John William Gentry

1885 - 1972  (87 years)

• Name	John William Gentry
  Birth	9 Aug 1885	Decatur, Wise County, Texas   [1, 2]
  Gender	Male
  Death	20 Oct 1972	Alpine, Brewster County, Texas
  Notes	Ken Harvey writes that "As a boy he always carried some string in his pocket. He had ever afterwards taken very seriously the jocular semi-critical comment, 'every boy carries a piece of string in his pocket' made by some dissapointed adult who had urgently wanted a piece for some reason. He studied in Vincinnes, Indiana and spoke Spanish. Ken also heard that when his first wife was sick, he chartered a train to take her to Oklahoma City. This doesn't seem likely from her death certificate though. They were still living in Dougherty at the time, and she died in Ardmore, Oklahoma of appendicitis that evidenced itself four days prior to her death. WWI Draft Registration - 1918 Name: John William Gentry City: Alpine County: Brewster State: Texas Birth Date: 9 Aug 1885 Race: White Roll: 1927370 DraftBoard: 0 Occupation: Pharmacist Employer: Walter Garnett, Alpine, Brewster Co. TX Nearest relative: Mrs. Julia Ann Gentry (wife) Height/Build: Medium/Slender Color of Eyes/Hair: Lt. ?/ Lt. Brown John lived in Brewster County, Texas from about 1918 until his death. SSDI JOHN GENTRY 09 Aug 1885 Oct 1972 79830 (Alpine, Brewster, TX) (none specified) 449-09-8198 Texas TX Death Record Gentry John W SR 10-20-1972 BREWSTER M SINGLE Brewster Co. Cemetery book, Elm Grove Cemetery, Alpine, TX. Lot #1, Block 6-A John William Gentry August 9, 1885 October 6, 1972 Julia Zumwalt Gentry March 14, 1892 March 13, 1981 Peggy Kirby Gentry November 3, 1933 March 17, 1973 Julia Gentry Chessman May 18, 1918 July 27, 1949 Mark Sale Chessman , Infant Son, July 15 - 17, 1949 (Courtesy of Lucy Anderson Lowrie) (Research): Census Information: 1910 census Grady Co. OK ED 97 Pg. 157B Chickasha city 127/150 Temple, James A., head, MW, 59, M 34yrs., Alderman-city, MO MO KY Carrie J., wife, FW, 52, M 34yrs., 5/4 children, IN IN IN James W., son, MW, 25, Book keeper-Lumber yard, CO MO IN Gentry, John W., roomer, MW, 24, S, Prescription clerk-Drug store, OK unk unk 1920 census Brewster Co. TX Prect. 1 Alpine Twn. 218/223 Gentry, John Head Own M W 34 M TX TN VA pharmacist - drug store Gentry, Julia Wife F W 27 M TX TX TX Gentry, Julia dau F W 1 S TX TX TX
  Person ID	I5825	Strong Family Tree
  Last Modified	23 May 2023

  
  

  Father	William Miller Gentry,   b. 23 May 1851, Tennessee d. 23 Sep 1929, Duncan, Stephens County, Oklahoma (Age 78 years)
  Mother	Mary "Molly" Evelyn Mounts,   b. 27 Aug 1857, West Virginia d. 10 Sep 1940, Duncan, Stephens County, Oklahoma (Age 83 years)
  Marriage	12 Jul 1872	Grayson County, Texas   [3]
  	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 1	Rena W. Bunch,   b. 5 Feb 1890, Texas d. 17 Dec 1911, Ardmore, Carter County, Oklahoma (Age 21 years)
  Marriage	15 Jun 1911	Stephens County, Oklahoma   [4]
  Family ID	F3026	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart
  Last Modified	16 Nov 2010

  
  

  Family 2	Julia Zumwalt,   b. 14 Mar 1892, Hallettsville, Lavaca County, Texas d. 13 Mar 1981, Alpine, Brewster County, Texas (Age 88 years)
  Marriage	Between 1912 and 1917
  	Did John and Julia divorce? The summary of the Texas Death Record for John Gentry shows him as single, even though Julia survived him. Ken Harvey and Lynell Cordell both believe they might also have had a son named John. He was not on the 1920 census, however.
  Children	1. Julia Gentry,   b. 18 May 1918, Alpine, Brewster County, Texas d. 27 Jul 1949, Alpine, Brewster County, Texas (Age 31 years)   2. John William Gentry, Jr.,   b. 7 Nov 1920, Alpine, Brewster County, Texas d. 21 Apr 1991, Travis County, Texas (Age 70 years)
  Family ID	F3006	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart
  Last Modified	16 Nov 2010

  
  

• Event Map

  Birth - 9 Aug 1885 - Decatur, Wise County, Texas Marriage - 15 Jun 1911 - Stephens County, Oklahoma Death - 20 Oct 1972 - Alpine, Brewster County, Texas  = Link to Google Earth

  
  

• Sources

  [S124] Harvey, Kenneth C--Family Member; Gedcom, Printed Descendants Reports of Payne and Gentry Families, Correspondence, Shows he was born in 1895, which corresponds to the 1920 ce nsus (Reliability: 3). [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, Shows DOB as 9 Aug 1885 which matches SSDI (Reliability: 3). [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). [S258] Courtesy of Kenneth Harvey, Oklahoma, Stephens County Courthouse, Marriage Records.