To all my younger cousins and family members that are in the generations following me. I am so pleased to announce that I have found a photo which has been missing in our family for over 30 years. I am so happy to introduce you to a photograph that my generation and older grew up seeing as a classic portrait in our grandmothers room. This photo is of our Grandmother Florene James’ father Mayes Love. His first name was actually Mayes, but folks seemed to call him May for short. May Love is the son of Simon Love, our great great grandfather that I just recently documented in the new book, “Oklahoma Freedmen of the Five Tribes.”
Not much is known about Mayes since he died shortly after our grandmother was born. She didn’t have many stories to share about him because she was so young when he died. Here is a short synopsis of things we do know about May from documents during his life.
May Love was born in 1876 to Simon Love and Patsy Gaines Love. He was one of seven kids born to this union. He was the oldest child and his siblings were Ben, Frances, Ninnie, Aaron, Mimi, and Allie Love. The family lived in Pickens County, Indian Territory, which may have been somewhere near the Red River and close to what is now Marrietta, Oklahoma.
The period May was born is known as the Reconstruction Era. This is the time Indian Territory was going through many changes. The Civil War had been over for about a decade and black families were no longer slaves but most were sharecroppers still working on the land or near their old masters lands. As detailed in the story about Simon Love, fortunately May most likely worked and helped out on his fathers land. Simon had acquired his own land and at one time had over 200 cattle and was quite the veterinarian of the area. He had prize winning crops that sold many times for the highest amount in his area, therefore we can assume that May had a comfortable life during his young adult years monetarily.
At age 21, in 1898, May enrolled with his father, mother and siblings for their land allotment. They were enumerated by the Dawes Commission as Chickasaw Freedmen since his mother and father were slaves of Robert Love and James Gaines. Although slavery had now been over for quite some time the Indian tribal governments were making it difficult for sharecroppers and other land owners to farm their lands. They were no longer allowing additional people into the territory from other areas which was the way people managed the upkeep of their large farms. The times became harder and harder for folks with large farms. But, fortunately Simon and his family were very resilient and came up with many additional ways to make money.
The land the family was allotted by the Chickasaw tribe may have been where they were originally located plus surrounding acreage. They were in Hickory Township, Love County which is still very close to Marietta.
In December 1906, May Love married our great grandmother Nellie Branch. He was 30 years of age and she was 16. They married in Ardmore at Missionary Baptist Church and was wed by Rev. JW Perkins. Nellie must have been the perfect wife for May as Nellie had just completed “finishing school.” Finishing schools taught young women social graces, etiquette and many times how to live in a higher class society.
Just 3-4 years later on the 1910 census, May and Nellie were listed with their two young daughters Leta age two and an half, and Maybel, one and a half. Unfortunately, these two children died shortly after this census. There were no vaccines yet for common childhood illness and many children died due to smallpox, measles, scarlet fever, typhoid fever, whooping cough or diphtheria.
This time must have been extremely difficult for young Nellie at just 20 years old she had lost two children and was expecting our Grandmother Florene born Jan. 13, 1911. The following year, Nellie gave birth to a son Cecil Love born on October 20th, 1912.
Unfortunately just 8 months later, and at the young age of 35, May Love passed away. He died in July 1913 leaving young Nellie and her two small children Florene and Cecil Love. Fortunately, according to the census at the time, they all lived among relatives as neighbors and I’m sure Nellie had the love and support of surrounding relatives to assist her with the children. May is most likely buried in the Marrietta area, exact location is unknown.
The Bubble Photo Portrait
The portrait style that is in this bubble frame was an actual photographic technique that was popular using the cameras and film development during that time. Photographers would enhance the image of a photograph by drawing or sketching on different areas of the image to clear up the photo for their clients. They would then place the image in a bubble like convex glass cover with ornate frames. This was a popular look for photos taken during the 1900-1920’s. Since we know May died in 1913, he most likely had this photo done in his mid to late 20’s.
I have always loved the handsome way he looks in the photo with his suit and bow tie on. He looks quite young now that I am seeing this photo again as an adult. I’m so happy to have found this photo and share it with the family once again. Also to note, May was listed in the 1910 census as being at least one quarter Chickasaw himself, as his father Simon and grandfather Wash Colbert were known to have Indian blood and both spoke the Chickasaw language. Thank you Cousin Barbara Love Smith who had the photo all these years that we thought had become lost forever.
Underneath The Leaves 