June 29, 1879 he was married to Arminta Susan Boston at the home of his uncle & aunt, Rufus & Polly (Hickman) Nelson, in Miller Co., MO . Their children were Clarence, Florence, Rufus, Minor, Winifred & Lucy, and 1 (perhaps 2) unnamed babies.
According to family correspondence & recollections:
"John was a fiddler who played at square dances. He & Fred Eyman used to play the fiddle together almost every night they could."
John moved several times in childhood & as an adult - IN, IL, MO, OK, KS. He was a farmer but apparently never got it going, since he kept moving. Alcoholism would have contributed to this.
The family was poverty-stricken. The oldest son Clarence left home at age 15 because there was nothing to eat, & he knew he could work for food & did not want to take whatever there was away from the younger children. Several of the Hickman children suffered from malnutrion and tuberculosis.
When John & family moved to OK, he staked a claim about 4 miles south of Gate, OK. It was never proved up.
His wife Susan died there in 1907 of tuberculosis. Three children preceded her, all dying of TB. Also, either 1 or 2 unnamed babies had died.
After his wife's death John moved to Alva, OK, where the next year he married the widow Hattie Simpson Crane. They had 2 children - Charles, & John Wesley who died as a baby.
"When he was a very old man, John still would play the fiddle at the square dances in Hutchinson KS, and during the day, he would go around and collect bottles, usually with a 'full' bottle to nip at. Of course, this was right after the Depression, so maybe there was no work around."
June 29, 1879 he was married to Arminta Susan Boston at the home of his uncle & aunt, Rufus & Polly (Hickman) Nelson, in Miller Co., MO . Their children were Clarence, Florence, Rufus, Minor, Winifred & Lucy, and 1 (perhaps 2) unnamed babies.
According to family correspondence & recollections:
"John was a fiddler who played at square dances. He & Fred Eyman used to play the fiddle together almost every night they could."
John moved several times in childhood & as an adult - IN, IL, MO, OK, KS. He was a farmer but apparently never got it going, since he kept moving. Alcoholism would have contributed to this.
The family was poverty-stricken. The oldest son Clarence left home at age 15 because there was nothing to eat, & he knew he could work for food & did not want to take whatever there was away from the younger children. Several of the Hickman children suffered from malnutrion and tuberculosis.
When John & family moved to OK, he staked a claim about 4 miles south of Gate, OK. It was never proved up.
His wife Susan died there in 1907 of tuberculosis. Three children preceded her, all dying of TB. Also, either 1 or 2 unnamed babies had died.
After his wife's death John moved to Alva, OK, where the next year he married the widow Hattie Simpson Crane. They had 2 children - Charles, & John Wesley who died as a baby.
"When he was a very old man, John still would play the fiddle at the square dances in Hutchinson KS, and during the day, he would go around and collect bottles, usually with a 'full' bottle to nip at. Of course, this was right after the Depression, so maybe there was no work around."
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