biography – Page 2 – Texas History Notebook

Lonnie “Bo” Pilgrim

Lonnie Alford “Bo” Pilgrim was born May 8, 1928 six miles south of Pittsburg, Camp County, Texas to Alonzo Monroe Pilgrim and Nettie Gertrude Gunn Pilgrim. Lonnie was the fourth of seven children born to the couple. The nickname of “Bo” was given to him when he was a boy and he went by it for the rest of his life.

He grew up near Pittsburg where his father was a merchant, operating one of the only two stores in Pine, the small community where they lived. Alonzo died in 1939 and for a time, his mother ran the store. In 1946 Bo’s brother Aubrey along with a partner named Pat Johns bought a small feed mill from W. W. Weems in Pittsburg for $3,500 and invited Bo to join them. Aubrey was in his early twenties and Bo was about eighteen years old at the time. Bo began his long career by driving the feed store truck. His rate of pay was 50 cents an hour. Mr. Johns is likely a reference to a somewhat older Thomas Jeffie “Pat” Johns also of Pine, who is believed to have sold his interest in the business early on. As the company grew, its headquarters remained in Pittsburg for a long time. The grain elevator/feed store facility is still there and has operated from time to time as part of the Pilgrim enterprises.

Dr. Charles W. Graham

Charles Wesley Graham was born on July 13, 1932 in Thorndale, Milam County, Texas to John Wesley Graham and Iva Lee Clark Graham. He was the oldest of three children born to the couple. Dr. Graham was among the fourth generation in the Graham family to have been born in Texas. As a youth, he showed livestock though FFA and 4-H. He attended Wharton Jr. College and later earned his undergraduate degrees in animal husbandry and animal science from Texas A&M (Class of 1953). After serving in the United States Army and working at a summer job for a veterinarian in Elgin, he returned to Texas A&M where he earned a Doctor of Veterinary Medicine (DVM) degree in May, 1961, graduating with honors.

Ricky Nelson

Eric Hillard “Ricky” Nelson was born on May 8, 1940 in Teaneck, New Jersey to Oswald George “Ozzie” Nelson and Peggy Louise “Harriet” Snyder Nelson. Ricky was their youngest child, about four years younger than his brother David Oswald Nelson. Ricky and six other individuals died in an aircraft accident near DeKalb, Texas on December 31, 1985. The aircraft was on its way to Dallas for a performance which had been scheduled for that evening.

Padgitt Saddle Companies of Texas

It may be difficult to imagine today, there was a time when personal transportation (besides walking, of course) relied on horses and mules, buggies and coaches. For decades, local saddle makers enjoyed a thriving business.

Two such companies were Padgitt Bros. of Dallas and Tom Padgitt, Inc. (also known as Tom Padgitt Company Wholesale Saddlery) of Waco. James Robert Padgitt and Mary Jane Bond Padgitt had three sons who lived to be adults. They were Tom (1846 – 1926), William Clinton (1849 – 1909) and Jesse David (1851 – 1948).

William Hittson

William Bedford Hittson was born October 14, 1834 in Mount Pleasant, Tennessee to Jesse J. Hittson (1801 – 1861) and Mary Ann Beck Hittson (1798 – 1879). His father, Jesse J. Hittson, was born in Virginia but came to Texas with his family in 1855. The Hittsons were a farming family but began raising cattle after settling in Texas. The family consisted of the parents, Aaron H. Hart (possibly a child from a previous marriage of the former Mary Ann Beck). The couple had two sons of their own, John Nathan Hittson and William Bedford Hittson. Both John and William were married by the time that the whole family moved to Texas. Jesse and the families of Aaron, John and William were all living in Palo Pinto County at the time of his death in 1861 at around the age of 60. No cause of death is noted.

After Jesse died, son John is said to have managed the cattle operation for their mother. None of the immediate family appear to have actively served in the Confederate Army during the Civil War though William Hittson was apparently on the roster of a local militia.