The descendants of Cassandra Fox preserve her legacy and family history in Denton County.
DENTON COUNTY, Texas — Fox McKinney, Hembry and Edwards are all different last names united by a shared ancestor and a long history in North Texas.
“I was 5th generation from my great-great-great grandmother,” said Bettie Fox McKinney.
“We’re 5th generation Texans,” said sisters Lisa and Karen Hembry.
“I fall into like 7th generation,” said Reginald Edwards.
They are all descendants of Cassandra Fox. There are no known pictures of Fox because she was taken from the Caribbean and sold into slavery to J.K. Fox of Denton County.
“Apparently, J.K. Fox had a lot of property here already when they came,” Fox McKinney said.
That property stretched across what is now the Town of Hickory Creek, Lake Dallas and Lewisville. The Denton County African American Museum holds much of the family’s history. It showed how relatives created churches, became West Dallas’ first Black dentist and were among the first Black Dallas Police Officers.
“Ahh, there’s Robbie. There’s Robbie. That’s my great aunt right there. I remember her being raised up here,” Edwards said as he pointed to a picture in the museum of his great aunt.
There is also history at the family cemetery which dates back almost 200 years to 1831. “When I go there it certainly feels like a sacred place to me,” Lisa Hembry said.
It is a place they want to hold onto for years to come.
“One time, I said, ‘Granddad, can you give me some of that land? I think I want to build a house up here one day,’ and I was only 10 years old,” Edwards said.
Fast forward 40 years, Edwards did just that. He built a home on his family’s land. “We’ve made like a pledge to ourselves that this is a family house, and we always welcome my family here,” Edwards said.
It is a pledge Edwards brought to the Town of Hickory Creek, too. Mayor Lynn Clark recognized the family with a proclamation on Monday. Another proclamation will be given to the family on Thursday from Lake Dallas.
WFAA asked Edwards what his ancestor, Fox, would say about their efforts to preserve their family history. “I’m so proud of you guys…Share your story, share our story, and make sure that the generations after us know their history,” he said
“I just feel like I’m living in the shadow of greatness,” Lisa Hembry told WFAA.
They are living with an ever-present light that continues to shine through generations.
