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Martha Azle (Mercer) McCall (1892-1992) – Research and Records

Brad McCall — Sun, 23 May 2010 15:14:07 +0000

Update – June 5, 2010
I received the Obituary for Dewey S. Mercer in the mail today from the Tillamook Historical Society. In it it mentions a living sister “Hazel McCall, Sublimity”. This is much too much of a coincidence not to be her brother. Success! Another family member found. Now if I could only connect the pieces on John Keener’s first wife Martha Olive Johnson… that’s next.

Martha Azle (Mercer) McCall or “Miss Azle” as I knew her was the second wife of my Great Great Grandfather John Keener McCall (1 Oct 1872) and married him when he already had a large family of 8 kids. They had two more children together. Currently I have no record of who her parents were or what family she came from, but I do have quite a few guesses. I thought I’d write the trail I’ve come across thus far and see if it makes sense.

What I know:
1. I have her obituary: Sublimity – Martha Azle McCall, 99, died Jan. 7, 1992. She was born Dec. 1, 1892 in Danville, Ark. She moved to Stayton in 1938 from Carlsbad, N.M. She settled in Sublimity seven years ago. She married J.K. McCall on Sept. 22, 1918 in Gravely, Ark., he died in 1966. She is survived by her sons, Charles W. of Sublimity and J.B. of Cottage Grove; stepsons, G.D. of Stayton and Troy of Carlsbad; stepdaughter, Prue Sadler of Stayton; several grandchildren and several great-grandchildren. Services were held Jan. 10 at Weddle Mortuary, Stayton. Interment followed at Lone Oak Cemetery, Stayton.

2. I know that my Great Grandmother Etoyl (Montgomery) McCall who was married to Azle’s eldest step-son Robert Lee McCall said that they called her Dad “Pappy Mercer”, and she came from a poor, lower-class family. I also have some minor details about her life with her husband that was shared with my sister in a letter from the local historical society where she died.

3. I know she was born 1 December 1892, and died 7 January 1892 and was buried in the Lone Oak Cemetery in Stayton, Oregon on the 10th of January 1992. She married J.K. McCall 22 September 1918 in Gravelly, Yell County, Arkansas when she was 25 years old.

4. I know that her future husband John Keener lived with his first wife in Danville – her birthplace as listed on her obituary – in the 1900 Census. (She would have been 7 yrs old) The next census, however, him and his wife are living in the Herring Township.

5. In the 1920 Census, Azle lists her father as born in Mississippi, mother in Arkansas. In 1930, she lists both parents as being born in Arkansas.

What I’ve done:
Since I’m a self-taught amature genealogy researcher, I don’t always know the best place to start to find out what I don’t know on a person or family line. But this is what I’ve done.

1. I assumed that since she was born in Danville, she might have lived there as a child. I went through the entire Danville 1900 US Census for a Mercer family with no luck.

2. I did an open US Census search for a Martha Azle Mercer, and focused the search around Yell County, Arkansas where she was born. I found a Martha A. in Briggsville in the 1910 census, which is just 15 miles from Danville where she was born. Azle should have been 17 when the Census was taken at the end of April 1900. This “Martha A. Merser” was listed as 16, birthplace Arkansas. Her parents are listed as Silas W. (age 40, b. MS) and Martha A. (age 36, b. AR). They were married at 17. She had siblings Dovey, Dewey, Myrtle and grandfather Byrant.

Martha A. Merser - Briggsville US Census, 1910

I saw the difference in age of this Martha, and ended up putting my research to the side. I’ve been trying to focus on primary family lines first, and so I went back to the McCall side. While searching through some WW1 draft papers I ran across a Dewey S. Mercer, who stated that his nearest relative was C.W. Mercer. This sounded familiar, and I was excited to find another Mercer nearby all my McCalls so I started searching again.

The WW1 Registration of Dewey Sampson Mercer.

I decided to see if the family of Silas W. and Martha A. Merser mentioned in the 1910 Census appeared in other US Census records. After a couple frustrating name searches, I ended up going through the Briggsville Census records by hand and was lucky.

3. In the 1900 US Census I found a Wess Messer (age 30, b. MS) and his wife Minnie (age 26, b. AR) living in Briggsville, Arkansas with children named Martha, Dova and Dewey. This Martha is listed with a birthday of December 1893, and age 6. Still one year off from my Martha, but in the right month of December.

Martha Messer - Briggsville US Census, 1900

4. In the 1920 US Census I found Dewey S. (age 21) living with his father W.C. Mercer (age 48, widowed), but not Martha.

Martha's family (No Martha) - Briggsville US Census, 1920

5. I decided to focus on Dewey S. Mercer. After a few searches, I found that he had married Millie Ornduff (b. 1897, Oregon -1979, Oregon) and died in Tillamook, Oregon 17 Jan 1986. Could it be a coincidence that he ended up in Oregon, and met a wife there and died there? Perhaps this is my Martha in these census records, and she convinced her brother to come to Oregon where she was living, and there he married (perhaps a second wife). The local Tillamook historical society had a website where I got his death information, and so I emailed them for his obituary. We’ll see where the trail leads from there.

What’s next:
That’s where I’ve reached thus far. My next step is to keep following up about Dewey S., and to order Martha’s Death Certificate to see if she lists her parent’s names. I also seem to remember that there was an article written in the local paper about her because of her longevity, so that’s another avenue to explore. I’m hoping by putting this research out there, I may find a decedent of this family who’s interested in genealogy.

If you’re related to this family or have more information about them including stories, pictures and dates and family member names, I’d love to hear from you. Please leave a comment below or email me directly from the About Us page.

Robert Lee “Bob” McCall (1896-1989) – A Historical Timeline

Brad McCall — Wed, 19 May 2010 03:30:44 +0000

Robert Lee “Bob” McCall was my Great Grandfather. I always knew him as “Grandpa” and would climb up into his lap and listen to his pocket watch he kept in the front pocket of his overalls. I remember many meals over at my Great Grandparents house where “supper” was served at near noon and was the last meal of the day.

Here’s a timeline I’ve put together for his life, to try to get a sense of the major events that happened while he was living. I hope to add more to it as I gather more information about him.

Historical Timelines: Robert Lee “Bob” McCall

YEAR	LOCATION	EVENT
1896	Shark, Yell Co., Arkansas	Born: 22 May 1896
1900	Danville, Yell Co., Arkansas	US Census: Listed in the Census as Robert L. (age 4) living with his parents John H. McCall (age 27) and Ollie (age 26), and brother George D. (age 2). Living with them is Lucy Hickey, servant.
1910	Herring, Yell Co., Arkansas	US Census: Listed in the Census as Robert L. (age 14) living with his parents John H. McCall (age 37) and Olive (age 35) and siblings George W. (age 12), Sina (age 8), Prue (age 6), Buford (age 4), and Troy (age 1).
1916	Gravelly, Yell Co., Arkansas	Mother dies: Martha Olive Johnson (d. 8 Dec 1916) He was 20 years old.
1917	Gravelly, Yell Co., Arkansas	Service: Registered for draft, Army – World War 1, 5 Jun 1917
1918	Gravelly, Yell Co., Arkansas	Father remarries: Martha Azle Mercer (b. 1 Dec 1892 in Danville, Yell, Arkansas) 22 Sep 1918. He is 22 years old, his new stepmother is 25.
1920	Gravelly Village, Gravelly Hill, Yell Co., Arkansas	US Census: Listed in the Census as Bob (age 23) living with his parents J.K. McCall (age 47) and step-mother Azle (age 26) and siblings Dewey (age 21), Sina (age 18), Prue (age 15), Buford (age 11), Troy (age 10), Fay (age 7), John (age 4) and Jim Bill (age 4 months). Living with them is Ray Cornealius, boarder.
1920	Gravelly, Yell Co., Arkansas	Married: Etoyl Montgomery (b. 18 Aug 1896) 7 Jan 1920 “They met in Gravelly, Arkansas where they went to school together. Married in Gravelly, Arkansas.”
1920	Gravelly, Yell Co., Arkansas	Son: Tommy Lee (b. 30 Nov 1920)
1923	New Mexico	Moved to New Mexico. “When living in New Mexico they were farmers.”
1923	Carlsbad, Eddy Co., New Mexico	Son: Robert Wayne “Pete” (b. 26 Nov 1923)
1928	Carlsbad, Eddy Co., New Mexico	Son: Harold Dean (b. 22 Dec 1928)
1930	Precinct 9, Otis, Eddy Co., New Mexico	US Census: Listed in the Census as Robert L. (age 34) with his wife Etoyl (age 30) and Children Tommy Lee (age 9), Robert Wayne (age 7) and Harold Dean (age 1.25). His occupation is listed as a farmer, house is owned and valued at $14000. Age at his marriage was 23 for him, 22 for Etoyl.
1938	Oregon	Moved to Oregon and lived outside Eugene. Etoyl’s brother Lyle had already moved to Oregon. “[They moved to Oregon] because he lost everything he had. It was during 1932 – 1933 depression.”
	Stayton Marion Co., Oregon	“They farmed strawberries, beans, beets, plums, peaches.” When they first bought their land near Stayton, Oregon, the area had been nicknamed “starvation acres” because no one could get it to produce. I was told that there were some large trees removed off the property with stumps so large that it took dynamite to get the stumps out.
1944	San Francisco, California	Son dies: Tommy Lee (d. 19 Sep 1944) and is buried in Eugene, Lane Co., Oregon. “He was aboard a Coast Guard carrier in San Francisco, CA. He was sent to the boiler room to do some work and the boiler blew up and he was found near the door, but was unable to get out.”
1966	Stayton, Marion Co., Oregon	Died: 7 Mar 1989 at 92 years of age. Buried in the Lone Oak Cemetery in Stayton, Marion Co., Oregon.
1992	Stayton, Marion Co., Oregon	Wife dies: Etoyl Montgomery (d. 21 Jun 1996) dies 5 months shy of her 100 year birthday. Buried in the Lone Oak Cemetery in Stayton, Marion Co., Oregon.

John Keener (1872-1966) and Martha Azle (1918-1992) McCall – Cemetery Photo

Brad McCall — Wed, 19 May 2010 02:37:07 +0000

John Keener McCall was my 2nd Great Grandfather. He is buried in the Lone Oak Cemetery in Stayton, Marion County, Oregon. I have visited there and have seen his grave. The Lone Oak Cemetery is on a nice hill on the edge of Stayton in a mostly residential neighborhood overlooking the valley. It is a very wet area with lots of rain, where nearby many of the Christmas tree farms have been torn down to build new housing developments. With all the rain, it’s no wonder there’s moss growing in the attached picture. He is buried with his second wife Martha Azle (Mercer).

The following picture was taken from Findagrave.com, as the picture I took the day I was there isn’t quite as clear as this one.

John Keener McCall
Birth – 1 Oct 1872, Gravelly Twp., Yell Co., AR
Death – 3 Jan 1966, Stayton, Marion Co., OR
Burial – Lone Oak Cem., Stayton, Marion Co., OR

Martha Azle Mercer
22 Sep 1918, Gravelly, Yell, Arkansas
Birth – 1 Dec 1892, Danville, Yell, Arkansas
Death – 7 Jan 1992, Sublimity, Marion, Oregon
Burial – 10 Jan 1992, Lone Oak Cem., Stayton, Marion, Oregon

The headstone of Martha Azle (Mercer) and John Keener McCall

James Ewell “J.E.” McCall (1826-1896) – Family Group Record

Brad McCall — Tue, 18 May 2010 23:49:53 +0000

James Ewell “J.E.” McCall is my 3rd Great Grandfather through his son John Keener “J.K” McCall who married Married Martha Olive “Ollie” Johnson in 1893. Much of the information of his life, I have gathered through a history that was written about him and his connection to the Clan Cholla charts. I spent many hours trying to find and verify his wife’s family, but still haven’t been able to locate them as yet.

James Ewell McCall
Birth – 11 Mar 1826, Lowndes, Alabama
Death – 1896, Yell, Arkansas
Burial – Old Shark Cem., Yell, Arkansas

Father – John McCall (1800-1849)
Mother – Sarah McColl (1804->1891)

Married:

Fannie Wood
Marriage – 29 Dec 1860, Dallas, Missouri
Birth – 4 Jan 1838, Johnson Co, Arkansas
Death – 1898, Yell, Arkansas
Burial – Old Shark Cem., Yell, Arkansas

Father – Isaac Wood
Mother – Anna Denton

Their Children:

1 F – Sarah McCall
Birth – Aug 1866
Death – bef 1870

2 M – Paul Jackson McCall
Birth – 16 Dec 1867, Arkansas
Death – 1952, Carlsbad, Eddy, New Mexico
Spouse – Minnie L. Saddler
Marriage – 26 Feb 1890, Yell, Arkansas

3 M – John Keener McCall
Birth – 1 Oct 1872, Gravelly Twp., Yell Co., AR
Death – 3 Jan 1965, Stayton, Marion Co., OR
Spouse (1) – Martha Olive “Ollie” Johnson
Marriage – 30 Nov 1893, Yell Co., Arkansas
Spouse (2) – Martha Azle Mercer
Marriage – 22 Sep 1918, Gravelly, Yell, Arkansas

4 M - William P. McCall
Birth – 1874
Death – 1895, Yell, Arkansas
Spouse – Minnie Zorn
Marriage – 27 Dec 1897, Yell Co., Arkansas

J.K. and Azle in Yosemite – Family Photo

Brad McCall — Sun, 16 May 2010 17:52:05 +0000

I found the following photo among some photocopies that my mother made of some of my Great Grandmother’s photos in the 1970′s. Even though I don’t know who had this original, I am grateful to have the photocopy. I was looking at this photo, and thought this location looked vaguely familiar. After looking closely at the sign, I read “Wawona Tree” and looked up Wawona Tree on Wikipedia. Sure enough it was familiar, and not in how I thought. I had traveled to Yosemite for my first time in 2006, and had seen the tree now called The Fallen Tunnel Tree (which fell in 1969) and had taken my picture there. It’s great to connect with past relatives in such a simple way.

Pictured below are John Keener “J.K” McCall and his wife Azle (Mercer). Pictured up on the tree above, I’m not sure. Perhaps some of their kids or grandkids. It looks as though this might have been the 1920′s?

J.K. and Azle McCall at the Wawona Tunnel Tree in Yosemite, CA.

This is me in a similar location in 2006.

Me (Brad McCall) at The Fallen Tunnel Tree in Yosemite, CA.

John Keener “J.K.” McCall and Extended Family – A Family Photo

Brad McCall — Wed, 05 May 2010 15:25:59 +0000

The following is a great picture of the extended family of my Great Great Grandfather John Keener McCall and his second wife Azle (Mercer) McCall. It was taken about 1926 in Carlsbad, Eddy Co., New Mexico. I’m sorry about the quality, but I’m afraid I only have a rough photocopy of the original.

J.K. McCall, his wife Azle and their Children and Grandchildren. (abt. 1926)

I broke out all the individual Children and Grandchildren in 3 separate images to see better and to make it easier to label. (See below)

J.K. and Azle McCall's Children and Grandchildren. (abt. 1926)

Back row: (left-to-right)
Robert Wayne McCall (1923-1998), Luther Clark Sadler (1900-1980), Jack Sadler (?)
Front row: (left-to-right)
Etoyl Montgomery McCall (1896-1996), Tommy Lee McCall (1920-1944), Robert Lee “Bob” McCall (1896-1989), Charles Wesley “C-dub” McCall (1924-2006)

J.K. and Azle McCall's Children and Grandchildren. (abt. 1926)

Back row: (left-to-right)
Prue McCall Sadler (1904-1994), Unknown Grandchild, William Buford McCall (1907-1977), Unknown Grandchild, Troy McCall (1909-2008), Unknown Grandchild
Front row: (left-to-right)
John Keener McCall (1872-1966), Martha Azle (Mercer) McCall (1892-1992), Ethel Loe (Rogers) McCall (?-?)

J.K. and Azle McCall's Children and Grandchildren. (abt. 1926)

Back row: (left-to-right)
Fay Margueritte McCall (1912-1988)
Front row: (left-to-right)
Bill Willard McCall (1919-1997), George Dewey McCall (1898-1995), Sina Mae (McCall) Skinner (1902-1991), Harry Clifton Skinner (1892-1975)

John Keener “J.K.” & Martha Olive “Ollie” McCall – A Family Photo

Brad McCall — Tue, 04 May 2010 19:05:16 +0000

She bore him 9 kids in their 23 years of marriage (one died as an infant), but she never lived to see any of her children married or have children of their own. Martha Olive “Ollie” Johnson McCall (1874-1916) was my Great-Great Grandmother, but it was John Keener’s second wife Martha Azle “Miss Azle” that I had the chance to know.

Not much is known about J.K.’s first wife Ollie, how she died, or about her parents. I’ve got little to nothing to go on for my research. But what I am grateful to have is a copy of a picture of her and J.K. taken sometime in late 1898 that gives me a face to put with her name. While gathering some genealogy, my mom photocopied some old pictures of my Great-Grandparents Robert Lee and Etoyl (Montgomery) McCall. She passed them onto me in hopes that I could track down the originals. When going through some things of my Great Grandmother’s years after her death, I found the original and scanned it.

Robert Lee “Bob” is the young child in the photo pictured below; the first child of J.K. and Ollie McCall. The baby is his brother Dewey who I always called “Uncle Dewey”. Both men I had the privilege of knowing as a child.

John Keener McCall
Birth – 1 Oct 1872, Gravelly Twp., Yell Co., AR
Death – 3 Jan 1966, Stayton, Marion Co., OR
Burial – Lone Oak Cem., Stayton, Marion Co., OR

Martha Olive “Ollie” Johnson
Marriage – 30 Nov 1893, Yell Co., Arkansas
Birth – 6 Apr 1874, Stark City, Newton Co., MO
Death – 8 Dec 1916, Gravelly Twp., Yell Co., AR
Burial – 9 Dec 1916, Gravelly Twp., Yell Co., AR

John Keener McCall and Martha Olive Johnson McCall. (abt. 1898)

J.K. McCall and Sons – Family Photo

Brad McCall — Sun, 02 May 2010 17:30:37 +0000

This picture was scanned from a color copy of the original photo, so I’m afraid the quality is not much good. Either way, it’s a great picture showing John Keener “J.K.” McCall and his sons from his two wives. The youngest is on the left, to the oldest on the right, ending with J.K. himself. J.K. was my Great-Great Grandfather, and next to him is my Great-Grandfather Robert Lee McCall. I’ve also added a close-up of both of them.

J.K. McCall and sons

Pictured from left-to-right:
Children from wife (2): Martha Azle (Mercer) McCall: Charles Wesley “CW” McCall (1924-2006), Jim Bill McCall (1919-abt.1995), Children from wife (1): Martha Olive “Ollie” (Johnson) McCall: Troy McCall (1909-?), John Cavinesse “Jack” or “Buster” McCall (1915-1986), William Buford McCall (1907-1977), George Dewey McCall (1898-1995), Robert Lee “Bob” McCall (1896-1989), and John Keener “J.K.” McCall (1872-1966)

Close up of Robert Lee McCall and his father J.K. McCall

I would love to find more relatives who descend from this large family to help me fill the gaps in my genealogy record, hear stories and swap information. If you’re related or know more about this family, please comment below, or email me from the About Us page.

John Keener “J.K.” McCall (1872-1966) – Family Group Record

Brad McCall — Wed, 28 Apr 2010 06:57:23 +0000

The following is the family group record for John Keener “J.K.” McCall. J.K. and Ollie (Johnson) McCall were the parents of my Great-Grandfather Robert Lee McCall who married Etoyl Montgomery in 1920. I had the pleasure of knowing both Etoyl and Robert “Bob” McCall and spending time at their house in Stayton, Oregon when I was a kid. I also was able to spend some time at J.K.’s second wife’s home. “Miss Azle” as everyone knew her lived to be nearly 100 years old.

If you have more information on this family including stories, pictures and dates and family member names, I’d love to hear from you.

John Keener McCall
Birth – 1 Oct 1872, Gravelly Twp., Yell Co., AR
Death – 3 Jan 1966, Stayton, Marion Co., OR
Burial – Lone Oak Cem., Stayton, Marion Co., OR

Father – James Ewell McCall (1826-1896)
Mother – Fannie Wood (1838-1898)
Other spouses – Martha Azle Mercer (see below)

Married (1):

Father – Van Johnson (<1874-)
Mother - Mrs. ? Shepard?

Their Children:

1 M – Robert Lee McCall
Birth – 22 May 1896, Shark, Yell Co., AR
Death – 7 Mar 1989, Stayton, Marion Co., OR
Spouse – Etoyl Montgomery
Marriage – 7 Jan 1920, Gravelly, Yell, Arkansas

2 M – George Dewey McCall
Birth – 17 May 1898, Danville, Yell, Arkansas
Death – 29 Aug 1995, of Herald, Sacramento, California
Spouse (1) – Ethel Loe Rogers
Marriage – 30 Sep 1922, Eddy, New Mexico
Spouse (2) – Maude Jewel Grimes
Marriage 11 Feb 1945

3 F – Sina Mae McCall
Birth – 17 Jan 1902, Lawton, Comanche, Oklahoma
Death – 20 Oct 1991, of Carlsbad, Eddy, New Mexico
Spouse – Harry Clifton Skinner
Marriage – 15 Aug 1923, Eddy, New Mexico

4 F – Lillian Prue McCall
Birth – 3 Feb 1904, Shark, Yell, Arkansas
Death – 4 Jan 1994
Spouse – Luther Clark Sadler
Marriage – 23 Dec 1924, Eddy, New Mexico

5 ? – McCall
Birth – 1906, Shark, Yell, Arkansas
Death – 1906, Shark, Yell, Arkansas
Spouse – Infant

6 M – William Buford McCall
Birth – 19 Nov 1907, Shark, Yell, Arkansas
Death – 8 Apr 1977, of Stayton, Marion, Oregon
Spouse (1) – Gladys Kelly
Marriage – 10 Oct 1928, Eddy, New Mexico
Spouse (2) – Gladys Weddle
Marriage – ?

7 M – Troy McCall
Birth – 6 Sep 1909, Shark, Yell, Arkansas
Death – 2 Jun 2008, Carlsbad, Eddy, NM
Spouse – Mary Elizabeth Knoll
Marriage – ?

8 F – Fay Margueritte McCall
Birth 7 – Oct 1912, Gravelly, Yell, Arkansas
Death – 4 Aug 1988, Portland, Multnomah, Oregon
Spouse (1) – Curtis Ware
Marriage – ?
Spouse (2) – Charles A. Fasholtz
Marriage – 27 Jul 1931, Eddy Co., New Mexico

9 M – John Cavinesse McCall
Birth – 13 Feb 1915, Gravelly, Yell, Arkansas
Death – May 1986, of Twin Falls, Twin Falls, Idaho
Spouse – Margaret Thompson
Marriage – 9 Feb

Married (2):

Father – ?
Mother – ?

Their Children:

1 M – Jim Bill McCall
Birth – 1 Sep 1919
Death – 10 Mar 1997, Cottage Gove, Lane Co., Oregon
Spouse – Lorene Tate
Marriage – 4 Feb 1946, Eddy Co., New Mexico

2 M – Charles Wesley McCall
Birth – 16 Dec 1924
Death – 14 Dec 2006, Sublimity, Marion Co., Oregon
Spouse – Jeannie Ruef
Marriage – 22 Nov, 1958