Lena Bishop was born on May 6, 1892, on a farm west of Plano in the vicinity of the current intersection of the Dallas North Tollway and Legacy Drive.

She grew up listening to stories of her heritage as told by her grandmother, Elizabeth Cook. One such story was about how, in 1845 at the age of 18, Elizabeth had come to Texas from St. Louis with her father, Henry Cook. Elizabeth Cook married Henry Heustis who fought in the Civil War. Together they had three daughters. One daughter was Martha Jane Heustis who married Choral Bishop, and became Lena’s mother.

Lena, with her brother and two sisters, attended the Barksdale School, a one room schoolhouse with only 9 grades. She graduated from Plano High School in May 1910. After attending Texas Normal School and receiving a permanent teacher’s certificate, she taught at Lucas and Barksdale until she married Charles Pearson.

Lena Bishop Pearson spent the next 20 years as a farmer’s wife, raising a daughter, Elizabeth, and a son, Charles. In 1941, a teacher was needed at the one room Barksdale School. Although it was wartime, she applied and was hired for the job. But before the year was over, the Plano School District closed the school, moving the students into Plano.

She went with the students and ended her teaching career at the Plano Public School. She continued to read, tell stories, and teach Sunday school. She died on January 26, 1988, at the age of 95.

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