Cleon N. Mason

Notes:

Obituary, from FindAGrave:

Cleon N. Mason, 90, Topeka, died Tuesday, April 8, 2003, at a Topeka hospice house. Mr. Mason was a clerk for Santa Fe Railway for more than 27 years and he had operated Mason Greenhouse since 1974. He served in the Army Air Corps 8th Air Force in England during World War II.

He was born Dec. 10, 1912, in Milam, Texas, to Napoleon and Era Nethery Mason. He had lived in Topeka since 1941. Mr. Mason was a member of Disabled American Veterans, Capitol Post No. 1 of the American Legion, and he was a charter member of Bethel Baptist Church. He married Mary E. Lesser on Nov. 4, 1942, in Topeka. She died on Feb. 4, 1999. Survivors include two sons, a brother, a sister, six grandchildren; one great-grandson; and one stepgreat-grandson. Services will be at 11 a.m. Friday at Davidson Funeral Home. Burial will be in Rochester Cemetery.

Notes:

When he registered for the draft during the First World War, he was working as a farmer in Milam, Texas, and supporting his wife and three children. He was described as being of medium heighth and slender, with blue eyes and red hair. He also reported that he had kidney, bladder and stomach problems that might impair his ability to serve in the armed services.

Name Napoleon B Mason
Event Type Death
Event Date 03 Apr 1959
Event Place Hemphill, Sabine, Texas, United States
Gender Male
Marital Status Married
Birth Date 25 Nov 1892
Birthplace , Texas
Father's Name Napoleon B Mason
Mother's Name:
Certificate Number 23117
GS Film number 2115910
Digital Folder Number 005145463
Image Number 02998

Citing this Record:
"Texas, Deaths, 1890-1976," index and images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/K34Z-HSF : accessed 23 Nov 2013), Napoleon B Mason, 03 Apr 1959; citing certificate number 23117, State Registrar Office, Austin; FHL microfilm 2115910.

(Research):

Census Listings:

1920 Census
Texas, Sabine County, JP 4
Enumerated 17 and 19 Jan 1920, By Napolean B. Mason
SD 326 ED 171 Sheet 11B
Milam Road
119-121
Mason, Napolean B Head M W 27 M Tx Tx Tx
Mason, Dra A Wf F W 26 M Tx Tx Tx
Mason, Cleon N Son M W 7 S Tx Tx Tx
Mason, Charles C Son M W 5 S Tx Tx Tx
Mason, Dollye L Dtr F W 2 11/12 S Tx Tx Tx
Mason, Thelma O Dtr F W 1 1/12 S Tx Tx Tx

1930 Census
Texas, Sabine County, JP 4
Enumerated April 19, 1930
ED 202-6 SD 19 Sheet 6B
124-139
Mason, Napolean B Head M W 37 M 20 Tx Tx Tx Farmer
Mason, Era A Wf F W 36 M 19 Tx Tx Tx
Mason, Cleon Son M W 17 S Tx Tx Tx Farm Laborer
Mason, Conrad Son M W 15 S Tx Tx Tx Farm Laborer
Mason, Louise Dtr F W 13 S Tx Tx Tx
Mason, Thelma Dtr F W 11 S Tx Tx Tx
Mason, Roy Son M W 3 S Tx Tx Tx
Dennis, Knox Laborer M Neg 22 S Tx Tx Tx Farm Laborer

Napoleon married Era Amanda Nethery before 1913. Era (daughter of Charles Alexander Nethery, Sr. and Amanda Fitzellen Speights) was born on 22 Jun 1893 in Milam, Sabine County, Texas; died on 26 Oct 1974 in Hemphill, Sabine County, Texas; was buried in Milam Cemetery, Milam, Sabine County, Texas. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

Name Era Mason
Event Type Death
Event Date 26 Oct 1974
Event Place Hemphill, Sabine, Texas, United States
Gender Female
Marital Status Widowed
Birth Date 22 Jun 1893
Birthplace , Texas
Father's Name C A Nethery
Mother's Name Amanda Speights
Certificate Number 77676
GS Film number 2243402
Digital Folder Number 005145708
Image Number 02427

Citing this Record:
"Texas, Deaths, 1890-1976," index and images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/K38Q-CRZ : accessed 23 Nov 2013), Era Mason, 26 Oct 1974; citing certificate number 77676, State Registrar Office, Austin; FHL microfilm 2243402.

Notes:

"He was the son of William and Judith Mason. Was a member of Hood's Brigade in the Civil War and was Sheriff of Sabine County for several years." (White and Toole, p 36). His application for a confederate pension shows that he "was made a prisoner at Chr. Dec 3, 1863, discharged 1865." He further stated that he was born in Sabine County, and had been a resident for all of his life, "except for the war." He showed his P.O. as in Milam, and indicated he was a farmer. He served from 1861-1865 in Company I, 1rst Texas Regiment, Infantry as a private. He made his application on July 9, 1909 before County Judge J. H. McGown and witnesses W R Davidson and T B Davidson. They both testified that they served in the same company.

Billy Fussell and Bobby Wood, great-grandsons write that "N. B. and his brother Marquis De Lafayette Mason both served in Hood's Brigade, enlisting on April 1, 1862, in San Augustine. L.M. (that's the way he is listed in his war records) died from wounds received at the battle of Chickamauga Sept 19-21. N.B. was captured and taken as prisoner of war to Camp Douglas a notorious Prison Camp near Chicago, Illinois. He remained there until the end of the war and was exchanged at New Orleans on May 23,1865. He came home and married his brother's widow, Mary Terry Mason, and together they had 13 children."

(Research):

Census Listings:

1880 Census
Texas, Sabine County, Fifth Precinct
Enumerated 3 and 5 July 1880
Page 26B SD 1 ED 86
225-225
Mason, Napoleon W M 42 Farmer, Sheriff Tx SC SC
Mason, William W M 13 Son Works on Farm Tx Tx Ala
Mason, Mary W F 22 Wf Keeps House Ala Ala Ala
Mason, Lafayette W M 12 Son Works on Farm Tx Tx Ala
Mason, John T. W M 11 Son Works on Farm Tx Tx Ala
Mason, Dora W F 10 Dtr At School Tx Tx Ala
Mason, Sarah W F 7 Dtr Tx Tx Ala
Mason, Pattie W F 5 Dtr Tx Tx Ala
Mason, Tilden W M 4 Son Tx Tx Ala
Mason, Pearl W F 4/12 Feb Dtr Tx Tx Ala
Grice, Elbert B W 25 Servant Works on Farm Tx Tx Tx
Thomas, Henry B M 18 Servant Works on Farm Tx Tx Tx

1900 Census
Texas, Sabine County, JP 7
Enumerated 13 Jun 1900
SD 8 ED 69 Sheet 8B
129-129
Mason, N B Head m M Feb 1839 61 M 35 Tx Sc Ala Farmer
Mason, Mary B Wf W F Jun 1847 52 M 35 13/12 Ga Ga Ark
Mason, James P Son W M Oct 1882 17 S Tx Tx Ga Farm Laborer
Mason, Robt L Son W M May 1888 12 S Tx Tx Ga Farm Laborer
Mason, Mellie Dtr W F Jan 1880 10 S Tx Tx Ga Farm Laborer
Mason, Napolean B Son W M Nov 1893 6 S Tx Tx Ga
Hines, Spence Servant B M may 1836 Wd La La La Farm Laborer

1910 Census
Texas, Sabine County, JP 4
Enumerated 30 Apr 1910
SD 2 ED 134 Sheet 9A
124-128
Mason, Napolean b Head M W 71 m1 44 Tx Sc Ala Farmer
Mason, Mary B Wf F W 63 m2 44 13/12 Ga G a Ga
Mason, Napolean B SOn M W 17 S Tx Tx Ga Farm Laborer

Napolean married Mary Bethany "Susan" Terry about 1865. Mary was born in Jun 1848 in Georgia; died about 1923 in San Augustine County, Texas; was buried in Mason Cemetery, Milam, Sabine County, Texas. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

In her transcription of the Mason Cemetery, Kay Parker McCary writes that she was married first to Marcus DeLafayette Mason, who was killed in the Civil War. He was a brother of her second husband, Napoleon Bonaparte Mason. The 1880 census shows her as born in Alabama, but in 1900 and in 1910 it was shown that she was born in Georgia.

Notes:

The Sabine County Reporter
October 22, 2014
Pages 1 and 2

"Milam Cemetery receives marker"

The Texas Historic Cemetery Dedication Ceremony for Milam Cemetery took place on Saturday, October 11, following the annual Nethery reunion...local historian Weldon McDaniel....gave a presentation outlining some of the significant historical events that took place in Milam and the importance of preserving the history of Milam Cemetery. He said as many as 85 percent of all early settlers coming into Texas put their boots in red dirt. Although San Augustine and Nacogdoches counties have a friendly battle over which is older, Milam is just as old as either of them....

Dorothy Nethery Spain had the honor of reading the script engraved on the marker:

"Milam, the first County Seat of Sabine County, has a history of travelers and visitors stretching back centuries. Native Americans and Spanish exploreres, soldiers and missionaries passed through and often camped on Las Boregas Creek. Texian settlers encountering the natural abundance echoed the words of Stephen F. Austin, who recorded in his diary entry of July 16, 1821: "We then suddenly came to an open rolling country thinly timbered soil about the color of Spanish browne, and in some places redder. This Red Land is very productive and is covered with the most luxuriant growth of grass I ever beheld in any country." The settlment first called Red Mound (Red Mount) was the seat of Government for the Sabine District since 1822, and was surveyed as a town site in 1828.

Milam Cemetery is on a high hill overlooking the historic community. The exact dated of the first burial will never be known Spanish Explorers were passing through present-day Milam as early as 1539 and camped on Las Boregas Creek a few hundred yards west of the cemetery. Local hisorians believed Anglo burials occurred here probably as early as 1775, since travelers used the campsite down the hill on the Las Boregas. The land on which the cemetery is located was granted to JOHN SMITH on Feb. 26, 1835. The first marked burial is dated 1864, although more than 100 unmarked graves are suspected. The numerous military Veterans dating back to the Creek War are interred here, as well as prominent early citizens from the CAUSEY, WEATHERRED. McGREW, and NETHERY families. Milam Cemetery may be the oldest organized cemetery in Sabine County, and cherished chronicle of generations of visitors and residents."

(Research):

Census Listings:

Texas, Sabine County, Milam Pr 4
Enumerated 1 Jun 1900
SD 8 ED 71 Sheet 1A
Stamped 129
5-5
Nethery, Charles Head W M Apr 1860 40 M 15 Tx Tx Tx Merchant & Farmer
Nethery, Amanda Wf W F Oct 1867 32 M 15 7/6 Tx Miss Tx
Nethery, Clyde S Son W M Mch 1886 14 S Tx Tx Tx Farm Laborer
Nethery, Drayton I Son M S Dec 1887 12 S Tx Tx Tx Farm Laborer
Nethery, Carrie A Dtr W F Jany 1891 9 S Tx Tx Tx
Nethery, Eva A Dtr W F Jun 1893 6 S Tx Tx Tx
Nethery, Charles I Son W M Mar 1896 4 S Tx Tx Tx
Nethery, William O Son W M Jan 1899 1 S Tx Tx Tx
Arnold, Frank Boarder W M Sept 1875 24 S Tx Tx

Charles married Amanda Fitzellen Speights on 14 Nov 1884 in Hemphill, Sabine County, Texas. Amanda (daughter of Jonathan "Johnse" M. Hopkins Speights and Rebecca Frances Halbert) was born on 18 Oct 1866 in Milam, Sabine County, Texas; died on 14 Nov 1931 in Milam, Sabine County, Texas; was buried in Milam Cemetery, Milam, Sabine County, Texas. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

Name: Amanda Nethery
Death Date: 14 Nov 1931
Death Place: Milam, Sabine, Texas
Gender: Female
Race: White
Death Age:
Estimated Birth Date:
Birth Date: 19 Oct 1866
Birthplace: Texas
Marital Status: Married
Spouse's Name:
Father's Name: J. Speights
Father's Birthplace: Alabama
Mother's Name: Rebecca Halbert
Mother's Birthplace: Texas
Occupation: Housewife
Place of Residence:
Cemetery:
Burial Place:
Burial Date:
Additional Relatives:
Film Number: 2135733
Digital Film Number: 4166746
Image Number: 2951
Reference Number: RN 53248-20
Collection: Texas Deaths, 1890-1976

Notes:

Married:
The June 13, 2006 issue of the Sabine County Reporter featured the "All Things Historical" column by Bob Bowman titled "Nethery's Store." The oldest continually operated business in Sabine County, Nethery's was begun by C. A. Nethery, who came to Milam from Patroon as a young man. He and is wife, Amanda built a home on Main street and later opened a general store and saloon. The first store was burned during a snowstorm in 1913, but a new store was quickly built. The "new" store is still standing. After his father's death in 1942, C.A. "Buddy" Nethery, Jr. operated the store until his death. His nephew's, Gene and Doule Nethery kept the store open until 2000, selling hardware and providing a place for local dominoe players to meet. It is currently operated by Ellen Melton, Laura Tichnell, and Susan Nethery as an antique store.

Notes:

Dale Rubel shows him as the son of Job Mason and Anna Cole. A Job Mason was living next to James Mason (possible brother of William) at the time of the 1850 Sabine County, Texas census.

http://wc.rootsweb.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/igm.cgi?op=GET&db=susanrubel&id=I8735

Judith Denman instead shows him as a son of David Mason and Isabella Teague, and brother of John and James.

INFO: Came to Texas through Alabama with brothers John & James. Received land grant of one league and one labor and served as Sheriff & Tax Assessor of Sabine County, TX.

MARRIAGE: "Alabama Marriages Early to 1825" by Jordon R. Dodd & Norman L. Moyes. Wife's name listed as Juda instead of Judith.

MILITARY: Bnty Wnt 476 Pat 888 Vol 5 Abst 517 GLO File Travis Bnty 218 & Bount

http://wc.rootsweb.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/igm.cgi?op=GET&db=:2527534&id=I528030667




(Research):

Census Listings:

1860 Census
Texas, Sabine County, Patroon Beat No. 5, Post Office Milam
Enumerated 1 July 1860
Page 26
187-187
Wm. Mason 54 M Farmer 4000 2737 SC
Judy Mason 44 F SC
Lafayette Mason 15 M Tx
Matilda Mason 11 F Tx
Martha Mason 9 F Tx
Harriet Mason 8 F Tx
Mason 4 M Tx
Hepalian Mason 21 M Farmer $--- $250 Tx
Daniel McLane 22 m Blacksmith $--- $100 Tx
188-188
Jane Neal and children
189-189
John and Amanda McGuffin and family
190-190
S H Mason 23 M Farmer 300 325 Tx
Sarah Mason 22 f Miss
Elizabeth Mason 5 F Tx
James Mason 3 Tx
Francis M Mason 1 M Tx
191-191
Thomas T Neal 33 M Farmer 1200 200 La
Elizabeth Neal 30 F Ala
Joseph Neal 9 M Tx
Sam H Neal 7 M Tx
Sarah L Neal 5 F Tx
192-192
James G Mason 21 M Farmer $2000 $620 Tx
James Mason 56 M Farmer 800 100 SC
193-193
Harris and Sarah Vickers

William married Judith Rouitt Blackerby. Judith was born on 6 Jun 1810 in Laurens District, South Carolina; died on 3 Dec 1888 in Sabine County, Texas. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

Married:
Dale Rubel shows they had several additional children, as do some other researchers.

Notes:

Sharon Speights Varney quotes Virgie Collier Speights as writing "John was a small child when the family moved to the Mississippi Delta along with his brothers and sisters. John married Emily Scott. To this union were born Tom, John "Doc" and Dora. His wife died and her amrried a Miss (Rebecca) Holbert. To this union were born Mandie in 1866, an infant that died, and Robert Joel on September 11, 1870. The second wife died and he married Lizzie Davis. To this union were born Exa in 187, Mattie, Minnie, and an infant that died. Johns third wife died and he lived a widower approximately 35 years. John hired a man to take his palce in the confederate army, however after one year he was assigned to making salt. John joined the Campbellite Church during his old age. He died in 1912 and was buried in Lowe Cemetery in Sabine County, Texas."

Jonathan married Rebecca Frances Halbert on 29 Aug 1865 in Sabine County, Texas. Rebecca (daughter of Joel Halbert and Tabitha Elizabeth Cox) was born on 27 Jul 1846; died on 16 Sep 1870 in Sabine County, Texas; was buried in Speights Cemetery, Sabine County, Texas. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

Sometimes shown as Rebecca Washburn Halbert.

Notes:

Married:
"They had one son and two daughters." (White and Toole)