Memories about Ella Mashburn, Sarah Tyndall, John Masjburn, James Crawley, Martin Crawley & Mattie Crawley
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1. My grand mother, Ella Mashburn, was born 21 February 1886, in Sparta, Christian County, Missouri. She was the daughter of John Moses Mashburn who was born in Hardeman County, Tennessee and Sarah E. Tyndall.
2. Sarah E. Tyndall was the daughter of William V. Tyndall, a prominent farmer and businessman. (Reference: "A Reminescent History of the Ozark Region". My grandmother told me that her mother, Sarah, was disowned for marrying John Mashburn, an illiterate. John and Sarah had children Johnny, Willie, Wiley, Mary Jane, and Lottie. Sarah died when my grandmother, Ella, was about two years old. I hear that Sarah was buried in Friend Cemetery. (Sarah's sister was Charlotte Friend).
3. Ella's father, John Mashburn, was crippled from civil war wounds received from his service with the 12th Missouri Calvary. John had great difficulty supporting a family due to his health and lack of an education. John drew a civil war pension which supported him and his family until his death. John was also a heavy drinker. John's enlistment papers state that he had light brown hair, hazel eyes, and was 5''7" tall.
4. My grand mother, Ella, was a red head. Her eyes were blue. She told me that she was hired out as a house cleaner and cook at an early age. She was mistreated and was not very skillful as a child cook and house keeper. She had a hard life. She longed for her mother all her life.
5. Somewhere around Christian County, her future father-in-law, James A. Crawley lived. She said she would go over to his house when she was small, and he would be reading his Bible.
6. My grandmother married Martin Crawley in Springfield, Missouri on 8 August 1903. Mattie Crawley and John Mashburn were witnesses to the marriage.
7. My grand mother told me that John Moses Mashburn lived with her and Martin just prior to his death. Just before she died, I sat in the McAlester General Hospital with her and she told me about the night he died. She said just before bed time he told her that he was going to die that night. She insisted that he wrong. But he said he wanted to play one last song on his fiddle. He played the tune and went to bed. When she went to wake him up the next morning, he was dead. I hear he was buried in Springfield National Cemetery, but I have never been able to confirm this.
8. My grandmother and grandfather, Martin Crawley, moved to Tannehill, Pittsburg County, Oklahoma about 1921, following Mattie Crawley (Martin's sister) and her husband Zed Logan. They farmed as share croppers for the Tannehill Family. My grand father, Martin Crawley died from pneumonia on 9 March 1931 in Tannehill, Oklahoma. Ella was left with small children and starved through the Depression with them.
9. My grandmother, Ella, died on 27 December 1971 in McAlester, Pittsburg, County, Oklahoma. She is buried at Tannehill Cemetery, Tannehill, Oklahoma with her husband, children, grand children, and great grand children.
10. Ella told me that Sparta was a beautiful place. I long to see it.