Notes for James William Meeks

Notes for James William Meeks Our Merged Meeks Families

Notes for James William Meeks

James William worked on Rail Road at Cresote Plant in Hugo.
Aunt MayBelle told Rita that Uncle J.C. Meeks gave the information for the death certificate and that one piece of the information was wrong.

The following information was given to Rita as remembered by Jesse Lee Meeks and Ines Meeks, 1970, at Maybelle and June Garrett's home in Borger, Texas (However, some of the information is incorrect. I 've tried to makesome corrections..)
"The marriage of James William Meeks and Addie Mae Vaughan got off to a rather unusual start. He was almost arrested on their wedding night. A different James Meeks had bee reported as having stolen some chickens and the sheriff started to arrest our bridegroom. He was finally convinced he had the wrong man.
Jim Meeks was working on the railroad, so the couple married near his place of work at Grants, Oklahoma. (Actually Married in Lamar County, Texas) February 11, 1906.
They later moved to Paris, Texas. Children of Jim and Addie Meeks: (1) James William
(2) Jesse Lee (3) Elbert Omas (Buck) (4) Mildred (5) Ines Faye(6) J.C. (7)Alice Maybelle
(8)Georgia Elsie Adelaide (9) Baby Boy .
Jim liked to go out drinking. One night he came home late and found the door locked. He spent the night on the porch. Addie wouldn't let him in, even though it was raining and snowing. She was a very kind, gentle patient person but once her mind was set, apparently it was not to be changed. He caught pneumonia and almost died. He didn't do any drinking for quite some time after that.
The couple went to Paris, Texas for Addie to have their first child, but it was premature and stillborn September 9, 1906. Then it was about time to have Jesse Lee, and the couple was living in Grants, Okla. Jim was working on the railroad there. Jesse Lee was almost born on the train. They were trying to get to Butler in time for Addie to have a doctor with her. They barely made it, and he was born February 17, 1908. Mildred was born January 2, 1910 in Paris, Texas. By February 24, 1912, When Buck was born, the family was in Hugo, Oklahoma. Jim was working in the Cresote Plant of the railroad. A woman came to see the new baby, and was told his name was Elbert Omas. She tossed him up in the air and said, "Why, he's just a big buck!" Hence, the nickname 'Buck'. Ines Faye was born May 23, 1918, Lamar County, Texas.
Jesse and Buck decided they didn't want any little ol' girl (Ines) around the house. They took the baby and had her at the creek to drown her when Addie caught them.
J.C. was born at Howlen, Texas, December 13, 1916. He weighed about 3 lbs. and was so tiny they were afraid handling him would be hard on him. He was carried on a pillow.
1918, James William had just gotton over the flu. (bad flu epidemic) Jim had a mule named Corbett who wouldn't come home.Jesse Lee and James chased the mule and chased the mule, the muled laughed at them. Jim said to the mule "I'll get you yet". After trying everything he could think of to get the mule home, Jim got his gun and shot him. The mule went straight and quickly to the barn. Ben Franklin, Texas.
James William and Addie used to sit on front porch and sing at night. Jesse Lee, rocked and sang one night and rocked off the porch and broke his arm. Grant, Oklahoma, age 3 or 4. He was left handed until he broke his left arm. Then he started using his right hand.
One time Ines Faye baked biscuits. Jess and Buck were scuffling. Jess threw biscuits at Buck. It missed and cracked a panel in the wooden door.

Jess had the unique talent of being able to regurgutate at will. Depending, of course, on whether he thought he was working too hard or just having to do something (such as hoe or pick cotton) he didn't want to.
When he was 'in trouble' with his mother he would run from her and jump in the cistern so he would not get a spankin. (Age 6 - 7). He would laugh up at her until she could resist no longer and laughed with him.
When Jess was in the 2nd grade a tornado came to Ben Franklin. They stood on the cellar door and watched it picked up their house and carried it twirling about a mile before it busted. There wasn't room for all the children in the cellar so he let the
" little kids" in first. He said that he wasn't scared, just interested. Went right in front of him. Mowed grass just like a mower, clipped it good.
When Jess had dyspepsion the doctor told Jim to have him chew Star Navy Chewing Tobacco. Buck chewed it for him and, sure enough, Jess got well.
One day Jess, Buck, and Mildred were playing 'doctor'. Buck, as the patient, was given Groves Chill Tonic. (About 1917 at Ben Franklin, Buck was about 5 years old.)
He very nearly died. Jim had him eat grease and walked him all night long to keep him awake.
Another game of 'doctor' occurred when a visiting girl had 'mumps'. Jess was about to perform an operation on her 'mumps' with a hat pin when their mothers interrupted.
On August 7, 1919 Alice Maybelle was born at Roxton, Texas.
Mildred died from measles at Ben Franklin, Texas in 1918. Mildre and Ines slept in the same bed. Ines remembers trying to warm Mildred's cold body with her own. (However, Ines wasn't born until 1918, the year Mildred died.)
One day when Maybelle was less thean a year old, Addie left her in the care of Ines, who was about 5 years old. The baby crawled into a red ant bed and was bitten numerous times. Addie found her there.
When Maybelle was 2 James William had flock of fighting cocks. His best prize one flew at Maybelle and clawed her face. James wrung his neck then. Maybelle still had slight scars on eyebrows and forhead in 1977.
Jess had typhoid fever. The doctor told Addie to boil beef in a jar and give him the water the jar was sitting in. (As strange as that sounds, Jess was certain that was doctor's orders,) Later, he was allowed to drink the broth off the meat, but that was all he was to have. Addie was going to go minister to some other sick people and gave Ines and Buck strict orders not to let Jess eat. They didn't let him eat, but Buck just happened to put a turkey that was baked down on the floor where Jess could crawl to it. Jess crawled to the turkey and ate every bit of it. Addie was so frightened, she didn't punish Buck and Ines. She was too concerned with Jesse, but he did recover.
Jess was a good boxer in High School. They boxed under a street light. Professional boxers came to town and wanted him to go pro. He wouldn't. He used to KO someone and then catch them as they fell. (kind hearted fighter)
Buck and Jess never interferred in each others fights. When little, Buck was getting whipped in a fight and Jess was just standing there. Buck looke up at him, with tears in his eyes, "You'd just stand there and let him beat me to death, wouldn't you?"
When older, Jess was in a fight. About 5 of the other boys friends looked like they might want in it. Buck went in the house and goe a chair. Someone asked him what he was doing to do with it, he said, "sit there and watch the fight". He sat down and watched the fight.
Georgia Elsie Adelaide was born October 23, 1921 at Roxton, Texas. A baby boy was born in 1924 at Soper, Oklahoma, and lived only a few minutes. He was a 'blue baby'.
At Ben Franklin the Meeks family lived on a hill and at the bottom of it lived a family named Ringo. One day a little boy was at the Meeks hous when Addie was baking sweet potatoes. She offered him one and he pinched off a small piece and asked if he could take the rest of it to his little brothers. She gave him the potatoes she had baked for her family. Another time, she sent some flour to the family. She began to cook or bake enough, occasionally, to send to the family. Jim was sheriff at the time, and was called upon the arrest the father of Ringo family, probably for stealing food.
When he got there to arrest the man, the mother of the family was mixing flour and water together. The children were so hungrey, they were eating it as fast as she could mix it. Jim didn't arrest the man. He went to town and bought groceries for them. Jim had four hay bailers and gave the man a job on one of them.About 1925, when Adelaide was about 4 years old, she was walking down a street in Soper Okla. (or Lamar, County Texas) and were on the dog owners backporch to play with their kids. A neighbor's German Shephard dog, unprovoked, attacked and almost killed her. She protected her throat with her arms, but he bit through to the bone on several places on her legs, and almost to the bone on several places on her arms. She was bedfast for a year. The dog's owner went to get a shotgun to shoot him, and the owner's wife sat on the trunk where the gun was kept to prevent it. Someone later fed the dog glass. Maybelle says that Dr. Yeagen killed the dog, but he never admitted it, but never denied it. Some people thought it was Jim, but had he wanted to kill him he wouldn't have used a devious way, he would have just shot him.

Addie's health was very bad. She had suffered a stroke after her last baby, and had very weak kidneys. Her doctor, Dr. Yeargen, had moved to Hollis, Oklahoma. and had written the Meeks family that he thought the dry climate there would be better for her, then Paris, Texas. They moved to Hollis about 1925. They lived on a farm north of Hollis, where Addie died Sept. 30, 1935.
Jim stayed ther athat year, then moved his family to Hollis, and started a mattress factory.
On April 17, 1940 he married Mrs. Attie Patterson.
He passed away with heart failure Sept. 11, 1948, at Hollis, Harmon County, Oklahoma. and was buried beside Addie at the O.M. Cemetery north of Hollis."