The Hairgrove Family
August 26, 2024 - Timpson was established in 1885 by the railroad and the new town soon began attracting people seeking opportunity. However, there was already a little town nearby which had been settled over half a century earlier. The Hairgrove family had arrived in Buena Vista decades before Timpson was born. The son of Bill and Gail Bailey Hairgrove, noted trick roper and former Mrs. Baird's Tortilla spokesman Burt Hairgrove grew up in Buena Vista on a farm that has been in his family for over 150 years and he shared some Hairgrove history at the August meeting of the Timpson Area Genealogical and Heritage Society last Wednesday.
“Stephen William Hairgrove was born in England in 1750, later moving to Johnson County, North Carolina during the colonial period. He and his wife had four children, one of whom was Stephen Marion Hairgrove. Stephen Marion Hairgrove was born in 1784 and moved to Bedford County, Tennessee in 1806. He and his family later moved to Shelby County, Texas in 1853 and he is buried at Buena Vista Cemetery,” Hairgrove revealed. “We don't know why Stephen Marion chose to move to Texas with his family when he was so old. They traveled by two ox-drawn wagons and one of the double yokes he used on that trip is still in my family and it is displayed here in front of the room. We're not sure how old it is but it is well-worn and probably was not new when they used it to come to Texas over 150 years ago. It seems possible that it was used on the trip from North Carolina to Tennessee in 1806, which could make it as much as 250 years old.”
Burt Hairgrove shares history of his family with TAGHS.
“Stephen Marion Hairgrove and his wife had twelve children, one of whom was Joel Marion Hairgrove, born in Tennessee in 1830. He came to Texas with his parents and later became a prominent citizen of Shelby County. He married Jemima Arminda Billingsley in 1860 and they settled on 320 acres in Buena Vista. They had seven sons and four daughters, including Aurora Council Hairgrove, my great-grandfather. Joel Marion taught school in Shelby County for many years, taking time off to serve for three years as a sergeant in the Texas Cavalry during the Civil War. In the 1870s he became the County Treasurer and later a County Commissioner,” Hairgrove shared. His name appears on the original cornerstone of the 1885 Shelby County Courthouse. Prior to completion of the courthouse, Shelby County's valuable were kept in a safe, which Mr. Hairgrove later acquired and which still remains in the family. The old homestead was a dog-trot house on what is now known as Hairgrove Lane, running between FM 1645 and US 59. Before Timpson or the highway existed, this was the road between Buena Vista and Tenaha. The old house later burned but the family still has some of the lumber from it and the property remains in the Hairgrove family. Joel Marion died in 1910 and his body was transported by wagon from Buena Vista for burial in Timpson's Woodlawn Cemetery.”
Aurora Council “A.C.” Hairgrove lived in his parents' home until he was 30, at which time he bought a tract of land south of Tenaha which he cleared by hand. He and his wife Jody had eight children, including Wilburn Newton Hairgrove, Burt's grandfather. Upon Joel Marion's death, A.C. acquired a portion of the original Hairgrove homestead in Buena Vista where he lived with his family until his death. Wilburn and his family continued on the property for the remainder of their lives while Wilburn earned a living as a barber and later a farmer. Their youngest child was William Neal “Bill” Hairgrove, who was born in 1944. Bill married Gail Bailey in 1967. They too made their home on the Hairgrove property where they reared their two sons, Tom and Burt. Upon the death of their parents, Tom and Burt each inherited a portion of the property. “The original homestead is still in the Hairgrove family but with each generation the slices become thinner and thinner,” Burt laughed. A son, Aaron Bailey Hairgrove, was born to Burt and his wife Melissa in 1997.
Burt Haigrove (left) is seen holding a double yoke with Tad Bailey (right) that was used on oxen by his family.
“Aaron is the ninth generation of my family in Texas and the first not to have grown up on the family land, although he is very attached to and interested in it. I expect my share will pass to him in the future. 1959 marked a century that the Hairgrove farm had been in continuous operation by the same family and we were recognized as a Texas Family Land Heritage Farm. In 2009 we were recognized for 150 years continuous operation.”
The Timpson Area Genealogical Society meets at 2pm on the third Wednesday of each month in the meeting room of the Timpson Public Library on the corner of Austin and Bremond Streets in downtown Timpson. The public is invited. The TAGHS library is located within the Timpson Public Library and is open and staffed from 9am until 5pm weekdays. Telephone 936-254-2966 and ask for the Genealogical Library.
