"Well-known Teachers Taught in Rice Schools" by Joy Graham

Well-known Teachers Taught in Rice Schools

Milam History by Joy Graham

Rockdale Reporter - September 13, 2012

This column continues a series on the Rice Community in the center of Milam County.

Settlers to Texas endured some tough times.

Mr. and Mrs. Ben Robison shared their lives with Mrs. Jeff T. Kemp in 1925 leaving out

few details of their 80-plus years in Texas.

Ben Robison of the Rice Community was able to trace roots back to descending from an

Irish Great -grandfather who ran away from Ireland to Charleston, South Carolina.

The Ben Robison that Mrs. Kemp interviewed was the son of Nipper Adams Robison and

Permelia Burns Adams, who had lived in Georgia, and later moved on to live in Chambers

County, Alabama.

Ben married Nancy Ann Prescott in Alabama.

He served as a member of the Alabama Cavalry in the Civil War and was discharged in

Georgia in May, 1865, just a month after the war ended.

Ben and Nancy left for Texas, traveling by train and boat to Shreveport, Louisiana,

where they hired a wagon, team and driver to bring them to Texas. The Robisons settled

in Kaufman County, in East Texas, 1867.

They put in a crop there making enough money to pay a doctor’s bill and buy a wagon and

team of mules.

Their first Texas home was a small log house with a stick and dirt chimney. They were

thrifty and were able to purchase the Rice place in Milam County. Ben and Nancy were

very active in the school and church in Rice Community.

They kept up with the school and its teachers. Names of some of the early teachers in

the Rice School included W. C. Taber, Henry Cone, G. W. Morgan, Edna Trigg and Miss

Nora Duncum. A few of those school teachers might be remembered now by some of the

readers of this article in 2012.

Miss Nora Duncum taught in both Cameron and Rockdale High Schools up until the 1950’s.

Miss Duncum, daughter of Isaac and Dora Alice McCall Duncum taught school for 41 years.

She passed away in 1969.

This series on the Rice Community will be continued in next week’s Reporter.

Research:

Milam County, Texas http://lksfriday.com/MILAM/milam-260-htm.

"Milam History"
by Mary Joy Graham
All credit for these articles goes to Joy Graham and any references mentioned in the articles.
Published in the Rockdale Reporter