'From his daughter's recollections: "my father's home life was sad. His mother died to leave several young children in the family. I think my father was in his early teens. They lived with their father and aunts and uncles.
John met his wife Mittie while working for her father on his land in Gonzales County TX. "John worked for Mr. Meneley on his farm, as his health was failing. All of the family had to work hard on the farm because there were a lot of mouths to feed"
After his marriage to Mittie, they moved to Bonham, TX and went into partnership with John's brother Russell (Russ) in a bakery. "My parents worked hard to get a start...My dad liked this business and my mother helped some. (Children) Roth and Ola were born in Gonzales TX before they moved to Bonham; so my mother was busy in the home with the family most of the time."
"My mother was sick with chills and fever for some time (it is what we call sinus infection nowadays.) The doctors advised my father to move to a high and dry climate so she could get well."
John Franklin May left Bonham, TX and moved to a homestead near Vaughn, NM about 1909. The homestead was about 360 acres. "My uncle Russ bought my Dad's half of the bakery. He paid them a certain amount each month. This helped them to get started on the homestead. My dad got work on the railroad in Vaughn." In 19 18 he was working for the AT&SF railroad. "That was the time in which they were building that part of the railroad in that area."
"When they first moved to the homestead they built what we would call a split level house. Under the ground or basement was the bedroom (this room later became a storage tank for water; as it was made out of rock and concrete.) On the top of the ground was the kitchen and the living combined. It was built this way in order to stay warm in the winter. Later on, they built onto the house, bedrooms along the side of the kitchen/living room."
"They had to use snow sleds part of the time to get supplies from Vaughn, nine miles to the south during the winter. Their homestead was three miles from a mesa or small mountain and the hill where they built the house was in a three-fourth circle above the house. This gave them good protection and a service tank of water on the west side. South and east of the house and hill were cropland, gardens, etc. On top of the hill to the west were grassland and a waterfall to fill the tank when it rained."
"They had a cistern for drinking water which came from the eve of the house after they built the big rock room that was the kitchen/living room. The land around there was mostly grasslands or fields. My family raised mostly sheep with a few cows and horses. We had to have barns for them because the weather was so severe. I can remember three times when I was growing up that we had three feet of snow on the ground."
"We all had lots of work on the farm but it was always very interesting with all the animals around. I was a big Tom Boy. I could chunk rocks, chase rabbits, milk cows, take care of the chickens, and do other chores that had to be done on the farm. I loved the sheep and calves. I can remember that one day a week my mother and dad would bake bread. They would always make thirteen loaves ( a baker's dozen). My folks always had a cellar full of food that my mother and sisters had canned; as well as fresh food like potatoes, onions, etc. that they stored there too."
John, Mittie, and son Sanford moved to Clovis, NM in 1941 to retire. "He sold the homestead to a rancher. He bought a block of city property in south-east Clovis. They bought a gentle team, horse and jenny mule, cow and a saddle horse. My father drove them in Clovis plowing gardens, yards, etc. until 1950. He sold the block and bought a house on 920 Hull Street on the west side of town. They lived there until they passed away." Source: notes from his daughter.
John was the son of Samuel Watson May and Emily Virginia Gotcher. He married Mittie Ursula Menely on 23 December 1896 in Gonzales County, Texas. They had nine children: Ruth Elizabeth, Viola Fredonia, Samuel Watson, Jonnie Carl, Albert Joseph, Russell Calvin, Horace Densmore, Eva, and Sanford Gladney May.
"My" final resting place will be in Old Mission Mausoleum, Wichita, Kansas, if you would like to take a visual tour just click on this link: Eternity and Me!
John met his wife Mittie while working for her father on his land in Gonzales County TX. "John worked for Mr. Meneley on his farm, as his health was failing. All of the family had to work hard on the farm because there were a lot of mouths to feed"
After his marriage to Mittie, they moved to Bonham, TX and went into partnership with John's brother Russell (Russ) in a bakery. "My parents worked hard to get a start...My dad liked this business and my mother helped some. (Children) Roth and Ola were born in Gonzales TX before they moved to Bonham; so my mother was busy in the home with the family most of the time."
"My mother was sick with chills and fever for some time (it is what we call sinus infection nowadays.) The doctors advised my father to move to a high and dry climate so she could get well."
John Franklin May left Bonham, TX and moved to a homestead near Vaughn, NM about 1909. The homestead was about 360 acres. "My uncle Russ bought my Dad's half of the bakery. He paid them a certain amount each month. This helped them to get started on the homestead. My dad got work on the railroad in Vaughn." In 19 18 he was working for the AT&SF railroad. "That was the time in which they were building that part of the railroad in that area."
"When they first moved to the homestead they built what we would call a split level house. Under the ground or basement was the bedroom (this room later became a storage tank for water; as it was made out of rock and concrete.) On the top of the ground was the kitchen and the living combined. It was built this way in order to stay warm in the winter. Later on, they built onto the house, bedrooms along the side of the kitchen/living room."
"They had to use snow sleds part of the time to get supplies from Vaughn, nine miles to the south during the winter. Their homestead was three miles from a mesa or small mountain and the hill where they built the house was in a three-fourth circle above the house. This gave them good protection and a service tank of water on the west side. South and east of the house and hill were cropland, gardens, etc. On top of the hill to the west were grassland and a waterfall to fill the tank when it rained."
"They had a cistern for drinking water which came from the eve of the house after they built the big rock room that was the kitchen/living room. The land around there was mostly grasslands or fields. My family raised mostly sheep with a few cows and horses. We had to have barns for them because the weather was so severe. I can remember three times when I was growing up that we had three feet of snow on the ground."
"We all had lots of work on the farm but it was always very interesting with all the animals around. I was a big Tom Boy. I could chunk rocks, chase rabbits, milk cows, take care of the chickens, and do other chores that had to be done on the farm. I loved the sheep and calves. I can remember that one day a week my mother and dad would bake bread. They would always make thirteen loaves ( a baker's dozen). My folks always had a cellar full of food that my mother and sisters had canned; as well as fresh food like potatoes, onions, etc. that they stored there too."
John, Mittie, and son Sanford moved to Clovis, NM in 1941 to retire. "He sold the homestead to a rancher. He bought a block of city property in south-east Clovis. They bought a gentle team, horse and jenny mule, cow and a saddle horse. My father drove them in Clovis plowing gardens, yards, etc. until 1950. He sold the block and bought a house on 920 Hull Street on the west side of town. They lived there until they passed away." Source: notes from his daughter.
John was the son of Samuel Watson May and Emily Virginia Gotcher. He married Mittie Ursula Menely on 23 December 1896 in Gonzales County, Texas. They had nine children: Ruth Elizabeth, Viola Fredonia, Samuel Watson, Jonnie Carl, Albert Joseph, Russell Calvin, Horace Densmore, Eva, and Sanford Gladney May.
"My" final resting place will be in Old Mission Mausoleum, Wichita, Kansas, if you would like to take a visual tour just click on this link: Eternity and Me!
'From his daughter's recollections: "my father's home life was sad. His mother died to leave several young children in the family. I think my father was in his early teens. They lived with their father and aunts and uncles.
John met his wife Mittie while working for her father on his land in Gonzales County TX. "John worked for Mr. Meneley on his farm, as his health was failing. All of the family had to work hard on the farm because there were a lot of mouths to feed"
After his marriage to Mittie, they moved to Bonham, TX and went into partnership with John's brother Russell (Russ) in a bakery. "My parents worked hard to get a start...My dad liked this business and my mother helped some. (Children) Roth and Ola were born in Gonzales TX before they moved to Bonham; so my mother was busy in the home with the family most of the time."
"My mother was sick with chills and fever for some time (it is what we call sinus infection nowadays.) The doctors advised my father to move to a high and dry climate so she could get well."
John Franklin May left Bonham, TX and moved to a homestead near Vaughn, NM about 1909. The homestead was about 360 acres. "My uncle Russ bought my Dad's half of the bakery. He paid them a certain amount each month. This helped them to get started on the homestead. My dad got work on the railroad in Vaughn." In 19 18 he was working for the AT&SF railroad. "That was the time in which they were building that part of the railroad in that area."
"When they first moved to the homestead they built what we would call a split level house. Under the ground or basement was the bedroom (this room later became a storage tank for water; as it was made out of rock and concrete.) On the top of the ground was the kitchen and the living combined. It was built this way in order to stay warm in the winter. Later on, they built onto the house, bedrooms along the side of the kitchen/living room."
"They had to use snow sleds part of the time to get supplies from Vaughn, nine miles to the south during the winter. Their homestead was three miles from a mesa or small mountain and the hill where they built the house was in a three-fourth circle above the house. This gave them good protection and a service tank of water on the west side. South and east of the house and hill were cropland, gardens, etc. On top of the hill to the west were grassland and a waterfall to fill the tank when it rained."
"They had a cistern for drinking water which came from the eve of the house after they built the big rock room that was the kitchen/living room. The land around there was mostly grasslands or fields. My family raised mostly sheep with a few cows and horses. We had to have barns for them because the weather was so severe. I can remember three times when I was growing up that we had three feet of snow on the ground."
"We all had lots of work on the farm but it was always very interesting with all the animals around. I was a big Tom Boy. I could chunk rocks, chase rabbits, milk cows, take care of the chickens, and do other chores that had to be done on the farm. I loved the sheep and calves. I can remember that one day a week my mother and dad would bake bread. They would always make thirteen loaves ( a baker's dozen). My folks always had a cellar full of food that my mother and sisters had canned; as well as fresh food like potatoes, onions, etc. that they stored there too."
John, Mittie, and son Sanford moved to Clovis, NM in 1941 to retire. "He sold the homestead to a rancher. He bought a block of city property in south-east Clovis. They bought a gentle team, horse and jenny mule, cow and a saddle horse. My father drove them in Clovis plowing gardens, yards, etc. until 1950. He sold the block and bought a house on 920 Hull Street on the west side of town. They lived there until they passed away." Source: notes from his daughter.
John was the son of Samuel Watson May and Emily Virginia Gotcher. He married Mittie Ursula Menely on 23 December 1896 in Gonzales County, Texas. They had nine children: Ruth Elizabeth, Viola Fredonia, Samuel Watson, Jonnie Carl, Albert Joseph, Russell Calvin, Horace Densmore, Eva, and Sanford Gladney May.
"My" final resting place will be in Old Mission Mausoleum, Wichita, Kansas, if you would like to take a visual tour just click on this link: Eternity and Me!
John met his wife Mittie while working for her father on his land in Gonzales County TX. "John worked for Mr. Meneley on his farm, as his health was failing. All of the family had to work hard on the farm because there were a lot of mouths to feed"
After his marriage to Mittie, they moved to Bonham, TX and went into partnership with John's brother Russell (Russ) in a bakery. "My parents worked hard to get a start...My dad liked this business and my mother helped some. (Children) Roth and Ola were born in Gonzales TX before they moved to Bonham; so my mother was busy in the home with the family most of the time."
"My mother was sick with chills and fever for some time (it is what we call sinus infection nowadays.) The doctors advised my father to move to a high and dry climate so she could get well."
John Franklin May left Bonham, TX and moved to a homestead near Vaughn, NM about 1909. The homestead was about 360 acres. "My uncle Russ bought my Dad's half of the bakery. He paid them a certain amount each month. This helped them to get started on the homestead. My dad got work on the railroad in Vaughn." In 19 18 he was working for the AT&SF railroad. "That was the time in which they were building that part of the railroad in that area."
"When they first moved to the homestead they built what we would call a split level house. Under the ground or basement was the bedroom (this room later became a storage tank for water; as it was made out of rock and concrete.) On the top of the ground was the kitchen and the living combined. It was built this way in order to stay warm in the winter. Later on, they built onto the house, bedrooms along the side of the kitchen/living room."
"They had to use snow sleds part of the time to get supplies from Vaughn, nine miles to the south during the winter. Their homestead was three miles from a mesa or small mountain and the hill where they built the house was in a three-fourth circle above the house. This gave them good protection and a service tank of water on the west side. South and east of the house and hill were cropland, gardens, etc. On top of the hill to the west were grassland and a waterfall to fill the tank when it rained."
"They had a cistern for drinking water which came from the eve of the house after they built the big rock room that was the kitchen/living room. The land around there was mostly grasslands or fields. My family raised mostly sheep with a few cows and horses. We had to have barns for them because the weather was so severe. I can remember three times when I was growing up that we had three feet of snow on the ground."
"We all had lots of work on the farm but it was always very interesting with all the animals around. I was a big Tom Boy. I could chunk rocks, chase rabbits, milk cows, take care of the chickens, and do other chores that had to be done on the farm. I loved the sheep and calves. I can remember that one day a week my mother and dad would bake bread. They would always make thirteen loaves ( a baker's dozen). My folks always had a cellar full of food that my mother and sisters had canned; as well as fresh food like potatoes, onions, etc. that they stored there too."
John, Mittie, and son Sanford moved to Clovis, NM in 1941 to retire. "He sold the homestead to a rancher. He bought a block of city property in south-east Clovis. They bought a gentle team, horse and jenny mule, cow and a saddle horse. My father drove them in Clovis plowing gardens, yards, etc. until 1950. He sold the block and bought a house on 920 Hull Street on the west side of town. They lived there until they passed away." Source: notes from his daughter.
John was the son of Samuel Watson May and Emily Virginia Gotcher. He married Mittie Ursula Menely on 23 December 1896 in Gonzales County, Texas. They had nine children: Ruth Elizabeth, Viola Fredonia, Samuel Watson, Jonnie Carl, Albert Joseph, Russell Calvin, Horace Densmore, Eva, and Sanford Gladney May.
"My" final resting place will be in Old Mission Mausoleum, Wichita, Kansas, if you would like to take a visual tour just click on this link: Eternity and Me!
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