Dickens County
USGenWeb Project
Mr. Rumfield, "Rummie", was a close neighbor of my grandfather, Samuel Walter Stephenson. He came to McAdoo shortly before my grandfather did. He could not read or write. As a young boy I remember seeing him sign his checks with a large X. Everyone in the community new him and trusted him. He never learned to drive, but he bought a car in the late 1920s or early 1930s and neighboring farm boys would volunteer to drive him wherever he wanted to go. As you can imagine, by dad said he was never short of drivers. As a young boy my day and I would often go by and visit him. He almost always gave me an empty peanut butter jar with a handle on it. I guess he liked peanut butter a lot. I remember he would occassionally ask my dad to buy him a pint of wiskey. It's my memory that he would have a "toddy" (a shot of wiskey) every evening before bedtime. I recall my dad telling me that Dr. Nichols had recommended that he do that.
As I recall his nephew was able to get him to sign a deed, thinking it was his will, to give his land to his nephew. After several years the nephew tried to sell the land and that is how Mr. Rumfield discovered the deceit. A trial occurred at the Dickens County courthouse where many neighbors testified including my dad. He won the case and as a young boy I was able to sit and listen to the whole trial. I'm sure all the records can be found in the Dickens County courthouse. This probably happened in the maybe mid 1950s.
He is buried with the Stephenson family in the McAdoo Cemetery.
Dickens County
USGenWeb Project
In Remembrance of
Bid Rumfield
9/1/1870 ~ 11/3/1960
I suppose every community has its characters. Someone who stands out in your memories. One of McAdoo's was a farmer named Rumfield. He owned his own farm east of McAdoo. A man who was always willing to help his neighbors, loved his chewing tobacco, black coffee with lots of sugar and his freedom. He didn't like housework, and as he was a bachelor you could tell he didn't do much of it. It became a custom for the people in the community to help celebrate his birthday. The way they did this: Every family would pack a big picnic lunch and after church everyone would go to Rummy's house. There were large trees in front of his house and here the men would make a long picnic table and the women would spread their tablecloths and the good food they had brought. All would eat until they were miserable, then the children would play hide and seek, the men would discuss the crops and weather, while the women packed the dishes and fixed Rummy enough food for the next day, being careful not to leave anything that would spoil as he didn't have a refrigerator. Rummy enjoyed this very much and it was something he looked forward to each year.
Funeral services for H.P. Rumfield, 90, were held November 4 at the McAdoo Baptist Church, Rev. Pate officiating.
Mr. Rumfield was residing in Hamlin with a niece, Mrs. Cecil Brown, at the time of his death. He was a former resident of McAdoo, moving from there to Hamlin in April of 1960.
He was a former employee of the Swenson Ranch. He came to McAdoo in 1911.
Interment was in McAdoo Cemetery.
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