Prentice Morrill Slade (1866 - 1945)

Born 4 May 1866 in Wharton County, Texas, United States

Ancestors

Husband of Sallie Styles (Gilliam) Slade — married 1 Jan 1890 in Lake Jackson, Brazoria County, TX

Descendants

Died 24 Nov 1945 at age 79 in Perry's Landing, Brazoria County, TX

Problems/Questions Profile manager: Smitty Smith [send private message]

Biography

Prentice was born in 1866, the son of Henry Clinton Slade and Alma Morrill.

Youth

After his mother passed away 1868, his grandmother Sallie Morrill moved into the house to help is father with raising his three kids.^[1] When his father died of pneumonia in 1875, John Spencer Dance petitioned for the guardianship of the Slade orphans ("Jesse Slade aged about 13 years, Clinton Slade aged about 11 years and Prentice Slade commonly called Truche Slade aged about 11 years."^[2]) But Spenser's "wife died the next year, leaving the baby and five other children. Prentice lived here and there with his Aunt Mary Frances Cayce, the Winsteds, the Prewetts, and the Hansons^[3] until he was old enough to make his own way.^[4] He may have been a bit troublesome: while he was with his aunt, Mrs. Nannie Prewett, who lived next door,^[1] he teased Alma Prewett. Her father sent him away. […] Uncle Spencer took him when he was a good, big boy and kept him there. […] Prentice and Harrison Dance [once] gathered a hogshead of pecans."^[5] He learned carpentry from his Uncle Spencer and worked for a while with him on the Lake Jackson Plantation."^[4] Sallie Gilliam lived on the Lake Jackson Plantation as well, as her father ran the corral. "Prentice came to help Uncle Spencer Dance build the servant houses and Sallie fell in love with Prentice. [She] didn't go with him then. He went away to work for a man, Ed Sweeney. Worked in a gin — a cotton gin. Worked at the furnace. Then Mr. Ed found out that he could cook. Cooked for a year for Mr. Sweeney."^[5]

Marrriage

He was working for Uncle Spencer at the Lake Jackson Plantation when he met "Miss Sallie." "She was staying over there with Aunt Laura. […] Papa proposed to Mama under that big oak tree by the old sugar mill by Lake Jackson. They were married on New Year's Day, 1890, in the overseer’s house of Lake Jackson Plantation."^[6] "This was the home of […] Mr. and Mrs. W. B. Hanson . ."^[7]

The Haunted House

Once married, Prentice moved his bride into a large two room log house with a big hall on Oyster Creek known as the old Estes Place. 'Sallie Slade said the house […] was haunted. [Prentice] went to her mother's for Sallie's household goods. Sallie's brother, John, went along. They came with the goods and slept in the house for the first time. After they had gone to sleep, they heard a huge ball; sounded like it weighed a thousand pounds. When it rolled across the floor, the floor sounded like it was cracking up. The ball rolled against the huge double doors that led to the hall that separated the rooms. It hit against these as though it had broken them into bits. Prentice and John jumped up and John grabbed Prentice by his shirt-tail and pulled him back. They got back in bed, then they heard somebody walking from a shed room (the plunder room and the kitchen were shed rooms). Each time he took a heavy step, he stopped and dragged a heavy chain. He walked and dragged a chain, walked and dragged it. He walked out into the yard and they could still hear him dragging the chain. The next day there was no sign of of the ball or the the man with the chain. This ball rolling and man walking with the chain was never heard again; but negroes in the neighborhood came and told how the house was haunted, how no one would live in it, that the people who were dead and gone were trying to frighten new-comers away.

Every morning when Sally went in the kitchen to fix breakfast, a nice soft brick hit the roof of the log house, broke into many pieces and rolled off the roof, fell on the ground. Sally had the yard cleaned up. The negroes said, 'Miss Sally, you'll never find the bricks. Somebody who used to live here is just trying to chunk you away." Sally says there was never a morning when the brick was not thrown."^[8]

Sharecropping

During this period Prentice "was farming on his own, renting land from Mr. Russell Stanger, Aunt Zuleika's husband." Around the beginning of 1891, he moved "from the Este's place and lived at the old Joel Bryan place. […] Sallie's father lived in the old house (the big house), and the Slade's lived in part of the house. Then Mr. Henry Perry (Adele Perry's father) built a house for the Slades on [his] land. Then they moved over on Henry Perry's land, […] not the big house, but the one behind it. That was called Dial's Point. [Later] Mr. Perry […] asked for the house for his family. So Sallie and Prentice moved into a house over on the road between our old house (built later) and the school house.[…]

Prentice worked cotton and corn. [He} gave 1/4 of the cotton to Perry. While Prentice lived at Dial's point he skimmed syrup for Huntington. Little Myrtle died at Dial's Point [Oct. 1894]. The Slades lived on the Perry Place until Alma was 10 years old [ca. 1900]. Perry sold all the cotton and kept the money. Prentice didn't get a thing. Prentice moved to the Ogburn (Joe) place and worked the land on shares. Every place Prentice worked, they took the cotton, sugar cane. Then they moved to the Bauer place. […] George Ewell Slade was born at the Bauer place [Oct. 1904]. Aunt Hattie lived with the Slades while they were living at the Bauer Place.^[8]

For a while Prentice worked at Clemens State Farm building houses for the prisoners. That income enabled him to purchase a home of his own.^[9]

A Home of His Own

On Sept 9, 1907, Prentice purchased 46.25 acres of land out of the tract allotted to Charles B. Perry in the subdivision of the Perry Estate in the Stephen F. Austin 7-1/3 league grant in Brazoria County from William A. Johnson.^[10] The purchase price was $1,400, of which he paid $300 down and two annual installments of $550.^[11] He and Sallie moved into an old house on the property that year. Prentice built his own house in 1908 and lived there until his death. He finally paid off his debt to Johnson by early 1912.^[12]

He was a farmer and raised variety of crops and farm animals. In March, 1931, an unusual cold spell wiped out the tomato crops in the Brazoria County Area for most farmers. "Three off the Jones Creek growers, however, were able to save their crops. These were P.M. Slade, B.F Slaughter, and A. K. Addison."^[13] In addition to his home Prentice had a blacksmith shop, a large barn, a carriage house and milking stalls for his cows.^[9]

On Feb 1, 1935, P.M. Slade and his wife Sallie S. Slade leased their 46.25 acre tract to the Pure Oil Company. A couple of years later, the Pure Oil Company sent a crew and put down a test well.^[14] The company later abandoned the well on the Slade's property and commenced another one before the lease on another property in the Stephen F. Austin 7 1/3 acre tract,^[15] before the termination of Slade's lease on Feb, 1. 1938. In exchange for $200 and a promise to clean up the tract, the Slades released the Pure Oil Company from all liability for any damage done., dated 2 June, 1938.

Old Age

By 1942, he was getting senile and the Slades were experiencing some economic stress. Sallie wrote her daughter: “I have rented my room for five dollars a week. They have a little girl 22 months old. Mrs. Wall said she would pay five dollars a week and I just couldn't say no. I am so glad, as I was wondering what would do if I didn't get it rented. And Ollie and Lester sent your Papa five dollars for Father's Day. Douglas gave us three lbs. of coffee and some fruit. So we will do fine now. We are so greatly blessed. I have been try to get the yard cleaned up, and I just can't get through.[…] Your Papa's well, but he can't do much, as he can't think."^[16] And later: "Your Papa don’t see anything. Just sits a lot.”^[17] He passed away in 1945 at home.

In 1941, Prentice and Sallie deeded one fourth of their 46.25 acre tract of land to their son John A. Slade. ^[18] Another fourth was given to their son-in-law Douglas W. Hanson and their daughter, Alma Slade Hanson.^[19] In 1948, Prentice's widow Sallie Slade deeded one fourth of the property to each of her remaining children: D. Lester Slade^[20] and George E. Slade.^[21]

Obituary

PIONEER PEACH POINT CITIZEN BURIED SUNDAY
Funeral services were held Sunday at 3:30 p. m. at the Peach Point Presbyterian Church for Prentice Morrill Blade, 79, a pioneer citizen of this section. Rev. David M. Currie, pastor of the First Presbyterian Church of Freeport, officiated. Interment was made in the Peach Point cemetery under the direction of the Freeport Funeral Home. Mr, Slade died at his home at Perry Landing Saturday, after a lingering illness. He was a member of one of the oldest families of this section, having been born near Wharton in Wharton county and came to Brazoria county at the age of eight, where he has resided ever since. Mr. Slade, a member of the Peach Point Presbyterian church, had lived at his present home since 1907, On January 1, 1940, Mr. and Mrs Slade celebrated their golden wedding anniversary. He is survived by his wife, Mrs Sallie S. Slade; a daughter, Mrs. D. W. Hanson of Perry Landing; three sons, D. L. Slade of Vancouver, Wash., J. A. Slade, Perry Landing, and G. E. Slade of Freeport; one sister, Mrs. Jessie Seaborn of West Columbia; ten grandchildren and eight great-grandchildren, and several nephews and nieces. Pallbearers were J. H. Dingle, S. S. Perry Sr., Gordon Bryan, Edgar Johnson, R. R. Hanson and R. E. Weber.^[22]

Sources

1. ↑ ^{1.0 1.1} United States Census, 1870, database with images, FamilySearch, Texas > Wharton > Beat 3 > image 8 of 21; citing NARA microfilm publication M593 (Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.).
2. ↑ Petition dated May Term 1875, State of Texas, County of Brazoria Probate Records, file 976.
3. ↑ Most certainly Henry Furlong Hanson's, widow, Prentice's aunt Charlotte.
4. ↑ ^{4.0 4.1} , The Slade Family For Weems-Cayce Family Reunion Held at Gatesville, Texas, on Sunday , May 3, 1970, typewritten manuscript in possession of Smitty Smith, along with research notes.
5. ↑ ^{5.0 5.1} Slade, Sallie Styles Gilliam, told to granddaughter [[hanson-5919|LaMay Adamson, Aug. 1954, notes in possession of Smitty Smith
6. ↑ Alma Slade Hanson, as recorded in hand-written notes by her daughter Adamson, LaMay, May 9, 1963, now in possession of Smitty Smith
7. ↑ "Slades Observe Golden Wedding Anniversary," The Freeport Facts, Jan. 4, 1940.
8. ↑ ^{8.0 8.1} Alma Slade Hanson, as recorded in typewritten notes by her daughter Adamson, LaMay, Aug., 1954, now in possession of Smitty Smith
9. ↑ ^{9.0 9.1} Adamson, LaMay, Handwritten notes based on personal knowledge and interviews with family members, now in possession of Smitty Smith.
10. ↑ "Deed Records of Brazoria County, Texas," Volume 72. Pages 560f.
11. ↑ Copy of the note in papers collected by LaMay Adamson, now in possession of Smitty Smith.
12. ↑ Release of Vendor's Lien, Brazoria County Book of Deeds, Vol 273, Feb. 13, 1912.
13. ↑ "Local Tomato Crops To Be Replaced Soon", The Freeport Facts, Freeport, Texas, Mar. 13. 1931.
14. ↑ "Constructing Rig at Peach Pt. This WeeK," The Freeport Facts, Freeport, Texas, Feb. 11, 1937
15. ↑ "New Location Selected by Pure Oil", The Freeport Facts, Freeport, Texas, Oct 7, 1937.
16. ↑ Slade, Sallie Styles Gilliam, "Letter addressed to Mrs. D.W. Hanson, Carr Ranch, Leesville, Texas," postmarked Brazoria, July 6, 1942.
17. ↑ Slade, Mrs. P.M, "Letter to Mrs. D.W. Hanson", 2100 Audubon St. New Orleans, La, dated Oct 4, 1942; postmarked Brazoria, Oct. 5, 1942.
18. ↑ Brazoria County Book of Deeds, Vol. 443, Page 397, Dec.18, 1941.
19. ↑ Brazoria County Book of Deeds, Vol. 396, Page 13, Feb. 7, 1945.
20. ↑ Brazoria County Book of Deeds, Vol. 437, Page 581, Sept. 7,1948.
21. ↑ Brazoria County Book of Deeds, Vol. 437, Page 421, Sept. 7,1948.
22. ↑ The Freeport Facts, Freeport, Texas, 29 Nov 1945. Pages 1 & 12.

• Find A Grave: Memorial #66855813.
• Bateman, Harris, Bateman Family Genealogy, Tulsa, OK: private printing, 1979. Page 54f.
• SladeGenealogy.net: Prentice Morrill Slade