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Gotts Surname Family History
131 - 9 Henry’s pension, Harry’s guardian
Henry’s Pension record closes the circle. It shows the Civil War service of Henry serving in two Ohio regiments. Although it does not show a widow, it shows the probate date of his death in 1906 filed from Indian Territory State for a minor (Harry), as well as the name of Harry’s appointed guardian John N Carter.
What is not clear is where Harry lived aged 8-18, on his parents’ farm, or was he in a boarding school, or did he live with his guardians. We can see some clues to this in the Guardianship records, where the guardian had to report to the court on the income and expenditure of his finances:
- 1908 aged 10 board for 24 months for ward. It is not clear who this was to, it could have been to John Carter, his guardian, but he was single until 1909.
- 1910 aged 12 he is living with John and Alice Carter.
- 1911 and 1912 aged 13-14 there are bills for car fare to take and collect Harry to Euchee Boarding School, Sapulpa, but from 1912-1915 (age14-17) he is at School 6, Coachman district, somewhere around Wetumka.
Euchee Mission School is about 75 miles away near Tulsa. It was set up for educating Indians, and was run by Creek Nation for 10 years from 1897.
How to start with untouched land
Although Harry owned land allotments, there was no development of them at all, and at his age he could not start to work them. He had no income either. The solution by his Guardian John Carter was to lease 20 acres to Frank Wesley for 5 years from Jan 1908 to 1913 and for him to “build a farm on 20 acres, clear the wooded creek bottom, build a fence round it, build a house, dig a drainage ditch, plow & grow crops.” They would pay half each for the labour of the ditch. Frank was required to clear the land and cultivate it, including planting crops. This would provide a workable farm on the land at the end of the lease. We can see the lumber costs in the guardian’s court accounts for building the farmhouse.
Harry’s Guardianship records
From these records we get a view of Harry’s life. We can see:
- The clothes he needed for school
- In 1909 an agreement with St Louis & San Francisco Railroad to repair their embankment crossing Harry’s land stopping drainage
- In 1910 a creditor claim for a loan Henry took out and a grocery bill for credit Lucy supposedly had 5 years previous for which the original credit note had been lost!
- Harry needed glasses by 1914
- Henry’s Civil War pension was obtained
- $100 gravestone for Harry and Lucy’s grave in 1914
- $18 to Prof Tipoli, Band leader & Teacher (did he take up an instrument?)
