Eva Delilah Lyerla (May 6, 1878-December 5, 1953)
A couple of years after my Father's accident I sat at the foot of her bed and watched Grandma Bray (My Mother's Mother) take her last breath. I was 15 and these were my first two lessons on mortality. There'd be many more to come, but these two seemed to harden me to it, because I never cried about it again. All my life she'd lived in Crestline where her Mother had lived before her, across the street from where my Cousin Sibyl now lives. Every Christmas Eve after attending church across the lane from her house the family had congregated there to exchange gifts and celebrate. This was the end of that tradition which had been a big part of my young life.
This is a baby picture of Grandma Bray taken in Illinois.
Grandma Bray, probably holding my Mother, in around 1915.
In late middle age
Grandma Bray had 11 children, six boys and five girls, between 1896 and 1917. They are listed below:
Harold Byron Bray(1896-1918) (Died in a duck hunting accident.)
Cousin Haroleene
Dwight Lemuel Bray (March 31, 1898-1964)
Cousins Carolyn (Sunny) & Marjorie
Marion Webster Bray (Pat) (1900-1936) (See family story always told for truth below:)
Uncle Pat, came out of that first World War with lungs damaged by gas, and then died in 1936 on duty as a law enforcement officer trying to get the remnants of Pretty Boy Floyd's gang, one of whom shot him.
Guy Aaron Bray (1902-1969)
Cousin Raymond
Arthur Raymond Bray (1904-1961)
Oliver Webster Bray (February 14, 1909-February 15, 1942)
(The source of my middle name)
Nelle Agnes Haletha Odessa LaVerne Bray
(March 12, 1906-November 11, 1978)
Cousin Sibyl Riker
Charlotte Elva Marjorie Helen Bray
(October 9, 1911-January 18, 1998)
Cousins Pat, Sandy & Jay Gibson
Anne Euphamia Bray (April 14, 1914-November 2, 2002)
Me and Timothy Scott
Earleene Deliah Bray (March 20, 1917-April 23, 1979)
Cousins Judy, Tom & Fred Chesnutt
Evaleene Delilia Bray (March 20, 1917-April 1, 2001)
Cousin Jeanine Evans
Most of these cousins grew up with me in Crestline (or not far away). Pat Gibson (Aunt Charlotte's son), Judy Chesnutt (Aunt Earleene's daughter) and Jeanine Evans (Aunt Evaleene's daughter) were closest to my age and we four were (and are) more like siblings than cousins. Also see Carl Gene Evans. All the sisters were so close that I felt welcome in any of their homes any time and even at their dinner tables. It'd be a glaring error of omission if I didn't say something about my relationships with my uncles. The only one of Mother's brothers I was fairly close to was Uncle Art who was a policeman of some sort and lived in Treece, KS on the Oklahoma line. I spent a week or so staying with him and his wife during at least two different summers. All of Mother's and Father's sister's husbands were the best uncles anyone could hope to have. I was particularly close to John Riker (Nelle's husband) who had the local Famer's Union Coop and grain elevator and Dayton Evans (Evaleene's husband) who was the Sheriff of Cherokee County for many years. Both of these men treated me like the son they never had.
Grandma Bray's parents were Aaron Lyerla (February 28, 1850-April 3, 1892) and Kathryn Sellers. (March 15, 1851-1938). Note: My Father liked Kathryn so much he always said he'd name his daughter after her. He had no daughter so I named my daughter after her even though I got the wrong spelling. Grandma Bray had (at least) two siblings, Elsie Adeline Lyerla (January 19, 1881-?) and Walter Samuel Lyerla (January 22, 1887-March 21, 1957). Aunt Elsie lived in Crestline, but I never knew her very well. Uncle Walter was a PHD and head of the business department at the college in Pittsburg. I took a business law class from him in 1955. I never knew him very well either and had the distinct impression that he looked on us as poor (shirttail) kin. Aaron Lyerla had extended family around and I knew of several distant cousins in the area. We used to attend Lyerla family reunions with scads of people from near and far. The Lyerla family tree is (I've been told) somewhere online. It's been traced back to 18th century Germany (or 17th century Switzerland) with documents, pictures and stories, some of which I've been shown by Mr. & Mrs. Floyd Lyerla in Pittsburg, KS.
Grandma Bray's husband Earl Deward Bray was a mining superintendent in Galena. Around 1918 he left his family and took up with another woman. He was seldom mentioned while I was growing up and I didn't know much about this until I asked Mother just a few years ago. Mother said she only remembered someone pointing him out to her once on a street in Galena when she was a young girl.
Late in life, around 1949 Grandma married a Tim Jones who was 84 at the time. They'd become good friends and since both were alone they just decided to make it official. He had been in the Spanish-American War and I loved to listen to his stories. Not long after Grandma's death he took a shotgun to a shed by the house and checked out.
Harold Byron Bray(1896-1918) (Died in a duck hunting accident.)
Cousin Haroleene
Dwight Lemuel Bray (March 31, 1898-1964)
Cousins Carolyn (Sunny) & Marjorie
Marion Webster Bray (Pat) (1900-1936) (See family story always told for truth below:)
Uncle Pat, came out of that first World War with lungs damaged by gas, and then died in 1936 on duty as a law enforcement officer trying to get the remnants of Pretty Boy Floyd's gang, one of whom shot him.
Guy Aaron Bray (1902-1969)
Cousin Raymond
Arthur Raymond Bray (1904-1961)
Oliver Webster Bray (February 14, 1909-February 15, 1942)
(The source of my middle name)
Nelle Agnes Haletha Odessa LaVerne Bray
(March 12, 1906-November 11, 1978)
Cousin Sibyl Riker
Charlotte Elva Marjorie Helen Bray
(October 9, 1911-January 18, 1998)
Cousins Pat, Sandy & Jay Gibson
Anne Euphamia Bray (April 14, 1914-November 2, 2002)
Me and Timothy Scott
Earleene Deliah Bray (March 20, 1917-April 23, 1979)
Cousins Judy, Tom & Fred Chesnutt
Evaleene Delilia Bray (March 20, 1917-April 1, 2001)
Cousin Jeanine Evans
Most of these cousins grew up with me in Crestline (or not far away). Pat Gibson (Aunt Charlotte's son), Judy Chesnutt (Aunt Earleene's daughter) and Jeanine Evans (Aunt Evaleene's daughter) were closest to my age and we four were (and are) more like siblings than cousins. Also see Carl Gene Evans. All the sisters were so close that I felt welcome in any of their homes any time and even at their dinner tables. It'd be a glaring error of omission if I didn't say something about my relationships with my uncles. The only one of Mother's brothers I was fairly close to was Uncle Art who was a policeman of some sort and lived in Treece, KS on the Oklahoma line. I spent a week or so staying with him and his wife during at least two different summers. All of Mother's and Father's sister's husbands were the best uncles anyone could hope to have. I was particularly close to John Riker (Nelle's husband) who had the local Famer's Union Coop and grain elevator and Dayton Evans (Evaleene's husband) who was the Sheriff of Cherokee County for many years. Both of these men treated me like the son they never had.
Grandma Bray's parents were Aaron Lyerla (February 28, 1850-April 3, 1892) and Kathryn Sellers. (March 15, 1851-1938). Note: My Father liked Kathryn so much he always said he'd name his daughter after her. He had no daughter so I named my daughter after her even though I got the wrong spelling. Grandma Bray had (at least) two siblings, Elsie Adeline Lyerla (January 19, 1881-?) and Walter Samuel Lyerla (January 22, 1887-March 21, 1957). Aunt Elsie lived in Crestline, but I never knew her very well. Uncle Walter was a PHD and head of the business department at the college in Pittsburg. I took a business law class from him in 1955. I never knew him very well either and had the distinct impression that he looked on us as poor (shirttail) kin. Aaron Lyerla had extended family around and I knew of several distant cousins in the area. We used to attend Lyerla family reunions with scads of people from near and far. The Lyerla family tree is (I've been told) somewhere online. It's been traced back to 18th century Germany (or 17th century Switzerland) with documents, pictures and stories, some of which I've been shown by Mr. & Mrs. Floyd Lyerla in Pittsburg, KS.
Grandma Bray's husband Earl Deward Bray was a mining superintendent in Galena. Around 1918 he left his family and took up with another woman. He was seldom mentioned while I was growing up and I didn't know much about this until I asked Mother just a few years ago. Mother said she only remembered someone pointing him out to her once on a street in Galena when she was a young girl.
Late in life, around 1949 Grandma married a Tim Jones who was 84 at the time. They'd become good friends and since both were alone they just decided to make it official. He had been in the Spanish-American War and I loved to listen to his stories. Not long after Grandma's death he took a shotgun to a shed by the house and checked out.