Frederick Franklin and Margie Louise Hartley Oakes

Frederick Franklin Oakes was born May 18, 1903, in Issaquena County, MS, near Harworth, MS, a sawmill town along the Yazoo River. The town no longer exist, a casualty of too frequent flooding, clear cutting and the depression. He was the son of Charles Franklin and Sophie Dose Oakes. His siblings included John Christian, Robert Grantham, Laura Annis and William Warren. Two sidblings, Milton Elliot and Ruth Dean died young. Four of the children are shown with their parents in the picture below. The family life centered around farming, fishing, hunting and trapping. Life was difficult, little opportunity to accumulate any wealth. Loans were necessary survive. Most of the family eventually moved to Vicksburg and left their farm to be confiscated for failure to pay taxes. Fred left in 1922 at the age of 19 and found work with the Yazoo and Mississippi Valley Railroad and a workman in their repair shop on Levee Street in Vicksburg. Several of his fellow workers were from Flora and it is highly likely that through them he met Margie Louise Hartley, a sixteen year old bright young girl from Flora. They were married in 1923, sadly she did not finish high school, a disappointment she sometimes expressed to her children. She had been an excellent student. She had beautiful had writing and was accomplished at writing. She was born in 1906 to George Leroy and Mary Elizabeth Varner Oakes. Her siblings included: Alma Lee, Leila Mae, George Benjamin, Samuel Richard, Edward Lee, James Russell, Marvin Ashley and Aileen. A son Rudolf died very young. Margie's parent were subsistance farmers also and struggle financially, hence all the children left home early to seek other employment. Most of the boys became saw filers, a profession that was always in demand at the many sawmills in Mississippi and Louisiana. Most were also able mechanics.

Fred started repairing cars as a sideline which grew to the point he quite his job with the railroad and opened his own shop. He moved to larger shops as his business expanded and he bought wrecked cars to use for parts in his repair work. Eventually he started to sell parts from the salvaged cars directly to the public. He and Margie had five children, Charles, Melvin, Floyd, Donald and Eleanor. They were all raised in a house Fred had built next to his wrecking yard. It was a good life and the family flourished For more details check: Fred Oakes Memoir

 

Left to Right, Fredrick Franklin Oakes, Laura Annis Oakes, Charles Franklin Oakes, Sophie Dose Oakes, Robert Grantham Oakes and John Christian Oakes, Home in Harworth, MS ca 1914.

 

Paternal	Maternal
Father: Charles Franklin Oakes	Father: George Leroy Hartley
Mother: Mary Sophie Dose Oakes	Mother: Mary Elizabeth Varner Hartley
Father: Fredrick Franklin Oakes	Mother: Margie Louise Hartley Oakes

 

 

 

 

 

 

Fred and Margie Oakes
Fred Oakes' Parents and Grandparents
Children of Fred and Margie Oakes
Siblings of Fred Oakes
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