Malinda Jane RAINEYwas born 26 JAN 1878 in Missouri, married 20 SEP 1896, in Gentry County, Missouri, Isaiah FERGUSON (born 1871, died 29 JUN 1910 in Gentry County, Missouri). Malinda died MAY 1959.
I wonder if Malinda Jane Rainey, a mere slip of a girl from Gentry County, MO., ever really realized that she was a part of the early history in the making of a new frontier.
She had gone to Oklahoma to visit her 10 cousins, the children of her Uncle Sam and Aunt Frances Rainey. They had lived in DeKalb County, MO., but on March 27, 1891, they started the move to King Fisher[sp?], Okla., to make their home.
By the 1880's there were more than 30 tribes of Indians in Oklahoma. Most of them having been pushed that far west by the pioneers who wanted their land. There were Cherokees, Creeks, Choctaws, Chickasaws and Seminoles from the east as well as the Cheyennes, Arapahos, Kiowas and Commanches from the plains.
They all had received land grants in Oklahoma, which was to be theirs "forever." But pressure from would-be settlers and the railroads forced the government to reconsider and as of dawn April 22, 1889, thousands of pioneers on foot, horseback, buggies and wagons had lined up at the border of Oklahoma.
At high noon, the sound of a gun sent them racing into the flat dry Indian territory with their sledge hammers and stakes to stake out their claims. Within a few hours the town of Guthrie was in the making with 15,000 people clamoring to register their claims and secure the necessities of life from the merchants who had carried wagon loads of merchandise with them. There was little with which to build, so sod houses sprang up across the prairie.
The Second land run was Sept. 16, 1893. It was at that time that Malinda Jane Rainey was visiting her aunt, uncle, and cousins. Sam Rainey decided to make the run across the Cherokee Strip for his 125 acres.
Hattie was about Malinda's age, and her dearest cousin and friend. We know the two girls made the wild ride in the wagon with Uncle Sam, but we wonder if he took his wife and the other nine children. If so, don't you know they made a picture in their wild dash for land! I can just see the calico dresses and bonnets and apron strings flying. The long brown stockings and high button black shoes!
They staked their claim 10 miles east of what is now Enid, Okla.. They lived there 10 years and then moved into Enid. It is not known if some of the older children stayed on the claim.
Malinda never talked much about this exciting bit of history, just the fact that she was there.
On Sept. 20, 1896, Malinda Jane Rainey was wed to tall, handsome Isaiah Ferguson and settled down to homemaking 1 1/2 miles west of Berlin, Mo.. They had five children, Gerry, Velma (my mom), Maurice, Lawrence, and Wilbur. At the age of 38, when Wilbur was just six months old, Isaiah died on June 29, 1910 leaving Malinda to raise her children alone. Her parents, Joseph and Mary Rainey along with her brothers and sisters were a great help to her.
And as I sit here, I can picture my grandmother still.
Tess Stegman Ellis
Albany, Mo.
Joseph RAINEY born 26 NOV 1844, Andrew Co., Missouri, was a farmer. He married on 02 APR 1867, in Missouri, Mary L JOLLY (born 28 NOV 1847, Breckinridge County, Kentucky, died 01 APR 1917, Missouri).
Joseph died 08 FEB 1911in Gentry County, MO and was buried there in the Berlin Cemetery. He served in the Civil War as a Private in Company H, 1st Missouri S.M. Cavalry.
From: [The Biography of Joseph Rainey, Gentry County Missouri (Gentry and Worth County History-1882, p. 448, Gentry County Genealogical Society)]
Joseph Rainey, farmer, section 34, post office Berlin, is the owner of 390 acres of good farming land, about 120 acres of which are in an excellent state of cultivation. He was born in Andrew county, Missouri, October 26, 1844, and is a son of John S. and Elizabeth Rainey, nee Sweeney, the former of North Carolina and the latter a native of Carroll County, Tennessee. At the age of six years Joseph moved to Gentry County, where he was reared on a farm, being educated in the common schools. April 2, 1867, he was married in this county to Miss Mary L. Jolly. By this union, they have had seven children, five of whom are living: James S., John R., Allie I., Melinda Jane and Franklin S. Rainey.
Mrs. Rainey was born in Breckinridge County, Kentucky, November 28, 1847. Her parents, Samuel J. and Melinda (Robertson) Jolly, were both natives of Breckinridge County, Kentucky.
In 1862, Mr. Rainey enlisted at Maysville, Missouri, in Company H,
First Missouri State Militia, as a private and served for
three years. He is a member of the Masonic order. He moved
to his present place last spring and here he intends to make
his future home.
Biography of Samuel Sweeney Rainey
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Last modified on Fri Mar 30 03:51:25 2001
