Mama's Family

After listing Daddy's father's family I thought I would go ahead and list Mama's immediate family. I'm trying to find stories about her family when they were children but it seems no one heard or remembers stories our parents, aunts or uncles told, except for my cousin Snooks who has an amazing memory.

Benjamin Moses Bond, son of Charles Bond and Susana J. Markham, married Nora Mellissie Timmons, daughter of William Robertus Monroe Timmons and Mahala Jane Roten, on November 29, 1898 at her parents' home in New Boston, Bowie County, Texas.

Their children were:


1. Grace Ada, born December 29, 1899 in Texas. She married Ivy L. Warren June 28, 1919 in Red River County, Texas. She died August 7, 1938 in Harris County, Texas.

2. Charles Monroe born August 9, 1902 in Texas. He died January 17, 1949 in Galveston County, Texas.


3. Jewell Sidney, born September 5, 1904 in Texas, died September 27, 1937 in Houston, Harris County, Texas.

4. Alma Josephine, born March 19,1906 in Johnston County, Oklahoma. She married Leonard George Showers in 1929 or 1930. After he died she married Joe Hesacar Hawk on September 2, 1936 in Ft. Bend County, Texas. She died June 16, 1980 in Galveston County, Texas.

5. Minnie Hazel, born July 30, 1908 in Johnston County, Oklahoma. She married John Robertson on September 28, 1927 in Wilbarger County, Texas. She died August 13, 1956 in Wilbarger County, Texas.


6. Clarence Benjamin, "Bennie", born September 22, 1910 in Johnston County, OK, died Oct 27, 1918 in Bagwell, Red River County, Texas.


7. Alcie Lewis, born April 8, 1912, Johnston County, Oklahoma. He married Anna Mary Shute in West Columbia, Brazoria County, Texas. They divorced and he then married Lenore Juanita Sherwood on November 23, 1936 in Galveston County, Texas. He died December 24, 1978 in Galveston County, Texas.

8. Bertha E. Bond, born April 29, 1914, died September 9, 1914 in Johnston County, Oklahoma.

9. Lavoy Oleta ("Jackie"), born October 16, 1915 in Texas. She married Harley Elvis Griesmer on June 27, 1936. She died August 13, 1993 in Bacliff, Galveston County, Texas.


10. Lena Murrel, born September 14, 1918 in Red River County, Texas. She married Herbert Warren on March 1, 1941 in Bacliff, Galveston County, Texas. She died June 12, 2000 in Fremont, Alameda County, California.

Bond family from Fannin County, Texas

This is some of what I have on the Bond family of Fannin County, which is my grandfather's parents and siblings.

Charles H. Bond, b. 6 July 1849, Tennessee, son of William W. Bond and Janetta (Ganetta, Jennetter) Neighbors; d. 19 April 1922, Fannin County, Texas, buried Hilger Cemetery; m. 1st. Susana J. Markham, 2nd. Martha J. Nichols.

Wife #1: Susana J. Markham, b. 29 Mar 1851, Arkansas; daughter of Carter Markham and Lucinda Thompson, d. 20 Feb 1892, Fannin County, Texas, buried Hilger Cemetery.

Children:

1. Benjamin Moses Bond, b. 30 Oct 1873, Arkansas; d. 11 June 1930, West Columbia, Brazoria County, Texas, buried ; m. Nora Mellissie Timmons.

2. William W. Bond, b. 1874 Arkansas (no further information)

3. Charles M. Bond, b. 1877 Texas (no further information)

4. John Dorris Bond, b. 31 Mar 1878, Texas; d. 11 Mar 1941, Fannin County, Texas, buried IOOF Cemetery, Fannin County; m. Dovie B. Nichols, 1903.

5. George Carter Bond, b. 16 Mar 1880, Wise County, Texas; wife's name Tempie, per World War I draft registration card from Johnston County, Oklahoma.

6. Lou Anne Bond, b. April 1882, Texas; d. 24 July 1935; m. Henry Evans Timmons, brother of Nora Mellissie Timmons, 22 Mar 1902, Fannin County, Texas. Marriage certificate lists her name as Luanna.

7. Marvin Claude Bond, b. 25 May 1885, Fannin County, Texas; d. 4 Dec 1941, Allen Memorial Hospital, Fannin County, Texas, buried IOOF Cemetery, Ravenna, Fannin County, Texas; m. Grace Bostie.

8. Thomas E. Bond, b. 2 Feb 1887, Fannin County, Texas; d. unknown; m. Minnie R. 1902.

9. Martha Ethyl Bond, b. Dec. 1889, Texas. (no other information available)

10. James P. Bond, b. 7 Jan 1892, Texas; d. 15 Feb 1892, Texas. Note: his mother died on 20 Feb, 1892.


Wife #2: Martha J. Nichols, b. 1849, Tennessee; d. 1941, Pontotoc, Johnston County, Oklahoma, buried Pontotoc Cemetery, Johnston County, Oklahoma next to her father, Moses Carroll Nichols. Family lore is that she and Susana (Wife #1) were close friends. Her younger sister married John D. Bond (see above).

Children:

1. Alton A. Bond, b. 11 Feb 1894, Fannin County, Texas; d. 25 Sept 1894, Fannin County, Texas, buried Hilger Cemetery, Fannin County.

2. Dovie E. Bond, b. 27 Nov 1894 Fannin County, Texas; d. 4 April 1896, Fannin County, Texas, buried Hilger Cemetery, Fannin County.

3. Henry C. Bond, b. 26 Oct 1895. No further information available.

4. Mary L. Bond, b. March 1897, Fannin County, Texas. I believe this is the Aunt Mary my mother, Josephine Bond Hawk, wrote to for many years. She was married to a doctor and lived in Oklahoma City, to the best of my recollection. On the 1920 Wichita County, Texas census her occupation is listed as "schoolteacher."

5. Dewey S. Bond, b. 1 June 1898, Fannin County, Texas. No other information available.

6. Oatis C. Bond, b. 21 Feb 1900, Fannin County, Texas; d. 25 May 1901, Fannin County, buried Hilger Cemetery.

John Hawk family and will

John Hawk was my great-great grandfather. I am descended through his son George Washington Hawk. Here is some of the information I have on him. Copy of his will is at the end of this posting.

John Hawk married Margaret (Peggy) Groves in Hardy County, Virginia, June 5, 1823. They moved first to Tippecanoe County, Indiana and then to Christian County, Illinois.

Children:

1. George Washington Hawk, b. 2 Aug 1824, Virginia; d. 18 June 1908, Matagorda County, Texas; m. Salana Hudson, Tippecanoe County, Indiana.

2. Solomon Hawk, b. 22 Nov 1826, Hardy County, VA; d. 26 May 1915, Nodaway County, Missouri; m. Cevilla Moler.

3. Peter Hawk, b. 8 Nov 1828, Hardy County, VA; d. 15 April 1898, Clinton County, Missouri; married Effie Stingley 20 Jan 1853.

4. Jesse J. Hawk, b. 24 Oct 1830, Hardy County, VA; d. 7 Sept 1902 Finney County, Kansas, m. (1) Rachel Catherine Stingley and (2) Hannah DeShazer.

5. Fanny G. Hawk, 5 Nov 1832, Hardy County, VA, d. 21 Oct 1857, Christian County, Illinois; m. Andrew Hudson, brother of Salana Hudson.

6. Jacob W. Hawk, b. 15 Nov 1834, d. 21 Oct 1922, Barry County, Missouri, married Charlotte ?.

7. Rachael Hawk, b. 15 March 1837, Hardy County, VA; d. 3 July 1920, Piatt County, Illinois; m. William J. Monroe 15 March 1856 in Christian County, Illinois.

8. Catherine Hawk, b. 2 Aug 1839, Tippecanoe County, Indiana; d. 11 Aug 1919 in Montgomery County, Illinois; m. Christian Balsley 22 Mar 1858 in Christian County, Illinois.

9. John H. Hawk, b. 17 Mar 1842, Tippecanoe County, Indiana. d. 18 Oct 1862, St. Louis, Missouri, Illinois "Normal Regiment of Teachers," Co. D., 33rd Regiment, Illinois Volunteers.

10. Henry Hawk, b. 22 Aug 1844, Tippecanoe County, Indiana; marriage unclear at this time.

11. Sarah Jane Hawk, b. 1 Mar 1847, Tippecanoe County, Indiana, d. 24 June 1927, Nokomis, Montgomery County, Illinois; married John Miller Sale 22 Dec 1865.

Margaret Groves Hawk died 30 Sept 1858 in Christian County, Illinois and is buried there on the farm. John Hawk then married a widow, Nancy Kinnerman, 25 May 1859, in Indiana. They had one child:

12. Dolly Ann Hawk, b. 1861, Christian County, Illinois, d. between 1905 (birth of last child) and 1910 in Christian County, Illinois; married Thomas J. Raney, 27 Oct 1881, in Christian County, Illinois.

Mama

This past Friday (March 19) would have been my mother's 104th birthday. Some people do live to be 104, and I'm envious of those people who still have their parents. I know there are many challenges with taking care of elderly parents - my parents were older when we girls were born, and I was pretty ill-prepared for taking care of them when they became old and ill. My mother was only 74 when she died. I sure wish she was here to celebrate birthdays. She must have been about 14 or 15 in this photo. The boy in the back is probably her brother Louis, who was six years younger than her. We miss them all.

Mama taught me to appreciate beauty. She had once collected sets of china for all of us children(3), which sadly were destroyed when the farm house burned in 1958. She taught me to love pretty linens and a nice home. At an earlier time she had made quilts. There were some squares for a Star of Bethlehem quilt in her room when she died. It was made of bright primary colors: red, yellow, blue. She once remarked that her mother (Grandmama) said that Josephine could go into her home in the dark and find anything because everything had a place, and everything was in it. I confess that's a hit and miss thing with me, but it seems to have skipped a generation because her granddaughter Amy is much like that. And my cousin remembers her fondness for shoes - she did pass that on to me as well as to Amy. I ruined my feet wearing those beautiful high, high heels and even with that, I still wish I could wear them. Here's a photo of her taken shortly after her first husband's death. She and Aunt Jackie and Uncle Jiggs were in downtown Houston. Aunt Jack said Mama looked very sad in this photo because it was shortly after her husband Leonard's death. That would make this around summer 1936. She was dressed beautifully, but the grief is apparent in her face.

My parents, Joe and Josephine Hawk

My parents adored their grandchildren and considered themselves especially lucky to still be living when they were born. Mama and Daddy were beyond the typical age for children when my sister and I were born and they worried a lot about ever seeing us become adults. But they did. I only wished they had been here longer.

My father, Joe Hesacar Hawk, was born November 23, 1899 in Phillips County, Kansas to Joseph Washington Hawk and Martha Jane Hess. On the 1900 census he is listed as "unnamed." In those days they didn't name children right away. On the 1910 census his name was listed as "Joseph H." He always called himself Joe or J.H. It was so much easier then to change your name, especially any given name. I don't know where the middle name of Hesacar came from but a second cousin ten years older also carried the middle name (Walter Hesicar Hawk, b. 1888). Daddy moved to south Texas in 1908 coming to Matagorda County with his family by covered wagon.

My mother, Alma Josephine Bond, was born March 18, 1906 to Benjamin Moses Bond and Nora Mellissie Timmons, near Tishomingo, Johnston County, Oklahoma. They moved back to Red River County, Texas by 1915and then to South Texas where they are shown on the 1930 census in Brazoria County. At that time Mother was living in Calcasieu Parish, Louisiana with her husband, Leonard George Showers, who was working in the oilfields. He died March 1, 1936 of tuberculosis. They had one child, Leonard George Showers. In researching the Showers family, I discovered my brother was the 7th Leonard George Showers.

Jumping In, Feet First

Seems like with blogging, just as in life, sometimes the best way to learn something is to just jump in and hope to learn to swim. So here I go. Actually I started out helping my husband get started on his blog after taking a class at school on Wordpress. He is loving it. See his family history blog at holtdale. My motivation for writing a family history blog is at least two-fold. One, I noticed that my mother, Alma Josephine Bond, was listed on at list six genealogies online, and only one person of those six (me) actually knew her. As with so many women in genealogy, their stories are largely untold. I'd like for people to know more about her. Two, my parents died when my children were young, eight and five years old, so Ted and Amy don't really have memories of their grandparents. They'd like to know more.

I guess there is another reason too. I grew up not knowing my Hawk relatives so genealogy has been for me a process of learning about all those people I never knew. Many folks have issues with family, but there are many losses when members decide not to have contact with each other. I've been told I look a lot like my Aunt Edith. I don't know since I've never seen a photo of her.

I grew up on the family farm in South Texas, where our house burned when I was a child. It was an old farmhouse built by my Hawk grandparents after they moved from Phillips County, Kansas (1908). My mother always said the biggest loss was all those family photos. They have been largely unrecoverable. People I've met through genealogy have shared some family photos, and my close family cousins on my Bond side have shared photos. But, I remember trunks of photos upstairs in the old farmhouse attic. As a little girl I wanted to pull those trunks out and sift through all those photos. Do I ever wish I had them now!