Person Page - 130

     Mary Francis Medley was born in 1878.¹ She married John George Hibbeler, son of William Henry Hibbeler and Sophia (?).¹ Mary Francis Medley died in 1940.¹

     George Alfred Hibbeler was born on 9 July 1906.¹ He married Gladys Orene Robbins (?)² George Alfred Hibbeler died on 26 November 1994 in Cameron, Milam, Texas, USA, at age 88.¹ He was buried at the Lexington Cemetery in Lexington, Lee, Texas, USA.¹

     Gladys Orene Robbins (?) was born on 7 September 1912.¹ She married George Alfred Hibbeler, son of John George Hibbeler and Mary Francis Medley.¹ Gladys Orene Robbins (?) died on 27 March 1995 in Cameron, Milam, Texas, USA, at age 82.¹ She was buried at the Lexington Cemetery in Lexington, Lee, Texas, USA.¹

     William H Hibbeler was born on 9 February 1904.¹ He married Ruby Emma Schwartz, daughter of John William Schwartz and Alvina Wilamina Seelke.² William H Hibbeler died on 17 April 1991 at age 87.¹ He was buried at the South Park Cemetery in Pearland, Brazoria, Texas, USA.¹

     Ruby Emma Schwartz was born on 20 June 1915 in Rockdale, Milam, Texas, USA.¹ She married William H Hibbeler, son of John George Hibbeler and Mary Francis Medley.¹ Ruby Emma Schwartz died on 6 November 1978 in Houston, Harris, Texas, USA, at age 63.¹ She was buried at the South Park Cemetery in Pearland, Brazoria, Texas, USA.¹

     Francis Pearl Hibbeler was born on 4 September 1907 in Lee, Texas, USA.¹ She died on 3 April 1985 in Lee, Texas, USA, at age 77.¹ She was buried at the Giddings City Cemetery in Giddings, Lee, Texas, USA.¹

     Sophie Marian Hibbeler was born on 26 March 1910.¹ She died on 25 January 1984 at age 73.¹

     James Edker Hibbeler was born on 30 September 1912.¹ He died on 23 January 1995 at age 82.¹ He was buried at the Temple Mount Zion Garden of Memories in Temple, Bell, Texas, USA.¹

     John Harrison Hibbeler was born on 28 May 1918 in Lexington, Lee, Texas, USA.¹ He died on 27 December 2005 in Conroe, Montgomery, Texas, USA, at age 87.¹ He was buried at the Forest Park Lawndale Cemetery in Houston, Harris, Texas, USA.¹

     Fred C Hibbeler was born on 27 August 1921 in Texas, USA.¹ He died on 25 December 2012 at age 91.¹ He was buried at the Restlawn Memorial Gardens in West Salem, Polk, Oregon, USA.¹

     Lemuel Alexander Donnell was born on 28 November 1879 in Warsaw, Benton, Missouri, USA.² He married Henrietta Marion Knipp, daughter of Heinrich Knipp and Katherine Hibbeler, on 2 May 1911 at Hotel Tulia in Tulia, Swisher, Texas, USA; by the Reverend John R. Sharp, the Presbyterian minister in Tulia.³ Lemuel Alexander Donnell died on 29 October 1968 in Canyon, Randall, Texas, USA, at age 88, two weeks after having a stroke.¹ He was buried on 31 October 1968 at the Dreamland Cemetery in Canyon, Randall, Texas, USA.¹
     Lemuel Alexander Donnell was known by his family and friends as Pop.
In September 1891, Lemuel Alexander Donnell moved to Silvertonfrom Seymour with his parents, brothers and sisters. From LAD's recollections in the Canyon News: LAD wrote a memoir, at the urging of his son Overton, in about 1966 that was typed by Marie Donnell in about 1984. Early in the memoir, he reflected on his family:That comment provides context for some of the other incidents he writes about.
Pop recalled: The brothers Lemuel (3895) and Sam (32) grew up working side by side in the cattle business, doing the same jobs and sharing the same daily life. They slept in the same bed, ate at the same table, broke colts in turn, and handled ranch work together so closely that people often did not distinguish between them by name. Lem considered Sam a steady, sensible, and well-liked man, a slightly better rider, but noted that Sam never boasted or tried to claim superiority, and that they always worked in complete harmony.
Starting from a small family bunch of cattle and limited means, they gradually expanded by taking on leased grass and improving newly acquired land in Swisher County with corrals, a one-room house, and windmills, then moving most of the cattle there. They built up both cattle and horse herds-sorting colts into cow horses, roping horses, or work horses-and, through steady labor and saving, helped bring the family holdings to seven sections of land, about forty head of horses and mules, and roughly four hundred head of cattle.⁵
From LAD's memoir, paraphrased: After Sam’s death in 1906, LAD entered into partnership with his brother Charles in an effort to retain the family’s cattle and land holdings. LAD took charge of managing the outfit while Charles supplied funds and paid the hired help. Within a year, however, the family’s property began to fragment. Their father deeded land to the daughters, and through a series of ill-advised transactions by the husbands—one involving a lumber company and another bartering for calves—LAD lost control of both one owned and one leased section. By early 1909, discouraged by his father’s interference with hired hands, LAD decided to liquidate the cattle operation.
By September 1909, he had sold off the herd but still held title to his section in Swisher County. That year, he purchased eighty acres from a tract adjoining the town of Silverton and acquired $750 in bank stock, marking his shift toward town investments. The Swisher County land was improved and rented out as of January 1910, ending his full-time residence at the ranch. Meanwhile, his father built a new home in Silverton, and L.A.D. constructed a barn and planted trees on his nearby eighty-acre property. By late 1909, he was living in Silverton with his parents.
He and Henrietta Marion Knipp arrived in December 1924 in Canyon, Randall, Texas, USA,on a cold and snowy day from Silverton in an open cab Ford truck. In 1929, Lemuel Alexander Donnell and Henrietta Marion Knipp moved the family to their property 3.5 miles west of Canyon. Lemuel Alexander Donnell was primarily a cattleman, specializing in breeding, raising, and selling registered polled Hereford cattle.⁶

My recollections:

     Henrietta Marion Knipp was born on 17 December 1888 in Cameron, Milam, Texas, USA. She married Lemuel Alexander Donnell, son of Alfred Pierce Donnell and Elizabeth Frances Langford, on 2 May 1911 at Hotel Tulia in Tulia, Swisher, Texas, USA; by the Reverend John R. Sharp, the Presbyterian minister in Tulia.¹ Henrietta Marion Knipp died on 31 March 1965 at LaCasa Canyon Convalescent Home in Canyon, Randall, Texas, USA, at age 76. She was buried on 2 April 1965 at the Dreamland Cemetery in Canyon, Randall, Texas, USA.²
      In 1908, Henrietta Marion Knipp moved to Silverton, Briscoe, Texas, USA. From Keith's article: She and Lemuel Alexander Donnell arrived in December 1924 in Canyon, Randall, Texas, USA,on a cold and snowy day from Silverton in an open cab Ford truck. Beginning in 1924, Henrietta Marion Knipp was the teacher in a one-room school in Canyon, Texas
She was the President of the Parent Teacher Association, the West Side Home Demonstration Club and the Canyon Women's Book Club. She was very active in the Presbyterian church, serving in the choir and teaching Sunday School.
She had a stroke 1 November 1956 at the age of 67. From Keith's article: In 1929, Henrietta Marion Knipp and Lemuel Alexander Donnell moved the family to their property 3.5 miles west of Canyon.