Life History
29th Dec 1882 |
|
between 1900 and 1910 |
|
8th Dec 1913 |
Birth of son Tilley Wirt LOWREY in Arkansas.5,12,4,13,9 |
7th Jul 1915 |
Birth of daughter Pansy Geneva LOWREY in Little Prairie, Lee, Arkansas.5,9,11,14,15,14 |
about 1917 |
Birth of daughter Nellie Lucille LOWREY in Arkansas.5,9 |
1917 |
Resident in DeWitt, Arkansas, Arkansas.3 |
about 1918 |
Birth of daughter Jennifer Etta LOWREY in Arkansas.9,5 |
26th Dec 1918 |
Birth of son Frank Majestic LOWREY in Illinois.9,13,5 |
about 1921 |
Birth of daughter Ruth LOWREY in Arkansas.9 |
1930 |
Resident in DeWitt, Arkansas, Arkansas.9 |
21st Apr 1944 |
Died in Arkansas County, Arkansas.7 |
Other facts
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Married Nellie Elizabeth UPSON |
|
Resident in Arkansas County, Arkansas.8 |
Notes
- 1900 Federal Census, Arkansas County, Arkansas, 29 June, Chester Township, District 1, page 11A, Hse #369, Fam #375
Lowry, John F [should be T] Head W M Dec 1839 60 Married 28 yrs Indiana Pennsylvania Maryland Physician
Lowry, Sallie F Wife W F Dec 1855 44 Married 28 yrs Bore 11 children, 6 living AR TN AR
Lowry, Wirt Son W M Dec 1882 17 TX IN AR
Wirt's father John died before the 1910 census, and Wirt and two other children are in the household with Sallie (spelled Sallie here), now reported as head of the household.
1910 Federal Census, Arkansas County, Arkansas, 27 April, Chester Township, District 3, page 5B, Hse #74, Fam #75
Lowry, Sally F Head F W 65 Widow AR TN KY
Lowry, Wirt Son M W 27 Single TX IN AR Shell Digger, River
From Wirt's WWI Draft Registration record, we get some additional information that family sources had not provided to me.
U.S. World War I Draft Registration Cards, 1917-1918
Tilley Wirt Lowrey, age 35
born Dec 29, 1882 [no location reported on this form
residence Tichnor, Arkansas, Arkansas
Grey Eyes, Brown Hair, wife Nellie Lowrey
registration Stuttgart, Arkansas, Arkansas, 12 September 1918
signed as T W Lowry [sic]
We see his full name for the first time: Tilley Wirt Lowrey. Note the difference in the spelling of the surname. All the family sources spell it Lowry, as do all the censuses I have seen. However, on his sister Ruth's gravestone, the name is spelled Lawery.
This source gives us his full birth date, Dec 29, 1882. This date was later confirmed by the Lowrey family genealogy compiled by Wirt's aunt Octavia.
"Dec 29 1882 Tilley Wirt, at Belleview, Texas"
-- Lowrey-Wirt Genealogy, by Octavia Lowery
Wirt's draft registration for WWII reports this place of birth.
U.S. World War II Army Enlistment Records, 1938-1946
Tilley Wirt Lowrey
born Dec 29, 1882, in Belleview, Texas [no county reported]
residence DeWitt, Arkansas, Arkansas
wife named only as Mrs. T W Lowrey; unemployed
signed as T W Lowrey
There is a bit of confusion on the birth place. The registration card itself (as well as Octavia's report) reports his birthplace as Belleview, Texas. This is a town in McLennan County, near Waco. However, Ancestry.com in representing the information on the card, has listed the birthplace as Bellevue. This might be taken as a spelling error in the transcription. But this spelling is the name of a town in Texas, also, but it is in Clay County, up north near the Red River.
Learning this made me wonder if Ancestry knew something we did not know. Perhaps the batch of cards was identified as coming from Bellevue, though the person filling the card spelled it Belleview. We know that after about three years in Texas, Wirt's parent's moved north over the border into Indian Territory. I have not yet discovered exactly where.
I have found that there were a good number of Lowrys living in that area of north Texas. There are still some prominent families in north Texas named Lowry. Some genealogies are available that report on families there at the time John and Sallie were there. It is possible that John and Sallie moved to Clay County near some of his kinfolks who had moved down there from Indiana, while his family had moved to Arkansas. For some reason they were not satisfied there and moved north along with a flood of other European North Texas settlers into Oklahoma Territory or Indian Territory.
Wirt's residence at the time he registered for the draft was DeWitt, Arkansas County, Arkansas. The card does not give the name of his wife, who is referred only as Mrs. T W Lowrey. He igned the card as T W Lowrey.
1920 Federal Census, Arkansas County, Arkansas, 9 March, Chester Township, District 4, page 6A, Nady Road, Hse/Fam #107
Lowery, Tilly W Head Owns Farm M W 37 TX IN IN Farm Laborer [b abt 1883]
Lowery, Nellie E Wife F W 34 KS NY MO No Occupation [b abt 1886]
Lowery, Tilly W Jr Son M W 6 Single AR TX KS No Occupation [b abt 1914]
Lowery, Pansy G F W 4 Single AR TX KS No Occupation [b abt 1916]
Lowery, Lucile F W 3 Single AR TX KS No Occupation [b abt 1917]
Lowery, Eda (Etta?) M F W 2 Single AR TX KS No Occupation [b abt 1918]
Lowery, Frank M Son M W 1 Single IL TX KS No Occupation [b abt 1919]
Note that the son Frank M was born in Illinois. They were there only a short time, since Eda was born about 1818 in Arkansas, Frank was born about a year later in Illinois and they are back in Chester Township, Arkansas, the 1920 census. (Census date was 1 January, but this house was not enumerated until 9 March.) In 1930 Frank M is reported as Majestic.
1930 Federal Census, Arkansas County, Arkansas, 11 April, DeWitt Town, District 16, page 12A, Hse #258, Fam #276
Lowrey, Tilley W Head Owns $4000 Owns Radio M W 46 First Married at 29 yrs old OK OK OK Manager, Oil Company [b abt 1884]
Lowrey, Nellie Wife F W 42 First Married at 27 yrs old KS NY MO No Occupation [b abt 1888]
Lowrey, Tilley W Jr Son M W 16 Single AR OK KS No Occupation [b abt 1913]
Lowrey, Panzy Dau F W 14 Single AR OK KS [b abt 1916]
Lowrey, Nellie L Dau F W 13 Single AR OK KS [b abt 1917]
Lowrey, Jennifer Dau F W 12 Single AR OK KS [b abt 1918]
Lowrey, Majestic Son M W 11 Single IL OK KS No Occupation [b abt 1919]
Lowrey, Ruth Dau F W 9 Single AR OK KS [b abt 1921]
Wirt reports he was born in Oklahoma, instead of Texas, as well as both his parents.
Arkansas Death Index, 1914-1950
Volume 25, Certificate 22
Tilley Wir [sic] Lowrey
Age 61, Estimated Birth Year 1883
Death 21 Apr 1944, Arkansas County
Sources
- 1. 1910 Federal Census, Arkansas County, Arkansas
- 27 April, Chester Township, District 3, page 5B, Hse #74, Fam #75
- 2. 1900 Federal Census, Arkansas County, Arkansas
- 29 June, Chester Township, District 1, page 11A, Hse #369, Fam #375
- 3. U.S., World War I Draft Registration Cards, 1917-1918
- 4. U.S., World War II Army Enlistment Records, 1938-1946
- 5. 1920 Federal Census, Arkansas County, Arkansas
- 9 March, Chester Township, District 4, page 6A, Hse/Fam #107
- 6. Lowrey-Wirt Genealogy, by Octavia Lowery
- 7. Arkansas Death Index, 1914-1950
- Volume 25, Certificate 22
- 8. U.S., World War II Draft Registration Cards, 1942
- 9. 1930 Federal Census, Arkansas County, Arkansas
- 11 April, DeWitt Town, District 16, page 12A, Hse #258, Fam #276
- 10. Personal Letters
- 11. U.S., Social Security Applications and Claims Index, 1936-2007
- 12. California Marriage Index, 1960-1985
- 13. Social Security Death Index
- 14. Find a Grave Memorial Registry
- 15. U.S., Social Security Death Index, 1935-2014