Mary Lou Dennis

While living on the Curtis place, we all suffered an awful shock and loss! My little sister, who was almost six years of age was playing at a close neighbor's home when she stuck a splinter in her foot. This resulted in tetanus and "lock jaw". She died in just a few days on April 27, 1914. Tetanus serum was not available in Floresville. When the doctor realized that she had to have it and received some from San Antonio, it was too late to save little Inez. She was laid to rest in the Floresville cemetery. As young as I was, I missed her terribly bad! (I was not quite eight.) We were such close playmates. Our younger sister, Irene, who was not quite two was too young to know at the time, but while I was at school, Inez helped look after her. Irene had the whooping cough while Inez was sick in bed. Even while she was that sick, she heard Irene whooping and called to Mama, "The baby is choking!" She wanted to be sure Mama would go see about her. I remember Inez's death vividly.

--by Leatha Groth

Later we moved a good many miles to the Fargo Community. I can't recall the name of the place, but while we lived there, we had another sorrow, a great loss which overwhelmed us! My little brother, Tilmon Marlin, who we called Marlin, died of double pneumonia. He had never been sick a day in his life. He was a robust, healthy baby. At five months of age, he weighed 23 pounds. He was nine months and seventeen days old when he died after having been sick for 23 days and nights. This struck me extra hard because I was the one who looked after him much of the time. I had appendicitis which often kept me from working in the filed, so I would look after Marlin and do the house work so Mama could work in the field. Because we attended the Baptist Church at Tolbert, Texas, Marlin was buried in the Tolbert Cemetery.

---by Leatha Groth

Because we attended the Baptist Church at Tolbert, Texas, Marlin was buried in the Tolbert Cemetery.

---by Leatha Groth