Mattie Dillahunty -- A Staunch Democrat and Hard Worker!

Today I want to write briefly about my step mother's maternal great grandmother, Mattie Minerva Dillahunty Moore Cravy. I've written a bit about her first husband and children here.

Mattie must have been a strong woman. She endured so much loss in her 94 years on this earth. She buried her parents, siblings, two husbands, and six of her eight children.

When I think back to her story, I think about a post I once read on Facebook about our inner crone.

IN PRAISE OF THE INNER CRONE!

OK, we all know about the "inner child", right? The innocent being who still lives inside of us, who needs and deserves love and care, and whom we sometimes have to channel in order to learn self-compassion?

I'm a big fan of the notion of the inner child. It can be a really healing construct. Once, when I was going through a particularly dark season of self-loathing, I taped a sweet photo of myself (age 2) on my mirror, and taught myself that any harm I did to me, I also did to HER. It made me kinder and more tender to myself. Imagining other people's inner children makes me kinder and more tender to them.

So the Inner Child is a good thing.

These days, though, I spend less time thinking about my Inner Child lately, and more time focused on my INNER CRONE — the old lady who lives inside me, whom I hope to someday be.

Because she's a serious bad-ass.

The really old ladies always are bad-asses. I'm talking about the real survivors. The women who have been through everything already, so nothing scares them anymore. The ones who have already watched the world fight itself nearly to death a dozen times over. The ones who have buried their dreams and their loved ones and lived through it. The ones who have suffered pain and lived through it, and who have had their innocence challenged by ten thousand appalling assaults...and who lived through all of it.

The world is a frightening place. But you simply cannot frighten The True Crone.

Some might consider the word "crone" to be derogatory, but I don't in the least. I honor it. The crone is a classic character from myth and folklore, and she often the bearer of great wisdom and supernatural power. She is sometimes a guardian to the underworld. She has tremendous vision, even if she is blind. She has no fear of death, which means: NO FEAR.

I keep a wall of photos of some of my favorite crones, for inspiration. The photo below is of a Ukrainian Babushka who lives in (get this) Chernobyl. There are a group of such women — all tough elderly peasants — who have all recently moved back to the radioactive area around Chernobyl.

You know why they live there? Because they like it.

They like Chernobyl because that's where they came from. They are natural-born farmers. They hated being refugees.They resented being shunted off their land after the catastrophe. They hated living in the shabby and crime-infiltrated and stress-inducing government housing in the city, and they much prefer the independence of living off the land in the most contaminated nuclear site on earth. They have formed a stupendously resilient retirement community there, in what some would call the world's most terrifying landscape.

Is it safe? Of course not. Or, whatever. After 90 years of hard living, what does "safe" even mean? They drink the water. These women plant vegetables in that radioactive soil and eat them. They butcher the wild pigs that scavenge around the old nuclear power plant, and eat them, too. Their point is: "We are old. What do have to fear from radioactivity? At this age? Who cares?"

All they want is their freedom. So they take care of themselves and each other. They cut and haul their own wood. They make their own vodka. They get together and drink and laugh about the hardships of World War II and the evils of the Stalin years. They laugh about everything, then they go outside and butcher another radioactive boar and make sausage out of him.

I would put these women in a Bad-Ass Contest against any cocky young alleged Bad Ass you've got going, and I guarantee you — the Chernobyl crones would win, hands down.

We live in a society that romanticizes youth. We live in a culture where youth is considered a real accomplishment. You look at a seriously powerful classic crone like the woman in this photo and you see foolish we are — to imagine that the young offer much for us to aspire to, or learn from. No wisdom like the wisdom of survival. No equanimity like the equanimity of somebody who plants a garden right on top of a nuclear disaster and gets on with it.

So these days, when my Inner Child gets all fluttery with the panic of living, I just ask myself: " WWMICD?"

"What Would My Inner Crone Do?"

Ask yourself that same question. See what she tells you.

One thing I can promise you she will never say? She will never say: "WORRY.

She will more likely tell you this: "ENDURE."

Hang in there, all you future awesome crones!

Who better to imagine than one of your ancestors? So for my sister, and stepmom, I hope when you read about Mattie, and if you ever fall on difficult times,  you picture her as your inner crone. As you go through the life, I hope you are able to endure with all the strength of those who have gone before you.

Mattie was born in Sebastian County, AR 9 September 1886/87. She was the 7th child born to Mr. Adolphous Dillahunty and Emily P. Williams. She married James Walter Moore in June of 1902 and they lived in and around Greenwood, Sebastian County, Arkansas, for about 20 years before moving to Webber Falls, Muskogee, OK. Mattie experienced a lot of personal loss in the 1930's burying her husband and several children. She ended up living in Tulare, CA with her sons Adolphus, Leon and Clyde by 1935. After living in California for about 5 years she remarried a man by the name of Mose Pierce Cravy around 1941.

Once again in looking for answers as to who Mattie's first mother and father-in-law might have been, I ran across a few articles, some even includes Mattie's picture! I wasn't able to find the answers I was looking for as far as who Walter Moore's parents were, but I did think the articles below were very interesting.

Tulare Advance Register 07 Nov 1978

Tulare Advance Register 4 Nov 1980

Tulare Advance 6 July 1982

I hope you guys enjoy the articles and if you need to enlarge them, you should be able to click the caption below each article to be taken to the file where there is a ZOOM option.


Until next time,
Becky

52 Ancestors - In The Census

This week the scheduled prompt is In the Census. I want to take this opportunity to demonstrate how there is a lot you can do in your research without necessarily having to pay for subscriptions. Most all of the information I will be giving you, will come from FamilySearch, a free site that just requires you to register.

During our Christmas dinner at my Dad's, I took several pages of research and copies of records over to my Step-mom. We went through them and she asked a few questions that I didn't have answers to and at the time I had let my subscription expire with Ancestry. All of that led me to find a new to me record data base on FamilySearch; the Oklahoma, School Records, 1895-1936. 

The topic person of this post will be her grandmother, Leta Grace Moore Sloan and her siblings.

Leta Grace was the fourth child born to James Walter Moore and Mattie Dillahunty. She was born in Greenwood, Sebastian County, AR about 1914.

Other children in birth order were:

• Alta
• Alma
• unknown baby (born and died before 1910)
• Adolphus
• Leon Thomas
• Hershel (died at age two)
• Clyde

Sometime between 1918 and 1920 the Moore family moved from Sebastian County to Vann, Muskogee County, OK.

They first show up in the scholastic census report in 1921 and only the four oldest are of school age.

The next year, 1922, pay attention to how much their birth dates and months change. Who was giving this information, anyway? Also notice Alta's last name is no longer Moore. She married James Cowan in Sept of the previous year.

In 1922, you will notice they're now in District 3. I don't believe they moved, as much as there was a restructuring or labeling of the districts.



In 1923 they are still in District 3. Alma's last name has changed to Pettie becuse she married Luther Petty in Oct of 1922. Once again, their birth months and years are all over the place. I also included the instruction page that lays out the procedures and guidelines for the enumerator.

Try as I might, I cannot find this family at all in 1924 and by 1925 the two older sisters are no longer there but baby Leon has finally joined the ranks. This time they're in District 77.

The next census year I can find is 1927. Earnest Beavers was the census taker. The birth dates are becoming more and more regular now. Leta is listed as being born in July in almost all of them, though its still a toss up as to whether the year was 1913 or 1914 and the days.... well they're still random.

1928: This year James F. Beavers is the enumerator. He was the Notary Public in the previous year.

The 1929 census is very sloppy and inaccurate. The children aren't even listed in the correct order. And Leta's name is spelled horrifically. It looks like the enumerator's name is F J Vann.

December 17, 1929 Leta Grace marries Charley Sloan in Sequoya County, OK . You can see the Sloan and Moore families side by side in the 1930 census. This census was taken 03 April 1930 by Pearl Martin. If she had waited just a few weeks more, baby Dorothy would've made an appearance in this census, as she was born 25 April that same year.

Also of note -- living with the Sloan family are George Sloan's step-daughters with the same last name as his deceased wife. George was first married to Florence David. Her brother was Isaac David who was married to Mollie Wasson. Florence died in 1915; Isaac in 1913. Widows George and Mollie then married one another in 1916.




Around the year 1930 some really big changes and unbearable heartbreak begin to happen. During the next six years this family would see tremendous loss. I don't know how poor Mattie endured it.

 First, notice how James Walter is no longer listed as the parent in the next scholastic census; 1930.  There is no specific death date that I have been able to find for Walter, but he is said to have died around this time. He is buried in Vaught Cemetery, in Webber Falls, OK. 

I can't tell you anything about Walter's death, and believe me I have searched and searched and searched for answers. I don't know how he died or even where. Again, he is said to be buried in Vaught Cemetery where his baby boy, Hershel is buried.

 An outbreak of tuberculosis was about to hit this family hard claiming the life of our young, new mother, in 1933. She was only 20 years old and baby Dorothy was only three. She is also buried in Vaught cemetery. Maybe that is how Walter died as well?



What Leta was doing in Latimer County, I'm not sure but The Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture states:

In 1920–21 the legislature created Eastern State Sanatorium, a treatment facility for tuberculosis patients; now operated as an Oklahoma Veterans Center, it is located two miles northwest of Talihina. Nearby, the Choctaw-Chickasaw Sanatorium for Indian tuberculosis patients was opened in 1917.

She may have been there.


In 1935, her sister, Alma Moore Petty, dies all the way in Tulare County, CA. I don't know the exact cause. Or why she was in Tulare CA. In 1940 her remarried husband and children are in the Exeter, Tulare, California census.

Tulare Advance Register 26 Nov 1935

In April 1936, not even 5 months later, sister Alta Moore Cowan dies from pulmonary tuberculosis in Willcox, Cochise, AZ. She is buried in Sunset Cemetery there. Again, why was she all the way in AZ? The dry air was said to help TB but I have found no record of a sanatorium in Willcox. In 1940 Alta's husband is also remarried. He and his family are still living in Vann, Muskogee, OK.

In the course of six years this family of eight became a family of four. Mattie buried a husband and three young daughters. In 1940 poor widowed Mattie is living in Tulare, CA with her youngest son Clyde. She is a seamstress. Clyde is 18 and is a form setter for a curb company. As I have stated in other posts, the 1940 census asks residents where they were living in 1935. Mattie and Clyde both answered 'same place'.

I can't seem to find Adolphus in the 1940 census but his WW2 draft registration says he's still living in Vann, OK and gives his mother's address as Tulare, CA.

That leaves brother Leon. He is also living in Tulare County, specifically, Visalia. His occupation is listed as laborer for the WPA. In 1935 he said he was also living in Tulare County.

This tale is not yet over. Mattie eventually remarries to a Mr. Mose Pierce Cravy. I think around 1941, going off of social pieces in the Tulare Advance Register. He passed away three years later in 1955. She would then go on to bury at least one more child before she herself died in 1982. Adolphus (named after his mother's father Adolphus Dillahunty) dies two days after the 40th anniversary of Leta's death on the 7 Aug 1973 in Tulare, CA. Mattie herself finally succumbs to death in 1982.

Leon lives to be 79, passing away in 1995. He also would've endured so much loss and the pain of watching his mother's heart break time after time with the passing of each child. I have not been able to confirm death records for Clyde. I can fill in some pieces of his life using other records. One dated 6 Dec 1963 gives his birth date as 13 Jul 1921. His middle name is Francis (most likely named after his great grandfather Francis Marion Dillahunty) and sates he is a used car salesman for Caravan Chevrolet in Tulare County. By 1964 he was selling cars for Tom & Jay's Auto Sales and his wife was named Velma. Voter registration says he was a Democrat and that he was a Taxi Driver in the 40's. I do not know his death date.

I can't imagine the heart break this mother endured in loosing so many dear loved ones; in total two husbands and at least 6 children. I cannot imagine how she remained sane.

Until next time,
Becky

52 Ancestors - Invite To Dinner

As I stated in my first post of the year, my goal this time around is to write about my step-parents' families. For whatever reason I'm finding that, coupled with this weeks prompt, to be a bit difficult. I'm not a literary person. I don't think creatively as much as I do logically. At least not within a literary context. The prompt this week is invite to diner. I think I would have difficulty with this topic no matter what line I was researching, but never-the-less, I have settled on William Henry Schoonover.

William was the brother of  my brother, Tyler's, 2nd great grandmother, Orpha Annette Schoonover. That was mouthful. William and Orpha as well as a sister Jennie May, were the children of George W Schoonover and Martha Helen Story.

William was born 20 Oct 1885, in Linn County, Iowa. I don't know how to tie into the prompt other than I think if I were to invite him to dinner, and were a better conversationalist than I am, the stories he could tell would be interesting.

I want to start off by pointing out how easy it is to just add information left and right just going off the transcribed information given to you in the 'record matches' without ever clicking on the image. But sometimes, if you actually click on the image, so much more information is available that you didn't know before.

That is what first peeked my interest in William. You see, William had a cousin, also named William, and whenever the record match for my William's draft record came up, I wanted to make sure it was him. When I clicked on the image I discovered that William had an artificial left foot! The first thing I thought was, was he born that way or did something happen? I haven't found the answer to that yet.





If you keep looking you'll also see that he had the interesting job of being the chauffeur for Mrs. P E Hall... I think. It's a bit difficult to make out the first initial. If it is a 'P' he most likely drove for Mrs. Philo Eliphlet Hall, whose husband was President of the Railway. Philo passed away in 1915 and his wife Lucretia in 1917 the same year this record was dated. How does one drive a car in 1917 wit an artificial left foot. I would think the clutch would have made him quite sore.

In an effort to find out more about him I have looked at the actual image of every single record every chance I get when it comes to William Henry Schoonover.

In 1910 before being a chauffeur, William was a butcher. His sister Orpha was a dress maker.

In 1915 Iowa had a state census record. From actually clicking on that image we learn that the family was Presbyterian.

On the 8th or 9th of January, 1920,  a little over two years since being a chauffeur, William is still living at home with his parents. His occupation is listed as machinist working in a garage. Then a few months later 0n 3 March 1920, William marries Mrs. Gladys Pelley Parkhurst.

If you're fortunate enough to have family in Iowa you're going to love their marriage records. They are full of detail. From William and Gladys' marriage record I know:

• G W Schoonover consented to the marriage
• William lived in Cedar Rapids
• William was a mechanic
• William was 34 and white.
• This is William's first marriage
• William was born in Iowa
• William's father is GW Schoonover
• William's mother is Nellie Story
• Gladys' full name is Gladys Parkhurst
• Gladys' maiden name was Gladys Pelley
• This is Gladys' second marriage
• Gladys lives in Denver, CO
• Gladys is 30 and white.
• Gladys was born in Iowa
• Gladys' father is Geo Pelley
• Her mother is Mae Sampson
• E W Griffiths is the JP

Just for kicks, because I'm sure if I invited William to dinner, he would naturally bring Glady's, she would have her own stories to tell. In 1910 at the age of 19 she worked as an attendant at Cherokee State Hospital, a hospital for the mentally insane. In March of 1910 they housed 897 inmates (The Humeston New Era Humeston, Iowa) 

In the 1921 Cedar Rapids directory we can find William and Gladys. He is still a mechanic, but now I know where; Haynes Service Station. Gladys is the manager of H C Martin (A local business man. From what I gather from Newspapers he owned a cigar company and possibly the Brown Hotel).

In 1925 William's father died at the age of 66. The Reverend was a Presbyterian minister. If you would like to know more about the Marion First Presbyterian they have a wonderful page on their history here.

The Courier July 1922

As hard as I have tried I just can't find this couple in the 1930 census. The above obituary tells me they were in Chicago in 1925 as well as the article below from 1926

Cedar Rapids Republican 3 Jan 1926

The next place they show up is in California. In 1934 the two are living at E 5042 Eaton St, Los Angeles. This is from William and Gladys' voter registration. They are Republicans. Hoover was Republican. He left office in 1933 and was followed by Franklin D Roosevelt who was a Democrat. In 1936 his voter registration gives his occupation as a manager. He is now a Democrat. Gladys remains a Republican. They now live at E 5218 York Blvd. Surely our dinner conversation will be exciting considering I brought up both religion and politics.

By 1940 they are now living on Colorado Blvd and he gives his occupation as a salesman for an artificial limb company and states that he owns his own business. Again, the 1940 census asks where they were in 1935. They answer "same place"

26 April 1942 William shows up in the WW2 Draft records. He lists his next of kin as his sister, not his wife. She is still alive. Maybe they separated for a time. They are not found together in the '46 and '48 voter registrations, but they're aren't found separately either. I can find only William in '46 and only Gladys in '48. But back to the Draft card. William is still self-employed as the owner of Artificial Limb Co.

By 1952 the couple are shown once again together in the voter registrations. They are both Republican. Truman was POTUS. He was a Democrat. They remain loyal to their party in 1954 when their candidate Dwight D. Eisenhower is in office.

In 1956 William's sister Jennie May Fish passes away.




In 1962 Gladys passes away and in 1966 our ancestor Orpha Sauser passes away. William would go on to live almost another seven years. I don't believe he and Gladys ever had any children, so in a way I am pleased to have written their story. When there are no descendants left behind to ponder your existence you may end up forgotten. I think that is sometimes our biggest fear in death. That we didn't matter or that there will come a time when we're no longer remembered.

So as I eat my dinner tonight. I will raise a glass to William and all the other childless families. That someone will remember their story. And I will always wonder how he lost his left foot!

Until next week,
Becky

Fresh Starts

Hello again, for anyone that's still reading my sparce little blog. I noticed over the course of three years, I've only written 86 blog posts. I was most consistent in 2015 when I, along with my SIL, tried to blog along with No Story Too Small by writing a blog post each week after being given a prompt. That year I wrote a total of 38 posts. I feel a little burned out, or researched out, as far as my own line is concerned and this year I thought I might use the 52 Ancestors prompts to blog about my step-parents and their lines. I have two siblings from my step-mom and one from my step-dad, and maybe they would like to know a little about the lines we don't share.

This week the prompt is fresh starts and I figured this new focus could give me a fresh start on my blog starting with my brother, Tyler's 3rd great grandparents, Joseph Jackson Gossett and Lillie Belle Childers.

Joseph Jackson Gossett was the 8th of at least 12 children born to Levi Jackson Gossett and Harriet Meranda Couch. He was born in 1872 in Coleman County Texas.

Lillie Belle Childers was the daughter of Willis William Childers (sometimes misspelled as Childress) and Lottie Windham. Lille was born 16 April 1887 in Mississippi, most likely in or near Kemper County where the family was enumerated in 1880.

By 1900, three year old Lillie, along with her family were living in Rains County, Texas while her soon to be husband Joe was living with his family some 200 miles away in Throckmorton County, Texas.

On 03 March 1907 they somehow came together in Montague County, Texas and were joined in holy matrimony.

The next thirty years would be spent in Texas. Montague and Garza Counties, respectively. They would have at least 7 children, and bury at least two. The 1910 Montague census only lists Joe, Lillie and six month old Daisy (Tyler's great grandmother). But Lillie is marked as the mother of two children, only one living. And in April 1933 their son Willis Hugh Gossett, at the young age of  17 died from kidney failure; specifically acute parenchymatous nephritis. He is buried at Terrace Cemetery in Post, Garza County, Texas.

I wonder if this is what prompted for them to leave Texas to make a fresh start in California. As a mother I couldn't imagine leaving my buried children behind so soon after burying them. Just a few short years later this older couple with their two youngest children, Edward Arnold  (18) and William Carl (15), along with their married daughter Nell and her husband Acie Forston, can be found living in Ontario, San Bernardino, California in the 1940 census, stating that they lived in Pomona California in 1935.

Acie Forston is found twice in the 1940 census. Once living with his in-laws and the other living as a boarder in the home of Fred and Helen Chance also of Ontario. His age is listed  a good 10 years older and he says he lived in Garza, Texas in 1935.

Joseph and Lillie can indeed be found in the Pomona directory for the year 1937. He is listed as a laborer and they live at 678 E State Street. They can be found in the directory living at that same place for the following two years.




Then living on Washington Street in Ontario, California for the year 1940. As you will see below in voter registration records.

The next record found is Lillie's obituary. From The San Bernardino County Sun, Saturday, 17 April 1942.

1942

Newspaper articles would suggest that Joseph soon remarried to a Sarah Stewart Lee but by July of 1944 he charged cruelty and asked for a divorce.

After this I find very little mentioned, aside from the obituaries of Joseph's siblings listing him as a survivor.

Joseph Gossett would live 26 years after the death of his wife and alone bury at least two more children, Daisy Bird Gossett Moore in 1949 and Edward Arnold Gossett in 1955 who died from injuries sustained in a wreck.

At the time of Daisy's death she had two children. Marian Marie who was 20 and Jimmy Dale who was only 10.

Here is the city directory for Elmer and Daisy the year she died.

Joseph Gossett registered as a Democrat in the years 1938, 1940, 1950, 1952, and 1950. Most likely voting for Truman in '48. His address changed with each registration. Here, in 1950, he lived on Cucamonga Ave, in '52 1035 E A St, and in '54 1033 East A Street.

I did find one record where his wife, Lillie, registered as a Republican in '38 but she was a Democrat again come '40 when Franklin D. Roosevelt was elected over Wendell Willkie

As you saw from the obituary for Lillie, she was taken home to Texas to be buried where her son Willis and other family were buried. Joseph, on the other hand, at the age of 84, was buried in Bellevue Memorial Park in Ontario, San Bernardino County, California where at least two of his sons are buried, also.

Until next time,
Becky