Mabel Lora Cheney is my grandmother.
The Cheney Family is well-documented in the history of the New England colonies, starting with William Cheney of Roxbury, Massachusetts Colony, in 1640 (The Cheney Family Genealogy, by Charles Pope, is a highly regarded source on the family history). Records concerning exactly when he arrived have not yet been found. The Cheneys were prominently involved in life generally, including government service, for the coming centuries in Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont.
Our line remained in Massachusetts Colony until Daniel Cheney, as a young man, moved to Vermont in the late 1700’s. There he married Wealthea Holbrook, a direct descendant of several passengers on the Mayflower. Their son, Luke (born in Vermont in 1811), migrated west to Rock Island Illinois, meeting and marrying his wife, Mary Polly Beardsley, in western New York state on the way. They remained in Rock Island for nearly 15 years until Polly died in 1855, a few years following the birth of their son, Albert (born in 1852). They lived in Iowa for several years where Luke settled and carried on several business endeavors, and remarried Elizabeth Nottingham. After Luke died in 1868 the now fatherless family moved back to Illinois, to Albany, Whiteside County. Albert worked as a farmhand. His step mother, Elizabeth, lived with the Russell Hunt family in the area…it appears Elizabeth was related to the Hunts. That obviously led to young Albert meeting and marrying Eva Lucretia Hunt, one of Russell Hunt’s daughters, in 1876.
This is the only photo of Eva known to exist, and the only photo know to exist of Albert as a young man. If you are aware of other photos of Eva and/or Albert please contact us…we would love to have a copy!
The Hunt family (Eva Lucretia Hunts family) also has a VERY interesting and colorful history…but that will have to wait until another time!
Mabel Lora Cheney was born in 1878, in Albany, Whiteside County, Illinois, as the daughter of Albert Cheney and Eva Lucretia Hunt. Shortly after her birth her family migrated to Nebraska, though some documents suggest they lived in northwest Missouri for a short time before ending up in Nebraska in the early 1880’s. After a few years in Nebraska they went to Oklahoma to participate in the first Oklahoma land rush in 1889. They did not remain in Oklahoma at that time, however, but returned to northeast Missouri, until around 1900.
In 1898, Mabel married William Harvey Inlow, born in 1877, the son of Thornton Riley Inlow and Geneva Francis Seely. His birthplace was Madisonville, Ralls County, Missouri. Very shortly after their marriage Mabel and William Harvey relocated to Oklahoma Territory. Either at that time, or very soon after, Albert, Lucretia and their other children also migrated back to Oklahoma. Both families appear in Oklahoma in the 1900 census.
William Harvey and Mabel had five children. Willa Maud (1902), William Harvey II and Mabel Clair — twins (1910), and Hartford (1919) all lived to adulthood, married and had families (Hartford, who died in 2001, is my father). Geneva (born about 1905) died as a little girl in 1909. The family grew up in Oklahoma City, first when it was a territory and later after it had become a state. The family was very active in Church affairs, and Mabel by all accounts was a ‘stay at home Mom’ until around 1920.
Not long after Hartford was born in 1919, W. H. left the family. It was a difficult and traumatic time for Mabel and the children, and caused considerable hardship and tensions in the family as the children grew into adulthood. The particular causes and circumstances of his leaving will probably never be known. Interviews conducted with the children and grandchildren have revealed that each child had very different reactions to his departure, ranging from blaming Mabel for “driving him away,” to blaming W. H. and completely separating themselves from him…refusing to have any contact whatsoever with him when they became adults.
Both Mabel and W. H. remarried. Mabel remained in Oklahoma City, worked in various capacities, including secretarial work, teaching, and as executive secretary to the governor of Oklahoma. She remarried George W. Wray in 1925 and they lived a happy life together until his death in 1954. The grandchildren knew Mabel as, “Mammy,” and George as, “Dandy.” Hartford, my father, considered George to be his father. Although I knew Dandy was not my biological grandfather, I always thought of him as my grandfather.
Related Surnames:
HUNT
MATTHEWS
BEARDSLEY
COX
MORGAN
And many others