John William LeMay (1858 - 1944)

Born 2 Jan 1858 in Red River, Texas, United States

Ancestors

Descendants

Died 31 Dec 1944 at age 86 in San Bernardino, San Bernardino, California, United States

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Biography

John William was probably born in Red River County, Texas, 2 January 1858, though some family traditions say he was born in Paris in the neighboring county of Lamar, which is not impossible. When "Will" was born, he had three older sisters to mother him: Nancy, age 6 1/2; Catherine, 5; and Mariah, 2. When Martha "Mattie" was born two years later the family was complete. But only a few short years later their peaceful farm life was beset by the problems of the Civil War. Will spent his years from three to eight in the surroundings of adults harassed by war's upset. There were constant rumors of invasion by the "Feds", (especially since Red River County was the gateway to the eight northern Texas border counties who had voted against secession in 1861). Of course there were the inevitable shortages and high prices. Though actual combat never came into their area, their incomes were heavily taxed to support the Confederacy. By 1863 Texas and Arkansas were cut off from the rest of the Confederacy by Grant's successful siege of Vicksburg, Mississippi, which put the whole of the Mississippi River under Federal control. The end of the war in 1865 did not end the hard times, for as a conquered country under military rule for four years more, the situation was more difficult than during the war. Young Will must have been hard hit by the death of his father, which came about 1867, probably in one of the typhoid or cholera epidemics which periodically swept through that area. Will, now at nine or so, was the "man of the family." We can only speculate what it was like, for we only have a picture of him at age 12, in which he seems to be a very reserved, sober young man. When he was 15 his sister Nannie married a blacksmith, Frank Kirksey. Next year sister Kate married Tom Gentry, a photographer. His younger sister Mattie became a teacher and married later in life to Will Matthews. Mattie then married Frank Kirksey after the death of her sister Nancy. Sometime between 1880 and 1885, whether as a result of a long, growing resentment or a sudden explosive outburst, family tradition reports that Will had a severe argument with his mother and sisters and packing a six-shooter, took a train to Coleman in central Texas. We have no idea why he picked that place, but perhaps there had been acquaintance previously with farmer James Stephens, who lived there. The Stephens' had lived in Bonham, Fannin County, for awhile after coming to Texas in 1870, and the LeMays and Stephens could have become acquainted then. At any rate, after getting to Coleman, Will began courting the Stephens' youngest daughter and they were married in 1885. What was the Will LeMay home like in 1888? An old photograph taken by Tom Gentry, Will's brother-in-law, gives us some clues. They are living at the "Fisher Place" out of Coleman. Their first child, James Autie, is about a year old. Perhaps this was a time of reconciliation of Will and his family, for in the picture are his mother, Elizabeth Averitt LeMay, and Will's younger sister, Martha or "Mattie". Prominent in the picture is "Old Dog Tyge", who is said to have let baby James use him for a pillow. A couple of years later, while still living at Coleman, Roger Fenton was born April 13, 1890. When the baby was still less than two weeks old, Will made the first of his unannounced departures from home. He was gone about two weeks; and Ollie, with a new baby and a young child, was dependent on neighbors and relatives for food and help. Then, like nothing was amiss, Will returned and took up where he had left off. Whatever his reasons for this, Ollie had married him "for better or for worse" and even if it was worse, they were still married and he was her man. This didn't stop the problem, however, and several times later, both in their marriage and also after he had left home permanently and was living with his son Fenton, Will just "took off" and then came back without explanations. Finally, even Fenton had had enough and no longer welcomed him. In the year 1891, the LeMay's homesteaded about twenty miles south of Sterling City, Texas, near a post office called Prelock. They lived in a dugout with Ollie's brother, James Letcher, while building a house on their homestead. It may have been during this move that their wagon turned over, spilling their goods and giving a great fright to little Autie, who was about 3 1/2 at this time. He remarked as his earliest memory "a wagon turning over with me in it". On March 30, 1892 Veda Earl was born--the LeMay's first daughter. Then, as in so many pioneer families, the children came about every two years -- Minnie Jewel on March 7, 1894; Walter Ned in 1896. But Walter wasn't too strong and died in about a year. The homesteading wasn't working out too well either, but under Texas law, even if one went bankrupt, the creditors were obliged to leave a man sufficient tools and domestic animals to make a living. The LeMay's gave up their homestead and moved about fifty miles southeast to Sherwood in Irion County. In this new place another son was born and named after his father, but in September 1900 he died of pneumonia, while his mother was pregnant with Era, who was born October 27, 1900. The LeMay place in Sherwood had an orchard on it. Autie remembers that his dad - either through misplaced generosity or laziness - let people help themselves to the fruit, with the result that the family "went broke again" and had to move. This time it was to San Angelo, Tom Green County, about thirty miles northeast. Here, in 1902, another child, Susie, was stillborn - the third of the LeMay children to die young. Late in 1905 the LeMay moved again - "just ahead of the stork" - for on January 16, 1906 Neva Ola was born in their new place, Emma, near Estacada in Crosby County. This was about 150 miles north, up in the Panhandle plains country. Farming could be good here IF the rains came and IF the wind didn't blow the dirt away. Early the next year they received word that Grandmother Elizabeth, Will's mother, had passed away January 26, 1907. Will was now 49 years old. He had six kids and a wife to support, and a history of going broke and moving time and time again. So, they moved to Brownfield, about fifty miles west. Will bought a place. (Could some inheritance money have financed this move?) He dug a well, put our a good crop, and waited for it to rain, and waited..., and waited..., and waited. By the end of the year, when no rain had come, all was lost again and they moved back to Estacada. Autie was about 21 now, but his father still ordered him around like a child. One day a fight erupted over a simple chore and father and son wrestled until the son won the fight and established his independence by pinning his dad under the tongue of a wagon. The family got the "old Ferguson place" and spent the next 5 1/2 years there. The wind would blow and pump water for them with the windmill, but it would also whoosh so hard and constantly that it would leave great ripples and hollows in the ground. It was hard work for all the family, raising corn and cotton. One year they did have a bumper crop of corn, but when they took it to Amarillo to sell, it was going for only 25 cents a bushel. They came home with it, shucked some of it for food, and burnt the rest for fuel. Fenton got out of the family by marrying Atoka Parrish on Christmas eve in 1912. They settled in Estacada. About 1920 the family moved to Gallup, New Mexico. Autie had mustered out of his service in the Army Signal Corps in World War I, and may have helped finance this move. Veda didn't come with the family though, for she married a widower, Charles Bolding, on May 20, 1920, at Plainview, Hale Co., Texas. He was a Cumberland Presbyterian preacher with a two year old daughter. They soon moved to Oklahoma, where most of their descendents still live. Era, young and just out of school, fell in love with William Oliver Chandler, a man eleven years older than she. On June 28, 1922 they were married in Gallup by a Baptist minister. (Era reports that her mother and father separated the day she married, though they continued living in the same house.) But, less than a year after her marriage, Era was widowed through Will Chandler's death May 18, 1923. Era took the insurance money and bought a house in Williams, Arizona, for her, her mother and sister Ola. By this time the separation of her parents had crystalized and John William began living with his son Fenton. There was never a divorce, only a separation, and a certain bitterness, as John William once expressed, "Ollie was a good woman; the only thing wrong with her is that she kept on staying with me and having more kids." Era, Ola and Ollie eventually moved to Prescott, Arizona where Ola completed High School. Aut married Esther Jackson in June 1929, Ola married a high school sweetheart, James H. Davis November 29 the same year and Era married Luther K. Thompson February 28, 1930. Ollie went to live with James Autie and his pregnant wife and got to see her new grandson, Lester Lincoln LeMay, when he was born July 22, 1930. But Ollie's health was not good. She had cancer of the breast, but refused to be operated on. She went to California to stay with Fentons for awhile. On June 21, 1931 she succumbed to the cancer that had been eating at her for many months. Her suffering at the last was intense, and she died just four hours before Aut, Esther and the baby arrived on the train. Even to the last, Ollie felt keenly the rift between her and her husband, for she asked her children not even to let Will know she was dead, and never to reveal her grave's location to him. After her death, though, some of the family did go to tell him she was gone. Will lived awhile in Hawthorne, California, then moved to Fontana. On rare occasions he would visit some of his children, but he always kept his independence and reserve about him. In 1944 he became quite ill and went to the hospital in San Bernardino. There on December 31st, he died. In a letter to Aut from Era dated January 3rd, 1945 Era says, "Dad passed away on Dec. 31st and yesterday he would have been 87 years old but he was laid away then. He was sick for a month in San Bernardino County Hospital and was real bad for a week. He had a kidney infection. He is out of his suffering and is better off." Era saw to the arrangements and because his total property was a very small insurance policy, she arranged for him to be cremated by Pierce Brothers Mortuary. This was done on his 87th birthday, January 2, 1945. So ended the saga of John William LeMay, the poor cotton-farmer and chicken-rancher who knew more failures than successes in his life, including his failure in marriage. However, from his loins have descended college graduates, preachers, successful businessmen, gallant homemakers and scores of "common people." As we follow some of our family lines, perhaps we can accept our heritage for good or ill, and realize that it is our choices that make us what we are. [This short biography is adapted from "A LeMay Genealogy" published in 1981 by Lester LeMay.]

Sources

• Death Certificate
• "United States Census, 1920", database with images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MHBK-11H : Wed Jul 12 02:15:16 UTC 2023), Entry for John W Lemay and Ollie Lemay, 1920.