John Phillips Rawls
was born in Sep., 1853. On
Oct. 1, 1882 he married (1) Mary Jines born Sep. 27, 1867, daughter of
Joseph and Perlina Buckingham Jines.
They had two daughters:
Eva Lena and Etta M.
Etta's birth killed her mother, who died on Apr. 12,1886.
John then married on Nov. 23, 1886 (2)
Permelia Trotter.
Permelia was born on Apr. 3, 1856, daughter of Joseph and Elmira
Pennington Trotter of Wayne County, IL.
John and Permelia lived in Dahlgren, Hamilton County until 1900.
John and Permelia had
five children: Andy Homer,
Mary, Alpha L., and Ida J.. They had one other child who died as an
infant. John was a farmer,
but rented his farm. All the
younger children were attending school in 1900.
John died before the 1910 census, and Permelia and her daughter
Ida J. moved to Orel Township,Wayne County, IL, by 1910.
Permelia was described in the census as having her “own income”.
Permelia died Dec. 21, 1913 in Wayne City, IL.
Andrew Homer “Andy”
Rawls was born on Sep. 22, 1888.
By 1910 he lived Fairfield, IL, where he opened up a shoe repair shop.
On Mar. 7, 1915 he married Myrtle Lee Gray, born on Feb.
23, 1895, the daughter of
Benjamin and Mollie Gray.
Ben Gray worked for the railroads all his life.
World War I lastly only
18 months for the United States; but a general draft registration was
held, and Andy was signed up as a husband with wife and one child,
Homer. Andy did well with
his business; by 1920 he employed one other worker, and was paying the
mortgage on his home. In
1923 he and Myrtle had another son, Leland Ray.
Andy paid off his mortgage by 1930, and his home was valued at
$2000. 1930 was the start of
the Great Depression, and Andy was lucky to own his home; millions of
people lost theirs when they could not pay their mortgages.
But moving from the farm to a more crowded area like a city was
probably the reason he contracted tuberculosis.
He suffered from the disease for several years, and lost the
fight on Apr. 14, 1932. He
was only 43 years old. The
cure for tuberculosis, streptomycin, would not be found until 1943.
He was buried in Maple Hill Cemetery in Fairfield.
His obituary, published in the Wayne County Press:
“Valiant Fight for Life;
End came Thursday Night
Andy Rawls, well known
shoe repair man of this community, died at his home in the southeast
part of the city Thursday night at 2 o'clock, following an illness of
several years with tuberculosis.
He had been retired from active business for several months, a
part of which time he spent in a sanatorium for Woodmen [Woodmen of the
World – a fraternal organization] in Colorado.
Treatment, however, failed to restore his health to any marked
degree, so he returned to Illinois.
During the last several months his strength has been gradually
declining while much of the time he has been confined to his home.
Funeral services were
held Sunday afternoon at the Ellen Moore M. E. [Methodist Episcopal]
Church, Rev. R. W. Robling
officiating.
Andy Rawls was the son of
John and Permalia [sic] Rawls, and was born in Hamilton County, Illinois
on September 22, 1888 and departed this life at his home on
April 14, 1932, age 43 years, 6 months, and 24 days.
He was united in marriage on March 7, 1915, to Miss Myrtle Gray.
To this union were born two children, Homer and Leland Ray Rawls.
Mr. Rawls was a member of the Ellen Moore M.E. Church.
Mr. Rawls leaves to mourn his departure his
wife, two sons, three sisters, Ida Martin, Wayne City, Ill.; Mary Knoop,
Carmago, Ill.; Alfa Koontz, Fairfield, Ill.; and two half-sisters Eva
Waters, Rochelle, Ill.; Etta Wicks, Mt. Vernon, Ill.; and other
relatives.”