Well, you don't know what you've stumbled into!!  It has been so much fun to try to untangle the confusion of these families. If you aren't connected, you might just want to forget the whole thing now, before your mind is boggled. If you are connected, please help me with later generations!!!

Mary Ellen Wilkerson was born September 15, 1881 in Camden County, Missouri to Ida Robertson and Zachariah Wilkerson. The oldest  of six daughters, and one son.  

Robert M. Wilkerson was born February 02, 1871 in Camden County, Missouri to Calvin and Lucy Johnson Bennett Wilkerson.  He was one of ten children. 

Were they related? Um hm...I'll attempt to explain how.... Mary Ellen Wilkerson was married to her mother's brother-in-law. Robert (Bob) was married to his brother's neice.  Calvin, Bob's father, and James P. Wilkerson were brothers. James P.'s son, Zachariah, married Ida Robertson, who were the parents of Mary Ellen. Ida's sister, Burnetta was married to  Edmond (Edward) Thomas Wilkerson, who was a brother to Bob. Are you confused yet??? So,  am I getting this right??

They were  married February 10,1899 in Tecumseh, Pott County, OK. 

 

Mel and Bob had three daughters:

• Elsie, who married Worth A. Boring Jan. 21, 1927 in Lincoln County, OK

• Nellie, who married Melvin Brock Oct. 19, 1929 in Lincoln County, OK

• Alpha who married 1. A man named WILKERSON!!! 2. A man named Griffith.

• Possibly also a son, Jesse.

My memories have faded for the most part of Uncle Bob Wilkerson, but I have a vivid personal recollection of Mel and their daughters. I often saw them at my grandmother's home, or family gatherings. I enjoyed hearing them talk. They had a very distinct way of speaking and I loved it. They bubbled with conversation and laughter. Aunt Mel always looked nice. Her hair was stylish, and her make up lovely. She always smelled good! I remember her daughters in the very same way.

In November of 1918 Mel's sister, Nolie Long, lost her life to the severe flu epidemic. When she died, she left a four year old son, called "Little George" by the family, and a baby daughter, barely three months old, named Marie. Marie was raised by Mel and Bob. Ida, Mel's mother and the children's grandmother, raised George until a tragic accident claimed his life at 13. He had begged for a shotgun, and when he finally got it, he shot himself going under a barbed wire fence. Ida was grief-stricken. Marie married a man named Plumlee, but died just three months shy of her 19th birthday. She had a baby girl, and Mel once again raised the child of a loved one lost. 

 

Mel and Bob lived in Prague OK all the while I knew them. They are buried in the New Hope cemetery, Meeker, OK.