1950s Rainwater Family Reunion in Hico, Texas

Joseph Richard Rainwater was born on 13 October 1869 in Arkansas to Harriett Watson Godard and Abraham B. Rainwater. He was the second of six children. The family moved to Texas in the 1880s, settling in Williamson County, and later Hamilton County.

On 22 November 1894, Joseph R. Rainwater married Ida Mills in Bell Co., Texas. The couple had one daughter, Mary Rosa, in 1896. Ida died shortly after her birth and is buried in Donahoe Cemetery in Bell County.

In August 1897, Joseph married his late wife’s sister, Mary Mills. The couple had six children: Maude Lorene, born July 1898; Fred Levi, born July 1902; Claude Alfred, born Oct 1903; Myrtle, born ca 1905; Jesse H., born Sept 1909; and James Brooks, born August 1911.

Joseph Richard Rainwater died on 7 August 1948 in Hico, Hamilton Co., Texas. Mary Mills Rainwater outlived him by 22 years, dying in 1970. Both are buried in Hico Cemetery, along with several generations of family members.

1950s Rainwater Reunion, Hico, TX

In the 1950s, the descendants of Joseph Richard Rainwater and Mary Mills gathered in a Hico, Texas park for a family reunion. With the help of multiple descendants of this line, we have been able to name all of the individuals shown in this photo:

1. Claude Rainwater, son of Joseph Richard Rainwater
2. Lucille Rainwater, wife of Claude Rainwater
3. Joseph Carl Rainwater son of Jim and Carlena Rainwater
4. Ralph Busby, son of Maude Rainwater Busby
5. Alton Rainwater, son of Claude Rainwater
6. Donald Mayfield, future husband of Jean Rainwater
7. Carlena Rainwater, wife of Jim Rainwater
8. Jim Rainwater, son of Joseph Richard Rainwater
9. Morris Busby, son of Vernon Busby
10. Wesley Busby, husband of Maude Rainwater Busby
11. Jean Mayfield, daughter of Jesse Rainwater
12. Buster Thurman, husband of Jewel Busby Thurman
13. Milton Rainwater, son of Claude Rainwater
14. James Brooks Rainwater Jr, son of Jim and Carlena Rainwater
15. Robert Douglas Rainwater son of Jim and Carlena Rainwater
16. Louise Thurman, daughter of Jewel Busby Thurman
17. Marie Rainwater, wife of Milton Rainwater
18. Vernon Busby, son of Maude Rainwater Busby
19. James Lindy Rainwater, son of Fred Rainwater

20. Jesse Rainwater, son of Joseph Richard Rainwater
21. Mildred Rainwater, wife of James L. Rainwater
22. Don Rainwater, son of Milton Rainwater
23. Brenda Rainwater
24. Vicky Thurman, daughter of Jewel Busby Thurman
25. Jewel Thurman, daughter of Maude Rainwater Busby
26. Eva Rainwater, wife of Jesse Rainwater
27. Maude Busby, daughter of Joseph Richard Rainwater
28. Ladonna Jane Rainwater, daughter of James L. Rainwater
29. Francis Busby, son of Vernon Busby
30. Fred Levi Rainwater, son of Joseph Richard Rainwater
31. Nelda Jo Rainwater, daughter of James L. Rainwater, in the arms of her grandfather, Fred
32. Verna Busby, daughter of Vernon Busby
33. Marguerite McCutcheon Rainwater, wife of Fred Rainwater
34. Thomas Richard Rainwater son of Jim and Carlena Rainwater
35. Dianna Sue Rainwater daughter of Jim and Carlena Rainwater
36. Johnny Wayne Rainwater son of Jim and Carlena Rainwater
37. Mary Mills Rainwater, widow of Joseph Richard Rainwater

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Credits
Photo and biographical information supplied by Ernie Rainwater. Additional information supplied by Beverly Haire. Thanks to Jamie Gonzales for identifying the last five unidentified faces.

© 2018 Ernie Rainwater, Beverly Haire, Jamie Gonzales
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License