taken from the book -- Dickens County History...its Land and People 1986 by Dickens Historical Commission
Copyright 1986, page 534
http://www.rootsweb.com/~txdicken/afton/stephenson_mamie.htm
My mother, Mamie Pollard was born in Woodruff County, Arkansas, January 16, 1890 to Etta Gibson Pollard and Charles Benjamin Pollard, who moved to Arkansas at the close of the Civil War. Two other children, a son Bob and a daughter Ruth, died in early childhood. When Mama was 5 her father died.
My father, Vick Stephenson was born March 18, 1880 to Margaret Carriaker and Samuel Charles Stephenson. His mother was Pennsylvania Dutch German. Her parents moved south around 1840 to Woodruff county. His father came from Northampton County, North Carolina because of unrest caused by carpet baggers. They had 3 sets of twins, all who died before they were 10 of yellow fever and small pox. Other children in the family were Annie, Edna, Walter and Victor (Vick).
Mama and Dad married November 10, 1904 in Augusta, Arkansas. They made their home in Revels Community until 1925, but because of Mama's health and at the suggestion of the doctor, moved to a higher and drier climate, Dickens County, Texas, where Dad's brother, Walter and his wife Annie Garrett Stephenson lived. Their 8 children and the 8 of us: Sam, Helen, Annie T., Gilbert, Howard, Robert, Vance, and Rosalyn grew up as close as brother and sisters. We spent many happy times at their house where Uncle Walter entertained us with his fiddle playing. We had lots of musical talent in the family, the kind that was fun to share with each other.
We had only been in Texas 4 years when Dad became ill with a nerve disease that over a period of 8 years left him totally paralyzed from the waist down. In 1938, when Dr. Nichols told them he could do nothing more to help, they moved to Fort Worth hoping a new treatment might help, but on January 6, 1941, he went home to be with the Lord.
Mama lived until May 21, 1969. She, too, was faithful to the task the Lord had given her. She canned, sewed, worked far int the night doing for Dad and her children, trying to train us in the ways of the lord. Thank you, Lord, for the precious gift of our parents.
By Annie T. Stephenson Roberts
Mamie Pollard Stephenson
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