The Frank A. Fuller Family

Facts provided by Mr. and Mrs. W. L. Fuller

Dr. Frank A. Fuller was one of the oldest practitioners in Cherokee County and Jacksonville, although not a native, having been born in Anderson County, near where Slocum now is situated, on March 13, 1858. He was a son of Dr. and Mrs. J. B. Fuller, who moved to old Jacksonville when Frank was about five years old. They lived there until 1872, when the town moved to its present location.

He attended Jacksonville Collegiate Institute and then Missouri Medical College in St. Louis, where he was graduated in 1878. Returning to Jacksonville, he entered practice with' his father and continued for 59 years.

On September 4, 1881, he married Miss Nannie Brittain, daughter of Dr. and Mrs. B. F. Brittain. Six children were born to them, of whom three survive, including William L. Fuller of Jacksonville, Mrs. Eva Fuller Ham-mons of Houston and Mrs. C. V. (Jo Fuller) Brewer of Dallas. John Wyeth Fuller died in infancy.

William L. married Imogene Boaz, who came to Jacksonville from Lindale to teach school. Their son, Bill, is married, has two children, and lives in Dallas.

Eva married Frank J. Hammons and lives in Houston. Their daughter, Jeanne, married Wayne J. Hollenbeck, and one of their three children is married. Their home is Austin. Josef a (Jo) married C. V. Brewer. They were parents of a son, Bob, who resides with his family in Irving.

Dr. Fred married Bess Watkins of Kemp, daughter of a pioneer Kaufman County physician. After his death in 1939, she was librarian for 18 years of the Jacksonville Public Library. She died in June, 1971.

Frank Fuller married Ona Conn, daughter of James J. and Lillie Conn, in 1916. She, with her sister, Jewel, and brother, Uhland, had come to Jacksonville from Madisonville in 1909, with their widowed mother. Their only child, Frances, married Philip H. Peacock, and they reside in Jacksonville. They have two sons, Dexter Peacock, who is married, has a child, and resides in Houston, Dr. Frank Peacock, presently in Denver, Colorado, and a daughter, Lucy Peacock, performing with the Berlin Opera Company, in West Berlin, Germany.

Dr. Frank Fuller was a member of the Cumberland Presbyterian Church and served as local surgeon for the Cotton Belt, Missouri Pacific and Southern Pacific railroads. Two of his sons, W. L. and Frank, who died in 1969, were conductors on the Southern Pacific, working out of Jacksonville for some 50 years. Dr. Fred Fuller practiced medicine in Jacksonville until his death.

Dr. Frank Fuller was one of the founders of Nan Travis Hospital, and was actively connected with it until his death October 11, 1937. He was typical of the family doctor of his era. He did make house calls, and presided at thousands of births, going to answer distress calls of his patients, even though this required long horseback rides, when roads could not be traversed by buggy.

Miss Nannie Brittain, who became Dr. Frank Fuller's wife in 1881, was a pioneer of Jacksonville and Cherokee County, but had come here from her native Georgetown, Tenn., where she was born in 1863. Her father, Dr. B. F. Brittain, was a captain in the Fifth Tennessee Cavalry during the Civil War. Following the war, he moved his family to Texas, locating in what now is known as old Jacksonville.

The family moved with the town in 1872 to its present location on the then newly-constructed I. & G. N. Railroad. The children thrilled to see the "big yellow wagons running on iron rails." Often they laid pins on the tracks, and they were mashed into "scissors" as the trains rolled by.

Doctors were not lacking in Mrs. Fuller's family. Her father, husband, father-in-law, five brothers and eldest son were physicians. Through these associations, Mrs. Fuller developed a vital interest in the lives of those about her. This was manifest by her very active membership in the Cumberland Presbyterian Church, and her part in civic activities. She entertained many notables in her home, including William Jennings Bryan.

Mrs. Fuller followed her husband in death on October 10, 1946, and is buried in Jacksonville City Cemetery.

Dr. Frank A. Fuller, family doctor and one of the founders of Nan Travis Memorial Hospital (originally Cherokee Sanitarium).

Dr. J. B. Fuller, pioneer citizen, father of Dr. Frank A. Fuller, who practiced medicine in the early days of old Jacksonville. He moved to the new Jacksonville location in 1872.

The Dr. F. A. Fuller home built about 1900 at the corner of S. Bonner and W. Rusk Streets. Recently demolished.

1910 automobiles of Dr. Frank and Dr. Fred Fuller. They were Buicks. Note hand crank in front and carbide cylinder, which provided gas for lights, on running board.

Parlor picture of Mrs. Nan Brittain Fuller with her son, Will, daughter, Eva, and infant who died at an early age.