Robert Thomas Wallingford, 1862–1917?> (aged 55 years)
- Name
- Robert Thomas /Wallingford/
- Given names
- Robert Thomas
- Surname
- Wallingford
- Nickname
- Tom
Birth
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Type: Birth of Wallingford, Robert Thomas State: Texas Country: United States of America INDI:BIRT:ADDR:NOTE: @N1701@ |
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Birth of a sister
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State: Texas Country: United States of America |
Death of a brother
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State: Texas Country: United States of America |
Birth of a sister
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Death of a mother
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Death of a maternal grandmother
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State: Kentucky Country: United States of America |
Death of a sister
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State: Texas Country: United States of America |
Marriage of a parent
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State: Texas Country: United States of America |
Death of a maternal grandfather
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State: Kentucky Country: United States of America |
Death of a sister
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State: Texas Country: United States of America |
Marriage of a parent
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State: Kentucky Country: United States of America |
Birth of a half-brother
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Birth of a half-brother
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MARRIAGE OF WALLINGFORD, ROBERT THOMAS AND DEWEES, VIRGINIA BUTTS
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State: Texas Country: United States of America FAM:MARR:ADDR:NOTE: @N1704@ |
Birth of a daughter
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Death of a daughter
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Birth of a half-sister
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State: Texas Country: United States of America |
Birth of a son
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State: Texas Country: United States of America |
Birth of a son
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Birth of a daughter
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State: Texas Country: United States of America |
Birth of a son
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State: Texas Country: United States of America |
Birth of a son
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Birth of a daughter
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Death of a daughter
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Birth of a daughter
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Birth of a son
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State: Texas Country: United States of America |
Birth of a daughter
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Death of a daughter
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Death of a father
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State: Texas Country: United States of America
Cause: Dropsy and senility |
Birth of a son
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State: Texas Country: United States of America INDI:EVEN:ADDR:NOTE: @N1704@ |
Birth of a daughter
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Death of a sister
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Marriage of a daughter
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Burial of a father
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Address line 2: Fields Store Cemetery (formerly New Hope Cemetery) State: Texas Country: United States of America |
Burial of a mother
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Address line 2: Clark-Giboney Cemetery State: Texas Country: United States of America |
Death
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Type: Death of Wallingford, Robert Thomas State: Texas Country: United States of America INDI:DEAT:ADDR:NOTE: @N3836@ |
Burial
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Type: Burial of Wallingford, Robert Thomas Address line 2: Fields Store Cemetery (formerly New Hope Cemetery) State: Texas Country: United States of America |
father |
1828–1909
Birth: 27 March 1828
68
39
— Mason, Kentucky, United States of America Death: 6 May 1909 — Waller, Texas, United States of America |
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mother | |
MARRIAGE OF WALLINGFORD, THOMAS GINN AND DEBELL, EVELINE | MARRIAGE OF WALLINGFORD, THOMAS GINN AND DEBELL, EVELINE — 18 October 1849 — Mason, Kentucky, United States of America |
1 year
elder sister |
1850–1851
Birth: 17 October 1850
22
21
— Kentucky, United States of America Death: 26 September 1851 — Mason, Kentucky, United States of America |
21 months
elder brother |
1852–1858
Birth: 14 July 1852
24
22
— Kentucky, United States of America Death: 1 August 1858 — Texas, United States of America |
20 months
elder sister |
1854–1861
Birth: 24 February 1854
25
24
— Kentucky, United States of America Death: 20 September 1861 — Texas, United States of America |
2 years
elder sister |
1856–1884
Birth: 13 April 1856
28
26
— Texas, United States of America Death: before August 1884 — Texas, United States of America |
2 years
elder brother |
1858–1867
Birth: 25 March 1858
29
28
— Texas, United States of America Death: 5 November 1867 — Texas, United States of America |
3 years
elder sister |
1860–1946
Birth: 30 September 1860
32
31
— Courtney, Martin, Texas, United States of America Death: 8 April 1946 — Waller, Texas, United States of America |
23 months
himself |
1862–1917
Birth: 2 September 1862
34
32
— Retreat, Grimes, Texas, United States of America Death: 27 November 1917 — Howth, Waller, Texas, United States of America |
5 years
younger sister |
1867–1912
Birth: 15 February 1867
38
37
— Waller, Texas, United States of America Death: 27 June 1912 |
3 years
younger sister |
1869–1873
Birth: 12 October 1869
41
40
Death: 9 September 1873 — Texas, United States of America |
father |
1828–1909
Birth: 27 March 1828
68
39
— Mason, Kentucky, United States of America Death: 6 May 1909 — Waller, Texas, United States of America |
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father’s ex-wife | |
MARRIAGE OF WALLINGFORD, THOMAS GINN AND SUGGITT, FANNIE M. | MARRIAGE OF WALLINGFORD, THOMAS GINN AND SUGGITT, FANNIE M. — 15 March 1879 — Waller, Texas, United States of America |
Divorce | Divorce — 14 June 1881 — Hempstead, Waller, Texas, United States of America |
father |
1828–1909
Birth: 27 March 1828
68
39
— Mason, Kentucky, United States of America Death: 6 May 1909 — Waller, Texas, United States of America |
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stepmother |
1862–1940
Birth: 18 October 1862
23
27
— Mason, Kentucky, United States of America Death: 13 June 1940 — Waller, Texas, United States of America |
MARRIAGE OF WALLINGFORD, THOMAS GINN AND TUCKER, ANNIE ELIZA | MARRIAGE OF WALLINGFORD, THOMAS GINN AND TUCKER, ANNIE ELIZA — 1 September 1884 — Mason, Kentucky, United States of America |
14 months
half-brother |
1885–1960
Birth: 28 October 1885
57
23
Death: 12 April 1960 — Waller, Texas, United States of America |
2 years
half-brother |
1887–1922
Birth: 22 October 1887
59
25
Death: 18 January 1922 — Fields Store, Waller, Texas, United States of America |
3 years
half-sister |
1890–1974
Birth: 4 June 1890
62
27
— Fields Store, Waller, Texas, United States of America Death: 2 September 1974 — Harris, Texas, United States of America |
himself |
1862–1917
Birth: 2 September 1862
34
32
— Retreat, Grimes, Texas, United States of America Death: 27 November 1917 — Howth, Waller, Texas, United States of America |
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wife |
1872–1959
Birth: 4 October 1872
34
23
— Philadelphia, Neshoba, Mississippi, United States of America Death: 4 February 1959 — Hempstead, Waller, Texas, United States of America |
MARRIAGE OF WALLINGFORD, ROBERT THOMAS AND DEWEES, VIRGINIA BUTTS | MARRIAGE OF WALLINGFORD, ROBERT THOMAS AND DEWEES, VIRGINIA BUTTS — 29 August 1888 — Hempstead, Waller, Texas, United States of America |
16 months
daughter |
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21 months
son |
1890–1976
Birth: 28 September 1890
28
17
— Fields Store, Waller, Texas, United States of America Death: 9 February 1976 — El Paso, El Paso, Texas, United States of America |
2 years
son |
1892–1981
Birth: 27 November 1892
30
20
Death: 22 April 1981 — Franklin, Liberty, Texas, United States of America |
23 months
daughter |
1894–1925
Birth: 6 October 1894
32
22
— Waller, Texas, United States of America Death: 19 April 1925 — Howth, Waller, Texas, United States of America |
2 years
son |
1896–1969
Birth: 12 November 1896
34
24
— Joseph, Waller, Texas, United States of America Death: 15 March 1969 — Fort Worth, Tarrant, Texas, United States of America |
2 years
son |
1899–1963
Birth: 6 April 1899
36
26
Death: 27 November 1963 — Waller, Texas, United States of America |
2 years
daughter |
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20 months
daughter |
1903–1999
Birth: 3 April 1903
40
30
Death: 8 May 1999 — Jacksonville, Cherokee, Texas, United States of America |
2 years
son |
1905–1929
Birth: 14 June 1905
42
32
— Waller, Texas, United States of America Death: 24 December 1929 — California, United States of America |
3 years
daughter |
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19 months
son |
1909–1938
Birth: 14 September 1909
47
36
— Hempstead, Waller, Texas, United States of America Death: about 1938 — Spain |
3 years
daughter |
1912–1967
Birth: 15 April 1912
49
39
Death: 12 December 1967 — Harris, Texas, United States of America |
Birth |
Shared note
from http://www.cemeteries-of-tx.com/Etx/Grimes/history/retreathis.htm History of Retreat, Grimes Co. Cemeteries of TX Submitted by Ray Villarreal Retreat got its start as a village when a Houston to Springfield stagecoach line was run through this area and a stagecoach stop and place to change horses was established here. It was first called Groce’s Retreat, though the small second home Jared Groce had built as his “retreat” (from malaria at his home Bernardo, farther south and in the Brazos bottom) was two miles to the west. Groce’s Retreat Post Office was established by the Republic of Texas and D. T. Dunham was appointed as Postmaster on October 12, 1838. Groce had died in November of 1836 and the Daniel A. Dunham family from Tennessee had bought the Groce’s Retreat place from the Groce heirs. When the mail was put off at the stagecoach stop, it was for Groce’s Retreat. As time went on, people just said the mail was for “Retreat” and that finally became the name of the stagecoach stop. The first Postmaster Retreat had from the Federal government was Josiah W. Ogden, appointed in 1851. The post office was discontinued in 1867 and re-established in 1872 and lasted 35 more years until 1907. Retreat had the most population following the Civil War and into the early 1900’s. At one time Retreat had a McCaskill store, another store, Joe Clark’s store, John A. Danford’s store, two saloons, a school for whites and a school for blacks, and Pleasant Hill Baptist Church (black) on Red Hill. This hill was also called Davis Hill and Binford Hill. There were three cotton gins at different times.
Retreat Postmasters In a book titled Texas Post Office Papers 1836, on page 62, there is a list of Post Offices and their Postmasters. Montgomery County Post Offices on the list that eventually was in Grimes County when Grimes was carved out of Montgomery in 1846 are: Date Commissioned Post Office County Postmaster 1837, March 30 Fanthorp Montgomery H. Fanthorp 1838, October 12 Groce’s Retreat Montgomery D. T. Dunham 1838, November 3 Greer’s Navasota Thomas N. B. Greer 1840, January 20 Rusk Montgomery M. Manning The following names are for U. S. Postmasters. We do not know how long the Groce’s Retreat Post Office lasted nor how much of a gap there was until Ogden was appointed in 1851. Ogden, Josiah W. January 14, 1851 Weaver, Lewis G. April 8, 1854 Grimes, Jacob September 17, 1855 Van Alstyne, John A. October 27, 1855 Stresaw,Thomas G. October 1, 1860 (D) January 23, 1867 Fisher, R. H. August 2, 1872 Thompson, W. H. September 18, 1872 Clark, Joseph August 19, 1873 McGinty, Benjamin H. July 12, 1889 Clark, Joseph R. January 21, 1898 McCaskill, Fannie C. May 12, 1904 Navasota, M. December 31, 1907 |
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MARRIAGE OF WALLINGFORD, ROBERT THOMAS AND DEWEES, VIRGINIA BUTTS |
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Death |
Shared note
Texas State Historical Marker This burial ground originally served the family of T.B. White. His wife Elizabeth (d. 1857) and her father Henry Kirby (d. 1854) are interred here. White sold ten adjoining acres to the Salem Association in 1853 as a site for construction of a masonic lodge hall and academy. The site became a public cemetery after that date. The earliest marked grave is that of Jane McCullen (1788-1851). Also buried here is Francis J. Cooke, a veteran of the Battle of San Jacinto. A cemetery association was established in 1949 to provide maintenance for the burial ground. |
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Occupation as a farmer on his death certificate. |
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Plot 243(3). |
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LOST & FOUND, BUT STILL A MYSTERY: MY GRANDFATHER'S TOMBSTONE It was two weeks before Christmas and my mind was a muddle of all the things that needed to be done before the 'big day'. The phone rang. It was Linda Wallingford, the wife of a distant cousin, but a friend as well. "I just received the strangest phone call" were Linda's first words to me. My mind went into overdrive, quickly shifting from muddled to mystified. After all, I rarely hear from Linda at this time of year, our contacts being mostly confined to the time leading up to our Wallingford reunions. Linda continued. Her phone call had come from a clerk in the Waller County Courthouse, Waller County being the birthplace of most of our present day Wallingfords. According to Linda, the Clerk had received a phone call from a Gavin Smith at Ft. Hood in Killeen, Texas. Ft. Hood. Back to overdrive. Mr. Smith, I later learned, is the archeology curator at Ft. Hood. He had in his possession an old tombstone with the following inscription: Robert Thomas Wallingford Now I understand the reason for Linda's phone call. She knew that this Wallingford - Robert Thomas - was my grandfather. But how did my grandfather's tombstone in Waller County, Texas make its way into the hands of an archeology curator at Ft. Hood in Killeen, Texas? I'm more confused than ever. Linda gave me Mr. Smith's phone number and after a few pleasantries we ended our conversation. Muddled minded or not, I wasted no time in contacting Mr. Smith. After stumbling through a brief explanation of the reason for my call, he told me that the tombstone was on loan from Crawford & Bowers, tombstone manufacturers in Killeen, Texas. He said that it was being used by a Sgt. Jones (at Ft. Hood) as part of a demonstration on drunk driving. Drunk driving? Lord, the mere mention of anything having to do with 'demon rum' would surely cause my grandparents to turn over in their graves. Still puzzled, I contacted Crawford & Bowers and it was then that I learned that the aforementioned Crawford & Bowers were not only tombstone manufacturers, but a funeral home as well. I spoke with Mr. Dave Crawford, one of the owners of the funeral home. And yes, he did have the by now infamous tombstone and had had it for quite some time. After explaining to Mr. Crawford that I am the granddaughter of Robert Thomas Wallingford, I asked if there was any chance of getting it back. He very graciously, and to my relief, said "of course". A few weeks later my husband and I met with Mr. Crawford at his funeral home. One of his employees brought the tombstone out with a forklift and lifted it into the back Of our pickup. The little stone looked brand new but Mr. Crawford said it was a mess when he got it. He and his men had spent hours cleaning it up, removing mildew and whatever else old tombstones are prone to attract. When I asked how much I owed him, he said "not a thing." An entire family is in gratitude to him. And, of course, I asked what anyone would have asked at this point: "How did you come to have the tombstone?" He said he had gotten it from a family in Harker's Heights, a suburb of Killeen. Since he had had the tombstone for quite some time, details were sketchy, but he did remember the name General Hemenway. He did not know if Mr. Hemenway was actually a general, or if that was a nickname or even a first name. I was undeterred and with Mr. Crawford's permission, I looked through the Killeen phone book for Hemenways. There were several and I copied the phone numbers, as well as first names, Of all of them. None was listed as "General" Hemenway. A few days later I started calling. After a few calls - voila! - I had the right one. But the General himself was out, so I spoke with his wife, which was just as well because it was obvious to me that her mind and memory were quite good. The following is her story as told to me. Their son was working in construction in College Station. His supervisor asked him to paint a house for him. Some college students had been living there and had moved out. He wanted to clean it up and rent it again. He told young Hemenway that there was an old tombstone on the front porch and to please take it to the dump. The young man did not think it was quite right to just dump it, so he took it to his home in Killeen. Although Mrs. Hemenway's memory seemed quite good, she did not remember how long they had had it. She did say she tried for a long time to find out whom it belonged to but without success. Thus she was very glad to hear from me and to know that the little tombstone would be returned to its rightful resting place. And as to Mr. Hemenway's title, yes he was a general. He had served in World War II and advanced to the rank of Brigadier General. I was impressed. After returning home with the infamous tombstone, we found that while the stone was small, it was very, very heavy. Without a forklift ourselves, we could not budge what was now "a little monster". My plans were to take it back to the Field's Store Cemetery from whence it came for a second burial. But after talking with Linda again (she and Bobby live very near the cemetery), I found that there is no caretaker for the cemetery. Linda herself keeps the books and someone comes in regularly to mow and clean up. She recommended going through a nearby funeral home, which I did. But since we were unable to make the trip to the funeral home right away, for the next two weeks or so, the 'little monster' happily resided in the back of our pickup, making numerous trips to town, to the golf course, grocery store, etc. One thing I did not worry about was that the tombstone might be stolen. That is, unless someone happened along with a forklift in tow. But one cold, rainy day a few weeks later, we delivered the little stone to the funeral home in Hempstead with instructions to place it between the graves of my grandparents and at the foot of the graves. You see, when my grandmother died in 1959, her surviving children placed a double tombstone between and at the head of the two graves. Though I had some trepidations about placing a second tombstone on the graves, and at the foot especially, after consulting other family members, we all agreed we didn't have much choice. So now we have the tombstone, but still have the mystery. First, when and by whom was the little tombstone removed from my grandfather's grave? At the time the double tombstone was put in place? Maybe, but unfortunately all of those who might have known are now deceased. Secondly, who took the tombstone away? Were they the ones who placed it on the front porch of an old house in College Station? If so, why? Halloween pranks, maybe? Or did the little tombstone reside elsewhere, maybe several places, before its arrival at the house in College Station? We may never know the answer to the above questions, but in my mind one thing is certain: it has travelled and returned to its original resting place. I cannot help but believe that a couple of grandparents are looking down from their celestial homes with amused - or perhaps somewhat bemused - expressions on their faces.
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Written by Dolores Thurman ROBERT THOMAS WALLINGFORD My grandfather was the 7th child of Thomas Ginn Wallingford and Eveline Debell. Robert Thomas Wallingford, known as Tom to family and friends, was born Sept. 2, 1862 at Retreat, Texas in Grimes County. Retreat no longer exists but it was very close to Courtney and near the Waller County line. Since I know of no other Roberts in the family prior to my grandfather, and he was born during the Civil War, my guess is that he was named for Robert E. Lee. He was only 7 when his mother died and, according to my mother, was raised by his two older sisters, Martha Clark and Eliza Owens Wallingford. I don't know at what point Fannie was hired as housekeeper but we know Thomas Ginn married her then divorced her in 1881. When his mother died, there were 2 younger sisters - Annie Debell and Eveline Debell. Little Eveline was only 3 months old and she died shortly before her 4th birthday. My mother said her father never spoke of little Eveline, nor did he speak of the other children who were older and had died, some of them before he was born. Until I began my research, she didn't even know about the deceased children. Little is known about his childhood. We assume he went to school for several years as he could read and write quite well. When he was about 12 years old he became seriously ill with pneumonia. He was presumed dead and had been prepared for burial. Someone saw one of his fingers move and they realized he was not dead. As a young man he became engaged to a young woman - exactly who we don't know - and had bought a ring for her. For some reason it didn't work out and the engagement was broken. Then on August 29, 1888 he married my grandmother and gave her the ring he had bought for the other woman. They say my grandmother would never wear the ring because it had been bought for someone else and she eventually gave it to her eldest son. As was the custom in those days, they immediately set about having children. Their first, a girl, was born in 1889 but she was stillborn. I have never been able to find out if she was ever given a name or not. She was, however, full term. He and my grandmother went on to have 11 more children, 2 more dying in infancy. Of the 9 surviving children, 3 more died as young adults. Life was still not easy. My mother, Addie Byrd, was the 8th child, born in 1903. As far back as she can remember her father was Sheriff of Waller County and he held this position until he died. She said that he always strapped on his guns before leaving the house, except when he was going to church. He was assistant superintendent of the Sunday School department at the Baptist church in the Howth community. He had built the church himself. He was a good carpenter and built his family several houses. He was very neat and everything was well-kept. From time to time, he found it necessary to build a coffin for a friend or family member. He was very friendly and loved to talk and visit people. If someone was sick he would offer to go and stay the night or give them a shave if need be, anything he could do to help. As a farmer he arose very early and in the wintertime he would build a fire in the fireplace first thing while singing "In the Good Ole Summertime". Then he would go down to the school house, about a mile away, and build a fire there so the kids would be warm when they came in. He was a very mild mannered man. He often rocked the babies to sleep at night in the cradle. He called it the "doodle bed". The family lived at Howth and he had a cabin down on the Brazos River where he would stay several days at a time when he was farming. Of course, "batching" meant doing your own cooking. He would make biscuits and have them with syrup from his little syrup pitcher (show pitcher). He was a slight man, weighing only about 130 pounds but he was a hearty eater, probably because he worked so hard. At some point, he returned to Retreat and tried to find his mother's grave. He was never able to find it and my mother said this grieved him very much. One day in 1917 he lay down on the porch of his little cabin (probably to rest after dinner) and a norther blew in. He took a chill. He came back home to Howth on his horse. When he refused supper, my grandmother knew he was sick as he always ate. He took pneumonia, the third time he had had it, and died 11 days later on November 27, 1917, his son Marvin's 25th birthday. On that same day my grandmother received a telegram that another son, Thomas (who they called T), was missing in action in France. He did eventually come home however. At the time of my grandfather's death, my grandmother had never given a dose of medicine to any of the children. He always did it. She had never written a check. He always did it. He was 55 years, 2 months and 25 days old when he died, not a very long lifespan. But I think he accomplished quite a lot in those 55 years. |
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When Robert Thomas (called Tom) was about 9 years old, he had pneumonia, was very ill and died, or so they thought. In those days, they did not embalm; they cleaned up and dressed the deceased as best they could; placed them on a table or pine coffin until family members could get there. Before they could hold the service and bury him, someone saw him move. Apparently he slipped into a little coma or something; anyway, he did not die until many years later and death was due to pneumonia at that time too. Tom was a farmer and served several terms as Sheriff of Waller County, TX. He was also Sunday School Superintendent at the Baptist Church where the family attended. He and my grandmother, "Jenny" or Aunt Jenny, are both buried in Field's Store Cemetery, Waller Co., Texas. [I believe this story to have been told by Delores Vanderstay Thurman, the granddaughter of Robert Thomas Wallingford, at one of the Wallingford Reunions at Fields Store. Notes made by Joan Wallingford Mickler.] |
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WallingfordTom |
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WallingfordRobertThomasDeathCert |
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WallingfordRobertThomasAndVirginia |
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WallingfordRobertThomas |