Dear Kinfolk,

Our grandmother, Tommie Lee Boles, claimed she was Scotch-Irish-Indian.  We know her ggg grandfather, John Boles, born 1765, came to America from Ireland.  We believe that his wife, Anne Ramsey was Native American.  They lived in Laurens and Abbeville, South Carolina, which was in the middle of the Cherokee Nation. 

 Tommie was born October 28, 1871, in Chandler, Henderson County, Texas.  Her parents were Levi C. and Nancy (Gore) Boles.  Henderson County had been the home of the Texas Cherokees.  Their Chief was John Bowles whom was a distant relative of our grandmother.  The relationship revealed when Tommie and her father made application for Cherokee citizenship with the Dawes Commission in 1896, case # 4618.  There were several affidavits submitted with their application confirming their Cherokee blood.  One read, “In the case by Levi C. Boles, age 64, states he is a cousin to Johnson Boles, Lightening  Bug Boles, Joe Boles and a distant relative of old Chief Boles.”   Johnson and Lightening Bug Boles were sons of Chief Bowles.  Some other affidavits were given by Saike Splitnose and George Dreadful Water.  Interesting reading if you want to pull up the case on the internet.  It is my belief that our ggg Grandfather, James Boles, born 1760, and Chief Bowles, born 1765, were brothers.  This belief is based upon the affidavits, but history has not confirmed the relationship.  In research you will find a number of spellings of Boles, Bowles, Boll, Bowl, etc..

Aunt Joy and Uncle Eddie in front of Chief Bowles and Sam Houston's statue.

Chief Bowles was quite famous in the early Texas history.  A book was written,  CHIEF BOWLES AND THE TEXAS CHEROKEES, by Mary Whatley Clark.   A statue of Chief Bowles and Sam Houston can be found in the park of Nacogdoches, Texas. 

The statue depicts Houston and Bowles signing the treaty of 1836 with the Native American tribes of east Texas, ensuring their neutrality in the war with Mexico.  A treaty that was soon broken when the white settlers wanted the Indian territory for farming.

According to our Aunt Noma,  her mother Tommie’s home in Henderson County was a dugout.  When Tommie was 4 years old, her mother Nancy died giving birth to her son Jetti L. Boles.  That left their father Levi, with three boys and two girls to raise in the dugout.  The siblings were Ellen O., John W., James R., Tommie Lee, and Jetti L. Boles.  Ellen, age 15, took over the cooking and raising of her siblings.

We do not know much about their early life, only that they eventually made a move from Chandler to Quanah Texas.   Later they moved from Quanah to Bowie, Texas. Grandmother said she and her brothers, James and Jetti made the move in a covered wagon. 

Aunt Ellen. The man in the uniform is her son.

By that time Ellen had married Tine Gililland and lived in Bowie. 

Tine Gililland, Aunt Ellen's husband.

Tommie went to the fourth grade, then she got a dictionary to self teach herself.  Tine Gililland was a carpenter by trade.  He built a fine two-story home in Bowie that still stands today.

Home in Bowie

After a three-year courtship, mostly by mail, Tommie roped her cowboy boyfriend Black Bill Anderson.  They were married in Quanah Texas on April 1, 1894. 

Marriage certificate of Tommie Boles and William Anderson.

After they married they moved in with her sister Ellen and brother-in-law Tine Gililland  in Bowie.  Their first child Noma was born in Ellen’s home.  When Noma was two years old, Bill and Tommie decided to move La Junta, Colorado, however along the way they found an opportunity to homestead 160 acres in Red Moon, Oklahoma Territory. The town named for Chief Red Moon.  On this farm the rest of the family was born, Orren 1898, Virgil 1900, Lillie 1902,Wm. Jack 1904, Leona 1910 and Georgia Faye 1912.  Their life in Red Moon and Strong City was covered in the William Henry Anderson’s blogs.

Here is a picture of our sweet and loving grandmother, Tommie Lee Boles Anderson.  

Grandmother Tommie Lee Boles Anderson

To my cousins, before I start writing about our great grandfather, Albert J. Anderson, I would love to hear from you about your favorite memories of Bill and Tommie.  

Jim Lee