This sibling obituary study focuses on the children of Mary Elizabeth Davis and her husband William James Hardy. They lived in Donley County and Swisher County, Texas after relocating from Bowie County, Texas. Mary Elizabeth Davis was my great-grandmother Louise (Davis) Dendy's sister. As a collection, these obituaries add to what is known about the family.
The birth order for the Hardy children is as follows:
1. Willie Myrtie (Hardy ) Bain b. 20 June 1889 in Texas
2. William Thomas Hardy b. 8 October 1891 in Texas
3. Charles James Hardy b. 21 November 1893 in Texas
4. Dollie Mae (Hardy) Wheeler b. 30 July 1898 in Texas
5. Kate Louise (Hardy) Carson b. 30 May 1901 in Texas
6. Alice (Hardy) Newby b. 13 September 1903 in Donley Co., Texas
7. Dora Ethel (Hardy) McGlaun Hankins b. 6 June 1906 in Texas
This first obituary, however, is for Mary (Yarberry) Davis, mother of Mary Elizabeth (Davis) Hardy. Besides revealing her birth date of 2 July 1844 and her marriage to E. V. Davis, misspelled here as E. G. Davis, it relates a bit about her death. She died of the flu in Tulia, Texas at daughter Mary Elizabeth Hardy's house on the evening of Wednesday, March 14, 1923, just a week and a half after the death of her granddaughter Myrtie Willie (Hardy) Bain in Slaton, Texas. Daughter Mary Elizabeth Hardy would have been instrumental in caring for her after attending the funeral of her own daughter. The funeral services for Mary (Yarberry) Davis were held on Thursday, March 15, 1923, the afternoon following her death.
A few light cases of the flu had been reported by The Tulia Herald in early February.
The remaining obituaries are in the order of the Hardy children's deaths:
1. Willie Myrtie (Hardy) Bain must have developed the flu a couple of weeks prior to her grandmother. When Myrtie developed pneumonia as a complication, her sister Dollie (Hardy) Hutson went to care for her. Mary Elizabeth and Bill Hardy arrived shortly after she died. Myrtie's obituary reveals that she was born in Bowie County, Texas in 1889 and that she married Sam Bain in Hedley, Texas in 1907. This follows the migration pattern of the Davis and Hardy families. They were living in Bowie County, Texas and then removed to Donley County, Texas after 1900. All of her siblings are listed - Dollie, Kate, Alice, Dora, Charles, and Bill Hardy.
2. Dollie Mae (Hardy) Wheeler's obituary appeared in the 9 November 1967 Tulia Herald. Dollie's obituary provides further insights. She had been born in Donley County, Texas in 1898. This reflects the census which places the Hardy family in Donley County by 1900. Dollie's grandparents Eli and Mary (Yarberry) Davis were still in Bowie County, Texas in 1900 as was her uncle William T. Davis. Note the Hardys lived in the Bray community until 1911 when they moved to McKnight. By 1912, they were in Goodnight. By 1910 the Davises had joined the Hardys in Donley County. Dollie, her father, and sister removed to Swisher County in 1918 to start their ranch there.
Dollie's surviving siblings are listed as W.T. Hardy, C.J. Hardy, Mrs. Roy Carson, Mrs. Amos Newby, and Mrs. Blake Hankins,
3. Alice (Hardy) Newby died 23 June 1980 in Amarillo, Texas. Like her sister Dollie, she was born in Donley County, Texas. She married Amos Newby in Plainview, Texas in 1926. She also removed to Tulia from Goodnight in 1918, so she is probably the "other sister" who ranched with Dollie and their father. Her surviving siblings as listed as two sisters and two brothers.
4. William Thomas Hardy died on 20 July 1983 in Tulia, Texas. So far, an obituary for him has not been found. An extensive article was written about him during his lifetime, which can be read here.
In the lead up to the bicentennial, W. T. Hardy was interviewed by a seventh-grader from the local school. I wonder if the dust storm he relates here was Black Sunday, April 14, 1935.
5. Charles James Hardy died on 15 July 1984 in Tulia Texas. Charlie James Hardy was born in Bowie County, Texas in 1893. He married Maude Jobe on 26 May 1918 in Hart, Texas. His obituary states that he came to Swisher County from Donley County in 1916. If true, that places him in Swisher County two years before his father and sisters moved there. His surviving siblings were Kate Carson and Dora Hankins.
6. Kate (Hardy) Carson died on 23 November 1992. Her obituary appeared in the Tulia Herald on 3 December 1992. She was born in 1901 in Donley County, supposedly in Goodnight. She also moved to Tulia in 1918. Kate Carson is near and dear to my heart. When I began researching in my late teens, I contacted her, and she helped me with our Davis family. We corresponded for several years. Her obituary lists one surviving sister: Dora (Hardy) Hankins. It also lists the siblings who predeceased her: Charlie Hardy, W.T. "Bill" Hardy, Myrtle Bain, Dolly Wheeler, and Alice Newby.
6. Dora Ethel (Hardy) McGlaun Hankins died on 29 June 1997 in Randall, Texas. Her obituary states that she was born in Hedley, which would have been in 1906. None of her siblings are listed.
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