Working on a railroad

 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks: Week 28 (July 8-14)
Prompt: Trains
#52ancestors

I don’t know of many connections my family had to trains except for my grandfather, Thomas Osa McCarley, aka T. O., aka Ocie.

I haven’t found any documentation other than a story that my grandmother wrote about her courtship and first year of marriage.  Other oral stories that she told me added to the details of grandfather’s time working for the railroad.

Grandpa must have started working for the railroad not too long after they married or maybe before they were married.  They lived in El Reno, OK while he worked for the railroad there.  Grandma never mentioned what he did for the railroad or his employer’s name. However, the Rock Island Railroad had tracks, depot, and a roundhouse in El Reno at that time. The depot houses the Canadian County Historical Museum now.  As far as I can tell, the Rock Island was the only railroad with a presence in El Reno. 

When someone had more seniority, they could “bump” someone with less seniority and take their job. Grandpa was bumped from his job in El Reno.  He had to go to Ft. Worth, TX to “bump” someone and still have a job with the railroad.  They lived in Ft. Worth the winter of 1929-1930.  After they discovered that their first child was due, Grandpa took Grandma back to his home in Marlow, OK to his parent’s house.  She spent several lonely months there before Gwonda was born. 

About that time Grandpa was bumped again.  That appears to have ended his career with railroads and trains. After this bump, they moved to Bridgeport, TX where he had relatives.  He worked in one of his Niblett relative’s restaurant making pies before they moved back to Marlow.

Rock Island Depot (El Reno, Oklahoma) - Wikipedia

Rock Island Depot - El Reno, OK - Train Stations/Depots on Waymarking.com

Ezekiel McCarley

One of my goals this year is to write biographies of ancestors on my McCarley line when I can't think of anything to write for the 52ancestor prompts. For the last few weeks, I have been writing about Ezekiel McCarley.  I may revise this if I find new information but here is his life as I know it now. 

Ezekiel McCarley, son of Abraham and Wineford McCarley

Born about 1784
        Died between 1832 & 1835

 While we don’t know exactly when or where, we do know that Ezekiel McCarley was born around 1784 to Abraham and Wineford McCarley.  It is very likely that Ezekiel was born in Kentucky, but by 1808 he was living in Williamson Co., Tennessee.  It was there that Ezekiel married Margaret Langston when he was about 24 years old. T. (Tristram) Patton, JD performed their marriage on April 14, 1808.  Thornton Patton served as the bondsman.

In 1811, Ezekiel had enough income to be a buyer at the estate of James Buford. He bought 2 candle sticks for .50 and 5 choice hogs for $15.00.  Ezekiel paid a poll tax in Williamson County in 1811.  At that time in Tennessee, poll taxes were paid by all males over the age of 21 and under the age of 50. There was a tax on each slave and any land that was owned. Ezekiel didn’t pay any taxes on slaves or land.

Ezekiel was a buyer again at the estate of John Wills in October of 1816 in Williamson County. In 1820 he was living on a farm in Maury County, Tennessee.

The 1820 census shows Ezekiel living in Maury County, Tennessee near his father, Abraham McCarley and his brother, Abraham Jr.  At that time, he had four sons, and one daughter.  Three of his sons were less than 10 years old and one son was between 10 and 15 years old. 

The 1830 Maury County, TN census shows Ezekiel still has three children living at home, two males between the ages of 10 and 15 and one female age 15 to 19. There are also two older females. His wife is presumed to be the one between the ages of 40 and 49. Since his father died around 1820, the female, age 80 to 89, could be his mother who died around 1840.

It is presumed that Ezekiel died between 1832 and 1835. Margaret McCarley, his presumed widow, married George Cayce in 1835 so Ezekiel probably died before 1835.  He was not located on the 1840 census.

On the 1840 census, George Cayce has one male between 5 and 10 years old and another between 15- and 20-years old living with him.  It is possible that Haywood McCarley is the male between 5 and 10 years old as he would have been 8 years old at the time.  George Cayce and his family are living 2 households from Charles McCurley (McCarley) in Hardin County, TN while Margaret’s other sons, Dempsey and James are still living in Maury County, TN. 

Margaret, age 56, is living with George Casey (Cayce) in 1850 in Marshal County, Mississippi near her son, Charles M. McCurley (McCarley). At that time, James McCearly (McCarley) her son, age 39 is living with the Caseys. Margaret’s youngest son, Haywood, is living with Charles near them. 

Haywood and Charles are living in Smith County, TX in 1860. George Cayce, age 75, is living with his son, G.M. Cayce and his family back in Maury County, TN.  Margaret Langston McCarley Cayce has not been found on the 1860 census and it is presumed that she died between 1850 and 1860.

 

Children of Ezekiel and Margaret Langston McCarley

1.  Dempsey McCarley, b 1805-1810. The oldest son on the 1820 census was born between 1805 and 1810. He was not listed on the 1830 census. The 1840 Census indicates Dempsey was born between 1801-1810.  He married Anne Sweet on 6 August 1827 in Maury County, TN.  He paid a tax in 1836 in Maury County.  There is a possible 1850 Census record in Ballard Co., KY in 1850.

2.   James McCarley, bn 1810-1820.  Listed on the 1820 & 1830 census as a mark.  The 1840 census in Maury Co., TN shows him married with no children living next door to his brother, Dempsey.

3.   Daughter, bn 1811- 1815 per 1820 & 1830 Census records in Maury Co., TN.

4.  Charles M. McCarley (McCurley) bn 1811-1816. Married Ann Matilda Hines on April 3, 1835 in Maury County, TN. Most of his records list his last name as McCurley. This may be that he just didn’t close the top of the a in his name, or he deliberately went by McCurley. Most of his children were listed as McCarley.

5.   Son, bn 1816-1820 per the 1820 Census records in Maury Co., TN. There is not a mark for this son in the 1830 census. He should have been between 10 and 20 years old at the time.

6.   Haywood McCarley, bn 1832.  There is some discrepancy in the parentage of Haywood. The 1840 census for George Cayce who married Margaret McCarley (Charles M’s mother) has a male between the ages of 5-9. In 1840 Haywood should have been 8 years old.  George has another male listed between the ages of 15 and 19 which is probably one of George’s sons and not Margaret’s son. Margaret would have been about 38 when Haywood was born, and he was born about 12 years after the next known child.  

    He has been refered to as a son of Charles M. McCarley, listed as his brother here. However, there is no indication that Charles was married or had children before his marriage to Ann Matilda Hines in 1835.  On the 1840 census, Charles has two males under of the age 5 listed in his household. Those should be his sons, John K. and Albert, therefore Haywood is not living in his household in 1840. 

    Haywood is first listed by name in the 1850 census in the same household as Charles M. McCarley after both Ezekiel and Margaret are presumed deceased. Haywood is listed at the bottom of the list of children instead of being at the top in the order of children as the oldest. This indicates that he probably is not a child of Charles, but is living with him.  No records have been found that list Haywood’s parents, but it is reasonable to assume Haywood is the son of Ezekiel and Margaret McCarley.

 

References:

Hamilton, Edmond K. 1979. Marriage Records of Williamson Co., TN 1804-1850. Cook & McDowell Publications: Hartford, KY.

Marriage Book of Williamson County, TN

1820 Maury County, TN Census. Pages 28 & 56. Roll 123 M-33

1830 Maury County, TN Census

1840 Maury County, TN Census

1850 Marshall County, MS Census, page 367

1860 Maury County, TN Census p 397

Williamson County Record of Wills, Estate of James Buford, 1811.

Came to America as a stow away

  52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks: Week 7 (Feb 12-18)
Prompt: Immigration
#52ancestors

Have you heard the story of the ancestor who stowed away on a ship to come to America?

My Dad was pleased to share how his great-grandfather stowed away on a ship. As the youngest son, he was not going to receive any inheritance, so he left to earn his own way never to see his family again.  Primogeniture was the English Common Law which dictated that the eldest son should inherit, which left any other son to find his own livelihood. 

Sadly, this romantic version of John being "disinherited" and stowing away on a ship to make his fortune in America is not exactly true.

He did become successful in America, owning a large farm, two houses in town and a house on the farm. He  seemed to have successfully stayed in contact with his family in England. There are several newspaper accounts in Wellington, Kansas of his siblings visiting from England. 

 Another portion of the story has been proven wrong.  Before census records were available online, I found in the Sedgefield, County Durham, England library the 1841 and 1851 census with John Golightley and his parents.  John was not the youngest son. He was the oldest son. His father was the innkeeper of the Black Bull Inn. 

According to the 1900 and 1920 census, he immigrated in 1871.  The 1920 census states he was naturalized in 1876. He may have been naturalized in Wisconsin before settling in Kansas.

 Since his status in the family was proven wrong, does that mean he really did not stow away? I haven’t found conclusive ship records for him yet.  There is one possibility of an arrival in Canada with the right year of immigration. That John Golightley’s age is 10 years off, but we all know how often ages are listed wrong. Since his father was a successful innkeeper, it stands to reason that he may have helped his oldest son immigrate. 

Many of the stories I was told about my ancestors have proven to be wrong in some ways, but there is usually some truth.  Like the game of gossip, as information is passed down through several generations and over a long period of time, details tend to be misremembered or enhanced. I use those stories as a guideline to various records and enjoy the chase to discover how much of the story is correct. 

Horses, cars, trucks, and helicopters

  52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks: Week 6 (Feb 5-11)
Prompt: Earning a Living
#52ancestors

From the time people graduated from foot power to horsepower, my ancestors have been involved with transportation.  I've written about Robert Golightley and his blacksmith shop in the past. He had several other jobs besides being a blacksmith including working at the Winfield Ice & Cold Storage Company (Kansas) in the Engine Room. The entire family seems to have a knack for mechanical equipment. 

As we moved from horses to horseless carriages, family members changed careers.  My Grandfather, Johnnie, owned a gravel pit and hauled gravel to build the new roads that were needed. My father's first transportation related job at age 15 was working on a road crew.  His dad, Johnnie, was hauling gravel when their boss told my dad to deliver a load of gravel. Johnnie wasn't happy about it when he found out, but that was just the start of my dad driving the gravel trucks.  It was a few weeks later that he had his first accident.  He rolled the dump truck on a curve and was lucky to come out of it without a scratch. 

Both Johnnie and my dad, Leeland, were mechanics, too.  Several times they worked together on big equipment usually for Mr. Troutman in Kansas. They were also "shade tree mechanics" in that they worked on cars in the yard under a shade tree. I can't tell you how many times my dad worked on someone's car after he got off work. Often it was for someone at the church, neighbor, or a friend of a friend who couldn't afford to get their vehicle fixed. My siblings and I were all pressed into service holding a flashlight while Dad worked on an engine after dark. 

In the late 1960s, Leeland went to work for Southern Airways working on helicopters in Mineral Wells. The army base, Fort Wolters, was a training facility for helicopter pilots on their way to Vietnam. Along with my Father-In-Law, John Evans, and many other men in Mineral Wells, they kept the helicopters running while the army pilots learned to fly. 

From my Great-Grandfather to my Dad, our family carved out a living with horses, cars, trucks, and helicopters. 

Witness to History

52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks: Week 4 (Jan 22-28)
Prompt: Witness to History
#52ancestors

I have asked relatives at different times, “What is the news event that you will never forget?”  

 My parent’s generation remembered Pearl Harbor. Each one that I talked to remembered exactly where they were and how they felt. My Mother was 11 years old. She was listening to the radio with her family when the news announcer broke in to announce the attack on Pearl Harbor. She didn’t know where Pearl Harbor was located, but she remembered how upset her parents were when they heard the announcement. 

Most of my generation talked about the event that I will always remember.  I was in the 2^nd grade when the principal came to our room and had our teacher step into the hallway. When she came back into the classroom, she was crying. The fact that the President had been shot didn’t shock me as much as my teacher crying. They let us out of school early that day, so I walked home with my brother and sister. When we got home, my mother was watching TV. She quickly turned the TV off, but I still didn’t understand the impact of John F. Kennedy being killed.

 For my children’s generation there have been several events that impacted them the same way. My daughter was 8 when the Challenger exploded. She was at school and her teacher had brought a TV into the classroom so they could see the Challenger launch with teacher, Christa McAuliffe.  They quickly shut off the TV once it was clear what had happened, but she will always remember the shock of seeing it explode. 

 My son was 4 years younger and doesn’t remember the Challenger.  9/11 is the event he will always remember.  He was a freshman in college and on his way to work at the Museum of Natural History when he heard the news on the radio.   “It was hours after the fact, and people still had no idea what really happened other than the planes had hit the World Trade center.  Driving to work was almost surreal because instead of the normal drive it was like everyone was driving in formation on the highway, no speeding or cars jockeying for position like normal.  Then all day at work sneakily switching one of the TVs used for the exhibit we had going on (I can't even remember which one it was) flipping from the looped tape it had playing over to the local news channels to see what was being said.  Next to no one came into the Museum that day.”

 I wonder what some of my ancestors might have remembered.  The flu outbreak in the 1920s, the Spanish American War, one of the battles in the Civil War, Lincoln being shot, or hearing about the American Revolution battles or the Declaration of Independence.

What news event will you always remember, where you were, and what you were doing when it happened?

Leeland Golightley, Rozella Lamb & Hutch

 

52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks: Week 3 (Jan 15-21)
Prompt: Favorite Photo
#52ancestors

 

Leeland, his cousin Rosella Lamb, and a friend named Hutch. Rosella was also serving in Germany in the Women’s Army Corps (WAC)

This is a photo that has always intrigued me. My Dad while in Germany met up with his cousin, Rozella, and friend, Hutch.  By the time he shared the picture with me, he didn't remember Hutch's last name. I didn't think to ask if they met in Germany or were friends before they joined the army.

On October 20, 1950, my father, Leeland Johnston Golightley, went to the local recruiting office with a group of friends to join the army. The local selective service board was listed as Duncan, Stephens County, Oklahoma, but his permanent address was listed as Ponca City, Kay Co., Oklahoma. Ponca City is probably where his parents were living at that time.

 After boot camp, Leeland deployed to Germany where he served as an automobile mechanic. He related that he worked mostly on jeeps that were coming from Korea. When he had them running again, the jeeps were shipped back to the war in Korea.

 His duty assignment was Med Co. 8^th Inf Regt. While in the army he completed the Eucom Ord school Auto OM course and was awarded the Army Occupation Medal (Germany).

 Rozella Lamb was Dad’s cousin on his Mother’s side of the family.  I would love to know more about Hutch. Was he one of the friends who enlisted at the same time Dad enlisted? Did they meet in Germany or was he Rozella's friend?

McCarley Origins

 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks: Week 2 (Jan 8-14)
Prompt: Origins
#52ancestors

I wrote the following article many years ago while searching for the origins of the McCarley family.  I've recently found part of it word for word on another website. It is something that was on my website on aol before aol discontinued that service, but I'm publishing it again here.

Mc is an abbreviation of the prefix Mac, which means ‘son of’.  According to the “The Surnames of Scotland” by George F. Black, PhD., McCarley is an anglicized form of MacCarlich. It means ‘son of Charles’. It is no wonder that the McCarleys have spelled their name so many ways in America. They were just following a pattern that began in Scotland where it has been documented as MacThearlaich, MaKarlich, McKearly, McCarlie, McCarlyct, McCarliche, McKerlich, and McTarlichare as well as other spellings.

 McKerley, MacKerlie, and Macerlich were common surnames in Breadalbane around 2 to 3 hundred years ago.

 There are indications that McCarlich’s were of the Campbell Clan. “Archibald M’Kerlich in Finlarg was a vassal of Campbell of Glenurquhay in 1638”. “M’Cairlich and Charlieson…appear to have been Campbells originally, and in Argyllshire they appear under the name of M’Kerliche.”  At a Scottish festival in Texas, a Stewart clan table had paperwork claiming the McCarlys. It is hard decide if they belonged to one clan or the other or if perhaps different “McCarleys” owed allegiance to different clans.   Some “McCarley’s” mentioned in “The Surnames of Scotland" are:

 Alexander Terleti – rector of the parish church of Kilchoman, 1455 (p.465)

 Donald McCarlycht – a ‘fugitive fra the law’ in 1838 (p.465)

 Hector McCarliche in Innerbruoche & Auchinroy McCarliche in Lyne were fined for reset of members of clan Gregor in 1613 (p.465)

 John McKerlich in Finlarg was fined for reset of clan Gregor in 1613, (p.526)

 Neil M’Ewin M’Kerlich, an accomplice of Donald Gorme of State, had remission for his share in laying waste Trouterness in Skye, in 1541” (p.526)

 Duncan McTerlach was a charter witness at Carnasserie in 1436, (p.566)

 Allaster McArliche was hanged for treason in 1615 (p.454)

 

A related post:  McCarley: Is there a right way to spell it?