My Memorial to My Grandfather: part 1

I became interested in the life of my grandfather, my father's father, after learning stories of his life and instances where it seemed I carried more in common with this man I never met (he sadly passed away nearly two decades prior to my being born) than I ever would have guessed.

Being that I enjoy writing, and being that my interest in family genealogy has blossomed over the last few years, I wondered if I could write a biography of him, based upon what my dad and my aunt, both children of the man, could tell me.  What follows from here is the first part of that biography:

Oscar, circa 1920s

A Memorial to My Grandfather:

Oscar Olen Sexton

My grandfather sadly passed away nearly two decades prior to my own birth.  What follows is a compilation of facts and stories of the man I have attempted to weave into some form of biographical sketch.  While the story I tell is not necessarily how the events of his brief life played out, I do hope these few pages will stand as an honor to a man I have yet to meet.

Oscar Olen Sexton was born into this life on a farm south of Abilene Kansas, the 10^th day of August in the year 1899.  His father, James Taylor Sexton, moved into the area three decades earlier; and his mother, Emma Ann Holt Sexton, the second wife to his father, followed shortly thereafter.  Her family, of which she was the eldest child, preceded the Sexton family, taking residence within the state when it was still yet a territory.

The two initially became acquainted through their families’ sojourn in Johnson County Illinois, a gateway to the West for Southern families seeking escape from the issues of civil war and land good for farming and raising a family.  The two remained in contact over the ensuing two decades; and when James’ first wife, Mary Ann Sharpe passed away from pulmonary consumption, he and Emma married a year later – their honeymoon being the one-hundred mile wagon trip from Butler County Kansas, where the Holts emigrated in southern parts of the state, to Dickinson County, of Abilene, where the Sexton finally settled.

The James Taylor Sexton Family, 1900

Oscar became the youngest of their children.  His birth arrived, in order, from Myrtle Mae, the eldest of James’ first wife; Omeso, who passed away in infancy; Alvin Allan, the eldest son and first-born of Emma; Burton Bradley; Vesta Vera; Harvey Hughey; Lillian Louise; Jasper James; and then Oscar himself: four brothers and three sisters, all of whom resided within the family hearth upon his entrance into the world – though, prior to Oscar being old enough to be aware, his two eldest siblings, Myrtle and Alvin, would be married and starting families of their own.

It was during Oscar’s formative years the same naturally followed with his brothers Burton and Harvey, as well as his sister Vesta.  All married and moved from the family farm, leaving just Oscar and his brother Jasper to help the parents farm the land.  Their older sister Lillian, also still lived at home, but her time she divided between attending school and working part-time as a music instructor.  One of James Sexton’s promises to his children was all the boys would receive 80 acres of land, while every girl would receive a piano.  This stirred an interest for music within both Vesta and Lillian, causing them to practice their teaching techniques upon their youngest brother, instructing him in the fine art of piano playing, as they themselves also learned.

Oscar’s first job outside of the farm came shortly after his schooling ended when he was hired as a fireman on the trains pulling into and out of Abilene. 

The trains had always proven a fascination to him, as his mechanically-inclined mind remained fervent with a curiosity to their inner workings.  Every time one would pull into the depot, and every time one would leave on schedule, he wondered with a youthful zeal how that colossal beast of iron managed to cease its movement and grind to a complete halt, only to spur itself back into life with a forward motion that propelled such massive size and weight down the railway.  He eagerly sought to understand this.  No one in his family knew – nor did they really care – but this job as fireman, shoveling the coal into the furnace of a locomotive’s engine, it began to creek open that door and give the young man his first views.