William Ernest "Willie" Lewis

Notes:

The names of Will's parents and siblings are currently unknown, though it appears from census listings that his parents were born in Lousiana. He can first be positively identified on the 1910 Tillman County, Oklahoma census, where he is living in a boarding house and working as a cook. At the time of the 1920 census, he was married and still working as a cook, but in Chickasha. Will was said to have died very shortly after this census enumeration, when his son Cecil was still very young.

He registered for the draft in Grady County, OK. His full name was listed as William Ernest Lewis, and his address at the time was 302 N. Fifth Street, Chickasha. His date of birth was shown as Sept. 6, 1882, and he was white and a native born US citizen. His occupation was given as Owner, Lunch Counter, and the business address was 101 Ohio Avenue, Chickasha. The nearest relative was Stella Lewis, his wife, and Will was described as short, slender, and with grey eyes and black hair. FHL Roll Number 18517777 Draft Board 1. The birth certificate of his son, Cecil Afton Lewis, shows his location of birth as Austin, Texas.

Will's wife, Stella, married Walter STRONG not quite six months after the 1920 census enumeration. Will was ill with tuberculosis, and was said to have died in a hospital in Oklahoma, although a death certificate has not been located. His grandchildren think it is possible that he may have actually died in either Texas or Arizona, where he may have moved for his health. It is also possible that he moved to Louisiana, where he was said to have still had family. Stella and the children accompanied him briefly to Arizona, but they returned to Oklahoma before he died.

(Research):
Census Listings:

1910 US Federal Census
Oklahoma, Tillman Co, 3 Wd Frederick, ED 248
Grand Avenue
#407-429
Cox, William Head M W 34 Mo Ireland Ireland Janitor General Store
Lewis, Will E Partime? M W 27 S Texas Louisiana Louisiana Cook Restaurant

Note: This appears to be a boarding house of sorts. Will lived here with 12 other men, in addition to William Cox, the head of the household. Each of the other occupants of the home was listed as "Partime" or "Partuer." They ranged in age from 17 to 57, with most of them being employed as restaurant Waiters or Cooks, others as Laborers at odd jobs, and a few as self employed as carpenters or machinists.

At the time of the 1920 Federal census, Stella and Will Lewis were renting a home at 129 Chickasha Avenue in Chickasha. Their census listing read as follows:

1920 Census
Oklahoma, Grady, Chickasha City Ward 3 part of
SD 6 ED 164 Sheet No. 4 B
Enumerated on the 16?sup?th?/sup? day of January 1920 by Mrs. Clovis D. Courtier
Lewis, Will E. Hd R M W 37 M -- Yes Yes Tex. Unknown La. Cook Restaurant
Lewis, Stella Wife F W 25 M -- Yes Yes Texas Texas Texas Waitress Restaurant
---------, Roy Son M W 8 1/2 Yes --- --- Oklahoma Texas Texas
---------, Cecil Son M W 6 1/2 -- -- -- Oklahoma Texas Texas

It is POSSIBLE, that either of the families below might be his at the time of the 1900 census. Both families have a connection to Lousiana, and both had sons named Will who were born within two years of the age Will reported on the 1910 and 1920 census. However it is noted that neither family is located in Travis County, where Will was said to have been born. Additionally, it does not appear likely either of the Willie Lewis's below are the Will Lewis who later married Stella Crouch, as online trees for both family groups below show the Will Lewis's below marryng (in each case someone other than Stella Crouch) and dying much later than 1920.

1900 Federal Census, Texas, Bee County, Beeville, ED 8
332 332
Lewis, Margaret Head Oct 1855 44 W 5/5 Louisiana Ireland Ireland Housekeeper
Lewis, Willie* Son Jun 1880 19 S Tx Tx Louisiana Day Laborer
Lewis, Katie Dtr Jun 1882 17 S Tx Tx LA
Lewis, James Son W M Oct 1884 15 S Tx Tx Lousiana Day Laborer
Lewis, Chris Son W M Nov 1888 12 S Tx Tx La At School
Lewis, Robert Son W M Jan 1891 9 S Tx Tx La At School

*The "Robert Wylie Family History Tree" on RootsWeb's WorldConnect shows his full name as Simeon William Lewis, who married Francis Agatha McMorrow, and died ca 1936 in Gussettville, TX. It that tree is accurate, this would not be the Will Lewis who moved to Oklahoma and married Stella Crouch.

http://wc.rootsweb.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/igm.cgi?op=GET&db=coyote1&id=I91706



1900 Federal Census, Texas, Nolan County, JP 1, ED 117
20-20
Lewis, Jno. R Head W M Feb 1842 M 37 Arkansas Tennessee Tennessee Stock Raising
Lewis, Lizie Wife W F May 1846 54 M 32 8/6 Lousiana Tennessee Tennessee
Lewis, Rex Son W M Dec 1873 26 S Tx Ark La Stock Raising
Lewis, Jno. C. Son W M Mar 1879 20 S Tx Ark La
Lewis, Willie T. ** Son W M Sept 1881 18 S Tx Ark La
Lewis, Tryver Son W M Dec 1883 16 S Tx Ark La
Lewis, Jemima J Dtr W F Sept 1886 13 S Tx Ark La
Lewis, Charles W Son W M Aug 1888 11 S Tx Ark La

**The "Maloney Family Tree" on RootsWeb's WorldConnect shows his full name as William Temple Lewis, who married Maude Hanna and died ca 1954 in Lubbock, TX. It that tree is accurate, this would not be the Will Lewis who moved to Oklahoma and married Stella Crouch.

http://wc.rootsweb.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/igm.cgi?op=GET&db=maloney2k98&id=I06532



(Medical):Y DNA Results, FTDNA Haplogroup:

J1

A direct male descendant volunteered to have his DNA tested
. The results can be found at www.ysearch.org, under the user ID #KUW3E.

The haplogroup was predicted as J1, and there were no surname matches, and only a few non-surname matches. This haplogroup is believed to have arisen between 10,000 and 15,000 years ago in the Near East, the region encompassing the Levant, (modern Israel and the Palestinian territories, Jordan, Syria and Lebanon), Turkey, and Mesopotamia (Iraq and eastern Syria). A significant fraction of Jews belong to haplogroup J, but Jews represent a small minority of the European members of the haplogroup. The "Cohen Modal Haplotype" is a specific set of six Y-STR marker values that occurs in both J1 and J2, though at a much higher frequency in J1. It is likely that those of Cohanim descent and carrying the CMH belong to the J1 haplogroup. It should be noted that. in this sample, the value of 13 at 388 is 3 steps away from the norm of 16 at that marker for the Cohen Modal Haplotype. It does match the CMH on the other five markers (DYS19, DYS390, DYS391, DYS392, DYS393).

William married Stella Crouch before 1912. Stella (daughter of Henry Joseph Crouch and Geneva "Jennie" Arnold) was born on 8 Jun 1893 in Texas; died on 29 Dec 1959; was buried in Sunset Memorial Gardens, Lawton, Comanche County, Oklahoma. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

Married:
Robert Strong thought his mother, Stella, married her second husband in Altus, Jackson County, Oklahoma. Charles and Pat Strong went through marriage licenses in Altus, and did not find a marriage certificate. They looked in bride's records under both Crouch and West. They also looked for Groom's under Lewis. These records were very poorly indexed, and they may have simply missed it, or they might have been married elsewhere.

1. Cecil Afton Lewis was born on 23 Jul 1913 in Altus, Jackson County, Oklahoma; died in Oct 1991 in Lawton, Comanche County, Oklahoma; was buried in Sunset Memorial Gardens, Lawton, Comanche County, Oklahoma.