Willis Saams Slaton (1866 - 1909)

Born 8 Feb 1866 in Decatur, Morgan, Alabama, United States

Ancestors

Descendants

Died 19 Mar 1909 at age 43 in Bryan, Oklahoma, United States

Problems/Questions Profile manager: Clinton Slayton [send private message]

Biography

This profile is part of the Slaton Name Study.

Willis S. Slaton was born in 1866 in Alabama. He was the son of Hampton Slaton and Sarah Drucilla Taylor (Wright).

Willis S. Slaton married Mary Elizabeth "Mollie" Bingham, 31 January 1884, in Pecan Gap, Delta, Texas. ^[1] The family moved from Texas to Indian Territory.

He passed away in 1909.

Research Notes

An unusual middle given name is cited in family letters without explanation.

Children from his marriage to Mollie are named by descendants: Jesse Edmond "Edd", Effie Jane, John Arnold, Willis Egan (young death), Mary Drusilla, Ida Elizabeth "Dinks" and Ada Ernest (female infant death) Slaton.

A descendant reports that Willis later married Jane Labor, but does not cite the marriage, presumably between 1900 census and his death date. ^{[citation needed]}

Notes from Jacqueline "Jackie" Hill Bower

"Jackie" was the granddaughter of John Arnold Slaton, and thus great granddaughter of the man at this profile. She wrote to Clinton Slayton:

Willis was an active Mason in Bennington, OK. He attained the highest degree (33rd) within the Masonic Order and served five years as Treasurer of Bennington Lodge #19, and as head of the Lodge in 1902-03. Records show that Lodge 19 was "arrested" Jan. 9, 1944, which means it no longer exists.
Records are now kept at the Grand Lodge of Oklahoma, 102 S. Broad St., Guthrie, OK 73044.
After the death of his first wife, Willis Saams Slaton's children scattered; the older ones leaving home or going to relatives, the youngest, Ida, to a Masonic orphanage in or near Bennington, OK. According to family history, his second wife, Jane Labor, was Indian and did not want the burden of 7 children. According to family letters written by "Aunt Elizabeth" and "Aunt Effie", Willis and his second wife never had any children together. Willis died of pneumonia in 1909.
I recently found that Wesley Arnold [Slayton] died Jan. 13, 1986 in Grayson Co., TX, which is in NE TX and borders SE OK. I feel sure there are more Slaton/Slayton descendants there. Wesley Arnold's surname is spelled SLAYTON on the Death Index.
Mildred "Millie" Elizabeth [Slaton] married a Pete WOMACK in TX and had at least one son. [This is referring to a granddaughter of Willis' from son "Edd" Slayton. Jackie notes that some of this family adopted Slayton spelling ].

Research Needs

1880 census, the family is possibly in Indian Territory.

Sources

1. ↑ Delta Texas Marriage Book 1, page 421.

• "United States Census, 1870," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:S3HY-6QH7-CYV?cc=1438024&wc=K2DG-829%3A518661001%2C518655502%2C519642501 : 6 June 2019), Alabama > Morgan > Subdivision 37 > image 50 of 78; citing NARA microfilm publication M593 (Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.).

• "United States Census, 1900," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:S3HT-DYK3-5TN?cc=1325221&wc=9BQ5-W3T%3A1030550801%2C1031633101%2C1031839801 : 5 August 2014), Indian Territory > Choctaw Nation > ED 114 Township 5 S. Range 11 E. > image 37 of 54; citing NARA microfilm publication T623 (Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.).