Dennis

 I thought I would write to you about my grandfather's two half brothers in hopes that you would post the information on the Murray Co, OK  GenWeb Site.  They are buried at the Davis Cemetery (Greenhill).  They have the tall Woodsmen of the World Markers.  

 Thomas Lee Paul and Oliver Lawrence Paul were the sons of Eli Washington Paul and Lydia Marie Antoinette Shepley Paul.  They were both born at Canton, Fulton Co, Illinois.  I will tell you what I know about each and attach photos.

 Thomas "Tom" Lee Paul was born 10 Nov 1871 at Canton, Fulton Co, Illinois.  He married Mary Elizabeth Harrods in Faulkner Co, Arkansas 6 Oct 1895.  Their first child, Susan Melamine, was born 11 Feb 1898 and died the same day.  The second child, Lydia Marie Antoinette, was born 5 Jul 1899.  Tom and Oliver were both gunsmiths.  My Dad says they were also part-time lawmen.  Tom died 24 Aug 1904 at Davis, IT.  I found the following abstract from a newspaper in some possessions of my aunt.  I do not know what paper this came from:

     "After an illness of two weeks, T.L. Paul, gunsmith, died Wednesday afternoon.  He recently returned from a stay of several weeks in harvest fields of Kansas, and was taken ill with fever.  A bon fellon appeared on his thumb and after it was lanced, blood poisoning set in, which was the immediate cause of his death.

     Tom Paul was a good man, and attended strictly to his own business.  He was one of the best mechanics in the Indian Territory.  He leaves a wife and one small child to mourn his loss.

     Funeral services were held at the family residence Thursday morning at 9:30 o'clock, by Rev. J. S. Ferguson.  Internment toOK place in the Green Hill Cemetery under the auspices of A.O.U. W., which the deceased was a member, and in order.  He carried $1,000 life insurance."

    After Tom passed away, his wife returned to Arkansas and his third daughter, Lee Ruby Marie, was born in Faulkner Co, Arkansas 17 Nov, 1904.

 Oliver Lawrence Paul was born 1 Feb 1873 at Canton, Fulton Co, Illinois.  He and his brother, Tom, married sisters.  He married Francis Josephine Harrod 10 Nov 1895 in Faulkner Co, Arkansas.  Their first child, Andrew Clifton Paul was born 4 Oct 1897 in Faulkner Co, Arkansas.  Their second child, Thomas Lawrence Paul was born 27 July, 1899 at Davis, I.T.  Oliver died at the age of 28, probably of appendicitis.  His third son was born after his death.  George Washington Paul was born 3 Feb 1902 in Faulkner Co. Arkansas.

 Tom and Oliver are both listed on the 1900 Census at Davis, IT.

Eli Washington Paul was born in Putnam Co, (West) Virginia 7 April 1828.  He was the son of Jesse Paul and Jemima CoOKe.  He was also a Confederate Civil War veteran.  After the war ended he moved to Illinois. 

    Tom and Oliver's mother, Lydia, died in 1875 when the boys were very small.  He then married my great grandmother, Anna May Wheeler.  Anna was born in Fulton Co, Illinois 27 April 1858, the daughter of William Wheeler and Eliza Kaler Wheeler.

    Eli and Anna had the following children:

Cora Mae Paul, b. 1879 Fulton Co, IL, married Tom Pledger

James Franklin Paul, b. 1880 Fulton Co, IL married Katie Williams; 2nd Cora Campbell

Fred Washington Paul, b. 1882 Fulton Co, IL, married Parlee Thomas

Charles Elmer Paul, b. 1883 Missouri, married Laura Walker

Mary Paul, b. 1887, died same year

Nellie Alice Paul, b. 1889 Arkansas, married William Arley Bailey

Jessie Homer Paul, b. 1892 Arkansas, married Bessie Turner

Emma Bell Paul, b. 1895 Arkansas, married "Bunky" Sessums.

    The family left Illinois shortly after my grandfather, Fred Washington, was born, first going to Missouri and then on to Arkansas, eventually moving to Hickory, Murray Co, IT.  They are all listed on the 1900 Census at Hickory.

    Tom and Oliver were very close to their half-brothers.  My grandfather, Fred W., once worked and couldn't get the man to pay him so he got his big brother, Tom, to take care of the matter and he did.  Tom and Oliver's early deaths were a real loss for the family.

    By 1910 Eli and his wife, Anna May, had moved to the Lindsay, Garvin Co, Oklahoma area where they lived the remainder of their lives.  Eli, Anna, and their children, James Franklin, Jesse Homer, and Cora Paul Pledger are all buried at the Erin Springs Cemetery, just south of Lindsay.

    Eli's obituary reads "oldest man in Lindsay died at his home in this city, at l:00 am Thursday Dec 12th. 1912. age 89 years, 8 mo and 11 days."

    My grandfather, Fred Washington, and his brother Charley worked in the oil fields most of their lives.  Fred and wife, Parlee, are both buried at the Ringling Cemetery. 

    Charley and his wife and adopted son, Ray "Buster" Satterfield Paul are buried at Healdton, Oklahoma. Buster was KIA during WWII on Makin Island.  He was adopted by Charley and Laura from the Cornish Orphanage south of Ringling.

 Just one more note, my grandmother, Parlee Thomas, was the great granddaughter of Isaac Thomas, famous Revolutionary War Scout, Spy and Interpreter.  Isaac lead Colonel John Sevier's men through the mountains to defeat the British in the Battle of King's Mountain.  He also had a close relationship with the famous CherOKee, Nancy Ward.  Nancy warned Isaac several times when the CherOKee's were going to attack the settlements.  Isaac settle at Boyd's Creek on the "fords of Little Pigeon River" naming the settlement after Colonel Sevier, Sevierville, Tennessee.  The first court of Sevier County, TN was held in the home of Isaac Thomas.

 

Contributed by Jean Paul Hattensty - February, 2003.

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