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Archiver > OK-CEMETERIES > 2001-02 > 0982685668


From: "carol morse" <>
Subject: Re: [OK-CEM] Placing Queries
Date: Tue, 20 Feb 2001 10:14:28 -0600
References: <3A92773B.7AE1779D@ou.edu>


I know my gr-grandmother is buried in Oklahoma but I have not been able to
locate a death certificate or place of burial. The story is a mystery and
she may never be found. Here is what I know:
Mary Elizabeth ELLIS, born 21 April 1867 in Tishomingo Co., Miss. Married
John L. BYRNE1883, Grayson Co., TX; divorced Byrne and married George
ISAACS, 1891 in El Reno, Canadian Co., OK. Isaacs was sentenced to life in
prison at Huntsville for his involvement with the Doolin Gang in the murder
of Hemphill Sheriff McGee in 1894 during a train robbery. Isaacs later
escaped and no more information has been found on his whereabouts or date of
death. Mary Elizabeth ISAACS, aka "Lizzie", was given a life sentence on
February 11, 1898 as an accessory to the murder of a man named Elder in 1896
in Chickasha along with her brother, John Ellis. The sentence was later
overturned due to public outcry and sympathy for Lizzie.
Lizzie ISAACS, claiming widow status, with her 3 sons, Wiley BYRNE, Richard
ISAACS, and Roy ISAACS, were in the Chickasha, Grady County 1900 census.
Lizzie ISAACS, with her 2 sons, Richard and Roy, were found in the Clinton,
Custer Co., 1910 census. Somewhere between 1912 and 1916, Mary Elizabeth
"Lizzie" Ellis Byrne Isaacs was living with her sisters ex-husband, Tom N.
SPARKS. No marriage certificate has been found. Lizzie caught Tom with
another woman and burned his barn down. Tom shot and killed Lizzie the next
day. Lizzie's 2 sons (by George Isaacs) then shot and killed Tom Sparks as
he was being led up/down the courthouse steps to/from his arraignment for
murder of Lizzie. The boys were never charged. The Ellis family Bible only
has a short notation: Lizzie died January the 4 (and the year is illegible)
but appears to be either 1914 or 1916. The family would never speak of her
again until after the death of both her parents. I have exhausted the
newspaper files that are available in Carter Co. and found no mention of the
barn-burning or murders. I have never had an opportunity to explore larger
newspapers so any help would be appreciated so much.

Carol in Okla
Always looking for cousins:
Adkisons,Butlers,Byrne,Ellis,Haney,Isaacs,Kincannon,Love,Morgan,Morse,Nelson
,Patterson,Payne,Weir

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