| Notes |
- _______________________________________________________________________
From the Valdo James Smith Research document, The Sudburys of Virginia and Tennessee.
SUSAN MASELTINE YATES was apparently known as "Tina" (pronounced to
rhyme with "China"). There is some uncertainty as to the date of her birth. Her
granddaughter, Shirley Travis, cites two sources, including Tina's son Bill, as
giving a birthdate of May 11, 1867. However, the date on her parents' marriage
certificate is November 14, 1867. One of these dates is probably wrong.
Tina is listed at age 12 in the 1880 Tennessee census for Dyer County, which
suggests a birth year of 1867 or 1868. She is identified in that census as "Sousey
M." Her unusual middle name is remembered by her grandchildren, and may be a
family name of some sort.
The Smith Family Bible lists the date of Tina's marriage to WILLIAM A.
STEVENSON as October 20, 1892. The location of their marriage remains
unknown. Shirley Travis gives William's birthdate as March 1858, but the place of
his birth also has yet to be identified.
By early 1907, when William died at age 51, the Stevensons were living in
Okmulgee, Oklahoma. An undated obituary entitled "Death Claims Him" states
that William died at the home of his father-in-law, J.J. Yates, of pneumonia. The
funeral service was conducted by Reverend W.M.P. Rippey, pastor of the
Methodist church. A "Card of Thanks" printed in the local newspaper at that time
states that the "bereaved families of the late J.J. Yates and W.A. Stevenson wish to
thank their many friends who rendered such valuable service and showed such
sympathy, in their recent sad afflictions". The two men died within eleven days of
each other, on March 19 (William) and March 28 (J.J.), respectively.
Following William's death, Tina was married a second time. Nancy Yates's
obituary in 1923 identifies Tina as Mrs. CHARLES SHEARRY of Kansas City,
Missouri. Tina and Charles made a handsome couple. Tina's fashionable
eyeglasses gave her a sophisticated look, while Charles sported a well-groomed
handlebar moustache.
In later life, according to Shirley Travis, Tina made her home between daughter
Edna, in Cushing, Oklahoma, daughter Beulah, in Fort Smith, Arkansas, and son
Bill, also in Arkansas. She had suffered several strokes and was bedridden for
several years before her death. Some measure of her spirit, even in her weakened
condition, can be gained from the following anecdote, told by Shirley Travis:
When Grandmother Shearry would stay with us, she was helpless but heart
-broken because she had to lie there and be waited on. She would beg me to
put a pan of dirty dishes by her bed so she could wash them and feel useful.
According to Shirley Travis, Tina died at the home of her daughter Edna, in
Cushing, Oklahoma, in July 1942.
_______________________________________________________________________
|
1868 - 1942 (74 years)
, d. 28 Mar 1907, Okmulgee Cemetery 
