Emerson Brothers, Winn Parish, LA
Submitted by Greggory E. Davies, 120 Ted Price Lane, Winnfield, LA 71483
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The Emerson Brothers


John Samuel Emerson and his brother, Joe Hall Emerson, were born in Magnolia,
Columbia Co., Arkansas in 1900 and 1904 respectively.  At an early age, they
moved to Bienville Parish, Louisiana, where their father, Samuel Morris
Emerson ran a commissary for his brothers-in-law, Sam and Tom Kerlin, who
owned a sawmill.  Their mother was Florence Albertine Kerlin, also a native of
Columbia Co., Arkansas.  After completing the public schools, they graduated
from the Atlanta School of Pharmacy in Macon, Georgia, now a part of Emory
University.  They operate a drug store owned by their father in Bienville
Parish until after the death of their father.

In 1925, Morris-Dickson Wholesale Drug Company in Shreveport urged them to buy
The Winnfield Drug Company, located on Main Street, Winnfield, Louisiana. 
They had at that time only one silver dollar between them, after having paid
off their families' debts.  However, Morris-Dickson had faith in them because
they were hardworking, honest young men who believed that every person was
deserving of respect until they had proved themselves otherwise. 
Morris-Dickson funded their purchase of the Winnfield store and they renamed
it The New Winnfield Drug.  They made their own delicious ice cream.  Once
during the depression, they ran a special of a double dip ice cream cone for a
nickel.  At one time they ran two stores, the other being the Court House
Pharmacy.  In 1951, they divided the business and Joe opened Emerson's Drugs
on Court Street which he operated until his death in 1967.  His wife, the
former Byrd Nelson, a teacher from Ruston, Louisiana, continued to operate the
business for a few more years.  Byrd and Joe had three children, Joe H.
Emerson, Jr., a pharmacist, Barbara Emerson Moon, a teacher and mother of
four, and Dr. Sidney Thomas Emerson, a physicist who has founded several
computer related businesses.

John S. Emerson was on the Louisiana Board of Pharmacy for six years.  He died
in 1959 and his son James Hall Emerson, a pharmacist, took over at The New
Winnfield Drug.  John's wife was the former Hariette Krizman of Chicago,
Illinois.  Their other children were Dr. Samuel Morris Emerson, an
opthamologist in Lake Charles, Louisiana and Mercedes Emerson, an accountant
in New Orleans, Louisiana.

The family can trace their roots to James and Susannah Emerson, natives of
Virginia, who were enumerated in the 1790 census of Mecklenburg County, North
Carolina.  Their son, John Savage Emerson, was a farmer who moved his family
first to Tuscaloosa County, Alabama, then to Floyd and Chatooga Counties,
Georgia and finally, in 1858, to Columbia County, Arkansas.  The town of
Emerson, Arkansas, was named for one of his sons, while the small town of
Kerlin, Arkansas, also in Columbia County, was named for a maternal ancestor
of John and Joe Emerson.

Naomi Emerson Crawford, a sister of John and Joe Emerson, taught school in
Winnfield for many years.  She had one son, Morris Crandall Crawford, long
time owner of the Winnfield Exxon bulk oil distributorship.  

Sidney S. Nelson, a brother of Byrd (Mrs. Joe H.) Emerson, and his wife Jennie
Lecky Nelson also lived in Winnfield for many years.

John and Joe Emerson were from a family of eight children.  Siblings not
previously mentioned were:  Harvey H. Emerson, who owned an automobile
dealership and other businesses in Homer, Claiborne Parish, Louisiana; Arthur
J. Emerson, who was a dentist in Monroe, Ouachita Parish, Louisiana; Docia
Emerson Garrison, who lived with her family in Fort Worth, Tarrant County,
Texas; and Lula Emerson Boone and Florence Emerson Ingram, who were teachers
in Birmingham, Jefferson County, Alabama.

The Emerson brothers were members of the Methodist Church, the Masonic Lodge
and were productive members of the community.  All of these people are now
deceased, but The New Winnfield Drug Company, which was started with one
silver dollar, is still in business seventy-three years later, owned and
operated by John's son, James Hall Emerson, who employs the same high
standards and personal attention of John and Joe.


(Source:  Mrs. Barbara Emerson Moon, Winnfield, Winn Parish, La., and
submitted by Greggory Ellis Davies, Winnfield, Winn Parish, Louisiana)