The Henry A. Childress Family

By Mary Frances Childress

After leaving a Mississippi farm, Henry Austin Childress came to Texas as a young man to join an older brother who was in business in Temple. There he became interesting in railroading, and soon was working for the Southern Pacific Railroad out of Houston. Working in Houston and Louisiana for several years, he became an engineer at a comparatively young age. Soon thereafter, he decided he wanted to "bump" somebody in a small town, meet and marry the prettiest girl in town, and settle down to rear a family. The chance to "bump" a trainman and move to Jacksonville came in 1911.

Henry noticed one of the sales ladies in the J. L. Brown Store, Miss Willie Blaylock, who he thought was quite attractive, and he asked the late Mrs. Addie David Taylor, one of the daughters at the David Boarding House, to introduce him to this lady. This acquaintance developed into their marriage later.

Willie Blaylock Childress, the daughter of the late Joe H. and Mary Hill Blaylock, came to Jacksonville in 1903 from Port Sullivan, a small Central Texas farming community on the Brazos River. The family moved into a house on Ragsdale Street in the area of the present Nan Travis parking lot. Mr. Blaylock was engaged variously in the grocery business, in farming, and in making and selling railroad ties to the Southern Pacific. He and Mrs. Blaylock were charter members of the Central Baptist Church.

Two unmarried children, Billie and Willie, twin brother and sister, moved to Jacksonville with them. Billie worked at the local ice cream parlor, Booth Brothers, which later sold to Charlie Bando and became the well-known Bando's Candy Kitchen, making candies and ice cream dishes, specialties of the house. After leaving Jacksonville Billie traveled for the Welch Grape Juice Co. until his retirement. He and his family lived in Dallas for over 50 years, where he died in 1971.

Willie worked at the P. D. Turner Racket Store, helping move this establishment from a small space in the present Young Cleaners building to a bigger store across Main Street into the building now occupied by Jim Heilman's Sport Shop. In a year or two, she again helped to move all the "rackets" of Jacksonville's only variety store to an even larger location, the present Perry Bros. Variety Store on Commerce St. A few months later, she began working in the late J. L. Brown's store. Miss Willie, as she was called by her customers, often would come down early before regular opening hours, or stay late after closing hours to help young ladies who were brides-to-be select their patterns, materials and trimmings for their wedding suits and dresses. After working five years at the J. L. Brown store, Willie quit work to marry Henry A. Childress in April, 1913, in the Blaylock home, which now was across Ragsdale Street on the present property of Mrs. Billy Mason's home. The Childresses moved three houses up the street, and here their first child, a son was born. Later they bought the house next door, where their daughter was born.. Mrs. Childress lives in this home today, having lived since her arrival in Jacksonville in four different residences on South Ragsdale Street.

She is the only living charter member of the Central Baptist Church.

Joseph Henry Childress, their son, is in the insurance business, and he and his family live in Austin. Mary Frances Childress, their daughter, is a teacher in the Jacksonville Senior High School.

Henry A. Childress is deceased, having been killed in a train collision near Dallas in 1924.

Mr. and Mrs. H. A. Childress on the porch of their South Ragsdale Street home. Photo about 1914.