Cullom Lyhugh [per Draft registration] HILLIS, son of James Francis Lafayette Burton HILLIS & Mary Luiza MARBUT. His family moved to Bowie County, Texas sometime between March 1892 and December 1893, then to Oklahoma about 1905-06, and back to Texas (Crosby County) in 1908.
He met Gertrude Louisa WARD [b-Iowa] in Lawton, Oklahoma where he and his father worked for her father, on the Threshing Crew. They eloped, and married December 07,1908 in Altus, Oklahoma, on their way back to Texas. She was 15, but claimed to be 18 on the marriage license. He was 20. They had 5 children together [4 sons, 1 dt], the oldest child [son] not surviving, and separated in 1920... divorced in May 1923, where he retained custody of his sons, and regained custody of his daughter.
Cullom moved to Lubbock, Texas where he met Wretha Lee (WELLS) ADAMS, and they married in October 1923 in Lubbock County, Texas. Together, they had another 5 children [ironically, another 4 sons, 1 dt], along with her daughter Hazel and son Bill from previous marriages. They moved to Roscoe, Nolan County, Texas where they had a 100 acre farm. They remained a couple until they both passed.
I remember gathering the Peacock Feathers, the eggs from the Hen House [and everywhere else!], and getting into trouble for trying to catch the huge Goldfish in the Stock-Tank! I remember the Windmill, the Outhouse, and a couple of Goats, among other livestock.
We loved finding the Peacock Feathers, but would get into trouble if we tried to keep them, because Grandma Wreathy made crafts with them. She also had a large wooden "trunk" filled with molds for ceramics.
I never knew my Grandmother Gertrude, as she moved to California. If I ever met her, I was too young to remember! I remember Grandpa HILLIS as being very stern...

NOLAN COUNTY DEATH CERTIFICATE

Name: Cullom L Hillis
Event Type: Death
Event Date: 31 Mar 1968
Event Place: Simmons Memorial Hospital, Sweetwater, Nolan, Texas, United States
Cause of Death: Uremia; generalized arteriosclerosis; diabetes mellitus
Gender: Male
Marital Status: Widowed
Birth Date: 09 Aug 1888
Birthplace: Giles Co., Tennessee
Father's Name: Burton Hillis
Mother's Name: Mary Marbet
Occupation: Farmer
Residence: Route 1, Roscoe, Nolan, Texas
Burial/Removal: Sweetwater Cemetery
Date: 02 Apr 1968
Informant: B.L. Hillis (son)
Certificate Number: 21735
GS Film number: 2138979
Digital Folder Number: 005145083
Image Number: 01587

"Texas, Deaths, 1890-1976," index and images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/K3SC-NVN : accessed 27 Nov 2013), Cullom L Hillis, 31 Mar 1968; citing certificate number 21735, State Registrar Office, Austin; FHL microfilm 2138979.
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