Frank Madison Morrison was born in Starkville, Mississippi on April 1st, 1893. His parents were Joe and Willie Fontaine Morrison. His mother was from Mulberry, Arkansas and his father came from Mississippi. He attended school in Starkville and went to a business school in Pritchett.
He first worked in Texas at Winona in a store owned by people named Kay. Morrison then worked in Big Sandy for someone named Shepard. Then he worked for W.P. Mings, who sent him to Hawkins to operate his store there. Morrision later purchased the store which was located in a building built by Mings. He finished paying for the store and its contents in 1926.
Early during his time in Hawkins, Morrison met Flora Smith, the daughter to J.B. Smith of Hawkins. The Smiths owned a store next door to Morrison's store. He and Flora were married in 1918. He and Flora had five children, sons James and Bill plus a set of triplets - Frank, Fred and Florene.
At the time Morrison married, he was a member of the Church of Christ. Consequently, W.P. Mings, a member of that church, officiated at the wedding ceremony. Morrison later joined the Baptist church in Hawkins. He operated his store until November of 1952.
Morrison and Bobby Manzell brought in the first producing oil well in the Hawkins oil field on land Morrison owned. Morrison engaged in many church and civic activities until his death in 1952.
Manzell subsequently became a major figure in the oil industry in East Texas.
Some snippets from county history: Mineola was plagued in its early years by outbreaks of disease. These included dengue fever in 1896, yellow fever in 1896 and 1897, a small pox outbreaks in 1901, 1904 and 1905.
During the 1880s, fire destroyed 18 buildings in the downtown area of Mineola. The establishment of brick plants provided a more permanent type of construction. By 1890, Mineola had several brick buildings.
With the move of the railroad terminal; to Mineola in 1929, the population increased. Several new additions came into existence including the English addition and the Cage addition. By 1930, the population had jumped to 3,456.
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