George, known as Papa Hipsher, was born January 21, 1863 near a small
town of Idol, Grainger County, Tennessee, the son of George (Boss) and
Nancy (Dalton) Hipsher. Cordie Seal was born May 2, 1870 at Swan
Island near Sneedsville, Hancock County, Tennessee, the daughter of Orville
and Mary Elizabeth “Betty” (Green) Seal. George built their first
furniture out of walnut, maple, cedar and cherry from a lumber mill owned
by Cordie’s father. They had fourteen children, nine girls and five
boys.
In 1890, George and Cordie sold their furniture and headed for Texas,
along with Cordie’s mother and father and sisters and brothers. They
first settled in Bonham, then Rhea Mills in Collin County. Some where
along the way to Sanger by covered wagon, Cordie’s mother died and was
buried at Sanger (no dates). In March of 1904, George, Cordie, their
children and her father moved to Miles. On September 13, 1905, Papa
Hipsher purchased a section of land, along with the crop, and loaded his
farm equipment and furniture and headed to Coleman by train. Grandpa
and Cordie and children traveled by covered wagon. In the spring
of 1908, George and the older children built the big two story house that
still stands on the home place, owned by Oscar Gould, between Coleman and
Santa Anna. In all the places that George lived, he farmed, did carpenter
work and ran the first threshing machine which was run independent.
He raised his own sugar cane, stripped the cane and this cane was run through
a mill and the juice into a barrel, where it was transferred to a cooking
vat where it was stranded and ran zig zag through the vat as it cooked.
The syrup was stored in gallon buckets. He sold many gallons and
kept enough for a years supply for the family. Mama Hipsher made
cookies out of the molasses and always had a batch on hand when the children
came home from school and were they ever good.
Papa contracted and built several houses over the years. He once
bought a big two story hotel in Coleman and sawed off the top story, slid
it to the ground and moved both sections with out any modern equipment
to work with. Some said he couldn’t do it but he did. He also
decided to rock the big house at age 78 and he hauled enough rock to first
build a fence around the front yard and then he put rock on the house doing
the biggest part all by himself.
Back during the drouth the men folks had to go other places to find
work. That fall Mama had the urge to sow wheat. She went to
the bank and talked to them about it, but did not get much encouragement.
She was determined and borrowed money and hitched up the horses to a drill
and sowed the wheat with some of the kids riding with her on the drill.
The next spring, after the rain in the fall, the work yielded a bumper
crop, more than had ever been on the home place. Cordie taught Sunday
school and George was a deacon at the Coleman Junction Baptist Church,
east of Coleman. George and Cordie’s children:
(1) Baby girl, born dead in Hancock County, Tennessee.
(2) Laura, November 23, 1889 in Hancock County, married Kit Payne Herd,
April 12, 1906. Seven children: Charlie, Alene, Lucile, Cordie, George
Neal, Dorthy and Pattie Joe. Kit died February 12, 1948; Laura, August
19, 1978; both buried in Coleman.
(3) Birdie Mae, February 15, 1891 in Rhea Mills, married John Will Dodgen,
December 13, 1906. Four children: Mable, Jessie Lee, Fred and Ruby
Mae. Will died January 19, 1977, Birdie November 29, 1978, both buried
in Coleman.
(4) Mamie Lucile, March 9, 1893 in Rhea Mills, married
George Pridemore, August 16, 1914 (see Goss-Pridemore). Seven children:
Odessa, Willie Day, Ralph (see Foy Charles Knowles), Rupert, Richard, Weida
and George Sealy. George died in October 1967 and Mamie, August 6,
1978, both buried Coleman.
(5) Ruby Lee, January 6, 1895 Rhea Mills, married
Andrew E. Watson, August 23, 1914, one son, Winford Leroy. Andrew
died April 24, 1983, Ruby March 10, 1979, both buried Coleman (see Jim
Watson).
(6) Edna Erman, September 27, 1897 Rhea
Mills, married (1) Bob Green July 31, 1921, one son, Billie R. (see Ralph
D. Allen). They divorced. Bob died May 13, 1974 at Devine, buried
Coleman. Erman married (2) Everet McFadin April 12, 1933. Erman
died February 8, 1979, Everet January 10, 1980, both buried in Coleman.
(7) Gay Buel, November 2, 1898 in Sanger, married
Olene Bryant, May 4, 1919, one son, Rex. Gay died September 29, 1980,
buried Coleman.
(8) Guy Heath, July 18, 1901 in Sanger, married
Ethel Starnes June 23, 1921 (see Robert Watson Starnes). Three children:
Elfreda, Reba Jean and Glen Read. Guy died July 4, 1973 at Mission,
buried there.
(9) Gertrude, October 31, 1903 in Sanger, married
A. W. Fechner, May 25, 1921 (see A. W. Fechner).
(10) Mary Alice, April 15, 1906 in Coleman
County, married T. L. Sparkman (see Sparkman).
(11) Paul Seal, April 17, 1908 Coleman County,
married Mary Briten, February 15, 1941. Four children: Mary Paula,
Thomas Gay, Timothy F. and Michael. They live in Colorado.
(12) George Truett, May 18, 1910, Coleman County,
married Sula Landers, December 24, 1929. Four children: Veta Pearl,
Truett Edwin, Jerry Don and Carylon Sue.
(13) Robert Carol, May 23, 1912 Coleman
County - November 8, 1928.
(14) Ida Lee, August 28, 1914 Coleman
County, married Woodrow Niell, June 14, 1936. Four children: Joan
(see Albert P. Estes), James Edwin, Bobbie Lee and Tommie Harold.
(Images to be added)
George and Cordie Hipsher and children. Back row: Ruby, Mamie, Guy,
Erman, Gay, Gertrude and Mary; middle row: Laura, Mama Hipsher, Paul, Papa
Hipsher, and Birdie; front row: Truett, Ida Lee, and Robert Carol.
Hipsher home
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