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Grace Ellen Gentry

Female 1888 - 1966  (78 years)


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  • Name Grace Ellen Gentry 
    Born 3 Nov 1888  Decatur, Wise County, Texas Find all individuals with events at this location  [1
    Gender Female 
    Died 16 Dec 1966  Stillwater, Payne County, Oklahoma Find all individuals with events at this location  [1
    Buried Duncan, Stephens County, Oklahoma Find all individuals with events at this location 
    Notes 
    • Possibly lived in Paris, Lamar Co., Texas at some point. This town was sometimes referred to by Grace Ellen Gentry.

      Died at 2010 Admiral Road, Stillwater, OK.

      She had a strong dislike of all things Texan.

      Photograph at 140 lbs (usually 125lbs) Norvelle Studio, Chickasha, Oklahoma, circa 1923. She disliked the picture as a result.

      1927-She was instrumental in organizing the Payne/Gentry family reunion in 1927. The event took place at the home of Annie O'Neill's home in Duncan.

      1934-On the sixth of April 1934, Mary E. Gentry, widow, sells to Grace Payne (her daughter) for one dollar and love and affection the west half of lot six (6) in block sixty-seven (67) together with all improvements thereon, in the City of Duncan, Stephens County, Oklahoma. Grace and Marvin had just lost their farm being unable to pay the mortgage. Molly continued to live for another six years but this house on 8th and Spruce Street was also lost for the same reasons. Molly continued to live with her daughter and her family until she died.

      1948-Grace Payne (nee Gentry) notified "To Whom it May Concern" on the 21st of June that she, E.J. Gentry, J.W. Gentry, Pearl Hall, E.H. Gentry, Carl H. Payne, J.E. Payne, Vera Young, Virginia Hardin, Louise Birnie, Mary Ethel Jones and Jeanne Turner, all heirs of W.M. Gentry, claimed to own the mineral rights of their father's old property and intended to have the matter determined by the Court. [Payne, Grace Ellen (1948) Affidavit giving legal notice of intention to file suit in District Court of Stephens County, Oklahoma, Ref: Book 414, page 344] It is not clear who this claim was directed at. Frank and Emory had continued the farn between them. Frank had died in 1928, and John Vernon Gentry continues the connection with his grandfather's land to this day (1997).

      Grace Gentry was a member of the United Daughters of the Confederacy (UDC). She claimed membership under her grandfather, W.J. Gentry. It was actually her grandfather John Melton Gentry, whose name Grace confused, who served in the Confederate Army. Grace was determined to get into the UDC and it was known she was not going to let anything, such as her other grandfather William J. Mounts' service in the Union Army, to get in her way. An incomplete draft of her application, remaining in the family, lists her parents as William Melton (sic) Gentry (born 1851 TN, died Sept. 1829 Duncan, OK) and his wife as Mary Evelyn Mounts (born Aug 1857, Died Aug 10, 1940 Duncan, OK). She went on to list her grandfather as William John Gentry (of Darnells, TX born in TN) and his wife as Pamela Harpoole (also born in TN).
    Person ID I5770  Strong Family Tree
    Last Modified 17 Aug 2014 

    Father William Miller Gentry,   b. 23 May 1851, Tennessee Find all individuals with events at this location,   d. 23 Sep 1929, Duncan, Stephens County, Oklahoma Find all individuals with events at this location  (Age 78 years) 
    Mother Mary "Molly" Evelyn Mounts,   b. 27 Aug 1857, West Virginia Find all individuals with events at this location,   d. 10 Sep 1940, Duncan, Stephens County, Oklahoma Find all individuals with events at this location  (Age 83 years) 
    Married 12 Jul 1872  Grayson County, Texas Find all individuals with events at this location  [2
    • Mr. and Mrs. W.M. Gentry Celebrate their "Golden Wedding Day"

      Mr. and Mrs. W.M. Gentry of this city [Duncan] celebrated their "Golden Wedding Day" Friday at the home of Mr. and Mrs. Carl Payne, a few miles east of this city, surrounded by their sons and daughters, grand children, great grandchildren and a host of relatives and friends.

      Married 50 years ago in Pottsboro, Grayson County, Texas, Mr. and Mrs. Gentry came to Oklahoma before there was any Stephen's county of a city of Duncan. They have resided in Stephens county, near Duncan, for the last 33 years and in the city of Duncan for three years.

      Mr. Gentry, who has passed the 72nd milestone of life, was born in Tennessee, and moved to Texas when that state was young. Mrs. Gentry was born in West Virginia and grew to womanhood in Illinois after which she moved with her parents to Texas.

      Eight children were born to this union, six of whom are living. They are J.W. Gentry of Alpine, Texas; Mrs. Marvin Payne of Chickasha; Mrs. S.B. Hall of Garber, Oklahoma; and three sons who live on farms east of Duncan.

      There are 24 grandchildren and five great grand children.

      Mr. Gentry carries his age exceedingly well, as does also Mrs. Gentry and to see them as they go about their daily lives one would never suspect that they had travelled a-down the rosy pathway of love and life together for half a century.

      (GOLDEN WEDDING REPORT Newspaper clipping cut from unidentified Duncan City, Oklahoma newspaper, probably the Banner)

      Ken Harvey had the following to report about their union:

      Will married Mary Evelyn Mounts on Saturday, 12th July 1873 in Grayson Co., Texas. The marriage licence merely states that they were married by M. F. Cole. The marriage licence gives no further information. The day was incorrectly recorded as 13th. The question does arise as to why Will's grandfather, Preacher William Gentry, did not conduct the ceremony.

      His father-in-law William J. Mounts did not approve of young Will as a husband for his daughter Molly. He told his young daughter that "Will was just a Tennessee farm boy, and though pleasant enough, he would never amount to anything." She was not dissuaded.

      Will, it was always generally agreed, was evidently not very ambitious and rather easy going. Much later on, after her husband, Will's, death, Molly used to remonstrate with her young grandson Lewis Adair Payne "Get up and get going, you are just like Will sitting there for half an hour on your bed before making a move."
    Family ID F1107  Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

    Family Marvin Walter Payne,   b. 17 Jan 1881, Gainesville, Cooke County, Texas Find all individuals with events at this location,   d. 4 Jan 1948, Duncan, Stephens County, Oklahoma Find all individuals with events at this location  (Age 66 years) 
    Married 22 Jan 1907  Stephens County, Oklahoma Find all individuals with events at this location  [1
    Children 
     1. Claude Chadwick Payne,   b. 18 Feb 1908, Stephens County, Oklahoma Find all individuals with events at this location,   d. 3 Dec 1955, Lawton, Comanche County, Oklahoma Find all individuals with events at this location  (Age 47 years)
     2. Mary Olive Payne,   b. 19 Sep 1912, Marlow, Indian Territory Find all individuals with events at this location,   d. 1 May 1992, Longview, Gregg County, Texas Find all individuals with events at this location  (Age 79 years)
     3. Lewis Adair Payne,   b. 15 Mar 1914, Duncan, Stephens County, Oklahoma Find all individuals with events at this location,   d. 18 Aug 1998, Stillwater, Payne County, Oklahoma Find all individuals with events at this location  (Age 84 years)
     4. Robert Anthony Payne,   b. Abt 1922, Oklahoma Find all individuals with events at this location,   d. Abt 1922, Oklahoma Find all individuals with events at this location  (Age ~ 0 years)
     5. Marvin Walter "Snort" Payne, Jr.,   b. 13 Jun 1925, Chickasha, Grady County, Oklahoma Find all individuals with events at this location,   d. 23 Jul 1979, Anadarko, Caddo County, Oklahoma Find all individuals with events at this location  (Age 54 years)
    Last Modified 9 Dec 2006 
    Family ID F1112  Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  • Event Map
    Link to Google MapsBorn - 3 Nov 1888 - Decatur, Wise County, Texas Link to Google Earth
    Link to Google MapsMarried - 22 Jan 1907 - Stephens County, Oklahoma Link to Google Earth
    Link to Google MapsDied - 16 Dec 1966 - Stillwater, Payne County, Oklahoma Link to Google Earth
    Link to Google MapsBuried - - Duncan, Stephens County, Oklahoma Link to Google Earth
     = Link to Google Earth 
    Pin Legend  : Address       : Location       : City/Town       : County/Shire       : State/Province       : Country       : Not Set

  • Photos
    PAYNE FAMILY REUNION - 1927
Home of Aunt Annie (O'Neill) Sparks - 
303 Hickory, Duncan, Oklahoma
    PAYNE FAMILY REUNION - 1927 Home of Aunt Annie (O'Neill) Sparks - 303 Hickory, Duncan, Oklahoma
    This 1927 Payne Reunion photo is of 41 people. On September 21-23, 1999, Charles R. Strong along with his mother, Anna Laura "Rooney" (Payne) Strong and two aunts ? Dora Fay (Payne) Pierce-Yeager and Lois Marie (Payne) Hanna reviewed the picture. The late Lewis Adair Payne had already prepared his own list identifying all persons. Both list had errors. Mary Gwendolyn ?Marilynn? (Payne) Wade of Marlow later helped Charles Strong reconcile the two lists and correct some errors. One reason for differences in the two lists was due to the existence of two pictures, which were almost, but not exactly, identical. This photo slightly differs from Aunt Annie?s version.

    . NOTE-The list below is numbered left to right - top to bottom. The first number is sequential in total, and the
    second number is position within the row.

    TOP ROW
    1 1 Paul Puckett, Boy living with Hattie (Brown) Payne.
    2 2 Mabel Lyles
    3 3 Baby is Mary Gwendolyn ?Marilynn? (Payne) Wade.
    4 4 Joseph Ray ?Jodey? Payne Jr.
    5 5 Virginia (Payne) Hardin - d. of Walter W., # 22 below
    6 6 Vera (Payne) Roberts-Young, -d. of Walter W. #22 and mother of #30 below
    7 7 Mary Ethyl (Payne) Benton-Madison-Parker. d. of W. W. # 22
    8 8 Claude Chadwick Payne
    9 9 Ruth Hazel Witherspoon-d. of Mable (Gentry) Witherspoon, d. of John Price Gentry.
    10 10 Florence Scott d. of # 23 Lou Payne Scott & niece of W.W. Payne
    11 11 Marvin Walter Payne Sr. Father of #'s 8, 28, 37, & 38
    12 12 Gracie (Gentry) Payne Wife of # 11 Marvin W. Payne
    13 13 Rene Gentry - s. of Frank Melton and Ada (Jones) Gentry, and nephew of Gracie #12
    14 14 Edna (Surginer) Payne, First wife of John Earl (Dukie) Payne
    15 15 John Earl, (Dukie) Payne
    16 16 Caroline "Carrie" (Cover) Payne
    17 17 Harry Carl Payne,Sr.

    MIDDLE ROW
    18 1 William "Billy" West - Grandson of # 23, Louise (Payne) Scott
    19 2 Joseph Ray Payne, s. of Wm. Henry H. Payne
    20 3 C. Frank Payne, Brother to # 11, Marvin W. Payne Sr.
    21 4 Annie (O'Neill) Sparks, Wife of #26
    22 5 Walter Winkle Payne
    23 6 Louise "Lula" (Payne) Scott
    24 7 Hattie (Brown) Payne
    25 8 Orville Scott
    26 9 James Rufus Sparks f. of # 33, Mary Pat (Sparks) Kubic

    BOTTOM ROW
    27 1 Anna Laura "Rooney" (Payne) Strong
    28 2 Mary Olive (Payne) Thompson
    29 3 Mary Ethyl (Benton) Jones
    30 4 Clifford "Bosco" Roberts
    31 5 Virginia Payne, sister to # 4 above, and d. of Joseph R. & g.d. Wm. H. H. Payne ?
    32 6 Dora Fay (Payne) Pierce - Yeager
    33 7 Mary Pat (Sparks) Kubik
    34 8 Francis Hardin, d. of Virginia Payne Hardin, # 5 above, (in lap of Mary Pat)
    35 9 Thelma (Gentry) Callaway - d. of Edgar J. Gentry & g.d. of Wm. M. Gentry
    36 10 Lois Marie (Payne) Hanna
    37 11 Lewis Adair Payne
    38 12 Marvin Walter "Snort" Payne Jr. in Lewis' lap.
    39 13 Willie Lee "Billy" Payne ?
    40 14 Paul James Payne
    41 15 Jean Bruce (Benton) Turner
    Gentry, James Edwin Farm House, Stephens County, Oklahoma
    Gentry, James Edwin Farm House, Stephens County, Oklahoma
    Both Charles Strong and Lynell Cordell think, but are not positive, that Gracie Gentry Payne the woman seated on the bottom row, the second from the left.

  • Sources 
    1. [S315] Rainey, Juanita (sparklestree@aol.com) "Juanita's Family Tree" Ver. Jun 23 22:39:06 2003; http://wc.rootsweb.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/igm.cgi?db=gentry536.

    2. [S315] Rainey, Juanita (sparklestree@aol.com) "Juanita's Family Tree" Ver. Jun 23 22:39:06 2003; http://wc.rootsweb.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/igm.cgi?db=gentry536, Other researchers show the date of marriage as being in 1873 (Reliability: 3).