Family Histories
Cochran County, Texas
Proud member of...
Nominate a county
Find this site useful? Nominate Cochran Co., or any other county, for County of the Month by clicking the icon below.
PASSMORE FAMILY
John Ben and Alice Passmore and their five children moved to Bledsoe, Texas in 1926. Along with entering a new town they also had new land. John Ben broke the land on what is now known as the Kaufman
place to plant his first crop in the new town. The only place between the Passmores and the actual town of Bledsoe was "the Ole Landon Ranch house".
When the Passmores moved to Bledsoe, the town was very young. The only roads were trails which had been cut by wagons and a few cars. The Passmore children started to school in two fram buildings; one was grade school
and the other was high school. It was a real joy for the children to watch the brick school building being built.
While the children attended school, parents took care of the farm and did the housework. Tractors and heavy machinery were not used to do the farm work. Farming was done with mules and horses and the crops were all picked
by hand.
John Ben originally moved to Bledsoe for his health, but it didn't take long for him to fall in love Cochran County. Mr. Passmore was also loved and became known all over the county as "Uncle Ben".
When bad crops forced the Passmore family to retire from farming, they moved to Bledsoe and bought a house located where the Baptist Church now stands. This new house was a large change for the Passmores, as it gave them
their first running water and indoor bathroom.
Ben and Alice Passmore made many contributions to the Bledsoe community; among these, Ben drove a school bus and served on the school board. The two of them helped to organize the first Baptist Church that was in Bledsoe.
The Passmores had been in their new home only five months when Alice passed away in May of 1942. Only about three months after losing his wife, "Uncle Ben" had a stroke, but lived almost ten years before passing away
in 1952 while living in Morton, Texas.
Ben and Alice Passmore were survived their five children:
Thelma (now deceased) married Ed Sullivan. They had seven children.
Agnes married H. C. Shakespeare (now deceased). They had six children. Agnes now lives in Levelland, Texas.
Myrtle Lou married J. B. Lilljedahl. They had three children and now live in Conroe, Texas.
Essie married Herman Rawls. They had one child and adopted one. Herman is a twin to Harral Rawls still living in Bledsoe. Essie graduated from Bledsoe High School in the "brick school building" that seemed so big.
J. B. graduated from Morton High School and married Nellie Merle Bennett. They had two daughters. J. B. served in WWII and the Korean Conflict. Before passing away in 1969, he was Principal of an elementary school in San
Antonio. A school is named in his honor there now.
The John Ben Passmore family name will not go on as J. B. did not have a son.
With this I say - "LONG LIVE BLEDSOE, TEXAS OF COCHRAN COUNTY."
Submitted by Essie Passmore Rawls
This family history came from Cochran County Legacy Vol. I Copyright Cochran County Historical Commission. Published with permission. The information contained on this page may not be reproduced or published elsewhere without the express written permission of the Cochran County Historical Commission
If you have a family history you would like included on this page, please email me.