Bessie was a daughter of Marshall Sidney Gray and Winnie Opal Carter and was born on June 7, 1899 in Colmesneil, Texas. Van and Bessie raised seven children:
1. Maudie Lee born December 8, 1918 who married Terry Ford.
2. Opal born August 25, 1920 who married Wesley Lowe.
3. Maurine born February 16, 1924 who married Leslie Lowe.
4. Jessie born May 10, 1925(or 26?) who married Nelwyn Melton.
5. Daniel Maurice born October 14, 1929 who married Johnnie Hawthorne.
6. Alice born May 10, 1932 who married C.V. Sanford.
7. Louie Ray born July 30, 1943
Times were very difficult for the family with the onset of the Great Depression. Van was gone many times looking for work and the family suffered many days of hunger and near starvation. Maurine used to tell stories of how she and Jessie would trap wild birds and rabbits so the family could eat when she was only seven or eight years old.
Van once traded 50 acres of land for a truck to drive to Louisiana looking for a job, and ended up selling the truck for money to come back home, but that wasn't the worst of their troubles. One day Van suffered from a horribly infected tooth. Like many old folks back in the day, he rubbed the infection with kerosene or some similar fuel. The chemicals went to his brain and he was left with amnesia and wondered for weeks. Everyone thought Bessie must have killed him. In fact, her cousin and San Augustine Sheriff (later Texas Ranger) Hoyt Marshall, investigated her and interrogated her pretty hard according to family traditions. One day when things were very bleak, Bessie looked up to find Van peeking into the kitchen from the back door. His mind was coming back to him and he recognized his home, but it took a while for his full mental capacities and memories to return to him.
One ghost story Maurine related to me involved her grandmother Winnie. It was during the Depression and things were very hard. Van was gone again, and Bessie was at her wits end about how to feed and take care of all her kids. Grandmother Winnie Gray had died a few weeks earlier. One night Maurine and Bessie heard their gate creak open as if someone was out in front of the house. They went to the door but didn't see anyone. However Maurine swore she heard her Grandmother Winnie's voice say, "It's okay Bessie. These hard times are almost over. It's gonna be alright." And it was. Van soon found a job and the hard times for the family finally came to an end.
Betty, their granddaughter remembered how proud Van was of her as a teenager when she sang Christian songs on the radio. He would gather his friends around to listen and brag on his granddaughter. Bessie also loved music and was known by the family to keep time with her finger at every singing. She attended many East Texas Blue grass concerts, even into her nineties.
Van was beloved in his community, church, and had many friends. In fact one friend gave him and Bessie a home to live in and when the friend died, he willed that Van and Bessie be allowed to live there until they died and asked his children not to sell the place.
Van died on January 2, 1977. On his deathbed in a hospital, he asked for someone to get him some buttermilk, and when they returned with it, he had died.
Bessie lived to be almost 104 years old and died in 2005 having lived by herself into her nineties.
They have many great, great, great grandchildren and are remembered as good Christian people.
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| Van and Bessie |
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| Louie Ray, Bessie, Daniel, Van, and Alice |
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| Van, Jessie, Daniel, and Louie Ray |
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| Bessie Gray Marshall |
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| Van and Bessie c1975 |
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| Bessie with a Blue Ribbon Winning Sweet Potato |
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| News Article about Bessie in 1991 |
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