History of John Right Basford

Not much here yet.

I'm not sure about the born date for John. I received this information from a Basford family member, but the dates are not consisantly written as 02-DEC-1905. Sometimes they are 02-02-05 or Feb 2, 1905 or 2-Feb-1905. So I took my best guess at the writers most consistant method and that is what I got.

It looks like John was born in Marianna Florida on January 2, 1904. John served in the U.S. Navy but for how long I'm not sure. John was 24 when he got married. Unknown if married before or after discharge from Navy. In 1926 he came to California from the Navy and was discharged. It was stated that on his discharge papers it said he was color blind.
When he was about 24 years old he married Audrey Lola Smith and had ten children. According to some notes that I received, the first child died at birth. The second child born was Lee Lynell Basford. The third was Carlyle (Buddy) Basford born sometime in 1933. The fourth was Leola Marie (sister) Basford born on April 4, 1936. The fifth was Barbara Olene Basford and she was born November 1, 1938. The sixth child was George Wayne Basford and he was born sometime around 1941 and died July 20, 1947. The seventh child was Duane Albert Basford born on November 1, 1943 and then died in 1959. The eigth child was a baby girl that was born on September 7, 1945 and died the same day. The ninth child was David Sherman Basford and he was born on March 16, 1946. The last child born to this couple was Edith Irene (Beeky) Basford born on September 7, 1947.

Barbara Olen Basford-Berton mentioned a story that she had heard when she was little and it went something like this:
"When the Rebels took the American Embassy in Panama he, (John Right Basford), went in with the others to escort the Embassy people out". It sounds like he might have been in the Navy and down in Panama when this took place.

Barbara Olen Basford-Berton also gave me a little synopsis of where John and Audrey met and where they lived.

John and Audrey met at a private dance party on Milnes road near Oakdale, California. Audrey worked at a French Steam Laundry (location unknown). John worked as a laborer on a ranch and a farm. Barbara remembers John (her dad) having a small Dairy when she was little. She also remembers John working on a sheep ranch during the day, then on the dairy at night. The sheep ranch was located at the corner of the Farmington highway and Dodds road. The Dairy was on Gilbert road. John built a house on Gilbert road and Barbara remembers moving there when she was seven. Barbara also remembered living in Oakdale in the building now used by a glass company which is located between "I" & "J" street on Yosemite. Later they moved to a house at the corner of East "F" and 8th street where the Kentucky Fried Chicken place is now located. This house was called the Butterfield house. When she was 14 they moved from there to a house located on "I" street next to the football field where she lived until she got married. Barbara said that later on dad (John) and Mom (Audrey) moved to Sacramento where John became a roofer working for his son Lee Basford at Lee's business, General Contractor Inc. After Barbara and Don (Sonny) Berton got married they moved to Valley Home.

A Note for the Basfords: "Uncle killed June 12, 1944, 22nd Infantry, 4th Division. Died after the Invasion of Normandy". I am not sure where this come from but it was reported to me in one of the many notes from the Basford families.

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