It is true what they say -- the best gifts come in small packages. Such was the case when the brown envelope, from good friend Anne Magee Jackson, arrived out-of-the-blue in the mail. The daughter of renowned nursery man Jack Magee and wife Doris Yates Magee, Anne has a gold mine of information on the history of local nurseries and on the Magees.
Jack Magee was the son of Dallas and Ruby Loyd Magee. He was the brother of Ruth Leattie Magee Mizell and Herbert Emile Magee "Bootsie" (adopted brother). Their dad Dallas Morgan Magee was the son of Jacob Wood Magee (1863-1903) and wife Mary Alice Bateman Magee (1871-1901). In addition to Dallas, they had the following children: Fleet Jason, William "Price," Lela Lozane (Peterson), and Kate Ella (1889-1905). Notably, both Dallas and Price served in World War I.
In the past, I have focused on Jack and Doris Magee who, together, established Evergreen Nursery, just north of Folsom. But the crux of this column is Price Magee, whose daughter Margaret Ellen "Susie" Magee continues to run Folsom Nursery. In fact, the location of Folsom Nursery is pretty much where the Magee siblings' nursery business had its beginning in 1932. An expert tile layer in Texas, Price sent money home to brother Dallas to operate the nursery. Having sadly lost their parents at an early age, they thrived in the nursery business. As Anne poignantly noted, "What is so amazing about this story is that orphaned children grew up to create not only a nursery business but a whole industry in Folsom that was known throughout the South."
As she explained, by the time her father Jack had grown up, brothers Price and Dallas had parted ways, in business. While Price continued operating Folsom Nursery, Dallas purchased property a couple miles north of Folsom where he founded Midway Nursery. His wife Ruby Loyd Magee, according to granddaughter Anne, was "like a pioneer woman." In addition to working in the nursery, she taught her grandchildren how to swim, catch fish, make butter, plant a garden, can the vegetables, make jelly, and even pluck a chicken. Meanwhile, the Magee men were making a name for themselves in the nursery business and mentoring prominent names in the industry - Dennis McCloskey (the Windmill empire), Randall Bracey (with a burgeoning nursery business), and Buddy Lee (who developed Encore azaleas).
Back to the brown envelope and the treasure found within - the outline of Anne's Great-Uncle Price's life, which he penned in 1972, held me spellbound. Price Magee was the youngest child of Jacob Wood Magee who was the great-grandson of William Magee and Mary Margaret James Magee, whose descendants I detailed in a series of columns last year. Price was only three years old when he lost his mother Mary Alice Bateman Magee to tuberculosis in 1901. A true hardship as his father Jacob Wood Magee was said to have died of the same disease in 1903. Also known as consumption, it was a leading cause of death at the turn of the century. I do not intend to steal Price Magee's thunder, but he and his siblings had mettle.
Before I proceed with the autobiography, I have an admission. My dear friend, the late Olive Burris (1928-2020), my husband Rodney's beloved cousin, made mention to me years ago of this very manuscript. Informing me of its existence, Olive expressed great interest in seeing it. She seemed to think that Eleanor Ruth Brown, my mother's friend and my Tri Delta sister, had typed Price Magee's notes - something I can't confirm or deny. But I had every intention of searching for the document, for Cousin Olive, way back then. But life intervened. As I since discovered, Olive's maternal grandmother Emma Magee (1870-1946) who married Robert Hugh Bateman (1866-1942) - my husband Rodney's great-grandparents - was the youngest sister of Jacob Wood Magee. Oh, how I wish Cousin Olive could read the fascinating thirteen-page, typed autobiography of Price Magee. He referred to it as the "outline of my life."
Setting the stage, siblings Jacob Wood Magee and Emma Magee Bateman's parents were Fleet Magee (1835-1883) and wife Lozanne Wood Magee (1836-1887). Fleet Magee was the son of John and Sarah Magee who had vast landholdings in Washington Parish. Fleet's siblings were Jacob Magee, Jane Magee, Elizabeth "Betsy" Magee, Mary Polly Magee, John Magee II, George Magee, Dorcas Magee, Rebecca Magee, William Magee III, and Celia Magee. And John Magee (1792-1877) was the eldest son of William and Mary Margaret James Magee. Emma Magee Bateman and Jacob Wood Magee's siblings were Florence Galnair Magee Babington, Silas W. Magee, Mima Magee Babington, Kate Magee Varnado, and Noel Magee (1879-1904).
Now for the heart of the story, William Price Magee (1898-1980) married Willie Mae Dunlap (1899-1993) of Baton Rouge on August 23, 1922, in New Orleans. Together, they had three children: Mary Lozane Magee, who married Frederick Olan Yates; Lela Camelia Magee who married John Edward Ducournau, first, and William John Barice, Jr., second; and Margaret Ellen "Susie" Magee.
Niece Anne Magee Jackson reflected, "Price's wife, Aunt Mae, was little and dainty and always smelled so good! She, nor her girls, were allowed to work in the nursery." I suppose all that had changed by the time Susie took over the nursery.
•For more on the family of Price and Mae Magee, stay tuned for next week's column as the outline of William Price Magee's life is revealed - hold onto your hat.
