William B Yates

Other Events:

• Reference Number: 7851

Family/Spouse: Elizabeth. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

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• Reference Number: 3688

Joseph married Nancy Elizabeth Sudbury on 14 Nov 1867 in Dyer County, Tennessee. Nancy (daughter of John Barney Sudbury and Susan E Jackson) was born on 16 Nov 1847 in Williamson County, Tennessee; died on 26 Sep 1923 in Okmulgee, Okmulgee, Oklahoma. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

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• Reference Number: 3689

Notes:

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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.
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Family/Spouse: Charles Shearry. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Family/Spouse: William A Stevenson. William was born in 1858; died in 1907. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

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• Reference Number: 3797

Notes:

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From the Valdo James Smith Research document, The Sudburys of Virginia and Tennessee.

JAMES EDGAR YATES was born on April 13, 1870, in Dyer County, Tennessee,
and died on January 29, 1895, probably of typhoid fever from bad water, at the
Yates family settlement in Texas (in the Choctaw Nation, according to Valdo Yates
Smith). He was apparently unmarried and without children.
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• Reference Number: 3798

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From the Valdo James Smith Research document, The Sudburys of Virginia and Tennessee.
DORA E. YATES had a short life. She was born June 30, 1872, in Dyer County,
Tennessee, and died just over a year later on August 28, 1873. She may have been
the namesake for one of her older sister Tina's daughters.
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• Reference Number: 3799

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From the Valdo James Smith Research document, The Sudburys of Virginia and Tennessee.

JOHN BURROUGH YATES was born on December 3, 1874, in Dyer County,
Tennessee, and died on March 8, 1895, probably of typhoid fever, at the Yates
family settlement in Texas. He was apparently unmarried and without children.
Valdo Yates Smith remembered John and his older brother James Edgar being
referred to as "Aaron" and "Burr", after the statesman of that name from the early
days of the Republic.
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• Reference Number: 3800

Notes:

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From the Valdo James Smith Research document, The Sudburys of Virginia and Tennessee.

MAY CENTENNIAL YATES was born on May 18, 1876, in Dyer County,
Tennessee. Her middle name, which is remembered by her granddaughter Fran1de
Hall, was apparently inspired by the centennial of the Declaration of Independence.
She was also known by some of her nieces and nephews as "Aunt Mamie".
According to the family Bible in the possession of the Smith family, she was
married on December 14, 1892, at the young age of 16, to BENJAMIN
FRANKLIN PAYNE. At the time of her mother's death in 1923, she was still
living in Humboldt, Tennessee. The date and place of her death are unknown to
the author of this history.
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Family/Spouse: Benjamin Franklin Payne. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

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• Reference Number: 3812

Notes:

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From the Valdo James Smith Research document, The Sudburys of Virginia and Tennessee.

NINNA E. YATES was born on November 21, 1878, in Dyer County, Tennessee,
and died there at age 4 on or about February 18, 1883.
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• Reference Number: 3813

Notes:

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From the Valdo James Smith Research document, The Sudburys of Virginia and Tennessee

WALTER GRAY YATES was the third child of J.J. and Nancy to die before the
age of five, and the second child they lost in 1883. He was born on February 13,
1881, in Dyer County, Tennessee, and died there at age 2 on July 13, 1883. His
middle name may be a family name, possibly the maiden name of one or the other
of his grandmothers.
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Other Events:

• Reference Number: 3814

Notes:

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From the Valdo James Smith Research document, The Sudburys of Virginia and Tennessee

HATTEE BELLE YATES was born in Dyer County, Tennessee, on December 16,
1883. She moved with her parents first to Texas, and then to Okmulgee,
Oklahoma, where on October 1, 1902 (according to her husband's obituary) she
married VALDO SMITH. Valdo founded the first newspaper in Okmulgee, the
Okmulgee Democrat, and Hattie Belle apparently used to help him with its
publication. Prior to her marriage she may also have been a schoolteacher.

Hattie Belle's first husband, Valdo, was born near Manhattan, Kansas, on July 18,
1872. A journeyman printer by trade (like his mother), he had come south into
Oklahoma territory at the first opening of the Cherokee strip. In addition to
founding Olcmulgee's first newspaper, he had served as the town's second recorder
and acting mayor.

Hattie Belle and Valdo had been married just over three years when Valdo died on
October 24, 1905. By March 1908 (as indicated by her daughter Minnie Lou's
obituary) Hattie Belle had remarried. Her second husband was EMMETT
SMOOT, who apparently left her shortly after the birth of their only child, Boyd.
(He later resurfaced in Orange County, California, sometime in the 1930s, in poor
health, and died there shortly afterward.)

At the time of her mother's death in 1923, Hattie Belle was married to PAUL
TRA WICK, an oil field worker by trade. She and Paul resided at 803 North
Central Avenue in Okmulgee, according to her mother's obituary. Paul was a
veteran of World War I, and had apparently suffered some disability as a result of
exposure to chemical weapons. Hattie Belle and Paul found it difficult to make a
living in Oklahoma during this time, and in 1923 or 1924, with Hattie Belle's
young son, Boyd Smoot, they began a slow migration westward searching for
work. At one point they settled in Rico, Colorado, where Paul found work in the
mines as a driller. They also lived in Denver for a short time.

Hattie Belle and Paul eventually found their way to Orange County, California,
where they made their home in the small citrus farming town of Yorba Linda.
Unfortunately, Hattie Belle did not live long after their arrival. She died on
September 13, 1927, at the age of 43. She is buried at Loma Vista Cemetery in
Fullerton, California. Paul (date of death unknown) is buried at the Veterans'
Cemetery in West Los Angeles.
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Family/Spouse: Paul Tarwick. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Family/Spouse: Valdo Smith. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Family/Spouse: Emmett Smoot. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Other Events:

• Reference Number: 3863

Notes:

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From the Valdo James Smith Research document, The Sudburys of Virginia and Tennessee.

MILDRED V. YATES, the ninth and last child of J.J. and Nancy Yates, was one
of the family's most colorful characters. She was born on March 26, 1886, in Dyer
County, Tennessee, and moved with her parents first to Texas, and, later, to
Olunulgee, Indian Territory, sometime around 1900. In 1907 (or thereabouts) she
married BENJAMIN MARTIN, a barber and patent medicine salesman, who was
quite a character himself. Ben was about four years older than Millie, and came
from Illinois.

Almost all of what is known about "Aunt Millie" and her husband Ben derives from
stories told to Valdo Yates Smith and passed on by him. However, some additional
information has been obtained from the 1910 census, where Millie and Ben are
listed as living in McAlister Township, Pittsburg County, Oklahoma, about 50
miles south of Olunulgee.

To hear Valdo describe Ben Martin was a delight. Ben was a tall, handsome man,
with dark hair and a curly beard, "a good lookin' son of a gun". He was a "happygo
-lucky guy", "quite a talker", a charmer "with the gift of the Blarney". Valdo
remembered going into Ben's barber shop as a young boy and watching his uncle in
action.

Millie's relationship with Ben must have been somewhat tempestuous. He had the
reputation of being something of a "tomcat", and it was this propensity which
brought a dramatic end to their marriage, probably sometime around 1915. As
Valdo told it, Ben came home late one night, after having been "where he shouldn't
have been". Millie was waiting up. As he started to come through the door, she
threw a knife at him, which buried itself in the door jamb "right close to his head".
According to Valdo, "that's the last any one in the family ever saw of him."
However, reports did filter back that Ben subsequently made his living "out west
somewhere" giving medicine shows and selling "snake oil" out of the back of a
wagon.

Another story Valdo Smith told about Millie probably dates from after Ben Martin's
departure. One night Millie woke up to find a man in her bedroom. She turned on
the light and said, "Who are you?" The man said something like, "I'm a murderer,
and I'm going to steal something." Millie said, "What do you want'?" He replied,
"Money." She said, "Just a minute, I'll get out of bed and help you look. If I can
find any, I'll give you half of it." The burglar gave up in disgust and left.

Valdo remembered that Aunt Millie was a "very handsome woman", and fearless;
"she wasn't afraid of the Devil himself." After her husband Ben left, she continued
to live in Okmulgee for some time with her two sons. The last information known
about her is found in Nancy Sudbury Yates's obituary from 1923, in which Millie
is identified as Mrs. Ben Martin, living at 705 South Okmulgee Avenue,
Okmulgee, Oklahoma.
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Family/Spouse: Ben Martin. Ben was born about 1882. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

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• Reference Number: 3692

Notes:

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From the Valdo James Smith Research document, The Sudburys of Virginia and Tennessee.

MARY EDNA STEVENSON ("Edna") was born June 27, 1895, but as yet her
birthplace remains unknown. She married JOHN MADDING, with whom she
had three sons and six daughters. Not all of the names of Edna's children are
known to the author of this history. According to Edna's niece, Sue Van
Valkenburgh, Edna and John lived their entire married life in Oklahoma, at least
some of the time in the town of Cushing. Another of Edna's nieces, Shirley
Travis, writes:
According to her brother and sisters, Aunt Edna was very like her mother --
much more than any of the others. Even though Grandmother Shearry died
when I was only ten years old, I could remember her well enough to see the
facial resemblance.
Edna died on December 10, 1984, in Harrah, Oklahoma, and is buried at
Fairlawn Cemetery in Cushing. She was the eldest of her siblings and survived
them all.
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Family/Spouse: John Hadding. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Other Events:

• Reference Number: 3703

Notes:

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From the Valdo James Smith Research document, The Sudburys of Virginia and Tennessee.

DORA BELLE STEVENSON was probably born in Okmulgee, Indian Territory,
in 1902, and spent her youth in Oklahoma. She may have lived for a time in Fort
Smith, Arkansas, but by 1927, she had apparently married GLENN PERKINS
and settled in Yorba Linda, California.

Errol Smith remembers Dora as a strong personality, who had spent some time in
the Women's Army Corps, attaining the rank of Sergeant. Errol also recalls that
she was a "great reader", and that at some point as a young woman she became
involved with a film company and acted the part of a heroine in an early
Hollywood movie. Dora's niece, Shirley Travis, has the following reminiscences:

Aunt Dora joined the WACs and was among the first contingent of women to
train at Fort Des Moines. Even though she spent a good part of this time in
the hospital with heart trouble, I believe from talking with her when she was
at Fort Des Moines and later when I visited her in California, that this was
probably the happiest time of her adult life until she met and married her
second husband, BROACH BOND, a thoroughly good and likeable man.
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Family/Spouse: Broch Bond. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Family/Spouse: Glenn Perkins. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

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• Reference Number: 3707

Notes:

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From the Valdo James Smith Research document, The Sudburys of Virginia and Tennessee.

BEULAH BEATRICE STEVENSON was born July 29, 1903, in Olunulgee,
Indian Territory, and spent her early years in the Olcmulgee area. Sometime
before 1920 she moved to Fort Smith, Arkansas, where on June 19, 1920, she
married ALBERT REICHARDT WORDEN. Albert had been born in Fort
Smith on June 19, 1889, and was a painter by trade. After their marriage, Beulah
and Albert lived for a time in Kansas City, Missouri, but eventually returned to
Fort Smith where they lived until they moved to Fullerton, California in the
summer of 1957. Albert died in Fullerton on July 23, 1970, and Beulah died in
Binghamton, New York, on October 11, 1973. Both are buried at Loma Vista
Cemetery in Fullerton, California.
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Beulah married Albert Reichardt Worden on 19 Jun 1920 in Fort Smith Arkansas. Albert was born in 1889; died in 1970. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Other Events:

• Reference Number: 3740

Notes:

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From the Valdo James Smith Research document, The Sudburys of Virginia and Tennessee.

WILLIAM YATES STEVENSON ("Bill"), was born on November 13, 1907, in
Okmulgee, Oklahoma, almost eight months after his father's death from
pneumonia in March of the same year. He spent his childhood and adolescent
years in Olunulgee and Kansas City, Missouri.

It was in Kansas City that he met his future bride, FLORICE MAE BROWN,
who had been born July 10, 1904, in Homestead, Oklahoma. Florice and Bill
were married in Kansas City on April 5, 1927. At the time of their marriage, Bill
held a job with Western Union.

Sometime between December 1931, when their second child, Shirley, was born,
and the birth of their third child, Richard, in May 1933, Bill and Florice left
Kansas City and moved to a farm at Merriam, Kansas. They remained there for
about two years before relocating to Bethel, Alaska, probably in the spring of
1935. In Bethel, Bill took a job working in the gold mines and saw mill with
Florice's father and two brothers. Bill's daughter, Shirley, tells about an incident
at the saw mill that almost cost Bill his life:

Just before my sister Dorothy was born [in August 1935], my father was
pulling some logs with a Caterpillar tractor. The logs hit a snag and pulled
the tractor over on him, breaking his leg and almost crushing in one side of
his head. By the grace of God, he survived with no brain damage.

Unfortunately, however, his injured leg required amputation. Following his ac
-cident, Bill and his family remained in Alaska another three years. In 1938, they
returned to Arkansas and filed a claim on 120 acres of virgin forest land near the
town of Rudy. There they cleared a building site and constructed a house with
logs from the trees they had cut down.

Bill and his family moved to Des Moines, Iowa, in the fall of 1942, where a
relative had offered Bill a job making artificial limbs. According to his daughter,
Shirley, Bill became very good at his new occupation "and was soon one of the
top men with this type of expertise in the Midwest", working up to manager of
his shop. About 1956, Bill (as Shirley puts it) "got the wanderlust again", quit
his job, and moved to Minneapolis, Minnesota, where he opened a pet shop.

Bill and Florice lived in Minneapolis for over fifteen years. In the early 1970s,
however, Florice began to suffer from Alzheimer's disease, and Bill moved back
to Des Moines to obtain some assistance in caring for her. On July 14, 1975, he
died, in his sleep, of a heart attack. Florice, despite the burden of Alzheimer's,
survived Bill by sixteen years. She died of breast cancer on November 2, 1991.
Bill and Florice are both buried in Chapel Hill Gardens Cemetery in Des Moines.
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Family/Spouse: Florice Mae Brown. Florice was born in 1904; died in 1991. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

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• Reference Number: 3796

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• Reference Number: 3802

Family/Spouse: Mary Merle Johnson. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

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• Reference Number: 3806

Family/Spouse: Unknown. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

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• Reference Number: 3809

Family/Spouse: Samuel Teeter. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

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• Reference Number: 3817

Family/Spouse: Mary Ester McFadden. Mary was born in 1909. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

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• Reference Number: 3854

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• Reference Number: 3856

Family/Spouse: Margaret Renneker. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

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• Reference Number: 3865

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• Reference Number: 3866