More Precious Memories

This marker stands in front of land that once was the homeplace of John William "Billy" & Sarah Ann "Sally (George) Wilson. The house and all the farm buildings are down now and little evidence remains of days gone by. Billy was the son of Allen Green & Elizabeth M. (Askins) Wilson. His paternal grandparents were Robert William & Celine A. (Robinson) Wilson; Presley & Mary (Finch) Askins were his maternal grandparents. It reads as follows:
"Beloved Methodist minister of early Delta County. Lived and farmed on land surrounding this site. Born in Tennessee. Enlisted in Missouri Infantry in 1862 to serve in Confederate Army during Civil War. Sustained severe wound in left leg at Battle of Corinth, October 1862, and was left for dead. To survive, he ate grains of corn scattered over field. Leg was partially paralyzed for rest of his life.
"In 1866 he married Sarah Ann George. They had 12 children. Decided to serve church after his young daughter was miraculously revived after appearantly drowning. In addition to preaching locally, he also rode a circuit. He continued farming, however, because pioneer preachers were paid only in goods. He once recieved a gallon of syrup for his services.
"Wilson built one of the first cotton gins in Delta County and in 1887 bought the old Cyrus C. Taylor homestead (250 ft. N.), which was built in 1859.
"Throughout his long life, Wilson held the esteem of citizens all over county. His benevolent manner made him a popular 'marrying parson'. After eldest daughter was widowed, he took her and her six small children into his home. Wilson is remembered for his kindness and charity to his fellow man." 1969

Jayla Mayes is the daughter of Johnny & Jalan Mayes; granddaughter of Ida Dow (Craig) & John Pierson "Jake" Mayes; great-granddaughter of Susie Eller (Wilson) & Henry Marshall Craig and great-great-granddaughter of Billy & Sally (George) Wilson.
The bed can be viewed at the Patterson Memorial Museum in Cooper, Texas.