A Joint Project of the Sam Rayburn House Historic Site and the Fannin County Historical Commission
Celebrating America 250 with Spotlights of Fannin County Citizens Who Participated In or Witnessed Historical Events
Fannin County, Texas -- Emma L. Wilson and John Erskine were the parents of Bobbie Lee Dupree Erskine, who was born on May 11, 1902, in Bonham, TX. She had six siblings. Her father was a laborer and her mother was a laundress. As a child, Bobbie attended Booker T. Washington School and picked cotton, eventually leaving school after finishing sixth grade to work.
Around 1918, she married railroad worker George Scott, and the couple had five children: Emma Belle, John George, Pontselus, Esther, and a son. Two of their children may have died before 1930. By 1930, Bobbie lived in Vernon, TX, with her three daughters and was married to Bossie Reed, and she cooked for a local family.
Around 1933, Bobbie returned to Bonham and began working for the Rayburn family at what is now the Sam Rayburn House State Historic Site. One member of the Rayburn family, Sam Rayburn, eventually served as the Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives longer than any other person in history.
Bobbie worked at the Rayburn house and farm for the rest of her life. She cooked, cleaned, helped tend the garden, and canned as part of her normal duties at the house. She also helped clean the Rayburn ranch cabin in Ivanhoe, TX. Bobbie had a talent for cooking delicious meals without using a recipe, and in a 1961 Life magazine article about Sam Rayburn, D.B. Hardeman wrote that Bobbie “was master of the Rayburn kitchen for 24 years until she died.” Many Rayburn family members and others still recall Bobbie’s cooking today.
During 1948, Bobbie served President Harry Truman fried chicken and biscuits, and she also served other notable figures during her time at the Rayburn house including Lyndon and Lady Bird Johnson. Bobbie wrote letters to Lucinda Rayburn, Sam’s sister, when Lucinda accompanied Sam to Washington, D.C. Bobbie told Lucinda about local news, activities on the farm, and even wished Lucinda a happy birthday and had dinner in Lucinda’s honor even though Lucinda was away. According to her grandchildren, Bobbie loved her job and was proud to work for the Rayburn family.
During 1940, Bobbie married Charlie Phillips, who began working on the Rayburn farm in 1939. The couple lived at a small house, called the Caretaker’s Cottage today, on the Rayburn property, and this two- or three-room house did not have electricity or running water. Electricity was added to this house later.
Bobbie’s granddaughter, Barbara Jean Ganther Ross, eventually moved in with her grandparents in the 1940s and other grandchildren sometimes stayed for the summer. Around 1947, Bobbie and her family moved to the Bonham city limits to a home that Sam Rayburn purchased for them, and he had water and sewage lines added to the house. Bobbie may have wanted to move to town to be closer to her church activities, but when she lived on the Rayburn property she was always on call, which may have been another reason to move away.
She was a member of Bethlehem Baptist Church, the 20th Century Club, and the North Texas Wonders.
Bobbie Phillips died on March 1, 1956, from empyema of the gallbladder. Her funeral was held at Bethlehem Baptist Church. She is buried at Gates Hill Cemetery in Bonham. Her daughter, Emma Belle Givens, worked at the Rayburn house after Bobbie passed away.
Bobbie’s grandson, Joe Dale, spent some summers at the Rayburn house. Joe Dale became the first African American appointed to a Fannin County, TX, office when he was appointed to fill an unexpired term as Justice of the Peace for Precinct 1 in Fannin County in 1993.
This information was obtained from the Fannin Co., Texas GenWeb (txfannin.org), the Texas State Historical Association, files of the Sam Rayburn House State Historic Site collection, and other online sources. The Sam Rayburn House State Historic Site will present this and other biographies at their 2026 Cemetery Walking Tour at Gates Hill Cemetery on October 31, 2026, from 10:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. A guided walking tour begins at 10:15 a.m.
Contact the Sam Rayburn House at (903) 583-5558 or email Margo.McCutcheon@thc.texas.gov if you have any questions.
