Life History

Other facts

Notes

• Loretta Gregory Gay records this name as Charlie Bluford, based on family memories.  1920 Garvin County, Oklahoma, Federal Census records show his name as Charles B., age 38.  Social Security also records his name as Charles.
  
  In 1900 Charlie is enumerated in the first Federal Census that included the Indian Nations.  Charlie's father Dock Gregory had moved the family from northern Texas to Earl, Oklahoma, but they are enumerated in Chickasaw Nation, Indian Territory.
  
  Earl itself was in J County of the old Oklahoma Territory, near the border with Indian Territory.  Perhaps the Gregory homestead was actually across the border east into Chickasaw Nation, accounting for their enumeration there.
  
  1900 Federal Census, Chickasaw Nation, Indian Territory, 4 July, Township 4 South Range 4E, District 145, page 27A, Hse/Fam #402
  Doctor Gregory  Head  W M  Sep 1855  44 Married 21 yrs AL Unknown TN Farmer
  Julia Gregory Wife  W F  Jan 1855  45  Married 21 yrs TN TN TN
  Charles Gregory  Son W M  Dec 1881  18  TN TN TN Farm Laborer
  
  In 1910 Charlie is 21 and reported in the household of his parents near Marlow, Oklahoma.
  
  1910 Federal Census, Stephens County, Oklahoma, 25 April, Richland Township, District 243, page 6B,  No Hse or Fam #s on this page
  Gegery, Dolf [Dock] Head  M W  56  married 31 years  AL TN TN Farmer
  Gegery, July (Julie?) wife F W 55 married 31 yrs TN TN TN
  Gegery, Charley Son M W 28  TN TN TN
  Gregory Julia A  Wife F W 65 Single TN TN TN No Occupation
  Gregory Charles B Son M W 38 Single TN AL TN Farmer, Working Out
  
  1920 Federal Census, Garvin County, Oklahoma, 25 January, Elmore Township, District 25, page 11B,  Hse #188, Fam #200
  Gregory Dock G  Head  Owns Farm (Mortgaged) M W 67 AL VA TN Farmer
  Gregory Julia A  Wife F W 65 Single TN TN TN No Occupation
  Gregory Harris W Son M W 39 Single TN AL TN Farmer, Working Out
  Gregory Charles B Son M W 38 Single TN AL TN Farmer, Working Out
  Gregory Thomas G Son M W 36 Single TN AL TN Farmer, Working Out
  Gregory Edy Son M W 33 Single TN AL TN Farmer, Working Out
  Gregory Wiley Son M W 22 Single TN AL TN Farmer, Working Out
  
  Charlie married soon after the 1920 census.  His family had moved to Elmore City in Garvin County, and the girl he married was from a family that had lived in Marlow.  The Gregory farm was near Marlow, in Stephens County, before they moved to Elmore City, to the northeast in Garvin County.  Charlie married Annie (Anna) Cauble after the census in 1920.
  
  In 1920 Annie was enumerated with her family in Marlow in March 1920 (though the census date that year was 1 January 1920).
  
  1920 Federal Census, Stephens County, Oklahoma, 25 February, near Marlow, Wall Township, District 265, page 9B, Hse/Fam #161
  Cauble, Pete J Head Rents M W 44 TX TX MO Farmer
  Cauble, Jane Wife F W 35 TX GA TX
  Cauble, Annie Dau F W 18 Single OK TX TX
  Cauble, Van Son M W 17 Single OK TX TX
  Cauble, Rena Dau F W 14 Single OK TX TX
  Cauble, Allen Son M W 12 Single OK TX TX
  Cauble, Ethelene Dau F W 8 Single OK TX TX
  Cauble, Hazel Dau F W 4yrs0mos Single TX TX TX
  Cauble, Zora Dau F W 1yr9mos Single OK TX TX
  Cauble, Flora Dau F W 1yr9mos Single OK TX TX
  
  Their marriage record has not been found.  So we are not sure whether Charlie went back to Marlow to marry Annie or her family had moved in the meantime and they married in Garvin County.  They moved to Texas and both Annie's parents died there, her father in 1924 and her mother in 1925.
  
  In 1930, Charlie is reported in Elmore City, married and in his own household with Annie Cauble (Cobble), four houses down from his father Dock.  An oddity occurs in the listings on this page.  Both Dock and Charlie are given the middle initial of G.  Dock was also listed as Dock G in 1920.  Members of the family do not know where this G comes from.  For Charlie, we know his name is Charles Bluford, documented as Bluford or initial B in several sources.
  
  Charlie is listed as Chas G.  Charles and Annie's oldest child is Vivian, at age 9.  It appears that they got married in 1910, after the census of that year.  In 1920, Charles B  is listed as living in the household of his father in this same locale of Elmore Township.
  
  In 1930, the census still designates their page as in Elmore Township, but I notice that Ancestry designates their location as Elmore City, whereas in 1920, Ancestry designates this as Elmore Township.  In this census, the place of birth of Charles' father is changed to Tennessee, whereas it has previously been Alabama.  This also happened with his brother Tom's entry in the 1920 census.
  
  1930 Federal Census, Garvin County, Oklahoma, 18 April, Elmore Township, District 25-8, page 10B, Hse #187, Fam #196
  Gregory Charles B  Head  M W 46  first married at 36  TN AL TN Farmer
  Gregory Annie M  Wife  F W 28  first married at 18  OK TX OK
  Gregory Vivian M   Dau  F W 9  OK TN OK
  Gregory Eva M  Dau  F W 7yrs 10mos  OK TN OK
  Gregory Virgil C  Son  F W 2yrs 10mos  OK TN OK
  
  Charley's parents were enumerated on the same page four houses away.
  
  1930 Federal Census, Garvin County, Oklahoma, 18 April, Elmore Township, District 25-8, page 10B, Hse #183, Fam #192
  Gregory, Doc G   Head  M W  78  AL VA TN Farmer
  Gregory, Julia A  Wife   F  W  74  TN TN TN
  Gregory, Harrison W Son M W 49 TN AL TN Labor
  Gregory, Ed  Son M W 39 TN AL TN  Labor
  Gregory, John  Son M W 35 TN AL TN  Labor
  Tugman, David M Grandson M W 15 OK OK TN
  
  Charley and Annie divorced before the 1940 census.  Charley is enumerated in the household of his 84-year-old father and his brother Edd in Elmore City.
  
  1940 Federal Census, Garvin County, Oklahoma, no date, Elmore, District 25-6, page 3A, Hse #42, Owns farm $200
  Gregory, D Patric Head M W 84 Widow Grade 2 b Alabama same house in 1935
  Gregory, Charley Son M W 58 Divorced Grade 8 b Tenn same house in 1935
  Gregory, Edd Son M W 53 Single Grade 8 b Tenn same house in 1935 Farm Laborer
  
  Charlie and Anna had had difficulties in their marriage for some time, because of Anna's wild style of life.  Charlie had doubts about the parentage of all his children, bacause he found Anna running aorund with various other men.
  
  "I have spoken to Annie's cousin and she has told me that Annie was quite the wild one so she wasn't surprised about it.  Makes one wonder if the of children were Gregory"
  --  Pamela McDonald-Kown, Ancestry Messaging to Orville Boyd Jenkins, 22 December 2019
  
  "Uncle Charlie said he didn't know if any of their children were really his.  He said he would find her out in the field with different men."
  --  Loretta Gregory Gay, niece of Charlie Gregory, phone conversation to her nephew Orville Boyd Jenkins, 23 December 2019
  
  "Virgil's parents are Annie and Charles Gregory, only DNA proves that he is not a bio child of Charles, Annie was a Cauble and that is where my DNA connection first came from. Through DNA research by a registered Genetic Genealogist, 2 and 3 cousins were determined in matches to me to a man whose last name was Battles."
  --  Pamela McDonald-Kown, Ancestry Messaging to Orville Boyd Jenkins, 22 December 2019
  
  On the other side of the coin, Annie's daughter Bobi Jo Roberso-Davis, commented on the idea that her mother was flighty and profligate.
  
  "Knowing how backward my Mother was about sex, it's really hard for me to believe that my two 1/2 sisters weren't fathered by Charlie.  It absolutely came as a shock to me when Pamela McDonald-Kown contacted me about my 1/2 brother Virgil (always called Greg) not being a Gregory.  There was never a nice word said about Charlie by my sister Vivian.  She said he was really mean to her, Eva and Virgil and abused my Mother physically."
  --  Bobi Jo Roberson-Davis, email to Orville Boyd Jenkins, 26 April 2020
  
  No divorce record has been found.  It may be that the revelation of Virgil's true parentage was a factor in the divorce.  But one can imagine physical abuse would be a primary cause for divorce.  As in many cases, there were probably multiple causes for the divorce.
  
  In the 1940 census, Annie is enumerated with her second husband Herman Roberson in Lindsay, as Anna Roberson.  Her two children Virgil and Vivian Gregory are in their household.
  
  Annie's niece Loiretta Gregory Gay reports that Herman was known as Skinny Roberson, and he was a fireman in the Lindsay Fire Department.  She said she never knew his real name, only Skinny.
  --  Loretta Gregory Gary, phone conversation with Orville Boyd Jenkins, 23 December 2019
  
  The family records and the Social Security Death Index agree that Charlie's birth date was 25 December 1881.  This census, however, gives his age as 46.  It should be 48, since he would be 49 in December of 1930.  In 1920 he was reported as 38, which would match the proper birth date.
  
  U.S., World War II Draft Registration Cards, 1942
  Charles Bleford [sic] Gregory
  Residence R R 3, Elmore City, Garvin County, Oklahoma, USA
  Age 61, Self-Employed
  Birth 25 Dec 1881 Jefferson County, Tennessee
  Contact Person D G Gregory (father)
  (back)
  5' 4" 135 lbs, Blue Eyes, Gray Hair, Light complexion
  Registered 27 April 1942 Pauls Valley, Garvin County, Oklahoma
  Signed Charles Blueford Gregory
  
  Social Security Death Index: U.S., Broderbund Family Archive #110, Vol. 1 A-L, Ed. 6
  Gregory, Charles
  Birth date 12/25/1881
  Death date 09/00/1979
  Last known residence Lawton, Oklahoma 73501
  Social Security #440-40-6524. Issued in Oklahoma
  
  I submitted several details and family linking information which were added to Charlie's memorial on Find a Grave in February 2015.
  
  Charles Bluford "Charlie" Gregory
  Birth Dec 25, 1881 Newport, Cocke County, Tennessee
  Death Sep 19, 1979 Lawton, Comanche County, Oklahoma
  Parents:
  Dock Patrick Gregory (1852 - 1947)
  Julia Ann Clementine Strange Gregory (1855 - 1935)
  Spouse Annie Mable Cauble Roberson (1901 - 1993)
  Siblings:
  William Henry Harrison Gregory (1880 - 1931)*
  Charles Bluford Gregory (1881 - 1979)
  George Thomas Gregory (1884 - 1982)*
  Edd Gregory (1885 - 1958)*
  John Gregory (1890 - 1993)*
  Andy Gregory (1892 - 1975)*
  Lucy Carter (1893 - 1970)*
  Burial Flower Mound Cemetery, Lawton, Comanche County, Oklahoma
  Created by Trapper John Apr 10, 2008
  --  Find A Grave Memorial #25907852, http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=25907852

Sources

• 1. 1900 Federal Census, Chickasaw Nation, Indian Territory
  • 4 July, Township 4 South Range 4E, District 145, page 27A, Hse/Fam #402
• 2. SSDI Broderbund Archive #110, Vol. 1, Ed. 6
• 3. 1920 Federal Census, Garvin County, Oklahoma
  • 25 January, Elmore Township, District 25, page 11B,  Hse #188, Fam #200
• 4. Loretta Gregory Gay Genealogical Research
• 5. 1910 Federal Census, Stephens County, Oklahoma
  • 25 April, Richland Township, District 243, page 6B,  No Hse or Fam #s on this page
• 6. Find a Grave Memorial Registry
• 7. 1940 Federal Census, Garvin County, Oklahoma
  • no date, Elmore, District 25-6, page 3A, Hse #42, Owns farm $200
• 8. U.S., World War II Draft Registration Cards, 1942
• 9. Social Security Death Index
• 10. 1910 Federal Census, Stephens County, Oklahoma
  • 25 April, Richland Township, District 243, page 6B, No Hse or Fam Numbers
• 11. 1920 Federal Census, Garvin County, Oklahoma
  • 25 January, Elmore City, District 25, page 11B, Hse #188, Fam #200
• 12. 1930 Federal Census, Garvin County, Oklahoma
  • 18 April, Elmore Township, District 25-8, page 10B, Hse #187, Fam #196
• 13. Obituaries from Oklahoma
• 14. Ancestry Messaging
• 15. 1940 Federal Census, Garvin County, Oklahoma
  • 18 April, Lindsay, District 25-9, page 13B, Hse #390, Rents $15
• 16. Find a Grave Memorial Registry
  • Memorial #723415
• 17. U.S. Veterans' Gravesites, ca.1775-2006
• 18. Newspapers.com Obituary Index, 1800s-current
• 19. California, Marriage Index, 1949-1959
• 20. Cemeteries of Oklahoma
• 21. Lou Ila Gregory Jenkins, Personal Communication
• 22. 1940 Federal Census, Comanche County, Oklahoma
  • 15 April, Ft Sill US Army Base, District 1638B, Page 11B, Barracks
• 23. 1930 Federal Census, Garvin County, Oklahoma
  • 18 April, Elmore Township, District 8, page 10B, Hse #189, Fam #196
• 24. Ancestry Trees