Week 10 #52Ancestors: Bachelor Uncle

Meet “Uncle Jack” who is the youngest son of Noah and Allie Sutton.  He is actually my great-uncle whose birth name is Alva Leonard Sutton.  Jack was a bit of an enigma given that his nickname is not a substitute for his proper name and despite his good looks he never married.

By the time Jack was born in 1906, his oldest sister Malissa was 18 years old.  She had married the previous year and given birth to his niece, Zola Mae, about four months prior to his birth.  Jack was also close in age to Malissa’s other children as he was two years older than her daughter, Ethel, and seven years older than her son, Ray. There were about 80 first cousins between the Sutton-Epperson lines but they all lived out-of-state primarily in Arkansas and Tennessee.  I wonder how many playmates lived nearby other than his sister, Jessie.

Old unlabeled photo but could be Jack Sutton with nieces, Zola Mae and Ethel Henderson taken c1911

I doubt Jack knew much about his Tennessee roots other than the stories passed onto him.  The family farm in Lamasco, Fannin Co., Texas was his home and employer.  Trips away from the farm were generally related to farming business and those trips would be taken with a neighbor or relative.  The reason for this is it appears Jack never learned to drive anything other than a tractor.  How many people do you know who were born in the 20^thcentury and died in 1988 and did not drive?  Perhaps he was too frugal to purchase a vehicle or he just didn’t see the point of owning something he would rarely use.

I wish I knew more about him but I can say that he worked hard as we often found him out on the farm when we visited.  Jack loved his hound dogs and often took them squirrel hunting.  My sister, Cheryl, went along on a hunt and remembers seeing the hounds attempt to climb a tree to retrieve a squirrel that had fallen in a tree’s crevice upon being shot.

Another unknown photo that is most likely Jack

Many people would describe Jack as a bit shy but perhaps he became this way later on in life. Family photos show him with friends and he looked dapper.  

Jack Sutton and Ruby Moor

Jack was very close to his parents given that he remained with them until their deaths. Allie would die of pneumonia in 1936 at the age of 67 just three months after the death of his brother, Lewis (my grandfather).  In review of the 1940 census, Jack is still single and living with his father, Noah. I noticed that the highest grade he attended was 6^thgrade while Noah’s highest grade level attained was the first year of high school. I wonder why he didn’t go further in school but, in review of his siblings’ education level, it appears that none of them were as educated as Noah.  By 1954, Jack would lose his 89-year-old father, Noah, from heart failure.  He remained on the farm until his death in 1988.    

Ethel and Zola Mae Henderson with Jack, Allie and Noah Sutton

Pete Henderson, Noah Sutton, Laura Sutton Todd, Jack Sutton, Jessie Sutton Kelley, unknown man, possibly Malissa Sutton Henderson

Noah Sutton, Jessie Sutton Kelley, JC Kelley, Jack Sutton, Palmer Ray Kelley, and Susie Kelley Clarke

Uncle Jack and Paul "PJ" Sutton

According to Jack’s obituary, he attended the Lamasco Baptist church and I think he was often invited to have dinner by church members.  In fact, I recall a visit to the farm when Dad couldn’t find him.  He arrived a couple of hours later and we learned he was returning from dinner with a friend. My mother asked him if he had been out with his girlfriend and he giggled.  Perhaps he did have a special friend.