Oscar Hart's 1939 Pontiac

 These pictures were sent to my daddy when he was overseas during WWII. They must have been very proud of this vehicle. 

Granny Hart (Merphia Hart nee Ewing)

          

 

Billye Merle Quillin 

 

Daddy, Truman Quillin Sr, back home on leave.

Granny Hart

Oscar and Merphia Hart

 I always knew my daddy's mother as Granny Hart. She was born in 1901 as Merphia Ewing. Merphia married Paul Bryan Quillin in 1919. They had 3 children, one of whom was my daddy, Truman Bryan Quillin, Sr. 

Merphia and Paul divorced in 1940, and she remarried to Oscar Clifton Hart in 1941. Paul Bryan Quillin passed away in 1957. I was born in 1956 so I never knew my grandfather. I always associated Granny Hart with her second husband, Oscar. 

Granny and Oscar didn't live far from us in Vernon, Texas, and that was a place that Mother allowed me to ride my bike to go see them. I was a thrilled to be independent at 8 years old. I loved spending the mornings with Granny. Oscar built me a rabbit hutch, and I rode my bike nearly every day during that process. 

Granny was a special lady. She had a big heart and she gave great bear hugs. I remember her making me chocolate cakes from scratch. It was such a treat and it seemed to please her that I loved these cakes. It is welded in my memory the day that Granny wanted to give me some pottery that she had purchased in Mexico. She was a large lady and she climbed up on the kitchen countertop to retrieve the dishes from the overhead cabinet.  I was horrified when she began to lose balance and I knew perfectly well what was about to happen. I was a tiny child, smaller that most, and there was no way that I could try to keep this from happening. And sure enough, she fell backwards, hitting her head on the kitchen table. She was out cold. I felt so guilty that I couldn't help her. In remembering that fall, I see it in slow motion. I ran next door to get help from the neighbors whom I knew very well. They were able to quickly revive Granny. There were no broken bones, and when they determined that she was okay (which was a miracle), I don't remember much after that.  Later on, though, someone DID get the pottery down, and it was given to me. 

I remember Oscar sitting me down in the living room near the record player and pulling out the old 78 rpm record of "One Day A Time, Sweet Jesus." We would listen to it multiple times. I never knew quite what the reason was at the time, but now as an adult, I can only imagine what he was hoping that I might learn from that song. 

Paul Bryan and Merphia Quillin

1920 Census

Paul Bryan Quillin and his wife Merphia "Ewing" are living in Seymour, Texas. They are found on lines 6-10.  Living with them is Ludie Montgomery and her two young sons. It says that Ludie is a widow, but I believe that her first husband, John Bunyan Montgomery, died in California in 1966. Ludie was probably separated from John and in the process of a divorce. 

Census Frederick Short Ewing Family in 1910

Frederick Short Ewing and Emma F in the 1910 Census. My grandmother Murphy Ewing is listed on line 21. 

 Year: 1910; Census Place: Caney, Montgomery, Arkansas; Roll: ; Page: ; Enumeration District: ; Image: .lines 17 -24

Paul Bryan Quillin and Merphia Ewing Group Sheet

 

Merphia Ewing Quillin Hart - Final Resting Place

 Merphia E. (1901-1985) and Oscar C. (1893-1974) Hart were buried in Wilbarger Memorial Park Cemetery just west of Vernon, Texas. 

Paintings by Merphia Ewing Quillin Hart

 

This painting was from a slide picture that my daddy took in Colorado. Mother and Daddy vacationed in Colorado for quite a few years when I was a child. This was Mother's favorite scene, and Granny painted it for her. Mother had it framed and it hung in my childhood home for as long as I remember.

It is now hanging on the wall of my Possum Kingdom lake cabin. 

This painting was a still life which Granny gave to Mother and Daddy. When Mother moved to Abilene in the early 1980s, Mother hung it in a spare bedroom and used it to decorate the room with a rose theme. When Mother passed away in 2007, I took it to the Possum Kingdom lake home.