Individual Details
Dr. Esta FURR
(16 Mar 1883 - 22 Jun 1939)
Esta Furr was born on Friday, March 16, 1883, in Toccopola, Pontotoc County, Mississippi. He was the 9th of 11 children born to Confederate veteran William Meek Furr and his wife Mary Haseltine Pickens. His oldest brother was 16 when Esta was born.
Family lore is that Esta's parents did not give him a middle name. While in college at Ole Miss, he is said to have added an S as a middle initial to avoid having to answer the class role with just an E. He is shown in various documents as Esta, Esta S., or Esta Stanley Furr. All of his brothers had middle names, but two of his sisters did not. He named one of his sons, Esta Stanley Furr.
Esta’s father, William Meek Furr, was born in Cabarrus County, North Carolina in 1840 and moved with his family in 1848 to Toccopola, Mississippi. His father owned 100 acres of land, which he bought from his father (Allison), and was a long time merchant and prominent figure in the community. Esta was 23 and away at college in Atlanta when his father died in 1906. He was 39 when his mother died in 1923.
Education was very important in Esta’s family. His father’s obituary states, “Always interested in churches and schools, and realizing what they meant to the advancement and betterment of humanity, Mr. Furr was a liberal contributor to their establishment and support.” All of Esta’s brothers and sisters attended college, quite an accomplishment at the time. They grew up to be a doctor, a mayor, a merchant, a chancery court clerk and cotton mill/compress manager, two public school teachers, and four home makers. Interestingly Esta and two of his brothers were listed as farm laborers in the 1900 census.
Esta attended Toccopola College, an elementary/secondary academy for the education of boys and girls. He enrolled in the University of Mississippi in 1902, graduating in 1906 with a BA degree. Also at Ole Miss when Esta was there were his brother John Marvin Furr and three of his first cousins. He then attended the Atlanta Dental College, graduating on April 30, 1909. He moved back to Mississippi where he joined an established dental practice in Aberdeen where his brother, Dr. John Marvin Furr, had a medical practice. After a few years his dental partner died and Esta took over the practice.
While practicing dentistry in Aberdeen, Esta met a young high school teacher from Nettleton named Lottie Winnafred Hansell. They married on October 10, 1920 and had four sons, William Frazier Furr (1921), Esta Stanley Furr (1922), Marion Hansell Furr (1923), and Richard Theron Furr (1929). In 1930 Esta was diagnosed with tuberculosis and was confined to the Mississippi Tuberculosis Sanatorium in Simpson County. He later returned to Aberdeen and died there at 7 am on June 22, 1939 of pulmonary tuberculosis. He was buried in the Odd Fellows Rest Cemetery.
Family lore is that Esta's parents did not give him a middle name. While in college at Ole Miss, he is said to have added an S as a middle initial to avoid having to answer the class role with just an E. He is shown in various documents as Esta, Esta S., or Esta Stanley Furr. All of his brothers had middle names, but two of his sisters did not. He named one of his sons, Esta Stanley Furr.
Esta’s father, William Meek Furr, was born in Cabarrus County, North Carolina in 1840 and moved with his family in 1848 to Toccopola, Mississippi. His father owned 100 acres of land, which he bought from his father (Allison), and was a long time merchant and prominent figure in the community. Esta was 23 and away at college in Atlanta when his father died in 1906. He was 39 when his mother died in 1923.
Education was very important in Esta’s family. His father’s obituary states, “Always interested in churches and schools, and realizing what they meant to the advancement and betterment of humanity, Mr. Furr was a liberal contributor to their establishment and support.” All of Esta’s brothers and sisters attended college, quite an accomplishment at the time. They grew up to be a doctor, a mayor, a merchant, a chancery court clerk and cotton mill/compress manager, two public school teachers, and four home makers. Interestingly Esta and two of his brothers were listed as farm laborers in the 1900 census.
Esta attended Toccopola College, an elementary/secondary academy for the education of boys and girls. He enrolled in the University of Mississippi in 1902, graduating in 1906 with a BA degree. Also at Ole Miss when Esta was there were his brother John Marvin Furr and three of his first cousins. He then attended the Atlanta Dental College, graduating on April 30, 1909. He moved back to Mississippi where he joined an established dental practice in Aberdeen where his brother, Dr. John Marvin Furr, had a medical practice. After a few years his dental partner died and Esta took over the practice.
While practicing dentistry in Aberdeen, Esta met a young high school teacher from Nettleton named Lottie Winnafred Hansell. They married on October 10, 1920 and had four sons, William Frazier Furr (1921), Esta Stanley Furr (1922), Marion Hansell Furr (1923), and Richard Theron Furr (1929). In 1930 Esta was diagnosed with tuberculosis and was confined to the Mississippi Tuberculosis Sanatorium in Simpson County. He later returned to Aberdeen and died there at 7 am on June 22, 1939 of pulmonary tuberculosis. He was buried in the Odd Fellows Rest Cemetery.
Events
| Birth | 16 Mar 1883 | Toccopola, Pontotoc County, MS |  | ||
| Occupation | 1900 | farm laborer - Pontotoc County, MS | |||
| Occupation | Bet 1910 and 1930 | dentist - Aberdeen, Monroe County, MS | |||
| Marriage | 10 Oct 1920 | Nettleton, Monroe County, MS - Lottie Winnafred HANSELL |  | | |
| Death | 22 Jun 1939 | Aberdeen, Monroe County, MS | | | |
| Burial | Odd Fellows Rest Cemetery, Aberdeen, Monroe County, MS | |
Families
| Spouse | Lottie Winnafred HANSELL (1895 - 1985) |
| Child | William Frazier FURR (1921 - 1945) |
| Child | Esta Stanley "ES" FURR (1922 - 2013) |
| Child | Marion Hansell "John" FURR (1923 - 2007) |
| Child | Richard Theron "Dick" FURR (1929 - 2006) |
| Father | William Meek FURR (1840 - 1906) |
| Mother | Mary Haseltine PICKENS (1846 - 1923) |
| Sibling | James Walter FURR (1867 - 1947) |
| Sibling | William Theron FURR (1868 - 1958) |
| Sibling | Nora Lee FURR (1871 - 1956) |
| Sibling | Mary Addie FURR (1873 - 1877) |
| Sibling | Celma FURR (1875 - 1952) |
| Sibling | Ida Mae FURR (1878 - 1961) |
| Sibling | Myrtle FURR (1879 - 1966) |
| Sibling | Dr. John Marvin FURR (1881 - 1925) |
| Sibling | Richard Hoyt FURR (1886 - 1957) |
| Sibling | Vera Nell FURR (1889 - 1981) |
Notes
Marriage
The numerous friends of Dr. E. S. Furr and Miss Lottie Hansell were pleasantly surprised at their marriage, which occurred at the bride’s home in Nettleton, last Sunday afternoon. Dr. Furr is a prominent dentist and popular citizen of Aberdeen, and Hansell is an attractive and accomplished social favorite of Nettleton. She had been engaged as one of the teachers in the Aberdeen High School for several sessions previous to her marriage; now she has become a citizen of Aberdeen under the new name of Mrs. Dr. E. S. Furr. The happy couple are receiving the congratulations of their numerous friends. They have apartments in the home of Mrs. Geo. P. Rye on Meridian street.The Aberdeen Weekly, Aberdeen, Mississippi, October 15, 1920
Death
Aberdeen, June 23 -- Dr. Esta S. Furr, for nearly 30 years, a leading dentist here, died at his home Thursday morning after a long illness. He was 54. Doctor Furr was a graduate of the University of Mississippi and of Atlanta Dental College. He was a native of Pontotoc, but moved to Aberdeen soon after receiving his professional license.Sun Herald, Biloxi, Mississippi, June 23, 1939
Endnotes
1. Ancestry.com. World War I Selective Service System Draft Registration Cards, 1917-1918 [database online] Provo, UT: Ancestry.com, 2002. National Archives and Records Administration. World War I Selective Service System Draft Registration Cards, 1917-1918. M1509, 20,243 rolls. Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration..
2. The Aberdeen Weekly, Aberdeen, Mississippi, October 15, 1920.
3. The Sun Herald, Biloxi, Mississippi, June 23, 1939.
4. findagrave.com.