montie Lester III, and Montie
Lester IV, all residing on the same block in Santa Anna, November 15, 1969.
M. L. Guthrie family July, 1983. Front row: Montie L. IV, Mitchell
Dean, Rhett Davis, Tom Shae [back], Aaron Ray
[front], Gordon Lane, David Miles Guthrie, Monique Ann Spillman;
back row: Montie L. III, Sandra [Davis] Guthrie, Sharon [Keeney] Guthrie,
Montie L., Jr., Billie [Barnett] Guthrie, Bobbie [Wilson] Guthrie, Lera
McClellan] Guthrie, Lewis Miles Guthrie, Alice [Guthrie] and James A. Spillman. |
