Individual Details
Freddie Andrew Stephenson
(23 Dec 1894 - 14 Oct 1962)
Dawes Roll #32203
Census #10404
Registered 1/2 Blood Degree, Registered as Cherokee
Lived in Delaware District in the Ketchum Area
John Henry Stephenson gave him the nickname of "Bolivar"
Fathered by John Davis, a Cherokee Indian living in the Delaware District.
August 21,1896: Census of Adopted Delaware Citizens of Delaware District, Cherokee Nation. Authorized by an Act of the National Council. Federal Records microfilm #7Ra-19 Rolls 1-2. Freddie Stephens, age 1, Delaware born in Cherokee Nation.
December 7, 1906: Freddie A. Stephenson was allotted 50 acres from the Cherokee Nation.
December 28, 1915: Freddie A. Stephenson purchased land.
January 3, 1916: Freddie A. Stephenson purchased 40 acres of land.
April 11, 1916: Freddie A. Stephenson, documented as single, sold his land in Craig Co. to Delia Trundle.
August 28, 1916: Freddie A. Stephenson and his wife, Ludie, signed a rental contract.
September 5, 1917: Freddie A. Stephenson and his wife, Ludie, rented another property.
November 5, 1920: Freddie A. Stephenson was documented as a widower on a deed record.
I have a map that shows Freddie A. Stephenson's allotment was in Craig County, right next to the Willow Springs Cemetery. This would be next to the Ketchum Cemetery in Ketchum, Oklahoma.
According to a birth record filed on February 8, 1917, Fred Stephenson was listed as a farmer at the age of 22. Delaware County, Oklahoma, Vol. 1, 1915-1917. Grove Village. The birth of his first daughter by Ludie Scott, age 17.
I have a copy of his U.S. Bureau of Mines, Physical Examination report cards. I assume they were supposed to carry them with them at all times. The copies I have are of the originals, which are very tattered and torn. One is dated 1927. Pitcher, Oklahoma. The card showed him living in Cardin, OK.
While working in California he was involved in an automobile accident. He was riding in the truck with the people that he worked for; as they were driving down the road an earthquake caused the ground beneath the truck to shift. The truck rolled over on his right arm and severed it. They had to re-attach it and he never regained the use of his arm after that. He started feeling sensations in his fingers and was able to move them before he died. He was right handed and had to teach himself to use his left hand.
According to an obit received from the Craig County Historical Society it says the following: Fred Stephenson, 69, a former resident of Ketchum, died at 4:00 am Saturday in an Oklahoma City hospital following a brief illness. Stephenson resided in the Ketchum area before moving to Oklahoma City several years ago. Survivors include: his wife, Mrs. Ethel Stephenson; five daughters and five sons. (The Vinita Newspaper, dated 10-18-1962) He died from "black lung", the same disease that killed his brother. Many people died of “black lung" due to working in the coal mines.
March 2, 2020: There was a story I always heard as a child, but I wanted to hear the story from my mom, Lillie Stephenson Peach, about how her momma, Ethel, and her daddy, Fred, came from Cardin, Oklahoma, to near Binger, Oklahoma. This is the story as per mom's recollection: "All us kids, Katherine, Raylene, Franklin, me (Lillie), Andy, Walter, Jessie, and Eva, including momma and daddy, piled into an old Chrysler with all the belongings they could fit." The time period this took place was 1942 or 1943.
They were living in Cardin, Oklahoma. After a mine shaft caved in and her daddy and his best friend, Raymond Henry, on the elevator at the time, barely made it out, they decided they had had enough of mining and decided to leave. Arizona was their destination because her daddy had been told that for his health he needed a dryer climate. They started out on Route 66 to make their way. She remembers the car blew out a lot of tires. They had made it the east side of the South Canadian River bridge, just east of Hinton Junction, and the car had either blown another tire or broke down. Her dad managed to get the car going again and she remembered being scared of all the water under the bridge. The water expanded the complete width of its banks and was rushing under the bridge. She remembers they all tried to hold their breath as they crossed the bridge, but none accomplished the task. (When we were kids, we were always told to try and hold our breath as we crossed that bridge. Now I know where that came from.)
She doesn't recall how, but they managed to get in touch with her older sister, Alice and her husband, Ray Graham. Supposedly her folks had been in earlier contact with them, because they were planning a visit along the way to Arizona. Alice and Ray lived between Lookeba and Binger, Oklahoma. By that time, they had run out of money. She assumed they left for the journey on one of her dad's paychecks. She was guessing about $40.00.
They stayed with Alice and Ray until her daddy found an old house for them to live in, and he share cropped with Glenn Stevens. They settled in Campbell's Canyon, east of Binger, Oklahoma. Billy was born after that move.
She told me a story that her sister, Jessie, had told her about the time Billy was born. It was a horrible snow storm and daddy went to Hinton to get the doctor. After Billy was born, the doctor had to spend the night with the family. She wasn't sure where he slept because it was only a three room house; a kitchen, bedroom, and living room. All the kids slept in one room and her parents slept in the living room. The doctor left the next morning. She said they had running water: run and fetch. Needless to say, they never made it to Arizona.
Census #10404
Registered 1/2 Blood Degree, Registered as Cherokee
Lived in Delaware District in the Ketchum Area
John Henry Stephenson gave him the nickname of "Bolivar"
Fathered by John Davis, a Cherokee Indian living in the Delaware District.
August 21,1896: Census of Adopted Delaware Citizens of Delaware District, Cherokee Nation. Authorized by an Act of the National Council. Federal Records microfilm #7Ra-19 Rolls 1-2. Freddie Stephens, age 1, Delaware born in Cherokee Nation.
December 7, 1906: Freddie A. Stephenson was allotted 50 acres from the Cherokee Nation.
December 28, 1915: Freddie A. Stephenson purchased land.
January 3, 1916: Freddie A. Stephenson purchased 40 acres of land.
April 11, 1916: Freddie A. Stephenson, documented as single, sold his land in Craig Co. to Delia Trundle.
August 28, 1916: Freddie A. Stephenson and his wife, Ludie, signed a rental contract.
September 5, 1917: Freddie A. Stephenson and his wife, Ludie, rented another property.
November 5, 1920: Freddie A. Stephenson was documented as a widower on a deed record.
I have a map that shows Freddie A. Stephenson's allotment was in Craig County, right next to the Willow Springs Cemetery. This would be next to the Ketchum Cemetery in Ketchum, Oklahoma.
According to a birth record filed on February 8, 1917, Fred Stephenson was listed as a farmer at the age of 22. Delaware County, Oklahoma, Vol. 1, 1915-1917. Grove Village. The birth of his first daughter by Ludie Scott, age 17.
I have a copy of his U.S. Bureau of Mines, Physical Examination report cards. I assume they were supposed to carry them with them at all times. The copies I have are of the originals, which are very tattered and torn. One is dated 1927. Pitcher, Oklahoma. The card showed him living in Cardin, OK.
While working in California he was involved in an automobile accident. He was riding in the truck with the people that he worked for; as they were driving down the road an earthquake caused the ground beneath the truck to shift. The truck rolled over on his right arm and severed it. They had to re-attach it and he never regained the use of his arm after that. He started feeling sensations in his fingers and was able to move them before he died. He was right handed and had to teach himself to use his left hand.
According to an obit received from the Craig County Historical Society it says the following: Fred Stephenson, 69, a former resident of Ketchum, died at 4:00 am Saturday in an Oklahoma City hospital following a brief illness. Stephenson resided in the Ketchum area before moving to Oklahoma City several years ago. Survivors include: his wife, Mrs. Ethel Stephenson; five daughters and five sons. (The Vinita Newspaper, dated 10-18-1962) He died from "black lung", the same disease that killed his brother. Many people died of “black lung" due to working in the coal mines.
March 2, 2020: There was a story I always heard as a child, but I wanted to hear the story from my mom, Lillie Stephenson Peach, about how her momma, Ethel, and her daddy, Fred, came from Cardin, Oklahoma, to near Binger, Oklahoma. This is the story as per mom's recollection: "All us kids, Katherine, Raylene, Franklin, me (Lillie), Andy, Walter, Jessie, and Eva, including momma and daddy, piled into an old Chrysler with all the belongings they could fit." The time period this took place was 1942 or 1943.
They were living in Cardin, Oklahoma. After a mine shaft caved in and her daddy and his best friend, Raymond Henry, on the elevator at the time, barely made it out, they decided they had had enough of mining and decided to leave. Arizona was their destination because her daddy had been told that for his health he needed a dryer climate. They started out on Route 66 to make their way. She remembers the car blew out a lot of tires. They had made it the east side of the South Canadian River bridge, just east of Hinton Junction, and the car had either blown another tire or broke down. Her dad managed to get the car going again and she remembered being scared of all the water under the bridge. The water expanded the complete width of its banks and was rushing under the bridge. She remembers they all tried to hold their breath as they crossed the bridge, but none accomplished the task. (When we were kids, we were always told to try and hold our breath as we crossed that bridge. Now I know where that came from.)
She doesn't recall how, but they managed to get in touch with her older sister, Alice and her husband, Ray Graham. Supposedly her folks had been in earlier contact with them, because they were planning a visit along the way to Arizona. Alice and Ray lived between Lookeba and Binger, Oklahoma. By that time, they had run out of money. She assumed they left for the journey on one of her dad's paychecks. She was guessing about $40.00.
They stayed with Alice and Ray until her daddy found an old house for them to live in, and he share cropped with Glenn Stevens. They settled in Campbell's Canyon, east of Binger, Oklahoma. Billy was born after that move.
She told me a story that her sister, Jessie, had told her about the time Billy was born. It was a horrible snow storm and daddy went to Hinton to get the doctor. After Billy was born, the doctor had to spend the night with the family. She wasn't sure where he slept because it was only a three room house; a kitchen, bedroom, and living room. All the kids slept in one room and her parents slept in the living room. The doctor left the next morning. She said they had running water: run and fetch. Needless to say, they never made it to Arizona.
Events
| Birth | 23 Dec 1894 | Cherokee Indian Nation, Oklahoma Territory, United States | |||
| Marriage | 20 Feb 1926 | Ottawa, Oklahoma, United States - Goldie Connor |  | ||
| Residence | 1935 | Same Place | | ||
| Residence | 1940 | Quapaw Township, Ottawa, Oklahoma, United States | | ||
| Death | 14 Oct 1962 | ||||
| FIND-A-GRAVE | https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/161986696/fred-stephenson | ||||
| Burial | East Center Section - Ketchum Cemetery, Craig, Oklahoma, United States |
Families
| Spouse | Ethel Rose Pliley (1903 - 1995) |
| Child | Norma Raylene Stephenson (1932 - 2006) |
| Child | Franklin Fredrick Stephenson (1934 - 2000) |
| Child | Living |
| Child | Lillie Florence Stephenson (1936 - ) |
| Child | Living |
| Child | Living |
| Child | Living |
| Child | Billy Dean Stephenson (1946 - 2019) |
| Spouse | Ludie Scott (1896 - ) |
| Child | Lorene Stephenson (1917 - ) |
| Spouse | Goldie Connor (1906 - ) |
| Child | Robert J. Stephenson (1926 - 2006) |
| Father | John William Davis (1873 - 1960) |
| Mother | Fannie Francis Stephenson (1877 - 1924) |
| Sibling | Walter Henry Stephenson (1897 - 1928) |
Endnotes
1. "Oklahoma, County Marriages, 1890-1995." Database with images. FamilySearch. "Oklahoma, County Marriages, 1890-1995," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QVP6-5944 : 4 November 2017), Fred Stephenson and Goldie Conner, 20 Feb 1926; citing Oklahoma, various county courthouses, Oklahoma; FHL microfilm..
2. "United States Census, 1940," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:VBKH-S5J : 27 July 2019), Fred Stephenson, Quapaw Township, Ottawa, Oklahoma, United States; citing enumeration district (ED) 58-32, sheet 61B, line 77, family 231, Sixteenth Census of the United States, 1940, NARA digital publication T627. Records of the Bureau of the Census, 1790 - 2007, RG 29. Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 2012, roll 3321..
3. "United States Census, 1940," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:VBKH-S5J : 27 July 2019), Fred Stephenson, Quapaw Township, Ottawa, Oklahoma, United States; citing enumeration district (ED) 58-32, sheet 61B, line 77, family 231, Sixteenth Census of the United States, 1940, NARA digital publication T627. Records of the Bureau of the Census, 1790 - 2007, RG 29. Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 2012, roll 3321..