Friday's Photo: Two Girls on a Car - Seymour, Texas 1927

This photo has been in my unknown file for more than 20 years. When scrolling past it, I accidentally enlarged it yesterday and realized the girl on the right was my father's sister, Willa Mae Bryan. The girl on the left is unknown. Scroll down to see enlarged photos of both girls. 

1927 is the year on the Texas license plate. If the year is 1927, the photo was probably taken in or near Seymour, Texas. Willa Mae appeared in the 1928 yearbook for Seymour High School. 

In the fall of 1927, Willa Mae's sister, DeRay, began teaching in Borger, Texas. It is said that Willa Mae left Seymour to live with DeRay, but it is not known exactly when that occurred. 

Willa Mae Bryan Dudley 1910 -1991
The photo on the right was found in the 1928 Seymour High School yearbook. At that time
she was Willie Mae Bryan. 

Unknown Young Woman

For more about Willa Mae, read 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks: #5 Willa Mae Bryan Dudley and Sunday's Obituary: Willa Mae Bryan Dudley.

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

© 2024 

Seymour High School, The Jackrabbit (Seymour, Texas:1927), no page number, Ancestry.com (https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/1265/images/43134_b201875-00036?pId=181479176 : accessed 23 Feb. 2024). 

Two Girls on a Car, photograph, ca.1927; digital image, from the privately held photo collection of D.B. Quinn, 2024.

A 50th Anniversary Party in Erath County, Texas - 1962

This invitation and napkin were found in a box of photos and clippings that once belonged to my father's three sisters, Marie Bryan, DeRay Bryan, and Willa Mae Bryan Dudley. 

Clarence Parker Gibson and Sudie Belle Collinsworth were married in Erath County on 6 April 1912 and according to an article about the anniversary event, lived in Stephenville until 1926. Mr. Gibson worked for Gulf Oil Company and spent many years living in Borger, Texas. He retired in 1959, and they moved back to Stephenville in 1960. Although my family had many connections to Erath County, I suspect my Aunts knew Sudie and Clarence from Borger. 

To learn more about this event visit The Portal to Texas History to see a photo and article. 

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

© 2023 

"Gibsons Observe Golden Wedding", Stephenville Empire-Tribune (Stephenville, Texas), 30 April 1962; database and images, The Portal to Texas History  (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth429414/m1/30/zoom/? : accessed 15 January 2023).  

Gibson invitation and napkin, photograph, April 1962; scanned image, from the privately held collection of Diana Quinn, VA 2023.

"Texas, County Marriage Records, 1837-1965," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QV14-RBF1 : 23 February 2021), Clarence B Gibson and Sudie Collingsworth, 06 Apr 1912; citing Marriage, citing Erath, Texas, United States, Texas State Library, Archives Division, and various Texas county clerks; FHL microfilm 1,428,410.

Friday's Photo: Unknown Family or Friends in Texas - Might be Borger, but could be Seymour

If this is family, surnames names could be Bryan, Hairston, Albritton,
Criswell, Thompson, Noah, Chism, Biggs, Evens, Selman, Gresham, Hammett,
Keith, Latta, Watts, Wimberly, and Wylie.

This is one of those photos where someone would need an exact or very similar photo to help with the identity. The photo is old - I am guessing the 1920s. It is faded and the faces are difficult to see. At first, I thought maybe my grandmother and my uncle, but the boy's features are more delicate than my Uncle Buster's - Buster was much chunker. 

Is this a mother and her son? The photo once belonged to my Dad's sisters in Texas. Those pictured in the photo could have been cousins or family friends. In the 1920s, Dad's sisters lived in Seymour and later moved to Borger. 

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

© 2019

Sources

Family photographs and documents from the collection Diana Bryan Quinn. 

Friday's Photo: Raymond Taylor - Did he go to Borger High School in 1930?

"Raymond Taylor" is written on the back. 

This photo is one of many that belonged to my father's sisters. Dad and his siblings were Texans. Dad was born in Baylor County, Texas along with four siblings. His two oldest sisters were born in Erath County. 

Photo from
Borger High School
Yearbook - 1930

Dad (Whit Criswell Bryan) and his sisters - DeRay, Marie, and Willa Mae moved to Borger, Texas after the death of their father in 1929. 

I found an 18-year-old Raymond Taylor on the 1930 census of Borger as well as in the Borger High School 1930 yearbook. 

He was a senior in 1930, was the class treasurer, played football, and was the business manager of the yearbook. Could this be the same Raymond Taylor? He was close in age to Dad's sister, Willa Mae. Were they friends? Do you see a resemblance? 

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
Ancestry.com. U.S., School Yearbooks, 1900-1990 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2010.

Family photographs and documents from the collection of Diana Bryan Quinn. 

#52ancestors Post Forty-One: Aunt Marie Played Bridge

DeRay Bryan, Whit Bryan (Dad), and Marie Bryan - Virginia Beach, Virginia 1959

Dad said Marie was quite a good cook. 

This week's post for #52ancesters is Sports. I have looked through photos and all of my binders to find something relating to sports and cannot find anything I haven't already posted. 

My Dad's sister, Marie, loved to play bridge. I found the clipping below when searching old newspapers. She won second place in a tournament in 1962. 

Click here to see photos and more about Marie Bryan. 

See this clipping and many others related to my families
at Newspapers.com 

 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

#52ancestors Post Sixteen: A Dust Storm in Borger, Texas

On the back of the photo is Dust Storm - Borger, Texas 1936. Dad and his sisters lived in Borger, Texas during the Dust Bowl of the 1930s. 

In the Dust Bowl states (Texas, New Mexico, Colorado, Nebraska, Kansas, and Oklahoma), farmers lost livestock and crops were ruined. Dust filtered into homes and buildings making it hard for some to breathe. About 2.5 million people left those states - most headed west. 

One of the largest dust storms of 1936 in Borger occurred in April of that year. Could this be a photo of that storm? Who would have left the house to take the photo?

Dust Storm in Texas 1936 · Fri, May 8, 1936 – Page 12 · The Hearne Democrat (Hearne, Texas) · Newspapers.com

I never asked Dad about the dust storms. He moved to Borger in 1929 and left in 1940. He must have grown up living with the dust.  

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

Dust Bowl - Facts & Summary - HISTORY.com.Web. 19 Apr. 2018. <https://www.history.com/topics/dust-bowl#section_6>.\

Family photographs and documents from the collection of Diana Bryan Quinn.

#52ancestors Post Fourteen: Monte DeRay Bryan

This week's writing prompt for #52ancestors is The Maiden Aunt. The Cambridge Dictionary defines maiden aunt as an aunt who is not married and is no longer young. My father's two sisters, Monte DeRay Bryan and Myrtie Marie Bryan, were my maiden aunts. I wrote about both of these aunts in 2014 and chose to write about DeRay today as I have additional information to share. 

My aunt went by her middle name, DeRay. Dad sometimes called her DeeDee and we knew her as Aunt DeeDee. DeRay was born in Erath County, Texas on March 11, 1904. She was the second child born of Myrtie Hairston and Redic Bryan. Her family moved to Baylor County in 1905. She spent most of her childhood in Baylor County. 

In addition to school activities, DeRay was an active member of the B. Y. P. U. (Baptist Young People's Union), the Woodmen Circle, and a member of the Baylor Bridge Club.

DeRay graduated from Seymour High School in 1920. The photo above was found in her high school yearbook. 

She attended Simmons College in Abilene for one year. At the beginning of her second year, she accepted a job teaching for the Corn community in Baylor County. I wonder if this was out of financial need or obligation. Would she have earned a degree if given a choice?

DeRay taught in the Corn community, in Seymour, and in Lamb County, before settling in Borger, Texas where she taught until 1941. 

According to History of Hutchinson County, Texas: 104 years, 1876-1980, DeRay arrived in Borger, Texas in 1927. This was shortly after her mother died. After her father's death in 1929, her siblings joined her and she was the primary wage earner. 

Dad (Whit Bryan) and his sister, DeRay - about 1942

DeRay continued her education by attending classes in the summers and served in several leadership roles before leaving teaching due to financial needs.

DeRay was active in her church, a Red Cross Volunteer, and served as an election official. 

DeRay never married. I know about two serious boyfriends. One died while he and DeRay were dating and I only have little information about the other. 

DeRay had more family obligations than most young women her age. By age 25, both of her parents died. My father, her youngest sibling, was only eight years old. She became his guardian and with little money, and the help of her sister, Marie, cared for my father until he joined the Navy in 1940. 

Whit sent flowers to his sisters for Mother's Day when
stationed at Pearl Harbor during WWII.
This was such an appropriate gesture and the fact this
card was saved showed how much it was appreciated. 

For more about DeRay, check my 2014 post - 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks: #3 Monte DeRay Bryan.


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

Family photographs and documents from the collection of Diana Bryan Quinn

#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/>.

Friday's Photo: Willa Mae Bryan AKA Willie Mae

Willie Mae Bryan - 1928

Willie Mae Bryan - 1926

I never met my father's sister, Willa Mae Bryan Dudley. I know a little about her. You can click here to see a previous post with information about Willa Mae. When looking for her in family photos, newspapers, and at Ancestry.com. I was unable to learn where or if she went to high school.

Last week, I browsed the Seymour High School yearbooks at Ancestry.com, I found her as "Willie Mae." I had been searching for "Willa Mae."

Her high school years must have been sad and difficult. After an illness, her mother died in 1927.  I know her father, Redic Bryan, was having financial difficulties and I believe Willa Mae and my father, Whit, moved between homes of relatives. Eventually, she moved to Borger to live with her older sister, DeRay.

In 1926, Willa Mae was a sophomore. There was no 1927 yearbook, but I found her as a junior in 1928.  She wasn't in the 1929 yearbook for Seymour High School and the Borger 1929 year book was not available. 

I don't know if Willa Mae graduated, but do know she attended Seymour High School and now have two great photos. AND, while looking for Willa Mae in the Borger High School yearbooks, I found a new (to me) photo of her older sister, DeRay Bryan, a teacher in Borger. Thank you, Ancestry.com.

DeRay Bryan - 1930 Borger, 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

© 2017 

Sources 

Yearbooks | High School Yearbooks | Ancestry. Web. 30 Jul. 2017. <http://search.ancestry.com/search/db.aspx?indiv=try&h&dbid=1265>.