Ninth Generation

41. Mary Lois LEONARD died on 23 November 1835 in Tehuacana, Limestone Co., TX. She was born on 12 November 1879 in Pisgah Ridge, McCulloch Co., TX.
The following is from the family history as written down by Margaret Martha Higginbotham Jones for her son, Lowell (referred to by her as Sonny):

My dear sweet mother (your Grandmother Higginbotham)…she was so kind and gentle. I can never remember her even giving us a “spanking”, except Effie –she did have to “whip” her sometimes because she was “so sassy”, high tempered, defiant and would slap and boss us children around and mother was forced to discipline her. Effie was our dad “in all her ways”. We were left alone with mother most every summer while dad was preaching at his Big Meetings. This was a truly happy time in our lives because we were all so afraid of dad, we could relax and have fun with mother. She always seemed so brave to us…never seemed to worry here that we were all alone. She kept a gun loaded by her bedside which I’ll never forget. I always got to sleep with her as I had such bad cramps in my skinny legs, and she’d rub them out. I also had such terrible nightmare dreams; she’d awaken me gently and tell me everything was alright. I have so many, many cherished memories of our sweet mother. One thing she used to say that would sure hurt us children…when she’d be dressing to go some place, she’d look in the mirror and say, “You ole ugly Black Dutchman” (you’ll remember I’ve said that Grandpa Leonard was of German Ancestry). We thought mother was SO pretty when she was all dressed up and we just couldn’t understand why she’d say this. Her hair was so black and her eyes so blue (I could write so many, many wonderful things about her…also how miserable dad made her with his temper fits).

Mary Lois LEONARD and James Leon HIGGINBOTHAM were married on 15 October 1896 in Limestone Co., TX. James Leon HIGGINBOTHAM was born in 1871. He died in 1942 at the age of 71.