Images speak: Remembering Mae Gean McElroy Pettit (1924-2019)

It’s been said a person’s worth, their character, can be measured by the people whose lives they have touched. That said, Mae Gean was worth her weight in gold.

Her two books, published in 1994, became a must have for individuals interested in East Texas pioneers and genealogy.

One book focused on her father’s side of the family; the families of Music, Langston, Pierce and McElroy, and was dedicated to the memory of her father, Willie Dudley McElroy and her son Loren Dudley Boucher.

The other publication focused on her mother’s side; the kin of Elias Stockton, Moses Dickey and James Upchurch and was dedicated to her mother, Bessie Viola Stockton McElroy, and also dedicated to her son, Loren.

While working on her books, Mae Gean conducted 12 years of research.

She did so in the days when it was necessary to get in your car and drive to Tennessee, to Georgia, you name it, and actually visit old cemeteries and spend countless hours in the basements of courthouses while searching for a birth certificate or other documentation.

It was through this time-consuming research she discovered she was eligible for membership in the Daughters of the American Revolution and Daughters of the Republic of Texas. Mae Gean was a long-time member of each organization, and was also a member of the Red Hats as well.

I’m proud to say I’m kin to Mae Gean. As my granddaddy Willie Langston used to say, “If you scratch long enough and deep enough, we’re kin to almost everyone in the county.”

Over the years, it’s been my privilege to interview Mae Gean and I included her in my most recent publication, “East Texas Piney Woods Spunky Women 1830s to 1950s.”

The following is taken from those interviews.

Mae Gean was born just prior to the Great Depression and was a budding author from her early school days. In 1933, she started her writing career in the third grade when she wrote, “Myself Story.”

Years later she elaborated, “When I read it aloud to the class, some of my classmates laughed because I stated I would like to become a fireman or policeman when I grew up. It’s no wonder they laughed, a woman in such professions was not heard of in those days.”

Mae Gean also shared, “My young parents, Willie McElroy and Bessie Stockton, were living in a two-room tenant house when I was born. It was located about three miles northwest of Mixon. The day of my birth, Dec. 5, 1924, was very cold. Daddy rode horseback through rain and sleet about 10 miles to Troup and notified Dr. D.B. Braly, who came to the house and delivered me. I was the first of seven children in our family.”

Mae Gean continued and discussed her high school year, “My parents purchased a farm in Smith County, in the Buncumbe community between Troup and Whitehouse. I attended Whitehouse School and on Dec. 7, 1941, of my senior year, the U.S. military base at Pearl Harbor was fired upon by the Japanese and war was declared. This greatly affected our school year and our lives. Whitehouse had 40 graduates that year and I was one of six honor students.”

In the preface of her books, she wrote, “Research and writing these books was a dream of mine which has finally become a reality. The research was fun and I delighted at finding each bit of ancestry I could prove. The personal visits and phone conversations brought me joy. My ancestors and yours suffered many hardships; we owe a debt of gratitude to these early pioneers.”

In conclusion, I say we certainly owe Mae Gean our heartfelt thanks for researching and documenting much of our East Texas history.