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Frank Foeman Houghton  (Son of Joseph and Mary Jane)          Photos Below

Additional Narrative:  Frank came to Texas with his family when only 3 years of age. His mother died when he was 6. His father Joseph remarried when he was 6 to Mary (Mooney) Tubb who lived in Nemo. He grew up on a rented farm somewhere near Cleburne, Johnson Co., TX. At age 20 he married Martha Jane Wright (adopted daughter of Ruben J. Wright and George-Ann Rebecca Hart),  They moved to and started their family on a rented farm on Ioni Creek in Palo Pinto Co., TX. where the first two children Olive Mae and Mattie Vera were born. By the turn of the century, he had rented a larger farm on Cedar Creek. That is where Vera died and Oscar was born.  In 1906 he bought the family farm (home place), consisting of 80 acres and a two room house, from Tom Moore for $600. It is located on the county line of Stephens and Palo Pinto between Caddo and Brad TX. He paid for the farm via the first cotton crop. The next year the bole weevils got the cotton. Son Willie died of whooping cough. Orville was the last child born at the home place. They moved onto the Will Nickel place for 5 years. That is where Florice and Richard were born. In 1917 the crops had failed and drought took its toll.  He sold the farm to a Mr. Boarman and planned too move to Arizona where Oscar, his oldest son had moved with his family and friends. He was in the process of shipping his two work horses "Jim & Pat" there.  It turned out that selling the farm was a bit premature as the rains came and the drought was broken.  So they stayed in Texas and moved to the nearby Jasper Cowart Place where they lived for 5 years.   In 1923 he bought the farm back for $800 minus half the royalties. Two years later Son-in-law, Wallace Berry helped him move a small house from across the road on the Hart Ranch to a place beside the existing house. The two were eventually combined by building breezeway and porches to make one structure. His son Oscar would raise his family there as well. 

The livestock pens or lot consisted of a log cabin type barn and corn crib storage area and a rail fence. There was abundant game such as deer, turkey, quail, dove, rabbits, and fishing.  There were wild fruit and other edibles such as polk-salad, lambs-quarter, etc. in the area. It was a good place. A major drawback was having to haul water some distance when rain water ran out. There was a spring fed creek for livestock and some domestic use.

Martha began having occasional seizures similar to epilepsy after Florice was born and lasted until her death.  She was a good mother. She was always busy canning, sewing, cooking, quilting, or something, despite her ailments.  She suffered a very traumatic accident in the early 40's when she had a seizure while standing in front of the fireplace. She fell into the fire and was severely burned and almost died.  Her face and body was severely scared. This accident slowed her down and she spent the remainder of her years quite limited.  It never dampened her spirit or feistiness. She was strict and only spoke once. She was a deeply religious person and was a member of the Cedar Springs Methodist Church where she made sure her family attended camp meetings too. She also cared for her elderly mother for several years while raising her own family. She loved to read and had several books that she read to her children.  They all knew how to read by the time they started school.

Frank was a hard worker and easier going than Martha. He loved to joke with the kids and particularly liked and read the comic strips. His nephew Cecil Moore spent one summer visiting them and remembered the following story. Cecil was riding one of the calves in the pasture. Frank told him not to let the calf get too hot and don't let "Aunt Marthy" see him or she would whip his butt.  He loved his children and grand children and was always doing things with them, giving them cookies or telling them stories.  Brown described his father as a pal who taught him how to work, play baseball, and respect. He was loved by everyone who knew him.

Both Frank & Martha were injured in an auto accident when he turned over his Model T at the blinding speed of ... say 30 mph. This occurred when they were driving from the home place to Caddo. The sun was in their eye and Frank was somewhat blinded. Marta noticed they were about to run off of the road so she told him to pull over some.  He thought they must be meeting a car on the narrow highway so he pulled to the right.  Wrong way.  She meant he was about to run off of the road. Well he did. The road shoulder was not improved in those days and the car turned over. It hardly made a dent in that old car but it sure shook them around. 

As they got older and unable to do the farm work, they moved off of the place into the Thompson place, a neighboring house only.  They later moved into Caddo for a few years.  Oscar moved his family to the farm and worked it. They later moved Frank and Martha back to the farm where they could take care of them as Frank had cancer and was dying.

He was a farmer by trade and spent his entire life farming until forced to retire due to physical limitations.  He never sold the farm (home place) after getting it back but kept it in the family. Frank and Martha lost two small children Vera (2) from Whooping Cough and William (2) also of whooping Cough.  Their son Richard died of Meningitis at age 28. They were married for 62 years until his death.  In 1956 he discovered he had cancer and decided to forego the medical treatment and die at home. He died at age 83, 18 October 1956, and was buried at Brad Cemetery a few miles from their home. Martha was cared for by Oscar and Ola until she had to go to a rest home in Breckenridge until her death 17 August 1958. She was 80 years old.  They are buried beside each other at Brad Cemetery. 

Comment by:  Derl Houghton, a grand-son.

One sometimes has trouble putting things into perspective with life's problems and difficulties. This couple experienced most of what life offers and were shining examples and role models to those of us fortunate enough to be a part of them. The only thing Frank and Martha did not experience was either serving in the military or fight in the War. However, they served their God and Country both in support of the war and the contribution of producing a wonderful family. Their son Richard "Dick", my father, did not die on some foreign battlefield but gave his life (meningitis exposure) while transporting soldiers from Camp Wolters in his cab in Mineral Wells, TX. Both my father and grandfather were great men as far as I am concerned. I have many fond memories of my grandfather Frank.  I barely remember my father, as he died when I was very young,  but I know he was an extension of his father and so am I. That makes me very proud.

Comment by: Small memorial by Francis Houghton, a grand-daughter.

The ringing of the phone in the night disturbed my peaceful sleep. "Yes Mom, we'll be home by noon tomorrow." As I returned to my bed, I wasn't sleepy anymore. I lay musing over incidents that had happened not so long ago. He was a little old man. His white hair circled the edge of his head like a lone thunderhead in an otherwise clear sky. Like most farmers he wore the typical faded bib overalls with a plaid flannel shirt and fur lined slippers that zipped instead of tying. His fingernails were cracked with age although he always told us a wagon wheel rolled over them once.

The visits we made to his house were visits to long be remembered. In his model T Ford we would jog and bounce down the road to the back pasture where he would proudly display his corn and then back to the barn to see the twin goats born "just yesterday."

After Summer, out came the card table and the dominos, his blue eyes twinkling, yet dim enough so you could never see the double blank was right side up.  I loved to sit under the vine covered back porch listening to his stories of "the good old days" accompanied by the sounds of the night. There were stories of how his parents moved from Michigan when he was only three. He told of when he was 20 he married Martha. He always added that he married her so he would have someone to pick his cotton that fall.  "Yes", he'd say, "sixty years is a long time to live with one woman".  He always added a word about the two pictures with huge carved wooden frames that hung in the bed room. Little Willie and Vera both died of whooping cough when they were only three.  I like the story of the deer antlers that hung over the front door. "That's the first deer your daddy ever killed. A ten pointer too!"  He would pause long enough to get a drink from the water bucket that hung on a chain from the ceiling of the porch.  I liked to drink from the gourd dipper and managed to have enough water left to throw onto the vines that climbed strings to the roof.

All too soon it would be time to go home. When we get home tomorrow the little old man won't be waiting for us. There won't be a special joke in the morning paper he saved especially for us to read. There won't be any cookies that he bought because he knew we were coming home. In their place will be a sad little lady dressed in black, bouquets of flowers and food brought by the neighbors and friends, but nothing to take the place for the kind, little man.

In Psalms, I remember reading about "With a long life I will satisfy him," and breathe a silent prayer of thanks to my heavenly father for having had the privilege of knowing a man like my grandfather.

Brown Remembers...

“I remember my father told me about helping a man rob a bee hive. He lived down toward Cedar Creek. That is where my folks lived before they moved there near Caddo. The man was named Fitch Hamilton. His wife was Etta Hamilton, a cousin of Grandma Anderson.         

There was a place down there called Hells Gate. There is a high duff there with a gap in it like a natural gate. In the cliff, near the gate, there is a bluff about a hundred feet high. About fifty feet from the bottom there was a cave and in the cave there was a bee-hive.

They built a rope ladder and tied one end to a tree at the top and let the rope ladder down to the cave. Then they took the honey out and took it up the rope ladder.

My father and Uncle Oscar robbed several bee trees in the area near their farms where they lived. I would love to get back down there one more time and see the old home-place once more.

My father and I were planting corn on the home-place. He was working two horses to a lister. That was a plow that we made a furrow with to plant corn in. Then we rim the planter in to plant the corn seed in the ground and cover it up.

I got a blister on one heel and it hurt so bad I couldn’t walk. My father bandaged my foot with strips of gunny-sack and I planted the corn without my shoe. I got the corn planted and it made a good crop.”         

-Orville (Brown) Houghton

Frank & Martha

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