Individual Details
Tobe Morton
(May 16, 1882 - April 17, 1954)
"Tobe Morton was born in 1882 two miles west of what is now Eastland Lake on a creek that runs into the North Fork of the Leon River. There was no lake at that time as the dam and spillway were not built until after the oil boom that started in 1917. At that time, wood was the only fuel for cooking and heating the homes. The families living on the creek got a lot of their firewood by retrieving logs and trees that floated down the creek after a big rain. More oak trees than mesquite grew in Eastland county at that time. Tobe's grandfather, G. A. Dulin, passed away in 1882, soon after Tobe was born. It was Grandfather Dulin that named Tobe after a Confederate Army buddy of his.
"Tobe's family moved to Pleasant Grove Community when he was six years old. Tobe met his future wife, Nevada Perkins, as they both attended the one room school and the Methodist Church in Pleasant Grove. After finishing school, Tobe worked and bought an 80 acre farm that joined his father's place, one and a half miles south of the Pleasant Grove cemetery. He then rented the farm and house and went to Hankins College which was located on the Desdemona and Gorman road. After college he came back to Pleasant Grove and married Nevada in 1905. They lived on the 80 acre farm until 1911, when they bought the 160 acre place in Morton Valley. While clearing this land, Tobe made a contract with T&P Railroad to sell them wood to burn in the steam engines as coal had not started being mined in Thurber. Tobe hired more hands and contracted more land to be cleared. The wood was cut, loaded on horse drawn wagons, and delivered to Olden Switch. At that time, Olden was just a switch on the railroad; no one lived there until after the oil boom.
"My parents did not talk too much about their courtship days. I think they mostly consisted of going to church, an occasional picnic, and singings. The only means of transportation was by horse and buggy or riding horseback. Nevada did tell about going to parties with her older brothers to square dance. Tobe and Nevada lived the rest of their lives on the Morton Valley place, except seven years they spent in Winkler County on land they had traded a small portion of royalty and drilling rights in Eastland County for 8 sections of land and royalty in Winkler County. In 1917, leases went for a higher price in Eastland County --- Winkler County was in the far West, but Tobe traded without looking at the property. Things were getting worse in Eastland County due to the boom and when Tobe heard his 3 year old son, A. C. at play, driving an imaginary team of horses and using curse words he had heard the mule skinners use while passing the muddy lane that ran in front of the Morton home, Tobe decided to go look at the property in Winkler County. THe family moved in 1920 to Pyote, Ward County, Texas to be near school. The ranch was 15 miles away in Winkler County. Tobe bought 8 sections more land while he lived there. In 1927, oil was discovered in Winkler County. The Mortons moved back to Eastland County to get away from the oil boom again.
"In 1927, the three room school house had been built in Morton Valley. After living in the old house on the south side of the place for one year, the Mortons built the two story brick home east of the school. Tobe farmed and ranched, raised cotton before the boll weevil in the 1920's, only grain and cattle later. Tobe always had a vegetable garden, fruit trees, pecan trees and always milked his own cow. Nevada raised chickens and turkeys, tended to the milk, skimmed the cream and churned the butter, and cooked sour dough biscuits three times a day." (Folia Mae Morton Jarrett, EASTLAND COUNTY HISTORY, 1989, "Morton-Perkins" article, pages 397-8.)
"Tobe refused to lease his 20 acres of land that was surrounded by oil wells in 1918. Finally, he traded his mineral rights for an eight section ranch in Winkler County. In 1920, they found bobcats under the house, rattlesnakes in the cellar. There was no school so they had to move to Pyote. It joined the Hendricks and O'Brien oilfield and produced so much oil that a Million Barrel Tank had to be built in Monahans. The 20 acres in Eastland County had no production until 1980. Tobe donated land for Morton Valley School. He died of a heart attack working in a flower bed." (Edith Wood Grissom, EASTLAND COUNTY HISTORY, 1989, "Dulin-Owen" article, page 165)
"Tobe's family moved to Pleasant Grove Community when he was six years old. Tobe met his future wife, Nevada Perkins, as they both attended the one room school and the Methodist Church in Pleasant Grove. After finishing school, Tobe worked and bought an 80 acre farm that joined his father's place, one and a half miles south of the Pleasant Grove cemetery. He then rented the farm and house and went to Hankins College which was located on the Desdemona and Gorman road. After college he came back to Pleasant Grove and married Nevada in 1905. They lived on the 80 acre farm until 1911, when they bought the 160 acre place in Morton Valley. While clearing this land, Tobe made a contract with T&P Railroad to sell them wood to burn in the steam engines as coal had not started being mined in Thurber. Tobe hired more hands and contracted more land to be cleared. The wood was cut, loaded on horse drawn wagons, and delivered to Olden Switch. At that time, Olden was just a switch on the railroad; no one lived there until after the oil boom.
"My parents did not talk too much about their courtship days. I think they mostly consisted of going to church, an occasional picnic, and singings. The only means of transportation was by horse and buggy or riding horseback. Nevada did tell about going to parties with her older brothers to square dance. Tobe and Nevada lived the rest of their lives on the Morton Valley place, except seven years they spent in Winkler County on land they had traded a small portion of royalty and drilling rights in Eastland County for 8 sections of land and royalty in Winkler County. In 1917, leases went for a higher price in Eastland County --- Winkler County was in the far West, but Tobe traded without looking at the property. Things were getting worse in Eastland County due to the boom and when Tobe heard his 3 year old son, A. C. at play, driving an imaginary team of horses and using curse words he had heard the mule skinners use while passing the muddy lane that ran in front of the Morton home, Tobe decided to go look at the property in Winkler County. THe family moved in 1920 to Pyote, Ward County, Texas to be near school. The ranch was 15 miles away in Winkler County. Tobe bought 8 sections more land while he lived there. In 1927, oil was discovered in Winkler County. The Mortons moved back to Eastland County to get away from the oil boom again.
"In 1927, the three room school house had been built in Morton Valley. After living in the old house on the south side of the place for one year, the Mortons built the two story brick home east of the school. Tobe farmed and ranched, raised cotton before the boll weevil in the 1920's, only grain and cattle later. Tobe always had a vegetable garden, fruit trees, pecan trees and always milked his own cow. Nevada raised chickens and turkeys, tended to the milk, skimmed the cream and churned the butter, and cooked sour dough biscuits three times a day." (Folia Mae Morton Jarrett, EASTLAND COUNTY HISTORY, 1989, "Morton-Perkins" article, pages 397-8.)
"Tobe refused to lease his 20 acres of land that was surrounded by oil wells in 1918. Finally, he traded his mineral rights for an eight section ranch in Winkler County. In 1920, they found bobcats under the house, rattlesnakes in the cellar. There was no school so they had to move to Pyote. It joined the Hendricks and O'Brien oilfield and produced so much oil that a Million Barrel Tank had to be built in Monahans. The 20 acres in Eastland County had no production until 1980. Tobe donated land for Morton Valley School. He died of a heart attack working in a flower bed." (Edith Wood Grissom, EASTLAND COUNTY HISTORY, 1989, "Dulin-Owen" article, page 165)
Events
| Birth | May 16, 1882 | Eastland County, Texas | |||
| Marriage | 1905 | Pleasant Grove, Eastland County, Texas - Nevada Ollie "Vade" Perkins | |||
| Death | April 17, 1954 | Eastland County, Texas | |||
| Burial | April 19, 1954 | Eastland City Cemetery, Eastland County, Texas |
Families
| Spouse | Nevada Ollie "Vade" Perkins (1886 - 1950) |
| Child | Lila Lena Morton (1906 - 1933) |
| Child | Raleigh O'Neil Morton (1908 - 1950) |
| Child | Gladys Morton (1910 - 1985) |
| Child | Alvin Calvin "A. C." Morton (1916 - 2004) |
| Child | Folia Mae "Dude" Morton (1919 - ) |
| Child | Celia Rae "Jacks" Morton (1922 - 2007) |
| Father | Allen Morton (1850 - 1928) |
| Mother | Nancy Payne Dulin (1854 - 1925) |
| Sibling | Folia Mary Morton (1888 - 1973) |
| Sibling | Gormon Morton (1892 - 1959) |