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Note: 1880 FEDERAL CENSUS, SMITH COUNTY
Page Number 12, Supervisor District Number 1, Enumeration District Number 95, Justice Precinct Number 1, June 11, 1880
Dwelling Number, 93, Family Number 95
Robert Spear, 27 year old farmer (born in South Carolina, as were both parents); wife Martha, 26 years old; Johnie, 7, son, born in Alabama; Mary, 5, daughter, born in Alabama; James, 3, son, born in Texas; Sarah (Sallie Belle, I guess), 2/12 (April), daughter, born in Texas.
It is interesting to note that in Dwelling Number 97, a widow by the name of E.C. Ingraham (29 years old), lived with her children Thomas (6); Emma (4); Alice (2) and Babe (2/12 - April), along with a servant Rachel 13 years old, white and cannot read or write. I speculate that this may be related to the Martha above (wife of Robert Speer) whose maiden name was "Ingram."
As a further note, on 8/1/99, I located this E.C. Ingram and her husband William B. Ingram in the same cemetery (Bascom) in which Robert H. Speer and his wife Martha Ingram Speer are interred. Emma Carolina Ingram was born 7/19/1850 and died 6/13/1936. Her husband was born 8/22/1838 and died 11/6/1879, making her a widow for the 1880 census.
1900 FEDERAL CENSUS, SMITH COUNTY
Robert Speer appears in the 1900 Smith County Federal Census (ED 99, sheet 3, line 17/18.). His name again is spelled "Robert Spear," and he is shown to be living close to his daughter, Mary Frances (Fannie) Speer Childress, then married less than one year to William Thomas Childress. Living with Robert "Spear" is his daughter, Sallie, single and 30 years of age (this is an incorrect age, as Sallie was born in 1880, as shown by her tombstone and the 1880 census above). Robert's birth date is shown as November, 1850 and his birth state is Alabama (as opposed to South Carolina, which is his birth state as shown on the 1880 Smith County Census). His father and mother were shown to be born in South Carolina. The census also reflects the fact that he could read and write, and that he was "renting" the farm on which he lived.
FAMILY RECOLLECTION
Evidently, Robert and his son-in-law did not always see eye-to-eye. According to Robert Stephenson, days would sometimes go by without a direct word being spoken between the son-in-law with whom Robert Speer then lived and Mr. Speer himself. I suppose that the daughter/wife, Fannie Speer Childress, would act as the interpreter when something of importance absolutely had to be conveyed between the warring factions. Robert Stephenson related that on one particular occasion, Mr. Speer suggested that the peach trees in the back of the farm house needed to be trimmed back. This bit of unsolicited advice cut against Will Childress' sense of hierarchy of the household, I guess, and he refused to take the advice. The silent treatment was instituted, by whom I do not know, and a long period of non-communication resulted, even at the dinner table.
OBITUARY
From the Tyler Daily Courier Times, January 2, 1913:
"Robert H. SPEER, Died January 1, 1913 at his home in Coplen community, age 63. Burial in Bascom Cemetery. Survived by a son and two daughters, one of whom is Mrs. T.C. Lanier. Suffered from a stroke of paralysis received Christmas Day. He has lived in Smith County since 1872." A card of Thanks is in the January 9, 1913 issue of the same paper.
(Note: "Coplen" evidently was a small community near Flint, outside Tyler. Coplen had a post office until the early 1900's, when it was closed and the mail forwarded through Flint.)
OTHER SPEERS IN SMITH COUNTY, TEXAS
There are several Speers buried in the old Seastrunk cemetery in the northern quadrant of Tyler. Here is a listing found on the web:
SEASTRUNK, Nellie Speer - 12 Jan 1857 - 24 Jan 1934
SEASTRUNK, J. 0. - 13 Sept 1846 - 13 Jan 1906
SPEER, Tabitha - 15 May 1837 - 28 Apr 1893 - wife of James
SPEER, James Jr. - 10 Dec 1821 - 27 Nov 1887
SPEER, Mary E. - 5 Sept 1861 - 22 Oct 1870 - dau of J. & T.
SPEER, Penelope - 15 Oct 1793 - 22 June 1885 - wife of James Sr.
SPEER, James Sr. - 11 Oct 1790 - 17 May 1865
SPEER, Levi - age 19 yrs
SPEER, Anne - age 8 yrs
SPEER, Elizabeth - age 14 yrs
SPEER, Mary Ann - age 16 yrs
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