ANCESTOR A: REID ELSTER DOSS (1923-1989)
This is the first in a new series of essays on the Doss family. To avoid confusion between Curtis’ family and mine, his ancestors will be indicated by a letter instead of a number. This biography was co-written; I found the historical documents, and Curtis supplied the memories and old photos. It seems hard to believe that someone we knew so well and who was a central figure in the first half of our lives was born over a hundred years ago, but Reid Elster Doss was born in rural Grady County, Oklahoma, on August 26, 1923. [1] He was the fifth child of Roy Doss and Jewell Stephens, who lived near Cement, Oklahoma. Ernestine Ellen, Grover Sampson, Herbert Laverne, and Reginald Lowell were older; the youngest was Daniel Riley Doss. [2] Reid was born into a family of farmers and cattlemen who owned property in an area about ten miles southwest of Chickasha where road E1450 now crosses the Bailey Turnpike (US 44). Reid attended nearby Fairview school throughout his childhood and ...