Martha Louise Sawyers and Henry William Reusswig

HENRY WILLIAM REUSSWIG was born July 22, 1902 in New Jersey,¹⁴⁸⁶ and died June 22, 1978 in San Antonio, Bexar, Texas.¹⁴⁸⁶ He is buried in Hillside Cemetery, Cuero, DeWitt, Texas.^{547, 1486}

He married MARTHA LOUISE SAWYERS on November 16, 1927 in Church of Stagnes, Manhattan, New York, New York,^{98, 8056} daughter of INEZ MAY BRASHEAR and ALLIE BEN SAWYERS. She was born October 18, 1903 in Corsicana, Navarro, Texas,¹³ and died February 11, 1986 in San Antonio, Bexar, Texas.^{105, 8057}

• Descendant Reports
  • William Scott Descendant Report (Ancestor of Martha L. Sawyers)

Corsicana Daily Sun, November 7, 1927⁸⁰⁵⁶

FORMER CORISCANA GIRL, NOW ARTIST, TO WED IN NEW YORK

Special to the Sun.

New York, Nov. 7.—The Church of Stagnes in New York City will be the scene of the wedding on November 16 of Miss Martha Louise Sawyers, aged twenty-two, an artist, formerly of Corsicana, and Henry William Reusswig, twenty-five, also an artist of 215 West Thirteenth street, New York City.

The couple obtained their license here today.

Miss Sawyers, who has a studio at 360 West Twenty-second street, was born in Corsicana, the daughter of Alie and Inez Sawyers. Mr. Reusswig is a native of Somerville, N. J., the son of Henry and Edith North Reusswig.

Corsicana Daily Sun, November 8, 1927³⁴⁹⁹

Miss Sawyers Niece Of Mrs. Oscar Smith

Miss Martha Louise Sawyers, New York artist, whose approaching marriage was announced in the Sun Monday, is a niece of Mrs. Oscar Smith of this city. Her father, A. B. Sawyers, was connected with the local electric light plant many years ago.

Miss Sawyers left this city at an early age with her parents and has resided in New York a number of years. Her mother before her marriage was Miss Inez Brasher. The family is well known in Coriscana among the long time residents.

Miss Sawyers and Henry William Reusswig will be married in New York November 16.

Victoria Advocate, September 25, 1922¹⁵⁹³

Miss Martha Sawyers left this morning for New York city to continue the study of art in one of the well known art schools of the metropolis.

San Antonio Express, September 7, 1924¹⁵⁸⁶

Miss Inez Sawyers returned last week from New York City, where she spent the summer with her sister, Martha, who is an art student in that city. Miss Martha accompanied her home.

San Antonio Light, October 2, 1939¹⁵⁹⁶

Mrs. William Reusswig of New York, who is winning art renown as Martha Sawyer ("Toby" to her intimates), has done an utterly charming crayon of her handsome little nephew, Charles Ladd III. It hangs on the landing of the stairway in his parents' home.

Corsicana Daily Sun, January 22, 1944³⁵⁰⁰

Former Corsicanan Rises to Fame as An Illustrator

Through an item that appeared in a recent issue of "Collier's" Corsicana friends learned of the continued success of Martha Sawyers daughter of former Corsicanans, the late Mrs. Inez Brasher Sawyers and A. B. Sawyers, who now reside in Cuero. Miss Sawyers, who is a niece of Mrs. Hattie B. Smith of this city, was born in Coriscana and lived here for many years.

In the recent article, the former Corsicanan was referred to as one of Collier's favorite artists, who insists that it is easy to illustrate a story you like. Continuing the item stated that "she is a Texas girl who didn't get very far with her art until she went to live at Bali in the Dutch East Indies. There she defied the easygoing traditions of the Bali artists' colony by working hard all day every day even in the noonday sun."

After a few years, Miss Sawyers moved to Peking, China, where she worked until the war drover her out. Now she and her husband, William Reusswig, also a Collier's illustrator, do their work in to of the neatest studios in New York. "Neatness and strict hours" she explains, "were our defense against tropical languor, and they are our defense now against big-city laziness."

Miss Sawyers has also illustrated for Pearl Buck and other well known authors.

San Antonio Express, August 14, 1950¹⁵⁹⁰

San Antonian Guest of Sister In New York City

Miss Inez Sawyers left Saturday for New York to be gone until Sept. 1. She will visit while there with her sister and brother-in-law, Mr. and Mrs. William Reusswig, both well-known artists. Mrs. Reusswig paints professionally under the name Martha Sawyers.

Miss Sawyer plans to see all the large art exhibitions during the time she spends in New York.

San Antonio Light, March 7, 1958¹⁵⁹⁷

March is a busy month for the artistic Sawyer sisters.

In the current issue of Cosmopolitan magazine are many reproductions of pictures by Martha Sawyer Reusswig illustrating the story, "Sketch Book of the Oriend," by her husband Bill Ruesswig.

Inez Sawyer, head of the art department at St. Mary's hall, is presenting an annual exhibit of her pupils' work Saturday and Sundat at the school.

San Antonio Express and News, February 28, 1965¹⁵⁹⁸

Texas Artist Writes on India

Texas artist Martha Sawyers and her writer husband, William Reusswig, have combined their talents to turn out an entertaining and informative book INDIA AND SOUTHEAST ASIA (Grosset and Dunlap).

The book does not go into great detail, but it does give the most important facts about all the nations of that region. It is written in style and language for both young and old to read and understand, and the illustrations are magnificent.

Previously the couple had collaborated on "The Illustrated Book About The Far East". — B.C.

Victoria Advocate, May 25, 1978¹⁵⁹⁵

Artist's Work Due

A retrospective of Martha Sawyers' work—oils, water color, crayons and sculpture—is on view during the month of May at Glasser's Art Gallery is San Antonio.

The artist was reared in Victoria. She married Bill Reusswig, a free lance writer, when they were students at New York City's Art Sutdent League in 1928. Her first assignnment after her training was with the Herald Tribune where she made sketches for the paper of leading Broadway stars.

She said she is anxious for some of her old-time friends from Victoria to visit the gallery during her showing.

NY Times, June 23, 1978⁵⁴⁷

REUSSWIG—William. On June 22, in San Antonio, Texas. Survived by his wife, Martha Sawyers Reusswig; a brother, E. Norton Reusswig, of Albany; a sister, Mrs. Bryan Balley, of Washington, DC. Interment Cuero, Texas, on Friday, June 23.

Victoria Advocate, February 13, 1986⁸⁰⁵⁷

Ex-Victorian, Cover Artist Reusswig Dies

Martha Sawyers Reusswig of San Antonio, a former Victorian who was a major American magazine illustrator in the 1930s and 1940s, died Tuesday night in a San Antonio hospital following a lengthy illness.

Mrs. Reusswig created covers for Life, Collier's, Liberty and American magazines. She also illustrated a serialized version of Pearl Buck's novels. She served as a war correspondent for Collier's during World War II.

A member of the National Watercolor Society and Illustrators League of New York City, she was born in 1902 in Corsicana, daughter of the late Mr. and Mrs. A. B. Sawyers.

She spent her younger years in Cuero, but her family later moved to Victoria where she remained until 1919. That year, the 17-year-old Martha Sawyers struck out for New York and the Art Students' League where she studied for several years. In New York she met William Reusswig, a young writer and illustrator. They married in 1928.

During the early 1920s she illustrated broadway playbills and movie magazine covers. In 1937 she and her husband toured the Orient, and their resulting works were later exhibited in New York galleries. In addition to their work as correspondents during World War II, the Sawyers co-authored two travel books on the Orient.

She was mentioned along with Norman Rockwell in "Forty Illustrators and How They Work" in 1946.

Mrs. Reusswig and her husband returned to Texas in the 1970s. He died June 22, 1978.

Funeral services will be held at Grace Episcopal Church in Cuero at 11 a.m. Friday. The Rev. Pat Connell will officiate.

Burial will follow in the Hillside Cemetery in Cuero under the direction of Freund Funeral Home.

She is survived by two sisters, Inez Sawyers and Nancy Sawyers Ladd, both of San Antonio.