Bienville Families: George Cecil Sutton, Bienville Parish Louisiana Submitted by Donna Sutton ladyhawke1214@hotmail.com ************************************************ Copyright. All rights reserved. http://usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm http://usgwarchives.net/la/lafiles.htm ************************************************ Interview with George Cecil Sutton, Jr. 1992 G.C. Sutton was born January 20, 1919 in Bryceland, LA. His mother was Myrtle Tilley Sutton, the daughter of Edwin Moses Tilley and Emma Sarah Boddie. His father was George Cecil Sutton, Sr., the son of George Washington Sutton and Willie Ann Palmer. G.C.’s siblings were: · Harold Edwin Sutton (b. 19 Nov. 1921 Bryceland, d. 18 Aug. 1993 Ruston, married Margaret Collinsworth) · Billy Charles Sutton (b. 10 Apr. 1924 Bryceland, married Barbara Mathews) · Mary Emily Sutton (b. 10 June 1927 Bryceland, married 1) Shelby Milam, 2) Donald Byrd) · Dixie Ann Sutton (b. 19 Oct. 1935 Bryceland, married Billy Henry Wright) · Bobby Jack Sutton (b. 10 July 1937 Bryceland, married Margaret Anderson) G.C. married Margaret Ruth Stewart, the daughter of Roger Hayden Stewart and Gladys Whitley. He died August 10, 1994 after a long battle with Alzheimer’s Disease. The following interview was conducted by his wife on February 17, 1992. Describe your favorite childhood Christmas. We lived with my grandma and grandpa Sutton. They spoiled my brother (Harold) and I rotten. I remember a Christmas when we both got BB guns. We took off to see what we could kill. My brother killed a red bird. I was anxious to outdo him and I went out to the hen house and shot a hen while she was on the nest laying an egg. My brother told on me and Mama was fixing to whip me when Grandma grabbed me and said “don’t whip him, it’s Christmas!” Describe a typical childhood dinner. Mama could make the best yeast rolls. This was my favorite dinner: sausage, scrambled eggs, rolls, butter, and fig preserves. What is your earliest memory? When I was little, Mama took me to spend a few days with her parents every summer. How I hated to go! My uncle was still at home and he picked on me all the time. Once he told me I could play his harp (harmonica). What I didn’t know was that he had sifted red pepper on it. It set my mouth on fire when I blew it. I ran away and started back home. What was your favorite thing to do when you were little? We had a big tree in our front yard. My grandpa took a big rope and tied a tire to it and made us a swing. I would get up early to beat my brother to the swing. I really enjoyed that swing. Can you remember a story about your mother? Grandpa bought a Model T Ford. I was little but had watched him start it. Our house was in the middle of the pasture. There was plenty of room to practice driving. I decided to drive one day. I was driving around and around scaring the cows, pigs, horses, and chickens to death. Mama was yelling for me to stop when I went past her. What she didn’t know was that I did not know how to stop the car. Finally I ran into the smokehouse and got out. I don’t know who was the happiest to see me stop, me or Mama. Can you remember a story about your father? The Sutton’s had the name of loving to eat. One night my brother and I were sound asleep. Daddy called out, “Boys, do you want to kill a hog?” We jumped out of bed and put on our clothes. Daddy killed the hog and before too long it was ready to eat. Needless to say we ate fresh pork before daybreak. What is your favorite memory about growing up? We used to raise cotton to sell. When the Depression hit, cotton prices dropped to five cents a bale. Grandpa used to live in Texas, so he moved the whole family to Harlingen, Texas, because the Depression hadn’t hit there yet and we could get jobs. We packed all our stuff on an old truck. When we had to cross the Sabine River, the truck turned over in the river and we had to fish all of our stuff out of the river and put it back on the truck. A few years later when we were moving back to Bienville, when we crossed the Sabine River the truck turned over again and we had to get all our stuff out of the river again and put it back on the truck. What are the chances of that same thing happening twice?