Living

Living married Living. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

The date and location of birth is from the family bible.

Raymond married Waldeene Beatrice Lee. Waldeene was born in 1921 in Cooper, Delta County, Texas; died in Sep 1967 in Wichita Falls, Wichita County, Texas. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

Father Robert Elmo LEE Mother Katie Alice FOULGER

Notes:

The year of his birth is sometimes shown as 1877, but his granddaughter, Linda Miller, shows it as 1878. This is based on their family Bible. Linda notes that he had a cleft palate and wore a mustached most of the time to cover it up, his features appeared Indian, but he had light blue eyes.

Ken Harvey writes that he was known as Bert, and that he was a professional cowboy. His granddaughter, Linda Miller, says her father said he was always called Will by his family. Grace Ellen Gentry, who knew him, had a lot of respect for William Bertram. She had high standards and was not an easy lady to please. He was considered a very physically tough person but he was very well mannered. He worked for his uncle Walter W. Payne at one point, Walter having a ranch.

He once had an accident when roping steers. His lower arm ended up being jerked off at the elbow. He gained a lot of respect from the fact that he didn't let this later hinder him on a horse. He used to hold the reins wrapped around the stump and it was considered that he could do more than many men who had both their hands.

Linda Miller recalls the story of how her grandfather actually lost his arm as follows: "He had been working on the Bell Ranch in New Mexico, when a young cowboy thought it would be funny to see old Will Payne be thrown, so he hit the horse (just green broke) that my grandfather was riding on the rump with his felt hat and he was thrown alright. My grandfather at the time weighed about 230 pounds and was 6 foot 2 or 4 inches tall. When he fell it drove his left arm into the ground. There was a compound fracture above the elbow. The doctor that was available thought it best to take off his arm right above the break. It did not heal well and went back to Oklahoma and then went to a doctor in Missouri that took it off in the shoulder joint after gangrene had set in. During his weakened condition he contracted T.B. and died of it when my father was 6 months old, leaving my grandmother a young widow with three boys."

(Research):Census Information

1910 Census
Oklahoma, Washita County, Union Twp
Enumerated 3 Jun 1910 by Thomas Hudgens
SD 5 ED 268 Sheet 22B
303-303
Payne, William B Hd M W 33 W Mo Mo Mo English Farmer
Thompson, Lawrence Servant M w 18 S Ka Mo Mo English Farm L
aborer

William married Elizabeth Louise Belter on 16 Jul 1910 in Arapaho, Custer County, Oklahoma. Elizabeth was born about 1891 in North Dakota; died on 17 Feb 1960 in Clinton, Van Buren County, Arkansas. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

The family bible records her birth date as taking place in North Dakota, Nov. 25. No year was shown.

Notes:

Married:
Linda Miller reports that her grandparents met on her parent's farm in Oklahoma. Will was helping Elizabeth's father with his animals, being somewhat of a veterinarian as well as a cowboy. After they married, they moved to New Mexico, around Roy, and homesteaded there on 5 sections of land. The family would go back and forth to Oklahoma where their families still lived.

The marriage date was recorded in the Family Bible.