HENRY BENJAMIN GAINES was born Aug 29, 1853 in Autauga Co., AL, and died Mar 30, 1911 in Brown Co., TX. He married (1) DELILA LEWIS Oct 21, 1877 in Cook Co., TX. She was born May 30, 1857 in NC, and died Jun 30, 1891 in Brown Co., TX. He married (2) MINERVA JANE EVANS Thomas on Feb 26, 1893 in Comanche Co., TX, daughter of JAMES EVANS and SARAH Francis GAINES. She was born Jun 7, 1875 in Johnson Co., AR, and died Feb 28, 1959 in Abilene, TX. He married (3) MARY JANE MOORE Mar 20, 1895 in Brown Co., TX, daughter of JAMES MOORE and SARAH PRITCHARD. She was born Dec 4, 1871 in Talladega Co., AL, and died Jun 18, 1954 in Brown Co., TX.

Children of HENRY GAINES and DELILA "Lila" LEWIS are:

On February 26, 1893, Henry married his second wife, Minerva Jane (Evans) Thomas. Minerva was living, along with her daughter Bonnie Lee Thomas, in the home of her mother Sarah Francis (Gaines) (Evans) Huddleston and stepfather Wiley Huddleston, in Comanche County, Texas. This family had relocated to Comanche County (adjacent to Brown Co.) from Coal Hill, Johnson County, Arkansas in about 1891.

Soon after Henry’s marriage to Minerva she became pregnant, but Henry asked his brother Jeff, to take Minerva back to her mother’s home in Comanche County. She stayed in the home of her mother and gave birth to Ernest William Gaines on February 15, 1894.

On January 7, 1895 Henry was granted a divorce from Minerva after less than two years of marriage and only living together for a few months. The divorce was granted on the grounds of adultery, however it should be remember that at this time in our history, the only grounds for a divorce were; abandonment, insanity, or adultery.

Two months after Henry’s divorce from Minerva, he married Mary Jane "Mollie" Moore on March 20, 1895 in Brown County, Texas. They began a family which would include five children. All told, Henry fathered sixteen children with his three wives, and thirteen of them lived to adulthood.

Henry and Mary Jane "Mollie" Moore continued to live in the Cross Cut community until 1898, when they moved to McCullough County, lived there for two years, then moved to Winkler County in West Texas near the New Mexico; after being there one year, they came back to Brown County and bought a farm-ranch of 640 acres in the community of Jordan Springs, which is about 11 miles south of Brownwood, TX.

At the time of the 1920 census (and after Henry’s death), the family was listed on this farm-ranch with Henry Jeff Gaines as the head of the family, age 38 and single; Mary Jane Gaines was listed as the step-mother, age 47, a widow. Also living in the home at this time was; Maggie L. age 23, Martha J. age 21 and Novella M. Gaines age 19. All were listed as school teachers. Also in the home at that time were Hattie M. age 16 and James Carey age 13.

Throughout Henry’s life he, nor his family, acknowledged that he had been married to Minerva or that he had another child, Ernest out there somewhere.

On March 31, 1911, Henry died of heart disease with complications from "La Grippe" (old fashion name meaning the flu). It is interesting to note that Henry’s father, William, died on March 7, 1911. However, there was no death certificate filed for William, so his cause of death is unknown, however these deaths occurred during the great flu epidemic of 1911.

Henry is buried in the graveyard adjacent to the Jordan Springs Baptist church in Brown County, Texas. His grave is isolated from the rest of the cemetery and at first glance it would appear that no one wanted to be buried near him, but I found out later that when they dug his grave, they discovered that part of the cemetery was over a rock ledge that required them to use dynamite to excavate his final resting place. His funeral was delayed one day because of the hard digging. Prior to his death, he stated he wanted to be buried on that spot, so he would be as close as possible to the church and would be able to hear his children singing in the choir.

Left to right: Nancy Novella, Hattie Mae in Henry’s lap, Henry Benjamin, Maggie Louise, Mary Jane (Moore) (wife #3), James Carey in Mary’s lap & Martha Jane Gaines. Ca 1905, Brownwood, TX

The home of Henry Benjamin Gaines in Brown County, Texas, with his family pictured, please note the empty chair before Mary Jane, signifying that she is a widow. It can be assumed this picture was made soon after the death of Henry in 1911. I’ve made this assumption based on the approximate age of Carey, the third person from the right, would have been five years old when his father died, and he doesn’t look much older than that in this picture.

The three grown men are the unidentified sons of Henry and his first wife, and the other people in the picture are (l to r) Maggie, Martha, Novella, Widow Gaines, Hattie Mae, the family dog & Carey Gaines.