| Tom and Mattie (Mitchell) Landrum lived in Runnels County. They
wanted a place to farm with more grazing land so they could raise cattle.
They bought a place three miles south of Valera and built a house, barn
and lots. They moved to Valera in 1911. They had four children,
all attended Valera School and Howard Payne College. They are:
(1) Ray, born in 1897, was working at an ammunition factory in Pennman,
Virginia, during World War I and contracted the flu during the flu epidemic
of 1918 and passed away there. (2) Ethel, in 1901, (Kelly) had one
son, Gene Weldon, born in 1923. Ethel nursed her son through pneumonia,
but contracted the disease and passed away May 28, 1926, buried at Valera.
(3) Nettie, 1904, married Orrin Hoover and they had one son, Thomas Earl.
Orrin Hoover passed away December 26, 1962, buried in Valera. Thomas
Earl is a writer and lives in New York. (4) Zula, 1905, married Garland
Abbey and they had two children, Charlie Ray and Wanda (see Garland Abbey).
Ollie Landrum, daughter of Barbara (Mitchell) Landrum stayed with the
Tom Landrums to attend Valera High School. She married Roy Bennett
in 1914 (see B. H. Bennett).
The Mitchell Family began settling in Coleman County. Mary Ann
and Miss Cora Mitchell bought a home and moved to Valera. Mary
Ann died in 1930; Barbara (Mitchell) Landrum in 1950; and Miss Cora, July
31, 1967, all buried at Valera.
Will and Fannie (Mitchell) Blackwell bought a farm about midway between
Valera and Voss. It has been called Blackwell Hill. The Blackwells
raised one girl, Marguerite, who married George Belt. They had three
children: Carl, Margaret Ann, and Mary Elaine. Will and Fannie Blackwell
passed away in 1959 and Marguerite in 1979, all buried in Valera.
Leonard Landrum came to Coleman County and farmed near Blackwell Hill.
He married Nora Gulley in 1924 (see Gulley
Family). They had one daughter, Hazel, who attended Mozelle School.
The Leonard Landrums sold out and moved to Lampasas County. Hazel
married Bill Chumney and they had three children: Damon, Donna and Karen.
Leonard and Nora live at Lometa.
Oscar and Berta Mitchell, the daughter of Bud and Ida (Carpenter) Dawson,
and their two sons, Dean and Joe Glenn, came to Coleman County. They
lived on a farm west of Valera. They later left the county, but came
back. They are buried at Valera. Berta died February 28, 1967
and Oscar, January 3, 1973. |