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shadydestinycollector · 1 month

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Mahdeen Mays - Part I

The Texas Years {1894-1922}

The anecdote my father told me about my great-grandmother, Mahdeen, eventually became an evaporative myth. I’ll come back to the details in due time.

I wasn’t disappointed to find an indomitable woman born at the turn of the 20th century who bore witness to significant historical events, surrounded by brothers, seeking independence as a creative and single parent during the ‘20s and ‘30s.

Family Group Sheet Parents Walter M. Mays (1872-1901) Martha Aminee Rollins (1875-1957) Siblings Mahdeen Mays (1894-1968) - great grandmother Walter Edgar Mays (1896-1973) John Thomas Mays (1900-1986) Step-Father Andrew Jackson Mayberry Sr. (1857-1935) Step-siblings Lydia Ann Mayberry (1888-1952) Thomas Edward Mayberry (1889-1946) Charles Earl Mayberry Sr. (1892-1966) Half siblings Andrew Jackson Mayberry Jr. (1903-1981) Fred Monroe Mayberry (1905-1956) William Clyde Mayberry Sr. (1908-1986) Robert Earnest Mayberry (1910-1983) Spouse 1 and children; James William Roe Sr. (1887-1967) - great grandfather James William Roe Jr. (1915-1992) - grandfather John Ed Roe Sr. (1919-2000) Spouse 2 Anthony L. Ransdell (1885-?) Spouse 3 Arthur Roosevelt Summersett (1901-1990)

Note: citations that include links to news clippings should be viewable without a paywall.

Mahdeen Mays was my father’s paternal grandmother. She was born on 22 Feb 1894 in unspecified Texas, the oldest of the three Mays children. Her parents were Walter M. and Martha Aminee (Rollins) Mays.

Walter M. Mays, the fifth child among six siblings, was the son of a Confederate Civil War soldier. Walter's father, at age 18, served as a Private in the Texas Infantry & Cavalry, Company B, (Kirby’s) 3rd Battalion, and then, at age 19, as a Corporal in the Texas Infantry, Company F, (Allen’s) 17th Regiment. The Mays family were tried and true Texans.

Alabama, Texas, and Virginia, US Confederate Pensions, 1884-1958. Pension File Nos. 43291-43315. Application Years 1922-1927.

Martha Aminee Rollins, the eighth child among nine siblings, was the daughter of another Confederate Civil War soldier. Martha's father was 32 when he enlisted as a Private in the Mississippi Infantry, Company A, 35th Regiment. The Rollins family relocated from Kemper County, Mississippi, around 1869, after having lost and buried two children who died young. They settled in Brazos County, Texas, as evidenced by the 1870 census.

Alabama, Texas, and Virginia, US Confederate Pensions, 1884-1958. Pension File Nos. 05756-05810. Application Years 1844-1929. 1870 US Federal Census. Brazos County, Texas. Roll M593_1577. Page 66A. Image 135. FHL film 553076.

Mahdeen’s brother Walter Edgar was born on 24 Jun 1896, specifically in Caldwell, Burleson, Texas. During this period, Burleson County was renowned for ranching and cotton farming.

During the Jun 1900 census, Mahdeen, age 6, was living in Burleson with her father, Walter M., a farmer, age 27, mother Martha, who went by Mattie, age 24, and younger brother Walter, age 4.

Also living in the household was her widowed aunt by marriage, Mary Belle (Cunningham) Rollins, and her two children, Mahdeen’s cousins Mary Frances Rollins, age 14, and William Rollins, age 5. Although listed as widowed, I’ve been unable to find documentation regarding Mr. William W. Rollins’ death.

1900 US Federal Census. Justice Precinct 1, Burleson, Texas. Roll 1650. Page 22A. Enumeration District 0038. FHL microfilm 1241615.

Mahdeen’s baby brother, John Thomas, was born two months after the census on 28 Aug 1900, also in Caldwell. Their mother, Mattie, remarried in 1903, leaving a lingering question concerning the fate of their father, Walter.

Despite consulting conventional sources, information about Walter between 1900 and 1903 remained elusive and his death date was persistently left blank.

While looking for a public domain photo of Burleson County circa 1900 to add to this post, I came across a collection that included searchable Caldwell newspaper archives. I ran a search for Walter and lo and behold found his obituary.

Joiner, F. Lee. Caldwell News-Chronicle. Vol. 21 No. 44 Ed. 1. 29 Mar 1901. https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth169333/m1/9/?q=%22Walter%20Mays%22: accessed 3 Mar 2024. University of North Texas Libraries. The Portal to Texas History. https://texashistory.unt.edu. Crediting Harrie P. Woodson Memorial Library.

The 1900 census had documented his birth as "Dec 1872.” With the help of an online date calculator, the obituary helped pinpoint the precise date as 17 Dec 1872. We now know that he died on 27 Mar 1901 and was laid to rest the following day at the Masonic Cemetery. His obituary was a touching tribute to the man, Walter M. Mays, my great-great-grandfather.

My question was what would cause the death of a young man who had been "sick only a short time" and render him unable to speak? A quick search returned a heartbreaking answer, Diphtheria.

We have to keep in mind that these rural families faced the indiscriminate mortality of yellow fever, influenza, pneumonia, whooping cough, tuberculosis, measles, typhoid, and diphtheria from intimate perspectives within their communities during the mid-19th to early 20th century.

Between the ages of 19 and 25, Mattie lost one family member each year: two nieces, a nephew, her father, a brother, and now her husband. Before Mattie was born, two of her siblings died young and an aunt had died at age 16. Due to the time and place, we have little in the way of death certificates to rely on regarding these deaths.

The earliest death certificate I found was for Mrs. Josie Greathouse, Walter’s younger sister. She died of tuberculosis at the age of 29 in 1912, leaving a husband and 3 children.

Walter and Mattie’s children and their ages at the time of Walter’s death:

Mahdeen, age 7

Walter, age 4

John, age 7 mos.

Several family events occurred after Walter’s death and before the 1910 census. In March 1903, Mahdeen's mother, Mattie, married Andrew J. Mayberry Sr. They were likely acquainted with each other's families years beforehand.

Mattie's sister, Mary Matilda (Rollins), had previously married Andrew's brother, Seaborn Burnett Mayberry, in 1889. Their first child, Ethel Aminee Mayberry, was born in 1890 and died when “the death angel visited” in 1899. Mattie attended her niece's funeral with her husband, who, at that time, was Walter.

Bryan-College Station Eagle. 31 Aug 1899. Page 3. https://www.newspapers.com/article/bryan-college-station-eagle-ethel-mayber/81529261/ : accessed 9 Mar 2024. clip page for the Obituary for Ethel Mayberry.

Andrew J. Mayberry Sr., at the time of his marriage to Mattie, was a widower whose first wife also died in 1901. From that marriage, he had three children, Lydia Ann, age 15, Thomas Edward, age 14, and Charles Earl Mayberry, age 11.

Lydia Ann Mayberry would marry at the age of 17 in 1905.

Mattie and Andrew J. Mayberry Sr. would have four children of their own;

Andrew Jackson Mayberry Jr. - 21 Dec 1903 - Merkel, Taylor, Texas

Fred Monroe Mayberry - 1 Dec 1905 - Merkel, Taylor, Texas

William Clyde Mayberry Sr. - 2 Mar 1908 - Fort Worth, Tarrant, Texas

Robert Ernest Mayberry - 14 Dec 1909 - Merkel, Taylor, Texas

Andrew and Mattie (Rollins) Mayberry’s children would be double cousins or first cousins twice over to Seaborn and Mary (Rollins) Mayberry’s children...whenever siblings marry siblings, the children are double cousins.

My great-grandmother Mahdeen would marry my great-grandfather, James William Roe Sr., in Taylor County, Texas, early in the year, on 12 Jan 1910. She was one month shy of 16 years old. James was 22. She later testified during their 1923 divorce court proceedings that they met at a school party.

Texas, Select County Marriage Records, 1837-2015. Taylor County Clerk's Office. Abilene, Texas. Taylor County Marriage Records. Volume 6. Page 94.

In the Apr 1910 census of Merkel, Taylor, Texas, Mahdeen and her husband, Jim W., a farmer, resided with her stepfather who was a carpenter, her mother Mattie, two older stepbrothers, two younger brothers, and four younger half-brothers.

1910 US Federal Census. Merkel, Taylor, Texas. Roll T624_1593. Page 5A. Enumeration District 0272. FHL microfilm 1375606.

James and Mahdeen's sons, James William Roe Jr., my grandfather, and John Ed Roe, my granduncle, were born in Fort Worth, Tarrant, Texas. James was born on 29 Jul 1915, and John on 29 Oct 1919, both during the era of World War I. In the years preceding World War II, it was commonly referred to as the “War,” the "Great War,” or the “World War."

Of note: their son John's middle name was Ed, not Edward.

The only immediate family member who served in the war was her brother John Thomas Mays. He enlisted in the US Army at the age of 17 on 29 Jul 1918 and was discharged on 16 May 1921. His obituary published in Dec 1986 didn’t mention the US Army but reported that he served in the US Navy. I have yet to find proof of Naval service.

The post-war 1920s stood out as a notable decade. Prohibition, commencing in 1920, and the ratification of women's right to vote in August of the same year were pivotal historical moments. In Texas, the '20s heralded the onset of the oil boom. In the local context of Fort Worth, colloquially known as "Cowtown," an extensive network of railways from across the nation played a vital role in supporting the cattle industry centered at the Fort Worth Stockyards. The railroad infrastructure, as evidenced by the impressive 1888 map, laid the foundation for the region's visions of financial success and stability. Presently, the “stockyards" have become a cattle-free tourist destination.

Wikimedia Commons: Paddock Fort Worth, TX, and Rail-Roads, 1888

The census dated 6 Jan 1920 in Fort Worth, Tarrant, Texas, shows Mahdeen living with her husband Jim, now a carpenter, and two sons: James, age 4, and John, age 2 months. Also, a young couple who were roomers.

1920 US Federal Census. Fort Worth, Ward 8, Tarrant, Texas. Roll T625_1850. Page 7A. Enumeration District 134. Image 168.

In July, seven months later, Mahdeen initiated divorce proceedings.

Fort Worth Star-Telegram. 28 Jul 1920. Page 10. https://www.newspapers.com/article/fort-worth-star-telegram-maude-files-for/141681011/ : accessed 23 Feb 2024. clip page for Maude Files for Divorce.

After almost two years, in Mar 1922, Judge Terrell dismissed 171 divorce cases, including hers, all of them “for want of prosecution.” At first, it sounded to me like an easy day for the Judge. Then again, I’m unfamiliar with divorce law in Texas during the 1920s. The 171 cases that were listed take up an entire column of the newspaper.

Fort Worth Star-Telegram. 11 Mar 1922. Page 5. https://www.newspapers.com/article/fort-worth-star-telegram-171-divorce-cas/141681126/ : accessed 23 Feb 2024. clip page for 171 Divorce Cases Dismissed.

Mahdeen “ain't” givin' up just yet! Stay tuned for more...

#ancestry #family history #genealogy #honor their legacy #american history #texas #womens issues #1900s #1910s #1920s #womens history #healthy gossip #Mays #Rollins #Confederates #WWI #mortality #railroad

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