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12601. Benjamin Franklin10 Hoots (Polly Jane9 Joyner, Nancy Elizabeth8 Allgood, John William7, Henry Robert6, William (Pikey) Henry5, William John4, Edward3, William2, Edward1 Algood) was born in Morganton, Burke Co., NC December 12, 1894. Benjamin died July 10, 1988 in Yadkinville, Yadkin Co., NC. Benjamin Franklin Hoots was born in the family home on Harmon Creek in Yadkin County. After graduation from high school, he became the railroad station manager in Mocksville, North Carolina, a job that required a knowledge of telegraphy.
He enlisted in the U.S. Navy on 19 February 1918, at Raleigh, North Carolina. Because of his experience as a telegrapher, he was assigned to the Brooklyn Naval Yard with duty station at Harvard University to attend a telegraphy school established by the Navy. World War I ended while he was attending the school and he was discharged at Norfolk, Virginia, on 11 March 1919, his discharge certificate showing his rating as "Lds Electrician (R)."
After spending some time in North Carolina, Benjamin went to Chicago and attended the National Chiropractic College, receiving a doctorate degree. Part of his studies included an internship at Cook County Hospital. He briefly practiced chiropractic in Cleveland, with a classmate, but abandoned the profession and returned to Chicago. On 14 February 1924, Benjamin received an appointment in the U.S. Postal Service in Chicago. He served as a claims examiner in the Chicago postal headquarters but occasionally participated in field claims investigations.
The "Great Depression" started with the stock market crash in October 1929 and lasted until the start of World War II in 1939. Benjamin and Laura fared relatively well because he was a postal employee, but most of their 15 younger brothers and sisters had hard times. Many of them came to Chicago looking for work and boarded with Benjamin and Laura.
Starting in his youth, under his mother's influence, Benjamin had a deep and abiding Christian faith. He was baptized in the Deep Creek Baptist Church in Yadkin County and remained a member of the Baptist Church for the rest of his life. Several years after settling in Chicago, he and Laura became charter members of the Belmont Park Baptist Church, which started in a storefront and then moved to a small church built by the charter members. Benjamin was a pillar of that church and served as Deacon and Sunday School Superintendant. His children, Laura Jane and Rodney, were baptized there. Upon returning to North Carolina, Benjamin and Laura became active members of Deep Creek Baptist Church.
A bond in the Hoots family, for several generations, was Freemasonry and the Eastern Star. The first Lodge in Yadkin County was established in 1795. Earlier affiliations are not known, but several family members, including Benjamin and his father, belonged to Yadkin Lodge 162 - Benjamin received his 50 year pin in 1985. Benjamin and Laura, his parents, and several other family members were very active in the Eastern Star, with Benjamin, Laura and others serving as Worthy Patron and Worthy Matron for several years. Benjamin and Laura participated in Masonic and Star activities all over the country during their extensive travels.
Benjamin retired from the Post Office in Chicago in 1952 and built a home on land inherited from his father along Route 601 on the edge of the Hoots farm. His brothers and sisters had inherited adjoining parcels and he eventually was joined by brothers Silas, Hubert, and Milo. After resettling in North Carolina, Benjamin and Laura bought a small travel trailer and over the next 25 years compiled a record of travel that can hardly be equalled. They visited every State (except Alaska), Canada, and Mexico. They visited Europe in 1955 when his son Rodney was stationed in Heidelberg, Germany, and Hawaii when Rodney was stationed there in 1969.
Mr. Benjamin F. Hoots, 93, died Sunday afternoon at Yadkin Nursing Care Center. He was born in Yadkin County to the late H.F. and Polly Joyner Hoots. He was the oldest member of the Deep Creek Baptist Church. Mr. Hoots was a member of Yadkin Masonic Lodge No. 162 AF & AM and past patron of the Yadkin chapter of Eastern Star 233. He was a deacon of North Shore Baptist Church in Chicago, Ill. He was a retired postal employee and was a chiropractor, receiving his doctorate degree from National College of Chiropractic in Chicago, Ill. Mr. Hoots was a Navy veteran of World War I. He was married to Laura Nelson Hoots, who died September 4, 1978. Surviving are one daughter, Mrs Laura Jane Gresey, Arlington Heights, Ill; one son, Rodney N. Hoots, Arlington, Va; one sister, Mrs. Carl (Frances) Wallace, Yadkinville; five brothers, Herman F. Hoots, Winston-Salem, Hubert H., Wade H., Carl C., and Delma Hoots, All of Yadkinville; thirteen grandchildren, and nine great grand-children. Funeral services will be 11 a.m. Wednesday at Deep Creek Baptist Church by Dr. Ron Davis and the Rev. J.C. Shore. Burial will be in the church cemetery. The body will lie in state at the church 30 minutes prior to the service. The family will receive friends from 7 to 9 p.m. tonight at Mackie-Gentry Funeral Home in Yadkinville.
He married Laura Christine Nelson May 27, 1925 in Chicago, Cook Co., IL. Laura and Benjamin were married in the Grace Methodist Church, Chicago, IL
Laura was born June 26, 1902 in Juneau Co., Wisconsin. Mrs. Laura Christine Hoots, 76, of Route 4, Yadkinville, died Monday morning at the Yadkin Nursing Center in Yadkinville. Funeral services will be conducted at 11:00 AM Wednesday at the Deep Creek Baptist Church by the Rev. Bill Yates and the Rev. J.C. Shore. Burial will be in the church cemetery. She was born on a farm near New Lisbon, Wisconsin, to Peter and Elizabeth Peter Nelson. While living in Chicago, Ill., in 1925, she met and married Dr. Benjamin F. Hoots, D.C., Ph.C. While living in Chicago she belonged to the Belmont Park Baptist Church and to the North Shore Baptist Church. She was active in both churches belonging in the Choir at the Belmont Park Baptist Church, teaching a Sunday School class, and engaging in all the activities of the churches. She was a Girl Scout Leader and during World War II she was an Air Raid Warden in the block where she lived in Chicago. In 1956, she and her husband moved to Yadkin County where they joined the Deep Creek Baptist Church. She was a member of the choir and taught a Sunday School class. She was an active member in community affairs belonging to the Home Extension Club and the Council on Aging of which she was a Board Member, and other local activities. She was a past Matron and past Secretary of the Order of the Eastern Star, Yadkin Chapter No. 233. Surviving are her husband; one daughter, Mrs. Jane Gresey of Arlington Heights, Ill.; one son, Major Rodney N. Hoots of Springfield, Va.; three sisters, Mrs Ida Peterson, Mrs. Ron Thompson, Mrs. Bernice Davies, and a brother, Carl Nelson, all of New Lisbon, Wisconsin,; and 12 grandchildren. The body is at the Mackie-Gentry Funeral Home where the family will receive friends from 7 to 9 p.m. Tuesday night. The family requests memorials to the Deep Creek Baptist Church Building Fund in care of Ralph Todd, Route 4, Yadkinville, or to the charity of the donor's choice Laura was the daughter of Nel Peter Nelson and Elilzabeth Peterson.
Laura died September 4, 1978 in Morganton, Burke Co., NC. Laura's obituary reads: "Mrs. Laura Christine Hoots, 76, of Route 4, Yadkinville, died Monday morning at the Yadkin Nursing Center in Yadkinville. Funeral services will be conducted at 11:00 AM Wednesday at the Deep Creek Baptist Church by the Rev. Bill Yates and the Rev. J.C. Shore. Burial will be in the church cemetery. She was born on a farm near New Lisbon, Wisconsin, to Peter and Elizabeth Peter Nelson. While living in Chicago, Ill., in 1925, she met and married Dr. Benjamin F. Hoots, D.C., Ph.C. While living in Chicago she belonged to the Belmont Park Baptist Church and to the North Shore Baptist Church. She was active in both churches belonging in the Choir at the Belmont Park Baptist Church, teaching a Sunday School class, and engaging in all the activities of the churches. She was a Girl Scout Leader and during World War II she was an Air Raid Warden in the block where she lived in Chicago. In 1956, she and her husband moved to Yadkin County where they joined the Deep Creek Baptist Church. She was a member of the choir and taught a Sunday School class. She was an active member in community affairs belonging to the Home Extension Club and the Council on Aging of which she was a Board Member, and other local activities. She was a past Matron and past Secretary of the Order of the Eastern Star, Yadkin Chapter No. 233. Surviving are her husband; one daughter, Mrs. Jane Gresey of Arlington Heights, Ill.; one son, Major Rodney N. Hoots of Springfield, Va.; three sisters, Mrs Ida Peterson, Mrs. Ron Thompson, Mrs. Bernice Davies, and a brother, Carl Nelson, all of New Lisbon, Wisconsin,; and 12 grandchildren. The body is at the Mackie-Gentry Funeral Home where the family will receive friends from 7 to 9 p.m. Tuesday night. The family requests memorials to the Deep Creek Baptist Church Building Fund in care of Ralph Todd, Route 4, Yadkinville, or to the charity of the donor's choice."
Benjamin Franklin Hoots and Laura Christine Nelson had the following children:
26610 i. Laura Jane11 Hoots (living).
26611 ii. Rodney Nelson Hoots (living).
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