Life History

Notes

• The 1900 census gives Peter's birth date as September 1888, with his age as 11.  This age and birth date differ from that reported by Amanda's brother Bud Jenkins, who lists all her children in a book.  The date for Pete there is 17 November 1887.  Because there are several errors in the birth dates for 1900, it is uncertain how reliable this date for Peter is.  At least this age matches the reported birth date, whereas reports for some of the children do not.
  
  The place of birth seems to be Naples, Morris County.  This was a town near the farm, mentioned in family information and by Joseph Asa Jenkins in a TV interview in 1955.  Joe mentions that the Jenkins family bought supplies in Naples.  In Pete's World War I Draft Registration Card, his place of birth is written Maples.  This appears to be a mis-write of Naples.  There is no town in Texas named Maples, though there is a Maple, Texas, no where near any area associated with the Christian and Jenkins families.
  
  Peter is listed oddly in the 1900 census by an enumerator with very poor and inconsistent handwriting and spelling.  Ancestry.com has done some poor transcriptions, also, adding to the confusion.
  
  1900 Federal Census, Washita County, Oklahoma, 3 August, Union Township, District 211, page 13A, 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
  Oscar Christain Son W M  May 1887 (? 1882)  18 (?)  TX England Miss Farmer
  Peet Christain [Pete] Son W M  Sept 1888  11  TX England Miss Farmer
  Iler Christain Dau W F  Aug 1890  9  TX England Miss Farmer
  Henry C Christain Son  May 1892  8 [seems to be Charles]  Chickasaw Ind Terr  England  Miss Farmer
  Henry Christain Son W M  Dec 1894  5  Chickasaw, Ind Terr  England  Miss Farmer
  Robert Christain Son W M  March 1897 3  Chickasaw Ind Terr  England  Miss Farmer
  Susa Christain Dau W F  May 1898 (1899?)  3 [3/12 ?]  Chickasaw Ind Terr  England  Miss Farmer
  [Appears to intend Susan, seems to match Susan Anne]
  
  The name that matches Peter here looks like Put.  They transcribe it as Rut.  When I first saw the entry they transcribed as "Rut," my first thought was "Put."  I still think the first letter is a P, not an R.
  
  The R's on the page are looped differently.  Also, the first letter of "Rut" looks the same as that on the name Pearl in the first family on the page.  The enumerator always links a capital P with the following vowel (except I found one name out of several pages where he did not).  In comparing vowels in other names on the page, this name seems to be "Peet," a strange but phonetically correct entry for "Pete."  The entry also matches the place of Peter in the sequence of children in birth dates we have and other censuses.
  
  All the E's on the page are closed.  The E in his sister Iler's name looks like an I, but it is not dotted.  When I compare the strokes inside Peet with a couple of names that have a known u, like Susa (which seems to be an entry for Susan, and he left off the final vowel, like other name unfinished in the page).  The U's have a flat up stroke on the right, whereas the two strokes are fully formed in the entry "Peet," which supports the reading of Peet for Peter.
  
  1910 Federal Census, Washita County, Oklahoma, 28 April, Oakdale, District 263, page 20B-21A, Hse #309, Fam #390
  Christian, William G Head M W 60 MS England AL Farmer
  Christian, Amanda L Wife F W 45 MS GA GA
  Christian, Iler F  Dau F W 20 TX MS MS
  Christian, Charles Son  M W 17 OK MS MS Farming
  Christian, Robert Son  M W 13 OK MS MS
  Christian, Anna Dau  F W 10 OK MS MS
  Christian, Henry Son  M W 8 OK MS MS
  
  An email from Judy Oldziewski informed me that she discovered that Peter's gravestone has his name spelled Peat.
  
  Gravestone of Henry C Christian, Oakdale Cemetery, Oakdale, Washita, Oklahoma
  "Christian, Peat  11/17/1887  2/09/1918"
  
  C Peter "Pete" Christian
  Birth Nov. 17, 1887 Naples, Morris County, Texas
  Death Feb. 9, 1918 Mountain View, Kiowa County, Oklahoma
  Parents:
  William James Christian (1842 - 1924)
  Amanda Lucinda Christian (1859 - 1948)
  Sibling Robert E. Lee Christian (1898 - 1971)
  Inscription: Co H 357th Infantry WWI
  Burial Oakdale Cemetery, Cowden, Washita County, Oklahoma
  Created by Rita Collvins Mayfield Mar 05, 2007
  --  Find A Grave Memorial #18255473, http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GSln=Christian&GSiman=1&GScid=99120&GRid=18255473&

Sources

• 1. 1910 Federal Census, Washita County, Oklahoma
  • 18 May, Oakdale Township, District 263, page 8B, Hse #146, Fam #153
• 2. 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;;
• 3. Gravestone of Henry C Christian, Oakdale Cemetery, Oakdale, Washita, Oklahoma
• 4. U.S., World War I Draft Registration Cards, 1917-1918
• 5. 1900 Federal Census, Washita County, Oklahoma Territory
  • August 3, Union Township, District 211, page 13A (147A), Hse/Fam #189
• 6. 1910 Federal Census, Washita County, Oklahoma
  • 28 April, Oakdale, District 263, page 8B, Hse #146, Fam #153
• 7. 1900 Federal Census, Washita County, Oklahoma Territory
  • 3 August, Union Township, District 211, page 13A (147A), Hse/Fam #189
• 8. Find a Grave Memorial Registry