Charlotte Ceritha Masoner and Her Sisters

 

Standing (L-R): Laura Masoner Christian Muse (1872-1951), Charlotte Masoner Freeney Stephens (1870-1946). Sitting (L-R): Mary Effie Masoner Price (1880-1941) and Martha Ellen Masoner Ross (1874-1944).

We used to have this photo on display in the kitchen. It’s of the four Masoner sisters. Back in the 1990s, before Ancestry and FamilySearch, in the early days of internet genealogy, there were message boards so genealogy enthusiasts could find each other. I still have printed copies of emails from that time, and a distant relative kindly sent me a copy of this photo, with each person labelled.

If you’re closely related to my husband, the woman of most interest to you will be Charlotte. She is the one standing on the right, with the smaller hat.

They were the daughters of Thomas J. Masoner and his wife Sarah E. McCracken. Thomas, born in Illinois, and Sarah, born in North Carolina, likely met in Texas.[1] Charlotte was the eldest of their daughters.[2] She was named after her maternal grandmother, Charlotte Rogers McCracken.[3]

Charlotte’s other sisters were Laura L., Martha Ellen, Mary Effie, and Annie D. Annie is not in this photo because she died in childhood in 1891.[4] Laura led an eventful life. So many newspaper articles were written about her that she will be the subject of a future blog post.

Effie married Joseph Benjamin Price in June 1899.[5] She had at least seven children: Robert, Susie, Henry, Ora, Bessie, Dessie (twins), Jack, and Ruth.[6] Most of her life was spent not far from Chickasha, Oklahoma, but during the Depression years she also lived near Phoenix, Arizona; moved back near Chickasha about 1935, then on to Porterville, California, between Fresno and Bakersfield, where she died in 1941.[7]

Martha Ellen, called Mattie, married John W. Ross in Indian Territory in 1889 and had nine children: Charles, Bertha, Etta, Bonnie, Roy, D.H., Coy, Iva and one other.[8] She also died in California, possibly on a visit.[9]

We also have this yellowed newspaper clipping passed down in the family. It was originally printed on 1 September 1937. Apparently, the newspaper interviewed long-time residents so readers could learn what it was like when the area was first settled. I.T. stood for Indian Territory, the name for Oklahoma before it became a state. Ninnekah is a small town near Chickasha, Oklahoma. Technically, only Native American tribes were supposed to settle in I.T., but the Masoners, like many other white families, ignored that law.

 

 

The four brothers Charlotte referred to were Charles, Henry Clay, Richard, and Thomas Jr.[10]

Charlotte C. Masoner (Mrs. D. H. Stephens) was the mother of Jewell Ellen Stephens, who was the mother of Ernestine, Grover, Herbert, Reg, Reid, and Dan Doss. Charlotte married John Freeny on 30 April 1890 in or near Beef Creek, Chickasaw Nation, Indian Territory, near Purdy.[11] (Purdy is near Lindsay and Erin Springs). In the article shown below, Charlotte called John Freeny a Choctaw Indian. However, since he was only 1/8 Choctaw, probably the rest of his heritage was European.[12] I’ve heard that he was killed but I have not been able to find any information to confirm that. There are several photos online of his grave marker in Collinsville, a small town north of Tulsa, Oklahoma. The inscription on it says, “J. E. Freeny/Husband of C. C. Freeny/BORN Apr. 24, 1869/DIED Feb. 22, 1894.”[13] Because of the words “Husband of C.C. Freeny,” I believe she paid for the stone. Charlotte’s father-in-law, Andrew G. Freeny, was allegedly shot and killed at the Purdy general store on 16 April 1894, less than two months later (I can find no newspaper story about this).[14] He is buried near her second father-in-law, Aden Stephens.[15]

Charlotte’s first child was a daughter named Fanny G. Freeny. She is buried at the Old Purdy Cemetery. 13, 1892.”[16] Infant mortality was so very common back then, no newspaper would have carried a story or a death notice about a baby’s death. Fanny died just six months after Charlotte’s little sister Annie, and the two share one gravestone. Charlotte was pregnant then, and she had another daughter, Susie Ann, on 30 July 1892.[17] After her husband died at the beginning of 1894, Charlotte was a young widow with a toddler not yet two years old. She probably moved back home with her parents. Susie was 1/16 Choctaw, so she had rights from the I.T. government, which led to a lot of paperwork for Charlotte. It was a good thing she knew how to read and write, something many women of that time could not do.

She was 25 when she married Daniel H. Stephens of Purdy on 28 June 1896.[18] The same minister that performed the ceremony married them. Dan was about the same age, had also lost a spouse, and had a son (Clarence) almost exactly the same age as Charlotte’s daughter Susie.[19] I’ve heard she was called “Dutch,” and there was a newspaper notice about her marriage that said, “Married on last Sunday Mr. Dan Stephens to Mrs. Dutch Freeney, Rev. R. N. Handcock officiating.”[20] Charlotte and Dan applied to have their children accepted into the Choctaw Nation, since she was a Choctaw by marriage, but they were refused membership. However, vital records weren’t required yet, so this is the best source for their birthdates:[21]

·        Grover Daniel Stephens, who went by Bob, born 17 September 1897

·        Henry Aden Stephens, who went by Boose, born 14 December 1898

·        Jewell Ellen Stephens, born 12 August 1900

·        George Washington Stephens, born 17 May 1902

·        Mildred Sandra Stephens, born 24 June 1905

After 1906, they had three more children:

·        Richard Melvin Stephens, who went by Chum, born in Ninnekah on 10 April 1907[22]

·        Raymond Joel Stephens, who went by Babe, born in Ninnekah on 24 February 1909[23]

·        Christine Vivian Stephens, born in Grady County on 5 May 1913[24]

Charlotte’s mother Sarah E. Masoner died on 23 April 1899 and was buried near the grave of Charlotte’s sister Annie and daughter Fanny.[25] She was only 55 and of Charlotte’s children, only Sue was old enough to remember her. It was not unusual for people to die in their fifties in the days before vaccinations and antibiotics, and handwashing, even. Charlotte’s father died sometime between 1900 and 1904.[26]

By 1900, Dan and Charlotte owned their own place in Marlow town. Dan was counted as a stock raiser, not a farmer.[27] This sheds a little light on the story that one night, Charlotte was home alone, and she heard strange noises outside the house. She warned the intruder that she would shoot if he didn’t go away. The noises continued and she shot straight through the house. In the morning she found out she had shot one of their prize cattle. Oops!

On 18 August 1900, a Commission to the Five Civilized Tribes from the Department of the Interior notified Charlotte that the Choctaw Nation was protesting her enrollment as a Choctaw citizen by (inter)marriage.[28] Thus began a campaign lasting at least until 1907 for her, attempting to get Choctaw citizenship. Ancestry has this file in its entirety.

During that decade, Charlotte lost, or lost contact with, three of her four brothers. This probably added to the stress she was under. Only her brother Charles was able to stay out of trouble.

 A fellow researcher shared with me a page from a register kept at Leavenworth Penitentiary. It noted letters received and letters sent out, to and from Henry Masoner, around 1900. Charlotte was one of the sisters writing to him. In 1897, he was sentenced to prison for five years for larceny.[29] The last record I could find for him was his marriage (as J. H. Masoner) to May Browning on 29 July 1902 in Tecumseh, Pottawatomie County, I.T.[30] She was living in Okemah when she married Lee Webb less than two years later, on 16 July 1904; I have not been able to find any more information about Henry.[31] Given his history, he probably died around then.

Charlotte’s brother Richard was probably the Dick Masoner who was released from jail in Ardmore on 21 Jan. 1898, “…who had completed his sentence for larceny.”[32] What is known for certain is that Charlotte’s granddaughter Ernestine Doss Townley, who did family history research for years, wrote that Richard (Dick) disappeared. Once email and the internet became available, Masoner descendants who were researching the family found each other. In 1999, Richard’s granddaughter emailed me to say the family had recently discovered that when their grandfather was dying, he told his wife that he had run away from home and changed his name from Masoner to Scott. As Charles M. Scott, he enlisted in the U.S. Army in Houston, Texas at the beginning of 1903, and became a career military man.[33] He gave his birthdate and place as 18 September 1879 in Hardy, Texas, the same age and place as baby Richard in Charlotte’s family in 1880.[34] Hardy is in Montague County.

Charlotte’s youngest brother, Tom, was frequently mentioned in newspapers all over Indian Territory, but most often in Ardmore or Pauls Valley. News coverage ran at least from September 1900, when he was in county jail for larceny, through most of 1904, when he was convicted of arson and robbery, followed by a murder charge stemming from the same incident, until shortly after Christmas Day 1906, when he was shot in the abdomen by a marshal in Purdy. He was not expected to live, and given the state of medicine at that time, he probably died of that wound.[35]

In October 1908, Sue, 16 years old, said she was 18 and went to Anadarko to marry Dave Pannell.[36] On 26 Feb. 1910, when Sue had a son, Laurel M. Pannell, Charlotte, only 39 or 40, became a grandmother.[37] So Sue wasn’t with them in 1910, when Charlotte and Dan lived with their eight children in Chandler township, Grady County, next to Mamie Jameson, the sister of Charlotte’s future son-in-law Roy Doss.[38] That was surely how Roy and Jewell met. In early May 1912, they moved out of Ninnekah and onto their farm. Despite moving, Charlotte hosted the meeting of the Ladies Aid group at her home a week later.[39]

Charlotte and the family moved to Ninnekah in time for the school year in 1916. The Chickasha paper reported, “Dan… Stephens is known not only in Grady county but throughout the state for his thoroughbred stock and progressive methods of farming. Mrs. Stephens is a woman possessing culture and refinement to a high degree. The coming of this family into this community will make for the betterment of our civic and social life.”[40]

When the U.S. entered World War I, the government launched a program for food conservation. Citizens were supposed to sacrifice so that more food could go to the military. Monday and Wednesday were proclaimed Wheatless Days, and one meal a day was to be wheatless; Tuesday was supposed to be a meatless day, and Tuesday and Saturday were to be porkless days.[41] There were other rules about rationing. By May, Charlotte joined the Grady County Food Conservation Committee.[42]

In 1918, when Charlotte’s son Henry was just 19, he had a terrible accident on their ranch six miles west of Ninnekah. He died instantly when he was roping a cow and his horse fell on top of him.[43] “Young Stephens caught the cow with a rope and trying to hold her when the horse was thrown to the ground and turned almost a complete somersault….Henry Stephens had grown to manhood in this county and was a noble young man. Hardworking and energetic, he was the main help of his father on his farm since his older brother had joined the army.”[44] It was probably something he had done many times, and it was such a freak accident that the story was also carried in the Oklahoma City newspaper the next day.

That year was also the year of the terrible flu pandemic that killed millions of people around the world. All of Charlotte’s children survived that disease. When World War I ended that November, the family story said she was so excited she shot a gun through the kitchen ceiling. Thank goodness the bullet didn’t ricochet!

The family was fairly well off economically until the Depression. They had an automobile as early as 1915.[45] In 1920, Charlotte and Sue could afford to attend the annual McCracken family reunion, which attracted relatives from all over Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas and Louisiana.[46] With her children Mildred and Babe, she attended another one nearby in Marlow in August 1923.[47] In June 1924 they “motored” to Oklahoma City, perhaps for their daughter Mildred’s graduation from Hills Business College. Mil studied bookkeeping and got a job bookkeeping in the state Board of Affairs department.[48] In 1926 they bought a new Chevrolet.[49]

Charlotte was a Protestant. She was married by a Methodist minister, and in the summer of 1922 she and her husband and son Richard attended a Pentecostal revival in Chickasha.[50] In the summer of 1926 she and a daughter attended the Holiness camp meeting in Oklahoma City for several days.[51]

Unlike many Oklahoma migrants during the Dust Bowl years, Charlotte and Dan were able to stay in Ninnekah during the Depression. Dan died in October 1945, but Charlotte was not widowed for long.[52] She died while visiting her sister Laura in Denver on 29 July 1946.[53] She was 76. I have to say, that doesn’t sound that old to me now.

---

[1] 1880 United States Federal Census, Montague County, Texas, population schedule, Precinct 1, ED 119, sheet 367C (stamped), dwelling 196, family 206, T. J. Masoner; “United States Census, 1880,” database and images, FamilySearch (familysearch.org: accessed 30 Jul 2023) > Texas > Montague > Precinct 1 > ED 119 > image 23 of 41; from NARA microfilm publication T9, roll 1320. For Sarah’s maiden name: "United States, Social Security Numerical Identification Files (NUMIDENT), 1936-2007", database, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:6KWR-MTSC : 10 February 2023), Martha Ellen Ross; born 26 Aug. 1872, Montague County, Texas, to Thomas Masoner and Sarah McCracken.

[2] Ibid.

[3] For Sarah’s parents: 1860 United States Federal Census, Cooke County, Texas, population schedule, Gainesville P.O., ED 119, p. 66, dwelling 536, family 556,"United States Census, 1860,” database with images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org: accessed 30 Jul 2023), Sarah McCracken in household of Enos Mc Cranken and Charlote C Mc Cranken [sic], 1860. For Charlotte’s maiden name: "North Carolina, County Marriages, 1762-1979," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-CSC3-DSTR-F?cc=1726957 : accessed 30 July 2023) > image 213 of 960; North Carolina State Archives Division of Archives and History.

[4] Find a Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/63557750/annie-masoner: accessed 30 July 2023), memorial page for Annie Masoner (28 Oct 1883–22 Sep 1891), Find a Grave Memorial ID 63557750, citing Old Purdy Cemetery, Purdy, Garvin County, Oklahoma, USA; Maintained by Beth Ivie-Allen (contributor 24114498). I took a photo of the gravestone and wrote the inscription on the back. The inscription isn’t legible in the photo. A Masoner family researcher told me Annie was killed accidentally because the children were playing with guns.

[5] Carter County, Indian Territory, Marriage license & return, p. 209, J. B. Price – Effie Masoner, 18 June 1899; “U.S., County Marriage Records, 1890-1995,” database and images, Ancestry (ancestry.com: accessed 30 Jul 2023) > Carter > 1892-1989 > image 467 of  563.

[6] 1920 United States Federal Census, Garvin County, Oklahoma, population schedule, ED 32, sheet 10A, dwelling 173, family 175, Effie Price in household of Joseph B. Price; “United States Census. 1920,” database and images, FamilySearch (familysearch.org: accessed 2 Aug. 2023) > Oklahoma > Garvin > Whitebead > ED 32 > image 19 of 32; from NARA microfilm publication T625, roll 1464.

[7] 1930 United States Federal Census, Maricopa County, Arizona, population schedule, Precinct No. 1, Mesa, ED # 7-101, sheet 10-A, 223 Wilbur Ave., dwelling 145, family 191, Effie Price in household of J.B. Price; “United States Census, 1930,” database and images, FamilySearch (familysearch.org: downloaded 1 Aug. 2023) > Arizona > Maricopa > Mesa > ED 101 > image 19 of 40; from NARA microfilm publication T626, roll 59. 1940 United States Federal Census, Tulare County, California, population schedule, Porterville Judicial Twp., ED # 54-52A, sheet 2-A, Cornell Ranch, dwelling 21, Effie Price in household of Joe Price; “United States Census, 1940,” database and images, FamilySearch (familysearch.org: downloaded 1 Aug. 2023) > Tulare. Census Records 1940 > image 280 of 464; from NARA microfilm publication T627, roll 359. “Porterville Woman Dies of Injuries,” Visalia Times-Delta (Visalia, Cal.), 16 Dec. 1941, p. 4, col. 3; image, (Newspapers.com: accessed 1 Aug. 2023).

[8] “Pioneer is Taken,” The Lindsay News (Lindsay, OK.), 11 Mar. 1932, p. 1, col. 5; image, (Newspapers.com: accessed 1 Aug. 2023).

[9] "California Death Index, 1940-1997," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:VPKM-8N6: accessed 1 Aug. 2023), Martha Ellen Ross, 27 Apr 1944; Department of Public Health Services, Sacramento. The informant said her father’s name was Masoner, mother’s name was Mccracken [sic]; she died in Monterey County and was born 26 Aug. 1872 in Texas.

[10] For the first three, 1880 census cited above. For the youngest, 1900 United States Federal Census, Chickasaw Nation, Indian Territory, population schedule, Twp. 3N R4W, ED 160, sheet 15, Purdy, line 67, Thomas J. Masoner in household of John Masoner; “United States Census, 1900,” database and images, FamilySearch (familysearch.org: accessed 11 Aug. 2023) > image 427 of 869; from NARA microfilm publication T623, roll 1849. Note: this article appeared in the Chickasha Daily Express on 1 Sep. 1937, p. 2, col. 3. It was about members of the Grady County Pioneer Club.

[11] Statement by minister R.M. Hancock, filed 18 Feb. 1899, file 5880; “U.S., Native American Applications for Enrollment in Five Civilized Tribes, 1898-1914,” database and images, Ancestry (ancestry.com: accessed 5 Aug. 2023) > Choctaw > Choctaw by Blood > 05824-05891 > image 1800 of 2274. Google Maps shows Beef Creek just east of Maysville, OK. Hancock was a Methodist minister (see article on 23 Mar. 1893 in the Indian Methodist on Newspapers.com).

[12] Dawes Roll no. 288, Susie Ann Freeney, Enrollment Cards, 1898-1914; NAI Number: 251747; Record Group Title: Records of the Bureau of Indian Affairs; Record Group Number: 75, The National Archives At Fort Worth; Fort Worth, Texas; “Oklahoma and Indian Territory, U.S., Dawes Census Cards for Five Civilized Tribes, 1898-1914,” database and images, Ancestry (ancestry.com: accessed 2 Aug. 2023) > Choctaw > ByBlood > 0101-0216 > image 50 of 148. Since Susie was identified as 1/16 Choctaw and Charlotte was called a [Choctaw] non-citizen, John Freeney must have been only 1/8 Choctaw.

[13] Find A Grave, database with images (https://www.findagrave.com : accessed 2 Aug. 2023), memorial 11245130, J. E. Freeny (24 Apr. 1869 – 22 Feb. 1894), Victory Cemetery, Collinsville, Tulsa County, Oklahoma; gravestone photograph by DMLeForce.

[14] Ellis Freeny, Peter Freeny and His Descendants in America (Oklahoma City, OK: Self-Published, 1995), 322; images, FamilySearch (familysearch.org: accessed 4 August 2023).

[15] Find a Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/24772697/andrew-gennings-freeney: accessed 04 August 2023), memorial page for Andrew Gennings Freeney (6 Aug 1843–16 Apr 1894), Find a Grave Memorial ID 24772697, citing Tidwell Cemetery, Stephens County, Oklahoma, USA; Maintained by Paula Ledford Waller (contributor 47273300). Find a Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/24773030/aden-wimpey-stephens: accessed 04 August 2023), memorial page for Aden Wimpey Stephens (20 Jun 1824–26 Jul 1894), Find a Grave Memorial ID 24773030, citing Tidwell Cemetery, Stephens County, Oklahoma, USA; Maintained by 49493846 (contributor 49493846).

[16] Photo of gravestone I took a couple of decades ago. I wrote down the inscription at the time since it was so faint. The stone has what appears to be a dead dove at the base of a tree stump, symbolizing a child’s grave. It is shared with the grave of Annie, Charlotte’s little sister.

[17] Find a Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/73973482/susan-ann-charleton: accessed 04 August 2023), memorial page for Susan Ann “Sue” Freeny Charleton (30 Jul 1892–14 Oct 1975), Find a Grave Memorial ID 73973482, citing Golden Gate National Cemetery, San Bruno, San Mateo County, California, USA; Maintained by Marvin & Samme Templin (contributor 426307).

[18] Carter County, Indian Territory, Marriage license no. 197, p. 100, Daniel H. Stephens – Charlotte Freeny, 28 June 1896; “Oklahoma, U.S., County Marriage Records, 1890-1995,” database and images, Ancestry (ancestry.com: accessed 6 Aug. 2023) > Carter > 1893-1944 > image 187 of 588.

[19] Draft card for Clarence Arthur Stephens, Local Draft Board, Grady County, Oklahoma; citing NARA record group M1509 (Washington D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.); “United States, World War I Draft Registration Cards, 1917-1918,” database with images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:KZDV-PHF : accessed 10 Aug. 2023) > Oklahoma > Grady County no 2; A-Z >  Arthur Stephens > image 2472 of 2935. Note: this card called him Arthur, but he signed as Clarence Arthur, and said he had lost one leg, but I’ve never found any newspaper story about how he lost his leg.

[20] “Purdy Pointers,” The Purcell Register (Purcell, I.T.), 2 Jul. 1896, p. 3, col. 4; image, Newspapers.com: accessed 21 Aug. 2023.

[21] New Born, Choctaw Nation, Choctaw Roll Card, Children of Daniel H. and Charlotte Stephens, Chickasaw Nation, Card no. 1248; “Oklahoma and Indian Territory, U.S., Dawes Census Cards for Five Civilized Tribes, 1898-1914,” database and images, Ancestry (ancestry.com: accessed 11 Aug. 2023) > Choctaw > By Blood, Minor > 1185-1325 > image 64 of 141. Card is stamped REFUSED on 21 Nov. 1906. They were living in the Chickasaw Nation in Indian Territory. Oklahoma was not yet a state.

[22] Draft card for Richard Melvin Stephens, 16 Oct. 1940, Local Draft Board 189, Pasadena, Ca.; “U. S., World War II Draft Cards Young Men, 1940-1947,” database with images, Ancestry (ancestry.com : accessed 11 Aug. 2023) > California > Stanley-Storelli > Stephens, Jasper Errol-Stephenson, William Warner > image 661 of 2134.

[23] Draft card for Raymond Joel Stephens, 16 Oct. 1940, Local Draft Board 151, San Bernardino, Ca.; “U. S., World War II Draft Cards Young Men, 1940-1947,” database with images, Ancestry (ancestry.com : accessed 11 Aug. 2023) > California > Stanley-Storelli > Stephens, Jasper Errol-Stephenson, William Warner > image 609 of 2134.

[24] Oklahoma State Vital Records Index (https://ok2explore.health.ok.gov/App/BirthResults: accessed 11 Aug. 2023), entry for Christine Stephens, 1913, Grady County.

[25] Find a Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/63557706/sarah-e-masoner: accessed 11 August 2023), Memorial ID 63557706, Sarah E. McCracken Masoner (17 Jan 1844–29 Apr 1899), Old Purdy Cemetery, Purdy, Garvin County, Oklahoma, USA; gravestone photograph by Diane Gann.

[26] 1900 United States Federal Census, Chickasaw Nation, Indian Territory, population schedule, Twp. 3N R4W, ED 160, sheet 15, Purdy, line 66, Thomas Masoner in household of John Masoner; “United States Census, 1900,” database and images, FamilySearch (familysearch.org: accessed 11 Aug. 2023) > image 427 of 869; from NARA microfilm publication T623, roll 1849. Statement by minister R.M. Hancock, 23 June 1904, file 5880; “U.S., Native American Applications for Enrollment in Five Civilized Tribes, 1898-1914,” database and images, Ancestry (ancestry.com: accessed 5 Aug. 2023) > Choctaw > Choctaw by Blood > 05824-05891 > image 1798 of 2274. Hancock called her “daughter of Thomas Masoner, deceased.” As the local minister, he likely knew Thomas, or officiated at his funeral.

[27] 1900 United States Federal Census, Chickasaw Nation, Indian Territory, population schedule, Marlow town, ED 164, p. 10, dwelling 158, family 160, Charlotte C. in household of Daniel Stephens; “United States Census, 1900,” database and images, FamilySearch (familysearch.org: accessed 11 Aug. 2023) > Indian Territory > Chickasaw Nation > ED 164 Township 2 N. Ranges 7W Marlow town > image 17 of 36; from NARA microfilm publication T623, roll 1849.

[28] “U.S., Native American Applications for Enrollment in Five Civilized Tribes, 1898-1914,” database and images, Ancestry (ancestry.com: accessed 12 Aug. 2023) > Choctaw > Choctaw by Blood > 05824-05891 > image 1807 of 2274. Letter to Charlotte dated August 18, 1900, file 5880. The word “Intermarriage” was often used the way we would say “marriage.”

[29] “Leavenworth Special,” The Daily Ardmoreite (Ardmore, I.T.), 21 Mar. 1897, p. 1, col. 4; image, Newspapers.com: accessed 14 Aug. 2023).

[30] Pottawatomie County, Indian Territory, Marriage bond/license, 5:386, J. H. Masoner – May Browning, 29 Jul. 1902; “Marriage records (Pottawatomie County, Oklahoma, 1902-1952; indexes 1892-1980,” database and images, FamilySearch (familysearch.org: accessed 14 Aug. 2023) > Item 1 > DGS 5686009 > image 179 of 860. The record named his parents Thomas Masoner and McCracken.

[31] Muskogee County, Indian Territory, Marriage bond/license, no. 350, p. 403, Lee Webb – Mrs. May Mason [sic], 16 Jul. 1904; “Oklahoma, County Marriages, 1890-1995,” database and images, FamilySearch (familysearch.org: accessed 14 Aug. 2023) > DGS 4532526 > image 511 of 699. Although this does not call her Masoner, we know it’s her because in 1920 Henry C. Masoner, 15, was the son of May Webb and brother of Dell E. Webb, 10.

[32] “Dull at the Jail,” The Daily Ardmoreite (Ardmore, I.T.), 21 Jan. 1898, p. 3, col. 3; image, The Gateway to Oklahoma History (gateway.okhistory.org: accessed 14 Aug. 2023).

[33] Scott, Charles M., 6 Jan. 1903, age 23, p. 101, no. 35, born in Cook [sic] County, Texas; “U.S., Army, Register of Enlistments, 1798-1914,” database and image, Ancestry (ancestry.com: accessed 14 Aug. 2023) > 1902 Jun – 1904 Jun > L-Z > image 392 of 640. Cooke County is next to Montague County. He was discharged in 1905 in California.

[34] Burial record, Charles Mathew Scott, 9 July 1934; “Utah, U.S., Veterans with Federal Service Buried in Utah, 1847-1966,” database and images, Ancestry (ancestry.com: accessed 14 Aug. 2023) > S > Scott, Charles Mathew, 1834 > image 1 of 1. He reenlisted in Monterey, Ca., where he was discharged from his first enlistment.

[35] “At the Jail,” The Daily Ardmoreite (Ardmore, I.T.), 13 Sep. 1900, p. 4, col. 3; image, The Gateway to Oklahoma History (https://gateway.okhistory.org/ark:/67531/metadc616034/m1/4/?q=%22Tom+Masoner%22: accessed 15 Aug. 2023). Charged with Murder,” The Daily Ardmoreite (Ardmore, I.T.), 6 Jan. 1904, p. 5, col. 3; image, The Gateway to Oklahoma History (https://gateway.okhistory.org/ark:/67531/metadc79288/m1/5/?q=%22Tom+Mason%22: accessed 15 Aug. 2023). “Shooting at Purdy,” The Daily Ardmoreite (Ardmore, I.T.), 4 Jan. 1907, p. 1, col. 5; image, The Gateway to Oklahoma History (https://gateway.okhistory.org/ark:/67531/metadc80330/m1/1/?q=%22Shooting+at+Purdy%22:  accessed 15 Aug. 2023).

[36] Caddo County, Oklahoma, Marriage license, 3: 456, Dave Pannell – Sue Freeny, 1 Oct. 1908; “Oklahoma, County Marriages, 1890-1995,” database and images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:939Z-5892-8F?i=8&cc=1709399: accessed 16 Aug. 2023) > DGS 1994236 (004533047 > image 9 of 949.

[37] School census, Cement, Caddo County, Oklahoma, Laurel Pannell, 18 Jan. 1921; “Oklahoma, School Records, 1895-1968,” database and images, FamilySearch (familysearch.org: accessed 18 Aug. 2023) > Caddo > School census, Cement, District 160, 1921-1928 > image 63 of 1155.

[38] 1910 United States Federal Census, Grady County, Oklahoma, population schedule, Chandler Township, ED 93, sheet 5B, dwelling 75, family 75, Charlotte C. Stephens in household of Daniel H. Stephens; “United States Census, 1910,” database and images, FamilySearch (familysearch.org: accessed 15 Aug. 2023) > Oklahoma > image 874 of 1352; from NARA microfilm publication T624, roll 1252. For an explanation of Mamie’s relationship, see Our Doss Family by Lise K. Doss.

[39] “Fair View District 78,” The Grady County Star (Chickasha, OK), 17 May 1912, p. 4, col. 5; image, Newspapers.com: accessed 21 Aug. 2023.

[40] “Ninnekah Items,” The Chickasha Daily Express (Chickasha, OK), 30 Aug. 1916, p. 2, col. 3; image, The Gateway to Oklahoma History (https://gateway.okhistory.org/ark:/67531/metadc730734/m1/2/?q=Ninnekah: accessed 19 Aug. 2023).

[41] “War Bread Rule Now in Force,” The Minco Minstrel (Minco, OK), 1 Feb. 1918, p. 2, col. 1; image Newspapers.com: accessed 21 Aug. 2023.

[42] “Members of County Conservation Committee,” The Chickasha Star (Chickasha, OK), 10 May 1918, p. 1, col. 7; image, Newspapers.com: accessed 21 Aug. 2023.

[43] “Killed as Result of Accident,” The Chickasha Daily Express (Chickasha, OK), 16 Jul. 1918, p. 1, col. 2; image, Chronicling America (https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn86090528/1918-07-16/ed-1/seq-1/: accessed 16 Aug. 2023).

[44] “Young Stephens Killed by Horse,” The Chickasha Star (Chickasha, OK), 19 Jul. 1918, p. 1, col. 5; image, Newspapers.com: accessed 17 Aug. 2023.

[45] Untitled, The Chickasha Star (Chickasha, OK), 13 Aug. 1915, p. 4, col. 1; image, Newspapers.com: accessed 22 Aug. 2023.

[46] “McCracken Family Reunion,” Barbour County Index (Medicine Lodge, KS), 18 Aug. 1920, p. 7, col. 1; Newspapers.com: accessed 18 Aug. 2023. Note: this article quotes the Gainesville Daily Register, but I can’t find it in any July or August issue on Portal to Texas History.

[47] “A Family Reunion,” The Marlow Review (Marlow, OK), 9 Aug. 1923, p. 1, col. 2; image, The Gateway to Oklahoma History (https://gateway.okhistory.org: accessed 20 Aug. 2023).

[48] “Ninnekah News,” The Chickasha Star (Chickasha, OK), 20 Jun. 1924, p. 10, col. 1; image, The Gateway to Oklahoma History (https://gateway.okhistory.org/: accessed 22 Aug. 2023).

[49] “Ninnekah News,” The Chickasha Star (Chickasha, OK), 28 Oct. 1926, p. 2, col. 3; image, The Gateway to Oklahoma History (https://gateway.okhistory.org: accessed 20 Aug. 2023).

[50] “Ninnekah News,” The Chickasha Star (Chickasha, OK), 30 Jun. 1922, p. 4, col. 2; image, The Gateway to Oklahoma History (https://gateway.okhistory.org/: accessed 22 Aug. 2023).

[51] “Ninnekah News,” The Chickasha Star (Chickasha, OK), 2 Sep. 1926, p. 10, col. 2; image, The Gateway to Oklahoma History (https://gateway.okhistory.org/: accessed 22 Aug. 2023).

[52] “Stephens Rites Are Conducted,” The Chickasha Daily Express (Chickasha, OK), 24 Oct. 1945, p. 2, col. 3; image, (Newspapers.com: accessed 22 Sep. 2023). The service was held at the Holiness Church in Ninnekah on the 23^rd. Reid, Dan, and Herbert Doss were some of the pallbearers. Dan, 75, was survived by four sons, four daughters, a sister, 22 grandchildren and 13 great grandchildren.

[53] “Mrs. Stephens Services Here,” The Chickasha Daily Express (Chickasha, OK), 30 July 1946, p. 7, col. 7; image, (Newspapers.com: accessed 22 Sep. 2023).