Westward Ho - from Indiana to Texas

Since September I have looking up names on the two Quaker quilts.  I am now quite certain that Adaline Reeve made the second quilt (1935-1938) and probably made the first quilt (1916). 

The first quilt was a birthday present for Dr. Maria Jessup who turned 70 years old in 1916.  Adaline Reeve considered Maria Jessup to be a good friend as well as a doctor.  Dr. Ria delivered most of Adaline’s ten children; when Adaline’s husband Hadley died it was Maria Jessup’s name on the death certificate.

Adaline Coppock was born 7 December 1860 in Marion, Indiana to Robert and Abigail Coppock. When Adaline was 24 she married Hadley Reeve at the Fairfield Quaker Meeting. Hadley Reeve was a widower with four young children so Adaline gained an instant family. Her own daughter Nina was born the following year, and a new child was added to the family about every two years for the next two decades. Adaline’s last daughter Rachel was born in 1907; her first grandchild Richard was born in 1909.

Hadley Reeve died in 1910 at the age of 61. Adaline was 50 and still had eight children living at home on the family farm in Indiana.

Adaline’s oldest step-son Floyd White Reeve married Ethel Inis Hadley in March 1908. Their first child Esther Reeve was born in July 1909 and their second daughter Mary Louise Reeve was born in Parmer, Texas in Dec 1910. Floyd and Ethel started the westward migration of the Reeve clan to Texas.  They must have written letters home to Indiana telling of the charms of Texas life, because over the next ten years many members of the extended family moved from Indiana to Texas, including Adaline Reeve.

In the 1920 census for Parmer County, Texas, Adaline is living in a home with two of her sons and her youngest daughter. Next door is her step-daughter Mary Florence with husband and three grandchildren; on the other side is her daughter Alice with husband and two more grandchildren. So the close-knit family from Indiana are still together in Texas.

Now, I must admit, I don't know much about Texas.  I grew up in Ohio and I know the east coast pretty well, but not Texas.  So to all you family historians out there, what can you tell me about Texas in 1910 - 1920?  Why would a well established Quaker family from Indiana pack up and move everyone to Texas? If you would like to comment I would appreciate some thoughts.

I am searching for Adaline's motivation.

 

A New Family Soap Opera

A few weeks ago I spent some pleasant hours looking online at quilts for sale.  There were a few signature quilts to admire and these blocks got my attention.

Who was Grandmother Reeve? And who was Grandmother Schlenker?  These two ladies were side by side but their signatures suggested that they were two very different women.  Fortunately the price of the quilt didn't stretch the budget (very much) and I opened the parcel on Monday.

The quilt is in good condition, one block has some wear.  I assumed 1930s without looking too closely at the fabrics.  There were a number of Reeves on the quilt including Grandmother Reeve.  I jumped onto Ancestry.com to make a start.  I had no location information so I searched for the most unusual name on the quilt.  Unfortunately I found a possible three different Fidelia Hollingsworths.

I tried a few other names without a lot of success but got a hit with this one.

Only one Allo Reeve.  I was then able to locate a few other names on the quilt.  It appears that a previous generation, Quakers in Indiana, relocated to Amarillo, Texas and kept up contacts with the folks back in Indiana.

I choose Esther Reeve O'Rear to get some details.  Esther adopted the common American practice of making her maiden name her middle name so I knew she was married and could search both her single and her married records. 

I found Esther's death certificate.  Hooray!  A death certificate gives plenty of information to fill in the gaps.  I was quite pleased until I found her cause of death.

Carbon monoxide intoxication (self inflicted) sitting in an automobile inside an enclosed garage with motor running.

I wasn't so excited now.  I felt like an intruder into someone's private life.  I finished with the computer and didn't search any more that day.

I took up the search the next day.  Esther's death was over fifty years ago and I was hoping to find out more about her and her family.  I went back to the quilt to transcribe all the names (which I should have done before I started on the computer).

I discovered dates!  There were two 1916s and a 1896.  There were ages too - 22 years, 27 years and 74 years.  1916 seemed to work with the ages of the writers so I looked again at the fabrics.

I spy shirting prints.  The quilt seems to be 20 years older than I first thought. I've never had a quilt from 1916, this purchase is looking promising.

(I just double checked Esther's age .... Esther was 7 years old in 1916 so the quilt can't be this old)

I am now pretty certain than Grandmother Reeve was Ethel Reeve nee Hadley, Esther Reeve O'Rear was one of her daughters and Allo Reeve was one of her daughters-in-law.


But who was Grandmother Schlenker?

to be continued ...