W.D. Granberry
W.D. Granberry Family History
William Duncan Granberry was born at Memphis, Tennessee in 1876. He was one of seven children born to Dr. George Washington Granberry and Eleanor Neville. Dr. and Mrs. Granberry were married at Water Valley, Mississippi, but moved to Arkansas around 1881. Dr. G.W. Granberry had served in the Civil War until its close, having enlisted at age 14, in Second Regiment in Mississippi. He went on to serve in the State Legislature in Arkansas, representing the Twelfth District. W.D. Granberry was educated in Arkansas, the family having moved there when he was about five years old. He married Frankie Pettus. One child was born of this marriage, Frank Pettus Granberry in Lonoke County, in 1906. Mrs. Granberry died shortly after childbirth. W.D. Granberry came to Texas in 1908 while working as a station agent for the I&GN Railroad. He worked in several towns, one of them Dodge, Texas, before settling in Grapeland. He married Myrta Richards of Grapeland. W.D. Granberry began his banking career as a cashier in the Farmers & Merchants State Bank of Grapeland in 1910. Later he served as Chairman of the Board of the bank. He also served the people of Grapeland as a member of the school board, the city council, and on the board of directors of the Grapeland Country Club. Mr. and Mrs. Granberry were faithful members of the First Baptist Church of Grapeland for many years. Mr. Granberry served as Sunday school superintendent for about fifty three years, also as chairman of the Board of Deacons. Myrta Richards had been a Presbyterian when she married W.D. Granberry. She went right with him to the Baptist Church and immediately began teaching the pre-schoolers in Sunday school. It was years later that she decided to become a Baptist. After all, Mr. Granberry was by then a deacon and superintendent of the Sunday school. Through the years they probably fed more preachers more meals than anybody else in Grapeland. They took the young Baptist preachers under their wing and loved, nurtured, and guided them as they learned to serve the Lord. Their son, Frank Pettus Granberry, was educated in the public school in Grapeland. He graduated from BaylorUniversity in 1930 with a law degree. He married Lucindy Darsey in Grapeland in 1935. She was the daughter of George Edward and Lorena Darsey. Frank and Lucindy Granberry then moved to Crockett where Frank and C.W. Kennedy set up their law office. Mr. Granbury’s law practice was interrupted when he served in the Army during World War II. After the war he resumed the practice of law in Crockett. He faithfully served in the First Baptist Church of Crockett for many years as deacon and Sunday school teacher. He was also involved in Lions Club having been a member for 45 years. He was a 32nd Degree Scottish Rite Mason. He served with the Selective Service from 1949-1974, and once served as president of the Houston County Bar Association. Two children were born to Frank and Lucindy Granberry. Their son Frank Pettus Granberry Jr. was born in Grapeland in 1936, and died in 1970. Their daughter, Nancy Lucindy Granberry, was born in Crockett in 1940. Nancy married James Stanton Sumrall of Hattiesburg, Mississippi in 1964. Of this marriage, three children were born: Susan Ann in 1968, James Jr. in 1969, and Cindy Lyn in 1976. The Sumrall family is active members of Sharpstown Baptist Church in Houston where James serves as deacon. Frank Granberry Sr. died in 1980 in Crockett, and Lucindy died the following year.