Young County, TX - Biography - Aytchie Hermine Chism McCray ******************************************************************************** ***** This file was contributed for use in the USGenWeb Archives by: Dorman Holub Copyright. All rights reserved. http://www.usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm ******************************************************************************** ***** McCray Aytchie Hermine Chism McCray has been a resident of Huntsville since 1918. She was born in Graham, Young County, Texas, 3 June 1890, the third and youngest child of Mary Kirk Brown and Matt Hackworth Chism. Aytchie's sister, Sarah "Sallie" Frances was born in 1884 and died in Huntsville 18 January 1961. Sallie and her husband, Dr. Joseph Lynn Clark were longtime residents of Huntsville. A brother, Krester Kirk Chism, the middle child, died at the age of five. Aytchie's mother, Mary Kirk Brown, was residing with her parents near Graham, when she met and married Matt Chism. After their marriage they moved to Graham, where Dr. Chism was a dentist. The CHisms were active members of the Graham Christian Church and Dr. Chism was a longtime superintendent of the Sunday School. Both parents enjoyed music. Mrs. Chism sang in the church choir and played the organ at home. Dr. Chism played the tuba in the choir and the town band. Aytchie McCray recalls a humorous incident where her father was playing the tuba with the band on the square. Their pet horse, "Old Jim" walked up and marched with Dr. Chism as he was playing, muc to the delight of the audience. Aythchie McCray recalls going to church "camp" meetings every summer with her family when she was young. Usually a site was selected somewhere in Young County for the meeting and everyone traveled in their wagons to camp for a week or two and to hear preaching. Mrs. McCray joined the chuch at Seymour, Baylor County, at such a camp meeting. These were memorable times and the family looked forward to visiting with their friends from year to year. Sallie Chism met her future husband, Joseph L. Clark, at one of these meetings when Sallie was 14 and Joe was 17. It was many years later before they married and became residents of Huntsville where Dr. Clark taught at Sam Houston and became a well known historian. After the camp meetings grew to several thousand in attendance they were disbanded. Coming from a musical family, Aytchie Chism took guitar lessons starting when she was six years old. Mrs. McCray recalls that her teacher, a young man, was in charge of the band at an "Old Settler's Reunion" held on the banks of the Brazos River and attended by the Chisms. Her teacher asked her to play her guitar with the Young Ladies Madolin Club Band that was performing at the Reunion. It was unusual in those days for a young girl of seven to be playing with a band., as they were performing on the stage, Aytchie heard a man say, "she's not really playing that guitar," and it made her just play her instrument as hard as she could to prove him wrong. At this same reunion, which lasted three days, Aytchie Chism was asked to play her guitar, along with two friends playing their instruments, for the horse merry-go-round and all the free rides they wanted. When Aytchie didn't return for dinner her father went looking for her. She was found perched on top of the merry-go-round playing her guitar. Her father put a stop to that. After graduating from high school in Graham, Aytchie Chism first went to college in the village of Thorp Springs, Hood County, at Add-Ran Jarvis College. She went to study music. Joseph "Joe" Clark's (her brother-in-law by then) uncle and father were president and vice-president of the college. Add-Ran College later became Texas Christian University. The second college that Aytchie Chism attended was John Tarleton College in Stephenville, Erath County. She attended Tarleton for two years where she studied piano. Aytchie taught music and expression in Grapevine, Texas and commuted to Texas Christian University at Fort Worth, Texas and received a diploma in piano. Aytchie Chism finished her last two years of college at Sam Houston Normal Institute in Huntsville. She came to live with her sister, Sallie, and husband, Dr. Joseph Clark. Aytchie graduated in 1920 with an A.B. degree. At the spring graduation only two received that degree and they were asked to sit on the platform during graduation. The other person was Paul Boynton, their preacher's son. After graduation, Aytchie taught school for one year in Dallas. Dr. Estill, then president of Sam Houston, asked her to come back and teach at Sam Houston. She was in education and was supervisor of the first grade teachers who were training in the Sam Houston Demonstration School By then Aythchie had met her future husband, Francis A. McCray who taught Vocational Agriculture at Sam Houston. F.A. McCray was from Green Lake, Wisconsin, and had received his Master's Degree from the University of Wisconsin. Aytchie Chism and F.A. McCray were married 18 June 1923 by E.C. Boynton, pastor of the Huntsville First Christian church. After their marriage, Aytchie was not allowed to teach at Sam Houston. The McCrays built their first home on 19th Street across from Sam Houston Park. They later sold it when Mr. McCray decided to attend Harvard University and owrk on his Ph.D degree. They moved to Boston, Massachusetts, across the river from Cambridge, as Aytchie could go to school and study orchestra and piano at the New England Conservatory of Music. Two years later the McCrays returned to Huntsville. Dr. McCray had become head of the Vocational Agriculture Department until he retired. Aytchie McCray started a children's orchestra in Huntsville after their return. She also had a ladies orchestra. The accompaniment for this piano was Mrs. Lila Smith Vision. Her children's orchestra gave performances around town which included playing on the lawn of the courthouse and at the school in New WAverly. Continuing her work in education, Mrs. McCray started a private kindergarten in her home with 12 students. It soon expanded to 20 to 25 students and it was held in a five room white frame home on Avenue I, close to the camp and location of the business building. Mrs. McCray taught kindergarten in the moring and piano in the afternoon to many Huntsville students for over 25 years. Mrs. McCray's kindergarten was the only one in town for many years until she could no longer accommodate all the students who wanted to attend. Mrs. McCray retired from kindergarten teaching after many years then the University purchased her home for expansion. Dr. F.A. McCray died 14 September 1963 and is buried next to Sallie and Joe Clark in the Adickes additon of Oakwood Cemetery in Huntsville. Aytchie MccCray built a home on Avenue R and lived there before entering Fair Park Nursing Home where she has been a resident for several years. She has taught many Huntsville children in her long years as a kindergarten and piano teacher. [Aytchie McCray died 27 January 1988 in Huntsville, Texas and is buried beside her husband] by Nona Pebworth Walker County, Texas A History Huntsville, Walker County, Texas, 1986, page 544. Used by permission