George Lowe and Nora Ferguson (59 and 60)

George Lowe, a son of Little Ike (Isaac) Low and Melissa Travis, was born in 1889 in Scrappin’ Valley, Texas.  George married Nora Ferguson, a daughter of H.R. Ferguson and Ella Frisby.  They had seven children:

                1. Hardy

                2. Lonnie

                3. Acie

                4. Leslie

                5. Orene

                6. Claudia

                7. Elsie Mae

Elsie Mae and Leslie

Orene Lowe

Lonnie Lowe

George and Nora’s home became the “Old Homeplace” for the Lowe family.  According to family tradition, there was a problem with the mail being mixed up between members of the Low family, so some of Ike’s children added an “e” to Low so their mail would not be delivered to other Low families.  The Old Homeplace stood on a hill that overlooked a small wooded valley in southwest Sabine County.  The house was an average home of the day, possessing a dog run in the middle with rooms on either side.  There was also a smokehouse, outhouse, and a deep well.  The house was probably built between 1890 and 1900.  L.D. Lowe, one of George’s grandsons, remembers drinking from the well as a boy, and says that it was “as good and refreshing as any water he had ever tasted.”  George used to sit on the porch and shoot wolves that would come to near the home.  George had known Nora since he was young, as she grew up about one-half mile to the east of the Old Homeplace.  

Nora’s father, H.R. Ferguson, died on May 3, 1914, and his son, Albert, inherited the Old Ferguson Place.  Albert was Nora's brother, and his wife, Emma was George's sister, making their children double first cousins.  In the late 1920’s, a dispute (possibly over free ranging hogs) arose between George and Albert.  The arguments must have gotten fairly heated because Albert had reportedly told Pete Ellis (a neighbor) that he intended to shoot George if he ever came near Albert’s home again.  Also, one of Albert’s sisters, Sulie Ferguson, had reportedly heard Albert and his wife threatening to kill George, and “burn him out.”  Eventually, George went to the Ferguson home to discuss the problem with Albert.  According to court testimony, when George arrived at the Ferguson home, Albert drew his shotgun and fired it at George, but missed him.  Albert then ran out the “back of the house and around to the front and attempted to shoot” George again.  George, who was rumored to be a crack shot with his 35 rifle, fired at Albert and hit him in the leg.  George went to trial in Hemphill for the assault with a deadly weapon against Albert Ferguson.  During the months prior to the trial and after the shooting incident, Albert reportedly told Dan Lowe, one of George’s brothers, that he “did not know why he shot” at George, but that “he did shoot at him and shot at him first.”  Albert also reportedly pointed out to Lem Williams where he was standing when he “fired the first shot” at George.  He said he wasn’t sure “why he shot” at George, but that “he did shoot at him and shot at him first.”  Albert also reportedly pointed out to Lem Williams where he was standing when he “fired the first shot” at George. 

George subpoenaed Pete Ellis, Sulie Ferguson, Dan Lowe and Lem Williams, as well as many others to testify in his defense.  Despite all the evidence that showed that Albert fired first, George was convicted of aggravated assault and was One of the main reasons that George was convicted was due to the fact that no one he had subpoenaed showed up to testify on his behalf.  The jury had little choice but to find George guilty.  He was fined $100 and time served.  Recently I spoke with a descendant of Albert's, Percy, who added more to the tale.  He stated that Uncle Acie was there as well and that he had shot his shotgun during the incident and some of the pellets had hit and wounded his aunt Emma.  This was not brought up in court, and it seems obvious that neither family wanted the boy to get into trouble.  Percy also stated that Emma had thrown herself over the wounded Albert and begged George, her brother,  not to kill him.  It was also stated that Emma carried a pistol with her the rest of her life and was terrified of George.  

A cousin, Daniel Chance is a descendant of Albert Ferguson and had wrote the following to me which is extracted here:

My mom was born Feb 2 1914 {the oldest child}, to Albert Franklin Ferguson who did have one leg 2.5 inches shorter than the other from a bullet from a Winchester Rifle belonging to George Lowe who married Albert's sister {Nora} and Albert married George's sister Emma, so it was definitely family. Acie Lowe was one of the shooters also and stated to me, before he died while living south of Liberty, Tx. with his son, that this should have never happened. Acie shot both of them with buckshot when they ran down the dog trot.. I have heard the story from my mom and just months before Acie died I had the opportunity to hear his side of the story.

Mom was 13 yrs old at this occurance so that would be the year 1927. She picked up the youngest child Lyllian who lives in Houston and hid behind the cook stove. According to mom, Albert shot into the picket fence, intending to scare George when George approached with Acie who was 16 yrs and Hardy.  Albert lost his pistol when he ran across the hall and had already discharged his single shot shotgun.. He and Emma ran down the foxtrot and was shot by Acie and then came around the house after both Emma and Albert being shot with Buckshot to the end of the porch and asked George to go on for he was near dead already, but George stated , "you aren't near dead" and shot through the 1" x 12" board underneath the wash basin stand.. I have seen where the Buckshot rickashaed off the hall wall and where the slug went through the 1x12 board that crippled him for life and consequently neither he nor Emma would not be buried in Frisby Cemetery, and I assume that is because George is buried there.. Both are at Weeks Chapel along with their two sons Percy Robert Ferguson and Jence Edward Ferguson.

I do hope that they forgave all before death.. I don't know, but Emma carried a 6 shooter forever in her purse after that and my mom always told us 4 boys that if you ever pick up a gun , use it and not to scare someone..

One of the earliest memories of George’s son, Leslie, involved the family riding to the county seat at Hemphill on the back of a wagon for George’s trial.

Scrappin’ Valley truly earned it’s name in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.  In the late 1920’s or early 1930’s, Dan Lowe, George’s brother, was stabbed at a party by an unknown assailant and died of the wound.  One of Leslie’s early childhood memories occurred while he was hunting with his father on their land.  A man who had killed one of Leslie’s cousins had trespassed onto George’s land.  George had young Leslie hide inside the hollow of a dead tree while he went, gun in hand, to talk to the man.  The man left without incident, but Leslie remembered being terrified and fearing for his father’s life. 

During the 1920’s and the early years of the depression, the Lowe’s, as well as the other families of Scrappin’ Valley, ran moonshine stills.  Most of the illegal liquor was consumed by their immediate families, but some was sold as far away as Beaumont, Texas.  Jack Lowe, a nephew of George’s, remembers running the whiskey stills around Powell Town with other relatives.  He also remembers selling the moonshine for $2.00 a gallon. 

During the Depression, the Lowe family was a little better off than many other poor families of the time, as they owned their own farm and grew much of their own food.  However, George and many of his son’s worked in various government work programs of the day.  One family story states that while George was away working, a “Yankee Salesman” came to his home and “something” happened between Nora and the salesman.  Perhaps he flirted with her, or even raped her. We will never know, but according to two different family sources, when George returned out and found out what happened, he calmly took his rifle, loaded up his mule and went hunting for the man.  He reportedly found him along some back road in Sabine County, killed him and buried him there.  This may sound harsh, but it needs to be understood that there was little law in that part of East Texas at that time and many families had to take care of their own.

George died on March 28, 1944.  His death certificate  states that he suffered from hypertension and that the right side of his heart was acutely dilated.  He was 54 years old at the time of his death and was buried in Frisby Cemetery.  Nora kept a trunk with some of George’s possessions, including his shoes with the socks in them as he had left them, with her everywhere she went for many years.  She would live with various sons or daughters for the last years,  before going to live in an “old folks” home. 

I remember my “Little Granny”, and visited her often as a boy.  I would always bring her a candy bar, which she seemed to thoroughly enjoy.  She never remarried and as an outsider looking in, I think she truly loved and was devoted to George.  They were not very demonstrative with their love, especially towards their children, but I think it was there nonetheless.  Nora died in 1981, and she joined George in Frisby Cemetery, outside of Jasper Texas.