52 Ancestors: Thomas Miller Hoard - A Life Across America's Heartland

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Thomas and Martha with their three oldest boys.



Like a wheel in motion, my 2x great-grandfather Thomas Miller Hoard's life was characterized by constant movement across America's heartland as he sought better opportunities for his family. Throughout his 69 years, Thomas's journey would take him through multiple states - from Missouri to Nebraska, Arkansas to Kansas, and finally to Oklahoma - as he raised a large family and adapted to the changing economic and social landscape of late 19th and early 20th century America.

Early Life and Family Background

Thomas Miller Hoard was born on June 27, 1867 to James W. Hoard (1837-1911) and Emily Letitia Scott (1848-1948), Thomas came from a family with its own interesting history. According to his father's obituary, James was born near Atlanta, Georgia on June 7, 1839. As a boy, he moved with his parents to Alabama, where he lived until the Civil War broke out. James then enlisted in the Confederate Army and served for three years. After the war, he relocated to Missouri, where he married Emily Scott in 1866 at Pratt City.

Missouri to Nebraska: Post-Civil War Migration

By 1874, the family had moved to Nebraska, where they settled in Vesta, Johnson County. The 1880 census confirms 13-year-old "Thos Hoard" living in his father James's household there. Nebraska would be home during Thomas's formative teenage years. The documents show some discrepancy about Thomas's birth year - while most records (including his gravestone) list 1867, some census records suggest he may have been born around 1869 in Tecumseh, Nebraska.

This move from Missouri to Nebraska was not unusual for the time. The post-Civil War era saw significant movement out of Missouri, especially among families with Southern roots or Confederate ties like the Hoards. Missouri, a border state with divided loyalties, experienced both economic and social upheaval after the war. Many families sought new opportunities in the expanding West and Midwest, particularly as the Homestead Act of 1862 made land available in Nebraska and other territories. Nebraska was actively being settled during this period, offering affordable farmland and a fresh start for many, including former Confederates and their families.

Marriage and Family Formation

In 1890, at age 23, Thomas married Martha Ellen McCombs on October 9th in Bentonville, Benton County, Arkansas. The young couple would begin their family in Arkansas, with their first three sons born there:

  • George Franklin Hoard (1891-1968)
  • Charles Oscar Hoard (1893-1951)
  • Bertie Leroy "Roy" Hoard (1895-1976)

Moving Between Kansas and Arkansas

By 1900, Thomas and his growing family had relocated to Harvey, Cowley County, Kansas, where the census lists him as a 32-year-old farmer. Their daughter Pearl Marie Hoard (1900-1990) was born in Cambridge, Cowley County, Kansas on February 21, 1900.

The family didn't stay in Kansas long. By 1902, they had returned to Arkansas, where their son Ernest Edward Oliver Hoard (1902-1980) was born in Hiwassee, Benton County on March 22. Their daughter Mary Celeste Hoard (1904-1992) was also born in Hiwassee on May 31, 1904.

The 1910 census finds Thomas, now 42, farming in Dickson, Benton County, Arkansas. Their youngest daughter, Lillie Lutitia Hoard (1910-1963), my great grandmother, was born in Little Rock, Arkansas on October 31, 1910.

Thomas remained in Arkansas through at least 1920, as the census that year still places him in Dickson, Benton County, working as a farmer at age 51.

Farming in a Changing Economy

These moves between Kansas and Arkansas likely reflect the challenges and opportunities faced by farming families during this period. The late 19th and early 20th centuries saw significant changes in American agriculture, including mechanization, fluctuating crop prices, and periods of drought. Many farming families moved frequently in search of better land, more favorable growing conditions, or economic opportunity.

Final Years in Oklahoma

Sometime in the 1920s, Thomas and Martha relocated to Oklahoma, their final move. The 1930 census shows Thomas, age 62, working as a laborer and living at 211 N. Pettit Street in Hominy, Osage County, Oklahoma with Martha. Their daughter Lillie and her husband had also made the same move during this time. 

The Osage Oil Boom

This move to Oklahoma coincided with a period of significant economic activity in Osage County due to the oil boom. In the 1920s, Osage County was at the center of a massive oil rush, making it one of the wealthiest areas per capita in the world at that time. Many people moved to the region seeking work, whether in oil, agriculture, or supporting industries.

It's noteworthy that the 1930 census lists Thomas as a "laborer" rather than a farmer, suggesting he may have changed occupations in his later years. This shift could reflect the broader economic transformation in Oklahoma from agriculture to oil and other industries. For a man in his sixties who had been a farmer most of his life, the oil boom may have offered different types of employment opportunities that were less physically demanding than farming.

This period in Osage County was also marked by the "Osage Reign of Terror," a series of murders tied to oil wealth and land rights, although there is no indication the Hoard family was directly involved in or affected by these tragic events.

Thomas Miller Hoard passed away on December 8, 1936, at the age of 69 in Hominy, Osage County, Oklahoma. He was laid to rest at A.J. Powell Memorial Cemetery in Hominy.

Family Legacy

Thomas's life spanned nearly seven decades of profound change in America—from the post-Civil War Reconstruction era through World War I and the Great Depression. Throughout these years, he maintained his role as a farmer and family man, adapting to new locations and circumstances.

Together, Thomas and Martha raised seven children who lived to adulthood:

  1. George Franklin Hoard (1891-1968)
  2. Charles Oscar Hoard (1893-1951)
  3. Bertie Leroy "Roy" Hoard (1895-1976)
  4. Pearl Marie Hoard (1900-1990)
  5. Ernest Edward Oliver Hoard (1902-1980)
  6. Mary Celeste Hoard (1904-1992)
  7. Lillie Lutitia Hoard (1910-1963)

Martha Ellen McCombs Hoard outlived her husband by nearly a decade, passing away in 1946.

Reflections on Thomas's Life

In researching Thomas Miller Hoard, I've discovered a man whose life journey reflects broader patterns of American history and migration. His moves from Missouri to Nebraska after the Civil War, his farming years in Kansas and Arkansas, and his final chapter in oil-boom Oklahoma all connect to larger historical trends that shaped the lives of many Americans during this period.



Sources:

  1. 1870 U.S. Census, Carroll, Platte, Missouri - Shows Thomas Hord (3), At Home, in Carroll, Platte, Missouri. Born in Missouri.
  2. 1880 U.S. Census, Vesta, Johnson, Nebraska - Shows Thos Hoard (13), single son, in household of Jas. Hoard (35) in Vesta, Johnson, Nebraska, USA.
  3. Arkansas County Marriage Records - Thomas M Hoard (23) marriage to Martha E McCombs on 9 Oct 1890 in Benton, Arkansas, USA.
  4. 1900 U.S. Census, Harvey, Cowley, Kansas - Shows Thomas Hoard (32), married, Farmer, head of household in Harvey, Cowley, Kansas.
  5. 1910 U.S. Census, Dickson, Benton, Arkansas - Shows Thomas M Hoard (42), married, Farmer, head of household in Dickson, Benton, Arkansas.
  6. 1920 U.S. Census, Dickson, Benton, Arkansas - Shows Thomas M Hoard (51), married, Farmer, head of household in Dickson, Benton, Arkansas.
  7. 1930 U.S. Census, Hominy, Osage, Oklahoma - Shows Thomas Hoard (62), married, Laborer, head of household at 211 N PEttit, Hominy, Osage, Oklahoma, USA.
  8. The Latham Mirror, June 15, 1911 - Obituary of J.W. Hoard, Thomas's father
  9. Find A Grave - Thomas Miller Hoard burial (died on 8 Dec 1936) at A.J. Powell Memorial Cemetery, Hominy, Osage County, Oklahoma, United States of America. Born on 27 Jun 1867.
  10. Arkansas, U.S., Birth Certificates, 1914-1924 - Indicates Thomas Miller Hoard born in about 1869 in Tecumsa Nebraska.
  11. Springfield, Missouri, U.S., St. Louis-San Francisco Railway Employee Cards, 1940-1980 - Record of son Bertie Roy Hoard showing parent information.
  12. Gates, Paul W. "Fifty Million Acres: Conflicts over Kansas Land Policy, 1854-1890" (for context on Kansas settlement).
  13. Chapman, Berlin B. "The Osage Oil Boom" (The Oklahoma Historical Society) (for context on Oklahoma oil industry).
  14. Grann, David. "Killers of the Flower Moon: The Osage Murders and the Birth of the FBI" (for context on the Osage County in the 1920s).
  15. Hine, Robert V. and John Mack Faragher. "The American West: A New Interpretive History" (for context on post-Civil War migration patterns).

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