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| Arthur and Belle |
Arthur and Belle married on November 16, 1910, in Franklin
County, Arkansas. They were married by William “Billy” Allen Barham. They lived
a quarter mile below the land of W.A. Donald, according to Lois Kuykendahl, who
knew the Donald kids. In 1998, Anne and Gary visited Lois in her home west of
Sulphur Springs School. We were not able to locate the land which Jimmie
recalled as being where his father Oscar William Donald grew up.
Arthur and Belle’s kids: Mattie Ruth Donald (born Sept. 12,
1911) and Oscar William “Pa” Donald (born July 4, 1917). In the 1910 census of
Boston, Franklin County, this family was listed next to Arthur’s maternal
grandparent Jesse and Jane Barham Milton. The next census listing below that
shows Arthur’s sister Pearl, her husband John S. “Bud” McKemie, and their 3
kids. About a month before Oscar was born, Arthur registered for the WWI draft,
and listed himself as a farmer. Arthur was tall, with blue eyes and black hair.
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| Oscar William and Mattie Ruth Donald |
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| Mattie Ruth Donald |
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| Mattie Ruth, James Arthur, Oscar William and Belle Donald |
The kids attended Sulphur Springs School in Franklin County.
Their Aunt Pearl Donald McKemie had been in the class of 1904. www.argenweb.net/franklin/Schools/Sulphur/text.htm
In the 1920 census, James A., Belle, Mattie R., and Oscar W.
Donald were at Boston, Franklin County, Arkansas. James operated a home farm. The
next listing was the home of Jessie and Jane Milton, and below that were
Arthur’s sister Pearl Donald McKemie and family. Including Pearl’s daughter
Velma, first cousin of O.W. Donald.
In 1926, the oil field at Earlsboro, Pottawatomie County,
Oklahoma developed. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Earlsboro,_Oklahoma http://digital.library.okstate.edu/encyclopedia/entries/P/PO026.html
Belle Anderson Donald’s father William Pleasant Anderson died at Ozark Arkansas
on August 11, 1928. Belle had been taking care of her parents. Her mother moved
with them to Oklahoma.
In the 1930 census, we now find our Donald family in
Econtuchka, Oklahoma. Arthur was an oil field roustabout (he laid oil pipeline
for Magnolia Oil). Ruth was age 18, and Oscar 12. Belle’s mother Mattie Rice
Anderson was 78 and living with them. At some point, Arthur was invited by
George Birdwich (co-worker with Arthur on the oil pipeline) to join the gang of
bank robber Pretty Boy Floyd (d. 1934). http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pretty_Boy_Floyd
The 1930 census said that Econtuchka was in Seminole County,
but online history has it in adjacent Pottawattamie County. www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~okpcgc/towns/econtuchka_okla.html
In the same village in 1930 lived Belle’s half-brother John
Washington Anderson (b. 1878, Franklin County, Arkansas) and his family. John
Washington Anderson was a retail merchant in gas and oil. His wife was Ella
Cassandra Yeager (a recurring surname in Donald and Anderson genealogy). Also
in the village lived William Ketchem, retail merchant in groceries; his wife
Sarah “Sally” Tennessee Anderson Ketchem was a half-sister to Belle.
Josephine Ketchem Scott (daughter of William and Sally
Anderson Ketchem) told Anne and Gary about activities of the Dalton and Doolin
gangs, observed by “the kids” from trees and by lying in the grass. Presumably
the kids in her story included the various Anderson cousins. Might be the wrong
gangs, however. It seems like the activities of the Dalton and Doolin gangs
actually belonged to an earlier time, and a bit further north. The famous 1893
Battle of Ingalls was between U.S. Marshals and sheriff’s deputies versus the
now combined Doolin-Dalton gang members. Several died on both sides in a battle
which included use of dynamite. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Ingalls Ingalls lies just a bit northeast of the
lands of Retherford and Stites, whose history will be covered shortly. Right in
the heart of Retherford-Stites territory there is a small museum, once visited
by Anne and Gary. There I bought the music CD “Outlaws of the Cherokee Strip”.
Track Two is the “Ballad of Bill Doolin”.
About 1932, Arthur bought into the Magnolia gas station (with
his John Anderson in-law), which also had a grocery store. The whole family
worked there. Arthur later had a falling out with one of the Anderson in-laws,
and Arthur set up a competing Sinclair gas station next to the Magnolia
station.
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| Arthur Donald , Tracy, Oklahoma |
In the 1930s, this Donald family lived in Tracy, Oklahoma, a
“fork in the road”. I had to mark its location on an Oklahoma atlas. Tracy lay
between Seminole and Earlsboro. Distant kinsman, correspondent, and friend Olin
“Andy” Anderson lived at Earlsboro at some point; his Anderson common ancestor
with our line of interest was Elkanah Anderson Sr. (d. 1815, Battle of New
Orleans).
Oscar attended Prairie View School (Earlsboro), where Arthur
was the secretary of the school board. I think that the school was less than a
mile from their home. Oscar was age 18 in 1935. He was active in sports and
music.
Oscar William Donald and Charlotte Louise Retherford were
married July 30, 1938, at Seminole, Oklahoma. Their biographies will appear
later in this blog. O.W., Charlotte, and baby Jimmie appear in the 1940 census
of 530 North Draper, Shawnee, Oklahoma. O.W. was then a meter reader. Charlotte
Anne Donald was born at ACH Hospital in Shawnee on August 27, 1942. Arthur and
Belle Donald were living in Shawnee then. They had two residences at various
times. One was at 230 McKinley, about 3 blocks from the Donald Grocery Store. Another
was at 704 East Main.
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| OW and Charlotte |
Arthur and Belle Anderson Donald moved to Ft. Smith, where they
had a grocery store at the site which later became the site of an O.W. Donald
business. Belle died in 1964. Gary Muffley married Anne Donald in 1967, so Gary
never knew Belle. Arthur died in 1970.
Pall bearers at his funeral: Ray Rogers, Bill Anderson, Gary Muffley,
Paul Denman, Charles Ketchum, and Marion Casey.
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| Anne, Arthur and Jimmie |
Arthur was remembered by his grand-daughter Anne as a
humorless man who read and quoted the Bible, and argued with others about Bible
interpretation. By contrast, Arthur’s wife Belle was fun-loving and even told
Anne some dirty jokes. Arthur’s coin collection passed to his son Oscar William,
but it was later stolen by a furnace repairman.
