Thomas Wesley Clepper III

Tommy, age 81, flew to Heaven on wings of angels on the evening of January 7, 2009. He was born May 29, 1927 in Nowata, OK. He is preceded in death by his eldest daughter, Ivy Christine Walker, his father Thomas W. Clepper, II, and mother, Martha Ann Jones Clepper. He is survived by his wife of almost 54 years, Mildred Jacqueline Drake, whom he married February 23, 1956 in Chattanooga, TN; son, Thomas W. Clepper, IV (wife Renee) of Alexandria, VA and daughter Amy Richardson (husband Clark) of Terrell, TX; grandchildren Thomas Wesley Clepper, V (wife Michelle); Sgt. Clark Richardson, U.S. Army (wife Crystal), Erin Clepper, Megan Walker, Holly Richardson, Emily Walker Crume (husband Kyle), PFC Charles C. Walker, U.S. Army, and Olivia Clepper; great-grand children Chase Clepper, Chloe Crume, Ayden Clepper and Sydney Crume; brothers Walter D. Clepper, (wife Leta) Ooltewah, TN; Alan S. Clepper, (wife Miriam), Pine Mountain, GA and Frank Clepper (wife Bettye) Seymour, TN, and eleven nieces and nephews. He was a Senior Tool Engineer for almost 25 years at Lithonia Lighting, Conyers, Georgia where he designed and manufactured industrial and home fluorescent lighting fixtures. He was drafted into the Army as a Senior in high school in 1945 and trained in hand-to-hand combat as part of the Japanese islands invasion force. Soon thereafter, he was discharged to help his mother and brothers after the death of his father. He was a faithful Christian and a member of Whitney Baptist Church, Leesburg, FL and enjoyed studying the Bible, especially the Book of Revelation. He passed his passion for aviation and building model airplanes to his son and grandsons. A memorial service will be held at Whitney Baptist Church on Saturday, January 10, 2009 at 2:00 PM. In lieu of flowers, family and friends are invited to make a donation to the building fund for Whitney Baptist Church, 32630 North Whitney Road, Leesburg, FL 34748.

Tommy's ashes will be strewn in three different places: one-third will be spread near the coordinates where our daughter, Ivy Christine's (April 18, 1957 - June 16, 2004) ashes were strewn in the summer of 2004 near Pensacola, Florida; one-third will be strewn over the Clepper section of the Gilliam Cemetery and the Clepper plantation in Marion County, TN with the last third being strewn, along with the ashes of his wife, Jacqueline, over the Drake Cemetery and lands on Two Run Road, Geary District, Roane County, West Virginia.

Referene:
* http://www.legacy.com/RockdaleCitizen/Obituaries.asp?Page=LifeStory&PersonId=122412210
* http://www.dailycommercial.com/Obituaries/011009Clepper
* http://www.cemeterysurveysinc.com/?p=247706
* History and Genealogy of the family of Jacob Klepper/Clepper Family and Malcolm McAlpine Family
1986 / LOC 86-62751 / The Gregath Company / Page 150

William Wesley Clepper 1905-1978

Wesley Clepper was born in Hockley, Texas on 27 Oct 1905 and was the son of William Wesley Morris Clepper and Maggie Lee (Forehand) Clepper.
Wesley and Clara Ada Johnson were married on 15 Oct 1932 in Waller County, Texas. Ada was born on 11 Apr 1912 in Montgomery County, Texas and was the daughter of John Wesley Johnson and Bell Zora (Quinn) Johnson.
During the Johnson Family Reunion on 13 Nov1999, a few of Ada's sisters described Wesley as a handsome, upbeat, joking, and hard-working man that was liked by almost everyone.
Since there was no work in Waller and the farming was poor, Wesley went to work in Galveston, Texas. One of their projects was the sea wall in Galveston.
"Daddy worked all up and down the Gulf Coast. He did work on the seawall at times. He supervised the causeway building in Galveston that is currently being replaced. I believe that was in the early 50's." - Ethylene.

 Wesley's second wife was Erma Lee Autrey (SSN# 460-16-5089); 20 Feb 1961. She was born 01 Jan 1911 in Burleson County, Texas and died on 01 Jun 1986. Her body was buried at the Macedonia-Springer Cemetery in Hockley, Waller County, Texas.
"Wesley was a member of the Pile Drivers Union, Local 2079 for approximately 30 years. He was liked by everyone he worked for and was very dependable. He was a supervisor on most construction jobs. Wesley was seriously injured on a construction job at the Tennessee Gas Building (Tennaco Bldg.) in downtown Houston, Texas. A large steel "I" beam fell on him. The doctors feared he would not live. He was not able to return to work again and suffered a lot of pain the rest of his life when arthritis set in due to his injury. He sold his property in Hockley and retired on a lake in [Quitman] Ark."

    Wesley and Ada had seven children. Harvey Loyd Clepper (1936-1997), Cecil Leonard Clepper (1937-1990), and Ethylene Clepper Beard (1943-2011) have passed away, but the other four are still living.

Source:
• Lucille Mehrkam, History and Genealogy of the Family of Jacob Klepper/Clepper Family and Malcolm McAlpine Family (The Gregath Company, 1996), Library of Congress under card number 86-62751 (Page 216)
• http://picasaweb.google.com/MasseyTX/WesleyClepper
• FindAGrave.com

Wesley Clepper and the Bobcats

Two clippings from a Waller County area newspaper that are kept in a picture frame by William Wesley Clepper’s granddaughter, Dana Clepper Spires.

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HANDY WEAPON - W. W. Clepper, Rt. 1 Hockley, was driving down the road just south of Three-Mile Creek last Wednesday night when his car struck what he thought was a dog. Worried about the animal, Mr. Clepper got out to see about it. As he stepped from his car, this 20-pound bobcat, not a dog, jumped up and lunged at him. Mr. Clepper reached into the car for the only weapon - a crescent wrench. He struck down the big cat in the head, knocking it back, then killed it with the wrench.
- Staff Photo by Mary Midkiff

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Neighbor’s Dog Turned Into 20-Pound Bobcat
By Zane Chastain
Press Outdoor Editor

If you ever have reason to doubt that old saying about lightning striking twice in the same place, W. W. Clepper of Hockley can prove to you that it does... in the form of bobcats!
Driving home from the work just south of Three-Mile Creek recently late one evening, Clepper’s car struck something which felt like a dog.
Fearing it was one of his neighbor’s dogs that had dashed unseen out of the woods, the Houston area pile-driver operator stopped his car and started to get out to give the animal aid.
“It wasn’t a dog,” Clepper told listeners later on. “It was a big bobcat and he came right in after me when I started opening my door. That’s when I had to do something. So I grabbed a crescent wrench lying on the car seat and hit it.”
The blow, a solid one, lowered the boom on the cat, knocking it unconscious. The Clepper finished the devastating cat off.
As if that wasn’t enough, two weeks later, he was driving along the same road - and thinking about his hair-raising experience - when he saw a cat-like figure dash out of the woods into his headlights.
Again Clepper’s car hit the quick-moving animal and the husky Texas stopped to see what it was.
“Only this time I didn’t get out to see what it was,” he recalled. “I just backed up my car until I saw what it was. It was another bob-cat. Dead, too. This one, weighed 17 1/2 pounds.
The one he killed earlier pushed the scales to 20 pounds, and was a male.
“This one was a female. Must have been his mate. They travel in pairs and I was dog-gone lucky both of them didn’t tear into me that first night.”

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More Details:
• Lucille Mehrkam, History and Genealogy of the Family of Jacob Klepper/Clepper Family and Malcolm McAlpine Family (The Gregath Company, 1996), Library of Congress under card number 86-62751 (Page 216)

James Wesley Forehand 1825-1904

James Wesley Forehand, son of John W. and Margaret Jane (Marlin/Martin) Forehand, was born 09 October 1825 [March per his headstone] in Tennessee.
First marriage was to Susan Ann Armstrong, daughter of Thomas Armstrong, on 14 May 1851 in Dickson County, Tennessee.
Second marriage was to Louise Virginia (Stifflemire) Farris, widow of A. S. Farris, daughter of Jacob Stifflemire and Martha Cloyd, on 05 February 1865 in Grimes County, Texas.
James came to Texas about 1855 and enlisted on 18 March 1856 in travis County as a Texas Ranger Minuteman, Comm. Officer J. H. Conner. He reenlisted 02 December 1857 in San Saba County under John S. "RIP" Ford. Discharged 05 August 1858.
Family legion says James Wesley returned to Tennessee about 1859 and stole his small daughter, returning to Texas with her. He is listed in the 1860 census of Austin County, Texas with a small daughter Amanda Ann born ca 1851 in Tennessee.
He entered the Civil War 10 April 1862, age 37, as a Private in Company F, 21 Cavalary, 1 Reginment, Carter's Brigade, Texas Lancers. This company later became 21st Regiment Texas Cavalry. He was captured at Murfeesboro, Tennessee on 02 January 1863. (The Union Army retreated after losing 9,000 men in this battle on 02 January 1863). He is on the Roll of Prisoners of War dated 17 June 1863 to be transfered from Louisville, Kentucky to Camp Chase, Ohio. Listed as Private in Company F, 44th Tennessee Infantry Regiment. Discharged June 1863 after taking the oath of the Union. [His headstone list him as serving in Company H, 2nd Texas Calvery.]
In the probate records of Austin County, Texas, Term 1867, Book S page 71-72, "James W. Forehand petition for guardenship of his minor daughter, Amanda Ann Forehand, so he can return to Tennessee and handle her mother's Estate." He moved to Grimes County, texas in 1865; Austin County 1867-8; Hill County 1869-77; Hamilton County 1878 and Waller County 1879 until his death in 1904 [Macedonia-Springer Cemetery, Waller County, Texas, USA]

Children:
Amanda Ann Forehand - born c 1851 TN.; married William Hogan Harris.
Ophelia M Forehand - born 1868 Texas; married W. M. Turpin.
Maggie Lee Forehand - born 1876; married William "Bill" Wesley Morris Clepper; died 1968

Source:
Lucille Mehrkam, History and Genealogy of the Family of Jacob Klepper/Clepper Family and Malcolm McAlpine Family (The Gregath Company, 1996), Library of Congress under card number 86-62751 (page 384)

More details have been posted at www.FindAGrave.com under the Macedonia Cemetery in Waller County, Texas
http://picasaweb.google.com/MasseyTX/JamesWesleyForehand#

William Wesley Morris Clepper 1872-1936

William Wesley Morris “Bill” Clepper was born 3 Mch. 1872 Montgomery Co., Tx.; son of Charles Duncan and Mary Jane (Mc Alpine) Clepper, Sr.; died 9 July 1936 Hockley, Waller, Tx.; buried Macedonia-Spring Cemetery.

Married 1 Aug. 1894 Waller Co., Tx. to Maggie Lee Forehand; born 27 Sept. 1876 near Hillsboro, Hill, Tx.; daughter of James Wesley Forehand and Louise Virginia Stifflemire. Maggie was born near Ft. Graham where Wm.'s Great Grandfather P.James Klepper lived. So it would seem that the Forehand's and Clepper's were neighbors, not only in Tenessee but in Texas. Maggie died 27 Jan. 1968 Hempstead Hospital, Waller Co., Tx.; buried Macedonia-Spring Cemetery. 

Bill moved from Montgomery Co. to Grimes Co. with his father ca 1878 and on into Waller Co. ca 1891 and share cropped with his Uncle Lorenzo Dow Clepper; He purchased a farm in the N. Minionde Survey and resided there until his death. A pear orchard planted by "Bill" in 1896 remains, in part, on the place  today. 

The day school was out my brothers, Edgar, James and I headed to Grandma's and stayed until the day before school started. Grandpa loved to squirrel hunt and always had one of the best hunting dogs in the county. He had lots of goats and sheep. The lead goat always had a bell and since his hearing was poor, he would take one of my brothers or me when he went looking for the goats, so we could hear the bell. He always had his old gun and his hunting dog with him, and sometime we would be gone most of the day. On the day my oldest brother was 15 he came to Houston and purchased a hearing aid. We lived near the RR tracks and I remember how thrilled he was to be able to hear a train whistle. He was so excited he could not wait to get home and hear Maggie's voice, but when he reach home grandmother was in the garden and as he started toward the garden, he had a heart attack and died. He was loved by all his children and grandchildren. 

Grandmother's house was the meeting place for all the Clepper cousins. She cooked over an old wood stove, and always had lots of good food. In the evening we would set out on the old back porch and she would tell us about the Indians and wolves. Ernestine remembers when she was tiny, Grandma rocked her to sleep, yodeling the famous "Cattle Call". No one else could sing and yodel that tune quite like she did. 

After Grandfather's death she sold the home place to daughter, Elma and moved to Waller. She always said that she was not going to leave anything for her children to fight over. If she had $.50 left when she died, she was going to swallow it and take it with her. A few months before she died she started giving all her personal things to different members of the family as they came by. She always made you feel welcome and loved. She was a very special person. 

Children all born Hockley, Waller, Tx. 

Baby Clepper b. & d. 1895; buried Macedonia-Spring Cemetery. 

Baby Clepper b. & d 1897; buried Macedonia-Spring Cemetery. 

Nola Elma Clepper b. 1 Nov. 1898. 

 James Duncan Clepper b. 1 Sept. 1901. 

Baby Clepper b. & d. 1902; buried Macedonia-Spring Cemetery. 

William Wesley Clepper b. 27 Oct. 1905. 

Ada Leona Clepper b. 28 June 1908. 

Luda May Clepper b. 31 May 1911. 

Lemuel "Lem" Clepper b. 22 Jan. 1914.

Verlene Gertrude Clepper b. 12 Oct. 1917. 

 

REFERENCE: 

Waller Co. Marrage Bk. 3 pg. 224; Waller Co. Land Records; James W. Forehand

Bible; 1880 Grimes Co., Tx.; 1900-1910 Waller Co., Tx. Censuses; Waller, Grimes

and Montgomery Co. Histories; Birth and Death records of Texas; Death Notice-

Houston Press, Houston Post and Waller Citizen; Waller Co. Tax Records 1897-1910.