Martin Allen McCurdy and Rhodia Cox

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Husband Martin Allen McCurdy ¹

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           Born: 12 May 1857 - Washington Co., Arkansas
     Christened: 
           Died: 8 Jun 1930 2
         Buried:  - Mount Olivet Cem., Fort Worth, Tarrant Co., Texas

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         Father: James Donnel McCurdy (1831-1875) 3
         Mother: Judah Ann Kifer (1834-1927) 4

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       Marriage: 1 Nov 1877 - Washington Co., Arkansas 5

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Wife Rhodia Cox

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           Born: Abt 1857
     Christened: 
           Died: 1879 - Texas (Collin Co.)
         Buried: 

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Children

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General Notes: Husband - Martin Allen McCurdy

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CENSUS:

<pre>1900 Clay Co., Texas, Justice Precinct No. 1, ED 14; June 23; sheet 20B
396/396
Martin McCurdy 43 May 1857 M19 Ar Al Al Farmer
Martha " wife 33 Feb 1867 M19/5/3 Ky NC NC
Faria " dau 17 Jan?1883 S Tx Ar Ky At School
Caloway " son 16 Apr 1884 S Tx Ar Ky At School
Mallie " son 4 Dec 1895 S Tx Ar Ky </pre>

He owns an unmortgaged farm.

<pre>1910 Carroll Co., Arkansas, Cedar Township, Eureka Springs Second Ward, ED 54; Apr 21; sheet 8B
135/191 254 Spring Street
Martin McCurdy 50 M28 Ar US Tn Road Master/Mo N A RR
Martha " wife 43 M28/5/3 NC US US
Mallie " son 15 S Tx Ar NC
Faira Roche dau 25 Wd/0/0 Tx Ar NC </pre>

He rents a house.

<pre>1920 Tarrant Co., Texas, precinct 1, ED 85; Feb 26; sheet 69B
115/115
Martin McCurdy 63 M Ar Ar Ar Farmer
Marthy " wife 54 M NC Va Va None
Farrou " dau 37 Wd Tx Tx Tx None </pre>

He owns an unmortgaged home.

In 1920 Martin McCurdy (60, M, Al Ga Ga, none) MAY have a second entry in the census on January 19 as a lodger in Tarrant Co., Precinct 7 in the household of Henry Dutton (43, farmer), or this may be a different Martin McCurdy.

In 1930 Martin McCurdy (72, Wd/20, Ar US US, laborer/odd jobs) is living in Tarrant Co., Texas on April 11 as a boarder in the household of James W. Grammar, 62, who lives on a rented farm.

<pre>1930 Tarrant Co., Texas, Ft. Worth Ward 20, ED 220-77; Apr 10; sheet 21A
222/245 2709 Barton
Martha H. McCurdy head 63 Wd NC Tn Tn none R$25
Faira V. Roach dau 42 Wd Tx Ar NC Transcript clerk county </pre>

They have a radio. 'Wd' relative to Martha may be marked out or overwritten.

<pre>1940 Tarrant Co., Texas, J.P.1, Ft. Worth Ward 20, ED 257-131; Apr 20; sheet 9B
230 2709 Ward
Faira V. Roche 55 head Wd Tx Stenographer/County District Clerk O$3500
Maratha McCurdy 74 mother Wd NC </pre>

They lived in the same house on April 1, 1935.


FIRST and SECOND WIVES:

Martin's first wife died in childbirth in the summer of 1879. See notes under Rhodia Cox. Martin's older sister, Mary Jane McCurdy, says in her autobiography "Unbroken Circle" on page 33,

"We had relatives in Fannin County, Tezas. When the crops was all gathered, my brother Martin announced that he was going to see our cousins, the Parrs. He went up there horseback and had stayed about two weeks when he met Ricky (Martha Arena) Weaver and fell in love with her. He bought a farm there and sent for me to keep house for him. He went over to see Ricky, who lived about a mile from us, two or three nights a week and I was left alone with the three little children."

After relating an incident in which two men came to her house looking for Martin, she continues,

"It made Martin so uneasy when he got home, he said, "Well, I'm not goin' to leave you alone any more at night." From then on until he and Ricky was married, I think he done his goin' in the daytime. When he told his girl he couldn't leave me any more at night, he got her persuaded to marry him a little sooner than he would have otherwise. She was only fourteen year old when they was married."

Martin's visit to the Parrs in Fannin Co. probably occurred in the fall of 1880. His first cousin once removed J. B. Parr is the only Parr in Fannin Co. in the 1880 census.

DEATH:

His birth date on his tombstone is May 12, 1857. His death certificate says May 12, 1856.

Texas Death Certificate 31519:
Martin A. McCurdy, male, white, married, retired, died June 8, 1930 in Ft. Worth, Tarrant Co., Texas at age 74 yrs, 0 mos, 26 days.
Residence: 2709 Meadowbrook Drive
Born: 12 May 1856 in Arkansas
Father: McCurdy born in Arkansas
Mother: D. K., born in Arkansas
Informant: Mrs. ___ Roche, Ft. Worth, Texas
Burial: Mt. Olivet, June 10, 1930

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General Notes: Wife - Rhodia Cox

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In 1878, probably in May, Columbus Collins, the husband of Martin McCurdy's older sister, Mary Jane McCurdy, was murdered. In "Unbroken Circle", an autobiography of Mary Jane McCurdy, she states on page 30,

"Ma wrote me after Columbus died that if I would come to Texas she would send one of the boys after me. . . . My brother, Martin, came for me in July. He was driving a two-horse wagon. Martin's wife had died in childbirth that summer. He brought his wife's sister Mag and her father-in-law with him when he come from Texas to Arkansas. They stayed nearly a month before we left on our trip back. . . . We was on the road just a week and traveled three hundred miles; I always enjoyed travelin' and campin'. I couldn't stand it now because of the anxiety. When we arrived at Ma's place, it was in early August, 1879, and the cotton fields was white."

Rhodia Cox probably died in June, 1879, along with the baby.

1 Mac McCurdy, "http://worldconnect.rootsweb.com db: mactex."

2 "Find-a-Grave," Memorial # 10974319.

3 Northwest Arkansas Genealogical Society, "Cemeteries of Washington County, Arkansas," 1980, vol 3.

4 State of New Mexico Bureau of Public Health, "Certificate of Death."

5 Lois N. Miller, "Washington County, Arkansas Marriage Books D-I, 1871-91," 1985, Bk E, pg 200. Repository: Clayton Library, Houston, Texas.