Youth

Hank Williams was born in Mount Olive AL but the family moved to Georgiana AL, a town along the railway. Their house burned down and another house was offered to them by Thadeus B. Rose. This house is now the Hank Williams Boyhood Museum. Hank Williams lived there between his 7 and 11th year. His mother bought him a guitar for $3,50 and Hank played in the streets of Georgiana for tips. A black street musician Rufus Payne became his teacher. Rufus Payne was also called "Tee-Tot" because he would always carry a small bottle of tea with him which was mixed with some alcohlic beverage.

The family moved to Greenville AL in the fall of 1934 and then to Montgomery, capital city of Alabama, in 1937. At the age of 14 Hiriam started to call himself "Hank".

His mother earned money by working in factories but the main income came from the use of their home as a boardinghouse.

The Skipper-family in the woods of Alabama. Hank and his mother on the left.>>>