Nancy Wilma LANCASTER WILSON

Nancy Wilma LANCASTER b. July 1921, in Martins Mill, TX, married 17 June, 1938 to William Francis WILSON Sr. in Martins Mill, TX.  

Their children:

Nita Jenelle WILSON (pictured above) b. 1 Jan., 1940, Martins Mill, TX, married 19 Aug., 1955 to Paul Ray JARNAGIN Sr., Dallas, TX.

William Francis WILSON Jr. (pictured above) b. 13 Oct., 1941, Martins Mill, TX, married Vicky Gene NUCKOLS 2 May, 1964, Garland, TX.

Jo Kathryn WILSON (pictured above) b. 5 Jan., 1945, Corpus Christi, TX, married Young Lincoln KIMMEL, 28 Dec., 1963, OK.

John Russell WILSON (pictured above) b. 2 July, 1953, Dallas, TX, married (1) Vicky VAUGHN, 1973, TX (divorced 1974) married (2) Dorella WELLS 20 March, 1980, AZ.

Nancy is shown in the picture (above) submitted with this article with her Martins Mill school class.  She has always shared stories of her fond memories of her life growing up in Martins Mill.  Whether she is telling stories of "picking cotton in the hot sun" or just a simple tale about "chewing sweet gum," her positive fun loving attitude towards life shines through.  One of my favorite stories is (in her own words) "When I was growing up (about 7 yrs old) Papa would have me bring him a cool drink of well water to the field where he was plowing.  I carried  it in a syrup bucket and when he saw me coming he would stop plowing and wait for me.  As I got closer he would start laughing, put his hand in his overall pocket and pull out a copper cent.  Then he would rub it in the dirt until it really shined, before handing it to me.  The were beautiful!  I saved them all and kept them in a Bull Durham tobacco sack.  I thought I was rich and Papa had made them all look brand new.   One of our close neighbors, Sam BLACK had hired hands to pick his cotton.  When they placed the cotton on his porch, much of it fell through some holes in his porch to the ground underneath.  He came to our house and asked Mama if I could go up to his house, crawl under the porch and pick up the cotton there.  After I finished Mr. BLACK handed me a quarter, but I refused to take it.  He insisted that it was pay for my work, but I told him that I had plenty of money.  I thought the little bag of copper cents would last me my lifetime and I could work without pay."

Mother's desire to serve others has continued.  She still finds opportunities to work without pay.  She was forced into retirement from the nursing profession in 1987 by a light stroke, but she stays busy in Tulsa, OK with church activities, her friends and family.  She has lived and worked in Texas, Arkansas, Utah, California and Oklahoma.  Her life is full of interests and she has experienced many things, but her greatest joys come to her in her roles - Mother and Grandmother.

Some of her favorite memories are centered around life in Martins Mill.  She was born in the house described as Aunt Ethel and Uncle Marnand's house (SIMMONS), where "Mama" and "Papaw" lived at the time she was born.  They later moved to the Head place (believed to have been land owned by John HEAD and then became HAZLEWOOD property) and then Mother (Nancy) grew up on Arthur PHILLIP's place.  She remembers some of her family living on the SCALES place.  Most people who live in a community like Martins Mill know everyone, so you can describe where people live by their name.  They also have another bond and that is that as they grow into adulthood they know what it means to have a place known as "the old homeplace."

As a young girl in school Mother won a harmonica and a much treasured Bible with her name engraved in gold on its cover.  Mr. Marion STILLWELL who owned a store in Martins Mill (early 1930's) was very civic minded and encouraged the young people to develop their talents.  He came to school and brought two harmonicas announcing that they would be given to the two who could play them best.  The students judged the performances and Nancy was given one harmonica but cannot remember the name of the other girl who won also.  Mr. STILLWELL was the one who awarded the Bible to the one at church who was outstanding in speaking and reciting.  His name is signed in the Bible he presented to Mother.

Walking down the road that runs by the Baptist Church there in Martins Mill in 1938 Mother noticed a good looking young man go by in a car.  She turned around to see if he was looking back to see if she was looking back (remember that old song)?  She always thought of her first look at her husband-to-be when she heard that song.  William Francis WILSON was that young man.  Their courtship was short and they soon married.

Some of Mother's favorite times were spent with "Mama" (her Mother, Annie Ben) quilting, mending clothes and listening to "Widow Brown" on the radio.

Most of my life I remember hearing about people like Katie PHYLEN, Annell SINGLEY, Joe STRINGER, Jack BROWN and Mr. DOWDLE.

Mother has only had one role model in her life and if you asked her to name that great woman, her answer, without hesitation, would be, "My Mother (Annie Ben)."  She, like her Mother, has tried to instill in her children the principle of honesty, love of God, family and country and to live by the "Golden Rule."  Her life reflects her greatest goal - to be eternally with her loved ones in a celestial home.

With gratitude her family can say - she has never compromised her old-fashioned values and has remained true to her old-time religious foundation.

The submitter is Jenelle Wilson Jarnagin