A well-placed Fortean.
Laura Frances Kittrell was born 12 January 1918 in Cisco, Texas. Her mother was the former Frances Louise Wasson. Her father was William Henderson Kittrell, a prominent Texan. William was raised in Cisco, the son of a minister with the Church of the Living God. In 1920, the family was living with William’s parents in Cisco. It was a loaded house—nine people were there, including three Lauras: William’s mother, his sister (one of a pair of twins), and his daughter. At the time, William was a furniture salesman. His sisters, Laura and Lucy, would go on to be well-known Cisco citizens, Laura a longtime postmaster, and Lucy a schoolteacher.
William supposedly attended the University of Texas for a brief stint, then moved his family to Dallas—by this time Laura two siblings had joined Laura, Louise, born in 1920, and William III, born in 1922. The elder William founded the Texas Press Clipping Bureau and became an important figure in Democratic politics, a lobbyist and influential leader. In 1930, the family rented a house on Lewis Street for $37.50 per month, and William listed his occupation as a newspaper advertiser. This designation probably related to his press clipping service: at the time, it was hard for people to keep abreast of all relevant news stories printed around the country (or world) and press-clipping services offered to collate and sell material on any subject, producing what were essentially dossiers.
Laura Frances Kittrell was born 12 January 1918 in Cisco, Texas. Her mother was the former Frances Louise Wasson. Her father was William Henderson Kittrell, a prominent Texan. William was raised in Cisco, the son of a minister with the Church of the Living God. In 1920, the family was living with William’s parents in Cisco. It was a loaded house—nine people were there, including three Lauras: William’s mother, his sister (one of a pair of twins), and his daughter. At the time, William was a furniture salesman. His sisters, Laura and Lucy, would go on to be well-known Cisco citizens, Laura a longtime postmaster, and Lucy a schoolteacher.
William supposedly attended the University of Texas for a brief stint, then moved his family to Dallas—by this time Laura two siblings had joined Laura, Louise, born in 1920, and William III, born in 1922. The elder William founded the Texas Press Clipping Bureau and became an important figure in Democratic politics, a lobbyist and influential leader. In 1930, the family rented a house on Lewis Street for $37.50 per month, and William listed his occupation as a newspaper advertiser. This designation probably related to his press clipping service: at the time, it was hard for people to keep abreast of all relevant news stories printed around the country (or world) and press-clipping services offered to collate and sell material on any subject, producing what were essentially dossiers.