| Part 5 concluded |
| 5.2 September 30, 1888, Fort Smith, Arkansas- continued Yet, they had one strong factor in common. Both had lost their parents at an early age. Susan’s mother had died when she was four years and her brother Bob was 18 months. She had learned to play the role of a mother, doing the cooking, washing and other house chores. Her father died when she was 16 years old. At that point, her sunt Leesie Reed and her husband, Tom, who lived in Van Buren, Arkansas, adopted her and Bob. She had lived with them about a year when she met Will. Will and Susan returned to the farm Will had been operating near the Arkansas River south of Vian. From the farm, they could see the steamboats moving up the Arkansas River to the Muskogee landing. Bell Starr was shot from ambush near their farm. 5.3 1889, Howell County, Missouri After his marriage to Susan, Will decided to try putting his family back together. It was winter, and the young couple was expecting a child when they packed their belongings in a wagon and drove several days to Howell County. George and Will were nearly inseparable, so George went with them. They rejoined the remainder of the Booker children, which then included John V – age 22, Julia Augusta Octavia Parilee (Gustie) – age 20 and Purly Manola – age 13. Drewsiley Caldonia May had died while living with foster parents in 1884. Sherman remained with Dr. Moffitt. It is likely the family considered Sherman’s future brighter with Dr. Moffitt than with them. William Edward Booker was born in Howell County, Missouri on June 16, 1889. Will and George trained a horse for distance running over a six month period in preparation for the upcoming run into the Indian Territory. Will lined up with the rest of the 89ers and made the run into the Cherokee Strip. He drove his stake into a quarter section of land in a large open plain. After looking it over, he discovered it had no water, and he could see nothing but waving grass as far as he could see. A man came along who expressed an interest in the land. Will traded his new land for a gold watch and returned to Missouri. He kept the watch for most of his life, but it is not sure what happened to it after he died. Ada Idella was born at the family farm in Howell County on July 21, 1891. That was to mark the last year for the Bookers in Missouri. After the crop was harvested, the family (by then numbering at least 8) returned to the Indian Territory. It would be 24 years before Sherman would see any of the family again. 5.4 November, 1892, Paw Paw, Cherokee Nation, Indian Territory The Pension Act of 1890 became known to the Booker family. It entitled minor children of Civil Wa veterans to collect pensions under certain conditions. John V, Julia and Purly were represented by Charles King, a Washington DC lawyer, who made a business of signing up people who were eligible for the pensions. Sherman, still living with the Moffitt family, was represented by the same lawyer. By this time, Julia was married to a man named Decker and living near the Will Booker family at Paw Paw, which was on the Arkansas River just inside the IT border. They would have a large family, with Claud Decker among them. They would later settle around Stilwell or Tulsa. Julia Augusta Octavia Parilee was called “Gustie” by the family. Julian Hickel, Will’s cousin by marriage, signed an affidavit in support of the applications of John V, Julia and Purly. Julian had been with the family nearly continuously since leaving Tennessee in 1879. Some time, later, he caught his clothes on fire while burning brush. He ran in panic, and he was severely burned. He died three days later. 5.5 Salisaw, Oklahoma, Winter 1902-03 Will’s brothers and sisters had all reached maturity and gone out on their own during the years they lived on the banks of the Arkansas River. Ed was 13 and Della was 11 by then. Of the seven children that had been born to Will and Susan, three had died. Will was 41 years old. During the winter of 1902-03, for reasons that are now lost, Will moved his family to a farm near Connerville, Oklahoma (near Tishomingo). Ralph was born there the next summer, and Clyde three years later. Little else is known about the five to seven year period in Connerville. |
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