Sunday, March 23, 2014

52 Ancestors #11 Bevlie Anderson Cook


Bevlie Anderson Cook & an
unidentified friend, Sunny Lane
Race Team, Sunny Lane,
Burnet Co., TX
 Sorry that I'm a bit late this week posting. They say a picture is worth a thousand words & for this photo, at least, those thousand words form a story about this one that has been passed down in my family.

The photo to the left is of my mother's maternal grandfather when he was a young man. Bevlie (or Beverly) Anderson Cook was the first born of four sons of William Melvin Cook & Lucendia Temperance Berry. He was born in Burnet Co., Texas on 11 Aug 1878. His younger brothers were Robert, William & John. His parents' marriage was not a very happy one (his father William was a good deal younger than his mother & if you consider their date of marriage with Bev's date of birth, they were probably forced to marry. They eventually separated). William has been reputed, in family lore, to have been a mean individual & as a consequence, Bev spent most of his time with various members of the McCoy family who lived nearby.

When Bev was 22, he married one of those McCoy neighbors, Dora Lee McCoy, daughter of William Riley McCoy & Martha/Mariah Elizabeth "Betty" Holland. Dora was only 15 years old when she said yes to the
Wedding photo of Bev Cook
& Dora Lee McCoy, Burnet Co.,
Texas-4 Nov 1900
farmer boy who spent so much time around her family members. They married on 4 Nov 1900 in Burnet Co., Texas. Their first son Leslie was born three years later, but only lived a month. A year later, they would be blessed with a little girl. It was during these years that Bevlie liked to take his bicycle & race it against the other young men in the area on the dirt roads of Sunny Lane on Sunday afternoons. The story goes that he would leave Dora to her own devices on those occasions to go off & race.

Dora prayed that something would break on Bev's bike so that he would be forced to quit racing & stay home with her. Eventually, the bike broke down & she got her wish. Bev farmed for a living & he & Dora raised six daughters (Bessie, my maternal grandmother Vera, Maggie, Goldia, Ruth & Maybelle) & a son (Melvin). Growing things was a talent he passed down to his children (I myself missed inheriting the green thumb they were blessed with). The family mostly lived in Burnet & San Saba County, Texas. The children eventually found spouses. They pretty much all stayed fairly close to home as young adults, farmed the land & started their own families. The Cook family continued the tradition of a yearly family reunion that Dora's McCoy family had started which continues on to this day each July. Bev & Dora enjoyed their grandchildren & great grandchildren, of which they were blessed with a seeming multitude. Of their children, only one, Maybelle Cook Ray, is still living.

Bevlie died on 28 July 1963 in San Saba, San Saba Co., Texas. A little over a year later, his wife Dora joined him in death. Both were laid to rest at Chappel Cemetery, San Saba, San Saba Co., TX, USA.



9 comments:

  1. Juli,

    I want to let you know that your blog is listed in today's Fab Finds post at http://janasgenealogyandfamilyhistory.blogspot.com/2014/03/follow-friday-fab-finds-for-march-28.html

    Have a wonderful weekend!

    P.S. I love the name of your blog!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Thanks, your message made my day! I've kinda been thinking maybe I should change my name to The Digital Genealogist since I have a graphic design background & most of my research in done online, but now I'm thinking maybe I should just leave the name alone. Have a great weekend!

    ReplyDelete
  3. You alway write so well and I enjoy reading your stories. My only regret is that our families do not intercept because I love vintage photos and really wish these were part of my tree! Keep up the good work!!

    Karen
    http://gettingtoknowyou1.blogspot.com

    ReplyDelete
  4. I know what you mean. I love the older photos & there are a lot of great ones out there. Thanks for the encouragement & taking the time to send me a comment. It means a lot to me!

    ReplyDelete
  5. Looking for info and pics on SUNNYLANE- pre 1890. Jl davis, wilkins, howton, mccoy. Basically all of my ancestors populated this township. Ideas? Also looking to see if any of the original buildings stll stand.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Looking for info and pics on SUNNYLANE- pre 1890. Jl davis, wilkins, howton, mccoy. Basically all of my ancestors populated this township. Ideas? Also looking to see if any of the original buildings stll stand.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. The Texas Almanac states that Sunny Lane no longer exists. A cousin took us to the homestead my great grandmother's parents farmed & there is nothing left there but a faint trace of where the house stood. Here is what the Texas State Historical Association Online had to say about Sunny Lane:

      https://tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/hrsdh

      I live in Dallas, but have visited Burnet County for most of my life. I recognize the Wilkins & Davis surnames. The main surnames I have from the area who were settlers of the Burnet County are McCoy, Holland, Berry, Farquhar & others. Since you mention McCoy being one of your family names, can I assume that you are related somehow? (I would love to know how). When I go to Burnet, it seems just about everyone there is related to me by blood or marriage. That makes cemetery walking a challenge!

      Delete
  7. Our Wilkins is via Lucinda Miranda Wilkins Lucinda Miranda Wilkins
    1830–1904
    she is my ggg grandmother, wife of Richard Walter Davis sr. I believe, and need more research, that lucinda's siblings might have married into mccoy and farquhar, holland. We also have Howton. Plz friend request me on facebook so I can add you to our Davis Family History page. My fb is Ashley Davis Hamilton.

    ReplyDelete