To: “Miss Nora Gillmore, Fernwood Okla. Beaver Co.”
“From your friend Hazel. Mrs. C. O. Shirley, 4145 Penn St. K.C. Mo.”
Fernwood, Oklahoma is one of those here today, gone tomorrow locations (of which there were a number of in the OK panhandle.) It shows up in the ghost town category on the Oklahoma GenWeb website, as being located in Texas County, though obviously the postcard sender stated Beaver County. Beaver County takes up the easternmost section of the Oklahoma panhandle and Texas County is the neighboring county to the west. Nora, the addressee of this card, is Nora Gillmore, daughter of Ephram Gillmore and Mary Hunt; born about 1870 in Missouri. She married William James Brooks, May 23, 1909. Their marriage license gave her residence at the time as Hooker, Texas County, OK, and his as Fort Bragg, Mendocino County, CA. Hooker is located about fifteen miles west of the dividing line between Texas and Beaver Counties. Per Ancestry.com family trees Nora was a schoolteacher who formerly resided in Kansas City, MO, which makes sense – the sender of this card was her friend, Hazel, showing a K.C., MO address.
When was Fernwood?
Very few other references regarding Fernwood show up online (as of the date of this post) but it seems to have been recognized as a town or community from at least 1905 – 1908.
Divided back, used postcard. Postmarked August 9, 1907 from Kansas City, Missouri and August 13, 1907 in Fernwood, Oklahoma. Publisher: IPCN & Co. Series or number: 120-15.
Price: $15.00
Sources: “Oklahoma, County Marriages, 1890-1995,” index and images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QVPX-DYBS : accessed 31 May 2015), William James Brooks and Nora Gillmore, 23 May 1909; citing Oklahoma, county courthouses, Oklahoma; FHL microfilm .
“Illinois Marriages, 1815-1935,” index, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:V2PH-W31 : accessed 31 May 2015), E. B. Gilmore and Mary E. Hunt, 24 Dec 1867; citing Pike,Illinois; FHL microfilm 1,315,801.
Year: 1900; Census Place: Kansas City Ward 4, Jackson, Missouri; Roll: 861; Page: 15A; Enumeration District: 0039; FHL microfilm: 1240861. (Ancestry.com)
Lee & Gillmore Family Tree. “Nora Rachel Gilmore.” Web accessed May 31, 2015. (Ancestry.com)
Beaver County, Oklahoma. n.d. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beaver_County,_Oklahoma. (accessed May 31, 2015).
State of Oklahoma – Ghost Towns that Begin with the Letter “F”. USGenWeb. Web accessed May 31, 2015. [http://files.usgwarchives.net/ok/okstate/history/fghosttowns.txt]
Fernwood, Oklahoma mentioned in Appeal to Reason. October 28, 1905. p. 4. Web accessed May 31, 2015. (Newspapers.com)
Fernwood, Oklahoma mentioned in Cigarmakers Official Journal: May 15, 1908, Vol. 32, p. 9. Web accessed May 31, 2015. (Google eBook)