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• _UID: 3AC7FF7AEDDB413487EE083846C6E2A90329

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Source: Dortha Owens Byrd, 2013 memoirs. No other sources cited.
The True Story of How John Steward?s Dad died.
There was an old shed where they stored winter wood. Dad [John Steward Owens] and his dad[Charley Lyde Owens] were cutting wood. Dad was 10; according to records he was born in 1880 and the record says Granddad was killed 1890.
A man Dad knew rode up on a horse of some kind (he later moved to East Tennessee) and shot Granddad as he and dad were cutting wood. Dad refused to even tell Mom who the man was but that day he got a belt and Granddad?s 45 [pistol ]put around his waist and made a vow to kill the man that killed his Dad. The court took a lot of the stuff to pay off a loan and pay for funeral.
Grandmother took what was left. She took a canvas, melted paraffin, and put on the canvas. She helped Dad and Uncle Lil, Dad 10 and Uncle Lil 8 and Alex 6 to fix the covered wagon and I am sure they had other help. But Dad said his mother showed them how to tie the staves together to make a frame. He never mentioned anyone else coming with them. The cow had a bell (he never said if there was more than cow) they made crates around the wagons out of chicken wire the kids gathered drried grass for nests, tied a container with water in each crate the hens laid on the trip. They only spent 1 night camped out. It rained. Dad slept on I?ve forgotten the name of the wood connecting the front and back wheels, but Uncle Lil anand Uncle Al slept outside covered with a homey quilt. It was a hard rain they fixed Granny and Aunt Molly a bed to sleep in wagon the boys would have gotten in there and slept sitting up not room to lay down. They brought all they could get iin the wagon, tied the pigs together back legs how many??? Where knew they stayed Granny gave the people the eggs and what milk after she fed pigs and chickens. Dad called their bread flip jacks friend biscuit dough fried meat and eggs when theey spent night on road. Dad always lied about his age. He didn?t go to school went to work at ore mines. He told them he was 16 he was tall and skinny the first thing he bought after working for himself was a flash light and when he worked where the carbide light wouldn?t burn because of gas he had the flashlight tied to his cloth hat and worked when others wouldn?t. He stayed there until uncle Lil started to work then he byt [sic] started hoboing said he almost got caught once stealing a chicken there were several men at the camp and no food they would get that whatever they could out of farmers? fields, especially corn.
Dad worked at lots of jobs. He learned to be a jeweler working to repair jewelry watches and clocks we found words by census and names of others with him working in different places. He was a charter member of what became the miner?s union. His pay was bullets for his gun. When he moved here he tried to locate the man [who killed his dad] but couldn?t find anyone who [sic]he looked through names I think. I took gun from under his pillow .when he died. From the look in his eyes, he got forgiveness before he died at our place in January 1947, the day before he died. He was able to walk to the toilet for the first time in ages and rock Buster to sleep.
Lonnie East and Nancy Owens, Dixie, were some that sat up at night when he was so sick. Uncle Lil refused to come when we got F.T. Ruffner to borrow a car and go get Uncle Lil to pray with Dad. Uncle Lil said he?d do it some other time. Dad died less than 1 hour later.
Dad walked to see Uncle Lil frequently. He?d sit down at the side of the road to rest several times. But he made it. Once Uncle Dennie [McGlothin] gave him a tiny pup to bring to Barbara. She was about 6 or 8 months or more. She kept it for years.



Birth:
Source is death certificate of John Steward Owens

Family/Spouse: Margaret Myrtle Long. Margaret was born on 19 May 1892; died on 23 Jan 1981. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

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• _UID: 09FFB746BDDD4971AFA327295242AD5793A2

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Dortha Jane Owens was born in Waterville, Kansas. She was a licensedPractical Nurse and practiced nursing from 1958 to 1978. She was thelibrarian for the World's Smallest Library from 1956 until the newCoalfield library was opened in 1995.

In the spring of 1971, Dot Byrd was called by a frantic Judy Carter.Judy's father came to the door of their mobile home (next door to Dot)carrying Judy's son, Tim, who was 2 years old, and said "Call Miss Dotand see if she'll meet me by the road and go with me to the doctor.Tim has cut his leg."

Miss Dot didn't hesitate. She said "ok" and hung up the phone and metJesse Kesterson at the road, where he stopped and got her in the carwith him and little Tim. Judy went on to work thinking Tim had beeninvolved in yet another minor accident and needed a couple ofstitches.

When she arrived home hours later, Tim had 11 stitches in his leg fromthe knee to the hip bone. He had stepped on a scythe handle, causingthe blade to fly up into the air, then ran into the blade, slicingopen his thigh. Jesse and Miss Dot took Tim to Dr. Van Hook, whosewed up the wound, all the time hearing Tim scream for Miss Dot.

Jesse told Judy, when she got home, that Dr. Van Hook said Tim wouldbe slowed down significantly by the wound and the drugs he had givenhim. Dr. Van Hook was very mistaken. Tim never slowed down for aminute.

Jesse and W.I. Jackson had been walking Judy's property line whileJudy was getting ready for work. Jesse was taking Tim home to hishouse and didn't want to scare Judy about the accident. For theremainder of his life, Jesse regretted Tim's accident.

A few months later it was Mr. Perry Byrd who went to the ER with June,Judy and Tim. Tim had opened the refrigerator door and a cookie jarperched on the top had made its way to the edge and fell on Tim,making a gash in his head that required a very few stitches.

Judy called June Kesterson and Perry Byrd to take Tim and Judy to theER. Sandra Marcum was at June's house and June was frosting her hair. Sandra came down to stay with 6-week old Andy, who had been quicklylain on a bed and was screaming at the top of his lungs. At the ER,it was June who went back with Tim while Tim had his head sewn up.When they got back home, Sandra still had the bleach on her hair.Surprisingly, Sandra's hair didn't fall out!!!

Died:
Obituary
Dortha Jane Byrd

Dorotha married Samuel Perry Byrd on 21 Mar 1945 in Saint Marys, Pottawatomie, Kansas, United States. Samuel (son of Jerome Byrd and Alma Dessie Jacks) was born on 25 Apr 1921; died on 26 Dec 2003 in Harriman, Roane, Tennessee, United States; was buried in Estes Cemetery, Coalfield, Morgan, Tennessee, United States. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Barbara married Larry Cannon [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

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• _UID: DE4F0EE44B59434FB39FED9EAF15AC3ADCB7

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Per May McGlothin, his name is James Samuel (Buster), not JamesWilliam.

Buster served in the U.S. Army in Vietnam and Germany. He has adaughter which is unknown at this time 2009.

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• _UID: 672FBA910828435FBE28A8A75C460F831CE5

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• _UID: 4C32245CD5E943A1A520B4E37A4609A469B7

Notes:

Charlie Byrd, as he was known to his friends, served in Vietnam.

In about 1975, Charlie was visiting his mother. Their neighbors, Judyand Gary Smith, were preparing the ground for a garden and Gary wasoperating a tiller in an area between the homes. Judy was behind thetwo houses. Andy Carter, then 3 1/2 years old, was sitting on theside of a ditch between the two houses. Andy was wearing a pair ofyellow Brogan Boots, splashing his feet in the shallow water of theditch and in a world of his own.

Judy went towards Andy to call him to come into the house and calledhim above the noise of the tiller. Andy didn't hear her. Judystarted to go closer to Andy when she suddenly saw a snake goingtowards the creek but between Judy and Andy. Juddy started to screamwhen she saw the second snake. It was about that time that Andy heardhis mother and got up to come to her. Judy by then was screaming atthe top of her lungs. Gary continued his tiller, unable to her herscreams. But Charlie Byrd heard her and came around the Byrd housetowards Judy. When Judy finally got out the words "snakes", Charliewent towards Andy and picked him up and brought him to Judy. Charlietracked down the snakes and declared them only Chicken Snakes. Judywas sure they were poisionus and would devour her little boy. Charliewas her hero on that day and forever after.

When Charlie died, several people called Judy and asked her to go toMiss Dot's house and be there when the message got to her of Charlie'ssuicide. Charlie had sent his best friend, Mike Carroll, with hisdaughter to his mother-in-law's house and when they returned, thedaughter ran in the house and found her father dead. Charlie and hiswife were on the verge of divorce, with Charlie's sister creating someof the problems according to community gossip. Others were at thehouse and Judy elected to stay home so as to NOT alert Miss Dot to aproblem.

Since then, Miss Dot has lost her oldest son and how has only herdaughter of her four children. 2009.

Charlie served in Vietnam.

Family/Spouse: Nancy Hyatt. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Perry married Valerie Michelle Hall [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]