Notes for: Clarence Prebble Bodine
(From James Bodine of Kaufman, Texas):
PREFACE
This is a short history of the John Logan and Lewis BODINE families, or branch
of the BODINE tree. I know very little of the family history, as I never saw
any of my grandparents on either side, and for many years I never cared too
much about where they were until I had an urge to find out something about my
people. By this time most of them were dead and gone.
Some time in 1940 I became interested in geneaology, but did not know how to
proceed about gathering the material and putting the little pieces of the
jigsaw puzzle together. It was not until I had some training through the
program fostered by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints that I
grasped the full meaning of such work, and its importance.
After some training and quite a little study of the subject, I started my
research of my families, the BODINE'S and related families. I have
accomplished quite a bit, but lack a lot yet.
Following is the history of my people as I know them. Let us go on from here.
C. P. BODINE
[This document will be as original as possible with the exception of any
information that has been added in [] brackets. This document was prepared by
C. P. prior to his death and very little will be added to it by me.JMB]
My grandfather was John Logan BODINE and he had a brother named Lewis. I am
under the impression that the Civil War had a great deal to do about the
family becoming scattered, as I am almost sure that they came from the
Kentucky branch. They were on the move West when the Civil War caught them in
the frontier state of Missouri. New history was being made, and old history
being forgotten, and identities being lost if this is possible.
My father said that his father and mother were born in Len Creek, Missouri.
His father was buried in Len Creek and his mother in Joplin. I have made some
research in this matter and find that his father is buried in Shawnee,
Oklahoma in the old Indian Mission Cemetery. The old town of Len Creek,
Missouri is no longer known by that name. It is known as Cameron, and is
situated about three miles from the old location to a higher place. It was
moved from the forks of the creek to make way for a dam and the Lake of the
Ozarks in 1939.
My father would sometimes speak of the times when he was a boy in Eureka
Springs, Arkansas. He told how he and his brother, John, would pick huckle
berries in the Ozark hills and bring them to town to sell in order to help his
father to support his large family. I remember him telling my mother about
having to go barefooted during the winter months in North Arkansas because
they could not afford a pair of brogans shoes to wear. My father claimed to
have been born in Kentucky Town (Grayson Co.), Texas with the rest of his
brothers and sisters. I have not been able to find anyone who could establish
where Kentucky Town was located, but will some time I am sure. [It is very
near the present town of Whitewright]. The family moved back and forth from
Texas to Arkansas to Missouri so many times that there is no way of telling
where they lived the longest or whether they even owned any land. Since
Oklahoma was then known as the Indian Territory until 1907 when it was made
into a state ther were few records to help me in my search. I must assume
that my people were displaced persons from the Civil War, and most of them
were uneducated. I remember my father saying that he had no formal education
except two winters that he went a little log school, where he sat on a split
log bench and walked on a puncheon floor barefooted. The only heating system
were the two fire places at each end of the building. The boys cut and
carried the hickory logs that fed the fireplaces.
My grandfather was blind and I do not remember having heard how he became
blind, unless it happened in the war. I seem to remember that my father said
that his father was in the war and that he became acquainted with John Eftin
HUNTER. While serving together, Hunter married his oldest daughter, Sarah.
They settled in Tarrant County, Texas and had one son, John Eftin. They had
several daughters and one was named Rosa. Since we lived in an era of horses
and wagons and several hundred miles from our people we found it was easy to
become lost from each other.
My grandfather had four sons and four daughters from his first wife, Delia
Elizabeth Sorters. They are James Thomas-1858, Sarah, Elizabeth or Betty,
John Lewis-1870, Mary Carolyn-1871, Andrew Jackson (my father)-1872, and
William who died at the age of about seventeen with Tuberculosis, and was
buried some place in Oklahoma by his father, as he had chosen to go with him
and this woman from Joplin. Bell who died at the age of about five, and is
buried fin the Eastview Cemetery in Joplin, Missouri beside her mother. James
Thomas married Dixie Marie CARNIE in 1880, and went to Joplin to live and made
a living prospecting in the lead and zinc fields at Joplin. He had a family
of seven children which were all born in Joplin. They were
Amanda(Zolly)-1881, Edward Clyde-1883, Grace-1885, Allie-Gertrude-1887, Mable
Clare-1889, Mattie Jewel-1891, and James Carnie-1894. James Thomas met with
an accident in 1905 which resulted in his death at the age of forty seven. He
went out early in the morning riding horseback to look for a calf and the fog
was so bad that his horse stumbled and fell into one of the numerous old mine
shafts on his place. He and his horse was later found by a posse and were
hoisted out. The horse lived several years, but James contracted Pneumonia
and died shortly after the accident. After James married and moved to Joplin,
my gradfather made several trips to see him and to use his place to rest up.
My grandmother became very tired and ill from constant travel and hardships,
and malaria fever and refused to leave with him on their last visit. My
grandfather was a horse trader and being a blind man he was also a shrewd one
they say. He being blind could not stay still for long so it was not possable
to have him settle down for long at a time, that is why he left Joplin to ply
his trade.
After my grandfather left my grandmother stayed in Joplin and took care of her
five year old daughter who had malaria also and who died shortly after. My
grandfather met a woman who had two children, one a boy, and I have been
unable to find out much about them. They left Missouri and went to
Waxahachie, Texas. Later he married another woman and had a family of four
daughters. The first were twins named Bessie Lee and Mamie who were born in
Waxahachie and are still living this being (1959). Mamie Married Fred Elerton
December 23rd, 1920, and he died at Blackwell, Oklahoma in 1955. Fred and
Mamie had no Issue. Martha Maud and Alice Pearl were born on the road some
place in Texas and died in infancy.
My grandfather went to Taloga, Oklahoma and visited his brother on several
occasions. This brother was named Lewis, I have heard that he had other
brothers, but Lewis is the only one that I have been able to find so far. My
grandfather settled in Shawnee, Oklahoma where he died in March 24, 1907 and
was buried in the old Indian Mission Cemetery. This information was furnished
by his daughter Mamie Elerton of Blackwell, Oklahoma.
My father had six sons, the oldest being myself, Clarence Prebble BODINE. My
brothers were James Ralph-1905 and Oliver Efton-1907. All three of us were
born in a small mining town called Prosperity situated a short distance from
Joplin, Missouri in Jasper County.
My father had been working in and around Joplin, for several years preceeding
his marriage to my mother Lula Viola Leveritt. He went back to Fort Worth,
Texas and married her, and came back to Joplin to live. My father had met her
while he was working for a rancher as a cattle feeder at Ben Brook, Texas. My
father spent his time between his brother James at Joplin, and his
brother-in-law John HUNTER who lived close to Benbrook in the Bear Creek
Community. My father and John HUNTERS brother rode horseback across Oklahoma
then known as Indian Territory at that time to Missouri, Arkansas and Texas.
My father had a serious accident in the mines at Dunwog, Missouri in 1907 that
left him an almost total cripple. He and two others were being lowered into a
mine shaft soon after 7:a m. The hoist man forgot them and dropped them two
hundred and twelve feet to the bottom. My fathers right leg was broken in
such a manner that it grew crooked and two inches too short. This was a great
handicap for him trying to raise a family and he was also nearly deaf. With
these handicaps, he left Missouri for Texas. He received $1800.00 for his
accident and with six hundred he purchased two large Cleveland Bay horses and
a heavy ore wagan called a 3" and 3/4". The measurements being taken from the
size of the wheel rims. This wagon was fitted out with 14" overjets and bows
of white hickory covered with 16 ounce white canvas treated with white lead.
With all the belongings that we could find room for and my father not fully
recovered from his injuries yet, and he still on crutches we left Dunweg on
June 8, 1908.
I remember the trip very vividly, as though it were only a few years back.
Many years ago I was discussing the trip with my parents and I remembered many
facts and incidents that they could not remember. This trip left an
indellable immprint on my tender mind that never left me entirely. The trip
was quiet an adventure for us all at the time. I can remember saying good bye
to my aunt Betty's family as we passed their home on our way to Joplin to say
our good bye's to the folks there. I remember stopping under a large apple
tree, and that Jim, my brother next to me, and I were laying on our bellies
across the bed with our heads poked out from under the canvas covering of the
wagon. We rode in this weary position from Missouri to Bedias, Texas. While
we were under the apple tree and the adults were pre-occupied with
conversation I reached out and pulled a large pile of green apples and stacked
them in the middle of the bed. I also remember the night we stayed at our
cousin Clyde BODINES at Joplin. I got the matches from the wagon and set fire
to the haystack in the barnyard. This caused a panic as the family buggy
horse was in his stall near the fire and smoke. He created such a commotion
that my cousin had to blindfold him in order to lead him out of the barn to
safety.
After travelling from June of 1908 until about August of the same year, we
reached Sunset, Texas. My father's brother, John had a few acres of truck. We
rested a week and let our team rest up from their long haul from Joplin down
through Kansas, Oklahoma and Texas.
I remember many amusing incidents that took place during our trip. I remember
when we reached Oklahoma City that some of the trolly cars were pulled by
horses. I remember the first automobile while on that trip which was driven
by a beautiful lady in a circus parade. I remember the oil fields of
Oklahoma, the Indians and their hovals, and hogans made of sticks, brush and
sod. I remember that when we stopped to ask for directions the people would
disappear as though by magic. Once we met an Indian riding his horse, while
the Squaw led the horse and carried the Papoose on her back laced up with
rawhide in the cradle board. My father asked him how to reach town, and he
only grunted with disgust, and pointed to his Squaw which gave the information
to dad.
This trip took us through the following towns. We left Joplin, Missouri and
to Coffeeville, Kansas; Bartlesville, Oklahoma, Tulsa, Cushing, Gutherie,
Oklahoma City, Comanchie, Waurika, Oklahoma; Ringold, Bowie, and Sunset,
Texas. After we left Sunset we went down to visit Uncle John HUNTER at Ben
Brook which is near Ft. Worth, Texas. Then we went across Texas to Comanchie
about October of 1908 to visit my mothers brother, Will Leveritt. This is
where I picked my first cotton. My father picked cotton for my uncle while
still on crutches. We met a family from Banderia, Texas named Owens. The
family was composed of Rueben, his wife Naoma, and four children and his
brother John. My father agreed to let them accompany us on our trip south,
and to East Texas. After a week or so on the road Owens lost one of his
horses. Dad loaned him $35.00 to purchase another one and this left dad not
quiet broke, but badly bent. We continued on from Comanchie to Austin. We
camped out all winter, living in a tent, fishing, hunting squirrels and
rabbits to help to feed us all. I remember spendiong our first Christmas on a
river some place West of Austin I believe was the Llano river. We continued
on to a little town in East Texas called Bedias. There on west Bedias creek,
a few miles out of town, we chose to camp for a few days. The weather turned
wet and cold. One night while we camped there one of our horses got bogged
down in the creek and stayed all night in the cold water and mud. He took
pneumonia and died in a few days, leaving Dad broke with me and [no means] of
traveling further. My father was not a Church man, but he did belong to the
Woodman of the World Lodge for a good many years. When he got himself into a
seemingly hopless situation, such as this one he would find some one with a
sympathetic ear.
After locating his horse he went into town and met a methidist preacher named
Grant, who ran a store and owned several old farms. My father rented a farm
for him self and the Owens family hoping to make a crop. My father knew
nothing about [several unreadable words--clipped by the copier]. We got moved
to our new location and Dad traded his large wagon to a freighter and got him
self a small one horse Studebaker wagon for his remaining horse which was
blind in both eyes, we called him Dick. We remained there for two years and
did fairly well until one stormy night our remaining horse came to the lot
gate and pawed on it and neyed for some one to let him in, and the next
morning we found him in an old abandoned well in the pasture. He had stumbled
and fell head first into a hole about forty feet deep and drowned. This left
the family badly shook up. This was the second year of our stay at this
place. Some time that fall my fathers brother John came to see us, and as a
result talked my father into leaving and going on the road with him, with the
assurance that he could make more money with him than on the farm. My uncle
John was Blind, since having a mine accident in the year of 1901 at Joplin. So
Dad let him buy us two horses and we set out together against mothers wishes,
and leaving the Owens family behind. After a few weeks together, they decided
to separate because of family friction cused by us children. My uncle had one
older boy than myself who was too wise for his age due to his extensive
travels, and this was the main cause of trouble. My Dad had another son,
Eugene, that was born at the place that we had just left in 1910. Now there
were four of us. We went on alone with our plans destroyed and no place in
particular to go. So Dad spent that Christmas camped in a little community
called East Sandy. The people were kind to us more especially since we were
strangers. They readilly accepted us and took us in as one of them, and
helped Dad to get started once more by finding a small farm for him to rent.
We spent the next three years(1911, 1912 and 1913) there in the community. We
had many friends and suffered many hardships together. We had Malaria fever
the three years that we lived ther, and it is only by the grace of God that we
were not all dead before we moved from there to the north end of the county
out of the swamps to higher ground that was not infested with the malaria
mosquito. This was the year of 1914 and the beginning of World War I. My
father had another son born to him that year named Porter Temple. We moved to
another place down in San Jacinto County and stayed there two years before
moving back to East Sandy. Again we lived for another three years (1917, 1918
and 1919) moving from place to place every year. My Dad tried to farm and he
and I worked in the lumber camps and saw mills when we were not working the
crops. The lumber mills had moved into the county as a result of the war and
a big demand for lummber, as yellow pine was very plentiful and cheap in East
Texas at that time.
In April of 1919 I left home and went out to my cousins in Bell County to work
in the harvest of grain, and stayed that fall to pick cotton. Later that fall
my parents moved out to San Saba County to pick cotton. I joined them in
October, and in November we all moved to North Texas to help my mothers nephew
Lonnie Leveritt gather his cotton crop; he lived north of Vernon in Wilbarger
County.
The spring of 1920, my brother Lewis was born. Dad and I found work in Vernon
and moved the family there. We went through a depression in 1921 and this
left us out of work. We were almost destitute once more. I went to work as a
cook out on the W. T. WAGGONER Ranch for $30.00 per month. My Dad found work
in Electra, Texas at the Waggoner Oil Refinery. This is where he worked from
January 1922 until his death in December of 1942. My mother went to live, as
an invalid with my brother Oliver who lived at Logansport, Louisiana. She died
in August of 1945.
A brief sketch of my grandfather's brother, Lewis Bodine, follows. My father
located him at Taloga, Oklahoma and visited him in 1920. As a result of this
visit he named his last son, Lewis Harold after him. He was killed by an
automobile driven by Mrs. W. T. WAGGONER Jr in Sept. of 1928. My grand uncle
Lewis had lived at Taloga for a good many years before his death in 1925. He
had a large family as follows. John Newton about 1869, Rosa Jane about 1871,
James Andrew about 1873 who left Oklahoma in the early days and settled in
California to have a large family, Mollie 1875, Fannie 1877, Elzire-1879,
Ella-1881, Electa-1883, Julia-1885 and an infant in 1887.
John Lewis BODINE, my fathers brother, married Erma Amand McGUIRE in Ardmore
Oklahoma in 1897. They had one child a son named Roland Rutherford. Roland
married Loise Bernice BRUST in Wichita, Kansas in 1925. He became a Baptist
preacher and at the present time is doing missionary work among the Pima
Indians. His family consists of four sons and two daughters. They are Othal
David-1926, Raymond Wesley-1929, Roy Rutherford-1932, Wanda Lee-1934, Donald
Gene-1935 and Norma June-1936.
I married Ada Rosetta Goudy in Vernon, Texas on December 2, 1924. I have one
adopted daughter, Dorothy Sue Anna who was born ****. I have another
daughter, Carolyn Cecile, who was born ****. I have been employed by Texaco
Incorporated most of the time since 1925 with the exception of three years. I
was with the Pan-American Oil Company and The War Emergency Oil Company in
East Texas. I have been living in Louisiana since 1943 and I am living in
Houma at the present time, September 1959.
C. P. BODINE
____________________
[With only minor exceptions, this document has been copied exactly as written
by C. P. Bodine back in 1959. A copy was sent to me by a distant cousin on
29Oct1986 and a visit by Dorothy Sue Anna "Dottie" has caused me to refocus my
attention to it.
With the re-reading of this document and of associated information provided by
"Dottie", it now seems almost certain that "her" BODINE line and mine must
have been one and the same many generations ago.
Common names and common "traditions", from as many as three different
directions certainly indicate that further research is needed to try to either
"prove or disprove" whether a common tie does exist.]
J. M. "Jim" BODINE
05-July-1995
From Ronny Bodine:
Obituary, The Vernon (Texas) Daily Record of Sunday, 5 July 1970
ELECTRA--Funeral services for Clarence P. Bodine, 67, former Electra resident
who died Wednesday in Houma, La., were held Saturday in James B. Totten & Son
Funeral Home Chapel. Burial was in New Electra Cemetery.
Obituary, Longview (Texas) News-Journal of 29 Aug 1984.
HENDERSON--Services for Ada (Irene) Bodine, 78, of Henderson are pending
with oday at Crawford A. Crim Funeral Home. Mrs. Bodine died Monday night in a
Henderson hospital following a brief illness. She was born Jan. 31, 1906.
She was a member of St. Paul's Methodist Church in Henderson and was the widow
of C. P. Bodine. Survivors include daughters, Dorothy Sue Aalss [sic] of
Hacienda Heights, Calif., and Carolyn Bodine of Henderson.
Obituary, Longview (Texas) News-Journal of 30 Aug 1984.
HENDERSON--Services for Ada 'Irene' Bodine, 78, of Henderson will be 2
p.m. today at Crawford A. Crim Funeral Home with the Rev. Ben Pierce
officiating. Graveside services will be 1 p.m. Friday at the New Electra
Cemetery in Electra. Mrs. Bodine died Monday night. Survivors include
daughters, Dorothy Sue Aalfs of Hacienda Heights, Calif., and Carolyn Bodine
of Henderson; four grandchildren; and four great-grandchildren.