Thomas Seaman was a resident Oyster Bay, and Half Hollow Hills, Long Island, New York. He signed the "Articles of Association" which covered a declaration of allegiance to the cause for independence from English rule. He afterward recanted and became a Loyalist.
William Elijah Walker
1886-1967William Elijah Walker was born on July 29, 1886, in Ashland,Alabama. William Elijah, "Lige," was born somewhere near the middle of a family of 12 children. He grew up near Ashland, Alabama. The Ashland area is a very beautiful part of the country with rolling green hills and many trees. He met and married his wife, Ethel Irene Ray, on February20, 1916, in Ashland.
Lige and Ethel moved to Fletcher, Oklahoma, sometime between Marchof 1919 and February of 1921. Between February of 1921 and October of1923, they moved to Mountain Park, Oklahoma. In Mountain Park he and his brother John Walker owned a Mercantile store. Between October of 1923and July of 1925, the family moved to Eldorado, Oklahoma. In Eldorado,Lige first worked as a clerk in a dry goods store. Later he bought and managed a movie and a drugstore. After Eldorado the family moved to Ardmore, Oklahoma. In Ardmore, Lige owned a grocery store. Sometime before June of 1931 the family moved to Grandfield, Oklahoma. Lige owned a grocery store in Grandfield. The family finally settled for good in Grandfield where all the children finished school. The moving dates for the family are based on birth dates and birth places of the eight children in the family.
Lige was a reserved and quiet man. He was also a successful business man. In addition to his grocery store in Grandfield he bought several farms in the area. Lige did not do any of the farming himself. He rented out the farms. After his retirement, Lige spent many happy hours playing dominoes at the pool hall and with his family members in his home. Lige also loved to hunt and many quail owe their demise to his hunting skills. A picture that was taken in the mid 1890's shows Lige,his parents and eight of his ten siblings in front of a log house. Hopefully, it was a house and not a cabin with eleven children in the family.
Ethel Irene Ray
1892-1982Ethel was born April 13, 1892, in Ashland, Clay Co. Alabama.Ethel's mother, Mary Annie Stringfellow died when Ethel was five yearsold. We are not certain if Ethel was raised by a stepmother or by herolder sister, Eliza. Ethel grew up in the beautiful countryside nearthe town of Ashland in Clay County, Alabama. The area has many rollinggreen hills and beautiful old hardwood trees. Her father was a prominentcitizen of the county.
Ethel married William Elijah Walker in Ashland, Alabama, onFebruary 20, 1916. "Lige" and Ethel moved from Ashland, Alabama toFletcher, Oklahoma, sometime between March of 1919 and February of 1921.Sometime between February of 1921 and October of 1923 the family moved toMountain Park, Oklahoma. Between October of 1923 and July of 1925 thefamily moved to Eldorado, Oklahoma. After Eldorado the family moved toArdmore, Oklahoma. Sometime before June of 1931 the family moved toGrandfield, Oklahoma, where they finally put down permanent roots. Allthe move dates are based on the time and place of the birth of the eightchildren in the family. The first child of the eight was born in 1916and the last was born in 1933. Ethel had her hands full. Probably fromnecessity, she was a strong disciplinarian. Ethel was a member of thePrimitive Baptist Church near Ashland, Alabama.
Ethel was a high energy, strong willed woman. Her energy enabledher to flash around her ten room, two bath, house in Grandfield andfrequently "work circles" around some of the other members of herfamily. It also enabled her to live alone in that house after the deathof Lige in 1967 until her death at the age of 90 in 1982. Her strongwill was a major factor in winning most of the normal familydisagreements. Some family members have said, "You can't confuse Ethelwith the facts."
Ethel was also an avid gardener. Her favorite flowers were rosesand dahlias. Raising dahlias was not easy in the dry heat of southernOklahoma but she frequently had beautiful specimens in her back yard.She also raised green beans and black eyed peas. She canned thesevegetables and served them at family gatherings. After her family wasgrown, Ethel joined a Garden Club and a Flower Club. Taking Ethel tovisit public gardens or greenhouses was a calculated risk. She wouldfrequently help herself to "just a little slip," to plant in her gardenat home.
Ethel grew up in an age when most things were fried--and thosefoods that weren't fried were cooked to mush. In spite of this earlytraining, almost everyone in the family agreed that she made betterbiscuits, cornbread dressing and peach cobbler than anyone else in thecountry.