Burgess Gambill was 86 when he applied for a military pension for his service in the Confederate Army. He had fallen on hard times when he made his request in May of 1932.  Indigent veterans could seek compensation. The process wasn't quick. If successful, they received a few dollars a month. I've seen applications of widows receiving as much as $12 and as little as $4 a month. 

          Pension records make for fascinating reading for family historians. Details are recorded that might not otherwise be known for these old soldiers born in a time without birth certificates. 

          Born 6 Jan 1848 in North Carolina, Gambill  wrote that he was 16 when he enlisted in 1864 at Ashe County. But Gambill does not recall the name of the company or regiment. Captain Henry Williams is one officer's name he gives, adding that he  "...served as a Home guard one year from 1864 to 1865. After Lee surrendered, all who served with me are dead and I am not able to furnish witnesses."  

          Asked what special service he might have provided, he wrote:  "Detailed to take prisoners to [the]  execution guard."   What, he led Yankees to their death? Where are my smelling salts!

          Ahh, oh. The authorities required proof. He doesn't know what outfit he served with, and can't produce supporting affidavits from a fellow soldier. 

          Victory at sea! 

          Notice the dates on these papers. Months grew to years, in this waiting game. And widows seeking pension had to provide marriage certificates or affidavits from someone who had witnessed their marriage.  Burgess Gambill died on 28 Dec 1940 in Shamrock, Oklahoma at age 92. 

NOTE TO MY PATERNAL COUSINS:  We are not related to Mr. Gambill (except distantly via marriage). But the brother mentioned on one of these images above later became Pryor, Oklahoma's first postmaster: James Martin Gambill. The "Katy" Railroad (MK&T) was built near his property, and the town of Pryor grew around his early post office/home. That same Jim Gambill married Jane McCausland--twin to Margaret ("Mags"), who was married to Henry Wilson Ackley. Henry was the son of Sam Ackley who operated a ferry on the Arkansas River. Sam had brought his large family from Pennsylvania to Chouteau, Cherokee Nation in 1878. Henry's sister, our Lucy Ackley, was the mother of Sam Childers, Sr.  When young Sam's dad died in 1891 near Pryor, I believe it was one of the twin sisters, Jane or Margaret, who cared for my great-grandfather after he was orphaned. Because we know nothing about the ancestry of Sam's dad, I hope to learn of his family by studying the history of those who once knew him. And who were kind to my ancestor.

Meet Miss Jane and Miss Margaret McCausland, twin sisters:

 

This post is for Linda. Two items of proof that Isom McDaniel and Ila Lee Hurley were indeed married. Ila was my 1st cousin, 3 x removed. I have yet to discover her burial place so I can't properly request a link to Find A Grave. 

1.  From the Daily Admoreite newspaper, 30 April 1922, p. 13, Ardmore, Oklahoma:

2.  The application for marriage license, marriage license and marriage certificate showing their marriage in Waurika, Jefferson County, Oklahoma on April 30, 1922:


Thanks for your time in reviewing this, Linda!

Photo by Russell Lee in 1940 McIntosh County, Oklahoma is protected by copyright, but that wonderful Shorpy website has a crisp image:

http://www.shorpy.com/node/23554

From URL:  http://www1.odcr.com/detail?court=019-&casekey=019-MLI+2700064

I'll let you decide, BP, as I see two different spellings of her name:

Do you know of supporting documents? Just a thought. I'm at work now, or would look up on Ancestry. 
_______________

9:15 p.m. UPDATE

The 1930 Federal Census finds Cleveland and Venzella living at 1245 S. Owasso Av., Tulsa.  Ages 29 and 24, he is a porter at a "service station."  And yes, her name is spelled: VENZELLA (which means nothing because mistakes are frequent in census records). Someone gave her birthplace as Kansas. 

Then, found a 1953 Pasadena City Directory listing for Venzella. Sadly, she's listed as a widow to Cleveland:

Name:	Venzella G Benjamin
Gender:	Female
Residence Year:	1953
Street address:	670 Casitas av
Residence Place:	Pasadena, California, USA
Occupation:	Beauty Salon Operator
Spouse:	Cleveland Benjamin
Publication Title:	Pasadena, California, City Directory, 1953

 An enlarged image:

Name	Venezuela Ford
Birth Year	abt 1905
Age	1
Gender	Female
Residence Date	27 Oct 1906
Residence Place	Oklahoma
Tribe	Creek

I read newspaper archives in search of stories to add to my family history. A distant cousin from Galveston got a wee mention at the top of the page under "Folks and Events." But soft, read what's written elsewhere:

Hard to read?  Yes, ma'am. See below for enlarged snippets

Sidney was in good company that day in January 1961. Have a walk down memory lane and see familiar names:  Angie Dickinson, Gregory Peck, Don Ameche (whose face I see whenever Anonymous activists appear wearing their signature masks), Oklahoma's own Ben Johnson (from Pawhuska. Quick, stream The Last Picture Show NOW!). Gladys Parker was named "Checker of the Year" down at the local supermarket. I see that champion of the loin-cloth, Charlton Heston, and poor Elsa the Lion's obituary. Scotland Yard spying on strippers. And a friendly termite company ("Howdy, Neighbors!"). 

See what's playing at the movie theatre?  How in the SAM HILLS did D. H. Lawrence's Sons and Lovers get past the local stuffed shirts?

Galveston, oh Galveston.

Click ONCE to enlarge. Click ONLY ONCE again to return safely to this page.

Nice seeing you. Thanks for reading!

This from Lee Roy Chapman's June 2, 2015 post on Twitter concerning Tulsa's massacre of its citizens just 97 years ago. 

Was way more than a "riot."  It was a bloody massacre. Educate yourself.

Johnnie Blanche married my maternal first cousin--twice removed. But before she became a Willhelm by marriage she was in high school in Comanche, Texas. See her darling yearbook photo in the 1925 Arrow-Head. I especially like her quotation:

You DID know Ancestry is s l o w l y uploading yearbook photos from around the United States. Oh, my! It makes for interesting reading.  #cringeworthy

         My maternal third great-grandmother Nancy Woolf married my 3xGGrandpa William James on March 11, 1841, in Cole County, Missouri. See the original record showing their marriage as written in the top upper right-hand corner. 

          I had to read the whole page several times just to find William and Nancy's names. Here's that same section--but enlarged:



          Many records show Nancy's maiden name as "Molf."  I don't know anything more about Nancy's parents or where in North Carolina she was born in 1815. William's line came from Barren County, Kentucky. His parents, John Abraham James and Rachael (Bray), were allegedly the first settlers to that part of Cole County that later became Moniteau County, Missouri. All that area once belonged to the Osage Tribe. The government forced them out. Moved them south to what is now northeastern Oklahoma. An oil-rich territory. 

          Cousin/researcher Barbara Holst Maltby in her book "Follow in His Footsteps: The Adventures of My Father" (about John H. Holst) writes that her Great-Grandfather William James "was a Union man" during the Civil War. The James family was allegedly the only Union family in that neck of the woods. That would be in what is today Morgan County, Missouri. They farmed in the Osage Township. (You Coffee fans will recall that Versailles is also in Morgan County. And no, our family did not pronounce it "Ver-sigh.") 

          While William and two of his sons were away serving in the Union Army, his wife Nancy was left with the younger children. Alone on the farm. Once when Union soldiers were passing through en route to St. Louis, Barbara Holst Maltby writes:  

 "...the Gravois River suddenly reached flood stage and the army was unable to cross for three days. The eight thousand men camped on the James farm for that period. General Davis requisitioned all the cattle, all the wheat and corn and other commodities for the Union Army."  

Maltby adds that soon after their supplies were taken, Nancy's family came down with smallpox. A horrible illness that spread throughout the county. Of their ten known children, I don't find that any died during the War. They survived smallpox. However, there are two daughters, Hanna and Letitia, whose death dates are unknown. Perhaps they were casualties of the outbreak?

William and Nancy's seventh child was named after Nancy. She later married a Coffee. But that's for another post.

You asked if I had photos of your 2xGGrandmother Henrietta Flaiz. I have passport photos of Francis and Bessie--separate and together, but none of Henrietta.

I know you've seen the group photo below of Francis Detamore's family with step-mom/aunt Bessie. But passports and marriage documents? Here's what I have in my gedcom on your recent ancestors. Why? Well, I knew Fordyce and "Grammy" having seen them several times as a kid. So I added their families to my tree. How I wish I remembered more of what my Aunt Gwen told about her "grands" and their travels! 

In the bottom left corner see Charles and Jennie's marriage license. Click once to enlarge, click once again to return to this page:

As a reminder of their birth dates:

See three images within this gallery concerning your 3xGGrandfather Flaiz:

Travel documents are terrific for researchers in that they help confirm questions of birth locations, full legal names, and dates. Exact dates! Love those dates. See Jennie and Charles Flaiz' data at the top of both these two pages:

And papers about Jennie Belle (Elder) Flaiz.

And now for Francis Detamore and Henrietta Flaiz:

And, here's a couple of items regarding Bessie Flaiz. Please read the paragraph entitled "Wedding Bells."

More passports:

100+ years ago your ancestors really saw the world! 

          My maternal 2nd Great Uncle Ivor McCormick met with the Chaves County draft board on September 12, 1918 in New Mexico. He was 39 years old and a resident of nearby Hagerman. 

         And he got on the wrong side of Mr. M. H. Long's high horse:

          On the backside of Ivor's draft card is a record of Mr. Long's disgust with Dr. McCormick's reply:

                                          "Refused to give middle name. Needs military training" 

          And I say, GO  IVOR!