Oklahoma Family History Visited

As I have written about before, I've been researching and researching my family history. In the last few months I have focused on my Mother's Mother's family. I wrote about them in the Family Love post. I spoke to a wonderful lady at the Prague, Oklahoma museum, Diana Kinzey. She helped me find articles and more facts on my Phillips family. They were my Grandmother's, Delores Dee Delly-Walbert's Grandparents.

I felt since we were headed to Missouri, I had to try and tie into the trip a stop in Prague to pay respect and see where my Grandmother grew up, and where the rest of her family is in their final resting place.

My Great Grandfather Paul Delly's home. Redone over the years, and doesn't have the same charm in my opinion. (It doesn't look anything like the original, but according to the town historian, this is it.) If nothing else, it's the same property.

 

Then we traveled to the Prague Cemetery, again with the guidance of the town historian Diana Kinzey who even emailed me a map of the cemetery and marked my family members grave sites.

This may be creepy for some of you, but to me, it is finally a chance for me to see where they lie in peace and pay our respects. As I always say, you have to know your past to be able to grow and move forward.

I'm thankful for my family heritage and grateful to live close enough to pay respects.

Paul on the right playing golf. He is said to have won two State Championships in a row.

His wife Jessie Mae Phillips Delly. She remarried after Paul's early death, to Reeves Thurman, but is buried by Paul Delly.

Jesse Mae Phillips-Delly and her Mother Cora Lee Taylor-Phillips

William G. Phillips Cora's husband and Jessie's father.

 

I did find it interesting that William died on what would later be his Great-Great-Great Grandson Landen's Birthday. Landen thought it was special too.

William remarried after Cora's death to Mary Lou Phillips. She is buried right next to Cora and William.

Hopefully, they know we were there. I hope they know I love them even though we have never met.

I also hope my Grandma knows I am proud of her family, loved her stories of her beautiful Mother's voice and piano playing, her handsome father and his talent for golf, and how he white washed the trees. I wish I knew stories of Cora and William. Luckily some articles Ms. Kinzey sent helped paint a picture of the close and lovely family I had.

"I love you Grandma! I'll always be your Jennifer Dee, & your brown eyed angel. Thank you for being such a wonderful Grandmother. I'm so glad I got to see your darling home of Prague, Oklahoma and pay respects to your parents and grandparents. I hope you know I'll keep sharing your stories and hopefully the boys will do the same and so on. Your love of Oklahoma and family will never die.

Love,

Jennifer Dee"

So as we walked away and left Prague behind, I gained a love and pride of Oklahoma! I kept hearing my Grandma sing Boomer Sooner in my head and do her little victory dance for her home team. "I'm a Sooner born and Sooner bred, and when I die I'm a Sooner dead, ..."

Thank you Diana Kinzey for keep Prague's history alive and helping those looking for their own Prague history find it! It's people like you that keep people remembering where it all began. Thank you for that!

I hope even if you think you know your family history, that you dig a little deeper. You never know what you'll find. I found out so much more than birth & death dates. I found a suffragette, a free mason & Spanish American War vet. I found a story of a state trooper going out of his way to find my Great Grandmother on the way to Colorado, to let her know her Father had just passed in Oklahoma. So much more than a birth and death date.

They lived!

Happy Family Story Hunting...they are after-all, why we are here!

 

 

 

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