Slaton Family - Funeral of Mary F. Free, 1897

This photograph was annotated by Marion Wayne (Wayne) Slaton, 1910-1983.  The date on the back of the photograph is May 30, 1898.  The front of the photograph states that it was taken on the occasion of the funeral of a son of Rebecca and Haskel Free.

That information may well be correct.  However, I think it is much more likely that the photograph was taken at the funeral of a daughter Mary F. Free, 31 Dec 1894 - 25 Jul 1897.  I can find no record of a son of Rebecca and Haskel Free who died in 1898, and I do find a record for Mary F. Free.  The 1900 census says that Rebecca had borne three children with two still living.  The living children were Eva Jane Free who was born in 1896 and who was in the picture, and Ollie C. Free who was born in 1899 after the picture was taken.  Also, Eva looks too young for the picture to have been taken in 1898.  Wayne Slaton listed Eva's name as Eva Jones because she married Horace M. Jones in 1916, and that's the name by which Wayne would have known her.

For the most part, this picture could be said to have been a portrait of the family of Frances Marion (Frank) Slaton (labeled as "Frank" by Wayne Slaton) and Frank's wife Mary Anne Moore (labeled as "Grandma" by Wayne Slaton).  Nearly everybody in the picture was a child or grandchild of Frank and his wife, including the spouses of the children.  The only exception is that the picture does include Frank's father (and my third great grandfather) Thomas Fielden Slaton (labeled as "Gt Grandpa" by Wayne Slaton).

I am descended from Thomas Fielden Slaton through Frank's sister Susan A. Slaton.  So most of the people in the portrait are collateral lines for me.  Nevertheless, there is a great deal of oral family history in my line associated with the descendants of Frank Slaton.

• Back Row
  • John Thomas Slaton 1876-1945, son of Frank Slaton, moved to Kansas and then to Holtville, California.
  • William Moses (Will) Slaton 1878-1963, son of Frank Slaton, moved to Kansas, then to Holtville, California, and finally to Richland County, Ohio.
  • Martha Paralee (Paralee) Slaton 1880-1965, daughter of Frank Slaton, remained in Jefferson County, Tennessee and married B. Claud McSpadden.
  • Sarah Frances (Sallie) Slaton 1874-1948, daughter of Frank Slaton, moved to Kansas and married Wiley Porter Ingle Sr.
  • Rebecca Slaton 1870-1902, daughter of Frank Slaton, married Joseph Haskel (Haskel) Free and died young in Jefferson County, Tennessee.  After Rebecca died, Haskel Free moved to California, leaving the children behind.  The children were raised by Rebecca's parents Frank Slaton and Mary Anne Moore.
  • Walker Perry (Walk) Slaton 1882-1949, son of Frank Slaton, moved to Oklahoma, then to Kansas.  My great grandfather William Harley (Harley) Bryan died in 1915 when my grandfather Emmert Oral Bryan was 17 years old.  Emmert became the "man of the house".  After Harley died, Emmert spent several summers working on Walk Slaton's farm in Oklahoma.  Emmert sent home the money he earned in order to support his mother and his sisters back in Tennessee.  Walk Slaton was the first cousin of Emmert's mother Nancy Virginia (Nannie) Harrison.
  • Amanda Melzina (Mandy) Slaton 1872-1950, daughter of Frank Slaton, remained in Jeferson County, Tennessee, married Silas Amberson Bryan.  Uncle Silas was Harley's brother, so Aunt Mandy and Uncle Silas were both related to Emmert.
  • Joseph Porter (Port) Slaton 1884-1954, son of Frank Slaton, remained in Jefferson County, Tennessee, married Minnie Ann Cox.  Aunt Minnie was the sister of Emmert's wife (and my grandmother) Ruby Priscilla Cox.  So Emmert was related to Uncle Port, Ruby was related to Aunt Minnie, and the descendants of Emmert and Ruby are related both to Uncle Port and to Aunt Minnie.
• Front Row
  • Mary Jane Slaton 1886-1975, daughter of Frank Slaton, remained in Jefferson County, Tennessee, married John Anderson Franklin Cox.  Uncle John was the brother of Emmert's wife (and my grandmother) Ruby Priscilla Cox.  So Emmert was related to Aunt Mary, Ruby was related to Uncle John, and the descendants of Emmert and Ruby are related both to Aunt Mary and to Uncle John.
  • Frances Marion (Frank) Slaton 1843-1919, son of my third great grandparents Thomas Fielden Slaton and Rebecca Frances George.  Frank's mother died in 1892 about five years before this picture was taken, and hence was not pictured.  Frank died in 1919.  When he died, Uncle John Cox bought the house from Frank's children.  I have visited the house.  Uncle John's daughter Hazel Cox lived in the house until her death in 2004. 
  • Roscoe Moore Slaton 1891-1917, out-of-wedlock son of Amanda Melzina (Mandy) Slaton and Mr. Fairchild.  Roscoe was raised by his mother and by his stepfather Silas Bryan.  The story that has been passed down is that Aunt Mandy wanted to marry Mr. Fairchild, and her mother wouldn't let her.  So Mandy got pregnant on purpose to force her mother to let her get married.  But her mother still wouldn't give in.  Little is known about Mr. Fairchild.  Roscoe is said to have possessed considerable engineering expertise, and he is said to have inherited his ability from his father.  Roscoe died in Florida while serving in the army.  He never married.
  • Mary Anne Moore 1852-1922, daughter of John Chaney Moore and Amanda Melzina Miller, wife of Frank Slaton.
  • Ann Laura (Laura) Slaton 1892-1913, daughter of Frank Slaton, remained in Jefferson County, Tennessee, died at age 21, never married.
  • My third great grandfather Thomas Fielden Slaton 1818-1899, son of William Slaydon and Susannah Flippin.  Thomas and his wife Rebecca Frances George were the first Slatons to move to Jefferson County, Tennessee.  They were married in 1840 in North Carolina and moved to Tennessee about 1848.  Thomas's parents and several of his brothers and sisters moved to Tennessee between 1850 and 1860.
  • Joseph Haskel (Haskel) Free born 1870, son of William H. Free and Sarah J., wife of Rebecca Slaton, father of the infant who had died.  Rebecca died in 1902, the children were raised by Rebecca's parents, and Haskel moved to California.
  • Eva Jane Free 1896-1988, daughter of Haskel and Rebecca, remained in Tennessee, married Horace M. Jones.
  • Silas Amberson Bryan 1874-1948, son of my second great grandparents William Allen (Will) Bryan and Malissa E. Underwood, husband of Mandy Slaton.
  • William Carlos (Carlos) Bryan 1896-1967, son of Uncle Silas and Aunt Mandy.