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.