Andrew Lincecum, Free Born

Andrew Lincecum was born 1853-1860, likely in Louisiana.  This 3rd cousin of mine was a son of Rezin Bowie Lincecum and Annise (Annis, Annisa) Bowie.

I have seen Andrew's surname spelled many ways:  Lincecum, Linceycum, Lynscum, Lincecom, and Linscomb.  And though I've seen him referred to as Andrew most often, Andy and André are also noted.

My family and family history (so far as I know) is very caucasian white.  So it was a mild surprise to see R. Lincecum, a white planter, married to Annise, noted as Black in the 1860 Catahoula Parish, Louisiana Federal census.  These were the parents of Andrew, so his "color" was given as mulatto.  A notation was added to the census for the children of this union:  Free Borne --

What might that mean? Per Wikipedia:

The term free people of color…in the context of the history of slavery in the Americas, at first specifically referred to persons of mixed African and European descent who were not enslaved.  The term was especially used in the French colonies, including La Louisiane…  In these territories and major cities, particularly New Orleans, and those cities held by the Spanish, a substantial…class of primarily mixed-race, free people developed.  These colonial societies classified mixed-race people in a variety of ways, generally related to visible features and to the proportion of African ancestry…

In the Thirteen Colonies, settled by the British, and later in the United States, the term free negro was often used to cover the same class of people – those who were legally free and visibly of ethnic African descent.  It included persons of mixed race…

On the flip side, Christophe Landry of Louisiana Historic & Cultural Vistas, notes the following:

From 1699 to 1868, mixed color marriages were expressly forbidden.

So I wonder, were Rezin and Annise "officially" married? I just don't know the answer to that yet.

Returning to Andrew, specifically, his race was noted in a fairly consistent way across the census records taken throughout his life:  1880 – mulatto; 1900 – black; 1910 – black; 1920 – mulatto; and 1930 – negro.

Andrew was occupied as a farmer for the majority, if not all, of his adult life.  About 1887-1889, he married Minerva Maxwell, possibly a daughter of Jackson and Mary Jane M(c?)axwell.  Census takers considered her to be black, Indian, mulatto, and negro.  The couple had five children:  Wallace, Mary Ann (Anise), Roley, Otta (Ida), and Edward.

An interesting note might be that Andrew's son Roley (Rollo, Raleigh, Rolle, Rawlins) lived to be 100 years old.

By the time the 1940 Rapides Parish, Louisiana Federal census was taken, Minerva was a widow.  She later died on 22 September 1956.

Family Report for Altus Gideon Lincecum (1909-1979)

Altus Gideon Lincecum was born on 6 September 1909 in Headrick, Jackson County, Oklahoma. He was a son of Luke Anderson Lincecum (1859-1944) and Ida A. Bynum (1876-1952), and a great-grandson of famed naturalist Gideon Lincecum (1793-1874).

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BOOK #AD - Gideon Lincecum, 1793-1874: A Biography - "Possessed of a driving intellectual curiosity undeterred by lack of formal education, Lincecum examined all he confronted. He learned from Indians, he read widely, and he corresponded with the great minds of his day. In the process he became many things: physician, musician, botanist, entomologist, ornithologist, and translator of Indian dialects..."

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As a young person, Altus moved with his family from Oklahoma to Curry County, New Mexico, before settling in Sacramento County, California.

Altus held many jobs during his twenties and early thirties: chauffeur, "special police officer," watchman, and brakeman for the Southern Pacific Railroad. By 1943, however, he seemed to settle into being a motion picture operator. Altus held that job until at least 1960, working at the Liberty and Tower theaters in Sacramento. The Tower Theatre was built in 1938, and per Wikipedia, it is "the oldest remaining, continuously running picture palace."

Sometime between 1930 and 1934, Altus married Idaho-born Elayne Arlene Abramson (1916-1995). She was a daughter of Dave W. Abramson and Mary Smith. The young couple had two daughters, one being Gail Alyce Lincecum.

Altus appeared on a Sacramento County, California voter registration roll for the years 1934 and 1940. In both instances, his party affiliation was Democrat. Elayne was on the same list in 1940 with the same party affiliation.

Altus Gideon Lincecum died on 30 October 1979 in Sacramento County. Burial was in East Lawn Memorial Park.

Gail Alyce Lincecum was born on Christmas Eve in 1936. She spent most, if not all, of her life in Sacramento, California. According to her obituary, Gail was a 39-year employee of Aerojet, an American rocket and missile propulsion manufacturer founded in 1942. She was also a member and Past Matron of the Order of the Eastern Star.

Gail died on 11 May 1999. Memorial services were held for her at the Eastern Star Temple at 2719 K Street in Sacramento. This building dates back to 1928 and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places as a rare example of a building devoted to a women's organization.

Order of the Eastern Star Emblem
Gravestone of Mrs. Nettie C. Hall
Evergreen Cemetery at Fitzgerald, Georgia

The Dixie Overland Highway (An American History Tidbit)

When I'm down in the minutiae of researching someone's life, it's easy to miss the bigger picture. The history around them, even though it most definitely shaped them to some degree. I have to make a conscious effort to widen the lens -- work to put meat on the bones, so to speak.

Other times, little things just jump right out. Hop in the car with me. 🚗 

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In May of 1930, Oscar Lee Pike, son of Alma Rosalie Lincecum Pike, was living just two doors down from his future sister-in-law, Ella Mae McGuire. Both families were in Lincoln Parish, Louisiana, and both families were residing along the Dixie Overland Highway.

The Dixie Overland Highway was conceived in 1914 by the Automobile Club of Savannah, Georgia, with the goal of charting a path through the southern States "for the purpose of connecting the Atlantic with the Pacific."

Following from the March 1917 Better Roads and Streets magazine:

An association was formed, officers elected, and a plan of operation agreed upon. The object of the association being to promote the construction and use of a highway through the States of Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, and California.

...It was then developed that the Dixie Overland Highway when constructed will be the shortest, straightest, and only year round, ocean to ocean highway, in the United States. All highways east of the Mississippi and the most of those west of the river, are laid out for north and south travel. The Dixie Overland connects them all, is a trunk line through the heart of the 'black belt,' crossing the rivers at the head of navigation, and forming what the promoters believe to be the most useful and important highway in the South.

[Source]

In 1926, the American Association of State Highway Officials designated and unveiled the official description of U.S. Route 80, which largely followed the Dixie Overland Highway. The entire route was 2,726 miles, with the following being the portion through Louisiana:

Beginning at the Mississippi-Louisiana State line at Delta via Tallulah, Royville, Monroe, Ruston, Arcadia, Minden, Shreveport to the Louisiana-Texas State line east of Waskom.

Here is a present-day map of the Dixie Overland Highway / U.S. 80 through Lincoln Parish, Louisiana, where Oscar Lee Pike and Ella Mae McGuire resided in 1930.

It didn't take long for tourism to be promoted along these auto trails and highway routes. Even today, Louisiana's Historic US 80 Byway is said to be where "drivers...can drink in vistas of verdant farms and forested landscapes."

Alma Rosalie Lincecum Pike (1874-1926) and Family

Alma Rosalie "Rose" Lincecum was born 12 July 1874 in Grant Parish, Louisiana to Harmon R. Lincecum and Margaret Frances "Fanny" Turnley (b. 1843). There was an age difference of about twenty years between Alma's parents, and it's quite possible her father died when she was very young.

On 16 September 1894 in Grant Parish, when Alma was twenty, she married Georgia native Luther F. Pike (d. 1944). He was a son of James D. and Malinda A. Pike.

The 1900 federal census taker visited Luther F. Pike's household just fifteen days after Alma gave birth to twins. By that time, though, Alma had already given birth to five children with only the twins still living. All told, Alma gave birth to at least eight children. Four died in infancy, and four survived to adulthood. The latter were twins Oscar Lee and Luther Franklin, son Johnnie Reynolds, and daughter Carrie M.

Alma and Luther raised their children primarily in the north-central part of Louisiana. Aside from being a fireman on a log train once, Luther was usually occupied with farming.

Oscar Lee Pike was born 5 June 1900 in Selma, Grant Parish, Louisiana. For his 1918 World War I draft registration, Oscar was described as slender, with blue eyes and light hair. Like his father, Oscar spent most of his time in the business of farming.

About 1927, Oscar married Ora Belle, daughter of Oscar and Carrie Belle Goodwin. The young couple had at least three children. Two were a son, Oliver Cortez "Pete" Pike (1927-2015), and a daughter Joyce E. (1940-1990).

Oscar Lee Pike died 1 November 1951 in Simsboro, Lincoln Parish, Louisiana. Burial was in Oak Grove Cemetery.

Luther Franklin Pike was born 5 June 1900 in Selma, Grant Parish, Louisiana. For his 1918 World War I draft registration, Luther was described as slender, with blue eyes and sandy hair. An interesting addition to his 1942 World War II draft registration was the notation that Luther had a scar on his right temple and a scar on his right wrist.

It seems Luther did spend time in California from the late 1950s to at least the mid-1960s. He might've even gotten married there during that time. However, I am still determining since I have found no mention of a wife after the supposed marriage.

Luther died 3 February 1971 in Lincoln Parish, Louisiana. Burial was in Oak Grove Cemetery.

Johnnie Reynolds Pike was born 9 April 1903 in Grant Parish, Louisiana. He married Ella Mae (1910-1984), daughter of Willie and Hattie McGuire.

Johnnie and Ella had at least three children: Harold Lloyd (1934-2010), Claude Edward (1936-2010), and Johny Reynolds Jr. (1937-2003).

Johnnie Reynolds Pike, Sr. died in January 1981, aged 77 years.

Carrie M. Pike was born 15 November 1907 in Selma, Grant Parish, Louisiana. About 1926, she married Joseph C. Madere (1895-1977), and the couple had at least two children. One was a son, Joseph C. Madere, Jr. (1926-1996).

Joseph and Carrie spent some time residing in the port city of New Orleans, where Joseph worked as a machine feeder for a lumber company. He also was an employee of Lane Cotton Mills.

The couple returned to central Louisiana before Carrie died in Alexandria, Rapides Parish on 3 June 1966. Burial was at Liberty Chapel Cemetery in Grant Parish.

Original image by lcgates (2021) via FindAGrave.
Permission for use granted in bio.

Alma Rosalie Lincecum Pike was just 52 years old when she died on 26 December 1926 in Rochelle, Grant Parish, Louisiana. Burial was at Lincecum Cemetery.

Individual Report for Allen L. Lincecum (d. 2015)

Allen L. Lincecum was born in Louisiana on July 29th. The year was 1928 or 1929 (I have three sources for each). For what it's worth, 1928 is the birth year on his gravestone.

Allen was one of at least six children born to Daniel Peachlyn/Peachland "Dan" Lincecum (1904-1990) and Noda Belle Nugent (1910-1998). His siblings include Dan P. Jr. (1927-1984), Madge Elaine (1933-2015), and Mildred Faye (1943-1998).

At about age 20, Allen married 17-year-old Wanda Glee Davis (d. 2023). She was a daughter of Amos Davis and Helen Duncan. Wanda's sister, Marie, married Perry O. Lincecum (1925-1979), first cousin to Allen.

Allen and Wanda would have at least five children together before they presumably divorced. One was a son, Dennis Allen Lincecum (1951-2007).

Allen spent the bulk of his life residing in Grant Parish, Louisiana. More specific place names include Selma, Georgetown, and Pollock. Although I found his surname spelled as Lincicum once, that was likely an anomaly. Especially given Grant Parish is home to Lincecum Cemetery, Lincecum Baptist Church, and Lincecum Village Road. 😉

Allen L. Lincecum died on 14 May 2015 at a hospital in Alexandria, Rapides Parish, Louisiana. He was laid to rest in Big Creek Cemetery at Pollock. A paragraph from his obituary in the 16 May 2015 Town Talk (Alexandria, Louisiana):

Allen proudly served his country in the United States Navy and during his working life was a Locomotive Engineer for Union Pacific Railroad for 35 years. He was a member of the Pentacostals of Alexandria for 21 years and was a devoted husband, father, grandfather, great grandfather and great great-grandfather who will be greatly missed by all who knew him.

Those whom we never cease to love we never lose.

(OTL) From Missouri to California: a Trio of Roberts Men Go West for Work in Oil

 Rather than an exhaustive report, this is more of a brief note of historical context.🤓

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"Foreign immigration is a hot topic these days, but the movement of people from one state to another can have an even bigger influence on the United States' economy, politics and culture. Americans have already seen this with the Western expansion, the movement of Southern blacks to Northern cities and the migration from the Rust Belt." -- New York Times article Where We Came From and Where We Went, State by State dated 19 August 2014.

One by one, three of the eldest sons born to Justus Roberts and Martha Barks went west to California from their native Missouri. Did they make a pact and all go together? I'm not sure, but with the records I can access, here is when they each arrived in the Golden State:

• William Eppie Roberts was born 1884 in Bollinger County, Missouri. According to an obituary, he was a Coalinga, Fresno County, California resident by 1910.
• Milas Sylvestor Roberts was born 1886 in Bollinger County, Missouri. He married Mary Wood (d. 1974) on Christmas Eve 1910 in Fresno County, California.
• Linus H. Roberts was born 1890 in Cape Girardeau County, Missouri. According to an obituary, he was a Fresno County, California resident by 1916.

A job opportunity in the oil industry may have lured these young men west. William was an oil well pumper. Milas held the occupations of driller, rotary helper, and gauger. And Linus was an oil field teamster and general "oil worker." William spent several years with the Union Oil Company. And on each of their 1942 World War II draft registrations, both Milas and Linus list "Standard Oil Co." as their employer.

"The 19th century was a period of great change and rapid industrialization. The iron and steel industry spawned new construction material, the railroads connected the country and the discovery of oil provided a new source of fuel. The discovery of the Spindletop geyser in 1901 drove huge growth in the oil industry. Within a year, more than 1,500 oil companies had been chartered, and oil became the dominant fuel of the 20th century and an integral part of the American economy.

...When Standard [Oil Company] entered California in 1900, seven integrated oil companies already flourished there. The Union Oil Company was the most important of these." [Source]

In 1903, according to Wikipedia, "California became the leading oil-producing state in the US, and traded the number one position back-and-forth with Oklahoma through the year 1930."

"The Golden State got its nickname from the Sierra Nevada gold that lured so many miners and settlers to the West, but California has earned much more wealth from so-called 'black gold' than from metallic gold. The San Joaquin Valley has been the principal source for most of the petroleum produced in the State during the past 145 years." -- A Brief History of Oil and Gas Exploration in the Southern San Joaquin Valley of California

Image by Wikipedia user Antandrus. License for use: CC BY-SA 3.0

The Coalinga Oil Field is located in western Fresno County, California, surrounding the town of Coalinga. It was discovered in the late 19th century and became active around 1890. Each of the Roberts brothers named above spent at least some time residing in Fresno County, part of the San Joaquin Valley, and even specifically the town of Coalinga. Saying they worked at the Coalinga Oil Field at some point in their lives seems hardly a stretch.

Per Wikipedia, "A dramatic oil gusher erupted in Sept. 1909 at the 'Silver Tip' well [in Coalinga], producing 20,000 barrels a day, the biggest gusher in California until then. This was an event of such excitement that [the] Los Angeles Stock Exchange closed down for a day so that its members could come by train to view it." Given the timing, I wonder if that gusher guided the Roberts brothers to the San Joaquin Valley, Fresno County, and Coalinga.

Via Wikipedia. Digitization of unique historic image.
Author unknown.

Other places on the map above where the Roberts brothers lived include the cities of Fresno and Atascadero. Additionally, upon their deaths, Linus was buried in Fresno's Mountain View Cemetery and William was buried in Atascadero Pine Mountain Cemetery. 🪦

The fact that all three brothers stayed in California for the rest of their days hopefully means they deemed their moves worthy and successful.

[These three brothers were part of a family of eleven children. To learn more about the additional eight siblings, go here.]

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BOOK #AD: American Exodus: The Dust Bowl Migration and Okie Culture in California

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Jettie Mae Roberts was Wife to Albert Lewis Lincecum, and One of Eleven Children Born to Justus Roberts and Martha Jane Barks

I love big families! This is a long one, though. Stay hydrated! ❤️

Jettie Mae Roberts, wife of Albert Lewis Lincecum (1890-1961), was born 16 March 1896 in Bollinger County, Missouri. She was one of eleven children born to Justus Aleander Roberts (1860-1940) and Martha Jane Barks (1865-1951):

• William Eppie Roberts (1884-1960)
• Wesley Everett Roberts (d. young)
• Milas Sylvester Roberts (1886-1960)
• Pearl Lavinia Roberts (d. young)
• Linus H. Roberts (1890-1976)
• Early Clarence Roberts (1893-1965)
• Jettie Mae Roberts (1896-1976)
• Ray Ransom Roberts (1899-1966)
• Roy Albert Roberts (1902-1973)
• Clyde Edwin Roberts (1905-1979)
• Bessie Marie Roberts (1908-1989)

I have found plenty of evidence that Martha indeed had eleven children, and I have been able to name all nine that survived to adulthood. The names of the two who died in infancy come from Brenda Johnson, granddaughter of Bessie Marie Roberts Thoma Cobb.

William Eppie Roberts

William was born on the 3rd of November. But what year? I can produce a source that provides for the years of 1882, 1883, 1884, and 1885! I lean toward 1884, the year given on William's World War II draft registration card, though his gravestone shows 1883.

In March 1904, William married Minnie B. Mungle (d. 1953) in Cape Girardeau County, Missouri. The couple had at least three children: Freida, Helen (1919-1986), and William George (1922-2002).

By 1910, the elder William and Minnie were located in Fresno County, California, where he worked for the Union Oil Company, possibly as a pumper.

When William registered for the draft in 1942, it was noted he was paralyzed on his right side. By that time, he and Minnie were in San Luis Obispo County, California. William died there 7 November 1960 and was laid to rest in Atascadero Pine Mountain Cemetery.

Milas Sylvestor Roberts

I've often seen his first name spelled as Miles, but do think Milas is correct. Even though the former spelling is on his gravestone.

Milas was born 27 October 1886 at Marble Hill, Bollinger County, Missouri. He married Mary E. Wood (d. 1974) in Fresno County, California on Christmas Eve 1910. The couple had at least five children. Four of them were Freeland Sylvester (1911-1995), Robert E., Donna (1923-2003), and Beverly Jean (1935-2022).

Milas, like William, went West and entered the oil industry. The January 1920 U.S. Federal census records him in Coleman County, Texas. City directories put him back in Fresno County, California by 1928. His occupation in April 1950, at the age of 63, is noted as "Gauger, Oil Fields."

Milas died 25 August 1960 in Fresno County. Burial was in Grangeville Cemetery at Armona, Kings County, California.

Linus H. Roberts

I'm fairly certain Linus's middle name was Hezekiah, though I've yet to find that exact spelling in any of the records accessed. He was born 14 April 1890 in Whitewater, Cape Girardeau County, Missouri.

On 18 January 1914, also in Cape Girardeau County, Linus married my great-aunt Octa Hester Hector (1895-1936). Octa's sister, Georgia Ellen "Trigg" Hector (1903-1983), was my great-grandmother. Trigg's husband and my great-grandfather, Charley Wilbur Lincecum (1902-1990), was brother to Albert Lewis Lincecum (1890-1961). Albert, you'll remember, married Linus's sister, Jettie Mae Roberts. [Whew! Get all that? 😉]

Linus and Octa had two children, William Dorris (1914-1983) and Dorothy Beatrice (b. 1918), before my great-aunt died at just 40 years old. Linus later married Julia A. Phillips Hart (1882-1973).

Like his two older brothers before him, Linus went West to California and made his living as an oil worker. He and Octa were located in Fresno County by 1916. Linus might've retired from the oil industry sometime after 1942, though. The 1950 Fresno County, California Federal census noted his occupation as "Farmer."

Linus died in Fresno County 17 August 1976. Burial was in Mountain View Cemetery.

Early Clarence Roberts
Early Clarence "Earl" Roberts was born October 1893 in Scott County, Missouri. Though I have yet been unable to locate him in 1920 or 1930 census records, a 1934 marriage record puts Early in Klamath Falls, Klamath County, Oregon. (He, too, went West.) Klamath Falls is just ten miles from the California - Oregon border, but more than 500 miles from where his three older brothers settled.

The woman Early married was Colorado native Anona G. (Roper) Voorhes. The couple had no children.

On his 1917 World War I draft registration card, Early was described as short and slender with black hair. Though he followed his brothers West, Early was not an oil man. Instead, he was a mill and factory worker.

Earl died 21 October 1965 in Klamath Falls at the Presbyterian Intercommunity Hospital. Cause of death was respiratory failure and shock due to 3rd-degree burns on over 90% of his body. A niece notes that Early died in a house fire.

Ray Ransom Roberts

Ray was born 27 March 1899 in Chaffee, Scott County, Missouri. In 1920, he married Iva D. Nothdurft (1901-1993) in Cape Girardeau County. The couple had at least four children: Kathleen Linett (1921-1999), Wilda (1923-1983), Donald R. (1932-2020), and Arlan L. (1935-2019).

By 1930, Ray was working at the shoe factory in Cape Girardeau, and possibly remained occupied there for more than thirty years. The five-story building was located on Main Street, just a couple blocks from the Mississippi River. From the Southeast Missourian archive: "In 1935, International was making about 12 million pairs of shoes a year with a peak workforce of 1600...The building was abandoned in 1984 and demolished in 1990."

Roy Albert Roberts

Roy was born April 1902 in Cape Girardeau County, Missouri. At age 22, he married Ella Dee Devore (d. 1979). The couple had at least four children, two of them being Arthur I. (1925-1980) and Virgie E. (1931-2013).

Roy moved his family to St. Louis, Missouri shortly after 1940, where he engaged in factory work for a time. Roy died in St. Louis 30 November 1973. Burial was in Fee Fee Cemetery.

Clyde Edwin Roberts

Clyde was born 11 July 1905 in Whitewater, Cape Girardeau County, Missouri. In February 1925, he married Robbie Lee Johnson (1909-2005). The couple had at least four children. Three of them were Jessie Marie (1928-1974), Paul Edwin (1929-2013), and Mildred Geraldine (1934-2005).

Clyde Edwin Roberts died at Southeast Missouri Hospital in Cape Girardeau 15 September 1979. Burial was in Cape County Memorial Park Cemetery. Per his obituary, Clyde was employed by the aforementioned International Shoe Co. for 8 years.

Bessie Marie Roberts

The last child born to Justus and Martha Roberts was Bessie Marie. She came into the world on 4 September 1908. At age 17, with her father's consent, Bessie married Otto A. Thoma, son of Mr. and Mrs. Adam Thoma. The young couple had one child.

After marriage, Otto obtained a diploma from the National Radio Institute. Then he and Bessie moved to St. Louis, Missouri, where Otto worked as a radio electrician. In 1934, Otto's father died and the young Thoma family returned home to Cape Girardeau County, Missouri so Otto could take over his father's farm. Less than two years after the death of Adam Thoma, Otto, too, was dead.

Cape County Post (Missouri)

Thursday, 17 October 1935, pg. 1 [via Newspapers.com]

STRANGE ACCIDENTAL DEATH.

Otto A. Thoma Found Dead in Field, Supposedly Overcome by Tractor Fumes.

Otto A. Thoma, youngest son of the late Adam Thoma of Welch township, was found dead early Friday morning in a field by the side of a tractor, which he had driven all night in preparing land for wheat sowing. The motor was still running. The discovery was made by Henry Keller, who had come to relieve Thoma in operating the machine. Dr. Davault of Allenville and Dr. Haskell, medical officer at the CCC camp in that vicinity, were called but could do nothing aside from stating that death had ensued. Coroner Moore was called and after investigating the circumstances, decided that death was caused by monoxide gas. Such gas poisoning cases in closed buildings are not uncommon, but we never heard of a fatality resulting in the open. However, it may be that the unfortunate man, worn out from the night's work, got off the tractor and sat down on the ground, perhaps went to sleep, with the exhaust close to his face, the fumes being driven towards his mouth by wind. The funeral was held Sunday afternoon at Trinity M. E. church near Round Pond, of which his father was one of the founders, Rev. G. A. Prietz of Gordonville conducting the services.

Deceased was the youngest son of his parents, and after the death of his father he came home from St. Louis, where he had been in the electrical business, to take charge of the home farm, as his two brothers had farms of their own, close by. He was 32 years old, married, and leaves his wife, a young daughter, his mother and two brothers, Henry and John.

About five years after Otto's passing, on 21 September 1940, Bessie married John Albert Cobb (b. 1906). She would bury her second husband 17 years later. John's death came just 9 days before he and Bessie's wedding anniversary.

Bessie remained in Cape Girardeau County for at least a couple more decades. She died at age 80 on 14 July 1989 at Bond Nursing Home in Lutesville, Bollinger County, Missouri. Burial was beside husband John Albert in Cape County Memorial Park Cemetery.

Image by Ruth Smith (2015).

Albert Lewis Lincecum (1890-1961): A Short Biographical Sketch with Photos

Albert Lewis Lincecum was born on 10 August 1890 in Hickory Ridge, a community near Allenville in Cape Girardeau County, Missouri. He was one of at least six children born to Francis Marion Lincecum (1857-1931) and Annie Victoria Gibbs (1871-1934).

Albert made his living as a farmer in southeast Missouri. Census records show him residing in Cape Girardeau, Stoddard, and Bollinger counties. Most of his days were spent in the former, and Cape Girardeau County is where he married Jettie Mae Roberts (1896-1976) on 22 March 1914.

Albert and Jettie had four children: Norman Francis (1915-1976), Orville Justus (1918-1985), Myrtle Marie (1923-2016), and Emory Emerson (1925-1990).

Great-uncle Albert died of meningitis on 20 June 1961 at the Southeast Missouri Hospital in Cape Girardeau. He was laid to rest in Cape County Memorial Park Cemetery.

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BOOK #AD: Southeast Missouri from Swampland to Farmland: The Transformation of the Lowlands

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Cape County Memorial Park (Missouri).
Image by Ruth Smith (2011) via FindAGrave.
Permission for use granted in bio.

Albert is standing.
Seated is Clarence Hedge, I think.

L to R: Emory, Jettie, and Albert

Francis Marion Lincecum & Family
L to R: Albert, Charley, Francis, Bertha, Annie, and Mary

Albert Lewis Lincecum (1890-1961)

*Another nice photo of Jettie and Albert can be found here.

Letha Elizabeth Gandy and Her Marriage to Doc Lincecum

Letha Elizabeth Gandy was born on 25 September 1873 at Gandy Bend in Lavaca County, Texas to Barnabas Pipkin Gandy (d. 1914) and Mary Elizabeth Allen. The community in which Letha was born was settled by her grandfather Daniel "in the big bend of the Navidad" River.

View a larger Google map here.

At the "spinsterish" age of 24, Letha married Dr. Addison Lysander "Doc" Lincecum (1874-1965). He was a son of Dr. Lucullus Garland Lincecum (d. 1900) and Louisa Frances "Fannie" Rainwater (1843-1878). Soon after the young couple's marriage, they moved to Lampasas, where their arrival was noted in the local paper:

Friday, 3 December 1897

Lampasas Leader (Texas)

Marriages

LINCECUM - GANDY. -- Lampasas has captured another prize. Dr. Ad. L. Lincecum and Miss Letha Gandy of Hallettsville, Lavaca county, were happily married, and arrived in this city last Saturday.

And thus it is that Lampasas has added another bright star in her constellation of fair daughters.

The bride is of one of the oldest and most highly respected families, and a young lady of culture and refinement.

The groom is the son of Dr. L. G. Lincecum and is well known to everybody, having lived in Lampasas since early childhood. He is a promising young physician, and all Lampasas has a warm welcome for the young couple -- the groom to his old and the bride to her new home.

For the present they are domiciled at the groom's father's residence on West Third street.

Letha and Doc had three children: Barnabas Pipkin Gandy (1900-1999), who was named after Letha's father; Ruth Elizabeth (1903-1982), whose middle name is the same as her mother and maternal grandmother; and Addison Turney (1913-1989), whose middle name is the maiden name of Letha's paternal grandmother.

Historian Clarence Wharton wrote the following about Letha in Texas Under Many Flags (pub. 1930):

Mrs. Lincecum is a Texas author, has been an investigator and writer on historical topics, and many of her writings have been published and have secured for her special recognition and honors from the university and other institutions.  Her great-grandfather, John Gandy, of North Carolina, was a soldier in the American Revolution.  Her parents were Barnabas P. and Mary (Allen) Gandy, her father a native of Alabama and her mother of Mississippi.

 

Letha died two days after Christmas in 1959, and burial was in the family cemetery at Gandy Bend. Her tombstone bears an emblem for the Order of the Eastern Star.

Addison "Bubba" Lincecum Died from Burns Received in a Boat Accident (1983)

Addison Turney "Bubba" Lincecum, Jr. was born on 16 October 1933 in Pierce, Wharton County, Texas to Addison Lincecum Sr. (1913-1989) and Elsie Mae Clarke (1914-1985). Addison married at least once and had at least one child.

In late July 1983, Addison was involved in a boat accident at a Freeport, Brazoria County, Texas marina where he worked. A boat that was refueling caught fire and exploded. He was flown to Houston for treatment after suffering cuts and second and third-degree burns on more than 40% of his body, according to the U.S. Coast Guard office at Galveston.

Unfortunately, Addison did not survive the injuries and died a week before his fiftieth birthday on 9 October 1983 in Houston. Burial was in Wharton City Cemetery in Wharton County.

Individual Report for Addison Turney "Bill" Lincecum (1913-1989)

Addison Turney "Bill" Lincecum was born on 19 February 1913 in El Campo, Wharton County, Texas. He was one of at least three children born to Dr. Addison Lysander Lincecum (1874-1965) and Letha Elizabeth Gandy (1873-1959). I have seen Addison referred to as William Lincecum a couple of times while conducting research, so don't dismiss that moniker outright if you see it.

Addison was married at least three times. At age 18, he first married Elsie Mae Clarke (1914-1985). They were wed on 16 May 1931 in Brazoria County, Texas. Elsie was a daughter of Fred Webster Clarke, an English immigrant, and Cora Wade Sanders. I think Addison and Elsie had at least four children. Two were Elsie Elizabeth (1931-2015) and Addison Turney Jr. (1933-1983). The elder Addison and Elsie divorced around the mid-1940s.

Addison's second marriage was to Carrie Bell Sledge (1918-1977), daughter of Albert Lee Sledge and Ellie Spitowski. If my information is correct, the younger couple was married on what would've been the thirty-sixth anniversary of Addison's first marriage, 16 May 1967. 💔 They, too, were wed in Brazoria County.

Lastly, Addison married Barbara Gwyndol Anderson (1920-2009), daughter of B. L. and Mabel, on 19 July 1978 in Houston, Harris County, Texas.

Addison spent a good portion of his life in the neighboring Texas counties of Wharton and Brazoria. The last address I have for him was in the city of Freeport, located on the Gulf of Mexico. Addison died in that city on 24 November 1989. Burial was in Restwood Memorial Park Cemetery.

Photo by Lois Martin McDonald (2009).
Permission for use granted in FindAGrave bio.

According to an obituary published in the 26 November 1989 Victoria Advocate (Texas), Addison was "a well-known inventor.  He acquired several patents beginning in his teen years and continuing his career into his 70s.  He was a veteran of World War II, and a member of several civic and fraternal organizations."

I was able to easily and freely verify the claim about Addison being an inventor with the help of the U.S. Government's Patent Public Search website. In March of 1929, at the age of 16, A. T. filed a patent for a Portable Electric Air Heater. The patent was received a year later. Another found was for "new and useful improvements in an engine," dated 25 January 1965. Approval came a couple of years later.

Individual Report for Addison Lysander Lincecum (1874-1965)

This is a long one, folks. Settle in when you can.

He was my 3rd cousin, 5x removed.

Addison Lysander Lincecum was born 8 April 1874 in Long Point, Washington County, Texas to Dr. Lucullus Garland Lincecum (d. 1900) and Louisa Frances "Fannie" Rainwater (1843-1878). While only two children were born to Lucullus and Fannie, Addison's father was married at least three times and fathered at least ten children.

Biographical / Genealogical Notes

When Addison was but four years old, his mother Fannie "died of heart disease while sitting at the supper table."

For the taking of the 1880 US Federal census, Addison was listed with his father and third wife, Marie/Mary Oliphant.

Addison was educated at the University of Texas, Dallas Medical School, and Baylor University Medical School. His father died in 1900, a few years before Addison graduated with the first class of medical students from Baylor. The younger Dr. Lincecum would practice medicine for the next fifty years, much of that time being in El Campo, Wharton County, Texas. Addison was actually a third-generation medical practitioner. His grandfather was Dr. Gideon Lincecum, the famed naturalist*, who died the year Addison was born.

According to Lois Burkhalter's biography of Gideon Lincecum*, Addison worked his way through medical school as an engineer on trains transporting granite blocks for Galveston jetties.

On 24 October 1897, Addison Lincecum married Letha Elizabeth Gandy in Lavaca County, Texas. Letha, a fellow Texan born 25 September 1873 at Gandy Bend, was a daughter of Barnabas Pipkin Gandy (d. 1914) and Mary Elizabeth Allen.

Addison and Letha would be the parents of at least three children: Barnabas Pipkin Gandy (1900-1999), Ruth Elizabeth (1903-1982), and Addison Turney (1913-1989).

Clarence Wharton, author of Texas Under Many Flags, published the following in 1930: "Dr. Addison L. Lincecum, who has done a great deal of public health work, is practicing medicine and conducting a high class private hospital at El Campo...He is a Republican, member of the Christian Church, and is a Lodge and Royal Arch Chapter Mason."

Following from the "Addison L. Lincecum Papers, 1908-1965" housed at the Briscoe Center for American History, The University of Texas at Austin (information extracted by Kathy Herzik, Jean Difloe, and Julia Payne about 1981):

During the Spanish-American War, [Addison] served with Teddy Roosevelt’s Rough Riders, and he fought Pancho Villa’s encroachments on the Texas border as a Texas Ranger in the 1910s. In World War I, Lincecum served as a combat surgeon in France, participating in the Meuse-Argonne and Saint-Mihiel campaigns. Upon returning to the states, he founded and served as first commander for an American Legion Post at El Campo. In 1920, at the outbreak of bubonic plague, Governor James E. Ferguson sent Lincecum to Galveston, later appointing him to the State Board of Health. Lincecum also served one term as mayor of El Campo (1932), acted as the town’s postmaster (1935-1949), and established (1939) and superintended the Nightingale Hospital for 10 years.

Per Texas Ranger Biographies*, Addison was a Special Ranger from 1 August 1917 to 17 June 1918 "(attached to Co. C)."

Dr. Lincecum Day

24 March 1960 Edna Herald (Texas)

El Campo Pays Tribute to Dr. A. L. Lincecum

...EL CAMPO -- Riding with Teddy Roosevelt's Rough Riders and hunting Pancho Villa are minor events in the life of a local doctor compared with the celebration staged in his honor here Friday.

El Campo citizens honored Dr. A. L. Lincecum, 86, with "Dr. Lincecum Day."

It was right after he had married a young teacher named Letha Gandy in 1897 that "Doc" Lincecum interrupted his medical studies to join the Rough Riders in the Spanish-American War.

...He became enraged in 1917 when Pancho Villa killed a doctor friend of his, and he came out fighting. He asked for and received a commission in the Texas Rangers and joined the hunt for the famed Mexican bad man.

...World War I found him fighting in the trenches of France as a captain with Texas' rugged 36th Infantry Division.

...His friends drafted him as mayor and elected him on a write-in ticket...

Death and Obituaries

Dr. Addison Lysander Lincecum died of "generalized arteriosclerosis" on 6 December 1965 in Lavaca County, Texas. He was buried two days later in Gandy Cemetery at Gandy Bend (Lavaca County).

- 7 December 1965 Dallas Morning News (Texas)

Widely Known Physician, Dr. A. L. Lincecum, Dies

EL CAMPO, Texas (AP) - Dr. A. L. Lincecum, last surviving member of the Baylor Medical School's first graduating class and widely known country doctor for 5o years, died Monday. He was 91.

Moments after his daughter, Mrs. Ruth Crosby, a want ads employee for the Houston Post, learned of his death at his isolated ranch near El Campo, her husband, certified public accountant T. A. Crosby, 64, suffered a fatal heart attack.

...He retired in 1953 and devoted himself to his role of "roving reporter" for KULP radio station in El Campo until he was paralyzed by a stroke in 1958.

...He is credited with making the first report that the malaria-bearing anopheles mosquito from Mexico was in this country in 1905. He later won recognition for research on bubonic plague.

Funeral services for Dr. Lincecum will be held at 1:30 p.m. Wednesday in the Wheeler Funeral Chapel in El Campo.

In addition to his daughter, he is survived by two sons, Bill Lincecum and Barney Lincecum. Dr. Lincecum's wife, Letha, died in 1959.

- 7 December 1965 Amarillo Globe-Times (Texas)

Baylor Medical Original Grad Dies at Age 91

EL CAMPO (AP) -- The last surviving member of Baylor Medical School's first graduating class, Dr. A. L. Lincecum, 91, is dead.

Lincecum was at his ranch home near El Campo when death came Monday.  He had been paralyzed since a stroke in 1958...

- 9 December 1965 The Cuero Record (Texas)

Dr. Addison L. Lincecum, Pioneer Texan, is Dead

Dr. Addison L. Lincecum, 91-year-old retired physician, died early Monday at his son's home in Gandy's Bend above Morales in Jackson Co, according to the Yoakum Herald-Times.

Dr. Lincecum, a veteran of the Spanish-American War and the St. Michiel and Argonne-Meuse offensives of World War I, was a former administrator of the Nightingale Hospital at El Campo.  He moved to Louise in 1910 and established his practice in El Campo in 1911.

Dr. Lincecum was a member of a pioneer Texas family and the son and grandson of physicians.

Four hours after his daughter, Mrs. T. A. Crosby, of Houston learned of her father's death, her husband died of a heart attack at his home.

In addition to being a physician, Dr. Lincecum was a railroad engineer, Texas Ranger and postmaster and mayor in El Campo...

Dr. Lincecum was paralyzed by a stroke in 1958.

...He was in Brownsville when raiders of the Mexican bandit, Pancho Villa, killed a fellow doctor who was a good friend of Dr. Lincecum.  He asked for a special Ranger commission and accompanied U. S. forces into Mexico to track down the raiders.

...Military burial was at 3 p.m. in the family plot at Gandy's Bend.

In addition to his daughter, Dr. Lincecum is survived by two sons, Bill of Gretna, La., and Barney with whom he had lived since 1960.  His wife, Mrs. Letha Gandy Lincecum died in 1959.

Funeral services for his son-in-law, T. A. Crosby, were held Tuesday at 4 p.m. in Houston.

Links to Explore

• Wharton County Historical: Addison Lysander Lincecum
• Lineage and Honors - 111th Engineer Regiment 
• The Portal to Texas History
• I'll Take What I Can Get (This Time It's Personal) - Southern Graves
• WWI, Mexico, & an FBI Case File Involving Dr. Addison Lincecum
• Center of the Party at Eighty-Six: A Southern Sleuth

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