Some researchers believe her name was Nancy Barnett, others think it was Nancy Chenalt.

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When her mother and sister died, Nelley bore the brunt of the responsibility for raising the family. Wayne Basden, her nephew, states that she was one of the sweetest persons he ever knew. She kept a beautiful living room with a life size doll. She read and wrote poetry in addition to doing the cooking, milking, and cleaning. In her later years she moved in with her sister Mae and helped Mae and Shorty run his garage. ----- Dan Yaklin "Isbell Family History"

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As a young man, Oliver's brother Ernest remembers him having two suits and going to church on Sundays. He was drafted into the Army in 1918, and was a cook in the Army. During that time the draft was 25 to 35 years of age and Oliver was drafted when he was 26. He stayed in the Army until the end of the war. During his stay in the Army he apparently got into gamnbling pretty heavily. After Oliver had been released from the Army he returned to Riviera. He received a $800 veterans check, and gambled it away in one day to Meryl Riskin. Oliver worked at several restaurants as a cook. He was in jail once in Amarillo, Texas according to his brother Ernest. At this time his family was in Riviera. About 1942 or 1943 Oliver and his family stopped by the railroad yards where Ernest worked at about 11 p.m. Ernest took them out and fed them and gave them somemoney. At the time they were living in their car. On one occasion Oliver tried to get Nellie and May to adopt their children because he felt he oculdn't support them.

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Peter Gray Basden: Husband of Frances Alabama Isbell

Peter was born in the northern part of Franklin Co., Alabama, which was later to become Colbert Co. When he was very young, he moved with his family to Booneville, Logan Co., Arkansas. He had some schooling because in the 1900 census he indicates that he can read and write. He probably worked on his parents farm in his youth when he was not in school.

He worked for the railroad in Tuscumbia, Alabama. He met his future wife, Frances, in Alabama. They married when she was only 14 years of age. Peter told his children that they ran away and were married, but Frances had her fathers consent to marry, as his signature is on the marriage license (see Notes on George Washington, her father). According to the marriage license the wedding took place at her father's house. Possibly they ran away and eloped first and later her father consented and they were married at his house. Sometime after they were married and before their first child was born, they moved to Texas, since the 1900 census indicates that all of their children were born in Texas. It is not known where the family lived in TX until they show up in Baylor Co., tax rolls in 1896, when they rented a farm near Shady, TX. The 1896 tax roll indicate that Peter owned 2 horses or mules, 5 hogs, and 1 carriage or wagon. Total assessed value of $54.00. He didn't own any land. His county and state tax bill in 1896 was $2.40. The 1897 tax rolls show 5 horses or mules, 1 carriage or wagon, but no hogs for a total assessed value of $90.00. The tax bill was $2.62. He had the same number of horses/mules in 1898 and the one carriage/wagon. Total assessed value was $100.00 and the tax was $2.93. In 1899 he owned 5 horses/mules, 2 cattle, 5 hogs, and the carriage. His tax bill was $3.01. In 1900 he owned 7 horses/mules, 4 cattle, 1 hog, and 1 carriage. The tax bill was $3.63. On December 7, 1900 Peter bought a farm in Baylor Co. from the Belcher Land Mortgage Co. of Fort Worth. It consisted of 160 acres of land for which he paid $1100.00. He paid $100 in cash and took ten notes of $100 each including interest, one of which was payable December 1 of each year from 1901 to 1910. The 160 acres was the southwest quarter of Section No. 73, Block A. They farmed this land for several years, and his livestock increased. In 1901 he owned 7 horses/mules, 8 cattle, 2 hogs, and 1 carriage or wagon. The tax bill was $9.43. By 1902 he had 5 horses/mules, 18 cattle, 18 hogs, and 2 carriages or wagons. His tax bill was $10.75. In 1903 he had 5 horses/mules, 25 cattle, and 1 carriage or wagon. His tax bill was $9.92. In 1904 he owned 5 horses/mules, 32 cattle, 5 hogs, and 1 carriage or wagon. In 1905 he owned 5 horses/mules, 40 cattle, 5 hogs, and 1 carriage or wagon. His total assessed property value was $1055 and the tax bill was $12.45.

The children went to school at the Shady schoolhouse, which was about one and a half miles away. On weekends the family made trips to the Brazos River, about 3 miles away, to pick grapes to make jelly. Peter built a new house on the land himself. Ernest remembers going with his dad into Seymour to buy lumber to build the house. Peter would take the back off the wagon and stack the lumber on the frame. Ernest would ride on top of the lumber on the way back. He remembers falling asleep on the trip back. The house when completed was a three or four room house. It is known what they lived in prior to that. Nannie Lee and Ernest contracted typhoid fever sometime in 1905. Ernest stated that the local doctor advised Peter to move his family out of the area or they would all die of typhoid fever. Peter sold his land to W.T. Brown for $1920 on October 24, 1905. He was paid $1272 in cash and $648. in notes owed to W.C. Belcher Land Mortgage Co. The deed was filed on December 2, 1905 and recorded on December 26, 1905. The family remained in this area for some period of time after their land was sold. It is presumed that they continued to reside in their recently sold property because Nannie had been too ill to travel. She died November 10, 1905 from Typhoid fever. She had been sick for about 6 months before she died. On the doctors advice Nannie and Ernest were not given food. Apparently it was thought at the time that the best medical treatment was to starve a fever. Ernest stated that Nannie begged for food but her parents wouldn't give it to her. Ernest snitched food from his brothers and he feels that is why he survived, while his sister didn't. Peter later said if he had to do it over again he would have not taken the doctor's advice and deprived her of food. She was buried at the Shady Grove Cemetery about a half mile from the land they had just sold. Peter moved his family to Clay Co., near Post Oak, Texas. He bought 80 acres fro B.E. and M.L. Blair on January 24, 1906 for $1500. One thousand dollars was paid in cash and three notes were assumed. The first note was for $200 due on December 1, 1906, the second note was for $150 due on December 1, 1907, and the third note was for $150 due on December 1, 1908. The land was South one half of block 82 Wood School Land. The 1906 Clay Co. tax roles show 6 horses/mules, and 1 carriage or wagon. He must have disposed of the cattle before the family moved to Clay Co. His wife became pregnant in 1906 and the baby was born and died on January 22, 1907. His wife, Frances, died less than a month later on February 15, 1907. Peter never notified his wife's family of her death. Apparently there were some ill feeling between them. Peter sold the 80 acres near Post Oak on April 12, 1907 to Ila May Earp and Mattie V. Earp for $1500. $1100 was paid in cash and a $150 note was assumed. Two additional notes were taken payable to P.G. Basden. One was for $125. due 12-1-09 and the other was for $125 due 12-1-10. The 1907 Clay Co. tax rolls indicate that Peter owned 5 horses/mules, 2 hogs, and 2 carriages or wagons. After selling his land, Peter loaded his family and belongings into covered wagons and traveled around for awhile. They traveled with a covered wagon and a buggy. The back of the covered wagon had a box where oats were kept for the horses. Some of the kids rode in the wagon and some in the buggy. They crossed the Red River three times before going into Oklahoma to Peter's parent's place. Peter and the older boys would sleep outside the wagon, while the younger children slept inside. They would occasionally stop and Peter would work picking cotton. During these stops they pitched a tent to live in. Eventually they traveled to eastern Oklahoma and visited Peter's parents. They stayed for a couple of weeks. Ernest remembered that his grandfather was quite old and did not get around well. His grandparents had 30-35 ducks that they raised to eat. They also had chickens, and raised corn, beans, and peas. During the visit, Peter and one of his brothers rode into Fort Smith, Ark. to see the place and to shop. Peter bought a hat. It was about 50 miles each way from where his parents lived, a good days ride to get there and back. Also while they were visiting, Clyde went squirrel hunting with one of his uncles. His uncle let him shoot the gun. It kicked so much that it hit Clyde in the face and bloodied his nose. His uncle told him to tell his parents that he had fallen down the mountain, and hit his nose, but the story didn't fool anyone. They never visited the Isbells, the children's other grandparents, who also lived in eastern Oklahoma. As they traveled through Oklahoma, Peter and his older sons would take turns staying up at night to protect their belongings. They were worried that local Indians would steal their horses during the night. One time they passed a group of Indians playing a baseball game. The children wanted to stop and watch the game, but Peter said they better not because the Indians might get in a fight and start shooting. After visiting his parents, Peter and his family moved to Mangum, Oklahoma, where they rented a farm from a Mr. Bumgarten. Peter's brother George and his family followed shortly. A new house was built for Peter and his family while George and his family lived in the old house, which was bigger. Mr. Bumgarten ran a saloon in town. Peter farmed on the Bumgarten place for a year and raised one crop. They then moved across town to the Sintell place and raised one crop. One of the crops produced 20 bales of cotton, which Peter and his sons picked themselves. Peter would raise enough corn for his family and also to feed his horses. He would take the corn to a nearby mill and have it ground. The mill would keep part of the corn as atoll for the grinding. The family would use the ground corn for their cooking needs. The horses would be fed full ears of corn which they would eat off the cob. In 1909, Peter saw an ad describing new land being opened up near Riviera, Texas. The ad touted the warm weather. Peter traveled to Riviera and bought land. He then moved his family and belongings to South Texas. On the way to Fort Worth, where they caught the train for the rest of their journey, they stopped in Post Oak. Peter stopped at the Pleasant Valley Cemetery to visit his wife and daughter's grave. The children stayed in the wagon while Peter made his last visit to his wife's grave. They drove their wagon to Fort Worth and loaded all their belongings on the train bound for south Texas. About 1910 Peter father died. He received a letter with black edges notifying him of the death. This type of envelope was common at the time. He and his brother Toney, who was living in Riviera at the time, each sent $10 back home to help with the funeral. Peter had bought 40 acres near Loyola Beach. It was uncleared land and he never cleared or built on it. When he moved his family to Riviera, he rented cleared farm land and a house from J.B. Womack. They farmed this land for 7 years. During a couple of these years they moved from the house on the Womack place and rented a larger two story house across the street from a a man named Kyle. When Mr. Kyle sold the house they moved back into the Womack house. Peter never remarried. About 1938 he took in Wayne Based, his grandson, for two years while his parents got divorced. Wayne state that Peter was very nice and he though well of him although he made him work hard for his age, which was 6 or 7 at the time. Wayne's responsibility was to keep wood chopped for the wood burning stove with a double edged axe. Peter would let Wayne rid the mules while he plowed if Wayne would gather the watermelon vines. Peter had a large vegetable garden and would sell vegetables to the military in Kingsville. He had an orchard and bee hives. He raised cotton and feed and also had a dairy. He did his own blacksmithing and Wayne would pump the bellows for him. He also cured his own beef.

She was called "Ise."

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!Family Records and Information Buried at Valliant Cemetery

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