James "R.F." Rufus Franklin Witherspoon Family
James "R.F." Rufus Franklin Witherspoon (left-center) - half brother of J.G. Witherspoon of Ada, OK (right).
The father of James Rufus Franklin and J.G. Witherspoon was Rev. James Hamilton Witherspoon of Waterloo, AL. James Rufus' mother was Jane Harris Witherspoon and J.G. Witherspoons' was "Dora" Lucas Witherspoon.
James Rufus Franklins' wife was Flora Benigno Keyes (or Kees) Witherspoon and their only child was Burton Harris Witherspoon. James Rufus Franklin Witherspoon was reported to have died in Pittsburg, PA in 1936. See bottom of the page.
James "R.F." Franklin Rufus Witherspoon, his wife Flora Benigno Keys (Keyes or Kees) and their son Burton Harris Witherspoon
Son of James Rufus Franklin Witherspoon, Burton Harris Witherspoon, in his WWI uniform - 8/15/1889, Wolfe City, TX - 2/2/1952, Nogales, Mexico - died in a small plane crash with 2 friends while on a fishing expedition.
Emma "Emily" Clay Thompson Witherspoon
10/10/1885, Vernon, TX - 5/5/1981, Ojai, CA. She grew up in Ada, OK.
Witherspoons, left to right, Burt Harris II, "Gar" John Garland, Burton Harris, Emily, and Susann (front) in their Buffalo, NY home. Another brother, Frank Thompson, died at the age of 9 of pneumonia.
Burt (1920-1998), Susann, Gar, and Emily Witherspoon
Burt died of cancer which the doctors believe was contracted when he was part of the first group of soldiers going in after the A-bomb in Hiroshima to help rebuild.
Bill Witherspoon, a man I have corresponded with several times in the past, said the following quote below in blue print. I asked him where he got the information and he told me it was from a book called "The Witherspoons of North Carolina, 1775 - 1975" compiled by David Howell Witherspoon, Raleigh, NC, 1976. This book is now out of print.
"James Rufus Franklin ( 06-12-1856 > 1936 ) known as R.F. He was in the cattle business in Texas, then moved to Shawnee, Oklahoma, where he lived for 20 years. Later the family moved to Concord, California, where his wife died in 1935. The only child, Burton H., was born in Wolfe City, Texas on April 15, 1889. Burton was in charge of a chemical testing laboratory in Pittsburgh where his father died. Burton later moved to Buffalo, New York, where he was associated with the Curtis - Wright Corporation."
According to the 1870 census the year of birth for Rufus "R.F." Witherspoon was born 1854 so there is some uncertainty about his date of birth. I am trusting the information from the book more at this point because there is a month and day listed.
Rufus or Frank or R.F Witherspoon was living in Shawnee, Pottawatomie, OK in the 1900, 1910, and 1920 census records. His half brother J.G. (James Gordon) Witherspoon was also living in Shawnee, OK in 1910. He is the grandfather of the creator of this website, Nancy Allen.
All the photos except J.G. Witherspoon are courtesy of L. Jill Goughnour - Thanks Jill! She is the great granddaughter of Rufus Witherspoon.
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