Lynes Family Biography

Lynes Family Biography

Lynes family biography as written by Samuel Lynes, son of Amos William Lynes and Elizabeth Catherine Fitzgarrald - Found on Ancestry.com

The Lynes Story – Transcribed from scanned documents found on Ancestry.com

Samuel Wilson Lynes, son of Amos and Catherine Lynes, was born at Ft. Wayne Indiana Feb 18, 1865; the fourth child of 11 children.

He came to the Vici area of Dewey County in the late 1890’s from Perkins, Oklahoma with his parents brothers and sisters.

Earlier in his life when Oklahoma lands were first opened for settlement in April 1889, Samuel and his older brother Charles took part in the run. Charles having a broken leg drove a one horse buggy and Samuel rode his race horse.

The discomfort of his brothers leg and the illness of his race horse caused them to give up the claim to their lands and return home.

Samuel took great pride in his race horse and loved to race

When the Cheyenne-Arapaho lands were opened for settlement in what is now Dewey County, Samuel with three other brothers, Charles, Alfred Louis, and Andrew Revello, each filed on a 160 acre claim east of Vici. The homesteads were located near each other.

In Dec. 1902, their father passed away and was buried in Sunnyside Cemetery, east of Vici. Their mother lived with her children the rest of her life. When later she needed full time care spent most of her time with her son Samuel and family and her daughter Belle Murlin and family. She passed away in January 1924 in the Murlin home. She is buried with her husband in Sunnyside Cemetery.

Samuel freighted grain from Vici to Woodward and food and merchandise from Woodward to Vici on the return trip home with the use of 4 horses pulling 2 wagons while he was proving up on his homestead and continued to haul freight after his marriage. It took 2 days to make the round trip.

Seven years after homesteading on his land, Samuel and his brother Ezra married sisters, Edith Elnora and Leefa Mae Simpson, in the home of the bride’s parents, Oct 28, 1906 in a double wedding. The License is recorded at Taloga, Oklahoma.

Samuel (Sam) and Edith Elnora (Nora) lived in a half dug-out made partly of sod on his homestead where their first son Floyd was born in Feb 1908. Samuel then built a 4 room home. Three more sons were born; Irven in May 1910, Ernest in May 1912, and Howard in May 1914.

In Dec. 1914, Sam and Nora took their family by train to visit Nora’s parents near Guide Rock, Nebraska where they were joined by their brother and sister, Ezra and Mae Lynes from Kansas, to spend the Christmas Holidays.

Happiness turned to sadness at the illness of both infants of Sam’s and Ezra’s with pneumonia. On Jan. 5, [1914] Ezra and Mae lost their 8 month old daughter and Jan 15 [1915] Sam and Nora lost their 7 month old son, Howard. Sam and Nora returned home with the body and funeral services were held at Liberty School House. He is buried at Sunnyside Cemetery.

In July 1916, Ferne and Verne, twins were born. In Dec. 1917 a stillborn daughter Alveda Emogene was buried at Sunnyside Cemetery. A son Gerald was born in Nov. 1919 and a daughter Edith in Feb 1923, the last child born on the homestead.

While living on the homestead, Sam helped to maintain roads in his area. When the road from Vici to Cestos was surveyed, Sam was chosen to plow the first furrow for a straight line to follow. He was known to have a good eye for plowing straight furrows in his fields.

After the town of Vici blew away, Sam and his brother-in-law, Ed Murlin laid out the streets of Vici now known as Main and Broadway.

The children; Floyd, Irven, Ernest, Ferne and Verne attended Liberty School east of Vici.

Sam sold his homestead and bought a farm 2 miles north and 2 1/2 miles west of Webb, Oklahoma, and moved there in March 1924. This land combined the 2 homesteads of Matt Westley and Sid Paxton, each having a 2 room house. Sam moved the 2 houses together on the south half of the land putting Sid Paxtons house on the east side, later it was moved to the north side where a basement and new roof was added. Cedar trees, lilac bushes, roses and small cedars trimmed and shaped made a pretty homesite.

Their last child Gleola, was born Oct 16, 1928 in this home.

In 1928, a friend Mr. Stoddard advised Sam that if he put some goats in the pasture, it would help kill out the scrub blackjack brush making better pastureland. Eleven white Angora goats were bought which had a healthy appetite for everything except blackjacks. The old Billy forcing the 2 youngest children Gerald and Edith to spend a great deal of time in the wagon box or any place of safety till resuced by an older family member. That winter goat meat was plentiful as the entire herd was butchered, even “Old Billy”.

In 1929, the family returned to Vici after renting out their farm. Sam worked at various jobs. They returned to the farm in 1930, where he spent the rest of his lifetime.

Horses and mules were used to farm with also transportation as Sam never owned nor drove a car in his lifetime.

Wood being plentiful on the farm was cut and hauled to Camargo for sale in the early 30’s to help supplement the family income.

Large gardens were planted (Irish potatoes planted always on St. Patrick’s Day)

Meat came from beef and pork mostly. Squirrels, rabbits, and quail were hunted for a variety. Cows were milked to provide cream to sell and furnish milk and butter for the table. Chickens were kept, some for fryers others to furnish eggs to eat and sell.

Coyotes were regular raiders of chickens in the brush, with some brave enough to enter the chicken yard.

Matt Westley had planted an orchard and blackberry patch. Fruit was plentiful as currants, grapes and sand cherries could be found growing wild. Lambs quarters and dandelion greens were a welcome treat in the early spring. They found out later the poke greens growing wild and plentiful could also be cooked and eaten.

All the family worked. Chores were given out according to size of the child – gathering eggs, carrying wood, finding kindling to start the morning fires, filling a 10 gallon crock with water and working in the fields. The Home Comfort cook stove had a reservoir when filled with water provided hot water for many uses.

Sam borrowed a Sorghum Press each fall and made sorghum from the sorghum cane he grew for the family and some to sell. Making sorghum syrup wasn’t easy as it took the whole family from early morning till late at night to finish.

Broom corn, cotton, corn and small grains were the main field crops.

The clothes that could be made at home were sewed on a Davis treadle sewing machine.

Winter months were used for piecing quilt tops and quilting quilts. An older quilt might get a new top and bottom making it look like new but quite heavy. Quilting frames hung from 4 hooks in the living room ceiling where quilts could be raised and lowered to work on.

No feed nor flour sacks were discarded, they had many uses; as dish towels, to strain milk, bandages, under clothing and baby diapers.

Washing clothes meant carrying water and filling a large wash pot placed over an open fire outside. The water as hard or gyp, lye was used to break the water so soap would lather. After the lye was added to the hot water, a scum would come to the top that was skimmed off by a ladle. The water then was placed in a large tub where a rub-board was used to wash clothes on. Soap was made by mixing greese and lye together. Bluing was used to keep clothes white. If a little too much was used clothes might be quite blue till washed again. Different types of washings machines were tried. The last was a half moon type rocked back and forth by a handle with a wringer turned by hand.

Entertainment came from giving parties at home or attending one at a neighbor’s home. Popcorn and sorghum cake hot from the oven was an evening treat. Saturday’s and Sundays were used mostly for shopping and visiting as Sam never approved of field work on Sunday. Bats and balls were homemade. Old sock tops and glove tops unraveled made string balls. Any type of hard wood could be shaped for a bat.

Living 4 miles from Long Creed school was too far for some of the children to walk. A team of mules and buggy was used.

In 1932, Nora’s uncle John Boston passed away and was buried in the Webb Cemetery. His widow Cecilia came to make her home with Sam and Nora. She loved to piece quilt and spent most of her time that way. She made her home there till 1944. She brought her husband’s blacksmith tools with her and they were useful to repair broken machinery, harness, etc.

In 1935, Sam traveled to Nebraska with his brother Elmer and wife Dee in their Model T Ford to visit relatives. It was Sam’s longest trip by car.

Sam was in poor health and bedridden in the last months of his life. His sons would take him to see Dr. Duer in Taloga. When he was unable to walk they would carry him from the car to the office. After he could no longer stand the strain of the trip, Dr. Duer came to the home. He passed away Oct. 19, 1935. He is buried near his children and parents in Sunnyside Cemetery. He had 5 grandsons at the time of his death.

Floyd graduated from Vici High School in 1926. He married Ida Smith Lathrop in March 1933. They made their home at Oklahoma City. Irven married Emma Jones in Dec 1929. Their children were the first grandchildren of Sam and Nora’s. Ernest married Jewel Phillips in Jan 1935. Their son Bobby was the first grandchild born on the Lynes Farm. Ferne married Creed Morgan in July 1935. Irven, Ernest and Ferne moved to California with their families in the late 1930’s. Nora continued living on the farm with her 4 youngest children. Verne married Margie McClure in July 1937. Edith married Floyd DeMoss in June 1939. Nora and her son Gerald and daughter Gleola lived on the farm till Dec 1942 when her daughter Ferne’s husband was killed in a train and car wreck at Ontario, California. Nora and Gleola came to California. They returned to Oklahoma in April and returned that fall to California to live with her daughter Ferne.

Gerald married Juanita Spangler in May 1943. Their son Nolan was the last Lynes to be born on the Lynes farm. He was born in March 1944.

Gleola married Luster France in Dec 1946 in California.

Floyd enlisted in the army in Oct 1942. He served in Washington state and Maryland in World War II, He was sent overseas March 1944 serving with Company C 362 Infantry, Fifth Army, Italy. He was killed by sniper fire Sept 15, 1944. He was returned for burial at Sunnyside Cemetery after the war ended.

Gerald left the farm in 1945 and lived at Waukomis, Oklahoma. He came to California in 1946.

Nora lived many years alone, she fell and broke her hip in April 1971 and is now in a nursing home in Upland, California. She is 88 years old now. 12-30-1976 – J V L

[hand written note at bottom of page – DIED 11/16/1980]