William Jackson Coody and Descendants
By Ellen O'Rear

Born in Georgia on August 17, 1800, William was the oldest son of Clayton Moseley Coody, Sr. and Mary Ann Walker. He married Louvenia Ann Denham in Butts County, Georgia on January 26, 1851, when she was only fifteen years old (b. November 1, 1835 in Georgia). Their first child was a son, James W., born in Georgia on October 16, 1857. As the population of the country grew, it began a westward trek. William and Anna joined the rest of the populace and started west. They put down roots in Hinds County, Mississippi, among the Indians in 1858. Their first child born in Mississippi was a daughter, Alice Florence, born May 4, 1859, next a son, George Washington (b. Newton Co., Mississippi about 1862), and another daughter, Martha F., (b. in 1864). They remained in Mississippi for seven years.

When the Civil War began in 1861, William Jackson Coody joined the Confederate Army. He spent four years defending his country, serving in the Mississippi Infantry, Co "D", 36th Regiment. He was taken prisoner when the South surrendered and paroled on May 16, 1865 to return home to Newton Co, Mississippi. (See obit for Anna written by her son George for more details.)

Again the family headed West, locating in Union Parish, La. Alma Pauline was born there on Oct 23, 1866. Her sister, Edna Earl, was born five years later on March 15, 1871. The family probably had to farm for several years to earn enough money to continue their trek to Texas.

By 1872, the family was in Texas, settling in Cass County, Texas in the community of Almira, near the county seat of Linden. Here another child, Ella L., was born. Two years later, about 1874, Minnie L. joined the family. Thomasine was born on March 9, 1877. Four other children of this family are known only by name. These are Jesse, Thomas G., Emma, and Mollie A. (Short biographies of some of the children follow.)

W.J. Coody died on February 5, 1899, in Almira. Louvenia was living iht her daughter's family (Alice and J.W. Ball) at Liberty Grove near O'Farrell when the 1900 Cass County Census was taken. Louvenia died on June 29, 1901. Both W.J. and Louvenia Coody are buried at Corinth Cemetery in Cass County near Linden, Texas. The stone is placed between the two graves and is inscribed on the front with his name and dates and hers are on the back. A Confederate marker was placed on his, in 1998, by his great-great-grandson, Gerald (Jerry) O'Rear.

Louvenia Ann Denham Coody

Louvenia Ann Denham Coody was the daughter of Thomas Jefferson Denham and Ann C. Denham. (Thomas died in Georgia and Ann came to Cass County and is buried in the Queen City Cemetery) The following obituary was written by her son George Washington Coody and gives an overview of her life.

This obit was given to me by Wes Smith, son of Edna Earl Coody Smith. The spelling and punctuation are the author's.

My Mother, My Mother
In Memory of Mrs. Louvenia Ann Denham Coody

She was born in Butts County, Ga., near the town of Edenton, on November first 1836 and died in Cass County Texas near the town of Linden on June 29th, 1901, at 9 o'clock A.M. At the early age of 15 years she was married to William J. Coody. To that union thirteen children was born four boys and nine daughters and two sons survived her death. Our father and mother began the cares of life in the sunny climes of middle Georgia. With the rapid march of civilization westward unsatisfied to stay behind, they too joined in the great throng. Located in Mississippi, among the Indians in 1858, after seven years stay in that state, during which time the war clouds of 1861, in reality cast such a deep gloom all over the nation. My father spent four years of the prime of his life in defense of his country. Our mother in tears and sorrow stayed with and cared for us little folks. (God bless the spirits of the old folks. I'll never forget them if I live to be a thousand years) After the curse of war their game was turned to the west, they located in Union Parish, La. Living seven years in that state, they moved to Cass County Texas 1872. She joined the Missionary Baptist church about 1871 and was a strong believer in the Bible, always willing to deny herself to attend the service of the living God entirely unwilling to be idle but always giving good advice to her children and the young generally.

She was a mother kind,
she loved each child one like the other,
There is no sweeter word in prose or rhyme
than that allowed word: Mother.

Thou her body is now decomposing
her work her deeds, and ways
shall keep us quiet while on heaven reposing,
and serve to aid us when death, our body slays.

G.W. Coody

George Washington Coody

The Coody family was very proud of their son and brother, George Washington Coody. He married Mary "Mollie" Kirkland and had eight children. George served in the 39th Texas legislature as representative from Cass County. During his 1925 term, he introduced a bill "to prohibit the taking of raccoons, skunks, minks, etc. in Cass County." In the 1926 term, he authored several bills creating road districts in Cass County. He later moved to Ft. Worth, Texas.
In February 1937, George and Mollie were both very ill and she died on February 21, 1937. He was taken to a sanitarium where he had an operation and then died from pneumonia on March 2, 1937. They are both buried in Rose Hill Cemetery in Ft. Worth.

Alice Florence Coody Ball

Alice Florence Coody and James Walter Ball were married on November 1, 1886. He was twenty-six years of age and she at one year older, was twenty-seven. They purchased a home and 100 acres of land in the Liberty Grove community on the O'Farrell Road between O'Farrell and Atlanta, Texas.

They had three children, Orpha, Minnie, and Doyle. Because Mr. Ball could neither read nor write, he made certain that his children were educated. The oldest daughter, Orpha, was teaching school in Ft.Worth where she became the victim of a hit and run accident. Though not badly injured, she remained ill for a long time and returned home to Liberty Grove to reside with her family. She was never married.
James Doyle, the youngest child and the only son, died unmarried at the age of 18. He had contracted pneumonia and never recovered.
Minnie Earleen, named for her aunts, Minnie and Edna Earl, was also college educated and taught school in several rural Cass County schools before marrying Lander James Hinton, from Quannah, Texas. He had come to Cass County with the railroad and remained to make his home there. They had three children, Lemoyne, Leila, and Garland (Sonny). After the children were grown, the couple separated. Earleen taught school for many years at an Indian reservation in California. Lemoyne married Jim Dickeson of Henderson and made her home there with her husband and five children. Sonny married and moved to Dallas, Texas, where he and his wife, Connie raised three children. Leila married Sid O'Rear, a Cass County native, and lived in Atlanta with their two children, Gerald and Bobbie Lee.

James and Alice, their three children, their only son-in-law, and granddaughter, Leila, along with her husband Sid O'Rear, are all buried in Laws Chapel Cemetery.

Their great-great grandson, Gerald O'Rear and his family, now live on the old home place on O'Farrell Road.

Alma Pauline Coody Graves

Alma Pauline was born in Union Parish, La. on Oct 23, 1866. In 1891, she married Charles Leonard Graves and made her home in the Springdale Community near Queen City, Texas. She died in 1951 and is buried beside her husband in the Springdale Cemetery.

Edna Earl Coody Smith

Edna was born March 15, 1871, in Union Parish, Louisiana. At the age of 23, she married William M. Smith and made her home in the Linden and Jefferson area of Cass County. She had several children. Her son, Wesley, furnished lots of information on the Coody family shortly before his death in August, 1997. His mother died September 24, 1949, and is buried beside his father in the Linden Cemetery, Linden, Texas.

Thomasine Coody Lee

Thomasine Coody, born on March 9, 1877, was probably named for her maternal grandfather, Thomas Denham. She met Bob Lee while visiting relatives in Springdale Community north of Queen City, Texas. They married and raised a family in Springdale. They are both buried at the Springdale Cemetery. For more information on the Lee family, see the book by Rebecca Lee Pool, "The Lee's of Springdale."

Transcribed by: Carol Lee Colunga

As published (expect where formatting was web prohibitive) in Cass County Connections. March 1999 Cass County Connections is a quarterly publication put out by the Cass County Genealogical Society of Cass County, Texas.

Permission granted by Cass County Genealogical Society to Dana Thomas for publishing on The Cass County, TXGenWeb Project Pages.