Dewey Dunaway is a name I have heard a number of times since I was a young child. He is my great grandfather, the father of my grandmother Margaret V. Dunaway. He is also a mystery to me. As of this moment, I have no pictures of the man, though I seem to recall having seen one or two some years ago. I imagine it won't be long before something surfaces.
There are bits of information I have been able to retrieve from online records, scanty though they are. I seem to know more about his mother Mary Savilla Rayborn/Rayburn than I do about him. Dewey's death certificate says he was born in Mississippi on January 7, 1900.
There are bits of information I have been able to retrieve from online records, scanty though they are. I seem to know more about his mother Mary Savilla Rayborn/Rayburn than I do about him. Dewey's death certificate says he was born in Mississippi on January 7, 1900.
Records show that on March 14, 1918 he married Julia Mae Maraman, my great grandmother, of whom I still have some memories as she lived until 1980. If all of these dates are correct thus far, that means he was at least 17 or 18 years of age when he came to Palestine, Texas, perhaps much younger, because this marriage took place in that town.
This past summer I was able to make a trip to Palestine, and after spending some time in the genealogy room at Palestine Public Library I came across a record of his burial plot in the "New Addition" section of the city cemetery.
This past summer I was able to make a trip to Palestine, and after spending some time in the genealogy room at Palestine Public Library I came across a record of his burial plot in the "New Addition" section of the city cemetery.
More to come in the next post. Stay tuned!