Michael & Carrie Huffines Spellman Biography
by Mick Spellman

Forney Messenger
8 December 1977

Mr. Michael (Mick, Mike) Spellman settled on the Irish Ridge in Kaufman County, Texas in 1876, as an eighteen year old boy, with his parents, Mr. and Mrs. Thomas Spellman, Sr., who came to the United States from County Galway, Ireland in 1843.

Mr. Michael Spellman’s parents, Thomas Spellman, Sr. and Mary Nolan were both single and did not know each other when they emigrated from Ireland, but later met and married in 1852 in Zanesville, Ohio. Mr. Thomas Spellman, Sr. was engaged in the railroad construction business for many years before locating his family near Forney, Texas in 1876 and becoming a farmer. He died in 1890 at the age of 72 and Mrs. Mary Nolan Spellman died in 1883.

Mr. Michael Spellman soon became a substantial land owner as he was a successful cotton farmer and was also actively engaged in the thriving hay business of this area. He married Carrie Huffines on August 23, 1889 and they continued to live on the Irish Ridge for several years before moving to “The Spellman Home” on Center Street, Forney, Texas, in 1908.

Mr. Spellman established The First National Bank of Crandall, Texas in 1902 and served as its president until it closed in 1929. He actively supported the early operations of the Porter Agricultural Experimental Station located near Terrell, Texas. He served as president of the Forney School Board for several years, was a member of the City Council of Forney, was a member of the Board of Directors of the Farmers National Bank of Forney, was Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the First Presbyterian Church of Forney, and was Chairman of the Building Committee when the present Presbyterian Church was built in 1925.

Mrs. Carrie Huffines Spellman, a truly wonderful Mother, was blessed with seemingly unlimited energy and enthusiasm. Her activities were centered around her family and home and her church. She zealously cared for her family and also worked in the “Pure Food Shows,” in feeding the Lions Club, etc., in order to help pay for the “new” Presbyterian Church. She once described her life as a “labor of love.”

Mr. and Mrs. Spellman were the parents of six children, three boys and three girls – namely:

Troy Monroe (Born Nov. 11, 1902, Died March 6, 1904)
Coreen Mary (Born March 17, 1905)
Lilian Patsy (Born July 21, 1908, Died Dec. 19, 1915)
Helen Marie (Born July 28, 1911)
Mick Charlie (Born Dec. 30, 1913)
Thomas Earl (Born July 29, 1916)

Mr. Michael Spellman was born in Springfield, Wisconsin on October 15, 1858 and died in Forney, Texas on November 16, 1935, at the age of 77. Mrs. Carrie Huffines Spellman was born in Simpson County, Kentucky on April 25, 1876 and died in Forney, Texas on June 2, 1972, at the age of 96.