Albert Lee Wyatt

 It's been almost a year since I've posted anything here and, all of a sudden, I feel a need to post some things.  This entry is about a man who was my father's half-uncle.  Neither my father nor I ever met the man but I've done quite a bit of research on him.

Albert Lee Wyatt (1878-1949)

Albert Wyatt was born in 1878 to L.A. Wyatt and Laura Dunham. His father was from Tennessee and his mother from Missouri but they had migrated to Palo Pinto County in Texas when Albert was born. L.A. and Laura had married in Palo Pinto County in 1878 so it may have been a “shotgun” wedding.

L.A.’s fate is not known but Laura remarried in 1885 in Fannin County, Texas, this time to William Eugene Porter. William was born in Minnesota but had lived in Missouri and Texas before his marriage to Laura.

William and Laura had five children:

Ethel Dorothy 1887 Grayson County, Texas

Thomas Perry Sr. 1888 Travis County, Texas

Hermina 1893 (Location Unknown)

Doss Alan 1898 Indian Territory, Oklahoma

Arbell 1899 Indian Territory, Oklahoma

The 1900 Census found William Eugene and all five of his children, as well as his stepson, Albert, living in the Chickasaw Nation in Indian Territory. William’s marital status was listed as “widowed”. It is possible that Laura had died while giving birth to their youngest daughter, Arbell.

In about 1901, when Thomas was thirteen, he ran away from home, wound up in the Mannford/Keystone area and never saw his father again. William apparently remarried and he and his second wife had two daughters whose names are unknown.

By 1906, Albert had married a woman named Calvin “Callie” Horton and they had a son, Raymond. Raymond lived in Mannford, Oklahoma most of his life and went by the nickname “Slip”. He became the local town “ne’er do well” and spent most of his time drinking. He was also rumored to have been a moonshiner but this has not been confirmed.

At the time of the 1910 Census, Doss was living with his older sister, Ethel, and her husband, William Renner, in Roger Mills County in far western Oklahoma. Thomas Perry has not been found in that census, neither has his half-brother Albert. It is presumed that Thomas was in the area of Mannford or Keystone since he is presumed to have fathered Tommy Alexander who was born in February, 1911.

By 1917, Thomas had moved back to Texas, living in Archer County, and working as a cowboy on the Waggoner Ranch. In the 1920 Census, Albert was living with his wife, Callie, and their son in Mannford. Doss was not found in the 1920 Census but apparently he and Albert kept in contact with each other.

In 1921, Doss married Emma Marie Vanderpoll and they had two sons before 1930. Most of this time, they lived in Oklahoma City but, by 1930, they had moved to Binger, Oklahoma. Binger is west and south of Oklahoma City and just south of Hinton, Oklahoma. In 1930, Albert and his wife, Callie, and their son, Raymond, continued to live in Mannford.

By 1935, Doss and Albert both had moved to the McCloud/Dale area in Pottawatomie County. Doss had his wife and two sons with him but Albert had left Callie and their son, Raymond, in Mannford. No record of a divorce has been found. While living in Pottawatomie County, however, Albert either married a second time or took a common-law wife. Her name was Ida May (or Mae) McCartney. She had a son, Merlyn, who was born about 1921, and a daughter, Delores, born about 1926. The identity of their father is unknown but they took Albert’s last name and were listed in census records as Merlyn and Delores Wyatt.

During the mid- to late-1930’s, the depression had worsened to the point that many Oklahomans were leaving and going to California. Albert Wyatt and Doss Porter joined this migration and moved to Riverbank in Stanislaus County. Doss was still married to Emma but Albert had his new family with him. According to family members, Albert and Doss were always close and these moves confirm that relationship.

Albert died in 1949 at 70 years of age. His second wife, Ida May, remarried to a man whose surname was Blackwood. She died in 1997.

Doss’s wife, Emma, died in 1950 at 50 years of age and Doss remarried a woman named Bessie Pitts. He died in 1976 at the age of 77.

Callie Wyatt, Albert’s first wife, remained in the Mannford area for the rest of her life and is remembered for her gardening skills. She apparently was always surrounded by beautiful plants and flowers. She died in 1973 at age 91 and is buried in Oilton, Oklahoma.