Joseph Brosius McAdams was born April 1, 1910 in Ballinger, Texas, the son of Jesse and Mary G. (Barr) McAdams.  Joe attended Tarleton State College in Stephenville.  After several years in Brownwood, the McAdams family moved to Cross Plains on May 29, 1930 where Joe met Ila Mae Barr, the daughter of Chess and Minnie (Atwood) Barr.  They eloped and were married on June 2, 1931.

In December of 1937, Joe’s father died and he took over the Texaco dealership in Rising Star which his father had owned.  In 1939 Joe became Master of the Cross Plains Lodge.  He operated the Texaco business until about 1940 when he left to head up a scrap metal drive for the government as part of the war effort.  Eventually he and Ila Mae moved to Houston, Texas along with their son, Joseph Brosius, Jr. where, except for a few years in Corpus Christi, he spent his life working for Texaco. 

Joe’s siblings were Mary Elizabeth who married Roy Lee Little of Cross Plains, Martha Nan “Queenie”, who married L. D. Koenig, also of Cross Plains and Jessie Ruth, the only living sister who lives in Tyler, Texas. 

Contributed by Ann Beeler