PBSCV1599
Gen. James Patton Anderson Camp 1599
Celebrating 32 Years 1992 - 2024
Adelbert Cone Dewees and Mary Redding
William Rutledge Dewees
Four generations: Adelbert Long Dewees, R A Dewees, Ira A Dewees and Adelbert C Dewees 1925
Carroll Fontaine Dewees
only brother of Adelbert Long Dewees
A L Dewees, R A Dewees and Ira A Dewees
​
1922
West Palm Beach, Florida
Mary Adelaide (Redding) Dewees was born in Reddick, Florida on October 20, 1925. After that, her family moved to Immokalee, Florida. There, her father, Robert W. Redding, started the first farming in that area. They were so successful that many others came there and starting farming for themselves. Dotay it is one of the largest farming areas in Florida and also a big citrus producing area.
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In 1936, she moved with her family to Wauchula, Florida and lived there until 1944 when she married Adelbert C. Dewees. They were married on August 12, 1944, and lived in Eau Gallie, Florida. In 1945, they moved to Oak Hill, Florida, in a launch. Mrs. Dewees came down with polio in 1946. When she got better, she joined in the church and civic affairs. She also helped the PTA until problems arose with her back. She had many surgeries
Mrs. Dewees was president of the Garden Club in Oak Hill for the end of the 1963-64 term. She had a Junior Garden Club for the school children of Oak Hill where they planted some grass and a Magnolia tree. Soon, they had added shrubbery around the school grounds. They trimmed the shrubs and cut and fertilized the grass.
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In 1967, Mrs. Dewees ran unsuccessfully for City Commissioner of Oak Hill and soon found that she could do more far the community as president of the Village Improvement Association. Since then in 1967, she has been a Notary Public and Democratic Committee Woman. She was the very first Avon Lady in Oak Hill for five years, starting in approximately 1950.
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She worked from 1968 to 1972 tirelessly it seemed, to acquire the right-of-ways for land so that Volusia County could build the Oak Hill community a park located on Lagoon street and North Gaines Street. Although partially bedridden since 1968, she began in 1974 to seek donations for a skating oval one hundred feet long and fifty feet wide for the five-acre park. The park was dedicated to and named The Mary A. Dewees recreational Facility for Volusia County in 1972. This park has really been a great dream fulfilled for Mary.
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In years past, she helped to get the streets paved and many other things. The City of Oak Hill, Florida gave Mrs. Dewees a plaque to show their appreciation for the work she did to improve the town. She was called on for many things and was always ready to help. She was a member of the American Legion and while the O.E.O. of Volusia County was still in existence, she was also a member of that.
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Adelbert (del) and Mary had three children, Mrs. Mary Anne (James/Jim) Moffett Jr., Mrs. Donia Adelle (Richard Donewald, and Adelbert Seth (Del). Mary Ann and Jim have an eleven-year-old daughter, Krista Anne. Donia has two children, Jefferson Robert Coleman, ten years old and Valerie Eunice Brown, five years old. Del has two sons, Adelbert S II, seven years old and Marcus Aron, five years old.
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SOURCE: www.volusia.com/explore-volusia/history/history-oak.../oak-hill-history-page-18
IRA ADELBERT DEWEES
Ira Adelbert Dewees
​​
Birth: Jan. 2, 1848
Illinois, USA
Death: Feb. 12, 1932
Palm Beach County
Florida, USA
Family links:
Spouse:
Georgia Ann Louise Jane Kerr Dewees (1847 - 1925)*
Children:
John William DeWees (1872 - 1880)*
Robert Adelbert Dewees (1874 - 1958)*
*Calculated relationship
Burial:
Woodlawn Cemetery
West Palm Beach
Palm Beach County
Florida, USA
Plot: Block 34, Lot 5 (S. 1/2) (South Section)
Edit Virtual Cemetery info [?]
Created by: Carr0ts
Record added: Apr 21, 2008
Find A Grave Memorial# 26174882
Georgia Ann Louise Jane Kerr Dewees
​​
Birth: 1847
Texas, USA
Death: Apr. 21, 1925
Family links:
Spouses:
Ira Adelbert Dewees (1848 - 1932)
Lafayette Shannon (1835 - 1900)
Children:
John William DeWees (1872 - 1880)*
Robert Adelbert Dewees (1874 - 1958)*
Roberta Middleton Haygood (1886 - 1977)*
*Calculated relationship
Burial:
Woodlawn Cemetery
West Palm Beach
Palm Beach County
Florida, USA
Plot: Block 34, Lot 5 (S. 1/2) (South Section)
Edit Virtual Cemetery info [?]
Created by: Carr0ts
Record added: Apr 21, 2008
Find A Grave Memorial# 26174893
ROBERT ADELBERT DEWEES
Robert Adelbert and Margaret Long Dewees
02 January 1897
Keswick, Virginia
Wedding Photo
Margaret Long Dewees
​​
Birth: May 3, 1874
Death: Oct. 14, 1902
Family links:
Parents:
Isaac Long (1832 - 1915)
Elizabeth H Mohler Long (1837 - 1906)
Siblings:
Louise Latrobe Long (1868 - 1957)*
Bessie M Long (1868 - 1957)*
David Grigsby Long (1871 - 1944)*
Margaret Long Dewees (1874 - 1902)
Thomas Long (1882 - 1882)*
*Calculated relationship
Inscription:
Wife of R. Adelbert Dewees
Note: Shares stone with Isaac, Elizabeth M., Louise & Bessie Long
Burial:
Grace Episcopal Church Cemetery
Cismont
Albemarle County
Virginia, USA
Edit Virtual Cemetery info [?]
Maintained by: Mary Ann M
Originally Created by: FDP
Record added: Jul 03, 2008
Find A Grave Memorial# 28006258
Cook County, Illinois, Marriages Index, 1871-1920
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Name:Robert A. Dewees
Age:41
Gender:Male
Birth Year:abt 1874
Marriage Type:Marriage
Marriage Date:23 Nov 1915
Marriage Place:Chicago, Cook, Illinois, USA
Spouse Name:Mrs. Cathrine M. Spetzman
Spouse Age:40
Spouse Gender:Female
FHL Film Number:1030610
1900 United States Federal Census
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Name:Robert A Dewwes
Age:25
Birth Date:Aug 1874
Birthplace:Texas
Home in 1900:Chicago Ward 32, Cook, Illinois
Race:White
Gender:Male
Relation to Head of House:Head
Marital Status:Married
Spouse's Name:Margaret Dewwes
Marriage Year:1897
Years Married:3
Father's Birthplace:Illinois
Mother's name:Georgia Dewwes
Mother's Birthplace:Texas
Occupation:View on Image
Neighbors:View others on page
Household Members:
NameAge
Margaret Long Dewees and son Adelbert
about 1900
Chicago, Illinois
Mother and Son
Robert Adelbert Dewees
Birth: Aug. 18, 1874
San Antonio
Bexar County
Texas, USA
Death: Mar. 5, 1958
West Palm Beach
Palm Beach County
Florida, USA
Family links:
Parents:
Ira Adelbert Dewees (1848 - 1932)
Georgia Ann Louise Jane Kerr Dewees (1847 - 1925)
Siblings:
John William DeWees (1872 - 1880)*
Robert Adelbert Dewees (1874 - 1958)
Roberta Middleton Haygood (1886 - 1977)**
*Calculated relationship
**Half-sibling
Burial:
Woodlawn Cemetery
West Palm Beach
Palm Beach County
Florida, USA
Plot: Block 34, Lot 5
Edit Virtual Cemetery info [?]
Created by: Mary Ann M
Record added: May 28, 2006
Find A Grave Memorial# 14432314
1920 United States Federal Census
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Name:Robert A Dewees
Age:45
Birth Year:abt 1875
Birthplace:Texas
Home in 1920:West Palm Beach, Palm Beach, Florida
Street:Clematis Avenue
House Number:525
Race:White
Gender:Male
Relation to Head of House:Head
Marital Status:Married
Spouse's Name:Cathern Dewees
Father's Birthplace:Illinois
Mother's Birthplace:Texas
Able to Speak English:Yes
Occupation:Keeper
Industry:Hotel
Employment Field:Own Account
Home Owned or Rented:Rent
Able to Read:Yes
Able to Write:Yes
Neighbors:View others on page
Household Members:
NameAge
Garrett Hendricks Dewees, b 1640 Netherlands, m 1662 Sijtske Lieuwes , arrived (NYC) 1664 , d c 1700 PA
Cornelius Dewees, b c 1682 New York City, m c 1706 Margaret Kuster, d c 1735 PA
Garrett Dewees, b c 1707 Germantown, PA, m c 1730 Mary, d c 1769, PA
William Dewees, b c 1733 Philadelphia, PA, m c 1759 Hannah Gearheart PA, d c 1807 VA
David Dewees, b 1766 PA, m 1787 Jane Harry, Botetourt County VA, d c 1834 Putnam County, IN
Thomas Dewees, b 1798 Knox Cnty, KY, m America Oatman 1825 Putnam Cnty, IN, d 1864 Lavaca Co, TX Ira Adelbert Dewees, b 1847 Dundee, IL, m Georgia Kerr 1871 San Antonio, TX, d 1932 W. Palm Bch, Fl
Robert Adelbert Dewees, b 1874 San Antonio, TX, m Margaret Long 1897 Keswick, VA, d 1958 W P Bch, Fl Adelbert Long Dewees, b 1897 Chicago, IL, m Eunice Cone 1922 Titusville, Fl, d 1988 Titusville, Fl
Adelbert Cone Dewees, b Eau Gallie, Fl, m Mary Redding Fl, gatorgma@cox.net 189672
BIO OF IRA ADELBERT DEWEES' BROTHER
JOHN O. DEWEES,
SAN ANTONIO.
John O. Dewees, for many years identified with the history of western Texas, and a leading citizen and stockman of that part of the State, was born in Putnam County, Indiana, where the town of Greencastle now stands, on the 30th day of December, 1828. His parents were Thomas and America Dewees, natives of Kentucky, and respectively of Welsh and English and German and English descent. His father was a farmer and stockraiser, and died on his farm, near Hallettsville, in Lavaca County, in 1864. His mother died at San Marcos, Hays County, Texas, May 5, 1889.
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Mr. Thomas Dewees moved, with his family, from Putnam County, Indiana, to Tasewell County, Illinois, in 1831 or 1832, and, four or five years later, located further north, on the Fox River, where the town of Dundee, Cane County, Illinois, now stands. Mr. John Oatman, Mrs. Dewees' father, laid off the village of Dundee, on the east side of the river, and Mr. Thomas Dewees on the west side, and the latter engaged in farming and established the first flouring mill erected in that section.
The country west of the Mississippi, at this time, contained few white pioneers. There were, in fact, camps of Sioux and Pottawottamie Indians situated within half a mile of the little frontier settlement, but the Indians were kindly treated and, as a consequence, made good neighbors. School facilities were meager and the subject of this sketch, John O. Dewees, had few opportunities to acquire an education. During the summer months he worked upon his father's farm, and as teamster, often hauled wheat and corn to Chicago, thirty-six miles west of Dundee, and then merely a government post, containing 200 or 300 inhabitants. In the long winter days he was a pupil at the little red brick school-house, and succeeded in acquiring the rudiments of an English education, which he improved and extended in after years, as opportunity offered. In 1848 the construction of the Chicago & Galena Railroad was commenced, and in the fall of 1849 it had reached Elgin, five miles below Dundee. John O. Dewees, then in his twenty-first year, was among the first of the people of that section to ride over and watch, as a deeply interested spectator, the wonderful work of railroad building. And well he might! Rude and imperfect as was this primitive railway, slowly uncoiling itself in the Western wilderness, it represented the highest embodiment of the genius of this utilitarian, iron, world-moving age! An invention second only to that of gunpowder. Gunpowder enabled civilization, at last, to hold barbarism at bay and to render evermore impossible such a catastrophe as that which engulfed Rome's 1,400 years of glory, art, literature and law, in the night of the middle ages. The railroad has made it no longer necessary for cities to be built where there are harbors, or on broad, navigable streams. Every great railroad is a Mississippi. The savage has been subdued; every fertile acre of the continent has been made accessible; the frontier, moving farther and farther westward, has at last melted into the Pacific, and lives only in tradition, and old-fogy ism has, amid the glare of new surroundings, been compelled to sit and blink in dark corners and inanely bemoan the good old times.
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The railroad that young Dewees regarded with such natural and amazing interest, and upon which he rode at the first opportunity, was very far from being such a piece of perfect engineering as one of our modern trunk-line railways. The ties were placed five or six feet apart and on these were laid two stringers, and on the stringers nailed strips of iron, somewhat broader and thicker than the tire-iron used on wagon wheels. The engine and coaches were equally primordial and suggestive of the possibility of accidents, in a day, too, when the convenience of insuring, at short notice, against mishaps was a long way off in the impalpable future. The rails (or iron strips) often loosened, by spikes coming out, and the swelling of ties, had a penchant for assuming perpendicular or semi-perpendicular positions, and ripping holes in the bottoms of the coaches. These ragged pieces of iron were called snake-heads. The Chicago & Galena Railway was by no means the first road built in the United States, but it was among the first constructed in the West, and its appearance at Elgin was an event that made the day one of the dies notandi in Mr. Dewees' life.
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In 1847 Mr. John Oatman and his two sons went down the Mississippi to New Orleans, from New Orleans (by sea) to Galveston, proceeded to Houston, procured horses and traveled as far west as San Antonio. On the homeward trip (made during the same year) they passed northward, through east Texas, and, taking passage, in Louisiana, on a Red River steamboat, made their way back to Dundee. They were charmed with what they had beheld of Texas, and united in urging Mr. Thomas Dewees to remove to the Lone Star State. Both Mr. Oatman and Mr. Dewees were afflicted with bronchial ailments, and it was their desire to establish homes at some healthful locality in the South. Accordingly, the two families (consisting of John and Nancy Oatman and their children, and Thomas and America Dewees and their children—John O., Eliza, Ellen, W. P., Mary Amnia, Thomas, Ira, Adelbert, Isaac and Medina Dewees) left for Texas, in 1849, and, after an interesting journey (partly by land and partly by water), reached their destination and settled on Cedar Creek, twelve miles below the town of Bastrop, and engaged in farming and stockraising.
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They followed the course of the Fox River in wagons to Peru. Illinois, the head of navigation on the Illinois River; there embarked on a steamboat and proceeded down the Iliinois and Mississippi Rivers to St. Louis; went by steamboat from that point to Natchez, Mississippi; at Natchez went ashore, and traveled overland the remainder of the way. They crossed the Red River at Nachitoches, the Sabine at a ferry near San Augustine, and the Brazos at Washington. The party struck the Colorado at La Grange, and wended their way up that river to Bastrop, where they crossed the stream and proceeded to the place of settlement on Cedar Creek. Mr. Thomas Lewees was in bad health and unable to perform physical labor. His eldest son, John O. Dewees, therefore, looked after the cattle and farm work, performing the larger part of it himself. When he came to Texas he had $160, and with this amount purchased cattle at $4 and $5 a head. He worked for his father on shares during the ensuing four years and cleared about $3,000.
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In 1854, he went to Seguin, Guadalupe County, engaged in business speculations and, during the year, lost the hard earned $3,000 and found himself about $1,200 in debt. Nothing discouraged, he turned about, with undiminished zeal, to make another start, and in the spring of 1857, went to Live Oak County, purchased a few head of cattle on time, and worked on shares, his share being the fourth calf—payment that would now be considered grossly inadequate.
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At the beginning of the war between the States he owned about 1,600 head of cattle. In 1862 he joined Company B, commanded by Captain E. B. Millett, Thirty-second Texas cavalry, commanded by Colonel Woods, and served in Texas and Louisiana, making a brave and efficient soldier. His command did not reach Lousiana until after the battles of Mansfield and Pleasant Hill, but participated in the fight at Blair's Landing and the twenty-five or thirty severe skirmishes, including the battle of Yellow Bayou, that marked the retreat of Banks' vanquished army. At the close of hostilities, his company was mustered out of service about twelve miles above Richmond, on the Brazos River.
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The winter of 1864-5 was peculiarly severe and thousands of cattle died in west Texas. He gathered up what stock he had left, and purchased a number of herds, and soon laid the foundation for his subsequent fortune. Before entering the Confederate army he so disposed of his interest in cattle and lands that, when he returned home, he was able to realize there from a small amount of money. The price of cattle, immediately succeeding that winter, was lower than ever before, or since known, and he bought large numbers of cattle. In 1873, he sold his cattle, on the range, fo. $23,000, and moved to San Antonio, and has since made that city his home. At that time the market was not on a boom. Had he sold two or three years later, he would have realized at least $100,000 for his herds. At San Antonio he formed a copartnership with J. F. Ellison, of San Marcos. The firm, during the ensuing five years, speculated in cattle and bought and drove herds to Kansas, Wyoming and other markets in the Northwest, realizing large financial returns therefrom. Messrs. Dewees & Ellison severed their connection and the former formed a copartnership with his brother, Thomas Dewees, of San Antonio. They purchased and sold land and traded in cattle until they owned a ranch of 60,000 acres (under fence and well stocked) in Wilson, Atascosa, and Karnes Counties, and then James T. Thornton, at the time a banker in San Antonio, and now a resident of Kansas City, was taken into the firm. The new firm continued in business a number of years and, at the time of its dissolution, by the retirement of Mr. Thornton, owned 95,000 acres, also well stocked. The two brothers continued the business for about a year, and then dissolved partnership on account of the failing health of John O. Dewees. It was supposed that he could live only a few months, and they thought it best to have their affairs settled while both were living. The assets of the firm, at a fair valuation, were not less than $350,000. John O. Dewees has since been engaged in business on his own account. His ranch lies in Wilson and Atascosa Counties, and consists of 24,000 acres of land, stocked with 3,000 cattle, 2,600 of that number, steers. He owns lands in various parts of the State, a fine farm in Wilson County, and valuable property in and near the city of San Antonio, and is worth from $140,000 to $200,000.
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In early life, when struggling toward independence, he shirked no labor, however arduous; often splitting rails and shingles, felling trees, and working waist-deep in water. Difficulties, even misfortune, served to increase, rather than diminish, his courage and resolution to succeed—to be one of those who conquer in life's struggle. The demands upon his constitution in those years was the cause of the apparent decline that led him to wind up his affairs at one time, in anticipation that the end of his earthly career was near at hand. His health since has been fully restored, and he is now a man of magnificent physique, and, although his hair and beard are silvered by the pencil of time, his carriage is firm and elastic. He is a man of strikingly dignified and courtly appearance, and would be marked in any assembly.
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On the 12thof February, 1873, Mr. Dewees was united in marriage to Miss Annie Irvin, at the home of her mother, in Guadalupe County. They have one child, a daughter, Miss Alice A. Dewees, eighteen years of age, and now a student at Saint Mary's Seminary, at Knoxville, Illinois. Mrs. Dewees' parents were Jordan and-Sallie Irvin. Her father was a prominent farmer and stockraiser, and died many years ago. Her mother is still living in San Antonio. Mrs. Dewees received an excellent education, is one of the most talented ladies in the State, and presides over her palatial home with that rare and elegant grace that distinguishes cultured society.
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Mr. Dewees is a Democrat, and has never voted any other than the Democratic ticket, but takes little interest in politics. He is a man of broad and liberal mind, and has aided in the promotion of many public enterprises. While not a member of any church, he is a man of warm and generous impulses, as is abundantly attested by his almost daily acts of charity. He is a fit representative of that sturdy race that made their homes in this State when Texas was a wilderness, and have, by the exercise of manly virtues, achieved success, using the word in its highest and truest sense—a goal that all men seek to attain, and that fitly rounds an honorable career.
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SOURCE:
Personnel of the Texas State Government: With Sketches of Representative Men of Texas
January 1, 1892
Maverick Print. House
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John Oatman Dewees
in the Alabama, Texas and Virginia, Confederate Pensions, 1884-1958
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Name:John Oatman Dewees
Application Date:20 Mar 1928
Application Place:Wilson
Spouse:Mrs Annie Dewees
Marriage Date:12 Feb 1873
Marriage Place:Guadalupe, Texas
Death Date:10 Jun 1898
Death Place:Bexar, Texas
Pension File Number:43698
Application Type:Widow