| #10 -Nathan Birdseye
MACOMB
s/o #20-Nathaniel Jefferson MACOMB & #21-Martha Ella PHENIX |
| nickname-none |
|
Children With #11 Lula May Sylvia Grace (picture) b 17 Jan 1910 MO d 5 Dec 1993 MO Elmer Everette (picture) b 29 May 1911 OK d 9 Nov 1986 MO Lois Barbara b 1 Mar 1913 MO d 14 Feb 1933 MO #5 Audie Edith-PRIVATE Gertie Lavina b 16 Mar 1920 MO d 16 Feb 1980 MO Ruby Oneida b 25 Nov 1922 d 21 Jan 1923 Baby Boy b 28 Aug 1924 d 28 Aug 1924 Baby Boy b 15 June 1925 d 15 June 1925 Children with Dollie
|
 |
| b 30 May 1884 | Radical/Baxter, Stone Co. MO |
| m 17 Apr
1909 to Lula May OVERSTREET
m 2nd 24 Dec 1930 to Isabel Onedia "Dollie" DAVID |
Stone
Co. MO
Taney Co. MO |
| d 22 June 1936 | Reeds Spring, Stone Co. MO |
| bur Gretna Cemetery | Branson, Taney Co. MO |
| Hair: black | Eyes: brown |
| Height: about 5' 5" | Weight: 130 |
| Probable
Ethnicity:
Scottish (Macomb), French/Indian (Phenix) |
| Infamous Family Knowledge claims Nathan's mother was Full Cherokee. Research points to a probable Iroquois, possibly Oneida, heritage for the Phenix family (see Martha Ella's page) |
| What we know: |
| The 1900 Stone Co. MO Federal
Census states that Nathan's place of birth was in AR; and the place that
he grew up was indeed close to the AR state line in Stone Co. But
I haven't been able to find Nathan's parents after their marriage in 1879
in the 1880 Census, and due to family troubles, they may have lived in
AR at the time of Nathan's birth.
I would have liked to have known him. He was a singer and fiddle-player, a prankster, a hard worker, and someone who knew that life could be fun, despite hardship. He and Lula May went to Shawnee, Pottawatomie Co. OK, after the 1910 Stone Co. MO Census, but returned to their place on Little Indian Creek by 1913, when Lois was born. Before grandma Audie was born, they had moved to a farm near Garber. That house burned in 1923, along with pictures and other family artifacts that would be precious to descendants now. Nathan moved the family somewhat north and west of that farm, where he lived the rest of his life. Grandma says that Nathan and Lula May were very much in love; in their "year after wedding" photo (shown below), you can see Lula May almost smiling, an unusual sight in pictures taken during this time period. After Lula May's death in 1925, Nathan's father Nathaniel often stayed with him, helping to raise the children and around the house. The children were brought up to not talk about their Indian heritage, one of the reasons it is so hard to verify today (Grandma is still uncomfortable talking about it). It was simply not discussed beyond "Grandma Martha Ella Macomb was full Cherokee." Nathan is obviously of Scottish and Indian heritage--you can see it in his pictures. Not one of these pictures shows him smiling. Nathan married Onedia Isabel "Dollie" David Combs in 1930. Dollie was b 9 Feb 1898 Taney Co. MO, and died May 1978 in Roseburg, Douglas Co. OR. She had 2 sons by her first husband, Lester Combs; she and Nathan had 2 daughters and a son by the time of Nathan's death in 1936. Her third husband, Albert Smith, and she also had a daughter, Tina Marie "Tiny". Nathan and his brothers Mig and Clarence ran moonshine. After Lula May's death, Grandma says, Nathan got a little wild, and decided to build a still. One of Nathan's customers was John Wilson, daughter Audie's future father-in-law, and another was George, Audie's future husband. Someone was robbing the brothers of whiskey in the spring of 1936, and they decided to lace a few bottles with strychnine, in hopes of curtailing the thievery. These boys played hard ball, in other words. In June of that year, Nathan was out plowing and came in thirsty. Without looking, he picked up a bottle and started drinking. Within minutes, he realized he had drank from a poisoned bottle, and went for help. In those days, Grandma and Grandpa were living not far away, and he was bent double by the time he got to their house, in pain. He died 3 days later. Doc Parrish was the attending doctor. Block 22 of the death certificate states: "I hereby certify that I attended deceased from June 19, 1936 to June 22, 1936. I last saw him alive on June 22, 1936. Death is said to have occurred on the date stated above (block 21), at 4 P.M. The principal cause of death and related causes of importance are as follows: Intestinal perforation and internal hemorrhage. (Date of onset June 21) Other contributory causes of importance: Duodenal Ulcer and Ulcerative colitis. (Date of onset unknown)" He was 52. It is said that Mignon and Clarence got out of the whiskey business immediately. |
to spouse |
to
Mother |
to
Father |
front: Gertie age 5, Audie
age 10
|
|
Vonda's People |
Email Vonda . |
... ...... |
... ... |