Evander Theophilus Josey was born on June 28, 1818 in Sumter District, South Carolina. He married Mary Wilson, daughter of Henry Wilson and Mary Bess of Darlington District, South Carolina. In 1854, they moved to Huntsville, Texas with their twelve year old son, Evander Theophilus Josey. Their first home in Texas was the "Raven" bought from Sam Houston.

Evander T. Josey was an early teacher in the community. He boarded around with families and at the end of the six month term he received the sum of fifty dollars.

When war between the states was declared, he volunteered and served in Company K, Brown's Regiment, under Captains Rountree and Tom Hamilton, both of Huntsville. He was in the Confederate Army from 1861 to 1865 and made a splendid war record.

Evander married Melissa Jane Cotton and they lived in Huntsville after the war. He worked in the post office and held the office of Tax Collector. E.T. Josey was a deacon in the First Baptist Church and helped in the building of the first two churches in Hunt­sville. His children were: Jackson E., Julia Josey Shepherd, William C., Robert A., Edward M., Mollye Josey King, and John P. Josey. Mollye Josey King, Robert A. Josey, and Jackson E. Josey made significant contributions to Huntsville and Walker County.

Col. Jackson E. Josey was the chairman of the board of the Houston Post. He was prominent in the fields of cotton, merchandi­sing, oil, insurance and newspaper publish­ing. He made cash donations to the vocation­al shops at Sam Houston State Teachers College. He gave time and money in furth­ering the Boy Scout program.

Robert A. Josey began his career at Spind­letop oil field during the wild drilling cam­paign which followed discovery of the field by Capt. Anthony F. Lucas in 1901. Mr. Josey is said to have drilled the second well in the Spindletop field. R.A. Josey did many things for Huntsville and Walker County. He gave the Josey Boy Scout Lodge as well as time and money to the Boy Scouts. The lodge was dedicated on June 17, 1934. It was Mr. Josey who paid off the debt for the First Baptist Church of Huntsville in which his father was a deacon for about sixty years. He not only contributed to .many churches, both white and negro, he also donated regularly to the needy people of both races. He paid off the note for the Emancipation Park.

Mollye Josey King took a lively interest in the civic affairs of Huntsville, especially in the Boy Scouts; in the Huntsville Hospital, on the board of which she served for many years; in the United Daughters of the Confed­eracy, which she served as president; and in the Daughters of the Republic of Texas. Also she was deeply interested in the Baptist Church, in which she was reared, and in the Presbyterian Church, which she joined after her marriage.

Mollye King's granddaughter, Kay King Mitchell and her two great-grandsons, Clint Houston and Lee Josey Mitchell still live in Huntsville. A grandson, J. Robert King, III, lives in Winnsboro, Texas with his two daughters, Shelley and Mollye King.

 

by Kay and Clint Mitchell