Life History

Other facts

Notes

• One genealogy with no documentation other than the 1920 census reports Beatrice's name as Beatrice Addie Merryman, and gives her parents names as Mary Millus and Walter G Merryman.
  
  Beatrice Addie Merryman
  Birth 1911 in Oklahoma, Death in Krebbs, Oklahoma
  Parents:
  Walter Green Merryman b 1874
  Mary Louise Millus 1874 - 1947
  --  Tripp Family, http://trees.ancestry.com/tree/6930779/person/1837418095
  
  Mary Millus Merryman's husband Walter Merryman died in 1904.  Walter's grave in Bengal, Latimer Co OK reports he died 21 June 1904, yet there are two children born later who bear his surname, Jewel born 1905 or 1906, and Addie, born 1911.  No further information has been found on the fathers of these two children.  Their mother is a widow in the 1910 census, when Jewel is reported as 4 years old.  I have found no discussion or facts about this discrepancy in any genealogy or source document.
  
  The above genealogy includes the 1920 census for Addie Merryman and her parents.  The 1920 census reports Addie (Beatrice) Merryman as an 8-year-old daughter of widow Mary Reed.  Addie is in a household with children from her mother's three marriages.
  
  We see children with surnames Lewis, Merryman and Reed.  Four children are named Merryman.  This census indicates that Beatrice Addie's mother Mary was first married to someone named Lewis, then to Addie's father, then after he died she married a man named Reed, who also died before 1920.
  
  1920 Federal Census, Latimer County, Oklahoma, 5 January, Damon Township, District 87, Page 1B, Hse/Fam #13
  Reed, Mary Head Rents F W 46 Widow MO NY MO Farmer
  Lewis, Perry Son M W 28 Single MO AR MO Farmer [b abt 1891]
  Lewis, Jessie Son M W 22 Single OK AR MO Farmer [b abt 1897]
  Merryman, Gabe Son M W 18 Single OK OK MO Farmer [b abt 1901]
  Merryman, Bennie Son M W 16 Single OK OK MO
  Merryman, Jewell Dau F W 14 Single OK OK MO
  Merryman, Addie Dau F W 8 Single OK OK MO
  Reed, Jettie Dau F
  W 6 Single OK OK MO
  
  In the 1930 census, Beatrice and her husband Rama Terry are living with widower Theodore Weast, and Beatrice is reported as Theodore's daughter.  Theodore was married to Rhoda M Weast, whose maiden name may have been Stephens.  Rhoda Weast's death information in Oklahoma indicates she did not die until 1929.
  
  It may be that Mary Millus Merryman had an unmarried alliance with Theodore Weast.  Mary Millus Merryman gave Beatrice Addie her surname, and did the same for her older daughter Jewell, who was born in 1906, after Walter Merryman died.  It may be that when Rhoda Weast died, Theodore Weast acknowledged his illegitimate daughter Beatrice Addie Merryman.  Beatrice married Rama Terry about 1927, according to the 1930 census.
  
  But note that the 1930 census record reports that Beatrice's father was born in Oklahoma, not Illinois.  However, in 1920, it was reported as Missouri.  In 1900 the birth state of Walter Merryman was reported as Missouri, but Walter's father is reported as being born in Indian Territory.  It is not clear why Walter would have been born in Missouri.  At any rate Walter died in 1904 and could not be Beatrice's father, nor the father of her sister Jewell who was born in about 1906, and also has the surname of Merryman.
  
  The 1930 census reports that Beatrice was married at age 16 and her oldest child is age 1.
  
  1930 Federal Census, Custer County, Oklahoma, 24 April, Cedar Township, District 10, page 6A, Hse/Fam #130
  Weast, Theodore J Head Owns Has Radio M W 65 Widowed IL OH IL Farmer
  Terry, Rama W Son-in-law M W 26 Married at age 24 OK GA NC Farm Laborer [b abt 1906]
  Terry, Beatrice Dau F W 19 Married at age 16 OK OK OK [b abt 1911]
  Terry, Billie Jack Son M W 1 OK OK OK
  Terry, Kenneth Son M W 0 (no months given) OK OK OK
  
  I have not found subsequent records of Beatrice associating her with Theodore Weast or the Weast/Weust surname.  Rama appears in later records, and is in Phoenix, Arizona, and the 1940 census reports that he was in Arizona in 1935.  There is another marriage record for Rama in Prescott, Arizona, to someone named Inez L. Jenkins, who does not appear in subsequent records.  Rama's wife at the time of his death in Juneau, Alaska, was Ruth Elizabeth, whose maiden name one genealogy reports as Hopkins, with no documentation.
  
  Notice that the 1930 census implies that Rama and Beatrice are married in its report of the age at which each of them married, and the report that Rama is Theodore Weast is his son-in-law and Beatrice his daughter.  Yet there is a record of their marriage in 1936.
  
  Arizona, County Marriage Records, 1865-1972
  Beatrice Merryman, Age 25
  (Birth Date abt 1911)
  Spouse Rama Perry, Age 32
  (Birth Date abt 1904)
  Marriage 28 May 1936 Gila County, Arizona, USA
  Ceremony by E Grice, Justice of the Peace
  Witnesses Carrie V Nelson and Laura C Casselsom
  Registered 28 April 1936 Gila County, Arizona, Marriage Book page 511
  Source Marriage Certificates and Licenses, 1924 - 1941
  
  In the same yar their residence was reported in the Pheinix city Directory.
  
  U.S. City Directories, 1821-1989
  Phoenix, Arizona, City Directory, 1936, p 455
  Terry Rama W (Beatrice) lab Central Avenue Dairy r 113 W Jefferson
  
  Information in her son Kenneth's obituary provides some information about Beatrice's life after her divorce from Kenneth's father Rama Terry.  This indicates that she was married at least once later, to Merle Lebbs, identified in the obituary as Kenneth Terry's stepfather.  One brother is named Woods, which seems to indicate another marriage of Beatrice to a man named Woods.  I have no other documentation of this husband or marriage of Beatrice or brother of Kenneth.  Likewise with a brother named Thomas Terranova.  I can find nothing further on any of these names.
  
  There is a reference to a brother by the name of Roger Tripp, with the name Rama Allen Terry in parentheses.  The name indicates he would be a son of Rama Wall Terry, Kenneth's father.  The couple of genealogies I have also found that list Roger Tripp as a son of Rama Terry were of no help either, offering no documentation or clarification.
  
  It turns out that because of circumstances not completely clear, Rama Allen Terry was adopted by Arnold Laban Tripp and his second wife Gladys Ione Sorter and was given the new name Roger Lee Tripp, by which he was known for the rest of his life.
  
  --------------------
  Kenneth Paul Terry, 80, of Farmington, passed gently away in the early hours of Saturday, Dec. 11, 2010, surrounded by his immediate family.  Kenneth was born, Feb. 10, 1930, in Weatherford, Okla., to Rama and Beatrice Terry.
  ...
  Kenneth was preceded in death by his son, Martin Paul Terry; his father, Rama Terry; his mother, Beatrice Lebbs;
  his brothers, Bill Terry Sr., Roger Tripp (Rama Allen Terry) and Daniel Wood;
  and nephews [presumably sons of his older brother Billy Jack of the 1930 census, on whom I have found no further information], Michael Terry and the Rev. Bill Terry Jr.
  
  He is survived by his wife of 56 years, Helen Hilda (Braun) Terry;
  sons, David, Mark and Paul; daughter, Teresa Terry-Elliott;
  brother, Thomas Terranova; stepfather, Merle Lebbs ...
  --  Memorial Networks, "Kenneth Paul Terry," http://www.danielsfuneral.com/memsol.cgi?user_id=813299&ftm=1
  --------------------
  
  Several of Beatrice and Rama Terry's children were adopted by other families.  we have been able to gather information form several descendants on these children and their families.
  
  A son was born in June 1935 in Phoenix, who was adopted in 1939.  His original birth information on birth to Beatrice and Rama has not been found.  He was adopted in 1939 and a supplementary birth certificate reported on his adoption with the name Dan Terry Wood.  No birth parents are stated, but his parents are reported as Albert S Wood and Jessie M Williams.  Dan's daughter contacted my first with information on the adoption  which led to the supplementary birth certificate.
  
  ------------------
  Here is my father's information:
  
  Dan Terry Wood
  Born 6/13/35 Phoenix, AZ
  Died 7/3/1999 San Jose, CA
  Adoptive Parents - Albert S Wood and Jessie Williams Wood
  --  Stacy Wood, Geneanet Messaging to Orville Boyd Jenkins, 16 March 2017
  ------------------
  
  A birth certificate matching these details of Dan Terry Wood, including his adoptive parents name is found in Arizona birth records.  This is a birth certificate of live birth for Dan Terry Wood, born in St Joseph Hospital in Phoenix, reporting Albert Sanders Wood and Jessie Mae Williams as his adoptive parents.  No mention is made of other parents.  One section reports he was adopted by these parents on 13 November 1939.  Line 27 states that this is a supplementary birth certificate issued in 1980.
  
  Arizona, Birth Records, 1880-1935
  Dan Terry Wood
  Birth 13 Jun 1935 St Joseph Hospital, Phoenix, Maricopa, Arizona, USA
  Father Albert Sanders Wood, b 24 Dec 1882 Kentucky
  Mother Jessie Mae Williams, b 14 Dec 1983 [sic, 1883] Ohio
  Informant Jessie Williams Wood, Mother
  Attendant Floyd B Sharp MD
  Registered 22 June 1935
  Type of Action Adoption, ordered 13 November 1939
  Superior Court of Maricopa County, Arizona
  Supplementary Birth Certificate issued 6 March 1980
  
  No record of Beatrice has been found after the 1936 City Directory until a City Directory entry for Gardena Valley, California in 1954.  The elusive 1940 census should fill in some details of her family connections.  So in this 18-year period Beatrice was divorced and moved to California.  there is some indicatoin that Dan was born in California.  Thsi is uncertain.
  
  From the birth of her daughter "Baby Girl Terry" in April 1947 in Phoenix and her marriage to Merle G Lebbs 11 Oct 1947 in Carson City, Nevada, Beatrice married other times and these marriaages are ucnertain.  THe adoptoin of chidlren complicted reconstruction of this family.  It appears her last Terry child was born in April 1937 and her husband Rama Terry remarried in 1939.  This may have been what led to the adoption of Dan.
  
  Beatrice and Merle Lebbs were reported in three City directories for the Torrance, California, area in the 1950s.  Their street address and phone number is the same in all three, but the first directory is the Gardena Valley Directory, and the next two are for Torrance, California.
  
  U.S. City Directories, 1821-1989
  Gardena Valley, California, City Directory, 1954, p 115
  Libbs [sic] Merle G (Beatrice A) USN h 17508 Delia Av  [phone] DAvis 9-4821
  
  U.S. City Directories, 1821-1989
  Torrance, California, City Directory, 1959, p 115
  Lebbs Merle G (Beatrice A) electn USN Shipyard (LB) h 17508 Delia Av  [phone] DAvis 9-4821
  
  U.S. City Directories, 1821-1989
  Torrance, California, City Directory, 1956, p 136
  Lebbs Merle G (Beatrice A) electn USN Shipyard (LB) h 17508 Delia Av  [phone] DAvis 9-4821
  
  U.S., Social Security Death Index, 1935-2014
  Beatrice A. Lebbs
  Born 4 Apr 1911
  Died 11 Mar 1995
  Last Residence Krebs, Pittsburg, Oklahoma  74554
  SSN 527-05-8648 issued Arizona (Before 1951)
  
  Beatrice A. Lebbs
  Birth Apr. 4, 1911
  Death Mar. 11, 1995
  Spouse Merle G Lebbs (1917 - ____)
  Double stone with Merle G. Lebbs
  Burial Oak Hill Memorial Park, McAlester, Pittsburg County, Oklahoma, Plot: Maplewood
  Created by MillieBelle Jun 22, 2007
  --  Find A Grave Memorial #20034066, http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=20034066
  
  ----------------------
  Beatrice A. Lebbs, 83, of Krebs, died Saturday [11 March 1995] at a local nursing home.
  
  Funeral services will be at 2 p.m., Tuesday [14 March 1995] at Mills Chapel with Bill Terry, Jr. officiating. Burial will be at Oakhill Cemetery. Funeral arrangements are under the direction of Mills  Funeral Home of McAlester.
  
  Born April 4, 1911 in Bengal, she was the daughter of Walter Merryman and Mary Millus Merryman. She lived most of her adult life in Southern California, before returning to  Oklahoma in 1986. She married Merle G. Lebbs on Oct. 11, 1947 in Carson City, Nev. She was a housewife and a member of the Mormon Church.
  
  Survivors include her husband, Merle, of the home; three sons and daughters-in-law, Bill Sr. and Helen Terry of Beatty, Nev., Kenneth and Helen Terry of Farmington, N.M., and  Roger and Ida Tripp of Phoenix, Ariz.; a daughter, Thelma Matthews of Loch Lomond, Calif.; a sister, Jettie Potter of Wewoka; fourteen grand¬children; seven great-grandchildren and a great-great-grandchild.
  
  Serving as pallbearers will be Alan Tripp, David Tripp, Danny Wilson, Scott Wilson, Michael Tripp and Kenneth Terry.  Honorary pallbearers will be Roger Tripp and Bill Terry, Jr.
  
  She was preceded in death by her parents; four brothers; a sister and four grandchildren.
  
  --  Published in The Daily McAlester News-Capital and Democrat, McAlester, Oklahoma, Monday, 13 March 1995;  digital copy of the obit courtesy of Linda Vixie, 16 January 2014, OCR  by Nuance PDF, 16 January 2015
  ----------------------

Sources

• 1. 1930 Federal Census, Custer County, Oklahoma
  • 24 April, Cedar Township, District 10, page 6A, Hse/Fam #130
• 2. Find a Grave Memorial Registry
• 3. U.S., Social Security Death Index, 1935-2014
• 4. 1920 Federal Census, Latimer County, Oklahoma
  • 5 January, Damon Township, District 87, Page 1B, Hse/Fam #13
• 5. Obituaries from Oklahoma
• 6. Arizona, County Marriage Records, 1865-1972
• 7. U.S. City Directories, 1822-1995
  • Phoenix, Arizona, City Directory, 1936, p 455
• 8. Memorial Networks
• 9. U.S. City Directories, 1822-1995
  • Torrance, City Directory, 1956, p 136
• 10. U.S. City Directories, 1822-1995
  • Torrance, City Directory, 1959, p 115
• 11. U.S. City Directories, 1822-1995
  • Gardena Valley, City Directory, 1954, p 115
• 12. U.S. Cemetery and Funeral Home Collection
• 13. Ancestry Messaging
• 14. U.S., Social Security Applications and Claims Index, 1936-2007
• 15. Arizona, Select Marriages, 1888-1908
• 16. Obituaries from Nevada
• 17. Ancestry Trees
  • Braun Family Tree, http://trees.ancestry.com/tree/4905821/person/-1525004374?ssrc=&ml_rpos=1&ftm=1
• 18. U.S. Public Records Index, 1950-1993, Volume 1
• 19. Linda Vixie
• 20. Geneanet Messaging
• 21. Arizona, Birth Records, 1880-1935
• 22. U.S., School Yearbooks, 1880-2012
  • Date: 2010;
• 23. Obituary Daily Times Index, 1995-Current
• 24. Julia Virginia Terry Jenkins
• 25. Evergreen Cemetery Juneau, Alaska Burial Records