Eula Frances McNair Obituary

 Explains when the family arrived in the area.

Abilene Reporter News 14-A Wed Feb 17, 1954

History Sheet Mack McNair

Mack Manilus McNair was born on 10 April 1847 in Tennessee, probably Bradley County. He was the fourteenth child of John (Jack) McNair and Mary Ann “Polly” Sherertz.  John always wanted to serve in the military, which became his focus. When he finally married at age 37, John was 18 years older than Mary Ann. This family is found in subdivision 26, Bradley, Tennessee in the 1850 census. Mack was the baby of the family.  In 1850, there were 5 brothers and 4 sisters still living with their parents.  Three children had already left home.

In 1851, John and Mary Ann moved the family. Some say this was to Union County, Illinois, but I later found Mack in Illinois County, Arkansas. So, I am unsure where exactly that John died on 28 July 1852. 

[The "Knoxville Intelligencer" of 23 Jul 1822 says, "Married on Friday the 12th inst., by Robert Houston, Esq., Col. John McNair and Miss Polly Sheritze." After marriage John and Mary Ann moved from Knox County to the Cherokee Nation (now Bradley Co.). In 1851 they moved to Union County, IL (South end of the state).]

However, I found my Mack McNair in the 1860 census as a 13-year-old son, living with his mother, Mary Ann, age 57, and 3 other siblings. They were living in the Tomahawk section in Searcy County, Arkansas. In 1870, Mack moved to the south of his family home and was working for a wealthy young man, William G Hall. Included in the household was a young child, another laborer (a black man) and a domestic servant (a black female). This appears to be a wealthy district. Mack’s mother, Mary Ann and daughter Hannah Irena, were still living in Tomahawk, Searcy Co., AR, just a few doors down from her son James Claiborn McNair.  In 1880, Mary Ann and her blind daughter, Irena, were still living in Saint Joe, Searcy County, Arkansas.

Mack married Sarah Henderson on 1 Oct 1873, and by 1880, they had also settled in Saint Joe. He was a laborer and had been unemployed for 3 months. His brother James and wife Harriet (Manes) lived next door. James was farming so Mack may have been working for James. My Charles Franklin was 3 years old. Mother Mary Ann and daughter Irena are living only a short distance away. Next door to them is a family of Hendersons. Eventually, brother James and his wife Harriet moved to Pleasant Hill, Missouri, and mother Mary Ann went with them where she passed away on 9 May 1894.

[After John’s death, Mack’s mother, Mary Ann, moved to Pleasant Hill, Missouri, to live with son James Claiborn McNair. This information was recorded in Reminiscent History Of The Ozark Region Published 1894 by Goodspeed Publishers  found on http://www.accessgenealogy.com/arkansas/reminiscent-history-of-the-ozark-region.htm ]

Mack and Sarah eventually owned a 165-acre farm Searcy Co, Arkansas, at the side of Boston Mountain, part of the Ozark mountain range. He cultivated 70 acres of this farm. Mack and Sarah had 12 children.

Sometime between 1895 and 1898, Mack and Sarah moved to Eddy, McLennan Co, Texas (near Waco) where their last child, Eula Franes was born. In 1900, they were living in Blevins, Falls Co., Texas. They now had a large family, including my great grandfather, Charles Franklin McNair, age 22.

They eventually moved to Jones County, Texas, where they lived in the country near Bunker Hill School about 3 miles from Leuders. Mack received his mail at Avoca, Rt. 3. He owned a 160-acre farm which offered poor living conditions. Years later around 1960, this family farm and mineral rights were sold and now Jones County yields many oil fields.  

Mack had a colorful personality. He was bald headed and had a beard. He often claimed that he walked on his head to keep the devil from tracking him and that was the reason why he was bald. He enjoyed visits from the grandchildren so much that if he awoke before the children, he would drip cold water on their faces.

Mack and Sarah lived in the Lueders community for the rest of their lives and were buried in Bethel Cemetery near Avoca, Texas. Mack died 15 May 1933.  Mother and I visited their gravesite in 1995. Their daughter Lee Ollie was buried next to them.

 

 

 

Mack McNair Family Group Sheet

Family Group Sheet for Mack Manilus McNair

 

Mack Manilus McNair

                b. 10 Apr 1847 in probably Bradley County, Tennessee

                d. 15 May 1933 in Lueders, Jones, Texas

                Burial: 16 May 1933 in Funston, Jones County, Texas.

Mack and Sarah are buried in Bethel Cemetery. Mother and I visited there in 1995. Lee Ollie was buried with them.

 

Father: John (Jack) McNair

Mother: Mary Ann Polly Sherertz

 

Spouse: Sarah Merinda Henderson

Marriage: 1 Oct 1873

 

Sarah Henderson

                b. 10 Jun 1853 in McMinnville, Warren County, Tennessee

                d. 6 Sep 1922 in Nugent, Jones County, Texas

                Burial: Funston, Jones County, Texas

                Father: James T. ?? Henderson

                Mother: Susan Sewell

                 

Children:

1)      Martha Jane McNair

                                b. 22 Nov 1874 Searcy County, Arkansas

                                d.13 Dec 1875 in Searcy County, Arkansas

                                 Martha died in infancy of bowel trouble.

 

2)       John Boyd McNair

                                Birth: 28 Feb 1876 in Saint Joe, Searcy County, Arkansas

                                Death: 01 Sep 1961 in Corpus Christi, Nueces County, Texas

                                Burial: Robstown, Nueces County, Texas

                                Spouse: Dora Franklin Jackson

                                Marriage: 26 Jun 1901 in McLennan, Texas

 

3)      Charles Franklin McNair

                Birth: 05 Feb 1878 in Saint Jo Arkansas

                Marriage: 07 Jun 1903 in Moody, McLennan County, Texas

                Bethel Baptist Chapel

                Death: 09 Dec 1968 in Vernon, Wilbarger, Texas

                Burial:10 Dec 1968 in Vernon, Wilbarger Memorial Park.

                Spouse: Ella Vermell King

 

4)      Thomas William McNair

                                Birth: 18 Mar 1880 in Searcy County, Arkansas

                                Marriage: 22 Oct 1905 in McLennan, Texas

                                Death: 06 Oct 1945 in McLennan County, Texas

                                 Spouse: Kate Ellen Fitzpatrick

 

5)      Mary Elizabeth McNair

                                Birth: 28 Jan 1882 in Searcy County, Arkansas

                                Marriage: 30 Jan 1902

                                Death: 07 Dec 1945 in Leuders, Texas (rural)

                                Burial: Lueders, Jones County,

                                Spouse: George Barnes Gray

 

6)      Susan Artamiss McNair

                                Birth: 10 Jan 1884 in Searcy County, Arkansas

                                Marriage:06 Oct 1901

                                Death:22 Sep 1978 in Belton, Bell, Texas

                                Burial: Troy, Bell County, Texas

                                Spouse: Charles Erastus Johnson

 

7)      Alfred Minlus McNair

                                Birth: 12 Apr 1886 in Searcy County, Arkansas

                                Marriage :06 Nov 1915

                                Death: 22 Feb 1965 in El Paso, Texas

                                Burial: Funston, Jones County, Texas

                                Spouse: Della Brown

 

8)      Lessie Trena McNair

                                Birth:01 Aug 1888 in Searcy, Arkansas

                                Marriage:06 Jul 1907 in McLennan, Texas

                                Death:16 May 1977 in Hamlin, Jones, Texas; Age: 88

                                Burial:18 May 1977 in Hamlin, Jones County, Texas

                                Resided for a while in Holiday Lodge Nursing Home. Buried in Hamlin                                                                memorial Gardens.

                                Spouse: Ervin H Huff

 

9)      Lee Ollie McNair

                                Birth:06 Jul 1893 in Searcy County, Arkansas

                                Death:17 Aug 1934 in Texas

 

10)  Thelma Iowa McNair

                                Birth:25 Feb 1895 in Arkansas

                                Marriage:26 Oct 1917 in Shackelford, Texas

                                Death:07 Jul 1979 in Stamford, Jones, Texas, USA; Age at Death: 84

                                Burial:09 Jul 1979 in Funston, Jones County, Texas

                                Buried in Bethel Cemetery.

                                Informant on death certificate was I.W.McNair, a nephew.

                                Spouse: Thomas Newel Graham

 

11)  Sarah Alice McNair

                                Birth:08 Jan 1896

                                Death:06 Jun 1969

 

12)  Eula Frances McNair

                                Birth:22 Sep 1898 in Eddy, McLennan, Texas

                                Death:17 Feb 1954 in Stamford, Jones, Texas

                                Eula never married and was living with her sister Thelma, at the end of her life. 

                                She died from uterine cancer buried on 18 Feb 1954 in Bethel Cemetery.

                                Burial: Funston, Jones County, Texas

 

Mack McNair Sources

Source Citations: Mack Manilus McNair 

 1850 United States Federal Census; Census Place: Subdivision 26, Bradley, Tennessee; Roll: 871; Page: 241a 

 1860 United States Federal Census; Census Place: Tomahawk, Searcy, Arkansas; Page: 895; Family History Library Film: 803050

 McNair, McNear, and McNeir Genealogies; supplement 1928, compiled by James Birtley McNair: Chicago, 1929, p. 300. (I have this hardcopy book in my inventory.) 

 1870 United States Federal Census: Illinois Township, Pope Co., Arkansas; Roll: M593_61; Page: 389A; Family History Library Film: 545560 

 1880 United States Federal Census: Saint Joe, Searcy, Arkansas; Roll: 56; Page: 479C; Enumeration District: 175 

 1920 United States Federal Census, Census Place: Justice Precinct 7, Jones, Texas; Roll: T625_1824; Page: 1B; Enumeration District: 138 

 1930 United States Federal Census, Census Place: Precinct 7, Jones, Texas; Page: 11B; Enumeration District: 0017; FHL microfilm: 2342099 

 Texas, Death Certificates, 1903-1982 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2013. Original data: Texas Department of State Health Services. Texas Death Certificates, 1903–1982. Austin, Texas, USA. 

 Find A Grave. Find A Grave. http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi. 

 Social Security Applications and Claims, 1936-2007. Claim made by Lessie Trena Rawlins 

 “Daniel’s Descendants”, http://freepages.rootsweb.com/~mcnair/genealogy/ by Bryan Douglas McNair, 345 RiverFern Ave. #2432, Garland,Texas 75040, bmc656@yahoo.com 

 Personal Interviews: Carolita Jones Quillin, Ova McNair Kerr: early 1990s. 

 1894 Story of McNair Family Reminiscent History Of The Ozark Region Published 1894 by Goodspeed Publishers

Mack Manilus McNair Pedigree Chart

 

McNair Research Began in 1989

                                                                                        https://clipground.com/4-leaf-clover-bunch-clipart.html

                                                     Our McNair Family History

 My research on the McNairs began in 1989 and was one of my first lines to trace. With eager vitality, I was trying to establish ties to Ireland since we had a trip to Ireland planned for the summer of 1990.  This research jumped track when I ran into a few brick walls on the McNairs and then discovered that my maiden name of ‘Quillin’ had an obvious tie to Ireland, which I would have never imagined.  I felt certain that the Mc in McNair would establish an Irish connection.  In the next few years, I reestablished my research with the McNair line, this time with a new mission: to enter DAR.  Anyone who has documented for DAR knows that this is rigorous research and generation links have to be proved.  Armed with the information that I already had and now with a new purpose (having a hint that James McNair served in the Revolution), I found that the McNairs do trace back to Ireland.  My prior research was so thorough that I feel very confident in the information that I have and I have since been strongly linked to James McNair through DNA.  I have all the documents (3 envelopes full of copies of the original documents) on James and John McNair from the Knox County courthouse. With this many documents I believe these two men were well respected and established among the locals.  There is also a book, McNair, McNear, and McNeir Genealogies by James Birtley McNair (Editor) 929.273 M231 Chicago, Illinois : J.B. McNair, c1923. There are 3 supplements: 1928, 1955 & 1960 compiled by James Birtley McNair. I purchased the 1928 supplement.  Once again, as with many of our lines, this was a family of hardy pioneers that date back to colonial times.

My First McNair Publication

 

                                                                                 https://th.bing.com/

1991 - Introduction to my first McNair booklet
 
     It is my privilege to share with you the information I
have found on the McNair family.  My main sources were of
great help compiling this information.
 
     The first person I must thank is Ova Kerr, my
grandmother's sister.  She supplied me with some rich family
history given to her by Lessie Trena McNair Rawlins, Charles
Franklin McNair's sister. Lessie's source was a family Bible.
 
     My second invaluable source was a book I found in the
Texas State Library. McNair, McNear, and McNeir genealogies : Supplement 1928

was compiled by James Birtley McNair in 1923, but his second

volume published in 1928 was where I found my family connection.

      Probably the most important source was
my mother, Carolita Quillin.  Through family albums, news
clippings, letters, address books, etc., and countless hours
of reminiscing with me, I have been able to pull together the
following history of the McNair clan.
 
     Before advancing further, I must explain that there were
discrepancies between the information in the family Bible and
the library book.  Such pitfalls are a genealogist's
nightmare.  The biggest discrepancy was found with the name
of Mack McNair's father.  The family Bible listed his name as
Jackson McNair, but the book listed his name as John McNair.
Through research at the Texas Archives, I feel that I can
substantiate that his name was John McNair.  It is my belief
that his name was probably John Jackson McNair and the family
referred to him as Jackson.  A case in point is with my
great-grandfather, Charles Franklin McNair.  The family and
community knew him as Frank McNair.  Most people would not
have recognized him being referred to as Charles.
  
     I sincerely hope that you find this information as
intriguing as I have.  It is my wish to keep the family
history alive for those to whom it matters and for those
future generations who may someday wonder who we are!
 
 
                  Nancy Quillin Long
                         August 1991