Notes for Rev. William Taylor Muncrief: William Taylor Muncrief
According to the 1870 census, July 5, 1870 William Taylor Muncrief and Mary Sue (Durham) Muncrief lived in Van Buren Township - Crawford County Arkansas. He was a farmer and she was a housewife.
William Taylor Muncrief became an ordained Baptist minister in 1885. Rev. W.T. Muncrief and his wife, Mary Sue Durham moved their family of four (Malthus Leonadus, David Merrit, Sallie B, and Tennie Nora) from Van Buren, Arkansas to Loco, I.T. (Indian Territory), in 1890. He came to Oklahoma to preach to the Chickasaw Indians. He preached in several locations and many times his only pay was food.
In 1896 Rev. W.T. Muncrief moved his family to a community called " Who'd a Thought It", now known as Coatsworth. On an Indian lease the family built one large room with a half dugout, with dirt floors. The Muncrief men made the shingles or boards that were used on the roof. Fruit trees were set out and became one of the first orchards of the area. When the fruit trees began to bear, they dried most of the fruit by spreading it on the porch roof to dry in the sun. If a shower came up, they had to pick the fruit up, then spread it again. Some of the fruit was preserved and sealed with sealing wax in tin cans. Sorghum was also made from homegrown cane. Water had to be carried for the family wash, which was done on a rub board, with lye soap made from cracklings, fat scraps and lye. Cotton was also one of the crops.
Pearl Gertrude (Muncrief) Collins (his granddaughter) recalls him visiting his brother James Leonadus Muncrief in Hot Springs, Arkansas. He would always bring back the children sweet gum.
He had two other brothers (Soloman & Bishop) that died during the Civil War. Soloman died with the fever and Bishop died in the war. He had two sisters Tennie and Nancy. Tennie married Earl Jennings and moved to Tennessee. Nancy married Mr. Skelton and remained in Mississippi.
His father's second marriage was to Cornelia Lipsey. They married December 22, 1852 in Jones County Georgia. To this union Zackery (Zackie) Muncrief was born May 1865.
William Taylor Muncrief and Mary Sue (Durham) Muncrief died during a flu epidemic in 1923. William Taylor Muncrief died February 22, 1923. Mary Sue (Durham) Muncrief died March 6, 1923. Thomas Oscar Lesley a neighbor who was taking care of them died March 1, 1923.
Obituary The Johnston County Capital Democrat Thursday March 8, 1923
PIONEER PASSES AWAY
Rev. Muncrief, living about ten miles north of Milburn, died last week and was buried in Wells Valley cemetery. He was the father of Lee Muncrief, a farmer of the Bromide community. Rev. Muncrief had lived in this county, Indian Territory for a long time. Before coming to this section he lived near Loco, west of Ardmore, where he preached the gospel and farmed. He was a good man and citizen, and the News extends sympathy to the bereaved ones. Milburn News
Obituary
A GOOD MAN PASSED AWAY
| ___|___ IN | MEMORY | OF |
Rev. W. T. Muncrief 76 years old and a Baptist minister for 38 years, passed to his reward Thursday night, February 22nd, and was buried at Wells Valley cemetery, Rev A. Jeff Davis conducting the services. Grandpa Muncrief was a devout Christian, believed in the Bible as the inspired word of God and loved to preach the gospel of Christ. Was an honorary member of Bromide Klan. No 63, of Oklahoma, and four white-robed Klansmen appeared at his grave with a floral cross.
He leaves a wife, two sons, two daughters, 21 grand-children, and 5 great grandchildren, with a host of friends to mourn his loss. Grandpa Muncrief did not live in vain. A FRIEND
The Wapanucka Press Wapanucka, Johnston County, Oklahoma, March 2, 1923
More About Rev. William Taylor Muncrief: Oklahoma: He came to Oklahoma to preach to the Chickasaw Indians.. Ordination: 1885, Baptist Minister.
More About Rev. William Taylor Muncrief and Mary Sue Durham: Marriage: 1867
Children of Rev. William Taylor Muncrief and Mary Sue Durham are:
Rev. William Taylor Muncrief (b. 27 Dec 1846, d. 22 Feb 1923)
Notes for Rev. William Taylor Muncrief: