John S. Justin Sr. · History

History

John S. Justin Sr. was the first son of H.J. “Joe” Justin and Annie Allen, born in Spanish Fort, Texas. Jane Pattie’s article in the Encyclopedia of the Great Plains reports that Joe married Annie Allen of Hood County in 1886, and that Annie and the children worked in the boot shop alongside Joe.

In 1908, John and his brother Earl became partners with their father in H.J. Justin and Sons, supervising ten to twelve men in the shop while Joe traveled with boot samples. In 1916, when Joe’s health failed, he turned the company over to his sons John, Earl, and Avis; in 1925 the sons moved the company to Fort Worth, where John worked at the plant until his death in 1959. No birth year survives for John. Pairs made by the firm are catalogued under Justin rather than under his name individually.