• honeysucklefarm.ok@gmail.com

Category: Uncategorized

Ed Dobbins, City Councilman Picher, Oklahoma 1946

Yesterday we took a look at Mayor L. VOYLES. Today we’ll look at Ed DOBBINS- one of the men who was sworn in as a newly elected official to City Council in May, 1946.
Edward Martin DOBBINS was born 13 January 1877 in Gilman, Iroquois, Illinois to Patrick and Katherine BERRY DOBBINS. Ed had an older brother, Timothy D. DOBBINS. Katherine reported in 1900 that she had 6 children but only 2 were living. Records show the two living children to be Ed and Timothy. Patrick immigrated to the US from Ireland and Katherine (also spelled Cathrine and Catharine) was listed both as being born in Illinois and in Ireland on the 1880 census record.
The DOBBINS family was living in Iroquois County, Illinois, in 1880. By 1900, the family (Patrick, Katherine, and Ed) was living in Galena, Cherokee, Kansas. I was unable to locate Timothy in 1900. He is undoubtedly listed as a boarder, lodger, or hired man but where he was is not known. Timothy’s wife, Mary E. HAINES DOBBINS, and their son John David, were living with Mary’s parents in Webb City, Jasper, Missouri.
In 1910, both Ed and Timothy D. were living in Jasper County, Missouri, with their parents along with the now-widowed Timothy’s sons- John and Albert. Since the Dobbins family was interviewed on the 2nd or 3rd of May, 1910, Ed was still single. His wedding to Lilly M. WRIGHT WATSON happened a little over a month after the census date, on 20 June 1910 in Carthage, Jasper, Missouri. In 1910 prior to marrying Ed, Lilly was a widow raising three children- Ben, Dempsey, and Georgia WATSON- from her marriage to George W. WATSON. On 24 August 1910, just a couple of months after Ed’s wedding, his mother, Katherine Jane BERRY DOBBINS, passed away in Missouri. (http://www.sos.mo.gov/images/archives/deathcerts/1910/1910_00024249.PDF) Her husband Patrick was the informant for the death certificate and stated that Katherine was born in Illinois and that her parents- David Berry and Kate Condon- were both born in Ireland.
On 12 September 1918, Ed completed his WWI Draft Registration Card. At that time, he stated his birthdate as 13 January 1877. He was working as a blacksmith at Fort Worth Mining Company in Douthat, Ottawa, Oklahoma. His nearest relative is Mrs. Lillie Dobbins. He is described as having blue eyes and brown hair and is of medium height and medium build. He was 41 years old.
In 1920, Ed, Lilly, and Georgia were living in Ottawa County, Oklahoma. Ben and Dempsey WATSON are not listed as living with the family in 1920.
Ed’s brother, Timothy, died 6 October 1921 in Missouri. (http://www.sos.mo.gov/images/archives/deathcerts/1921/1921_00028876.PDF) Ed was the informant for the death certificate. Timothy’s middle initial is “B” on his death certificate. In 1921, Ed lived in Picher, Ottawa, Oklahoma, according to information on the death certificate.
I found no information to indicate what Ed might have been doing or where he lived between 1921 and 1942. On 25 April 1942 however, Ed completed the WWII Draft Registration Card. He gives his birthdate as 13 January 1878. He is described as being 5’10, weighing 170 pounds, a light complexion, blue eyes and gray hair. He was 64 years old at the time he completed his draft card. Ed was unemployed and living at 429 South Vantage Street, Picher, Ottawa, Oklahoma. He listed Gillman, Illinois, as his birthplace. His contact person on the card was Ernie WOODS who lived at 440 South Treece Street, Picher, Oklahoma. Today, Treece Street stretches between 4th and 5th streets in Picher and Vantage Street is one block West of Treece Street. Both streets lie to the West of Highway 69 in Picher.
Then, in May of 1946 we find Ed listed in the newspaper article that was transcribed in yesterday’s blog entry. We find him being sworn in at the May City Council meeting in Picher after becoming an elected official to the Council. It was, no doubt, an exciting time for him. Son of an Irish immigrant father and first-generation-American mother; having lost almost all of his family by this time; having worked as a mine laborer (1900), short order lunch cook at a restaurant (1910), and blacksmith (1918 and 1920); at the age of 66 he now finds himself in a position to influence events in his town.
Sadly, I don’t know anything more about Ed- whether he had children of his own, what happened during his time as a City Councilman, or his life after 1946 other than that his nephew, John David, died in 1956 in Missouri. (http://www.sos.mo.gov/images/archives/deathcerts/1956/1956_00013691.PDF). I am not even certain that Ed was alive in 1956. But I know that in his later years, he did have at least one bright moment when his peers showed their support for him by electing him to City Council.

Mayor L. VOYLES, 1946 Picher, Ottawa, Oklahoma

The exciting or stressful times in our lives are easy to talk about, but most of our time is spent on mundane things. This week we’ll focus on the more mundane tasks- specifically, the Picher City Council meeting of Monday, May 6, 1946. There were a couple of highlights to the meeting for at least 4 of the attendees since they were sworn in as the newly elected officials to City Council. Here is the newspaper transcription from The Tri-State Tribune of Picher, Ottawa County, Oklahoma dated Thursday, May 9, 1946.
“City Council Meets”
The regular meeting of the City Council was held Monday night, with the mayor, L. VOYLES presiding. Claims were approved and the new elective officers were sworn in. They were: Ed DOBBINS, Frank POOLE, Archie HISE and H. O. GREEN.
Sufficient funds were set aside to buy a street truck and $500 was voted as a payment on the grader. Dr. H. C. HUNTLEY and Mr. NEEL of Miami, county health officers, were present at the meeting ad a discussion was held on sanitation in the city.
[Note: If more of this article exists, it was cut off on my photocopy of the paper. Also, capitalization of last names was added by me to more easily identify names for genealogical purposes.]
This week’s participants were difficult to identify. Upon review of records, residents in the area who may have been Mayor L. VOYLES include Lawrence VOYLES who resided in Picher as of the 1930 census. He was born about 1891 in North Carolina and was a collector in 1930.
Another possibility includes James Lawrence VOYLES, born about 1889 in North Carolina who resided in Quapaw (Picher area) in 1920 and was a miner. It is very possible that Lawrence and James Lawrence are the same person.
There is a Louis Sumner VOYLES residing in neighboring Craig County, however I have found nothing to indicate that he ever lived in Ottawa County. Since all records indicate that Louis Sumner VOYLES lived in Craig County all his life, I have discounted him as a possibility.
In both the 1920 and 1930 censuses, Lawrence VOYLES and James Lawrence VOYLES are single. Records indicate that James Lawrence’s parents were William Lafayette and Talitha Rose REES(E) VOYLES. One of James’ siblings, Goldey I. (a brother), also lived in Ottawa County, Oklahoma in 1920. James Lawrence was residing with an Osburn family who also had other persons of different last names residing in the home in addition to James Lawrence.
I was able to locate a website stating that Lawrence VOYLES was Picher City Clerk in 1921. (http://www.cardinkids.com/OTHERS/Picher%20History-1.htm) I have not found any further information about the Lawrence VOYLES residing in Picher in 1930.
This is, unfortunately, all the information about either Lawrence or James Lawrence VOYLES that I have found. I have been unable to find any other articles, photographs or any other information to help positively identify Mayor VOYLES. For being a public figure, Mayor VOYLES left very few clues that he existed.

O. T. Counts, the company man- 1902-1957

O. T. Counts, the Eagle-Picher Central Mill “company official” from this week’s newspaper article transcription, is most likely Orson T. COUNTS born in Kansas about 1902. He married a woman named Della. Orson and Della had a daughter named Bonnie Jo. Orson’s parents were Joseph Lemuel and Ida Belle HULL COUNTS. Orson had a sister named Ulia Marie COUNTS. Joseph and Ida Belle came from Kansas to Ottawa County, Oklahoma, between 1915 and 1920.
I have found very little information about Orson. I did find a mention of Orson as being one of “a solid group of outstanding families who provided the base for strong churches, school and community spirit” in the early development of the town of Cardin, Ottawa, Oklahoma. (http://www.cardinkids.com/MISC/Jim%20Jones%27%20Cardin.htm) Members of Orson’s extended family attended First Christian Church in Cardin, Ottawa, Oklahoma. Orsons’ grandparents, Henry and Frances “Fannie” OAKS COUNTS, also attended a First Christian church. It’s possible that Orson was also a member of First Christian in Cardin.
I believe the lack of information about this family is because no one is left who would be interested in researching the family. Orson and Della’s only known child, Bonnie Jo, died at 8 years of age. Her death certificate can be found at http://www.sos.mo.gov/images/archives/deathcerts/1935/1935_00001814.PDF. We can learn a little more about Orson from the death certificate, though. Information for the death certificate was provided by Orson himself. He lists his birthplace as Uniontown, Kansas. He lists his wife’s maiden name as FOSTER and lists Della’s birthplace as Foster, Missouri. The family was living in Cardin, Oklahoma at the time of Bonnie Jo’s death (22 January 1935). Todd Undertaking Company of Picher, Ottawa, Oklahoma handled the funeral arrangements and Bonnie Jo was buried at G. A. R. Cemetery in Miami, Ottawa, Oklahoma.
Orson passed away on 21 June 1957. The date that Della passed away is unknown.
A moment of remembrance for a forgotten family.

“He played the chimes each noon until his eightieth year”- Rev. SCALES

The Reverend SCALES that was mentioned in yesterday’s blog is, I believe, John Grover SCALES (and not his son, J. Grover SCALES, Jr). John Grover, Sr., was born 17 April 1889 in Eucha, Delaware, Indian Territory (now Oklahoma). He was born to George Washington and Martha A. “Mattie” CHANDLER SCALES. George and Mattie’s other children include Joseph, Lillie, Louisa, George, Anna, Mary, Hellen and Zelma. Reverend SCALES married Catherine “Katie” Mae WHITLEY. Reverend SCALES’ WWI draft registration describes him as having blue eyes and brown hair. According to information found, he was 1/17 Cherokee through his father and his mother was Caucasian. However, on the Final Rolls for the Cherokee, his mother is listed and not his father.
Reverend J. Grover SCALES rose to prominence as a Baptist preacher in Oklahoma. In the 1940’s, he was pastoring Commerce First Baptist Church in Commerce, Ottawa, Oklahoma. Prior to pastoring, he held a number of positions in Delaware County including Superintendent of Public Instruction 1910-1912, Treasurer 1916, and he was elected County Judge 1918 and 1920. (Information pulled from Emmet STARR’s book History of the Cherokee Indians and Their Legends and Folk Lore). There are a number of websites that mention or discuss Reverend SCALES and a Google search is highly recommended to anyone researching this family.
Reverend and Katie SCALES’ family included James R., J. Grover Jr., and Laura Elizabeth. J. Grover Jr. passed away at age 20 in New York and Laura passed away at age 19. Reverend SCALES passed away in 1971 in Oklahoma. A touching sentiment about Reverend SCALES can be found at http://www.wfu.edu/chaplain/tour/inscriptions.pdf where it says that the Reverend played the chimes every day at noon in his church until his 80th year. He appears to have played a significant role at the Cherokee National Male Seminary and was a beloved pastor at the Baptist Church in Shawnee, Oklahoma as well.
Rest in peace, Reverend SCALES.

Cecil Clifton KELLY, 1910-1946, accidental death in Cardin, OK

Yesterday I finished up writing about some of the Williams families in Ottawa County, Oklahoma, in the early 1900's. So I returned to my "goody box" of documents I've collected over the last 23 years and pulled out another one to share with you. This time I chose a copy of a newspaper page with several articles on it. The paper is The Tri-State Tribune out of Picher, Ottawa County, Oklahoma. The date on the paper is Thursday, May 9, 1946. The first article is transcribed in full below (all spellings remain exactly as they appeared in the paper regardless of correctness or lack thereof):
“Cause of Cecil Kelly’s Death at Central Mill Thursday Still Unknown”
Funeral services for Cecil Clifton Kelly, 35 years old, who was electrocuted at the Eagle-Picher Central Mill south of Cardin last Thursday afternoon, were conducted at the First Baptist church in Commerce, Sunday with the Rev. Scales officiating. Burial was in the G. A. R. Cemetery under direction of the Durnil funeral home.
Kelly’s body, severely burned, was found in an iron building approximately an hour after death occurred, it was reported. There was no indication, however that the building or nearby machinery had been struck by lightning. Neither was there evidence that he had come in contact with an electric cable, O. T. Counts, company official said. The cause of the man’s death was still undetermined.
Kelly is survived by his widow, Mrs. Katherine Lucille Kelly; two daughters, Judith Ann and Kathleen Naomi Kelly, and a son, Richard Kelly, all of the home; six brothers, William Kelly of Commerce, Tom Kelly of Miami, Roy and Herbert Kelly of Miami Route 2, Frank Kelly of Pascomi, Calif., and Donald Kelly of Phoenix, Ariz.; and three sisters, Mrs. Rhoda Austin of Commerce, Mrs. Mary Geohen of Tulsa, and Mrs. Lela Williams of Picher.
Since my goal on this particular research trip was not to find the KELLY family (since I am unrelated), I have no follow-up information. I only have what I found in a quick search online.
What I was able to learn about Cecil KELLY (from OneWorldTree) is that he was born 30 July 1910. He married Kathyrn Lucille DOWTY. He died 2 May, 1946. His parents were Herbert Seigel KELLY and Mary Ann MYERS KELLY. He had 11 siblings (Myrtle Elizabeth, Thomas Logan, Rhoda Isabelle, William David, Martha Mahalia, John Forson, Donald Dewey, Earl Herbert, Irvin Franklin, Lela Francis, and Roy Amos).
A curious piece of data found on OneWorldTree was that Cecil's youngest brother, Roy Amos, also married Kathyrn Lucille DOWTY. Kathyrn was Roy's first wife; she was Cecil's only wife. I have been unable to locate any information about marriage dates so I don't know which brother she married first.  While I was on www.odcr.com searching for marriage records, however, I did find a court case in which Cecil KELLY and Kathyrn Lucille DOWTY were both material witnesses.  It would be interesting to look at the court records to see what, if anything, can be learned about Cecil and Kathyrn's relationship at the time of the court case.  For anyone interested, the case was filed 14 May 1938 in Ottawa County, Oklahoma, as case number ML-2020-00207. I am assuming since Kathyrn was listed by her maiden name that she was single (or at least divorced) at the time of the court case.
There are a few inconsistencies in data between OneWorldTree and the newspaper article/obituary which I would like to point out.  OneWorldTree gives Cecil's death place as Miami, Oklahoma, whereas the newspaper states he died at the mill near Cardin, Oklahoma.  (The two locations are very close, but not the same).  OneWorldTree spells Cecil's wife's name as "Kathyrn" whereas the article spells it "Katherine". The article gives his sister Martha Mahalia's married name as Mary GEOHEN whereas OneWorldTree states she married a GOSHEN. It is unknown at what point she began going by the name Mary or whether this was another error in the newspaper article. There are similar problems with his sister Lela's married last name: the paper lists it as WILLIAMS whereas OneWorldTree says she married a WILLIAMSON.
Cecil's siblings- Myrtle and John- are not listed at all in the newspaper article. This is due to the fact that Myrtle died in 1886 at the age of 2. John died in 1908 at the age of 12. Cecil's parents had already passed away as well- his mother in 1916 and his father in 1926.
Before leaving this article to the annals of history, I want to take the rest of the week to research and discuss Reverend SCALES (who officiated Cecil's funeral) and O. T. COUNTS (the "company official" for Eagle-Picher Central Mill).  So keep coming back to see what else we can discover!

Wrapping up the Williams in Ottawa County, Oklahoma 1912-1915

This is the final day that we’ll be looking at Williams families living in Ottawa County in 1912-1915. We have covered the large family groups in previous days and now we’re left with the families who could not be attached to other families and those for whom no additional information could be found.
Among the families for whom no further information could be found are A. J. WILLIAMS and daughter Grace; B. E. WILLIAMS and children Nellie, Elsie, Hazel, and Elmer; Florence WILLIAMS and children Fern and Florence; and, H. D. WILLIAMS and children Evelyn and Don.
C. W. WILLIAMS is Curtis Walter WILLIAMS and his wife Martha Violet. I was not able to identify any children other than the children listed in the school census (Clarice, Carl and Edna Faye). Curtis was born in Nebraska and his wife in Missouri. Clarice T. was born in Nebraska. Her siblings Carl C. and Edna F. were born in Indian Territory. Curtis’ parents were Thomas T. and Margaret RICE WILLIAMS. Curtis had a brother, Thomas Jacob.
John Wesley WILLIAMS was born in Illinois. His wife was Sarah Ellen CURRY WILLIAMS who was born in Missouri (some sources say Arkansas). Their children included John Wesley b. 1889 Arkansas; James Fletcher b. 1891 Arkansas; Sarah Ellen Bessie b. 1894 Arkansas; and, Lydia Ruth b. 1897 Arkansas. John’s parents were Edward Reuben Edd WILLIAMS and Nancy Susan Jane CRAIG WILLIAMS. Both Edward and Susan were born in Tennessee. John’s siblings included Thomas Alfred, Robert Zebedee, William, Cordelia Dillie, Nancy Jane, James Franklin, Edward P., Alameda, Allen M. and possibly an older sister named Ann.
M. B. WILLIAMS was Marion B. His wife was Rose. Both Marion and Rose were born in Missouri. They had daughters Chlora and Mable, both born in Indian Territory. No further information could be found about this family in the time given for the research.
Finally, there was Warren W. WILLIAMS (born in Illinois) and his wife, Mynie E. (born in Iowa). Their children included Gracie E. and Bert B. born in Kansas; and Nellie, Ethel (could be the same person as Nellie) and Harry all born in Indian Territory/Oklahoma.
If you can add information about these people, please feel free to do so in the Comment section.

John C. and Sarah L. Williams family

Last week we considered some school census data. In the days following that data post, we considered two separate family groups. Today, I want to consider another family group that was included in the school census data from the post made last Wednesday.
John C. and Sarah L. Williams were included on the school census list and their minor children Mack, Salina, Dan and Virgil were attending school at the time of the census. With additional research, I learned that John and Sarah also had adult children and grandchildren listed on the school census. Abe G. Williams, Ike T. Williams, and Oliver T. Williams were all children of John C. and Sarah L. Williams. Initially, the information I had about Abe indicated he was born in New York and so he was briefly covered in the post on Thursday. However, further research revealed him to be the son of John and Sarah and he was most likely not born in New York. John and Sarah did send many of their children back East (New York) to be educated or to live with someone else as did their sons, Isaac (Ike) and Oliver. This likely caused the confusion in regard to Abe’s birthplace. One federal census entry indicates that John C. was born in New York and so his children and grandchildren may have lived with family in New York. This family is part of the Ottawa Tribe. John C.’s wife, Sarah L. was Ottawa.
The family stayed in the Tri-State area of Oklahoma, Missouri, and Kansas with the exception of sending their children back East, presumably to be educated. Information about this family was abundant which helped in determining family relationships. Unfortunately, I was unable to locate any interesting stories, photographs, etc. with the limited research time I had for this Williams family.
There are some interesting stories on the internet about the family of Grace Merris who was Abe G. Williams’ wife. I would recommend them to anyone interested either in Native American tribal history or in this particular family. Particularly interesting was a biography of Grace’s father William W. Merriss entitled, “History of Indian Territory” which can be found at http://boards.ancestry.com/thread.aspx?mv=flat&m=53&p=localities.northam.usa.states.oklahoma.prestatehood.itgideon1901.

“I seemed to have to learn everything the hard way…”

Two days ago, I posted a list of WILLIAMS families with children enrolled in public schools in Ottawa County, Oklahoma between 1912 and 1915. Yesterday I reviewed some information about the three men known to have been born in Kansas. Today, I am reviewing information found about the four men born in Kentucky. Those men are John A. WILLIAMS (aka J. A.), Green WILLIAMS (aka Greenville Vogel WILLIAMS), and Sebastian Cabot WILLIAMS ( aka S. C.). The fourth family was headed by Dora WILLIAMS but since her husband is the WILLIAMS family member, we will discuss him. His name was Charles Wesley WILLIAMS (or C. W. or Charlie/Charley).
After doing some basic research about the families, I discovered that Greenville WILLIAMS was the father of Sebastian Cabot WILLIAMS. I suspect there are other familial relationships among the men but none that I have been able to prove so far.
Greenville and Sebastian came from Breathitt County, Kentucky, to Ottawa County, Oklahoma, between 1900 and 1910. Both men came to Oklahoma with at least one school-aged child each.
Charley W. was in Missouri by the late 1800’s where his daughter, Della, was born and in Indian Territory by 1900. He was back in Missouri in 1906 when his daughter, Nettie, was born. However by 1912-1915, his wife and kids were back in Oklahoma with the kids enrolled in school in Ottawa County. In 1920 the entire family was enumerated in Oregon. This was a very mobile family. There are large gaps between the birthdates of the children so there are possibly other children that have not been found on records.
John A. WILLIAMS and his mother Mary were both born in Kentucky. They were living in Missouri by 1900 along with John’s wife, Amiasettia (DIXON) WILLIAMS. In 1909, Amiasettia was in Missouri for the birth of the couple’s daughter, Francis. In 1910 they were enumerated in Ottawa County, Oklahoma where they remained through at least 1920. In 1930 they were enumerated in Missouri. Information found online indicates that John died in Nevada and was buried in Missouri.
Yesterday, I started off my blog post by saying that yesterday’s raw data becomes today’s relationships and tomorrow’s family stories. So, I couldn’t end this post without a story of sorts. If you are related to this family, there is a wonderful family history given by Oleta WILLIAMS SKINNER, daughter of Charley W. and Dora WILLIAMS. She narrates her family’s history from her earliest memories to her 83rd year of life which is when she narrated the story. Oleta talked about her family’s molasses business, the different places they moved and how they ended up out West. She talks about her siblings and their families as well. It’s a wonderful story about all aspects of the family’s life. You can find the story on Ancestry.com or you can email me and I will try to send you a copy. My favorite quote from her narrative is, “I seemed to have to learn everything the hard way…” I sure know how she felt!
Enjoy the weekend! I look forward to doing more research and presenting it next week!
Lisa W. ~ Days of Our Lives blog

Have no product in the cart!