Life History

Other facts

Notes

• William V's uncle William S "Bud" Jenkins, recorded the names of William and his brothers and sisters in his Dictionary (reported in Harold Christian's Jenkins Family History, pages 6-7).  Uncle Bud's list records William's birth date as 1 October 1884, and his next brother Joe (Joseph Oscar) as born 5 March 1886.  Oscar's birth is reported as 10 April 1886 in his WWI Draft Registration.
  
  The 1900 census recorded birth month and year.  That census has William's birthday as October 1886.  This is the year Bud has for Joseph Oscar.  Because Joseph Oscar's birth date in 1886 is confirmed by several public records, I am following the date that Bud reports as William's birthday, 1 October 1884.
  
  1900 Census, Union, Washita County, Oklahoma, District 211, page 13A (147A), Hse/Fam #189
  Willie Christain [sic] Head W M  Oct 1857 42  Miss England GA Farmer
  Mandy Christain Wife W F  Mar 1858  42  MS MS MS
  William Christain Son W M  Oct 1886  13  TX England Miss Farmer
  
  In January 1908 William Vascar Christian married Rosie (Rosa) Mae Christian, his 1st cousin.  The marriage application identified them as "1/2 cousins," an unfamiliar term.
  
  Oklahoma, County Marriage Records, 1890-1995
  W Vascar Christian, Age 24 born Texas (abt 1884)
  Rosa May Christian, Age 19, Born Texas (abt 1889)
  Application affidavit by Houser McDonald certfying the applicants, and stating that they are 1/2 cousins [1st cousins]
  Marriage 21 January 1908 at the Savoy Hotel, Chickasha, Grady County, Oklahoma, USA
  Ceremony performed by N M Williams, County Judge of Grady County
  Witnesses Arden McDonald of Mt View and Herman McDonald of Mt View
  Recorded Marriage Book p 84
  
  In 1910 they were reported in the Washita County, Oklahoma, census as married 3 years, although by the license date, it was only two.  The oldest child was reported as 3 years old, however.  Ages tended to be vague or rounded up in that era, so Roy was probably born later in the year 1908.  William and Rosie did not move to Oklahoma until 1909, where John was born in about October 1909.
  
  In 1910, the census reported William living next door to his brother Joe, and on the other side of Joe is Pete.  All three have their own households and are Farming.  Pete is not yet married, and had hired a laborer to help him on his farm.
  
  Rosa Mae, as spelled by the family, was born in Texas, as were both her parents.  Rosa's middle name of Mae was first provided by Harold Christian in his paper on the history of the Christian family (page 3).  William and Rosa Mae had two children reported inteh 1910 census, Roy F age 2 and John O age 6 months.  The names in the 1920 census seem to indicate that John's initial O stands for O'Neal.
  
  1910 Federal Census, Washita County, Oklahoma, 28 April, Oakdale, District 263, page 8B, Hse #148, Fam #155
  William V Christian Head M W 24 Married 3 yrs TX MS AL [birthplace of his step-mother]  Farmer  Rents [b abt 1886]
  Rosa M Christian Wife F W 20 Married 3 yrs TX TX TX  [b abt 1890]
  Christian, Roy F  Son M W 2 TX TX TX [b abt 1908]
  Christian, John O  Son M W 6 months [b abt Oct 1909]  OK TX TX
  
  William's age her indicates a birth in 1885 or 1886, matching the reported birth date in 1900 of October 1886.  The problem, as explained above, is that we have documented his brother Joseph's birth in March 1886, ruling out another child born in 1886, especially October.
  
  In 1920, I found William and his family in Parker County, Texas (Weatherford area).  In this census, he has a different wife, named Fannie in the census.  This census does not report how long the couple have been married.  The wife Fannie is only 18 years old.  There is one son in the household who is 11 years old, which should mean he was born in 1909, but he does not appear in the 1910 census.  These anomalies make it uncertain this is the same family, but the details are so close, and the children's names match.
  
  1920 Federal Census, Parker County, Texas, 5 February, Precinct 6, District 77, page 8B, Hse #167, Fam #1178
  Christian, W V  Head  Rents M W 33 TX MS MS Farmer  [b abt 1887]
  Christian, Fannie Wife F W 18 TX AL AL  [b abt 1902]
  Christian, Roy F  Son M W 14 TX TX TX [b abt 1906]
  Christian, O'Neal  Son M W 12 [b abt 1908]  TX TX TX
  Christian, Nitabill (?)  Son M W 11 [b abt 1909]  TX TX TX
  
  In the 1920 census, Rosa Mae is found in her parents' household, married to a German immigrant enumerated as Jack Shultz.  This matches family memory transmitted to me by Anne Thompson that Rosa Mae was married several times, and one married name was Schultz.  The 1920 census did not report how long William and Fannie had been married.  We can determine that Rosa Mae left William, and assume they divorced in 1919 or earlier.  January 1 was the census date for 1920.

Sources

• 1. William S "Bud" Jenkins, names listed in his Dictionary reported in Harold Christian's Jenkins Family History
  • Name: Name: pages 6-7, List of names of sister Amanda's children;;
• 2. 1900 Federal Census, Washita County, Oklahoma Territory
  • August 3, Union Township, District 211, page 13A (147A), Hse/Fam #189
• 3. Oklahoma, County Marriage Records, 1890-1995
• 4. 1910 Federal Census, Washita County, Oklahoma
  • 28 April, Oakdale, District 263, page 8B, Hse #148, Fam #155
• 5. 1920 Federal Census, Parker County, Texas
  • 5 February, Precinct 6, District 77, page 8B, Hse #167, Fam #1178
• 6. 1920 Federal Census, McCurtain County, Oklahoma
  • 12 June, White Township, Idabel Town, District 157, page 17A, Hill St, Hse #258, Fam #361
• 7. 1940 Federal Census, McCurtain County, Oklahoma
  • 11 April, White Township, District 45-33, page 5A, Hse #85, Rents $65
• 8. Find a Grave Memorial Registry
• 9. 1930 Federal Census, McCurtain County, Oklahoma
  • 15 April, Broken Bow, District 1, page 23A, Hse #604, Fam #557
• 10. U.S. WWII Draft Cards Young Men, 1940-1947
• 11. Gravestone of Hathaway Alfred Christian, Denison Cemetery, Idabel, McCurtain, Oklahoma
• 12. 1930 Federal Census, Kiowa County, Oklahoma
  • 7 April, Mt View, District 24, page 6A, Hse #120, Fam #126
• 13. Email Sources
• 14. U.S., Social Security Applications and Claims Index, 1936-2007