Morris Upchurch and Grace Bobo Upchurch

Morris Upchurch was born Aug. 2, 1908 in Cass County, Texas to Walter Jackson Upchurch and Estelle Wright Upchurch. He had 8 brothers and sisters, one of whom died at birth.

Morris was born and raised in a frame house located at the present location of Emmett Upchurch’s present home. Morris told me this story about his grandparents in Georgia.

His grandmother had 3 children at home when her husband went to the Civil War. General Sherman took everything she had when he came through Atlanta, Georgia. Her husband was a prisoner of war and almost died from lice. They moved from Georgia to Sand Mt., Alabama. They moved to Texas in the mid 1880’s.

Morris received his early education at Blalock. At that time there were 63 school districts in Cass County. Blalock had 4 teachers and 4 rooms with wood - burning stoves and outdoor toilets. These small rural schools had one black and one white school in each community. The first busses ran in the 1930’s. They were made from old trucks.

Morris went to school 6 months during the year starting in Oct. His school lunch was usually syrup, butter, and a biscuit. Sometimes he also took baked potatoes or syrup tea cakes. He and his brother Razzi shared the same lunch bucket. His sisters also had to share their lunch buckets. The boys ate at the edge of the woods - about 20 of them. The girls ate together.

They played Town Ball like baseball today with a pitcher, catcher, and 3 bases. The balls were made of strings. They also played Cat Ball. In this game, 2 people batted balls out to the rest of the kids. When you caught the ball, it was your turn to come in to bat. In school, the teachers and the children cleaned the school and built fire in the stove. They got their water from a dipper at the well or a spring a bucket at a time.

Morris married Grace Bobo on Jan. 10, 1931 in Texarkana, Ark. Morris, and Grace’s first school job was at Knight’s Bluff School. Their second job was at Hebron School. Their sons James and Kenneth were born while they were teaching at Hebron. Later two more children would be born - Glenda and Gary. Grace taught school at Blalock from 1943 -1946.

Morris and Grace moved to their present house place in 1943. Morris farmed from 1943 - 1947. In 1946, Morris built a store which they operated for a brief time. They lived in the back of this store while they were operating the store. Morris worked at Red River Arsenal from 1947 - 1950. They sold the store in 1950 to Neely Bobo. Morris and Grace got then-teaching degrees in August 1950 and began teaching in Queen City in the fall of 1950. In 1950 they returned from living in the

In 1950 they returned from living in the back of the store to their present homeplace. Morris was a leader in getting the smaller school districts combined into the Queen City School District. He and his wife both taught school for 33 years. Morris was also a principal when he retired.

Morris and Grace celebrated their 50th anniversary in Jan. 1981. Morris and Grace were both active members of the Antioch Baptist Church where he served as a deacon.

Grace died Sept. 12, 1986 and is buried at Antioch Cemetery, Morris remarried Anne Morriss Stanley on Nov. 28, 1987. Anne died on April 18, 1993. Morris died on April 25, 1997 and is buried at Antioch Cemetery. Morris and Grace had 4 children and 8 grandchildren. They presently have 5 great grandchildren.

Walter Jackson Upchurch

Walter Jackson Upchurch was born Feb. 16, 1873 in Sand Mt, Alabama. He married Estelle Wright on Jan. 16, 1898. He died Jan. 4, 1932 and is buried in the Courtland Cemetery near Queen City, Texas. Estelle Wright was born on June 1, 1875 in Douglassville, Texas. She died on Oct. 31, 1953 and is buried in the Courtland Cemetery. His parents were James Monroe Upchurch and Sarah Elizabeth Upchurch. Her parents were Isaac Wright and Lucinda Rachel Draper Upchurch. Walter Jackson Upchurch and Estelle Wright had 9 children. They were Walter Razzi Lee Upchurch ( b. May 4,1902, married Elva Era Burkhalter in 1925, died Oct. 3,1990), Donnie Ardell Upchurch (b. Oct. 11, 1898, married Roy Fincher, died on Feb. 27,1995), James Hamilton (b. May 27, 1900, died Feb. 24, 1990), Lucinda Elizabeth (b. July 7, 1904, married Johnnie Walker McAlexander), Martha Henrietta (b. Aug. 3,1906, married Elmer Skinner, died Dec. 9, 1995), Morris (b. Aug. 2, 1908, married Grace Bobo Jan. 10, 1931, married Anne Morriss Stanley on Nov. 28, 1987, died April 25, 1997), Letha Ann (b. June 29, 1911, married Colquitt Pyle on Feb. 7, 1930), Emmett (b. Nov. 22, 1914, married Claudine Bobo on Feb. 24, 1933), and the last child born and died on Feb. 14, 1917. Walter Jackson Upchurch’s family moved to Texas in the middle 1880’s from Alabama. At one time Walter Jackson Upchurch owned 147 acres near the Emmett Upchurch homeplace. Morris Upchurch said that the early settlers who moved to Texas settled first around the river. There was a major road that cut through his property that went from Dangerfield to Texarkana that was used 60 years ago.