James Joyce

A son of William, whose name is unknown, moved from Georgia to Hines County, Mississippi between 1810 and 1819.  He died in 1822, leaving two sons and two or more daughters.  The sons were James Joyce I and William Henry Joyce.

James Joyce I, born January 13, 1810 and died August 15, 1882, was a native of Georgia.  As a small boy, he moved with his family to Hinds County, Mississippi.  He was married February 26, 1835, by the Reverend T. Thompson to Miranda B. Grandberry, born November 26, 1817 and died December 10, 1870, also a native of Georgia.  They were the parents of nine children:

1)      William H., born May 13, 1836, in Mississippi and died December 15, 1852 in Texas.

2)      Calvin, born February 24, 1840 and died February 26, 1842 in Mississippi.

3)      Luther, born June 8, 1841 and died June 11, 1841, in Mississippi.

4)      Mary Ann Jemimah, born September 11, 1842 in Mississippi and died June 15, 1919 in Texas.

5)      Norvel L., born May 28, 1846 in Mississippi and died August 17, 1919 in Texas.

6)      Adrienne A., born April 25, 1849 and died young in Mississippi.

7)      Sarah E., born August 12, 1852 and died in 1871 in Texas.

8)      Margaret E., born February 28, 1856 and died young in Texas.

9)      James J. II, born June 2, 1860 and died March 7, 1947 in Texas.

In 1852, the family moved from Mississippi to Texas.  The wagon train included the parents, their four living children, the maternal grandmother, Mary Phillips, Charlotte, a slave and her small son, Dan.

They crossed the rich tillable land of Grapevine Prairie, but turned it down as a home site to search farther for an abundant supply of wood and water.  These things they found a few miles west in the less fertile Cross Timbers area.  A farm was purchased a short distance north of Double Springs, where flowing water was plentiful.  It is owned now by

W.T. Sharpless.  This location became the birthplace of the three younger children and was considered the family home during the lives of the parents, James I and Miranda B. Grandberry Joyce.

The mother died December 10, 1870 and the father twelve years later in 1882.  Both are buried in Mt. Gilead Cemetery. 

Charlotte, who was freed by President Lincoln’s Proclamation in 1864, stayed on with the Joyce family until the death of the father.  She spent the remainder of her life near Plano in Collin County, where she died at the age of one hundred years.  Sons and daughters of the Joyce’s visited her often.  Her son, Dan, who had grown up with the Joyce children, remained loyal to them until his death.  He is buried at Mt. Gilead, in the  southeast corner of the Joyce family plot, walled by brown sandstones.

Mary Phillips, born 1791, died in 1856, only four years after coming to Texas.  Hers is one of the oldest graves in the Mt. Gilead Cemetery.

William H. died at the age of sixteen and was buried in the family burial plot.  Calvin and Luther died in infancy and were buried in Mississippi.  Adrienne and Margaret died in childhood and were buried in Mt. Gilead.

Sarah E., born soon after the family settled in Tarrant County, grew up in the Double Springs community and became familiar with some of the hazards of pioneer life.  As a teenage girl, she rode horse back to visit a neighbor.  On the way home, she was pursued by a pack of wolves.  She whipped her pony with a cottonwood switch, urging him to run faster.  By the time she reached home, the switch was worn out and she held only a short stick in her hand.  This she stuck into the ground, where it took root and grew, out living by many years the young girl who planted it.  Her death occurred in 1871, when she was trapped in a grass fire while crossing a pasture on her way home.  Her grave lies south of the family burial plot and is covered with large, hand hewn sandstones.

Mary Ann Jemimah finished her formal education at Aurora College, one mile west of Rhome, Texas.  She is remembered by her descendants as a very beautiful woman with a kindly disposition and more than average courage.  When she found a rattlesnake coiled between her mattress and feather bed, she killed it with a garden hoe instead of calling for help.  Wearing a wedding dress of white muslin, she was married December 19, 1860 to Johnathan Judson Rogers, born November 28, 1839 and died August 4, 1904.  He was the son of James Madison Rogers and his wife Seanna Borah.

When the South’s need for soldiers became apparent, James (Johnathan) Judson Rogers joined a group of volunteers.  He rode away from home on his favorite mare, “Old Puss”, only to learn a few days later that her strength was not equal to the long trip.  The problem in finding a new mount was to catch one.  Most of the country was open range and horses were fairly plentiful.  He turned his own horse loose, put her saddle and bridle on another and went on to war, where he served in Morgan’s Company.  The years that followed were filled with hardships, including months spent in a vermin infested prison in a northern state.

When the war ended, the weary soldier returned to Texas by the same familiar trail.  By strange coincidence, he found his mare grazing in the area where she had been abandoned.  He changed his gear, this time to “Old Puss” and continued the journey home to his wife and the two year old son, born during his absence.

The first home of the Rogers family was a farm on Big Bear Creek.  Later they moved to Fort Worth where they operated the McBride grocery store on Belknap and an adjacent wagon yard, the parking lot of the 1800’s and early 1900’s.  According to the custom of the time, much of the business was done on a yearly credit.  Debts were paid in the fall after crops had been harvested.  Since many of his customers were from the part of Tarrant County, he spent a number of the autumn days each year driving a one horse grocery hack from house to house collecting bills and visiting with friends.

New stock for the store was brought by freight wagons from distant points. On these trips, it was Johnathan Judson’s pleasure to bring a luxury item to his wife, Mary.  One such gift was a new wood cookstove.

The Rogers children are:

1)      James Judson Jr., born September 9, 1862 and died September 25, 1918.  He was married to Lucinda D. Virginia Croxdale.

2)      William Joyce, born April 24, 1866 and died August 4, 1902.  He was married to Eunice Joyce.

3)      Grace Truman, born May 29, 1868 and died January 22, 1946.  She was married to Henry Clay Joyce and D.W.C. Pendery.

4)      Adrienne was born July 13, 1870, she was married to Jacob Cole Forman.

5)      Robert Lee, born September 30, 1872 and died June 7, 1932.  He was married to Ida Rea.

6)      Edwin, born and died February 1876.

7)      Edward, born and died February 1879.

8)      Margaret Lois, born and died July 24, 1880.

The parents lived in Fort Worth until their deaths.  Both are buried in Greenwood Cemetery

Norvel L. Joyce served eighteen months in the Confederate Army.  He was underage for service, but managed to secure the enlistment through his father’s friendship with a high ranking officer.  On April 21, 1867, Norvel Joyce was married to Lucy Bradley, born August 27, 1834 and died April 13, 1901.  His second marriage in 1902 was to a widow, Sarah Moore, of Denton County, who died in 1933 and was buried in Dallas.  The husband was buried beside his first wife in Mt. Gilead Cemetery.  There were no children from either of these marriages.  Foster children who grew up in the home were two nephews, John Barnwell Joyce and his younger brother Cloyce Patrick, both sons of James Joyce II and his wife Betty Maud Patrick.

James Judson Joyce II was the ninth and youngest child of James I and Miranda B. Grandberry Joyce.  After receiving an elementary education in the local school, he boarded in the home of Gus Eagan at Decatur, while attending Aurora College.  For a number of years, he worked as bookkeeper at the Lone Elm Cotton Gin.  Other employment included bookkeeping for the Fort Worth Water Works and various positions in the Tarrant County Court House.  Examples of his expert handwriting can be found in the office files of the sheriff, county clerk and tax assessor and collector.  On November 29, 1881, he was married to Betty Maud Patrick, born July 18, 1862 and died April 21, 1888.  They were the parents of two children; John Barnwell, born February 26, 1883 and died March 7, 1947 and Cloyce Patrick, born October 13, 1886.  After the death of the mother, the children lived in the home of their uncle and aunt, Norvel L. and Lucy Joyce.  James Judson Joyce II passed away in 1947.  Both parents are buried in Grapevine Cemetery.

John Barnwell Joyce, son of James Judson Joyce II, was married at the age of twenty to Maud Flemming.  They were the parents of a daughter, Vivian, born 1905, now a resident of Handley, Texas.  Their first home was at Lonesome Dove, the second at White’s Chapel.  A change in employment took them to Fort Worth and eventually Handley, where the father retired after years as a motorman on the interurban line between Dallas and Fort Worth.

Cloyce Patrick Joyce, the second son of James Judson Joyce II, and Versie Ola Foster were married December 29, 1912.  She was born January 8, 1894, the daughter of Odie W. Foster and his wife, Addie May Simmons.  Their children are:

1)      G. Harlen, born December 19, 1915 and was married to Juanita Hendricks on November 18, 1938.

2)      James Judson III, born September 9, 1917 and was married to Gladys Hendricks on October 13, 1942.

3)      Lula Etta, born December 7, 1919 and was married to Charles McPherson on June 24, 1944.

4)      Norma L., born January 26, 1922 and was married to Roy McCain on April 12, 1941.

5)      Freddie R., born October 22, 1936 and was married to Wanda Fagley on October 19, 1956.

After living 14 years in Denton County, 2 years in Jack County and 6 years in Palo Pinto County, Cloyce Joyce brought the family back to his boyhood home. This farm on Sam School Road, between farm Road 1709 and Highway 114 is still the family residence.  The location, a natural beauty spot, abounds in pleasant memories of Mr. Joyce’s foster parents, Uncle Norvel and Aunt Lucy and of the days when he courted the affections of Versie Foster.  Both parents and children have been active members of the Lonesome Dove Church for many years.  Mrs. Joyce is the church historian.  She and her husband are faithful in the care of family graves in the cemeteries at Mt. Gilead and Lonesome Dove.  Research on the religious affiliations of the Joyce family since 1810 shows the Baptist Church as decidedly dominant.  Mr. Joyce has been a Mason since 1913.  He was honored with a life membership in the Grapevine Lodge in 1963.  Masonry is traditional in the Joyce family.  All men for three generations have been members.

Source:  Interview with Mr. and Mrs. Cloyce P. Joyce.