Charley Betts Hampton
Charley Betts Hampton was born on February 13, 1883 in the Cornett community of Cass Co, Texas. He was the youngest son of William Green Curry Hampton and his wife, Mary Jane Betts. Charley’s mother died on Christmas Day when he was eleven. As his other siblings married, Charley became the caretaker of his aging father and responsible for working the farm. This he did faithfully until his father’s passing in 1915.
On June 10, 1916, at the age of 32, Charley hitched up his buggy and drove to the Rocky Branch community in Morris Co. There he picked up Minnie Ola Cox and together they headed towards Daingerfield to be married. Along the way, they met the local Justice of the Peace, and he performed the ceremony in the buggy alongside the road. Minnie was born on July 27, 1896 in Morris Co. She was the daughter of Thomas P. Dudley Cox and his wife, Maud Smith.
Charley and Minnie lived their entire lives in the Cornett community. When first married, they lived in the house where Charley had been born, but as their family grew, they built a new house across the road. In 1924, their family received two new members, which led to another expansion of the house.
At the passing of Minnie’s sister, Lula May Penny, Charley, and his wife brought their nephews, James Lonus and Alva Dudley Penny to live with them. Though the courts ruled the children wards of the government and paid a monthly stipend, Charley and Minnie would take nothing for bring up the boys as their own. Even in the hard years of the Depression, they put the small stipend aside and gave it to the boys when they started out on their own.
The Hampton’s were a farming family. They raised most of the food they ate and had a garden all of their lives. Like many of his neighbors, Charley plowed his fields with a team of mules. He grew cotton, corn, and watermelons to sell to buyers in Naples. Sometimes, he would sell eggs and surplus from his garden from the back of his truck, going house to house in Texarkana or sitting alongside the road. The family usually had several milk cows and would sell the extra milk and cream to a factory in Mt. Pleasant that sent out trucks to buy from area farms. In his later years, when small farms begin to die out, Charlie kept beef cattle to sell for extra money.
Charley was a quiet, taciturn person. He is remembered by most as being a man of his word who was honest in his dealings with others. He was a life-long member of the Cornett Methodist church and served it as trustee and as a member of its board of stewards. He was also active in the Masonic Order and served in many ways during his long membership in the Marietta lodge.
Minnie loved people and valued the loving relationships within family and with friends. She could be found at home doing the simple tasks that kept her family fed and clothed. She spent many hours on her pedal sewing machine making clothes for the children, feather pillows, and lovely quilts of many designs. On special occasions, she might make one of her potato cake recipes filled with candied fruits. She was extremely levelheaded and possessed a dry humor that caught many by surprise.
Charley Betts Hampton died in Naples, Morris Co, Texas on August 22, 1958. He was buried at Cornett Cemetery in Cass Co. Minnie died in Naples on June 2,1971 and was laid to rest beside her husband of many years. Charley and Minnie had four children: 1. Charlie Winston Hampton was born in Cass Co on October 23, 1918. He married Helen Elizabeth Smith in the Concord community of Morris Co on September 1, 1947. They lived in Wichita Falls, Texas for many years, but returned to the Naples - Omaha area in 1998.
2. Troyce Cox Hampton was born on June 14, 1921 in Cass Co. He resides in Burkburnett, Texas.
3. Maude Elnora Hampton was born on July 17, 1923 in Cass Co. She married Elvis Wells in Hughes Springs on December 21, 1946. Elvis and Elnora lived and raised their family in the Cornett community. Elvis worked in telecommunications at the Red River Arsenal near Texarkana until his retirement. He is a member of the Marietta Masonic Lodge. They are members of the Methodist Church and enjoy family and friends.
Elnora and Elvis have three children: A. Mary Elaine Wells was born in Naples, Texas on July 29, 1948. She married Eddie Roy Bartlett on February 11, 1972 in Gregg Co, Texas. They had two children. She married Robert Lee Davis on October 29, 1982 in Morris Co, Texas. Elaine’s children are: 1. Eddie Wade Bartiett was born May 4, 1974 in Muskogee, Oklahoma. He married Jennifer McCall in Abilene, Texas on May 21,1994. They have one son, Nathan Wade Bartlett, who was born in Abilene on November 18, 1994.
2. Emily Rebecca Bartlett was born in Bowie Co, Texas on June 15, 1977. She married Wesley Clint Huie in Morris Co on January 9, 1997. They have one son, Tyler Clint Huie, who was born in Titus Co, Texas on May 22, 1998.
B. Melba Eugenia Wells was born in Cass Co, Texas on August 8, 1951. She married Edward Eugene Taylor on March 6, 1976 in Cass Co. They currently reside in Longview, Texas.
C. Elvis Wade Wells was born July 7, 1964 in Fort Worth, Tarrant Co, Texas. He was adopted by Elnora and Elvis shortly after his birth. Wade graduated from the University of Texas and has lived and worked in New York and Asia.
4. Mary Catherine Hampton is the youngest child of Charley and Minnie. She was born in Cass Co on February 3, 1931. She lives in Hughes Springs, Texas.
Submitted by Samuel R Penny