Timeline William Thomas Littlefield 1873-1959 and Sarah Jane Garner 1878-1964

Timeline William Thomas Littlefield 1873-1959 and Sarah Jane Garner 1878-1964

WT Lived in the Littlefield Community in Coryelle County TX (Near the present town of Izzoro near Killean) until after he was married at age 31 in 1904

Sarah Jane Garner was born in the Community of Tennessee Valley not fom from Topsy Texas. She was raised in the Littlefield Community.

1874 William Thomas born in Dangerfield, Morris Co Texas
1878 Sarah Jane born in Tennessee Valley, Bell Co, Texas
1880 Census Sara Bell Co Texas, Precint 1
1880  Census William in Coryell Co Texas
1900 Census William in Coryelle Co Texas
1904  Wlliam Thomas and Sarah Jane married in Topsy, Lampassas Co, Texas
1905  Exie was born in the Littlefield Community, Corell Co. Texas
1906 July, Gerald was born in Topsy, Lampassas Co. Texas
1906 They moved to Rotan, Fisher Co Texas
1907 in the Fall they moved to Meadow, Terry Co., Texas (Lee Morrow was landowner)
1908  May Tommie was born, Meadow, Terry Co. Texas
1909 October Maude and Myrtle born in Meadow, Terry Co. Texas (Mrytle died same day)
1910 Census in Curry Co NM
1910 Moved to Lovington NM territory, (Prairie View NM – Prairie View School was 1 ¼ mile from the Littlefield house. School founded in 1908
1911 July Bernice was born in Lovington NM
1913 February, Hershel was born in Lovington NM
1914 September, Clayton was born in Lovington NM
1915-1919 William Freighted from Tohoha (Lovington) NM to Segraves TX, 14 miles, with 3 wagons, 10 horses,
1916 November Verdie (sis) was born in Lovington NM
1916 William freighted their cotton to Tohoha
1918  Meadow Texas was moved, previous location 1 mile South 6 miles east
1919 Smith Donley Littlefield (Bud) born in Lovington NM
1920 Census in Lea County NM
1921 Docia born in Hagerman TX lived in Lovington NM
1922-1923 They moved and camped to pick apples and Cotton in Hagerman NM fall to spring
1925-1926 Grew cotton in Terry Co. TX, moved in covered wagon with 10 kids (Cheatie Bolin’s place)
1927 Moved to farm 2 ¼ mile SW of Meadow on 300 acres
1928 Moved to farm 7 miles NE of Meadow on 500 acres (Near Ropesville the Berry Place)
1930  Census in Terry Co, Texas Precint 2
1930-1933 farmed 640 acres, Tokio TX
1932 Farmed the Black Place in Happy TX
1934 Moved 1 mile south of Tokio TX 1320 acres for 1 year
1936  Bud moved to Pep, NM to live with Exie and her husband Ed Martin
1935-1939 moved 10 miles west and 5 miles south of Brownfield farmed 640 acres
1940 Census in Terry Co Texas Justice Precint
1942 Bought farm 11 miles west and 1 mile south of Brownfield
1948 Moved to Brownfield. Also had several rental houses in Brownfield
1951 Sold farm that was purchased in 1942

by Sherry

Planes, Trains and Automobiles

All of the classes and studying were finally over! I had 12 years of school, 4 years of collage under my belt , so I thought all the worrying about late or almost over-due assignments was over! Then after all that, the Air Force decided I needed to spend another 11 months learning to read, write and speak Russian. Then  6 more months of technical language training. A few weeks of various survival schools and then they sent me to Okinawa! Where they speak Japanese, not Russian or English! I tried 3 days of Japanese language classes, but was just tired of learning, memorizing and study! So on to the social life. I was finished learning,fed up with school!


There was very little public transportation available on Okinawa. (still isn't as of 2019.) The solution seemed to be to buy a local car from a military dude transferring out, clean it up, use it and resell it when you transferred out.

1973 Larry and Toyota Publica in Okinawa

So I bought the above Toyota Publica, a 3-door van. I think it was a 1964. It had a 2 cylinder air-cooled engine and only a 5 gallon gas tank. I don't remember how much it cost, but it wasn't much. It wasn't as clean as it looked. Okinawa had an inspection rule that if the car had any visible rust, it could not be licensed and had to be scrapped. So the first thing was to find some matching paint and disguise the few rust spots that had been hidden from me when I bought it. At least the Publica was a dull gray color so that made it easier.

 Driving in a foreign country comes with a learning curve. The lanes were not the US standard of 10 foot at the time, but less than 8 feet wide. It was scary until I got used to the fact that nearly all cars were only 5 feet wide. Also the fastest speed limit on the island was 35 mph. The main highway was a 4 -lane road running most of the length of the island. The occasional American dump truck would come by and everyone had to pull over to let it pass because it was one and a half lanes wide. The turns and corners were sharper too. We were afraid that after getting used to 35 seeming fast that we would be afraid to drive 70 when we got back home. But the car widths, lane widths and curve radius difference made it seem the same speed.

I made good use of  my spare time in Okinawa. First I took up flying radio controlled airplanes. The flying field was several miles up the island from my Air Force barracks and from where we worked on the Army base. So I put lots of miles on the car driving back and forth. I met another hobbyist at the RC field, Phil. He had a wife and 2 sons in off-base housing. More importantly, he had an extra room for model building. He also had a small car but mostly we took my car to the flying field. The Publica was small. Sitting in the drivers seat I could put my shoulder against the window and tough my fingers to the passenger window. Most of the planes we built would fit in the car with out trouble. Until we built a pair of scale Piper Cub planes. The wingspan was almost 12 feet., so we made them slip together in the middle. When I took it to the field I had to go by my self as when I put it in the car, the wing half rested against the inside of the windshield and just touched the back door, laying flat across the passenger seat.

Phil and I with our Piper Cub models at his house.

Larry and his Piper Cub model

After a few months with the RC planes, it seemed that I liked building them more than flying. Phil did too. One of the Army bases had an entire quonset hut dedicated to the model railroad club. So we joined the club and started building HO size trains and scenery. I enjoyed making the scenery. I made a trestle  about 6 feet long and 8 inches high. And a work train to scale. I once had color slides of the railroad club, but no more.

There were many trips to the flying field in that car, There were also quite a few sight-seeing trips with my Air Force linguist friends. But only 3 or 4 at a time as the car was too small.

I was there 16 months. I don't remember who I bought it from or who I sold it to when I left. I do remember the inspection, the RC planes and the trips up and down the island. It was a fun little car. Maybe part of the reason I liked it is it reminded me of the '39 Chevy panel truck I had in high school, only shrunk in the wash.

Bud’s Life: Smith Donley Littlefield

I was born at home in Lea County New Mexico, near Lovington, in a wood house with adobe insulation on January 29, 1919.  The Doctor was named Smith and the preacher was Rev. Donley so that is the way I got my name.  I was the 10^th child.  Mama (Sarah Jane Garner) had 6 boys, I was the 6^th, and 5 girls.  They were: Exie, Gerald, Tommie, Maude, Myrtle (twin to Maude died at birth), Bernice, Herschel, Clayton, Verdie (Sis), Smith (Buddie) and Docia.  I was told I was a pretty baby with curly hair.  My hair didn’t get cut until I was over 2 years old.  Pretty ringlets.

               It was a dry year so we went to Hagerman to pick cotton.  We lived in a tent.  My youngest sister Docia was born there in November 1921 when I was about two and a half.  When she was born I ran into the field and said “Mama has a little one and it’s black headed”.

My folks homesteaded the place in Prairie View New Mexico.  Papa (William Thomas Littlefield) was a farmer and Rancher.  They raised sugar cane and made their own syrup.  The syrup making was a community project.  We used a mule to turn the press.  I remember chasing around after the mule.  I started to school there.  We walked a mile and quarter to school.  Mama told me to tell them my full name.  I said “Brother Smith Donley Littlefield” my family teased me about that. 

               Then we sold all our cows and moved to Meadow Texas about 1924.  I met Johnnie Martin and his family there.  We worked pulling cotton for them.  We have been good friends ever since.

               In 1926 my father bought out some fields of cotton to pick.  Thanksgiving Day it came a bad sandstorm and ruined the whole crop.  The next year he rented a farm to farm.  The next year he rented a different one.  That crop was pretty good so he rented a better place near Ropesville Texas.  It was the Berry place (no relation).  I walked three and a half miles to school there.  I was 9 then.  I stuck a limb in the ground that made a big tree.  We had used that stick for a stick horse all that day.  It was a wonder that it grew!  We farmed a section of land there (640 acres). We stayed there 4 years and then moved to Tokyo Texas.  I went to school there and played on the basketball team.  I also graduated from grade school there. (8^th grade).  I was the first one in the family to get a diploma.  I was so proud and bragged about it.  But… I went off and left my cap there, the family never let me hear the end of that.  It was a small school.

               Then we moved to the Black place, it was near Happy Texas.  We lived there til I was 17 years old in 1936.  I moved to Pep New Mexico after that and stayed with Exie my oldest sister and her husband Ed Martin.  I worked some for Mr. Asa Lee Williamson and that is where I met Katie his youngest daughter.  While I was there I went to county dances with Katie and her brother Jim.  Maybe Martin brought me to some of the dances.  They were a lot of fun.  One night Katie had to go shut up the chickens.  I decided to “help” her.  While she shut the latch I put my arms around her while she turned the wire, and I kissed her for the first time!  I stayed there on the ranch and worked a while and then went to California with 4 boys. I decided I really wanted to keep in touch with Katie. I was in the Bunk house packing and she came out to bring me some laundry and I kissed her good bye and asked her to write.  I think she liked me and hated to see me go!  When we got to Tucson 2 of them got work in the mines.  I was too young to work in the mines.  We were in their car to Tucson so I got a Freight train to Las Angeles.  I accidentally got on one going to Mexico with about 10 more men.  They stopped us at the border and made us walk back.  (60 miles) Then we did catch the right one to Las Angeles. We went to Hartley Days (?) sister’s house in California.  I got a job working on a dairy. There I bought my first car, it was a 1928 Model A 2 door sedan, black.  I finally had wheels!!

               Clayton came out to see me. He got a job on a ranch driving a 4 horse team hauling dirt.  I decided to quit milking and get a job on the ranch.  At first no luck so I got a job washing dishes in a café.  I opened it up each morning and then did dishes.  After a little while I did get on at the ranch.  They were cleaning out the bar ditches to drain the water off.  I helped the man that ran the dredging machine when I started working there.  Clayton another man and I decided to batch… we got a little house.  I remember cooking rice.  We started out with a little and soon had all our pots full!

               We decided to go to New Mexico on December 15^th for Christmas.  On December 1^st I got laid off so we started for NM then.  Another boy wanted to go with us, he went on to Arkansas.  We planned to just drive daytime and camp out at night.  But it started raining so we drove straight through.  We went on to Brownfield TX, I stayed there a few days with the folks then went to NM to see Katie.  I could hardly wait to see her.  That January I turned 18, Katie was in College in Portales.  She lived in a dorm out on the Elida Highway. I didn’t know where the college was so asked for directions to the Elida highway in a gas station.  I took her to a show then spent the night in a hotel and went to see her again the next day.  The next day I went back to the same station. They said I thought you were going to Elida?  I said no I changed my mind.  She was just as sweet as I thought she would be.  We had a great time.

               When I went to work for Mr. Williamson I knew I had met one of the finest families in the world.

               I sold Ed Martin (Exie’s husband) my car.  Then went to Brownfield and worked for farmers and saved all my money.  Then I bought a Plymouth Coupe for $20.  Then I made a deal with Ed Martin to farm with him in Pep in 1940.  I did the work and got paid part of the crop.  I also worked for Mr. Williamson and other people in my extra time.

               I hadn’t seen Katie for quite a while and on my birthday here she came on a little horse with a card that said Happy Birthday, it wasn’t signed but I knew who it was from. I was so embarrassed I didn’t know what to do.   So I went to see Katie again. The year before she had made me a cake for my birthday as I was working on the ranch.  So I knew she knew when it was.

               That fall I went back to Brownfield.  I wanted to get married but couldn’t afford to.  I bought half of a quarter section with Clayton in Brownfield.  Clayton was to farm it for one year and I would go to the Army, then I hoped to get married to Katie and farm it the next year.  Then Clayton was to go to the Army while I farmed. When I got my draft number it was #13 so I wrote to the draft board and volunteered for 1 year.  They wrote back to report in 2 days!  So Tommy took me over there to NM.  I didn’t get to see Katie as she was teaching in Miami NM.  She gave me a radio for my birthday on January 19^th.  I went in on January 21^st 1941.  So I didn’t get out til after the war and Clayton never went in.  They stamped my papers “for the duration plus 6 months”.  I didn’t want to get married and leave her and she wanted to teach a year so we decided to wait.

               I first went to Ft. Sill Oklahoma, then to Ft. Bliss near El Paso for 4 months then to Abilene.  I had been in almost a year and couldn’t get out so I gave Katie an engagement ring for Christmas and she gave me a Bulova watch.  She came to see me in Abilene in April and we were finally married on April 4, 1942.  I was supposed to be there for a year.  We were married on Saturday night at 9:15.  I was sent to Massachusetts on Monday!

--See Katie’s story for the next years.

LITTLEFIELD, Verdie Morine (Sis) (1916 -)

Red Charles and Verdie

Red and Sis met in 1942 in Lubbock TX on a blind date.

Verdie was working in Lubbock at Dr. Able's Sanatirum. Two of her girlfriends went out walking and found 2 guys. They said next time they would bring a guy back for Verdie. They brought Red back! He was at Reese AFB in Lubbock.

Later she went to work in Ft. Worth building airplanes. Red was transfered to Bryan AFB near College Station. They got married in Ft Worth and moved to Houston when Red was transfered for his job. He was later transfered to Lubbock. He worked in Commercial Heating and Air Conditioning.
 -- as told to Sherry by Aunt Sis.

Red had a tattoo of a naked dancing girl on his fore arm. He wore long sleeves.
( told by Norma)

Mary Jane, Lucy, Tommie and Sis

Sis, Tommie and Docia

William Thomas and Sarah Jane (Jennie) Littlefield moved to Fisher Texas Exie and Gerald were the only children. Aprox 1907 They moved to Terry Co. Texas within the next year Tommie and Maude & Merle were born. Moved in aprox 1910 to Lovington NM Bernice was born in Territory of NM which was Eddie Co. at the time. NM became a state and Lea County. Bernice lived in all these places and never moved. The rest of the children were born in Lovington, Lea Co. NM. We went to Hag__man in 1923 to pick apples and cotton and different jobs. Went back to Lea Co.

We moved to Terry Co. Tx in a covered wagon (10 kids and Mama & Papa). First farm was n the Bradshaw Place, "Cheatie Bolin" lived there before we did. Papa (William Thomas) freighted from Tohaha to Segraves from about 1915-1919. He used 3 wagons trailed together pulled with 10 horses. hauled our cotton to Tohaha to gin about 1916.

Exie, Gerald, Tommie, Maude, Bernice, Herschel, Clayton, Verdie, and Bud all went to school at Prarie View in NM Papa sang and whistled all the time. He tried to teach all of the kids to sing but no luck.
 --Written by Verdie (Sis) Harris

Bad car accident with Verdie, Annez and Gerald in one car. They were caravaning with a couple more cars. It was a small town nearby. The car rolled and all 3 were hurt. Verdie was thrown from the car and in the hospital for a couple days. Gerald stayed longer in the hospital and afterwards one leg was shorter than the other. He wore a platform shoe. Annez was hurt the worst and in the hospital longer. She was the one driving.
 -- told to Sherry by Verdie.

I met a woman named Bea that lived in the same retirement home as Aunt Sis. She said the "Littlefield Boys" were always in trouble in school. Bea's brother brought a rattle snake skin to school one day. One of the Littlefield boys thought of putting a clothespin on the skin and talked the teachers nephew into clipping it to the back of the teacher's dress. She really screamed. Verdie still remembered the event and laughed pretty hard!

She also told of the toys tieing a gunnysack of cow chips to a cat's tail. The sack caught fire as the cat was running around and the cat ran under the school house. Bea found the boys standing at the fence looking at the school. They were afraid it would burn the school down, but fortunately it didn't!
 -- Sherry Snyder.

LITTLEFIELD, Herschel Cullen (1913 - 1997)

Herschel in the Army

Gerald Bud Herschel Clayton

He3rschel on his horse

Herschel liked to make shelves, and did lots of leather working.

He once hemmed his pants with hot glue!

He was buried with his new Stetson hat.

When he was 19 his sister Maude and her new husband Earl Stalcup were at the Littlefield's for dinner. Earl was quite a story teller with lots of "rigamarole" added in. He was telling such a story when suddenly Herschel stood up on his chair and would not get down. His mother asked him to get down several times. Finally she asked him why he would not sit down. He replied "I can stand it when I have to wade through it, but I am not about to let it run down my throat!"
(told to Sherry Snyder by Aunt Sis - Verdie Harris)

MJ said Herschel shot himself in the foot during WWII

LITTLEFIELD, Exie Winfrey (1905 - 1983)

Obit: Hereford: Grave side services for Exie W. Martin 78 of Hereford will be at 4 pm today at the Mount Zion Cemetery in Dora NM with Grover Ross officiating. Bruial will be under the direction of Rix Funeral Directors of Herford. She died at South Hills Nursing Home in Dimmitt TX Thurdsay after an illness. She was born Feb 26 1905 in Coryell county and moved to herford five years ago from Portales NM She married Edward Martin on June 27 1926 at Meadow TX He died on May 13, 1956. She was a cook at the Christian Childrens Home in Portales. She was a member of the Pep Homemakers Club and the Church of Christ. She is survived by a daughter, Janie Victor of Hereford; two sons, Orvel of Portales, and Scott of Albuquerque NM. Two sisters verdie Harris of Lubbock and Docia Bagwell of Weatherford. Four brothers, Tommie Littlefield of Ropesville, Clayton Littlefield of Brownfield, Hershel Littlefield of Lovington, NM and SD "Bud" Littlefield of Belfair Washington. Five grandchildren and seven great-grandchildren.


Exie a cook at the Christian Children's home in Portales. She was a member of the Pep Homemakers Club.

She made great cinnamon rolls. She used Vicks a lot.

When Bud turned 62 and eligible for Social Security, he didn't have a birth certificate. They told him if he had anyone that was 21 years older than himself, that witnessed his birth, they would sign him up. Looking back now, Exie was not quite that old, but she signed the papers and he collected SS!
- Larry

LITTLEFIELD, William Thomas (1874 - 1959)

William Thomas and Jennie Littlefield holding Janie Bell Martin

William Thomas Littlefield was born January 17, 1873 and he died March 6 1959. He was 3 years old when his Father was killed (Pete Horas) They lived in what is known as the Littlefiled community until after he was married at the age of 31 years. Sara Jane Garner was born August 20 1878 and she died April 19,1964. She was born in a community known as Tennessee Valley not far from Topsy Texas. She was raised in the Littlefield community and was 26 years old when she got married.

They were married in 1904 in Coryell County. They started west in a wagon in the fall of 1906 with Exie and Gerald and all their worldly goods. They had 3 cows and 3 horses. They came to Rotan in Fisher County, they farmed there for one year in 1907. Then they moved to Meadow Texas in Terry county, in the fall of 1907 on land that belonged to the same man, Lee Morrow. (he had one boy)

Tommie J. was born May 9, 1908 in Terry co. and twin girls Maude Edith and Myrl Ethel were born October 31, 1909, Myrl died at birth. (at Meadow) They farmed at Meadow (Meadow was one mile south and six miles east of where it is today. Meadow moved in 1918 when the railroad was put through.) They raised some cotton and had to haul it to Colorado City, Tx to get it ginned.

Then they moved to Plainview, NM which was fourteen miles across the state line. They homsteaded one half section (320 acres). Half way between Plainview and the state line. In the Prairiewiew Community. The Littlefield House was one and a quarter miles from the Prairieview school house. The school was first started in 1908. The kids from Exie down through Sis (Verdie) went to the school all at one time, 8 Littlefield kids. The rest of the children were born here.

W. T. Littlefield freighted from Seagraves, Texas to Lovington NM hauling groceries and cotton seed cake. He had Three wagons trailed together with ten horses, all strung out two to a place. He was out in the 1918 snow storm which froze a lot of cattle and several people to death. He got up that morning and fed his horses and went back to bed and stayed all day. The snow was so bad that it covered up our hogs in the hog pen which was around three feet deep. We had a rock chicken house and it filled with snow with the chickens in it. It was 3 or 4 days before we got the chicken out of it an none of the chicken froze.

He went to Hagerman NM in 1922 to pick apples and cotton and stayed until March of 1923. We had to have two wagons to haul the family and household goods to the camp site. He came to Meadow September 1925 to pick and pull cotton until March 1926. There he rented one section of land that had 80 acres of farm land. Papa and all the kids put in one hundred acres more to farm. That was 7 miles east of Meadow.

In 1927 we moved two and a quarter miles southwest of Meadow to work about 300 acres. Then moved 7 miles northeast of meadow in 1928 We had a little over 500 acres that we worked for 2 years. Then had 640 acres through 1933 He then moved one mile south and one mile west of Tokio and worked 1320 acres for one year 1934. Then in 1935 moved ten miles west and five miles south of Brownfield on 640 acres with 600 acres to farm. He farmed it though 1939. Then we bought 160 acres eleven miles west and one mile south of Brownfield and moved on it in 1942. We moved to Brownfield in 1948 and sold the farm in 1951.

He lived in Brownfield until he (W. T.) passed away april 19, 1959.

Written by Tommie Littlefield (age 81 plus) Lived at 401 North 10th St. Brownfield in 1950.


ANOTHER ACCOUNT 
They lived in Coryell Co until 1906 or 1907, then moved to Terry Co, TX until Dec. 9, 1909. They homesteaded in Territory of New Mexico, lived in Chaves and the Lea County in the Prarieview Community. Moved back to Terry Co. Tx in 1925 Lived on a farm several years and latter moved into Community. Moved back to Terry Co. Tx in 1925 Lived on a farm several years and latter moved into Brownfield. William was a stock farmer in New Mexico. Was a cotton farmer after he moved back to Texas. Aunt Sis said they moved from a farm to Brownfield in 1948 they had 2-3 rent houses and one thay lived in. Will loved to sing and whistle and when they bought land in Lovington NM a neighbor said he had never seen Will, but he heard him everyday, so he knew he was there. Will liked to get all the kids together and sing. He had 8 copies of a song book so they knew the words. He was really good at it.