Individual Details
Joseph Lee "Joe" FURR
(11 Feb 1874 - 26 Mar 1950)
Joseph Lee Furr owned a store/cafe along the railroad tracks in Toyah, Texas (a very small town west of Pecos). His store burned (allegedly arson by a competitor) and he had no insurance, so they moved into Pecos and eventually to Midland. My grandmother (Lorena Katherine Furr) clerked in the Toyah store and met my grandfather, Fred Harmon Bell, when he came through town working for the Santa Fe Railroad. Lorena and Fred had 3 boys, but Fred got greedy during the Depression and began a life of crime that landed him in Federal Penitentiary where he died in 1957. Joseph Lee and Frances Matilda Furr took Lorena and the 3 boys in and helped to raise them. Joseph died in 1950 and I was born in 1952, so I never knew him, but Frances ("Great-Grandmother Furr") referred to him as "Mr. Furr". Everyone says she always addressed him that way. They were members of the Methodist Church. However, Frances who studied the Bible with Lorena every night, was baptized into Christ at age 85. I recently received a recipe from a cousin for Grandmother Furr's Tea Cakes, which were always a favorite and a precious memory to many people.
Events
| Birth | 11 Feb 1874 | Toccopola, Pontotoc County, MS | |||
| Occupation | 1900 | day laborer - Stephens County, TX | |||
| Marriage | 22 Dec 1901 | Stephens County, TX - Frances Matilda "Fannie" HOBSON |  | ||
| Occupation | 1910 | house painter - Graham, Young County, TX | |||
| Occupation | 1920 | carpenter - Pecos, Reeves County, TX | |||
| Occupation | 1930 | grocery store proprietor - Toyah, Reeves County, TX | |||
| Occupation | 1940 | paper hander and painter - Pecos, Reeves County, TX | |||
| Death | 26 Mar 1950 | Odessa, Ector County, TX | | ||
| Burial | Fairview Cemetery, Pecos, Reeves County, TX | |
Families
| Spouse | Frances Matilda "Fannie" HOBSON (1882 - 1970) |
| Child | Lorena Katherine FURR (1902 - 1988) |
| Child | James Leland "Skeet" FURR (1904 - 1977) |
| Child | Ruby Lee FURR (1906 - 1987) |
| Child | Inez Hobson FURR (1908 - 1985) |
| Child | Lottie Mai FURR (1911 - 1988) |
| Father | Allison FURR (1809 - 1889) |
| Mother | Catherine "Kate, Katy, and Katie" JOHNSTON (1835 - 1913) |
| Sibling | Henry Byron FURR (1868 - 1944) |
| Sibling | Hester "Hessie" FURR (1870 - 1931) |
| Sibling | Rufus Joe "Ruff" FURR (1873 - 1907) |
Endnotes
1. Texas County Marriage Records, 1837-1965. Database with images. FamilySearch. https://FamilySearch.org : 18 November 2020.
2. Texas Death Index, 1903-2000 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: MyFamily.com, Inc., 2006. Original data: Texas Department of Health. Texas Death Indexes, 1903-2000. Austin, TX, USA: Texas Department of Health, State Vital Statistics Unit..
3. findagrave.com.