Individual Details
Zemily Isabella McCleskey
(January 5, 1863 - November 12, 1947)
"It is family tradition taht the father of Calvin D. Key came to America from England as a young man and on arrival changed his name from Dayton to Key.
"Zemily Isabella McCleskey married William Andrew Key of Lipan, Texas, 19 December 1882 at the ranch home of her parents at the foot of Mount Pisgah in The Buck Creek Valley near the present Patillo, Erath County, Texas. After their marriage, Wm. A. and 'Belle' lived for many years on the northeast quarter section of a block of land in the Foster Survey bought by N.T. Mccleskey and others of his family. The house was built without first surveying the land conveyed to Wm. A. Key (we called him Uncle Bill), and the house was later found to be off his land and in Erath county; most of his land was in Palo Pinto County. This house, with some additions and modifications still stands, about five and a half miles west of Lipan. In this house, all the children were born, except the last two, Birdie Jewel and Samuel Milton, who were born in Clay County.
"Some of my treasured early memories are of the Key children who were frequent visitors at our house, since they lived only a half mile away and there was a pond between us where the older children spent some time fishing and I was tolerated as an onlooker. It was a sad day for my family when Uncle Bill, Aunt Belle and all the family loaded their belongings on a wagon (or wagons) and drove away. The Key children had the excitement of travel and adventure, but we had only sorrow and loneliness. I cannot be positive of the time of their departure for Clay county, but it must have been 1900 or 1901 for we were living in the "Jones" house, and we lived there only from 1898 to the fall of 1901. In the cotton-picking season of 1900 or 1901, my father took a load of cotton to Granbury and come back long after dark; several of the Key children andmy brothers and I waited for him on the road at the place we called the 'old reaper'; Dad didn't have any axle grease with him, and when he was a half mile away we could hear the dry axle squeaking. When he came to where we were, we climbed on the wagon and rode home, the squeak adding to the fun." (DESCENDANTS OF JAMES AND JOSEPH McCLESKEY, THE TEXAS GROUP, 1978 compiled by Charles S. McCleskey, pages 369 - 370.)
"Zemily Isabella McCleskey married William Andrew Key of Lipan, Texas, 19 December 1882 at the ranch home of her parents at the foot of Mount Pisgah in The Buck Creek Valley near the present Patillo, Erath County, Texas. After their marriage, Wm. A. and 'Belle' lived for many years on the northeast quarter section of a block of land in the Foster Survey bought by N.T. Mccleskey and others of his family. The house was built without first surveying the land conveyed to Wm. A. Key (we called him Uncle Bill), and the house was later found to be off his land and in Erath county; most of his land was in Palo Pinto County. This house, with some additions and modifications still stands, about five and a half miles west of Lipan. In this house, all the children were born, except the last two, Birdie Jewel and Samuel Milton, who were born in Clay County.
"Some of my treasured early memories are of the Key children who were frequent visitors at our house, since they lived only a half mile away and there was a pond between us where the older children spent some time fishing and I was tolerated as an onlooker. It was a sad day for my family when Uncle Bill, Aunt Belle and all the family loaded their belongings on a wagon (or wagons) and drove away. The Key children had the excitement of travel and adventure, but we had only sorrow and loneliness. I cannot be positive of the time of their departure for Clay county, but it must have been 1900 or 1901 for we were living in the "Jones" house, and we lived there only from 1898 to the fall of 1901. In the cotton-picking season of 1900 or 1901, my father took a load of cotton to Granbury and come back long after dark; several of the Key children andmy brothers and I waited for him on the road at the place we called the 'old reaper'; Dad didn't have any axle grease with him, and when he was a half mile away we could hear the dry axle squeaking. When he came to where we were, we climbed on the wagon and rode home, the squeak adding to the fun." (DESCENDANTS OF JAMES AND JOSEPH McCLESKEY, THE TEXAS GROUP, 1978 compiled by Charles S. McCleskey, pages 369 - 370.)
Events
| Birth | January 5, 1863 | Marshall County, Alabama | |||
| Marriage | December 19, 1882 | near Patillo, Erath County, Texas - William Andrew Key | |||
| Death | November 12, 1947 | Morton, Cochran County, Texas |
Families
| Spouse | William Andrew Key (1858 - 1946) |
| Child | Alexander Stevens Key (1883 - 1964) |
| Child | George Edward Key (1886 - 1971) |
| Child | Vada Belle Key (1888 - 1974) |
| Child | Archie Key (1890 - 1890) |
| Child | Essie Lena Key (1891 - 1966) |
| Child | Bessie Lee Key (1892 - 1967) |
| Child | William Calvin Key (1894 - 1981) |
| Child | Mary Eva Key (1896 - ) |
| Child | Nellie Grace Key (1899 - ) |
| Child | Birdie Jewell Key (1902 - ) |
| Child | Samuel Milton Key (1904 - 1984) |
| Father | Nathaniel Turk McCleskey (1824 - 1894) |
| Mother | Mary Lucinda Gill (1825 - 1906) |
| Sibling | Margaret Jane McCleskey (1844 - 1907) |
| Sibling | David Henry McCleskey (1847 - 1920) |
| Sibling | Mary Bradford McCleskey (1850 - 1919) |
| Sibling | Martha Atwood McCleskey (1850 - 1919) |
| Sibling | James Milton McCleskey (1855 - 1928) |
| Sibling | Marshall Jarrett McCleskey (1857 - 1946) |
| Sibling | William Gill McCleskey (1860 - 1948) |
| Sibling | Sarah Louise "Sallie" McCleskey (1866 - 1959) |