Treasure Chest Thursday - Gram's Wedding Announcement

In her scrapbook, my grandmother Mamie Olive (Martindale) Spurlock pasted the following newspaper announcement regarding her marriage to Jasper Jackson Spurlock in November 1905:

 

I am grateful that Gram saved it because, other than the 1910 federal census on which my grandparents are enumerated as a married couple and an entry in a marriage index for Nacogdoches County, Texas, there is no other record of their marriage.

But why did she save it? My grandfather abandoned her shortly after the birth of their fourth child (my dad) in 1912, and never returned. I have not found a record of a divorce nor a second marriage, but my grandfather was enumerated in 1930 and 1940 with another woman as his wife. He died in 1940.

My oldest sister Jane told me that Gram believed he would return to her one day. Gram never remarried and saved this newspaper clipping for 60+ years. A sad ending to what started as "one of the prettiest weddings of the season."


© 2013 Denise Spurlock

Gram's Scrapbook - Christmas Greetings

Gram saved several photo Christmas cards, probably because of the photos, because she didn't save many greeting cards. My parents didn't have cards like these made, but here is a sampling with pictures of some of my cousins:

June (Bourne) and Charles McKinley with
Charles McKinley, II, 1958.

Digital image; original held by Cheryl Chaney Beaver, [ADDRESS
WITHHELD FOR PRIVACY], Lone Grove, Oklahoma. 2012.

Jack and Betty (Magee) West with children,
Jack, Susan, Charla and William, c1958.
Digital image; original held by Cheryl Chaney Beaver, [ADDRESS
WITHHELD FOR PRIVACY], Lone Grove, Oklahoma. 2012.

The Children of Charles and June (Bourne) McKinley:
Carl, Chris, Cindy, Charles, c1963.

Digital image; original held by Cheryl Chaney Beaver, [ADDRESS
WITHHELD FOR PRIVACY], Lone Grove, Oklahoma. 2012.

© 2012 Denise Spurlock

Gram's Scrapbook - Voter Registration Certificate

With Election Day coming up on Tuesday, it seems appropriate to share my grandmother's 1967 voter registration certificate. The state of Texas required annual voter registration from 1966 to 1971, but this is the only certificate that Gram saved. The one bit of information I wish I knew - her party affiliation - is not listed. If she were living, would she cast her ballot for Obama or for Romney?

[Source: Spurlock, Mamie Olive (Martindale), Scrapbook, ca 1950-1970; privately held by Cheryl Anne (Chaney) Beaver, [ADDRESS FOR PRIVATE USE,] Lone Grove, Oklahoma. 2010. Photocopy in possession of Denise Spurlock.]

© 2012 Denise Spurlock

Gram's Scrapbook - Poll Tax Exemptions

Prior to 1966, the State of Texas required payment of a poll tax in order for a citizen to be eligible to vote. Exemption from the tax was permitted under certain circumstances. 

Here are two Poll Tax Exemption Certificates that were issued to my grandmother, Mamie Olive (Martindale) Spurlock, one in 1960 and one in 1964. The first one shows that she was exempted because of her age; the second one does not give a reason for exemption but I would imagine it was the same. 

According to the article on Texas election laws on the Texas State Historical Association website, a state constitutional amendment removed the poll tax from the state constitution in 1966 and replaced it with an annual voter registration provision.

[Source: Spurlock, Mamie Olive (Martindale), Scrapbook, ca 1950-1970; privately held by Cheryl Anne (Chaney) Beaver, [ADDRESS FOR PRIVATE USE,] Lone Grove, Oklahoma. 2010. Photocopy in possession of Denise Spurlock.]

© 2012 Denise Spurlock

Gram's Scrapbook - Western Union Delivers Breaking News

Back in the day, people sent Western Union telegrams when they had urgent news to deliver. My paternal grandmother, Mamie Olive (Martindale) Spurlock, had saved three of those important messages in her scrapbook.

Announcing the arrival of a granddaughter in 1944:

Reporting the death of her sister, Maude Alberti (Martindale) Thompson in Missouri in 1958:

And the birth of a great-granddaughter in California in 1963:

[Source: Spurlock, Mamie Olive (Martindale), Scrapbook, ca 1950-1970; privately held by Cheryl Anne (Chaney) Beaver, [ADDRESS FOR PRIVATE USE,] Lone Grove, Oklahoma. 2010. Photocopy in possession of Denise Spurlock. ]

© 2012 Denise Spurlock

Treasure Chest Thursday - Navy Mother's Club

Neither my father nor my two paternal uncles served in the military. No doubt that is the reason my grandmother was only an honorary member of the Navy Mother’s Club No. 2 in Houston, Texas. But why was she involved with this organization at all? Perhaps she had grandsons in the Navy? I need to research the organization and its activities to see if I can figure out why Gram was a member.

© 2012 Denise Spurlock

Treasure Chest Thursday - Gram's Library Cards

In her scrapbook, Gram had saved the three library cards shown below. It appears that wherever she lived, she had a library card. She lived in Houston most of her life, but she also lived with my aunt (Dorothy Belle Spurlock Magee) in Corpus Christi for a period of time. I wonder what kinds of books she enjoyed reading?

© 2012 Denise Spurlock

Treasure Chest Thursday - Eastern Star Membership Card

Gram (Mamie Olive Martindale Spurlock) was a member of the Order of Eastern Star, Button Mountain Chapter No. 368, located in Cushing, Texas, as shown on the card below:

My grandparents were married in Cushing, Texas, in 1905, but by 1917, my grandfather was in California and my grandmother was living in Houston. The way her name is printed on the card would indicate she was a divorcee. I don't know when my grandparents divorced, but I suspect it was not until sometime in the late 1920s. I need to see if I can find out if she maintained her membership in the Button Mountain Chapter throughout her life.

The following small card was attached behind the card above. I have no clue as to its meaning or purpose! If one of my readers has any idea about what it might be, I hope they will let me know.

© 2012 Denise Spurlock

Treasure Chest Thursday - A Drawing of a Pirate

One of the most unusual items in my grandmother's scrapbook is this drawing:

I believe the date is probably when the drawing was given to her, but I don't know who the artist was. She had three grandsons who would have been between 10 and 20 years old at the time. Perhaps it was drawn by one of them.


© 2012 Denise Spurlock

Treasure Chest Thursday - Gram's Scrapbook

My paternal grandmother, Mamie Olive (Martindale) Spurlock, kept a scrapbook in which she glued all manner of things: newspaper announcements of births and marriages, obituaries, telegrams, church programs, war ration books, membership cards, and of course, photos. When she died in 1971, my sister Jane was given the scrapbook; when Jane died in 2004, it was passed on to her youngest daughter, Cheryl. Right now I have the scrapbook and I'm in the process of scanning everything in it. You can see from this picture that it's in pretty bad shape, and I want to capture all the images before it falls apart completely.

My grandmother glued and pinned items to sheets
of two-hole punched, lined notebook paper and kept them in a binder.

I didn't know Gram very well. She lived in Houston and we lived in California. I remember going to visit once but I was more interested in playing with my cousins than in getting to know my grandmother. I regret that now as I try to piece together who she was by looking at the things she treasured enough to save. Over the coming weeks, I'll share my journey of getting to know my grandmother through her scrapbook.


© 2012 Denise Spurlock

Treasure Chest Thursday - Post 3 - My First Family Tree

Digital image created 2011.
Source: Baby book, Denise Spurlock, privately held by
Denise Spurlock [ADDRESS WITHHELD FOR PRIVACY].

When Mama was pregnant with me, her friends from work gave her a baby shower. One of the gifts she received was a baby book. She was dutiful in filling out all the information in it until I was about 5 years old. I imagine one of the first things she did was fill in her side of the family tree and ask Daddy to complete his side.

This simple family tree completed in my parents' handwriting is a priceless treasure.

© 2011 Denise Spurlock

Treasure Chest Thursday - Post 2 - Sissie, Gram and Daddy

From left to right:
Gloria Jane Spurlock, Mamie Olive (Martindale) Spurlock,
Jasper Jackson "Jack" Spurlock.

I think this photo was taken in December 1952 at my grandmother's home in Houston, Texas. My sister and father would have been there for the funeral of Mattie Lee (McBride) Spurlock, my dad's first wife and my sister's mother.

© 2011 Denise Spurlock

Treasure Chest Thursday - Post 1 - Dear Sis

My grandfather J. J. Spurlock died many years before I was born; because he was estranged from his children, my father did not speak of him. In December 2000, I had the pleasure of visiting Spurlock family members in Louisiana. At that time, Bettye Lou (Conville) Gleason, my first cousin once removed, gave me the following letter written by my grandfather to her mother, Sarah Elizabeth "Sis" (Spurlock) Conville.

Letter from J. J. Spurlock to Sarah Elizabeth Spurlock Conville

Envelope postmarked 25 Oct 1929

The letter, written in pencil on paper now yellowed with age, reads:

                   10/25/29 

Dear Sis 

          I received your letter o.k. and

was certainly glad to hear from

you. sorry to hear of all the deaths

but time is slipping by and old age

will get us all. 

          In regard stone for Ma's grave

I want to do my part but will not

be able to put up the money until

after xmas. I have some big bills

to pay between now and xmas and

just now I dont know where the

money is coming from. but you

can count on me for $40.⁰⁰ in

January. 

          Love to all,

                   your brother

                             Jack 

Hope to be able to visit
you all some day.

Writing on the eve of the Great Depression, my grandfather speaks of having bills to pay. I wonder how he fared during the 1930s. I don't think my great-grandmother's stone was ever replaced; the grave stone where she is buried in Hurricane Cemetery, Claiborne Parish, Louisiana, appears to have been made at a time closer to her death in 1893. I am saddened that there is no evidence that he had the chance to visit his siblings in Louisiana  and Texas before his death in 1940.

This is a rare treasure that connects me to one of my ancestors I never knew. I am lucky to have it.

© 2011 Denise Spurlock