Former Teacher Marks 16th Year as Paisano Secretary Page: 1
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Copy of article taken from the Saturday, July 26, 1952 El Paso
Times by Patty McKenzie, Times Correspondent
Former Teacher Marks 16th Year as Paisano Secretary
Marfa, Texas--Jesse Blackwell, 81 has been secretary of the
Paisano Baptist Encampment Association since 1936. The encampment
opened its 32 week-long encampment Monday. The camp will close
Sun day.
He came to Marfa in 1922 as principal of the Marfa Ward School
now Blackwe II School, named in his honor. He held this posi t ion
for 25 years with the exception of the one year when he was principal
of Marfa High School.
Blackwel I was born in Rusk County, Texas on a farm 5 miles
south of Overton, on December 16, 1871. He was the fourth child in
a family of 10 children. He started to school at the age of 8 and
during his entire school in g period, was able to attend only two
straight nine month terms. He lived with his family on the farm and
had to spend his time working on the farm. When he went to school he
walked 2-- miles to attend the school in Old London. His father
became an invalid when he was 14 so the responsibI iity of running the
500-acre farm was Blackwell's. He attended college in summer terms.
In 1890 he taught ihg his first school term, a five-month term.
For this he received $200., of which he served half.
In 1889 he joined the Ebenezer Baptist Church in Smith County,
On June 30, 1879 he married Miss Maggie Barksdale. They had three
children, Roy, Lorene and Jesse Lee. Mrs. Blackwell died in 1931.
He taught school at Old London from 1897 to 1899. At that
time his health broke down and he went back to the farm and stayed
there until 1916. Then Blackwell started teaching again, one *MNtK yearin Overton, one more in Old London, two years in Providence, in Simith
County, and two in Pirth, in Rusk County. Then in 1922 he came to Marfa.
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McKenzie, Patty. Former Teacher Marks 16th Year as Paisano Secretary, text, July 26, 1952; (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth39980/m1/1/: accessed May 26, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Marfa Public Library.