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| "BUD" BILLINGTON Meriot, the middle brother of the three Billington Brothers from Texas. Below is a younger version of Bud with his buddies during the 1884-1888 years when he was a stagecoach driver in Deadwood, Dakota Territory. |
Meriot Cicilian was born the 4th child of James
and Florinda Billington in Tyler, Texas on October 9, 1861. At the time, his father was a mechanic engaged
in the manufacturing of firearms at the Tyler, Texas Gun Factory. His father was discharged in
October of 1862 when Meriot was 1 year old and sometime after that the family
returned to Limestone County, Springfield area, some 105 miles from Tyler. Two of his siblings, Quintus Sebastian and
Corintha Aldonia, passed away at Tyler in 1864 before they moved back to
Limestone area where his youngest brother, Thomas Jefferson was born in 1867.
Meriot was only 7 years old when the family left Texas to
migrate up to the St. Louis, Missouri area following the Old Chisholm Trail with
many other families. His family settled
in Carroll County, Missouri setting up a ranch in the Grand River Area. Another unfortunate even in his young life occurred
when his father died in 1868 and his brother Thomas died just a year later. His mother, brothers Demetrious, James W., sister Roberta,
and Meriot tried to keep the ranch going as best they could. Roberta was married October 9, 1878 at age 22 in nearby Carrollton, and
settled in the Deadwood, South Dakota area
with her husband Thomas Hardwick.
Demetrious traveled
to Deadwood in 1979 and his sister Roberta died there that same year. Meriot at age 18 and his
brother James,14, were the
main laborers on the Missouri ranch during that time. By 1880 (according to 1880 census records) Florinda and son James had moved into Carrolton. Meriot may have stayed with the ranch for a while then traveled
north to be with his brother, D.S. Billington,
in Deadwood, South Dakota.
We do have a record of Meriot in Deadwood, as a
stagecoach driver for McClintock Stage in 1884 and later he drove stagecoach for the Alexander hack line in 1886. Sometime later, James came to South Dakota and settled in the Belle Fourche
or Red Water area. James married Adelaide
Bueter in November of 1886. Florinda
came to visit her boys in Deadwood some time in 1885 and stayed until November of 1887. She shared an apartment with Bud during that time. It is possible that Florinda persuaded Meriot
to return to Carrolton, during her stay.
*****
The Eddy family moved to Carrol County, Missouri from Wisconsin about 1870. Oscar Franklin Eddy
(1838-1909) and Eliza Jane (Proffitt) Eddy (1848-1932) had four children. Their
first child, Cora Agnes, was born in La Crosse, Wisconsin in Feb of
1869. Her sister, Cynthia (1871) was born in Missouri, and her brothers Samuel (1874) and David (1879) were also born in Missouri. On the 1880 census for Carroll County they lived
in the town of South Carrollton and
Oscar was employed as an engineer.
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| Oscar, Eliza, Samuel in front David, Cora and Cynthia in back |
Meriot may have met
Cora in 1870--1883 or not until he returned from South Dakota around 1888.
Meriot and Cora were married on July 6, 1892, in Carrollton,
Missouri, when she was 22 and he was 30.
They first lived in Carrollton, Missouri, then around 1899 moved to Kansas City.
Kansas. Florinda came to live with them
as noted on 1900 census, until her death in 1904.
Meriot raised his family in Kansas City, from 1899 and
worked for 31 years at the Quindaro plant of Kansas City Board of Public Utilities
in the clerical department. Meriot and
Cora had four children Gussie May born in Bogard, Missouri (1894-1971), Leathy Inez , born in Wakenda, Missouri(1897-1899),
Rollin Eddy, born in Kansas City (1899-1980), and Roberta born in Kansas City(1904-1941)
Their daughter Leathy died in Kansas City, Kansas at only
2 years old of unknown causes.
Their daughter Roberta had spinal meningitis when she was a
few years old and was never able to attend school. Cora and Meriot took care of her all of her
life and often worried what would happen to her after they passed. She died one year after her father
but…years before her mother.
They owned a farm in the area around Dover, Vernon, Missouri
The family appears on two census records for 1920 Missouri (farm) and
in Kansas City, Kansas.
Meriot and Cora’s daughter Gussie May, married Carl Richard
Collins in March 24, 1913 in Liberty, Missouri. They had three children: Roberta
May Collins (1914-1991, Richard Collins (1917-1963) and Carl Carter Collins
(1918-1992)
%2BColllins.jpg) |
| Gussie May Billington |
Roberta Collins married Paul Hubert Wilson
on Dec 3, 1942 in San Joaquin County, California. They lived most of their
lives in Lodi, California.
Richard Billington Collins lived
with Emma and Harold Collins in Los Angeles in 1940 at age 23 and died at age
46 in California. Nothing more is known
about him at this time.
Carl Carter Collins born in Fresno,
California, married Gilda Madeline Jarrett in 1942 in San Joaquin Co., California. He died in 1992 Riverside, California and is
buried in the Riverside National Cemetery as a US Navy World War II Veteran.. No other information about him is available
at this time.
Meriot and Cora’s son Rollin Eddy, married Lola Heryford on
Sept 28, 1920 in Nevada, Missouri. Their two children were Evelyn Lavern
Billington (1922-2014) and Floyd Ivan
Billington (1923-1965)
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| Cynthia, Rollin, Cora |
Floyd Ivan was a World War II
Veteran, T/Sargent Company E, 112 Infantry Regiment. He was highly decorated with several Bronze
Star Medals and Oak Leaf Clusters for valor and the Purple Heart for wounds
received in the Battle of the Bulge. He
is buried in the National Fort Leavenworth Cemetery, Leavenworth County, Kansas.
Rollin owned a farm near Lola’s parents in Dover and worked most
of his life for the Texaco Panhandle Pipeline. The family moved to several
job sites in Illinois, Kansas, and Missouri.
Rollin and Lola retired in Joplin, Missouri and they are buried in the
Ozark Memorial Park Cemetery there.
Rollin and Lola’s daughter, Evelyn
Lavern, married Paul Martin Smith. Their children are: Michael Smith, and Janet Lowe.
Meriot passed away on Jan 4, 1940, in Bonner Springs, Kansas, leaving D.S. Billington as the last of the Billington Brothers from Texas.
Cora Eddy Billington passed away on January 5, 1954 in Kansas city, Kansas.
Meriot and D.S.' brother James Billington will be featured in a future blog.
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