The Grove family lived in Coalgate, Ok, and can be traced back to Squire Boone and his wife Sarah Morgan (Daniel’s parents). The lineage comes through Daniel’s brother Israel who was married to Mary, a Native American girl. Together, Israel and his wife produced Jonathan Boone on the 21st of November 1750. Jonathan married Susannah Nixon, and in 1784 they had a child; Mary Boone. Mary Boon married William Rackaby Cradduck and in 1806 they had a child; Presley Marion Cradduck. Presley married Serilda Emaline Lamb, and among their six children, they produced Mary Elizabeth Cradduck who was married to John Wesley McCaslin. John Wesley and Mary produced Thomas Franklin Grove’s wife, Sarah Melvina McCaslin on June 2nd, 1869.
Sarah Melvina married Thomas Franklin Grove.
The first appearance of Thomas Franklin’s ancestors is during the American Revolution, in the area of Virginia and the Carolinas. Frederick Groves (the “s” was dropped in the 1850’s) was born 10 years before the onset of the Revolutionary War. After the war, when Frederick was approaching his 21st birthday, he met and married Sophia Swinegoober, and their first son, Stephen, was born in 1787, during the first term of our first president, George Washington. After Stephen’s birth, the family migrated through the Cumberland Gap to the area that is now comprised of Kentucky and Tennessee. Here, Stephen grew to manhood and married Ann Wyatt, whose family had also migrated through the Cumberland Gap from the state of Virginia. The Tennessee/Kentucky area was the western frontier in those early days, with the French in control of the Mississippi Valley, and the Spanish still in full control of Florida.
The first appearance of Thomas Franklin’s ancestors is during the American Revolution, in the area of Virginia and the Carolinas. Frederick Groves (the “s” was dropped in the 1850’s) was born 10 years before the onset of the Revolutionary War. After the war, when Frederick was approaching his 21st birthday, he met and married Sophia Swinegoober, and their first son, Stephen, was born in 1787, during the first term of our first president, George Washington. After Stephen’s birth, the family migrated through the Cumberland Gap to the area that is now comprised of Kentucky and Tennessee. Here, Stephen grew to manhood and married Ann Wyatt, whose family had also migrated through the Cumberland Gap from the state of Virginia. The Tennessee/Kentucky area was the western frontier in those early days, with the French in control of the Mississippi Valley, and the Spanish still in full control of Florida.
Stephen and Ann had two children, both of whom were born in present day Kentucky. Thomas M. Groves was their first child, born about 1827, followed by Susan Groves who was born in 1834. Thomas and Susan both remained in Kentucky all of their lives. Thomas met Lucy Ann Sanders, and they were married on June 7, 1848. Lucy’s family had just recently arrived to the area from South Carolina. Together, Thomas and Lucy had ten children between 1850, and 1872. It appears that Lucy died from the complications of childbirth during the delivery of her last child, Samuel, in 1872. It is with the children of Thomas and Lucy that the “s” is dropped from the family surname, and all subsequent records show them as “Grove.”
Lucy was only 38 when she died, leaving Thomas with an infant and several young children to take care of. Apparently, it was too much for him, since we find the children scattered among several families during the ensuing years. At some point, several of the boys, including brothers Thomas Franklin, Stephen Grant, and Charles Anderson migrated to Coalgate, Oklahoma where they went to work in the coal mines, and where they married and started families of their own.
L to R: Stephen Grant, Charles Anderson, and Thomas Franklin, ca. 1898
Thomas Franklin met Sarah Melvina McCaslin and they were married in Atoka, Oklahoma on October 14, 1888.
Thomas and Sara Melvina, ca. 1888
The first two children born to Thomas and Sarah did not live beyond infancy, with Albert McComb Grove only surviving for a year, and Mary Altha only two. The rest of the children, Charles Gunnison, Ethel Lucile, Hazel Opal, Flora Irene, and Lennie Anna, survived to adulthood and had families of their own.
Thomas Franklin met Sarah Melvina McCaslin and they were married in Atoka, Oklahoma on October 14, 1888.
The first two children born to Thomas and Sarah did not live beyond infancy, with Albert McComb Grove only surviving for a year, and Mary Altha only two. The rest of the children, Charles Gunnison, Ethel Lucile, Hazel Opal, Flora Irene, and Lennie Anna, survived to adulthood and had families of their own.
Thomas worked in the mine shafts for some time before he stuck a pick in his knee. After the accident, he could not work in the mineshaft any more so he became a carpenter for the mining company and built a lot of the bungalows where the miners lived. Things were good for the family during these early years, but they did not stay that way for long. In 1917 the family home was destroyed by a tornado that left them homeless.
Thomas surveying tornado damage.
Thomas built a new home 2 miles east of Coalgate, but slowdowns at the mines left them struggling to make ends meet. Thomas went to Texas in the early twenties looking for work but was only able to eke out a bare existence. Just when they thought things couldn’t get much worse, the Great Depression hit in 1929 followed by the onset of the infamous “Dust Bowl” and Thomas amd Sarah struggled to put food on the table.
As if that were not enough, real tragedy struck in 1931 when Thomas was killed in an automobile accident right out in front of his home. He heard the sounds of a collision on the new highway that went right by their farm, and he went out to see if he could help. While at the scene, another automobile plowed into the first two, pinning Thomas between the wreckage. Thomas was fatally injured, and died in the hospital the following day, March 29, 1931. Sarah survived on the family farm for another twenty years before passing away on December 10, 1951.
Thomas built a new home 2 miles east of Coalgate, but slowdowns at the mines left them struggling to make ends meet. Thomas went to Texas in the early twenties looking for work but was only able to eke out a bare existence. Just when they thought things couldn’t get much worse, the Great Depression hit in 1929 followed by the onset of the infamous “Dust Bowl” and Thomas amd Sarah struggled to put food on the table.
As if that were not enough, real tragedy struck in 1931 when Thomas was killed in an automobile accident right out in front of his home. He heard the sounds of a collision on the new highway that went right by their farm, and he went out to see if he could help. While at the scene, another automobile plowed into the first two, pinning Thomas between the wreckage. Thomas was fatally injured, and died in the hospital the following day, March 29, 1931. Sarah survived on the family farm for another twenty years before passing away on December 10, 1951.
No comments:
Post a Comment