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Calidonia Myrtle Lee Ford

555-78-8843

 

By tradition, her first name was Calidonia, but all documents show her as Callie.  She was the 3rd of 10 children and first daughter born to John Thomas and Julia Partain. She was born December 16, 1893 in Settlement, Arkansas and died April 22, 1978 in Merced, California at the age of 85.

 

Callie was 7 years old when the family moved from Settlement to Spiro, Oklahoma.  She married Ed Ford while still living in Spiro.  Ed was a farmer all his life. Their first 5 children were born in Spiro.  From Spiro, they set up housekeeping very near the Mountain View School on Bokoshe Mountain that was located between Lon McCullar and Charlie Partain’s farms (just across the road from where Cotton and Opal Tanksley built their home in the late 1900’s.)

 

Callie and Ed Ford had the following children:

 

Born in Spiro:

  1. Leelen (also seen as Leland) - Born September 1, 1913 Married Bessie
  2. Vernon - Born October 8, 1915
  3. Olen - Born March 15, 1918
  4. Ola Fern - Born January 30, 1920 Married Virgil Venable then Alvin Speers
  5. Warren - Born August 18, 1922 Married

Born on Bokoshe Mountain

  1. Alvin - Born November 30, 1926 Married

Born in the town of Bokoshe

  1. Lucille - Born February 26, 1929 Married James William Edwards

 

Ed Ford was a sharecropper all his working life.  As such, he found it necessary to move the family frequently.

In 1928 the family moved down into Bokoshe, Oklahoma near the #8 Coal Mine.

 

In 1929 they moved to Yukon, Oklahoma, close to Oklahoma City.

 

In 1931 they moved to Stigler, Oklahoma and lived in town for a short time.

 

In 1933 they moved to Whitefield, Oklahoma, about 7 miles west of Stigler.

 

In 1934 they moved to the community of Cass, 4 miles NW of Tomaha, and 10 miles NE of Stigler.

 

In 1935 they moved to the community of Eureka, 3 miles East and 2 miles South of Stigler near the community of Crossroads.

 

In 1936 they moved to the community of Crossroads, 3 miles east of Stigler on Highway 9.  Their house was directly across the highway North of the Freewill Baptist Church.

 

In 1937 they moved 1 mile East of the Rucker schoolhouse. The Rucker schoolhouse was 3 miles North and ½ mile East of Crossroads.

 

In 1938 they moved 3 ½ miles North of Crossroads on Tomaha Road, just past Arthur and Lola Partain’s home, still in the Rucker school district.

 

In 1939 they moved ½ mile North of Highway 9 in the community of Antioch, 2 ½ miles East of Stigler.

 

In 1941 Ed retired and they moved into the town of Stigler where they stayed until 1956 when they moved to Fontana, California.  One of the sons flew out with Ed who was in an advanced state of dementia and another son drove out with Callie. 

 

Ed spent most of his time in California in nursing facilities and ended up in Patton State Mental Hospital where he died.

 

Callie stayed with Ola Fern and different ones of her children until she married Ed’s brother, Henry Ford, and moved to Merced, California.  She spent her last days in a nursing facility in Santa Clara, CA.

 

Callie and Ed are both buried in Green Acres Cemetery in Bloomington, California.

 

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