Excerpts from a Moody family record written January 27, 1959 by Mrs. Dochie Wooten - now living in Phoenix, Arizona - to her niece, Dorothy (Hofkin) Carnall who is now deceased. The Moody Family moved to Oklahoma from Camden County Missouri in about 1900.

Submitted by Virginia Beach Jimenez of Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.

There were three boys in Father's family, and our father was the youngest, when he was four years old, his mother died, his father had passed on before he was born. They were in Irland. The three boys were sent to an Uncle that had come over to the states, and was in Utah. He and his Uncle didn't get along after he was 17, and he left and went to Mo. He was there when the Civil War began, and he went and was so young that he was given the job of hawling freight for the government, drove oxens and a scooner wagon. He never heard from his brothers any more, but happened to meet one of his brother's boys later, and found that his oldest brother had gone to Washington, that was Uncle Allen (he lived to be 112 years old). I don't remember what this boy's fathers name was, but they went to Texas. Father went back to Mo. where he met Mother.

In mother's family there were three boys and Mother she was the youngest, and her Father was a lawyer, and was killed by a man who he had proven guilty, that left Grand Mother to raise 4 children alone. When Mother was small Grand Mother re married a man by the name of Cannon, Mother's name was Hammer. When she was 13 the war began, two Uncles fought on the Union side, and Grandmother was Union, Mother and one brother was on the south. The brother that was on the south went with the southern solders. Mother said when they heard troops coming they would look to see their uniforms, and if they were blue Grandmother would ask what they want, and tell them she was for the North, and they didn't do any damage. If they had grey on Mother would go to the door, and was treated the same. Well after the war Mother was 16 and her and Father was married, and Grandmother lived with them. They built a log house in Mo., North East of Springfield, Camdom Coundy. Lebron was the county seat. I don't remember just when Grandmother lost her sight, but lived till our Brother Walter was born, he was just older than your Mother.

When I was between 6 and 7 I had Asma and Father had rheumatism, so we moved in covered wagons to Oklahooma, I'll never forget that trip. The next year was a very hard year and Father sold his 3 hundred acres in Mo. and bought the old home place in Oklahoma. When I was about 15 Mother was visiting Brother Jim and we decided to clean house, and I found the little box that Father kept his papers in. Well I guess I was a curios gal and meddled. Anyway I found a letter to Father from Dan Moody from Houston, Texas, so I talked to father about it, and wrote to him. He was the brothers boy that had gone to Texas, and he was the one that wrote us about the other brother. I wrote him every once in a while till I was married, I have always been sorry I quit wrighting him, he died two years ago, and I never saw but one of Mothers brothers, and that was when our brother Mat was born, and I remember him being there, and Mother named Mat after him. There were 13 children of us, our oldest sister Nancy died when a baby, there were 6 boys and 6 girls, there were Arthur, Jim who is almost 90 and lives with his daughter in California, Becca, Sarah, Edd, Maggie who lives in Kansas, Isa, Walter, and your Mother, Myself, Elmer and Matthew who passed on in 1918 at the age of 16.

Some back tracking as I didn't make myself very clear. During Civil War Mother's Step-Father was hanged by the bushwackers. My Grandmother was blind 15 years before she died, and you probably know that Dan Moody was Governor of Texas at one time, his father lived to be 97, and Father was 87. I remember the house in Mo. very well. It was a huge living room, big fire place, and up stairs the same size, full of beds, and we were all born in that house. Before I was born Father built a big log kitchen, and when Brother Elmer was back there last year, he came back by here, and said they had tore the large part away but the kitchen father built was still used for a kitchen. He brought me a basket made of hickory that one of the boys we had played with, made. He was rather feeble. He also brought me hickory and walnuts, and some apples. I sure would like to go see the old farm again. If you were here you could ask questions, and get more, finish later: night.

February 1; 59
Well Dorothy this is Sunday first day of February, and before we get any more company I'll write you some more. How much I would like to talk to you personaly, and hope you will get to come and see us some day. I am wondering if you have heard the reason we left Mo. and went to Oklahoma. When I was 5 years old we had the whooping cough and it left me with asma, and I was getting worse. Becca had went to Oklahoma and when they came back Father was having rheumatism very bad. I had Asma (they called it Tizzic) then and there was a drouth on grass or corn for the stock, so Father rented the three hundren acres, and loaded 2 covered wagons, and Becca had a covered wagon, and your aunt Sarah. Your Grandma Moody was heart broken to leave her home that she had lived in all her married life. There was a big hill at the front of our house so the road had to curve to get around it. The wagons went on around and some of us children and Mother walked over the hill and met the wagons on the other side. We had a lot of new experiences on the road. One time stands out in my mind is where we had to ford a river, and a young pet mule we had to one wagon got scared of the water fall and pushed the other horse over into deep water wagon and all. Sarah's husband Jim, was driving and couldn't swim, Father and Becca's husband Henry swam in and cut the harness and got Jim out. The mule drowned, and the horse wasn't able to pull for several days. All our pictures and small keep sakes was in that wagon and most of it was never found. Father had extra horses we allso had a cow and some chickens, to me that trip will always be very vivin in my mind. Our Brother Ed was in Oklahoma and met us and taken us on to McCloud where we met the Walkers, Aunt Isa's husbands folk. It was in August and soon cotton was ready to pick, so we picked cotton, and the first year rented a farm, then Father and I was so much better that he sold in Mo. and bought near McCloud. You no doubt have heard from your mother about our lives from there on till we were all grown.