DONATING A FAMILY HEIRLOOM to the Freestone County Historical Museum are siblings Kelly Tyus, James Tyus and Donna Tyus Schaufert, all of Fairfield. (Courtesy Photo)
by Kelly L. Tyus
The William Thomas Tyus and Texana Winkler Tyus Family Bible published in 1881 was donated to the Freestone County Historical Museum by Kelly L. Tyus of Fairfield on Friday, February 23.
William Thomas Tyus and Texana Winkler were the great-grandparents of Ms. Tyus.
William Thomas Tyus, a native of Freestone County, was the oldest son of Robert Malone Tyus and Amanda C. Haynie. Robert was born in 1811 in VA and came to Texas in 1836 before settling in Freestone County in 1847 on 640 acres granted to him for his service in defending the Republic of Texas at the Battle of San Jacinto.
Texana Winkler was born in 1866 in Jacksonville, TX to George Arlone Winkler and Catherine Jane Brown. Texana and William Thomas were married on November 17, 1881, at Cook’s Ferry on the Trinity River in Freestone County.
William Thomas died in 1917 and Texana died in 1935 and both are buried in the Tyus Cemetery. At the time of Texana’s death, she was living in Kirk, Limestone County, Texas with her only daughter, Carrie A. Tyus DeFrance.
Carrie then handed down her parent’s family bible to her daughter Vera DeFrance Aslin who passed down the bible to her only daughter, Jackie Aslin Featherston who cared for the bible from 1975 to 2022.
On November 30, 2022, Jackie gave the Tyus Family Bible to Kelly Tyus. Ms. Tyus then asked Paul Harris of Palestine to custom build a shadow box for the treasured Tyus family heirloom.
On February 23, 2024, Kelly Tyus donated the bible to the Freestone County Historical Museum to be on display for others to enjoy.
Freestone County Historical Museum is located at 302 E. Main Street in Fairfield. They are open Wednesdays, Fridays, and Saturdays from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
Admission is $5 for Adults; FREE for children 12 and under.
For more information, give them a call at 903-389-3738, or visit online at freestonecomuseum.com
