H.V. "Uncle Bud" and "Aunt" Willie T Fulton Johnson
They came from Buena Vista, Georgia to Anson, Texas in 1901. Then in 1906 they moved by covered wagon to Dickens County, Texas where they had friends that had settled earlier. After camping on the Afton Creek for about 2 months, they purchased land from the Gates family and began to clear the land of mesquite so they could plant their crops. Being very fortunate, they had the only water well and a lot of their neighbors and travelers stopped for water for themselves as well as their livestock. Having company was always a welcome event except they had to unpack their linens and dishes which were kept in barrels. When making a trip to Dickens from their home they had to open and close 11 gates. Uncle Bud and Aunt Willie were Methodist, and Uncle Bud helped haul the lumber in wagons from Quanah to build the church. On November 1, 1907 their only child, Emma Virginia "Jenny" was born. She attended Afton school. On April 6, 1924 she married Dempsey Wagnon Sims, Sr. They have two sons: Dempsey, Jr. born February 23, 1925, and Billy Bud born February 7, 1932. They owned and operated a wholesale gasoline and oil business for years, then purchased the Spur Inn and operated it until it was destroyed by fire in 1952. Dempsey Jr. attended and graduated from Patton Springs and Billy Bud graduated from Spur High School.
Billy Bud has two sons, Michael Bud, Washington, DC and William Brett, Amarillo, Texas. He also has two grandsons, Aaron Chase and Brandon Neil, Jenny and Dempsey, Jr. reside on the same homeplace Uncle Bud purchased in 1906. They still raise cotton, grain and cattle and use irrigation wells. Billy Bud is with the Oklahoma Department of Public Safety and he and his wife, Jo Ella, live east of Oklahoma City, near Harrah, Oklahoma. They raise cattle too.
Uncle Bud and Aunt Willie are buried in the Afton Cemetery.
