When it gets to Eliphalet in Oklahoma - he is listed as Eliphalet "Jack" Eggleston in the Woods County book. For a long time I thought it was just a general nickname, to separate the Eliphalets from each other. Then, in the census record for 1910 Oklahoma, Woods Co, McKinley Twp, he is listed as Jackson Eggleston. Now that's interesting. I find no other record for him giving that name - nor even the initial J. So, I guess, that becomes the source for the nickname "Jack"? Yet, I have a letter from an Eggleston who stated the man's name as E E Eggleston. What is the other E for?
Then along comes his son, Eliphalet, who goes by several nicknames. The 1920 Oklahoma census lists him as Eliphalet Jr. Does that mean his name is Eliphalet Jackson, too, as one would usually conclude? To his family he was often "Lipha", although around Chickasha he was known as "Jack". His wife and her family called him "Lafe".
Uncle Lafe's birth record gives both his father's name and his own name as just Eliphalet.
Oklahoma, State Health Dept, Delayed certificate of birthPlace of birth - Woods Co, Waynoka. Residence of Mother at time of birth - Waynoka, Oklahoma, Woods Co. Full name of child: Eliphalet Eggleston. Date of birth - Nov 4, 1898. Father: Eliphalet Eggleston, age 46, born Greensburgh, Indiana, farmer. Mother: Rosa Josephine Kruse, 21, b Arvensville, Illinois, housewife. Number of children of this mother, including this birth : 2. Number born alive and now living: 2. Number born alive but now dead: 0. Certificate of attending physician, midwife, parent or relative: I hereby certify that I was present at the birth of this child, who was born alive at 6 pm on the date above stated. Rosa J Eggleston, Mother, Waynoka, Oklahoma, 8-25-1941.
This is repetition, but I want to list all the records I have for Lafe Eggleston:
1900 Oklahoma, Woods Co, Waynoka Twp, 1 June
102/102 Eggleston, E, head, b Aug 1843, 46, marr 2 yrs, owner - free, farmer - farm 74, b Indiana New York Kentucky / Rosa, wife, b Oct 1877, 22, marr 2 yrs, 2 ch 2 liv, b Illinois Illinois Illinois / Eda, dau, b Feb 1897, b Kansas Indiana Illinois; Eliphalet, son, b Nov 1898, 1, b Kansas Indiana Illinois
1910 Oklahoma, Woods Co, McKinley Twp, 28 April
105/106 Eggleston, Jackson, head, 56, marr 1, marr 12 yrs, owner - free, farming - farm 102, b Indiana New York Kentucky / Rosie, wife, 32, marr 1, marr 12 yrs, 6 ch 6 liv, b Illinois Illinois Illinois // Edith, dau, 13, school, b Kansas Indiana Illinois; Eliphalet, son, 11, school, b Oklahoma Indiana Illinois; William, son, 9, school, b Oklahoma Indiana Illinois; Viola, dau, 7, school, b Oklahoma Indiana Illinois; Mollie, dau, 5, b Oklahoma Indiana Illinois; Theodore, son, 4, b Oklahoma Indiana Illinois
1920 Oklahoma, Woods Co, McKinley Twp, 22-23 January
farm 105/105 Eggleston, Eliphalet, head, 66, owner - mtg, farmer - general farm 101, b Indiana New York Kentucky / Rosa J, wife, 42, b Illinois Illinois Illinois // Eliphalet Jr, son, 21, farm laborer - home farm, b Oklahoma Indiana Illinois; William H, son, 19, farm laborer - home farm, b Oklahoma Indiana Illinois; Viola E, dau, 17, b Oklahoma Indiana Illinois; Mollie R, dau, 16, school, b Oklahoma Indiana Illinois; Theodore R, son, 14, school, b Oklahoma Indiana Illinois1930 Oklahoma, Woods Co, McKinley Twp, ED 76-22, 18 April
71/74 Eggleston, Rosa J, head, 52, wd, marr 18 yrs, owner, farmer - farm 45, b Illinois Illinois Illinois // Eliphalet, son, 31, single, farmer - general farm 46, b Oklahoma Indiana Illinois
ᕗAs you can see, Lafe was single a long time. He stayed on the farm to help his mother after his father died. In 1936 Lafe married Veda Berry, my mother-in-law's sister.
License: issued 6th April 1936 to Eliphalet Eggleston of Waynoka, county of Woods, state of Oklahoma, aged 37 years and Miss Veda Berry of Vici, county of Ellis, state of Oklahoma, aged 29.
Certificate of Marriage: I, L O White, Minister, Disciples of Christ of Fairview, in Major County, Oklahoma, do hereby certify that I joined in marriage the persons named in and authorized by this license to be married, on the 12th day of April, 1936, at Fairview, in Major County, State of Oklahoma, in the presence of Vera Berry of Vici, Oklahoma and M J Berry of Vici, Oklahoma. L O White, Christian Minister.
-The marriage of Miss Veda Berry of Vici and Mr Lafe Eggleston of Waynoka took place Sunday at Fairview, with Rev L O White reading the marriage vows.
-Miss Berry graduated from the Vici High School with the class of 1925, after which she attended Northwestern State Teacher's College at Alva, obtaining her life certificate. She has taught several terms of school, and has always been active in church work.
-Mr Eggleston is a farmer living near Waynoka, where they will make their home for the present.
-The young couple have the best wishes of the community for a happy journey through life together.
---Lots 17 & 18, Block 15, University Heights Addition to City of Chickasha, Oklahoma, E Eggleston and Veda B Eggleston
---Lots 1, 2, 3, & 4, Block 16, University Heights Addition to City of Chickasha, E Eggleston and Veda Berry Eggleston
ᕗThe lots were across the street from each other. On one plot Uncle Lafe built their house.
ᕗ The second plot, on the west, was the food lot. The Garden must have been huge judging by the lists of food Veda put up. She kept day books (I have two of them) and recorded nearly everything that happened in their lives, including how much she canned and how much she put in the freezer. Uncle Lafe didn't leave his farming background behind when he moved to the city. He just made sure to have enough land to keep providing for their eating.
My husband's favorite "crop" was Uncle Lafe's rabbit sausage. They raised rabbits and chickens, grew corn and tomatoes and beans and watermelons and peppers and whatever else suited them. The lots on which the house was built were planted with pecan trees.
ᕗ When my husband was a youngster, he was presented with a pecan seedling from the Chickasha trees to plant in his backyard in Oklahoma City. He did; it grew. Our own son grew with the tree as it aged and kept reaching higher and higher. I have photos of him at the top, high above the roof of the house. It was a good bearer and we had, for many years, crops of pecans for me to shell. Leaving that tree behind when we moved 25 years later was one of the hardest things I've had to do.
ᕗ Uncle Lafe was a storyteller. He had a pocket watch - a railroad watch - and when he would pull that out of his pocket the storytelling would begin. They were true stories, although I imagine they were stretched a bit - or more. Every once in a while you could hear Auntie - in the kitchen - scoffing at something he said. I'm not sure why he had a railroad watch, except perhaps it came from his brother who worked for the railroad.
ᕗ Uncle Lafe could quilt. There was a photo in the living room of he and his mother quilting. Auntie let me trace the pattern for one quilt that he had worked with his mother. I called it the Lindbergh quilt. It was alternating squares - probably 10 or 12 inch squares - with an American eagle stitched white-on-white in half the squares, and a yellow monoplane pieced in the other squares. I thought it was wonderful. It didn't come to Oklahoma City with Auntie's things, when she had to move here, so I imagine it went to Bill and his family after Lafe died.ᕗ Uncle Lafe died in February 1975. There was an ice and snow storm in the week before his death. My sister-in-law and I, and my year-old son, drove to Chickasha for the funeral. It was a harrowing journey.
Death certificate excerpt: State of Oklahoma
Eliphalet Eggleston, died February 3, 1975, age 76 yrs, at Grady Memorial Hospital, Chickasha, Grady Co, Oklahoma, of pneumonia due to cerebral vascular accident. Stan K Shields, MD. Born Nov 4, 1898, Oklahoma; father Eliphalet Eggleston; mother Rosa J Kruse. Usual Residence: 1828 Arizona, Chickasha, Grady Co, Oklahoma. Spouse: Veda Eggleston. Occupation: carpenter-farmer. Informant: Veda Eggleston. Burial: 6 Feb 1975, Fairlawn Cemetery, Chickasha, Oklahoma. Sevier Funeral Home, Chickasha, Oklahoma.
Funeral services for E Eggleston, 76, of 1828 Arizona will be at 1:30 pm Thursday in the Chapel of the Sevier Funeral Home, with Dr Frank Winfrey, pastor of the First Christian Church, officiating.
Mr Eggleston was born at Waynoka, Nov 4, 1898 and died Monday in Grady Memorial Hospital.
He moved to Chickasha in 1946 from Alva. In his early life he had been a farmer. He had been a carpenter 20 years. Mr Eggleston and Veda Berry were married April 12, 1936 at Fairview. He was a member of the IOOF Lodge at Waynoka for over 50 years.
He is survived by his wife, Veda, of the home; two brothers, W H Eggleston of Chickasha and T R Eggleston of Waynoka, Okla; two sisters Mrs Edith Schwarm of Greensburg, Ks, and Mrs Vye O'Neal of Montabello, Calif; and one aunt Mrs Gussie High of Alva.
Interment will be in Fairlawn Cemetery under the direction of Sevier Funeral Home.
---Funeral card:
In Memoriam / Eliphalet Eggleston / Birth Date / November 4, 1898 / Entered into Rest / February 3, 1975 / Memorial Service / Chapel of Sevier Funeral Home / Thursday / February 6, 1975 1:30 pm / Officiating Clergy / Dr Frank Winfrey / First Christian Church / Chickasha, Oklahoma / Resting Place / Fairlawn Cemetery / Chickasha, Oklahoma / Conducted By / Sevier Funeral Home / Jodie Sevier Larry Sevier
ᕗ Auntie and Uncle Lafe were the best kind of people. They often drove from Chickasha to Waynoka while Rosie was still alive to help out with whatever needed doing. They were involved in the IOOF and auxiliary, attending plenty o' meetings, local and statewide; they were busily active in church affairs. 
They had no children of their own so they helped raise three children who loved them very much - children of Veda's sister. My mother-in-law was a single parent and the kids came to Chickasha as often as they could during the school year and for long spells during the summer. It was their second home. Judy attended the college across the road from their neighborhood; C T named his first son after Uncle Lafe; my husband could hardly wait for me to meet them. He loved them dearly and I did too.
My husband and his Uncle Lafe December 1956
