#52ancestors: Post Eight: Oscar Edward Noah #56

Coming up with this post was difficult. The writing prompt for #52ancesters is heirloom. Google defines heirloom as a valuable object that has belonged to a family for several generations. I am trying to relate these 52 posts to my Hairston family, but I have no heirlooms. 

My father was orphaned in 1929. Most of his family's belongings were left behind in Seymour, Texas when he and his sisters made their permanent home in Borger, Texas. Whatever heirlooms existed were with Dad's sisters. When his sisters died everything went to my cousin - their caregiver.  

However, the Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines heirloom as something of special value handed down from one generation to another.  So, I do have heirlooms. My cousin gave me a box of photos - the photos that sent me on this fabulous journey to find my Hairston family. 

This photo of Oscar Edward Noah and his family is one of those found in the box. On the back is written, All the bunch including the grandson Hulen Stroman.

The photo was probably taken in 1921 or 1922 as Hulen was born in 1920. Many Hairston cousins have this photo. Cousin Bob, a descendant of Oscar, sent me the following labeled photo. 

According to his obituary, Oscar Edward Noah, son of Joseph Sidney Noah and Permelia Ann Hairston, was born on March 1, 1871, in Marlin, Falls County, Texas.  His parents were married on June 11, 1865, in Hinds County, Mississippi. It is said they left Mississippi, after the war, for Falls County, first stopping in Arkansas, with Oscar's grandfather, John L. Hairston, and other extended family members including his mother's brother (my great-grandfather), Phillip A. Hairston. 

Oscar Edward Noah is #56 on this family chart. Click to enlarge. 

In 1880, I found Oscar at age 9 living with his mother, brother, and extended family in Falls County. His father was kicked by a mule and died from the injuries in 1873. The entire family moved to Erath County in 1883. The next few years were probably very difficult for the family. Oscar's older brother and only sibling, William, died in 1884. The next year, his mother married A. J. Lackey. Mr. Lackey left the household in 1890. Permelia divorced him and took back her previous surname of Noah. 

I don't know where Oscar attended school or college, but by 1892, he was teaching in Erath County for $40 monthly in the Acrey community. This community can no longer be found on maps. It was described in an 1891 issue of The Stephenville Empire as on the Fort Worth and Rio Grande Railroad, nine miles from Stephenville and six miles west from Bluff Dale. 

On August 25, 1895, Oscar married Mamie Allen. During the 1895 - 1896 school year, together they taught all grades and managed the Moccasin Rock school in the Lowell Community (not far from Lingleville). Oscar was 24 years old with 3 years of teaching experience and had just received a first grade certificate good for four years. A first grade certificate is the highest a teacher could earn. This enabled Oscar to teach older students and more difficult subjects. His salary was $56.20 monthly. Mamie was 17 years old and had applied for a second grade certificate, but was given a first grade certificate good for four years. Her salary is unknown. 

Oscar was very active in his community and church. He was a member of the Masonic Lodge, the Democratic Club, the Anti-Baily Club and the Erath County Baptist Association. In all of these activities, he served in some type of leadership capacity. 

Oscar served on juries, was appointed an election officer in 1906, served as an election officer during the statewide prohibition election in 1911, and served as a draft registration officer in 1917. He was on the Board of Trustees for the Lingleville School District and on the School Board for Erath County. 

This was published in the Stephenville Empire-Tribune
in 1939 and found at Newspaperarchive.com. To
read the entire article click here.  

Oscar Edward Noah was a well-educated farmer. In 1902, he served on the executive committee of Erath County's newly organized Farmer's Institute allowing farmers to hear prominent lecturers talk about farming in Texas. In 1935, he was one of 36 farmers in Erath to organize the Dublin Soil Conservation Association. 

Oscar and Mamie had seven children and all are pictured above. 

Oscar died at the age of 86 in 1957. Click here to see his obituary. Mamie died three years later. To see her obituary, click here. Oscar and Mamie are buried in West End Cemetery in Stephenville, Erath County, Texas. 

If you want to know more about the families I research, click here to like my Facebook page where you will see each post and other genealogical finds. 

Diana

© 2018

Sources

Crooks, Pam. Back to School-1800's Style! - Petticoats & Pistols. 2008. Web. 25 Feb. 2018. <http://petticoatsandpistols.com/2008/09/10/back-to-school-1800s-style/>.

Family photographs and documents from the collection of Diana Bryan Quinn

Newspaper Archives, Obituaries & Family History Records. Web. 25 Feb. 2018. <https://newspaperarchive.com/>.

The Portal to Texas History. Web. 25 Feb. 2018. <https://texashistory.unt.edu/>.

Shipman, Cindy. "Re: O. E. Noah." Message to Diana Bryan Quinn. 2002. Email. 

Turnbo, Charlie. The Churches of School Hill School Hill, Texas. TexasEscapes.com., 2002. Web. 25 Feb. 2018. <http://www.texasescapes.com/CentralTexasTownsNorth/School-Hill-Churches-Texas.htm>

The Stephenville Empire. (Stephenville, Tex.), Vol. 24, No. 3, Ed. 1 Friday, August 30, 1895 - Page: 3 of 4 . The Portal to Texas History. Web. 25 Feb. 2018. <https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth857641/m1/3/zoom/?q=mamie%20allen&resolution=4&lat=3733&lon=3134>.

Stephenville Empire-Tribune. (Stephenville, Tex.), READING THIS ARTICLE SAVED FARMER BUYING SEED CORN. 1939 February 24, page 9.  Newspaperarchives.com. Web. 25 Feb. 2018. <https://newspaperarchive.com/stephenville-empire-tribune-feb-24-1939-p-9/>.