From: Dawson County History: The Tabletop (1981)
Transcribed by E.W. Hendon
(Notes in parenthesis made by transcriber)

Tom Hendon, born in Mississippi in 1886, and Iris (Winn) Hendon, born in Texas in 1892, bought a quarter section in Dawson County in 1916 while they lived in Knox County.  Not until Autumn of 1929 were improvements begun with the parents and six children moving in early 1930, leaving Birdie (oldest daughter) with grandparents (E.L. & Francis Hendon) to finish high school.

There were new things to cope with; a sod farm, an earthen tank, a great distance to Fairview school, rattlesnakes galore, no fences, and not knowing anyone.  The nearest post office, Lou, was four miles away. With five children in school, it wasn’t long before acquaintances were made. The nearest families were the Jeffcoats, Andersons, Carl Kelleys, and the Paynes. Sunday night singings were held at different houses, and the family attended Fairview Baptist Church, though they were Methodist and later attended Pride Methodist Church. Sunday afternoons were spent visiting, singing, playing dominos, and the boys trying their expertise with calf roping, which Tobe (Houston Winn Hendon) carries scars for proof. Gene (Eugene Lafayette Hendon), fifteen months old when coming to Dawson County, managed to fall into the earthen tank and had to be pulled out alive by his older brother, Lynn (William Lynn Hendon). Frances (sister) was born in Dawson County. All the Children (except Birdie) attended school in the county and Jack, Gene, and Frances graduated from Dawson school.

The quarter section of land east of the homestead was bought, and as the boys grew older, More land was rented and farming extended. One of the first tractors in the community was the Hendon’s. Farming was very much a family project because all the farming and picking for neighbors “in-between pickings”. The early years were depression years and times were not the best for there was no money, but there was plenty to eat, enough to wear, and we didn’t freeze.  When the mesquite grubs ran out, corn and maize were so cheap that they were burned for fuel. Many happy hours were spent visiting when the Jeffcoats, Andersons, and Hendons got together to can corn and peas for the coming winters.

Birdie latered married Eddie Jeffcoat. He is deceased and Birdie is now married to Henry Lisenbee. Lynn married Morine Ward of Ackerly and now lives in Lubbock. Louise (Iris Louise Hendon) married Earl Williams, later married Louis Dees. She is deceased. Pete (Royce Norman Hendon) never married. He lives in Kansas. Jack (John Thomas Hendon) married Lucille Rasser of Nebraska—now living in Colorado. Tobe married Margaret Waller of Pride.  Margaret is deceased,  and he is now married to Cherolynne Inglis of Morton, where they live. Gene married Jeanie Armbruster of Welch. They live in Welch. Frances married Jim Burkett of O’Donnell and they live in Borden County.

Iris died in 1959 and Tom in 1979, and they are buried in Lamesa Cemetery.
 

By  Birdie Hendon Lisenbee (1981)