Polk County Enterprise (Livingston, Tex.), Vol. 130, No. 89, Ed. 1 Thursday, November 22, 2012 Page: 6 of 24
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Page 6A
POLK COUNTY ENTERPRISE
Thursday November 22,2012
T TPistory laid a heavy
I "'I hand on Bevilport.
JL JL But you won’t
find it on many road maps
or marked by highway signs
The old tawosite—once
a steamboat port on the
Angelina River—was named
for John Bevil, a Virginian
who came to Texas in the
1820s. He is given credit for
founding the community, as
well as Bevil’s Settlement,
the forerunner of Jasper, the
county seat of Jasper County.
As a speculator, Bevil’s
propensity for land deals
occasionally got him
in trouble, and he was
reportedly forced to leave
Jasper County for a time
as a result of disputes
over land titles. He also
developed the unsuccessful
City of the Pass (now
Sabine Pass) in Jefferson
County.
As a river navigation
point from 1830 to 1860,
Bevilport was noted for
its bustling docks, which
shipped East Texas cotton
and hides to New Orleans. A
mail station operated there with the Angelina River, early customs collector,
in 1835 and the community Bevilport began to decline. still stands—but not in
was incorporated by the “When I was a kid, we’d Bevilport.
Republic of Texas in 1837. hear the big boats from Former Congressman Jack
General Sam Houston, Beaumont coming up the Brooks of Beaumontjbought
who engineered the Texas river, blowing their whistles. the home, moved it a few
Revolution, was given the We’d start out running along miles north of the river, and
first lot in the townsite.
Bevilport had a main
street and a hotel by the
1850s and served as a
business and social center
until the Civil War. It
also continued to be a
freight depot for Jasper
County during high-water
seasons.
But, when logging for
Beaumont sawmills began
to interfere with riverboat
traffic on the Neches
River below its confluence
the banks and when they got
to Bevilport, we’d be there
to meet them,” remembered
old-timer Albert Gray in the
1960s.
Bevilport’s post office,
established in 1854, was
closed in 1867, reopened
in 1897, and closed
permanently in 1899.
Today, there are few
buildings left at Bevilport
One of the town’s old
homes, once owned by
Randolph C. Doom, an
refurbished it as a family
retreat.
During Brooks’ heyday
as a political power broker,
House Speaker Sam
Rayburn stayed there, fished
in the Angelina River, and
had a room in the Doom
home named for him.
Vice President Lyndon
Johnson also stayed there
several months before
President John Kennedy’s
assassination, which
propelled Johnson into the
presidency.
The Doom house may be-
the only Deep East Texas ~
house that can claim that
a U S. Vice President and-;;
a House Speaker “slept ^
here” within a span of two
years.
But Bevilport’s best
claim comes from an old »-»
store ledger once used in a ~
Bevilport sto&.
The ledger shows that
Sam Houston bought a
gallon of kerosene on credit
at the store in the 1830s—
and never paid for it.
Bob Bowman of Lufkin
is the author more than 50
books about East Texas.
He can be reached at bob-
bowmanjxm
LIVINGSTON - Frances
Elizabeth Box, 85, of Indian
Springs died on Thursday,
Nov. 15,2012.
She was bom to the
late Carl and Ella Pearl
Robertson on Sept. 15,
1927 in Lake, Miss. Frances
moved with her family to
Texas in the early 1940s and
attended Galena Park High
School before entering the
work force in support of the
war effort. At the close of
the war she was introduced
to the brother of her best
friend. Two months later, in
January of 1946, she married
Raymond G "Buddy” Box
and they made their life
together in Houston before
relocating to Livingston in
1975. Today, after almost
67 years of marriage, he
survives her.
Those closest to Frances
knew her by the nickname
her father gave her as a
girl, “Doodie.” Frances
was known as a gifted and
respected artist, participating
■j •i»'- <p
Obituaries
Frances Elizabeth Box
FRANCES ELIZABETH
BOX
... died Nov. 15
in every artistic endeavor
that took her fancy, including
ceramics, pottery, jewelry
design and painting. She
supplemented the family
income as a professional
seamstress from 1968
until her death, though for
the last many years she
rarely charged a fee for her
services choosing to pass her
“blessings” on to others in
an effort to give back what
she felt was so generously
given to her throughout her
life by the legions of friends
and acquaintances she was
blessed to have.
In more recent years, she
turned her artistic mind and
hands to the craft of quilting
where she enjoyed success
and favor in the eyes of the
public who purchased her
work. But the fact is that
most of her best pieces are in
the hands of her family and
friends.
Frances was an active
member of Sunflower Baptist
Church. In her younger days,
she and her husband loved
to travel driving the roads of
North America and on one
occasion took a road trip that
lasted more than a month
venturing all the way into
Canada.
Alongside her husband,
Buddy, Frances is survived
by her son and daughter
in law, Thom and Patrice
Box of Haverhill, England;
grandson, Adrian Box of
Steven Lyle Sasser
London, England, and her
chosen children and their
family, Jenny and Kenneth
Devoltz and family. She
is also survived by many
relatives and extended
family including her sister,
Katherine and Ray Clakely
and family, Douglas and
Kitty Robertson and family,
Mickey Glover and family,
Leonard and Johnnie Tucker,
Pat Morgan and family,
David Box and family as
well as her best friend of
64 years, Mary Dunbar of
Yaupon Cove along with her
children who were always
considered family by Aunt
Dood.
She was preceded in
death by her two daughters,
Frances Raylene Box and
Carmen Delawiese Box and
her granddaughter, Carmen
Denise Logan.
The funeral was held
at Pace Funeral Home in
Livingston. Burial was in
San Jacinto Memorial Park
in Houston.
ONALASKA — Steven
Lyle Sasser, 61, of Point
Blank died on Nov. 16,2012
in Magnolia. Steven was
bom Jan. I, 1951 in Dermott,
Ark., to George Thomas
Sasser and Zada Maxine
Fuller Sasser.
He is preceded in death
by his parents and brother,
Thomas Shane Sasser.
He is survived by his
daughter and her husband.
Stefani and Matthew
Mitchell of Magnolia; sister
and her husband, Sondra
Sasser-Hobbs and Rufus
M. of Point Blank; brother,
Michael Dale Sasser of
Mt, Belview; dad, Cecil
A. Warren of Point Blank
and nephews, Phillip L.
McDuffie of Point Blank and
Aaron T. Caldwell of Point
Blank.
A memorial service was
held on Tuesday, Nov. 20, in
the Cochran Funeral Home
Chapel in Onalaska, with the
Rev. Don Davis officiating.
Military honors were
provided by the VFW Post
8568 Honor Guard.
Cochran Funeral
Home was in charge of
arrangements. To sign the
online register, go to www.
cochranfh.com.
Facing a crisis?
Help is just a phone call away.
1-800-392-8343
Burke Center staff members answer
questions and offer mental health
assistance to all East Texas residents
WRECK
From Page 1A
Weber and the eight
children were transported
by ambulance to Memorial
Medical Center in Livingston,
all listed as having sustained
non-incapacitating injuries.
The accident occurred at
3:30 p.m.
Also investigated Friday
was a two-vehicle accident at
4:15 p.m. on FM 2457, two-
tenths of a mile west of U.S.
190.
A 2009 Chevrolet pickup
truck driven by Gary Lynn
McDaniel, 63, of Stinnett
was eastbound on FM 2457,
attempting to turn left into
the Dollar General parking
lot and failed to yield right
of way to a westbound 1997
Jeep Wrangler driven by
Jerek Lee Fraysur, 22, of
Woodward, Okla.
The Jeep struck the pickup
truck in the right front
quarter,
McDaniel and a passenger
in Fraysur’s Jeep, 20-year-old
Lauren Michelle Carter, were
listed with non-incapacitating
injuries and Fraysur was
listed with possible injuries.
All three were transported by
ambulance to the Livingston
hospital.
McDaniel was charged
with failure to yield right of
way.
Polk County Crime
Stoppers pays cash re-
wards for tips that lead
to arrest for felony
crimes. Call 936-327-
7867.
To All Of You
From All Of Us
Polk Count
ISE
ENTERP
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Reddell, Valerie. Polk County Enterprise (Livingston, Tex.), Vol. 130, No. 89, Ed. 1 Thursday, November 22, 2012, newspaper, November 22, 2012; Livingston, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth658404/m1/6/?rotate=270: accessed July 17, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Livingston Municipal Library.