Lisa Williams, Author at Honeysuckle Farm, LLC

Mary Elizabeth LANE LARKIN 1853-1899 OH>MO

Mary Elizabeth LANE was my 3rd great grandmother through my paternal grandmother’s line. The information I have about Mary is that she was born on 3 October 1853 in Ohio. In about 1867 or 1868 she married my 3rd great grandfather, Joseph L. LARKIN. Together they had 10 children. She died 3 June 1899 in McDowell, Barry, Missouri, USA. She attended the Christian Church in McDowell, Barry, Missouri, USA. Until a couple of days ago the only information I had about her burial was that she was buried overlooking the Old Mill in McDowell. My husband and I have been to McDowell and managed to find someone who gave us good enough directions that we were able to find the Old Mill. We were unable to find Mary’s gravesite- or anyone else’s- in that area.
This week, I was fortunate enough to get to spend one day at the Family History Library in Salt Lake City, Utah. There I found an obituary for Mary which provided a little more information about her burial. The obituary reads as follows:
Died June 3, Mary E., wife of Joseph Larkin, age 46 years, 8 months, 6 days. Died at her home on Camp Bliss Hollow. Buried in graveyard near the McDowell Mills. Married at age 15 in Ohio to Joseph Larkin who, with 10 children, survive her.
(Information taken from Southwest Missouri Newspaper Abstracts, Vol. 18; specifically, the Cass Republican newspaper.)
The information gleaned from the obituary lets me know that she was married in 1868, not 1867. It gives me the location of her residence at the time of her death and tells me that she passed away there. It also tells me that there is a graveyard in the area of the Mill as opposed to a single grave or two which was what had previously been conveyed to me.
My research plan for Mary includes a second trip to McDowell, Barry, Missouri, USA. The information I gleaned from the obituary, along with other information I have found on the internet in regard to possible gravesites located in the Mill area, will be useful in making another attempt at locating the graveyard. I hope to also locate Camp Bliss Hollow. One of the things I was not able to do on the last trip was to locate the old Christian Church that Mary attended when she lived in McDowell. I would like to try finding the church again as well. Additionally, I hope to make at least one more trip to the FHL while I’m in Utah to locate as much additional information as I can about Mary and Joseph.
The only thing I hope I don’t find again when I return to McDowell is that coiled up rattlesnake I almost stepped on! Good thing it was too cold for him to move or I would have been bitten!

School Records- a sweet resource

In researching my own family, I have delved into a sweet resource- school census records. At the end of last year, I stated that one of my goals for 2012 was to learn more about my great-grandmother’s family, my great-grandmother being Edith Cleo (HUBBARD) DRAKE. So on this post today, I want to review a school census record that pertains to her father. Just for clarity, allow me a moment to introduce the “players” in today’s post. My great-great-grandfather (father of Edith Cleo HUBBARD DRAKE) was Alford Allen HUBBARD. He was married to my great-great-grandmother, Laura A. BUTLER HUBBARD. My great-grandfather, Mark DRAKE, who was Edith HUBBARD DRAKE’s husband, had a brother named Jess DRAKE and Jess was the census enumerator for this particular census record. Only two of my great-great-grandparents’ children were enumerated in this record and they are Raymond HUBBARD and Deloris HUBBARD.
The record in question is my great-great-grandmother’s entry from 1933 in the Scholastic School Census for Delaware County, Oklahoma. Their local school was Poynor School. In 1933 Poynor School was School District No. 77.
I am unable to post an image here on my blog, so here is an abstract of the record:
Page: 18
Name of Parent: Mrs. A. A. Hubbard
Post Office: SWC MO
Name of Township or Street: 23
Section or Street No.: 10
Name of Tribe: White
Name of Child: Raymond Hubbard
Color: W
Sex: Boy
Date of Birth- Month, Day, Year: May 16 1912
Age: 20
Deaf, Dumb, Blind, Feeble Minded, and Crippled (write which): X
Name of Child: Deloris Hubbard
Color: W
Sex: Girl
Date of Birth- Month, Day, Year: Aug 1 1919
Age: 13
Deaf, Dumb, Blind, Feeble Minded, and Crippled (write which): [blank]
[Text of oath is written on the record but not included here. “Mrs. A. A. Hubbard” signed the document as parent/guardian (in this case, I know her to be the parent)].
Subscribed and sworn to before me this the 19 day of January, 1933.
Jess Drake [signature] Enumerator
[End of abstract]
This record allows me to say certainly that my HUBBARD family was in Oklahoma on this particular date- 19 Jan 1933. Since I’m uncertain of exactly when they came to Oklahoma, this information is very helpful in placing them in a particular place at a particular time. In the previous and subsequent years’ censuses, Alford HUBBARD was the one who talked with the enumerator and signed the census record. I am uncertain why Laura did it on this particular year.
From the record, I can see that although they resided in Oklahoma they received mail with a Missouri address (“SWC MO”). Because I grew up in this area I know that this makes sense. The area where they lived sits very close to the state lines of Oklahoma and Missouri. The abbreviation for the mailing city- “SWC MO”- stands for South West City, Missouri.
I have not had time to research this, but I believe that the address given- “23” and “10”- refer to Township and Range numbers. This should be easy enough to verify once I obtain a Township Range map for Delaware County, but for today I don’t have access to that map.
In regard to Alford and Laura’s children, I have knowledge of their having six children. As always I have to consider that there may be others of whom I am unaware. By 1933, most of the children were grown and had moved out of Alford and Laura’s home. Their child, Anna, was close in age to Raymond and Deloris (who are shown in this school census record). Anna appears in the 1920 census with Alford and Laura and is only 5 months old at that time. Anna does not appear in the household in the 1930 census nor in this 1933 school census. She also does not appear in 1932 or 1934 school census records with the family. What little information I have about Anna indicates that she lived long after 1933. Unfortunately, that is verbal information from a now-deceased family member. It looks like a future point of research will be to find out what happened to Anna.
Another issue I noticed was that Raymond appears to have been marked as “deaf, dumb, blind, feeble minded, and crippled”. To my knowledge, he was not. In the previous school census year, this column was not ticked off for him and in the subsequent year he was not listed on the school census at all. Perhaps this will be added to my research list in terms of information to learn about the family. I was told that he married a woman named Lillie THOMPSON. The only other thing I know about Raymond is that his first name was John and his middle name was Raymond.
Even though Alford and Laura’s daughter Edith (my great-grandmother) is not listed on this school census record, I feel these records are still important and useful in learning about her family. I now have potential research goals of looking into whether Raymond was handicapped (if he really was “feeble minded”, could there be court records?) and of finding out what happened to Edith’s youngest sister, Anna. I know very little about the HUBBARD family and perhaps finding Anna will lead me to discoveries about the family that I might otherwise not make.
I’m looking forward to this future research and I thoroughly enjoyed digging around in Delaware County, Oklahoma’s school census records. Many thanks to the women at Delaware County Courthouse for their patience and help. I hope this helps my fellow HUBBARD family researchers in some way and hope it encourages everyone to seek out school census records for their own families!

Crazy Days

At the end of last year I posted about my own personal genealogy for the year and goals for 2012. Who could have known how 2012 would start. And I must say- I’m glad I didn’t know then how things would go for the first quarter of 2012. My grandson that was due in February was born with a heart defect. Thank God he is out of the hospital now, but he only just got out last week after spending all but 3 days of his life in a NICU unit. It’s a miracle he is alive and we thank God for giving us more time with this little guy. We spent from February 5 through about March 12 at the hospital with my son and his wife and our grandson, except for a few days when we returned home to take care of other business that had been put off while we were at the hospital.
The great thing about life is that things always change. Our grandson was released from the hospital and we’re now in Arizona- my husband working while I work on a class for my Masters degree and try to get in some genealogy research. While we were at the hospital I was able to access internet and spent a lot of time on Ancestry where I was able to connect with a distant relative who helped me get past one of my brick wall ancestors. There’s nothing like finally making that break-through!
Now that we’re back to a more normal routine, I’m hoping to get back to writing this blog and including actual data you can use in your own research. Good luck in your research and I hope you find something useful here on the blog.
Lisa

2011

Some of the best parts of 2011 relate to my personal family history. At the beginning of 2011, my daughter had just gotten married and shortly thereafter my son married. Before the end of the year, my daughter had a son and my son’s baby will be here in less than 2 months. I took a phenomenal trip to Massachusetts this year and was able to do research on several lines that I don’t normally research. The end result of the trip was a Christmas gift to my parents which included a 20-page book I wrote about our family in Massachusetts.
This year I started blogging about the histories of families in my local area which promptly got derailed by my studies for my Masters degree. I started doing genealogy research on a professional level and am working toward professional certification. And, I started a very large transcription project which I hope will result in publication and be of benefit to those who research in my locale.
That’s a lot of beginnings for one little year!
I took an idea from Amy Coffin’s The We Tree Genealogy Blog at http://wetree.blogspot.com/ to set my goals for 2012. I did add one type of goal to her suggestions- a sharing goal. In 2012, my genealogy goals are:
1. To learn more about my great-grandmother’s family (Edith Hubbard Drake)(Research goal)
2. To publish my current records transcription project (Writing goal)
3. To scan in at least some of my proof documents (B/M/D, census, etc)(Organizing goal)
4. To share some of the family history and research with relatives (Sharing goal)
I expect to do some traveling this year and hope to get in at least one good research trip as well. There are many things I’d like to do and there never seems to be enough time to do all I want. Hopefully having only four major goals this year will allow me to be successful.
Now if I could just pare down my personal goals…
Happy new year to all- may it be the best one yet!
~Lisa at Days of Our Lives Genealogy Blog

Life seems to get in the way

Ordinary, everyday life seems to have a way of springing up on us when we least expect it. I realized a couple of days ago that I hadn’t posted in almost a week. I have a broken clothes dryer, broken hot water heater, and graduate classes to blame. For awhile, this blog will have fewer entries until I get through this particularly hectic period. For today, I want to post another article from The Tri-State Tribune, Picher, Ottawa, Oklahoma 9 May 1946.
Mrs. Mary Jane Levell Dies
Mrs. Mary Jane Levell, 74 years old died last Tuesday night, April 30 at the age of 74 years, at her home 212 South Alta street. She had been a resident of Picher for the past 20 years and was a member of the First Baptist church[.] Her husband died several years ago.
Surviving are a daughter, Mrs. Ora Wilson of Ocie, Mo; three sons A. E., W. C. and C. E., all of Picher; a sister Mrs. J. A. Owens, St. Marys, Mo, and three brothers, Harve Larkins of Miami; Harry Larkins of Prudy, Mo., and Art Larkins of McDowell, Mo.
Funeral services were held Friday afternoon at 2 p.m. with Rev. W. A. Evans, officiating and assisted by Rev. J. H. Mott. Burial was in the G. A. R. cemetery under the direction of the Durnil Funeral home.
I do sincerely hope that I have time this week to come back and address the people in this article as I believe Mrs. Mary Jane Levell is my 2nd great grand aunt. Until then, peace be to your clothes dryer and hot water heater and may your week go well.

Reverend Hildred Ray O’Dell, saint and sinner

The defining moment of Hildred Ray O’DELL’s life was surely the embezzlement charges he faced in 1946. On 27 April 1946, Reverend Hildred O’DELL resigned from pastoring Gospel Tabernacle. The 1941 Polk’s Directory for Springfield, Greene, Missouri, lists Gospel Tabernacle at 933 Franklin Avenue and lists Reverend O’DELL as the pastor there even though he was arrested and transported to Laclede County, Missouri. Perhaps he was transported and charged in Laclede County because that is where the checks were cashed.
In any case, he had pastored Gospel Tabernacle for 9 years prior to resigning on 27 April 1946. That was a Wednesday (although some newspaper accounts reported that he resigned on Friday). On Friday, he cashed a $2,000 check that was supposed to have gone to the church’s general fund. On Saturday, he cashed another $50 check at Lebanon State Savings Bank and that was the last he was seen before his arrest. On Monday, 2 May 1946, the Missouri State Highway Patrol broadcast a pickup order for Reverend O’Dell. His arrest was swift and happened on Sunday, 8 May 1946 in Treece, Cherokee, Kansas. After his arrest, he signed a waiver for extradition and was transported to Laclede County, Missouri, where he was facing not only the embezzlement charges but also some civil attachment suits filed by “indignant members” of the church. Reverend O’DELL posted $25,000 bond and waived his Preliminary Hearing. His trial was set to be heard in the September term of the Circuit Court.
Pastor O’DELL issued a statement through his un-named attorney which said, “I wish for continued progress of the church, and ask former members to have the same faith in me that I have had in them in times past. I also ask them to hold this faith until I have an opportunity to tell my story at my trial.” Unfortunately, I did not locate any information about the trial or the outcome or Pastor O’DELL’s side of the story.
I can imagine scenarios that involved both his innocence and his guilt and I don’t feel he can be judged to be either without knowing all the facts. We are still “innocent until proven guilty” here in this wonderful country. What I do know is that by 18 December 1947, when Reverend O’DELL’s brother, Merritt Mildred, passed away suddenly of a heart attack, Reverend O’DELL was living in Los Angeles, California. At that time his father, Charles O’DELL was still living as were three of his sisters- Imogene O’DELL NORTH, Margaret O’DELL NEAL, and Lela O’DELL JOHNSON. All three sisters were living in near Treece, Cherokee, Kansas, where Merritt lived when he passed away. Based on Merritt’s obituary, I am presuming that their mother, Rose WALTON O’DELL, passed away prior to 18 December 1947. I do know that in 1930 at the time of the census, Rose was still living in Kansas with her husband and some of her children (including Hildred who was 21, single, and working as a Mill Man in a lead mine).
So, I leave Hildred’s case with you, having failed to resolve the issue of his guilt or innocence. I also give the family genealogists a caveat- this is my best guess as to Hildred’s identity based on the evidence available to me and using all available clues as to age, location, etc.
How do you find, jury- guilty or innocent?

Wolf in Sheep’s Clothing? Or, Don’t Judge a Book By It’s Cover?

We all have at least one moment in our lives where we made a bad decision. We did something we wish we hadn't- made a decision, took an action, whatever it might be. Or we feel we made the right decision/action but the consequences and resulting reactions were far from what we intended or wanted. Unfortunately in life, a do-over is rare. Having said that, I present to you this week's transcription.
The Tri-State Tribune
PIcher, Ottawa County, Oklahoma
Thursday, May 9, 1946
[Article title has been cut off on my copy]
Rev. Hildred R. O'Dell of Lebanon, MO., charged with embezzlement of funds from the Gospel tabernacle, his former pastorate, is in the Laclede county jail after his arrest at Treece, Kans., Monday.
The 45-year-old minister was arrested by Sheriff M. S. Harley and Deputy Sheriff Art Bray, who had picked up an order from the Kansas State highway patrol. He signed a waiver of extradition and was taken to Joplin, where Sheriff Eldridge Simmons of Laclede county took him into custody.
O'Dell is charged with having withdrawn $2,000 in funds from a Lebanon bank April 26, the same day he resigned as pastor of the 30 member congregation where he had served for nine years.
This week we'll take a look at Reverend Hildred R. O'Dell as well as the law enforcement officers- M. S. Harley, Art Bray, and Eldridge Simmons.

Wordless Weekend: H. O. Green, courtesy of www.cardinkids.com

H. O. Green is #6 in this photo taken at the Picher fire station.

Wordless Weekend: a photo of Frank Poole

Enjoy the photo on Wordless Weekend at Days of Our Lives genealogy blog. This photo appeared in the 1959 Picher High School yearbook.

H. O. GREEN, 1891-1959, Patriot, Barber, City Councilman

We’re wrapping up this week’s City Council participants with H. O. GREEN who was sworn in as a new Picher City Councilman in May, 1946 (see Monday’s blog entry for the newspaper transcription). The final two participants that were named were Dr. H. C. HUNTLEY and Mr. NEEL. I have been unable to identify these two men.

Henry Oscar GREEN (aka H. O. and Oscar) and his twin brother, James Arthur (aka J. A. and Arthur), owned a barber shop in Picher. They both served in WWI. They were born in 7 February 1891 in Booneville, Logan, Arkansas, to Henry Augustus and Matilda Jane McNERLIN GREEN. Their siblings included Thelma A., John B., Annie M., Cordia V., Marvin I., Rosa “Rose” Ella, and Casper Taylor.

In 1900 and 1910, both boys lived with their parents in Logan County, Arkansas. Then WWI came. It is unknown whether the brothers served in the same unit or same places together. J. A. was a Private in the Army. I was unable to find H. O.’s rank. J. A.’s WWI Draft Registration card gave his home address as Booneville, Logan, Arkansas in 1917/1918. He listed himself as single and a farmer and stated he had no one depending on him for support. I was unable to locate a WWI Draft Registration card for H. O..

However much time the two of them spent together before the war, after the war was different. In 1920 H. O. (going by Oscar) was in Sallisaw, Sequoyah, Oklahoma, living on Choctaw or Chickasaw Avenue. He lived in the home of Mary B. SALES as a boarder and he was single. Mary’s son and the other boarder in the home were both barbers. It would seem that this is where H. O. learned his trade as a barber. No occupation was listed for him on the census record. J. A. was living next to his parents in Logan County, Arkansas, and working as a farmer. He, too, was single.

Whatever happened to separate them, they were living close to each other again in 1921 in Sequoyah County, Oklahoma, where J. A. (going by the name Arthur) married Lottie Corley on 10 August 1921. A couple of years later, H. O. marred Edna PIERSON on 25 December 1923. H. O. and Edna listed their residences as Sallisaw, Sequoyah, Oklahoma, but the marriage record was filed in Ottawa County, Oklahoma. So the assumption is that when they married, they also moved from Sequoyah County to Ottawa County.

J. A. and Lottie must have followed then or shortly after because by 1930 J.A. was living in Picher and H. O. was living in nearby Quapaw, Ottawa, Oklahoma. In 1930, H. O. listed his occupation as barber and stated he was working at a barber shop. He and Edna had two children- Billy Ann who had just turned 4 at the time of the census and Bobby (a son) who was a month shy of turning 3. Both children were born in Oklahoma. J. A. listed the same occupational information (barber working at a barber shop) and he and Lottie had one girl, Joyce, born in Oklahoma. J. A. was living on the 600 block of River Street. H. O.’s address was not specified on the census record.

As with the WWI Draft Registration cards, I could only find one of the brothers’ WWII Draft Registration cards. Henry Oscar GREEN was residing at 427 Emily in Picher, Oklahoma, in 1942. He stated he received mail at 218 South Connell Avenue in Picher. This was also the address he gave for his barber shop. He listed his nearest relative as his brother, J. A. GREEN, who lived in Picher at that time. The card describes H. O. as being 5’9, weighing 205 pounds, and having brown eyes and brown hair and a light complexion.

The next we hear of H. O., he was being sworn in as a new City Councilman in Picher in May, 1946. According to a family history found online, H. O. had a second marriage to a woman named Grace and he passed away on 11 November 1959 in Picher, Ottawa, Oklahoma. J. A. passed away on 30 December 1983 in Picher, Ottawa, Oklahoma.

Finally, sometime after WWII, this photo was snapped that includes H. O. Green. He seemed to be very active in his community later in his life. One thing I noted about the photo is that it lists H. O. as “Chaplin”. I am uncertain whether that pertains to his position within the VFW or his position during his military service. This would be one avenue of research that interested family members could pursue. This photo was found at www.cardinkids.com which is an excellent resource about people in the Picher-Cardin, Oklahoma area.

Thank you, H. O. and J. A. GREEN for your service to the American people.

Author: honeysucklefarm.ok