Important Houses in LeRoy's Life

Reed Home, 12932 Hencher Rd. De Soto, Missouri

 

Several years ago, Dave and I drove to DeSoto, Missouri with a list of addresses of where my ancestor's lived.  I had addresses for both sides of Dad's family for my great grandparents and my great great grandparents.  First, I found the beautiful stone house of my great-great grandparents Reed a little outside of town.  Then we located their home in De Soto as well as the home of my great grandparents Maupin.  Click here for more photos in De Soto. (The Long side of the family were mostly farmers and didn't live in town)

When I went to the address for my grandparents and my dad in 1920, I couldn't find the house anywhere.  It was now the parking lot for the De Soto Public Library. 710 South Main.  Dad wasn't much of a reader, so this is a form of "poetic justice" that his home when he was a year old is the parking lot of a library.

One of the stories my father often talked about was surviving the 1927 tornado in St. Louis while he was in elementary school.  He would tell about walking home from Stix School (9 years old) in the utter destruction.  My aunt said their home was totally destroyed and they never owned another house but only rented. For more, click here.

Several years ago Dave had to go for some cognitive testing through Barnes at 4444 Forest Park Avenue.  There wasn't much of a waiting room, so I walked around the neighborhood. There were several beautiful old homes across Forest Park Avenue from where we were but our side of the street there were none---just new buildings, Barnes hospital and parking lots/garages.  Then, I realized where I was standing---in the path of the 1927 tornado---it was as clear as day when I knew what I was looking at.  There were old homes (dating before 1927) on either side of the path.  I walked several blocks in either direction and my hypothesis was correct.

So, I knew Dad had lived near there.  I called Mom and she said he lived on the corner of Forest Park and Newstead and thought a bus shelter was there.  There was no bus shelter, but another parking lot.

My brother and sister recently asked me some questions about Dad's railroad work experience which sent me to Ancestry.com to find some documents.  As usual, when I started out looking for one thing, I found another--Dad's World War II draft registration in 1940.  He and Mom were married September 1940, so I was surprised to see her name on it---they were newlyweds and living at 3626 Botanical Ave. near the Botanical Gardens.

So, I googled it and was so surprised at what a cute house it was even though they probably lived upstairs.

When I clicked through, that was 3634 Botanical, Mom and Dad's first home was. ... you guessed it, another parking lot. My sister Jane wrote me,"Empty space, filled with living spirit."  She nailed it!

G. W. Watson, Part 2

We know very little about my grandmother, Vennie’s father G. W. Watson.  We think his name was George. Knowing that he died from a horse accident, led me to search on Newspaper.com to see if I could find anything. I did find a G. W. Watson who was a harness racer up and down the Mississippi River.  Another clue is that he weighed about 106 lbs.  Although Vennie was normal sized, I am not.  I am smaller than all of my grandparents and parents. I know that my grandfather,Wes, Vennie’s husband also was a jockey at one time.  I know that Vennie and Wes were often “across the river” at the horse races.  I think it was in their blood.

I know that G.W. died before 1910.  The last entry for the harness racer G. W. was August 1909.  Sadly I still haven’t found a death notice for him.  Mother never knew either of her grandfathers.  They both died from horses.  She always told the story like they were just kids out racing horses.  But, G. W. was about 50 years old which sounds more like a work related accident not kids out joy riding. If the harness racer is my great grandfather, he appears to have been successful at winning races with Kitty and

G. W. is a hard man to trace for several reasons.  He was too young for a Civil War record, too poor to own land, not found in the census (1890 census  was destroyed), and he lived in small towns whose newspapers aren’t on Newspapers.com. I found him in the 1860 census living in White Co. Illinois and he is 3 years old. The only other official record I have is his marriage license from Dunklin County, Missouri.  He married Mattie Silas (sic) September 2, 1894.  They had 2 children:  John, who died as a baby and Vennie, my grandmother who was born January 1903.

DNA has finally solved the riddle of who his parents are: Arthur Watson (1830-1917) and Minerva Serilla Elizabeth Prince of Dyersburg, TN.  Through the descendant of one of G. W.’s siblings, I learned he had a sister named Vinnie Watson (almost the same name as my grandmother).  My Aunt Billie once told me Grandma’s name was originally Minerva LouveniaAnd, I was then able to find more about his genealogy—Arthur was a descendant of melungeons, a mixed race people living in TN, NC, VA.  DNA had told me I had African and Native American heritage dating back to the 1700’s and earlier.  Arthur’s great grandparents were David Solomon Collins and Thompsie Posey who were known to be melungeons.

David and Thompsie Collins who lived in Tennessee had 10 children including Arthur’s grandmother Margaret Peggy Collins Dodson.  One son was Aaron Collins who died in Douglas County, MO. (1855), Nellie Collins TurnBull died in Taney or Douglas Co. Missouri, Levi Collins died in Oregon Co, MO, Isaiah Cuppy Collins died in Ozark County Missouri, Solomon “Old Sol” Collins died in Douglas Co, MO  Although Arthur’s grandmother died in Tennessee, 5 of her siblings had gone to southern Missouri.

The only clues about G W Watson handed down were that he died from a horse accident and my grandmother remembered going to his funeral in Alton.  For all of these years, we thought he died near Alton IL which is across from St. Louis, but I think his funeral was in Alton, MO.  G. W.’s great uncle Levi died in Falling Springs, Oregon Co Missouri.  The county seat of Oregon county is Alton Mo.  G W’s father was still living and probably knew his grandmother’s family were all in southern Missouri also.

I have still not found where G W is buried but I believe it is with family.