Thomas Sr. was born 1848 in Jackson County, Tennessee, his parents were John and Polly Harris...John was born in 1814. Thomas Sr. is buried in Mossville Cemetery.

Martha Palestine 'Pallie' Youngblood was born April 22, 1900 and died September 19, 1966 and is buried at Buffalo Cemetery in Newton County, Arkansas. She is buried along side her mother, Julia Ann Winters Youngblood, and her father, William Joseph Youngblood.

In the above house in Murray, Newton County, Arkansas was born to Tom and Pallie, thirteen children. By today's standards we would say it is impossible to raise, house, feed, and care for thirteen children plus mom and dad in this two bedroom, No Bath, No electricity, house. This was more than just a house it was also the ‘birthing room' for all the children. Money was scarce in those days but large families were not, so it was necessary for everyone, both boys and girls, to work long hard hours.

On a cold, ice filled night, December 1, 1919, the first little bundle of joy, known as Robert Loyd Harris, entered this world. His feet had hardly began walking when a little brother named Marvin came along. The date was May 14, 1921. To begin telling the stories of the Harris children, I must put Loyd and Marvin together because the two boys were so close all their life, even to this day. You can’t tell one's story without the other being involved. These boys knew at an early age that music would be a major part of their life. Musical talent was a gift that the entire Harris family was blessed with.

The musical talent didn’t just come from the Harris side of the family, Pallie’s side of the Youngbloods were all talented and Pallie's mother's side of the family, the Winters, were great fiddle players. Tom played the banjo and Pallie played the guitar, so music was a sound that was familiar to all the children's little ears. The musical talents of the Harris children would surpass many singers and musicians of today, but due to living conditions, poverty, and lack of education in the area at that time period, the talents were used for entertaining themselves, neighbors, local churches, family gatherings and schools.

Very early at age five and six, Loyd and Marvin's fingers found they too could make music come out of those instruments. It was as natural as eating. Loyd and Marvin began taking their guitars to church when they got older...I mean age six and eight...that old. Both boys had to go to the field and work whether it be in the cotton field or at home, and so they learned how to earn a little money at age eight. By then a Sears and Roebuck catalog was coming in the mail...and did their eyes ever light up when they saw bright shinning guitars for sale in that big wish book. Oh how they wished. Tom taught them if you want something you must work for it.

With what little money they could earn though, they learned to save until they could get their very own guitars. Then out came the catalog again and an order was sent. Oh what a happy day when the mailman come bringing a big package. The boys took those guitars and it was off for the big time. No, not Nashville, big time to them was the old Buffalo School. It served as both school and church, and over to Wayton and any place someone would ask them to play and sing. By now Loyd had learned to play a harp and he made himself a holder for it so he could play it and his guitar at the same time. He also picked up the mandolin and learned to play it. Loyd had then, and 81 years later, still has a great loud singing voice.

When Loyd was five, Tom was digging a well and set a box of dynamite caps down and two curious little boys crawled up to see what he was doing and not knowing anything about dynamite, Loyd lit a cap and it blew the end off of two fingers. This didn’t stop his playing though.

As the boys grew older, they were still going to the cotton patch and Marvin met a man who had a movie machine. This was new to the boys and the man said I will sell you this machine and the movies and you can make lots of money showing movies to people...Lots of Money, you mean more than in the cotton patch? Oh yes, you charge each person to come see the movies. Now Marvin knows anything is better than picking cotton, so he traded him a knife and a little money to boot and it is off to become a wealthy man. Marvin and Loyd were smart boys because they are thinking of more than just movies. They believe here is a way to also display their talents. You see, by now two sisters had come along and three more brothers, all of which also sang and played. Oh yes, the 'birthing room' had been kept busy.

Marvin went to all the little towns around and asked permission to use vacant buildings to set up his equipment to show these movies. He charged 10 cents each for them to get in and then after the movie was done, they would bring out their instruments and put on a singing show. Oh what a thrill for Saturday to come and all the little kids load up on the old wagon with guitars and mandolins, etc. and head for 'Marvin's Movie' night. Marvin learned real quick that it was not a get rich quick business, but after all he had to build up the ‘business'. They had movies and music shows at Ponca, Osage, Jasper, Carrollton, Redrock and everyplace they could get a building and get to. There was one catch though, if you went back to the same town, people got tired of the same movies and Marvin didn’t make enough money to buy more movies...so that career ended sooner than he would have liked. But now lots of people had heard them sing and play so they all begin singing at churches and school events all around.

Loyd and Marvin began playing with Will Vaughn and they started going to singing conventions and CC Camps and performing. They won most all of the singing convention contests. They each had horses, and if you could get there by horse they went. Loyd said one time they tied with Dude and Jo Vaughn at Flatwood and they all got paid seven dollars and a half. That was more money than they had ever got for singing.

At Harrison at the court yard they were selling war bonds and having war bond drives which included talent contests and of course Marvin and Loyd entered and they won. The prize was a Bear Burger plus $10.00 each. They did not want to eat a Bear, so they sold it to another man.

As Loyd got older his voice really developed and it caught the attention of other musicians. Carl Smith was a well known Nashville singer about that time and Loyd became acquainted with him. Loyd was offered a 6 month contract to come to Nashville and sing and record. Carl Smith begged him to go and even offered to let him room with him. Loyd turned this offer down...you see, lack of education keeps many people from being what they could be. Loyd and Marvin, as well as all the other kids in the family, had only gotten to 3rd grade and that wasn’t like 3rd grade today. That was 3rd grade with maybe 3 months of school in each grade...if you were lucky. The girls got to go a little more than the boys, but Dad needed the boys to work those fields and make fence every day. So now, years later, when you can't read or write not even your name, going off to a strange place was out of the question. They had no confidence in themselves.

Now there was war and rumors of wars, and Loyd and Marvin were both taken into the armed service. Oh how the other kids and Mom and Dad cried when they left. They truly believed they would never see them again. These boys were their leaders, what would they do without them. Susie Viola had been born April 4, 1922 and Eileen November 20, 1924...Rufus January 5, 1926, Jessie Ray February 5, 1923, Lonnie Earl April 3, 1930, Dorothy June 10, 1932, James Henry September 8, 1934, Loyal Riley March 13, 1936, Arlis Gene March 19, 1938, Elvie Jerlene, November 3, 1939 and baby boy that mama always called Sonny Boy, born October 13, 1941. His given name was Edgar Blaine. All these kids and mom and dad are waving goodby and crying their hearts out because big brothers are leaving.

This didn't keep those left behind from going on with their playing and singing nor did it keep Loyd from displaying his talents in the Navy. There was a lot of opportunities to sing and many talent contests held. Loyd won them all. God was good to those boys and they returned safe. I will tell more about that later in the story.

In 1947 after their war days were over, Loyd and Jessie got a job singing at radio station KHOZ in Harrison. They were called the Southern Hillbillys. They received no money, but they were allowed to advertize where they were going to be appearing in the coming weeks. They thought that was good enough pay. Jesse and Loyd made personal appearances as far away as Eureka Springs. That seemed a long way in those days.

Music parties are something Newton County knows about. While the boys were away to war, the music parties for the Harris family became a 'looked forward to' event. If one wasn’t going on at Tom Harris's house then everybody piled on the wagon and we went to their cousins ‘The Youngbloods'. All of them played and sang also. Sometimes we went to the Vaughns or Hendersons. We called it Henderson Mountain and Robert played Bass guitar. Also we would go to the Robinsons and Carltons. Dad had half brothers and sisters in the Robinson family. There would be square dances and Dad played for them with his Banjo. There was just one catch to the all night music parties. Dad would be expecting you to be doing your job when the sun come up in the morning.

Many times we would just be getting home or just get layed down and Dad would be hollering at us to get up. He would say you boys know them cows have to be milked, now git... We had to both milk and feed before breakfast but ‘Oh Boy' when we came in, Mom would have plenty of food for us to eat. It didn’t matter if it was winter or summer when we crawled out of that bed we had to get moving. There wasn’t any turning over and going back to sleep.

I can remember how cold that floor was when you crawled out from under all those quilts. Oh My! You could see your breath. We slept four to five in a bed, depending on how many we could kick out during the night. When they got good and cold though they would come rooting back in like little pigs. Having to sleep with the little kids made us real familiar, with 'Water Beds' way before this generation knew about them. We had real water and it was warm water. We were so poor and didn’t even know it because in those days no one had anymore than we did. At least the people we knew didn’t.

Marvin finally got a model T truck and we would all pile in it and we would have to push it up every hill and then we would jump in and ride down and we would be laughing all the way. We took it to the cotton patch too, so thankful for it. Dad never did learn how to drive.

Continue... Precious Memories, Part 2

Back to Newcoa Newsletter, April 2001

To Newton County Families®

To Newton County, Arkansas Page