James Walter Morris

James Walter Morris — known to everyone as Jim — was born on November 5, 1885, in Milam County, Texas, the second child of William James “Billy” Morris and Margaret Antonio Moore Morris. He grew up in the McAdams Community of Walker County, attending the Wolf Hill School (locally called “Goose Paddle School,” now Liberty Springs School).¹

The Barber

Jim found his calling early. From boyhood he served as the family and neighborhood barber. In late 1912 or early 1913 he attended Houston Barber College, though he left after about half the three-month course — he already knew the trade. His first employer was Gordon G. Young, who ran a four-chair shop in Huntsville.²

In early 1919, Jim opened his own shop, renting space over the New York Store (later Nance Dry Goods, later Cafe Raven). Bob O’Bannon of Midway joined as partner; later Bob’s brothers Grady and Dick O’Bannon worked there too. Mance Mason, described as a “mulatto boy” and personal friend of Jim’s, served as porter and shine boy.²

The shop became a fixture of downtown Huntsville. Through his brother Jack’s 1959 letter, we have a vivid picture of the town’s characters: the optometrist Stace Westmoreland, the haberdasher Boley B. Branch, the newspaper editor Ross Woodall, the banker Tom Ball, and the bootlegger “Buzz” Rather — all customers or neighbors of the Morris barber shop.²

Marriage and Family

On September 30, 1906 — her sixteenth birthday — Jim married Ethel Arrine Thompson at the home of their neighbors Shiles Marion Fraser and his wife. The ceremony was performed by the Baptist minister Robert Day Sr. Ethel’s mother, the widowed “Tommie” Thompson Barron, gave the young couple fifty acres of land as a dowry.¹

Jim and Ethel had four children: R. E. (Robert Edward, born June 29, 1907), William Otho “Jack” (born January 2, 1911), Margaret Alline (born April 12, 1913), and James Walter Jr. (born c. 1921).¹

Civic and Fraternal Life

Jim was deeply involved in Huntsville’s civic life. He joined Woodville Baptist Church at seventeen and was baptized alongside thirty-nine others. He became a deacon and member of the building commission at First Baptist Church, Huntsville. He served on the school board, City Council, and Board of Education.¹

He was a Mason of considerable standing — a Knight Templar, a 32nd degree Scottish Rite Mason, a Noble of the Mystic Shrine in Arabia Temple of Houston, and a member of the Knights of Pythias Lodge.¹

Illness and Death

In the summer of 1924, Jim’s health deteriorated rapidly. A thyroid condition that had troubled him since youth worsened until he lost his voice. Dr. Frank Barnes performed a thyroidectomy in Houston. Cancer of the esophagus was diagnosed in October 1924. Dr. Norsworthy treated him with radium exposures through the fall, and Dr. J. Ross Martin attended him daily at home.¹

Jim died at 9:00 PM on Thursday, March 12, 1925, at his home at 1425 Fifteenth Street, Huntsville. He was thirty-nine years old. The funeral was held the next day at 2:30 PM, conducted by pastor Charles F. Andrews. His neighbor and longtime friend Gibbs Vinson performed the Masonic graveside rites at Oakwood Cemetery.¹

He left behind his wife, four children, a 1922 Model-T Ford Touring car, the house at 1425 Fifteenth Street (valued at $2,500), life insurance policies totaling about $5,000, his Knights Templar uniform, his Shriner’s fez, a gold Elgin pocket watch with seventeen jewels, his Knights of Pythias ring, and a .32 calibre Iver and Johnson revolver.²

His gravestone at Oakwood Cemetery reads: “MORRIS — Ethel Arrine 1890–1946 / James Walter 1885–1925.”³