GOWENMS.034

Roxie Vida Gowen, [Jeremiah Benjamin Nunley9, [William Benjamin8, [William, Jr.7, Lt. William6, John5, William4, [William3, Thomas2, Mihil1], daughter of Jeremiah Benjamin Nunley Gowen and Hellen Roberts Gowen, was born about 1880, probably at Dexter, Kansas. She was brought to Texas by her father about 1881.

About 1900 she became a principal character in a "shotgun wedding." A young farmhand named Dudley Carpenter began leaving the field to go to the Gowen house for a "drink of water" much too frequently. And when the young girl came up pregnant, Jeremiah B. Nunley Gowen gave young Dudley two choices--and the more prudent was to marry the girl.

They were married about 1900, probably in Coryell County, Texas. She died in childbirth and was buried in Post Oak Cemetery, Hurst Springs, Texas. Dudley Carpenter who remarried, died in April 1960 at Clifton, Texas.

Mary A. Elizabeth "Lizzie" Hawkins, daughter of Lemuel D. Hawkins and Emma Catherine Bailey Hawkins, was born September 9, 1875, probably at Clarksville, Texas. She appeared as a four-year-old in the 1880 census of Red River County living in her father's household.

She was married to James Harvey Lee June 8, 1890 in a double ceremony with her half-sister Ellender E. Gowen who was married to William Lee Rotan, according to Ellis County, Texas Marriage Book F, page 509. James Harvey Lee, son of William Green Lee and Mary Ann "Molly" Price Lee, was born February 14, 1872 at Rogersville, Tennessee in Hawkins County. William Green Lee was one of 12 children of Albert R. Lee and Priscilla Vaughn Lee. Albert R. Lee was a son of Green T. Lee who was a son of Edward Lee who was a son of Capt. Thomas Lee. A genealogy of the Lee family has been deposited in the Stamps Memorial Library, Rogersville.

William Green Lee had removed his family to Texas following the killing of a son, Willie Lee in a dancehall brawl at Rogersville. Willie Lee was buried beside his grandfather, Albert R. Lee in Ebbin Flowing Spring Church Cemetery near Rogersville, and his epitaph, regarded as unique, was featured in "Believe it or Not" by Robert Ripley. It read:

By 1892, William Green Lee had removed to Farmersville, Texas. James Harvey Lee had returned to Tennessee from Texas for the funeral, and his mother accompanied him on the train trip.

Mary Ann "Mollie" Price Lee died about 1899 while visiting in her son's home. She was buried in the Jonesboro Cemetery, Jonesboro, Texas. An infant son of James Harvey Lee and Mary Elizabeth "Lizzie" Hawkins Lee, born May 10, 1899 and died June 28, 1900, was buried between his grandmothers.

James Harvey Lee appeared as the head of Household No. 53-53 in the 1900 census of Coryell County, Texas, near the location of his father-in-law. The family was enumerated as:

James Harvey Lee continued farming in Coryell County until about 1907 and then removed to Throckmorton County, Texas, settling in the Masters community.

Mary A. Elizabeth "Lizzie" Hawkins Lee died January 9, 1918 at Woodson, Texas of pulmonary tuberculosis at age 43 after four years of illness. At that time her community property estate shared with her husband consisted of 640 acres of land in Throckmorton County, 11 head of cattle, four horses, an automobile valued at $450 and farm machinery and tools--total estate value $14,600. All of her children resided in Throckmorton County at the time of her death. She was buried in Woodson Cemetery. James Harvey Lee died October 25, 1943, at the age of 71, "of general debility and hypertension," according to Dr. C. A. Turner, attending physician. He was buried beside his wife. His estate, valued at $17,200, consisted of 640 acres of land, $637.28 in cash, cattle, a 1937 Chevrolet valued at $175 and three $25 war bonds.

Lela Belle Lee, daughter of James Harvey Lee and Mary A. Elizabeth "Lizzie" Lee, was born in 1892 in Ellis County, Texas. She appeared as a six-year-old in the 1900 census of her father's household. On June 4, 1911 she was married to Jesse James Whitmire, a cousin of Ora Ethel Cox Gowen, according to Throckmorton County Marriage Book 1, page 212.

Jesse James Whitmire, son of Asa C. "Ace" Whitmire and Clarissa Abigail Shedd Whitmire, was born in June 19, 1888 in Williamson County, Texas. He appeared in the household of his brother William Henry "Boss" Whitmire in the 1910 census of Coryell County. They received a visit from Clarissa Abigail Shedd Whitmire in Throckmorton County about 1915. He died on his thirtieth birthday in the influenza epidemic, June 19, 1918 and was buried at Woodson, Texas. She was remarried there to Martin Gardner, a widower whose wife Nora Ellis Gardner had died leaving a son and a daughter.

Martin Gardner died at Corona, New Mexico in 1963. She followed him in death one day later. Sixty-five descendants attended the double funeral. Eula Mae Lee Stubblefield Chambers reported in an interview that Lela Belle Lee Whitmire died April 8, 1965.

James Otho Whitmire, son of Jesse James Whitmire and Lela Belle Lee Whitmire, was born March 25, 1912. He was married in March 1938 to Bonnie Barrett. He died August 22, 1941 in Deming, New Mexico.

Wanda Whitmire, daughter of James Otho Whitmire and Bonnie Barrett Whitmire, was born about 1941. She was married about 1960 to H. D. Bowen.

Leonard Noble Whitmire, son of Jesse James Whitmire and Lela Belle Lee Whitmire, was born October 21, 1913. He was married about 1937 to Josephine Sherill who was born August 22, 1912. In 1969 they lived in Deming, New Mexico.

James Henry Whitmire, son of Leonard Noble Whitmire and Josephine Sherill Whitmire, was born October 22, 1939 in Deming, New Mexico.

John Lee Whitmire, son of Leonard Noble Whitmire and Josephine Sherill Whitmire, was born December 15, 1940 in Odessa, Texas.

Melvin Elbert Whitmire, son of Jesse James Whitmire and Lela Belle Lee Whitmire, was born August 22, 1915. He was married November 3, 1946 to Ruth Spain who was born July 11, 1924. In 1969 they lived in Deming.

Bettie Ruth Whitmire, daughter of Melvin Elbert Whitmire and Ruth Spain Whitmire, was born September 16, 1947.

Robert Wayne Whitmire, son of Melvin Elbert Whitmire and Ruth Spain Whitmire, was born May 30, 1950.

Alma Louise Whitmire, daughter of Melvin Elbert Whitmire and Ruth Spain Whitmire, was born December 26, 1953. She died October 2, 1959.

Kenneth Edwin Whitmire, son of Melvin Elbert Whitmire and Ruth Spain Whitmire, was born January 22, 1961. He died November 17, 1962.

Elbert Bryan Lee, son of James Harvey Lee and Mary A. Elizabeth "Lizzie" Lee, was born in 1896, probably in Coryell County, Texas. He appeared as a two-year-old in the 1900 census of his father's household. He died October 10, 1960, according to Eula Mae Lee Stubblefield Chambers.

William J. Lee, son of James Harvey Lee and Mary A. Elizabeth "Lizzie" Hawkins Lee, was born May 10, 1899 in Coryell County, Texas. He appeared as a one-year old in the 1900 census of his father's household. He died June 28, 1900 and was buried in Jonesboro Cemetery beside his grandmother, Mary Ann "Molly" Price Lee.

Eula Mae Lee, daughter of James Harvey Lee and Mary A. Elizabeth "Lizzie" Hawkins Lee, was born December 14, 1900, according to Coryell County Birth Book 17, page 612. About 1920 she was married to Robert Stubblefield. He died December 21, 1922 at age 25. She was remarried in 1930 to Troy Francis Chambers. He was born December 25, 1885 at Villa Rica, Georgia. In 1960 they lived in Kerrville, Texas, where he died May 17, 1962. In 1989 she lived in San Angelo, Texas.

Clarence Edward Stubblefield, son of Robert Stubblefield and Eula Mae Lee Stubblefield, was born October 18, 1922. He was married August 3, 1946 in Kerrville to Beverly Jane Thompson who was born January 5, 1929 in Ranger, Texas. He died in July 1985.

Harvey Lee Stubblefield, son of Clarence Edward Stubblefield and Beverly Jane Thompson Stubblefield, was born March 21, 1947 in Monahans, Texas. In 1986 he lived in Grand Prairie, Texas and was employed by a Dallas Honda dealer.

Robert Weldon Stubblefield, son of Clarence Edward Stubblefield and Beverly Jane Thompson Stubblefield, was born April 1, 1949 in Stephenville, Texas. In 1986 he lived in Abilene, Texas.

Terry Dale Stubblefield, son of Clarence Edward Stubblefield and Beverly Jane Thompson Stubblefield, was born May 28, 1955 in Waco, Texas. In 1986 he lived in Hurst, Texas and was employed by a Honda dealer.

Layne Thomas Stubblefield, son of Clarence Edward Stubblefield and Beverly Jane Thompson Stubblefield, was born October 2, 1951 in Crosbyton, Texas. In 1986 he lived in Coyanosa, Texas.

Ocie Earl Lee, son of James Harvey Lee and Mary A. Elizabeth "Lizzie" Hawkins Lee, was born September 1, 1903, according to Coryell County Birth Book 4, page 609.

Lemuel Clyde Lee, son of James Harvey Lee and Mary A. Elizabeth "Lizzie" Hawkins Lee, was born April 21, 1906, according to Coryell County Probate Birth Certificate No. 2189. Of this individual nothing more is known.

Thelma Gladys Lee, daughter of James Harvey Lee and Mary A. Elizabeth "Lizzie" Hawkins Lee, was born in 1907 in Throckmorton County, Texas. She died November 21, 1957 at age 49.

Milton Claud Lee, son of James Harvey Lee and Mary A. Elizabeth "Lizzie" Hawkins Lee, and namesake of his uncle, Claud Franklin Gowen, was born in 1910 in Throckmorton County, Texas. About 1936 he was married to Dahlia Miller in Throckmorton County. For the next 43 years he was a farmer and an oilfield pumper in the county. He died there June 6, 1979.

Patsy Lee, daughter of Milton Claud Lee and Dahlia Miller Lee, was born about 1937 at Woodson, Texas. About 1958 she was married to A. T. Jones, Jr. In 1972 they continued to make their home in Throckmorton County where she was a nurse.

Nora Jean Lee, daughter of Milton Claud Lee and Dahlia Miller Lee, was born October 2, 1939 at Woodson, Texas. On August 22, 1956 she was married to Thomas Glennon Brockman, also a native of Woodson. In November 1960 the couple lived in Lubbock, Texas where he was an electronic technician. In 1972 they lived in Woodson.

Milton Claud Lee, Jr, son of Milton Claud Lee and Dahlia Miller Lee, was born about 1941 in Woodson, Texas. Of this individual nothing more is known.

Nora Irene Lee, daughter of James Harvey Lee and Mary A. Elizabeth "Lizzie" Hawkins Lee, was born September 13, 1913 in Throckmorton County. In January 1943 she lived in Breckenridge. She died there unmarried February 16, 1989 and was buried in the family plot in Woodson Cemetery.

Maggie Ada Hawkins, daughter of Lemuel D. Hawkins and Emma Catherine Bailey Hawkins, was born about 1874, probably in Red River County, Texas. The 1900 census of Coryell County, Texas showed her birth as "July 1878 in Texas." On October 4, 1892 at Waxahachie, Texas she was married to Miles Samuel Hughes, son of James Edward Hughes.

Miles Samuel Hughes was born April 19, 1875 in Ohio. James Edward Hughes was born August 14, 1842. He died August 13, 1923, one day short of his 81^st birthday, according to his tombstone in the Stamford, Texas Cemetery. He was buried beside his wife of 50 years.

Descendants state that James Edward Hughes was an officer of an Ohio infantry regiment during the Civil War, was once captured by the Confederates and later exchanged. When the war was over he returned to Illinois and was married to Mary Jane Stice. Their marriage occurred October 1, 1867 in Massac County, Illinois, according to the online “Illinois Marriage Records.”

Mary Jane Stice Hughes, his wife, was born January 7, 1850 in Illinois. She died July 3, 1917 and was buried in the Stamford, Texas Cemetery, according to her tombstone there.

Later James Edward Hughes migrated to Missouri, Kansas, Arkansas and Texas, becoming close friends with the family of Jeremiah Benjamin Nunley Gowen somewhere in the migrations. Rosetta Hughes Rutherford Woodward stated that her father and Jeremiah Benjamin Nunley Gowen once lived as neighbors in Kansas, but this report is not confirmed and might be questioned since here memory in 1959 was not reliable.

Descendants state that the family of James Edward Hughes passed through Springfield and Joplin, Missouri, camping there on its way to Arkansas and Texas. According to Jessie Ava Hughes Shelton there was a Hughes family bible in the possession of one of the descendants. If located, it might reveal additional information about the early days of that family.

Sally A. Hughes, daughter of James Edward Hughes, was married to Elijah Carpenter, believed to be a brother to Dudley Carpenter who was married to Roxie Vida Gowen. In 1960 she made her home in a Los Angeles, California convalescent home and died there prior to 1972.

Miles Samuel Hughes and Maggie Ada Hawkins Hughes after their marriage continued to live near their parents in Ellis County, Texas. In December 1894 their parents determined to make a move to Edna, Texas, and the young couple added their wagon loaded with household goods to a wagontrain composed of 12 others for the move.

Jeremiah Benjamin Nunley Gowen and a son-in-law left the wagontrain near Gatesville, Texas, and the others continued on for a tour of South Texas--completely to the Gulf of Mexico. Later Miles Samuel Hughes and the other wagoners returned to Coryell County, Texas and settled near his father-in-law. For the next five years they made their home there.

Miles Samuel Hughes was enumerated as the head of a household in the 1900 census of Coryell County, Enumeration District 50, page 3, near the residence of his father-in-law. The household, No. 49-49, was recorded as:

In 1902 Miles Samuel Hughes lived near the home of his father in Hamilton County, Texas. In 1915 the family lived in Throckmorton County near the farm of James Harvey Lee, his brother-in-law. They continued there until the middle 1920s and then moved to Phoenix, Arizona to be near some of their children who had preceded them there.

Miles Samuel Hughes died at Phoenix November 4, 1940. Maggie Ada Hawkins Hughes died in early 1959 at age 85 and was buried beside her husband. Jessie Ava Hughes Shelton, a daughter, retained an obituary which will perhaps fix the place of birth of Maggie Ada Hawkins Hughes.

Maggie Edith Hughes, daughter of Miles Samuel Hughes and Maggie Ada Hawkins Hughes, was born September 5, 1895 in Coryell County, Texas. About 1915 she was married to Roy E. Jackson and lived in Arkansas, Phoenix, Arizona and Artesia, New Mexico. In 1960 they lived in Plainview, Texas. He died in Plainview about 1969 and was buried at Oglesby, Texas. In 1972 Maggie Edith Hughes Jackson continued to live in Plainview.

Mildred Jackson, daughter of Roy E. Jackson and Maggie Edith Hughes Jackson, was born about 1919. About 1940 she was married to A. D. Smith. In 1972 they made their home in Plainview, Texas.

Lemuel Andrew Hughes, son of Miles Samuel Hughes and Maggie Ada Hawkins Hughes, was born October 16, 1897 in Coryell County, Texas. He was married first to Ada Crousen in 1917 at Woodson, Texas. She was born in Johnson County, Texas, the daughter of Will Crousen and Tennessee Winn Crousen.

In 1943 he was remarried to Rose LaForbes. Until his death in the fall of 1960 Lemuel Andrew Hughes made his home in San Diego, California.

Chloe Denise Hughes, daughter of Lemuel Andrew Hughes and Ada Crousen Hughes, was born about 1920. About 1940 she was married to Byron Edward Huff. Three children, names unknown, were born to this union before his accidental death. Chloe Denise Hughes Huff was remarried to Albert Shoemacher.

Sybil Hughes, daughter of Lemuel Andrew Hughes and Rose LaForbes Hughes, was born about 1944. About 1962 she was married to Morris Cowser.

Andrew Hughes, son of Lemuel Andrew Hughes and Rose LaForbes Hughes, was born about 1946 and died in the following year.

James Edward Hughes II, son of Miles Samuel Hughes and Maggie Ada Hawkins Hughes, was born April 16, 1900 in Coryell County, Texas. About 1922 he was married to Gertie Tuggle at Woodson. Later they moved to Artesia, New Mexico where he was killed in a trucking accident in 1945.

Laverne Hughes, daughter of James Edward Hughes II and Gertie Tuggle Hughes, was born about 1924, probably at Woodson. In 1960 she made her home in Breckenridge, Texas. In 1972 she continued to live in Breckenridge where she was a beauty operator.

William Ray Hughes, son of James Edward Hughes II and Gertie Tuggle Hughes, was born about 1926, probably at Woodson. In 1960 he was a schoolteacher in South Dakota. In 1972 he lived in Colorado where he was a teacher in a school operated by the Church of Christ.

Jessie Ava Hughes, daughter of Miles Samuel Hughes and Maggie Ada Hawkins Hughes, was born August 23, 1902 at Hamilton, Texas. On June 12, 1920 she was married to Smith Shelton at Woodson. Immediately the couple removed to Flagstaff, Arizona. Later they lived in Belmont, Arizona followed by a period of residence in Fresno, California. In 1925 they moved to Phoenix, Arizona where they continued to live in 1972.

Viola Lee Shelton, daughter of Smith Shelton and Jessie Ava Hughes Shelton, was born March 24, 1921, probably in Belmont, Arizona. She died February 5, 1936.

Miles Clifton Shelton, son of Smith Shelton and Jessie Ava Hughes Shelton, was born February 1, 1923. He was married to Phyllis Marie Costa, a native of New Jersey, April 17, 1947. In 1960 the couple lived in Phoenix, Arizona. He died before 1972.

Velma May Hughes, daughter of Miles Samuel Hughes and Maggie Ada Hawkins Hughes, was born August 25, 1905, probably in Hamilton County, Texas. She died at age 6 in 1911 and was buried at Woodson.

Samuel Hawkins Hughes, son of Miles Samuel Hughes and Maggie Ada Hawkins Hughes, was born June 11, 1908, probably in Hamilton County, Texas. About 1930 he was married to Ruby Shaw. Later he remarried to Sandra Lee. In 1972 Samuel Hawkins Hughes and Sandra Lee Hughes lived in Avondale, Arizona. No children were born to them.

Mary Vida Hughes, daughter of Miles Samuel Hughes and Maggie Ada Hawkins Hughes, was born December 28, 1911, probably at Woodson. About 1931 she was married to Clinton C. Campbell, and in 1972 they lived in Yuma, Arizona.

Emma Mabel Hughes, daughter of Miles Samuel Hughes and Maggie Ada Hawkins Hughes, was born July 25, 1917 in Throckmorton County, Texas. She was married October 30, 1939 to Frank Lee Wilson of Winchester, Virginia. They lived in various parts of the United States--Pennsylvania, Arizona, California, Mississippi and Oregon--while he followed the construction trade.

In 1950 Frank Lee Wilson and Emma Mabel Hughes Wilson moved to Phoenix where they continued to live in 1972.

Howard Lee Wilson, son of Frank Lee Wilson and Emma Mabel Hughes Wilson, was born September 9, 1940. He was married December 31, 1960 to Donna Jean Fritz.

Juanita Belle Hughes, daughter of Miles Samuel Hughes and Maggie Ada Hawkins Hughes, was born June 24, 1920 at Woodson. About 1942 she was married to Homer Cornelius Dendy and the couple moved to San Diego, California where they continued to live in 1972.

Lemuel Alexander "Bud" Hawkins, son of Lemuel D. Hawkins and Emma Catherine Bailey Hawkins, was born June 28, 1880 in Red River County, Texas. He was married about 1903 to Susan Ellis Russell who was born July 10, 1879 in Mississippi. The couple lived in the Pancake community of Coryell County, Texas near the location of his step-father, Jeremiah Benjamin Nunley Gowen.

He died in Palo Alto, California about 1945, and Susan Ellis Russell Hawkins died shortly afterwards. Both were buried at Santa Clara, California.

Children born to Lemuel Alexander "Bud" Hawkins and Susan Ellis Russell Hawkins include:

Dorothy Thornton Hawkins, daughter of Lemuel Alexander "Bud" Hawkins and Susan Ellis Russell Hawkins, was born May 19, 1904 at Jonesboro, Texas. About 1925 she was married to Melvin Cook in Coryell County, Texas. In 1960 the couple was employed by a childrens' home at Temple, Texas. In December 1972 Melvin Cook and Dorothy Thornton Hawkins Cook were retired and living on Route 1, four miles east of Gatesville, Texas.

Lemuel Clyde Cook, son of Melvin Cook and Dorothy Thornton Hawkins Cook, was born December 12, 1926 at Turnersville, Texas in Coryell County. About 1946 he was married, wife's name unknown, and two daughters were born to them. A third daughter was adopted. He became a Baptist preacher.

On December 3, 1970 Lemuel Clyde Cook was remarried to Wana Beth Fox, a widow with four children, whom he met while preaching at Espanola, New Mexico. In January 1973 Lemuel Clyde Cook and Wana Beth Fox Cook lived at Shallowater, Texas where he was employed by Goodwill Publishers. He was interviewed by Arlee Claud Gowen in 1973.

Ted Weldon Cook, son of Melvin Cook and Dorothy Thornton Hawkins Cook, was born September 4, 1929, probably in Coryell County, Texas. In January 1973 he, his wife and three sons were living in Irving, Texas where he was employed as an electrician.

Martha Ann Cook, daughter of Melvin Cook and Dorothy Thornton Hawkins Cook, was born May 19, 1932, probably in Coryell County, Texas. About 1952 she was married, husband's name Horton. Martha Ann Cook Horton, her husband and three sons were living at Gatesville, Texas in January 1973.

Alexander "Jack" Hawkins, son of Lemuel Alexander "Bud" Hawkins and Susan Ellis Russell Hawkins, was born September 20, 1907 at Jonesboro, Texas. He died in the early 1940s in California.

Inez Hawkins, daughter of Lemuel Alexander "Bud" Hawkins and Susan Ellis Russell Hawkins, was born August 3, 1909 at Jonesboro, Texas. About 1930 she was married to Sam Thorp. In 1972 Inez Hawkins Thorp lived in Palo Alto, California.

Lora Ann Hawkins, daughter of Lemuel Alexander "Bud" Hawkins and Susan Ellis Russell Hawkins, was born May 26, 1911 at Jonesboro. Of this individual nothing more is known.

Gordon Lee Hawkins, son of Lemuel Alexander "Bud" Hawkins and Susan Ellis Russell Hawkins, was born March 28, 1914 at Jonesboro. Of this individual nothing more is known.

Charlie Ray Hawkins, son of Lemuel Alexander "Bud" Hawkins and Susan Ellis Russell Hawkins, was born April 21, 1917 at Jonesboro. He died at Beaumont, California.

William Curtis Hawkins, son of Lemuel Alexander "Bud" Hawkins and Susan Ellis Russell Hawkins, was born September 11, 1921 at Jonesboro. In January 1973 he was living at Port Arthur, Texas.

Ida Gowen, daughter of Jeremiah B. Nunley Gowen and Emma Catherine Bailey Hawkins Gowen, was born in Clarksville, Texas in 1884. She died at the age of four in 1888.

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