A Stair-step of Cousins

#52 ancestors Week 7
Feb. 18-24 Family Photo

A Stair-step of Cousins

 By Myra Vanderpool Gormley © 2019 

Left to right (surname FRICKS): Norma Jean, Sherman, Kathleen, Leon, Helen, and Lorene. They range in ages from about 12 to 6. The date of the photograph is estimated to be about 1937. Norma Jean, Kathleen and Lorene are the daughters of Teck P. Fricks and Mildred Inez Smith. Sherman, Leon and Helen are the children of Homer N. Fricks and Virgie Dee Shirley. All are grandchildren of Charles W. Fricks (1873-1958) and Ida Mae Hensley (1879-1959). 

Like many old pictures, this one did not have any information recorded on the back — no date, place, or any names. The photograph appears to have been taken a few miles north of Muskogee, Oklahoma, near where the paternal grandparents resided. Homer and Virgie moved to Houston, Texas between 1927 and October of 1929 as their daughter, Helen, was born in the Lone Star state. Their two older sons were born in Muskogee County, Oklahoma in 1925 and 1927. Evidently, the Texas cousins had returned to Oklahoma to visit both sets of their grandparents, and someone had a camera handy to record the get-together of the six cousins in what appears to be summertime. 

The maternal grandparents of Sherman, Leon and Helen were William Henry Shirley (1863-1954) and Martha E. Waymire (1869-1954), who also lived in Muskogee County, Oklahoma, near Fort Gibson. 

1922 map. Muskogee County, OK. Thanks to MyGenealogyHound.com

Who took the snapshot is not known, but it was probably Virgie (Shirley) Fricks. The picture was part of my mother’s collection and she was an aunt to all these children. Mother provided the names of her nieces and nephews who appear here, and other cousins have confirmed the names, position, and approximate ages. 

While other copies of this snapshot may exist among my family members, I don't  know that for sure so I want to share it just in case I have cousins who have never seen it.