John McKee
He was born to John McKee and Sarah Kathrine ( ? ) McKee.
His father was born in Ohio, about 1831. I don't know who his parents are. Sarah was born in East St. Louis, Missouri about 1839. These two have been my brick wall for years.
As a small child growing up I often wondered what it would be like to travel back in those days. Seeing mircles of new life after the snow started melting at spring time.
Life back then was hard, specially on the women, with giving birth, running the house hold and taking care of the children. I'm not saying it was any easier on the men, but they had a little more freedom then women did, after all women didn't get to vote until 1920.
I met Shannon Sawyer back in the early part of 1999 - 2000, that's when I found out grandpa ( John ) was living in Texas growing up as a child, getting married and having his children.
She found him living in Mineral Wells, Texas, his brother Samuel was living there with his family also.
We started trading information back and forth with each other, slowly my gap's were being filled in.
But lets me go back a few years. I found them not long ago for the first time living in Kansas, in the small town of Wilson, which is located in the county of Clifton.
It was from 1870 to 1880 that they had traveled from Kansas, to Montague, Texas, and Emily was born somehwere along the way.
Sarah was listed as a widow with 5 children to raise. She kept house while Samuel and John worked on the farm, but she also had a border named John Evans living with them he to was working on the farm.
When I talked with Shannon she told me they were living in Mineral Wells, Texas, in the 1900 census.
That was the only time it listed how many children were born to the mother and how many lived.
Sarah had 10 children born, but only 3 lived. That would be Samuel Ira, John and Emily.
John had grown up married and was a widow living with his mother.
Lets go back again on John, he married Bytha Thomason and had his first child Cora in 1885, when he was 18 and the following year he had Winnie in December. I don't know what town or county, but I do know it was in Texas.
John had traveled around to several different places and on March 12, 1891 Robert was born in Thurber, Erath County, Texas. That would be the only time I could find his wife on the census, but they were destroyed.
In 1894 they had traveled from Thurber Gibtown, Jack County, Texas, where Kate was born. Her mother died shortly after giving birth, so Sarah helped raise his children.
The 1900 Census was the last time I saw Cora or Winnie listed, I hope one day to go there and see what I can find on them.
In 1910 Palo Pinto, Texas census John had living with him Robert ( Bob ) 19 and Kate 13. In Sarah's house hold was Emily and her family. Gooley 16, Aldie 12 and Milton 5. All of Emily's Children were born in Oklahoma.
Grandpa McKee always liked having a well kept yard, mom said that "he would cut the grass once a week no matter if it needed it or not", "you can tell a lot about person by the kind of yard they kept".
I understand why he did that now, this summer I bought one of them old fashion lawn mowers like he would of had, it was hard work pushing it though the grass.
I always loved hearing my mom tell that story, I think he's the one I got my love of doing yard work from. She said his favorite flower was the Daffodil and every spring grandpa would be out in the yard working with his flowers.
Grandma Burrows had her share of stories also. Everyone would get together at family gatherings and the stories would start. She said when the adults got together " they would eat first " while the children would play. We didn't dare come in before we were called. Mom ( grandma Kate) said " Children are to be seen not heard " but there was always enough food to be had.
Once when grandma Burrows ( Oma ) was young, she asked her mom ( grandma Kate ) for something and she said no. " We didn't stand around and keep asking we knew what would happen if we did", No ment No.
I laughed so hard when grandma ( Oma )told us about the time her mom came after her with a switch, she didn't tell us what she did.
What ever it was must have been bad, she ran from grandma Kate into the out house and lock the door. Her mom didn't yell or chase her but stuck the switch between the crack and fliped the door latch.
" Grandma ( Oma ) laughed and said " I got the beating of my life that day, 1 for running and 2nd for what I did". " I never run again " she said.
Oh how I wished those stories had been recorded, they are all gone now and my memory is all that's left.
That was one of the things that got me involved in genealogy.
I can see clearly the day John McKee died, mom was 7 at the time. She told me that they were both out in the yard under a big old oak tree, when he just fell over.
Grandma Burrows was standing in the kitchen doing dishes. She looked out the window when it happen.
Mom said " they got him into the house and into his room ". There he layed dying and before he passed he had asked to see my mom ( Katie ).
Grandma Burrows and her mom was scared to let my mom in they didn't know what kind of effect it would have on her.
Mom said grandpa McKee liked his women and every saturday he would take a bath, no matter if he needed it or not then go out on the town.
He flirted with Uncle Robert's ( Bob ) wife something awful. It would make him so mad he's tell her " pack up were going home ".
Grandpa McKee 2nd wife was only 17 when she had Beatrice in 1919.
When I was visiting Uncle Earl he gave me a couple pictures of Lela that I never knew existed.
Robert John was living in the Shawnee Care Center and died March 28th 1972 at the Mission Hill Memorial Hospital, there in shawnee, Oklahoma, from chronic alcoholism and heart desease. He was only 55.
My mom said she never heard them talk about Oleatha but they did talk about Robert John alot.
Robert Edward McKee Married Lela Cookson.
They had 2 children Robert John born the 14th February 1917 in New Mexico, and Oleatha B born in 1920.
He would buy a can of peaches and a pack of sweet rolls. She laughed and said " mom (Grandma Burrows) would take us to the railroad tracks and there we would sit all day until he had eatten it all if we had asked for any he would have beaten us but good, and being kids we would have asked.
We would talk about grandpa getting a pension check at the first of each month, but she didn't know what kind of work he did.
Dewar was established in the early 1900 when the M. O. & G Railroad connecting Muskogee and Henryetta, was built. A depot was built and the settlement was named Dewar, after the section boss Sam Dewar.
The town plat was surveyed and filed for record in the U. S. Clerk's Office in Okmulgee Oklahoma, the 28th February 1907 at 2:00 p.m..
Dewar mines had already opened up in the northwest corner of the town plat. There was a big switch yard at the west outskirts of Dewar, and a spur was built to the Dewar Mines, then to Coalton and on to Okmulgee.
In 1911 there was a wooden depot down by the railroad tracks, a few company houses and a lot of tents where people lived. All the roads were dirt and t hre was very little business area. The business came later as Dewar began to boom from the opening of new coal mines.
There was a Post Office and a grocery store down by the depot, an Airdome Theatre, indoor theatre, and hardware store, millinery shop, two drug stores, a bank. They also had a News Paper, Bakery, a Garage, Coca-Cola Bottling Plant, several Grocery Stores, a Photographer, and Funeral Parlor, they had a horse-drawn Hearse.
They also had several doctors in Dewar, there was several two story buildings and there were buildings on both sides of main street all the way down to the railroad tracks where the depo was.
My Grandmother Oma was born in Dewar Oklahoma. Her Birth Certificate said she was born on 14 July, but she always claimed her Birthday was in February. It might have been because of where they were at, as to why it was recorded so late.
21 July 1914 Great Grandma Sarah died near the number 5 mines and is buried somewhere in Okmulgee County, Oklahoma.
In 1917 at the end of World War 1 Daniel was 24 and had filled out a Registration Card listing a wife and 2 children.
Dewar's boom day's came and went, in the early part of 1930 and 40's the coal mines were winding down and production was cut at the oil and gas leases. Most of the business and buildings, but the memory of the small town lingers on.
In 1920 Kate and Daniel were divorced and he was living with his parents listing himself as being single.
I didn't find John or Kate again until 1930 living in the small town of Davis, Oklahoma. Oma was 16, a year later she met Percy Burrows and they were married.
I have been looking for a Marriage Certificate on both Kate and Oma, but as of yet have not been able to locate one for them.
Kate had some of the craziest saying's I ever heard and if she didn't like you, she let you know.
Kate always claimed to be full blooded Cherokee Indian, but every census form or document I've found them on she was listed as white. I really can't say I blame them, with the way Indians were treated back then and still being treated today.
She always called whiskey firewater and when she would het hold of a jug no one could handle her. I memeber a story that my mom ( Katie ) told about her and her firewater. I laughed so hard my ribs would hurt. She had gotten hold of some firewater one day and got so drunk from it, she desided to ride a bull. She rode it alright and when she had gone home the law came knocking on the door looking for her. She hid in the bedroom door when Oma anwsered the door and they asked about Kate she told them " I don't know where mom is but I'll let her know your looking for her " .
Kate could get mean when she was drinking, I remember hearing my mom saying " she would get so mean that she'd pull up a fence post beat it up, then beat up the hole. My youngest sister got some of her spirt, you can see it when she gets mad. But again that could also be the Irish in us as well, because we all can show our tempers at times.
I don't remember what happen to bring them down to Florida, when when we came home in 1969 for Grandpa Percy Funeral they were living in Highlandview. I can remember they had chickens and a German Sheppard, She told us to " stay away from the dog he could be very mean ".
One time my brother Tommy went fishing at Raffields docks and cought a big bucket of salt water catfish, he was so proud but grandma Kate made him take it across the street and dump them saying they were not fit to eat.
They moved into Port St. Joe, to 3rd street. She had a large oak tree in her yard, we would climb in it my sisters and I. She would get so mad at us come to the door and say " you break a limb off my tree I'm going to beat you todeath with the limbs. I think that was just her way of letting us know we could break a arm or scaring us.
She had a large pecan tree in the back yard too and every fall, she would pick up the nuts that fell. The tree was right on the line between her house and another old ladies house, I don't remember her name.
But they would get into a fight every year over them nuts, it was so funny. Grandma Kate would go pick up to pick them up and the neightbor would start yelling at her " Leave my nuts alone ", well she would get so mad she'd start yelling back " They are my nuts and I'll pick them up if I want to" they would yell back forth until grandma Kate went inside the house.
When grandma Kate was in the hospital, they took her for chest xray's I can remember hearing my mom talk about it with my dad. When they went to take her in and do the xray's she beged my mom not to let them, she would die if they did.
Grandpa Percy died October 26, 1969 from Lung Cancer and Grandma Kate died on October 20, 1971 of Congested Heart Failure, Edema and Heart Desease. He died 3 day's after my sister's Birthday and she died 3 days before her Birthday.
