SAMUEL WASHINGTON AND MINTTIE MORRISON
Submitted by Jo Sawyer

Samuel Washington Morrison and Minttie Elzada Jenkins were married at Maud, Oklahoma, on August 27, 1911, and moved into Pontotoc County, northwest of Francis about one year later, settling in the Happyland Community, ten miles northeast of Ada. Sam farmed and ran a sorghum mill, which was popular in the area; he was a deacon for the Happyland Free Will Baptist Church and served several terms on the school board. Sam and Minttie had 11 children, six of whom are still living, and Sam had three children by a previous marriage to "Uni" Hulsey in Bowie County, Texas, who are all deceased.

Sam was born at Woodstock, Bowie County, Texas, on February 13, 1874, and lived there until around 1910 when he moved to Paris. He began working for the railroad as a tie cutter and followed the construction into Oklahoma, through the towns of Hugo, Boswell, Bennington, Bokchito, Allen, and Lamar. While a young man in Bowie County, Texas, he was offered the job of schoolteacher but preferred farming at that time. Sam and Minttie probably met in Henryetta, where her mother and stepfather ran a hotel. Sam died at Happyland May 2, 1941, and Minttie, in Ada, on December 22, 1975; both are buried along with other family members at Cedar Grove Cemetery northeast of Francis.

Sam's father was named either John Henry or Sam (there is conflicting information about this), and he reportedly came from northern Georgia by boat. This interesting bit of information is yet to be confirmed. His mother was Martha C. Daniels, who was born in Texas and had two husbands after Sam's father, a Cooley (may be spelled Cowley) and a Wheeler, with children named Nina Cowley and Mamie Wheeler. Martha died of blood poisoning from an injury around 1888. Her parents were William and Elizabeth R. Daniels, born in 1820 and 1822, respectively, both in Tennessee. William apparently died prior to 1860, and Elizabeth married R. W. Woodard. It is believed, according to census records, that William's parents were Jesse and Sarah (Sally) Daniels, who were both born in Tennessee in 1789 and 1800, respectively.

Minttie was born in Pope County, Arkansas on Aug. 6, 1893, to Columbus Allen and Charlotte Frances (Cagle) Jenkins. He was a traveling photographer and met and married his wife as a result of a photo session. She said she didn't have money for a photograph; he said he'd take her as payment, and in fact, they were married soon afterward, around 1891. They had four boys and a girl, born in Pope County and Sulphur Springs, Arkansas, and Henryetta, Oklahoma. Columbus died in Henryetta on May 4, 1904, and is buried in an Indian cemetery there. Charlotte Frances ("Fannie") later remarried twice, to a Carter and a Williams. She apparently lived at El Reno in 1909, in Henryetta for one year, and several years at Maud. She then moved to Allen, Happyland (where her son Elbert drowned in Boggy Creek) and then to Ada, where she died on Jan. 24, 1932; her grave is at Rosedale Cemetery in the name of Jenkins.

Columbus Allen was born in July, 1859, in Mississippi; his parents were Rueben and Malinda Ann Jenkins. Rueben was born July 19, 1830, in Georgia or Alabama, and the family lived in the states of Georgia and Alabama and in Tishomingo County, Mississippi, and White County, Arkansas. Malinda was born in 1831 in Georgia.

Charlotte Cagle was born April 3, 1865, in North Carolina, to Jemes (James?) and Laura Jane (Austin) Cagle, both of whom where born in North Carolina, in 1829 and 1831, respectively. He was a blacksmith and an MP in the Confederate Army. Jemes and Laura had at least seven children with four probably born in Stanley County, North Carolina, and three, in Pope County, Arkansas. Jemes and Laura both died at Henryetta, Oklahoma. Several of their children later lived at Allen, Oklahoma, and died there. Laura's mother was named Lydia A. and was born in 1809 in North Carolina.

Submitted 3-30-99