THE HINDS FAMILY BEGINS
In 1997, cousin Betty Sanders Spencer Bowman moved back to Oklahoma from California. She grew up in Braggs, Oklahoma. She had been working on the family history and in 1996 she complied "Writings" by Betty Sanders Spencer. She moved to Tahlequah, Oklahoma and set up a website Hinds Family History and posted many pictures she had of the families.
Cousin Marty (Marlene) Hinds Tinsley also of Tahlequah set up a website of the Hinds Family History, with pictures. Cousin Paula Pennel Ramsey of Colorado, compiled a book in 1996 entitled "Our Family Tree". I (Connie James) compiled a history entitled "The Hinds Family of England" in about 1996. I put up a website with family information of the Hinds Genealogy on it. Today I have on Angelfire website with several family histories, my Hinds family is the first history on my site. Here is the link: angelfire.com/stars5/starlight0/. Be sure and put the last / on the link or it will not open.
I started getting interested in the Hinds Genealogy after the first organized Hinds Family Reunion in 1986. At that point in time, I didn't know who Great-granddad John Henry's parents were. I knew of some of his siblings. So my Hinds History began in England and then to the story of John Henry Hinds and his wife Emily Alice Clark. The first Reunion was organized and sponsored by Pauline Hinds Adams of Inola, Oklahoma. I lived in Inola at that time and still remain after 42 years. There wasn't another organized Hinds Reunion until 11 years later in 1997. From that time on we have a reunion every two years. In the beginning the Hinds Relatives in the Roswell, New Mexico area hosted the first one. In 1999 the Oklahoma family hosted it. In 2001 the Texas Family hosted it. Only one year was it in Colorado. Now as the older ones have died off, it is now between the Texas Family at Amarillo and the Oklahoma Family at Claremore.
So the story begins. . . There were two Hinds brothers, who came to England from France. In looking up information, I found that the spelling H-I-N-D-S is the English spelling of the family name. There is a Family Crest and Coat of Arms in the English History of the Hinds Family. These two brothers were related to royalty The DeBois of France in England. The home lands for this family was in Scotland and Ireland. I have no record of why or when they migrated to England. Later these two brothers came to the USA. I am assuming to Ellis Island. Some way they got separated and never saw each other again.
So at first I thought our Hinds ancestors were from England and were English born. In later years my mom's aunt Ovid Hinds Pennel told her the family was from Scotland and Ireland. I have no records to prove this.
When I began my search of the Family the first ancestor I knew of was my great-grandpa John Henry Hinds and his wife Emily Alice Clark. I knew John Henry was born in Arkansas and Emily Alice in Indiana. I didn't find any records of John Henry's parents or where they lived and died nor did I have any recorded information of the Clark's either.
The first Hinds of our family in America that I have record of is William H. Hinds born in 1840 in Tennessee and Mary Jane Boffman (full blood German) born in 1841 in Missouri married in 1862 in Arkansas. William and Mary had 12 children, whom I believe were all born in Arkansas. Their children were John Henry, Francis J. (infant died), William Thomas, Sarah E., Mollie, Mary H., Martha E, Malissa A, "Fate" Hiram L., David "Frank", Sally, and an unknown infant (deceased). William H. Hinds was a Union Soldier in the Civil War. They moved to Braggs, Indian Territory from Arkansas in about 1895 or 1896. Both William and Mary died in Braggs and were buried in the McCracken Cemetery, in Braggs. The cemetery was moved to Tahlequah, Oklahoma in 1942 so that Camp Gruber could be built. The cemetery was renamed the Greenleaf Cemetery in Tahlequah, Oklahoma.
My great-grandpa was John H. Hinds, oldest child of William and Mary Hinds of Braggs. He was born on October 24, 1863 in Arkansas. He died July 17, 1948 in Denver, Colorado. His body was shipped back to Inola, Oklahoma for burial. He is buried in the Sweeten Cemetery in Inola, Oklahoma. He married Emily "Alice Clark on January 20, 1884 in Boone Co, Arkansas. She died June 1, 1953 Tahlequah, Oklahoma and is buried in the Sweeten Cemetery in Inola beside her husband. John and Alice had 11 children: Mary Nancy Elizabeth, "Will" William Henry, "Rosie" Rosa May, "Tom" Thomas Franklin, John "Bert", Charles "Oscar", Carl Jethero, Shelby Arthur, Lillie Belle (deceased infant), Flossie Ann and Gracie "Ovid. The first 5 children were born in Arkansas. The next three were born in Braggs Indian Territory, and the last three were born in Inola, Indian Territory.
John Henry and Emily Alice moved from Indiana with Alice's parents Henry Perry Clark and Elizabeth Hall to Braggs Indian Territory. They remained in Braggs for about 12 years. Some say they came to Oklahoma for one of the land runs in about 1899. I have no proof of this. John Henry in studying his Bible started keeping the 7th day Sabbath in 1901. He moved his family to Inola Indian Territory in February of 1905 for the Okla-homa Land-run of 1905. The Land-run was on a Saturday. In John's keeping of the 7th Day Sabbath, he wouldn't go for the land run on the Sabbath. He waited until Sunday to go for his land. Many told him he wouldn't get any because he didn't go on Saturday. God proved them wrong. Great-granddad got his land. I know where the property is that he got from the Land-run. The property is on the main street of town at the east end, after the railroad tracks. When I moved to Inola, Oklahoma in 1979, the house my grandparents Oscar and Martha Hinds lived in when four of their children were born, was in a heap. I have pictures of the house while it was still standing. It was originally great-granddad's and great grandmother's house.
I don't know how long my great-grandparents lived on the property Granddad got from the land-run. I do know that when John Henry moved to Inola, he didn't know of any other 7th Day Sabbath Keepers, so he started a Bible Study group in his home. Others joined the group and later they joined the Church of God organization out of Stanberry, Missouri. The Church of God (Seventh Day) as it is called now, is not part of the Adventist organization.) In 1920 a Church Sabbath School was organized. John Henry became a licensed minister of the Church of God in 1924. Many years later granddad offered some of his land to build a church chapel on. I don't know what year Great-grandad bought the 80 acres up the other side of Commodore Holler south of Inola. They had a grain fields, a grainary, a garden, and a small orchard. Great-grandad was still plowing at 81 with a donkey and horse driven plow. I have a picture of him plowing in the field.
I do believe most of John Henry and Alice's children lived in Inola with their families as adults. I know Will and Minnie did, John Bert and Bertha did, Shelby and Goldie did, my grandparents Oscar and Martha did and later they moved to Arizona before returning to Oklahoma in Pryor and later Claremore. Rosie and Sam did. Sam and Rosie moved to Braggs, Bert and Bertha to Arizona and New Mexico, I do believe. Bert and Bertha's daughter Jewel married Virgil Kennedy and her cousin, the daughter of Shelby and Goldie, Bea married Oliver Kennedy of Inola. Bea's sister Wanda married Burris Pruitt who was a cousin to the Kennedy's of Inola. Some of the grandchildren of John and Alice married and lived in Inola for a few years. Aunt Flossie married Ernest Walker and Aunt Ovid married Haskell Pennel both of Inola and moved to Denver, Colorado and raised their families.
I am not going to post the actual Genealogy here on my blog. I do have it on my Angelfire site if you would like to go there and read it. Hinds Family History: angelfire.com/stars5/starlight0/ be sure and put the last slash on the link or it won't work.
I hope you enjoy this brief history as much as I enjoyed typing it up. Take care family.
*Starlight* aka Connie James
May 31, 2021
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