Robert Lee OSBORN, son of James and Rachel Rebecca [FELTNER] OSBORN was born in DeKalb Co., MO 15th of Jan. , 1842. James and Rachel OSBORN were farmers. Farming was hard work in those days. All ploughs, planters, harrows and cultivators were horse drawn. Tractors had not been invented. There were 10 children in James and Rachel OSBORNs family, 5 boys and 5 girls. Robert Lee was the 7th child.
In 1856 James and Rachel moved their family to Kansas. There they settled in Greenwood Co. near the towns of Virgil and Quincy. Grandpa joined the 6th KS Cav. at the age of 18. When the war between the north and the south broke out grandpa fought for his country from 1861 to 1864. He was converted to christianity at the age of 25.
Cedelia Ann SMYTH, daughter of David and Nancy [SHEPARD] SMYTH was born 9th of Dec., 1845 in Jackson Co., MO. David and Nancy SMYTH [my g-grandparents] were Missouri farmers, they were the parents of 12 children, 5 boys and 7 girls. Cedelia A. [grandma] was their 5th child.
Although their families were large and farming was hard work, because much work was done with a spade and a hoe. This meant long hours in the field during the spring and summer. There is one ingredient both families had in spite of long hours
and hard work, they loved one another.
In 1859 the SMYTH family moved to Greenwood Co., KS. They settled near Quincy. The children attended school in a one room school house. There was one teacher for grades one through eight.
After the SMYTH family moved to Kansas they became friends of the James and Rachel OSBORN family. Social gatherings were rare at Quincy, they consisted mainly of plat at school, a pie supper or a birthday party at someone's house. Both sets
of parents were christians. On Sunday they rested from farming and took their children to Sunday School and Church. After the children graduated from the 8th grade they worked on the farm with their parents. Some of the children would have their own chickens, a calf or a pig and take care of and feed them. In the fall they would sell the animal they cared for and buy their own clothes.
Each family had big gardens, also fruit orchards or grape and berry patches. In the summer the mothers and daughters canned fruit, pickles, jellies and jams, also vegetables. They also dried apples, apricots and made sauerkraut. This provided their food for the winter except for the calf and hog they butchered. Neighborhood grocery stores were scarce and far apart. When the farmers sold their crops in the fall they bought flour, corn meal, molasses and sugar for the winter. They also bought shoes for the children and other necessary items.
As the children became of age they started dating. Some real romance ensued.
In 1862, Wm. F. OSBORN married Sarah F. SMYTH, they were married at Eureka, KS. He had 3 children by a former marriage and they had one daughter between them - Clara OSBORN.
Most of the OSBORNs married as did the SMYTHs, except for those who died in infancy. William Edward SMYTH died at the age of 22 yrs of poor health from the Civil War.
On 15th of Feb., 1866 Robert Lee OSBORN was married to Cedelia Ann SMYTH. They were married in Eureka, KS. They were the parents of 5 boys and 4 girls. Two children died in infancy - Millie Zora and Thomas.
Grandpa and Grandma OSBORN farmed and gardened, they also had
livestock - horses, cows, hogs and chickens. In the spring and summer grandpa and the boys planted crops and grandma and the girls planted a garden. They canned fruit and vegetables for winter.
You see, most all farms had fruit orchards, blackberry or dewberry patches. Several places had vineyards of grapes. When there was a good crop the family had plenty of preserves, jellies and james to eat.
The OSBORNs raised and killed their own meat, as well as hunting rabbits and squirrels in the wintertime. They had a smokehouse where they smoked ham and bacon. They also had a method to cure meat so it would keep. In hot weather anything that would spoil was kept in the cellar. The methods of canning was handed down from generation to generation. I even remember my folks smoking and preserving meat. I also remember how we canned all we could and stored them in the cellar.
In 1892 Grandpa OSBORN [Robert Lee] decided to move to Oklahoma. They erected a covered wagon. The family loaded their furniture bedding, dishes, utensils and clothing in the wagon. They packed food to take along. Their cattle followed the
wagon. Some of the men folk rode horses and kept the livestock in line. My mama said there was another family that traveled with them. When the families camped at nightfall, they cooked their supper and breakfast over the same campfire. The men
milked the cows, so they had fresh milk for the children to drink. They also had cream for the coffee each morning. Every night the men took turn standing guard to protect their families. They also had to keep cattle rustlers from stealing their livestock.
After many days of traveling they arrived at a place they liked. The near by town was Mulhall, OK. They leased a farm.
When school started (for) the younger children, the schools were one room buildings, same as the ones in Kansas. After settling at Mulhall the OSBORNs met other families who had migrated from Kansas and Missouri. Most of the families attended a country sunday school and sunday night church services. Usually they attended prayer meeting on Wednesday eve. after chores were done.
Some of the families the OSBORNs met after coming to OK, were the John GARRETT and DRAPER families. Others were the MURPHYs, GIBSONs, WALKERs, SPICKELMIERs, PAYTONs and SHANNONs.
On 28th of Feb., 1897 Robert L. OSBORN suffered a heart attack while riding on his horse [and fell off]. Uncle Willis was sent to Mulhall for the doctor but Grandpa [Robert] passed away before the doctor arrived. Grandma and the children had to
make the adjustment of carrying on without grandpa. They loved him very much making the adjustment was hard on all of them.
In a few years the OSBORN became more than friends and neighbors to the families they met after moving to Mulhall. With the children coming of age romance and marriage was imminent thing.
On 4th of Nov, 1900 Willis Weaver OSBORN was married to Minnie Elizabeth SHANNON. During their married life they became the parents of 5 children. They were [one son] Raymond, 4 girls Gertrude, Irma, Marjorie and Wilma. They lived mainly at
Mulhall and Orlando. Aunt Minnie died in 1924 after a long spell of sickness [possibly breast cancer]. Willis died of a heart attack 18th of Mar., 1939 at the home of Claude and Wilma CANNING near Guthrie.
On 26th of Dec., 1909 Elizabeth [Aunt Lizzie] was married to Jacob Z. PAYTON, a widower with two sons, Frank and Victor. They had between them a son Charley Roger PAYTON who died in infancy. Later on they adopted a boy and a girl -Clyde and Dulcey. They lived at Merrick until 1920 when they sold the farm and moved
to Emporia, KS. Uncle "Jake" died of a stroke in 1943. Aunt Lizzie died 1st of Mar., 1949. Duley said she had a massive stroke. Both are buried in Kansas.
Grandma [Cedelia OSBORN] sold the place at Mulhall and moved to Perkins, OK in 1913.
On 6th of Feb., 1916 Lula Ann OSBORN [my mother] married Walter A. GARRETT at Grandma OSBORNs home in Perkins. They lived at Mulhall for 4 years where their two oldest children were born Cedelia and Morris. Daddy sold the GARRETT home place when Morris was 9 months old and moved his family to Merrick, OK. He decided to take a rest from farming and got a job working for the Rock Island Railroad.
Grandma OSBORN, Aunt Bertha and Uncles Edward, Fred and Roy moved from Perkins in the spring of 1916. They bought a house in Merrick Oklahoma. The boys worked on the railroad for a period of time. In 1917 Uncle Fred and Uncle Roy journeyed to Haxtum, CO to drill wells. Uncle Fred cooked the breakfast and supper meals for the men. They ate dinner at a close neighbors. It was from Haxtum, Colorado on 18th of Sep., 1917 that Uncle Roy left for the army, Uncle Fred took him to Crook, [Colorado?]. From there the "boys" were taken in flag draped cars to Sterling. There they were inducted into the army and sent to Ft. Riley, Kansas. Later on Uncle Roy and other soldiers were shipped over seas.
On 1st of Oct., 1918 Grandma passed away. All the children were present except Uncle Roy who was in France fighting for his country. Everyone who knew Grandma said she was a very lovely lady, she was a dedicated christian and was the blessing of many. She was a loving wife, mother and grandmother. In February 1919 after the war was over Uncle Roy came home. He came to our house 1st. He and Mamma were close, daddy loved him like a younger brother. Uncle Roy went to school with some of daddy's nephews and nieces, John and Florence DRAPERs family. Uncle Roy also visited with Uncle Willis and Aunt Minnie OSBORN and children for many days. He then took the train to Merrick, OK, while there he visited with his sisters and brothers. He lived in Merrick for a few years.
A few years after the war the OSBORN brother began marrying off. Uncle Roy married Pemma BOCKEY 28th of Apr., 1920 and soon after their marriage moved to Arkansas City, KS where they lived until they saved enough money to buy a farm, that being in Verona, MO. After living there several years they sold out and bought a farm west of Aurora, MO. They lived there until Uncle Roy retired and sold the farm.
On 28th of Dec., 1921 Uncle Edward married Mrs. Tresea COOPER. After he retired from the Rock Island Railroad he sold his house in Merrick and bought a farm near Dover, OK. They lived there all their married life. After his wife died and Uncle
Edward retired and moved to Tulsa and lived here. He had no children of his own.
Uncle Fred married 30th of Apr., 1922 Mrs. Pearl SANDERS. They soon moved to Arkansas City, KS where he worked in a mill. Aunt Pearl had a baby girl named Opal Parl whom Uncle Fred loved as much as his own. They had one daughter Barbara Jean. She is married and living in Muscatine, IA, Aunt Pearl also lives in Muscatine.
Aunt Bertha OSBORN was married in Arkansas City, KS 19th of June, 1923. She married a Mr. MORRIS, it was an unhappy marriage that ended in a divorce. After the divorce she lived for a time in Arkansas City, later she went to Emporia, KS and lived with Aunt Lizzie. There she met and married 28th of Dec., 1931 George WELCH. They lived out their lives in Falls City, Nebraska. After Mr. WELCH died Bertha lived in a nursing home there. She died of a heart attack 12th of Nov., 1948. Her only child Eva I. Zora died at the age of 5 months.
After Daddy and Mother moved to Merrick they made new friends. Even though we lived in a small town, my parents planted a garden every year. We had fresh vegetables for our use and for canning.
Two years after we moved to Merrick a 3rd child Charley Robert was born 3rd of Jan., 1922. The day he was born Uncle Edward and Aunt Bertha kept Morris and I at their home and entertained us.
In 1924 Daddy left the Rock Island Company sold his house and moved on a farm northeast of town. He raised corn, cotton and Kaffer corn. We had a big fruit orchard on the place, plus a grove of wild sand plums which were delicious when they
ripened. Each summer we planted a big vegetable garden. We canned fruits and vegetables. We also dried apples and corn for hominy. We made jellies and jams along with kraut and pickle lilli [?]. We also made our own soap to wash with when we butchered a hog. As soon as my brothers and I were big enough we helped gather the things from the garden and orchard.
On 18th of Jan., 1926 a 4th child was born, I was disappointed for I wanted a little sister. My parents let me give his 1st name - George, after my daddy's brother. Then Mother added "Willis" as a 2nd name for her father. This made me happy in
that I got to help name my younger brother. "George Willis"
We children loved country life and enjoyed living on the farm. We always walked a mile or more to school. Although families scattered about the country kept in touch with one another through letters. Postage then was 2 cents. When it was possible we made short trips to visit one another.
In the fall of 1928 my parents sold the farming equipment, furniture, livestock and chickens. We moved from Merrick to Tulsa, Oklahoma. The bowl weevil had destroyed the cotton crop and thought this was the wisest thing to do. We settled in a rural community name Mingo.
We children attended school at Mingo and soon made new friends and new acquaintances.
In 1929 the Depression hit the nation. Everyone's wages were cut to one 3rd of what they had been, many lost their jobs. Some folks lost everything except their families. In spite of this we kept up our correspondence with both Mama's and Daddy's relation. Daddy's youngest sister and brother-in-law also lived in the Mingo community. Money and jobs got more scarce but most families stuck together and we survived. The only place to go was Sunday School and Church on Sunday [also Wednesday night]. Of course there we ball games and school plays during school term.
The 30s came and with them came problems and sadness for us. Dad's brother -in-law John DRAPER died of cancer in 1932. His sister Cora REYNOLDS died in 1931. Uncle Edward OSBORNs wife Tresea also died around that time. Uncle Fred OSBORN died of a long illness in Jan. of 1934. Daddy's nephew's wife was killed in a car wreck in June of 1934, she was 22.
In the year 1936 was the hottest summer on record. There were 3 weeks when the temperature soared from 108 to 114. With no
air-conditioning many were sick. Ten people in Mingo died that year.
On 26th of Aug., 1936 death struck our family. One of the best men in the neighborhood, our husband and father Walter A. GARRETT died. He was laid to rest in Owasso, OK Fairview Cemetery. It was very sad and hard to except. We stayed together and somehow adjusted to living without him.
In the next 3 years we lost 3 more relatives, Mama's brother and your great-grand father Willis OSBORN died 18th of Mar., 1939. Claude and Wilma had brought him and Uncle Edward to our home in Aug. 1938. Mama and her brothers had a very nice family reunion. Uncle Willis died at Guthrie. A nephew and niece of Daddy's was killed when a train hit their car in 1941. Yes, the 30s brought a lot of sadness among our relatives but it also brought happiness too. Several new babies were born. We all made the necessary changes with GOD's help. It seamed like the relatives in the Mingo and Owasso area loved and appreciated one another as ever before.
In 1942 Morris and Charley were both drafted into the army during WW II. All young men in Mingo community who passed the physical were drafted. Very few were left. We also had 4 cousins in the service. Four of our loved ones served overseas. Two were in battle, but thank be to GOD they all came home to their families. Then came the time of readjusting to civilian life. Aunt Beth WELCH died of an apparent heart attack 12th of Nov., 1948 at the Hallstead Nursing home in Falls City, NE. She is
buried in Nebraska.
On 1st of Mar., 1949, just 3 and a half months later Aunt Lizzie died of a massive stroke at the home of her adopted daughter Dulcy SMITH. She was buried at Emporia, KS. Both women were christians.
In 1950 Uncle Edward moved to Tulsa to be near our family. He had retired from farming. He was very active after living in Tulsa for a year he went to Aurora, MO and spent a year with Uncle Roy and Aunt Pemma. He helped Uncle Roy with his farm work. After returning to Tulsa he rented a small apartment and lived by himself. While living in Aurora, MO he went to church with Uncle Roy and while there accepted CHRIST as his Savior. Uncle Edward died 11th of Apr., 1956 of complications from a broken hip. He was buried in Fairview Cem. at Owasso, OK.
In January, 1960 Mama [Lula A. GARRETT] suffered a stroke. Her right arm and leg were affected, she was in a wheelchair for 19 months. Mama's mind and voice were not affected by the stroke. Unable to attend services she watched services on TV. She always enjoyed having relatives over for a visit. Often a friend would come over with a tape of the last Sunday service and she enjoyed it very much. With her one good hand she would dust the furniture,change dresser scarves and dry dishes. She never lost her sense of humor.
On 22nd of Aug., 1952 Mama had a massive stroke that took her. She was missed by all of us, I felt like GOD's will was done. She was laid to rest in Fairview Cem. at Owasso, OK. She liked 4 days outliving daddy 26 years.background="./pic/gbg3.gif"
In the spring of 1963 we visited Uncle Roy and Aunt Pemma, that is Morris, George and I did on our vacation. They had sold their farm and had been living in Aurora, MO for several years. In the fall of 1966 Aunt Pemma's health began failing, Uncle Roy put her in the hospital which showed she had stomach cancer. On 19th of June, 1967 she passed away, she was buried in the cemetery in Aurora, MO. Uncle Roy grieved much over the loss of her death. He was lost without her and on 22nd of Aug., 1967 suffered a stroke at a neighbor house. They took him to the doctor, he recommended that Uncle Roy be put into a nursing home. He didn't improve and on 6th of Sep., 1967 he died in his sleep from another stroke. He was laid to rest in Aurora, MO next to his wife. He was the last of Robert and Cedelia OSBORNs children. The only one left is Uncle Fred's widow, she is living in Muscatine, IA.
She is now Aunt Pearl KOEPPER. Many things have happened since then. Here it is May, 1979. Grandpa and Grandma had 9 children, two died in infancy. They had 13
grandchildren, two were adopted. Two died very young, the rest all lived to be grown. Today there are 7 of us living. In Uncle Willis' and Aunt Minnie OSBORNs [your great-grandparents] family three daughters are living. They are Gertrude BARNES,
a widow living at Guthrie, OK. Marjorie AMRINE, a widow lives in Parson, KS. She has 3 daughters, 5 grandchildren and 4 great-grandchildren. Wilma is married to Claude CANNING. They have one daughter and 3 grandchildren.
Uncle Fred's widow lives in Muscatine, IA. Their daughter Barbara BUSTER also live there. She has 3 daughter of her own. Walter and Lula [OSBORN] GARRETTs - one dau. and 2 sons live in Tulsa. They are Cedelia GARRETT who lives alone. Morris GARRETT is an engine mechanic for American Airlines. He has 2 step daus. 5 grandchildren and one great-granddaughter. His wife's name is Ellen. Charley and Peggy GARRETT have two daus. and one son and 5 grandchildren. Charley is an employee of Zepher ornamental Iron works.
The one's who have passed away are Irma BOLLINGER died of a heart attack in Jan., 1968. She had two sons and one daughter. One son preceded her in death. She had 5 grandchildren, 3 great-grandchildren.
Ray OSBORN the only one to carry on the OSBORN name died 3rd of June, 1970. He had one adopted daughter and 2 grandsons.
I know nothing about Aunt Lizzie and Uncle Jake's adopted children. No one has heard from them since Lizzie's death. Barbara BUSTER wrote me that her sister Opal had a massive stroke in July, 1956. She was 56 years of age.
George GARRETT passed away 29th of Dec., 1968. He had quick pneumonia, it took him in less than two hours. He was a consecrated christian. The LORDs work came 1st with him. |
