Coffee - Barlar - Austin - Thurman family reunion of 1953
This is an old
reunion photo from about 1953 of the Paul Austin, Tom Barlar, William F. Coffee
Leroy Thurman, and Wilson Chaffin families.
Front
left to right: Ruby Barlar Austin, Ernie Austin, Wayne Austin, Royce
Thurman, Paulene Thurman.
Second Row: Warren Austin, Peggy Chaffin, William Fine Coffee, Sally
Chaffin, Wilson Chaffin Claxton Barlar.
Back Row: Paul Austin, Tom Barlar, Nell Coffee Chaffin Barlar, Joyce
Austin Hatton Grigsby (back), Jo-An Chaffin, Bobby Chaffin son of Wilson.
This photo session took place south of Hatton School East Colbert County Alabama
in the 1950s. Missing are the young daughters of Paulene and Ruby probably
inside in the crib. I guess Uncle Leroy Thurman made the photo with the old
Polaroid camera, because he never missed a family gathering and was usually the
most talkative one of all.
Family Relationships:
The eldest progenitor pictured above William Fine Coffee leaning on a cane. He
is in his mid eighties here. At this point in life he had seen a lot of family misery having
outlived two wives and two of his four children and some
grandchildren. He himself was orphaned by the early death of his father from the
civil war related issues in 1867. Seven years after his father died in 1868 diseases of the times took
his mother when he was seven. He was born shortly after his father's death. He
was at one time a farmer, a Saw Miller while he was living in Giles County. His
last vocation was store owner on the old Bear Creek Pike, Maury County
Tennessee, part of the road that
does not exist today in Maury County.
Paul & Ruby (Barlar) Austin were husband & Wife and all six of the kids
with the Austin surnames were their children.
Nell & Tom Barlar were Husband & Wife. Nell & Tom were married late
in life after Nell's sister Lela Coffee Barlar died of cancer in the early 1950s
and Tom married his widowed sister-in-law Nell Coffee Chaffin who was married to
Mack Chaffin until his death in the 1940s. Pictured on our right is
Claxton (Buddy) Barlar the only son Tom & Lela Barlar.
Mack & Ethel Nellie Coffee Chaffin had one son who is Wilson Chaffin
pictured above.
Wilson & Sally Chaffin were husband & wife and Bobby, Jo-An & Peggy
Chaffin all pictured above were their children.
Leroy & Paulene Thurman were husband & wife and Royce & Wanda were
their children. Aunt
Nell (as we called our great aunt and step grandmother) above was a very special
person to us and to all who knew her. She was a delightful personality, full of
energy and love for all. Heaven has to have a special place for persons like
her.
Old Paul Austin family home before they built a home in the Brick Church
Community in 1964.
This is a graphic rendition of the home where the reunion above took place. It
was located south of (little) Hatton
School East Colbert County Alabama about 1 mile south of what is termed 2nd
street. This house sat at the time smack in the middle of a fifty acre tract of
land in front of which was swamp land. Fertile farm land was on the other three
sides. The house was behind the photographer in the above photo. He was facing
toward us. In the photo one can see the long lane to the Jarmon lane. This old
house I think was built in 1913 by whom I am not sure but I believe maybe
someone in the Streit family who lived around this neighborhood in earlier
times. Our nearest neighbor was the Truman & Ocie Cobb (black) family who
lived back to our right (west) of this place about 1/4 mile. Further west up
Jarmon lane were more good black neighbors and a bootlegger or two who refused
to obey the law. This 50 acre tract actually sit in the intersection of Jarmon
Lane and Hatton School Road.
Families who lived on Hatton School Road to our left of the above house the
1950s
From Hatton School going south the first family were the Peden family about 500
yards down on the left coming south. He drove the Hatton School Bus for a number
of years. If a student misbehaved in those days he would put them off the bus
and let them walk home no matter how far. Yes, yours truly was one of the
misbehaving trudgers one time, but only one time, because that is all it took.
Next and almost across the road was the farm of George Oldham. This was a home
built probably in the 1890s. In a freak accident George's wife was run over by a
road grader. George was so despondent that he also ended his life leaving this
house vacant and after many years fallen down.
Another 200 yards on the right was a frame house that sat next to the road where
the son of George Oldham ,Virgil Oldham lived for a time until he built a new
house in the Brick Church neighborhood. Hillard & Joyce Hatton lived there
for a time early in their marriage.
Next house was a small frame house on the right back off the road. It was
at one time an old sharecropper rental residence. The people that live there the
longest were the Peden family possibly related to the first Peden family
mentioned above. Jim the son was in fifth grade at Hatton Elementary School in
1956. Later Fitz Newson (black) the grandfather (I think) of the star Alabama
tight end (Ozzie Newson) and later Pro-football player lived for a time there
(Fitz) when times were hard for that family. Next house was the the nice home of
the Sam Streit family. At one time the kin of this family owned the Streit
Dairy Products
in Sheffield Al. Later the Simmons family owned this home and ran the Simmons
Tire company on 2nd street in Sheffield during the 1960s & 1970s. About 300
yards further down the road and across the street was a stately
old mansion of about 5,000 square feet with 20 feet ceilings. It was an old
Antebellum home they say built in the 1840s.
Next back on the other side of Hatton School Road was the home of the Posey
family.
I don't believe they had any children Charles Ray Posey worked for Robbins
tile company on 6th Street in Tuscumbia, AL and he enjoyed all night stints at
hunting raccoons using coon hounds.
The next house was on the right was the house displayed above as the Austin
house but it actually
fronted on Jarmon Lane.
The next family was a black family on the left that I do not remember the
surname, but I believe he had two or three young sons.
The next family was the James Family farm. They reared 4 or five children. The
father was killed by a drunk driver in a traffic accident at Underwood
Crossroads (2nd Street & County Lind Road) about 1951. Albert Streit
witnessed that accident and described it this way: "My family witnessed the
death of the James family father. . We
were going to church on a Sunday morning and their truck was a about 200 yards
ahead of us. The father was riding in the back of the truck, standing up. They
were heading west on second street road. As they were turning right to head
north a vehicle occupied by a drunk driver came from the south and hit their
truck throwing the father out of the truck.
The children were: 1. Blanton, 2. Paul, 3. Kay and
4. Douglas (Doug), Kay was homecoming queen at Colbert County Hi School in 1962.
Members of the James's family were very personable and talented folks, but they
were messy housekeepers.
Next on the right across the street were the Crittendon family who moved
there in the mid 1950s. Jerry Lee was the eldest son and had a few
behavior issues as a youngster. He was always getting into trouble with
authorities but I don't recall any major problems with the law. His sister
Jo-Ann was
just the opposite always in control. I believe there were a young set of twin
boys living there in the late 1950s early 1960s.The father was strict and
domineering & I don't recall the name.
Last house was the Grissom family. They lived on the right at the intersection
of Hatton School Road and 6th Street. Very friendly folks. The lady was always
trading flowers with my mom Ruby. I do not remember any children from this
family. They might have been older.
I do not have a recollection of the black families that lived down Jarmon
Lane in the 1950s Except for our neighbors the Cobb family, the balance of them kept to
themselves. There was one Jarmon family that had something over 15 kids that
lived down that lane.
