April 19, 1006

Our son, Noel, and his wife, Priscilla, gave me a 1927 Texas Almanac. I was so happy to receive such a valuable statistical summary and fact sheet. As most of you know, I had been going down the old streets of Aubrey as the Census taker did when she sent from one home to the next in the first five months of the year 1930.

It was a very educational process to follow this lady, Mrs. Allen as she counted and reported the citizens of Aubrey during 1930. This was the year in which I was born in the small town to our north – which has been established as the oldest in the county.

I was the fifth child of my parents – the house I got started in was a small house that belonged to Jim Belew. The house as so many others during this period was located on a dirt sandy loam road. It like the other homes in the neighborhood did not have running water or sewer, nor did they have gas for heat, or a phone to call the doctor.

A point of interest – the Almanac of 1927 shows Aubrey to have a population of 1,000. According to Mrs. Allen’s 1930 census it was 289.

I have had a many visitors come see me to discuss the previous story. One of our local Cherokee friends and his wife that live on the old Black Jack historical school ground, where my Grandpa and Grandmother, Wood and Laura, and family of five lived until 1906. The Cherokee friend came into use my Cherokee dictionary because they were looking for a Cherokee name for their warrior game dog.

Another who visited with me was a former Aubrey School Board member that served when I was on the board. Being a short haired redneck, he said, "Just how did Pilot Point become the oldest town in Denton County, when Onega had more population in the old Fannin County than was in the new town of Dallas." "Yeah, just tell me." I told the former board member that back before Denton County became Denton County it was in Fannin County and Dallas County became Dallas County with the population of the town of Dallas less than 200 (67 of those were black people).

Therefore, I believe according to my old school calculations, that there were twenty or more Cherokee families in Onega, and each one had ten or more children. There was no census that I am aware of back then, but again, it would depend upon whose almanac we looked at.

I was glad to see the former board member; he told me that his grandfather died in an accident at the northeast corner of the square and had a Denton street named in his honor without mention of his accident.

[ Home ]