Hello, my name is Anne Marie Wells and I am one of this year’s recipients of the Fortenberry Family Reunion scholarship. My grandparents are Neal and Shirley Fortenberry. My mom is their youngest daughter, Cindy. My dad is retired military, so before we came back and settled down in Wise County we moved all over…
Samuel York reminds us of the special connection the Fortenberry family has with the land and country living. Hello, my name is Samuel York, I am the grandson of Neal and Shirley Fortenberry, and one of the recipients of the Fortenberry Family scholarship this year. I'd like to thank you for supporting me in…
Ashley was one of the Fortenberry Scholarship recipients. She is going to TWU, and she just had a new baby, Diesel. He was the youngest one at the reunion this year. As busy as she must be, she took the time to tell us a little bit about her family background. Ashley Frisinger I am the…
This is from Michael York, one of the recipients of our Fortenberry Scholarship. These stories and photos are priceless. If we could all come up with 3 stories and photos, our family history would be incredible! Michael has given all of us an example to follow Hi, this is Michael York son of Lee and…
Sloan Fortenberry who was a son of William M. Fortenberry was born in Arkansas April 12, 1851. His wife Kathryn (Kate) Georgia Ann Moore was the daughter of Samantha Jane Rankin Moore and James Jefferson Moore and was born in Shelby County, Texas, October 12, 1859. Her father was a native of Georgia and her…
Lela Mae Fortenberry Douglass jotted down the dates for three gravestones: Eula W. Fortenberry, Aunt Ann (Mary Ann F. Murphy), and "Granny Kate," Kathryn Georgia Ann Moore Fortenberry. She also recalled that Aunt Ann's funeral came at such a muddy time that the hearse stayed in the family barn for several weeks.
John Cephus Fortenberry, son of Oliver Rice Fortenberry, went back to Arkansas in 1939 to erect a monument to his grandfather, Jacob, Jacob's two sisters and the Finleys who settled in the Strawberry area in the early 1800s.
Joe is widely known to be the first player to dunk the ball in an organized game. One reporter said his shot was like dunking a roll in coffee.
The Fortenberry Farm receives an award for being in the family for 100 years.
Sloan and Kate built The Granny Kate House in 1901. This picture shows Sloan and Kate with their four sons and their families in 1910. From left - Claude (Dump), Carrie with Bain, Monnie Dell, Aubrey (Arb), Fern, Everett with Ras, Eula with Guy, Lela Mae, Ambrose, Kate, and Sloan. Freddie Fortenberry standing in front…
Cold Beer Day The winters in the 1930s were mild with the exception of 1935-36. That February was the coldest month of all, so February 10, 1936 was one of the coldest days of the decade. Ann said she and James were about 10 years old, and their dog, Puppy Dear, had puppies that day. …
In December 1851, Allen Jones accused Jacob Fortenberry of keeping eleven hogs that strayed after Jones bought them from Jacob's son Sevier. The court papers end with the grand jury's verdict, "not a True Bill," filed in April 1852, so Jacob was never charged.
