Maud Trout (1883-1952)

Born: 1 January 1883 in Dallas County, Texasⁱ (probably Grand Prairie)

Married: 20 October 1901 in Clay County, Texas to James Robert "J.R." Stephens

Died: 24 July 1952 in Bellevue, Clay, Texas

Parents: David H. Trout and Mary Elizabeth Upchurch

Maud Trout Stephens, 1890s.

 

Bio: Less is known about Maud Trout, Jim's older sister. She was her parents' third child, but their first to survive infancy.

According to the 1940 Census, she attended school up until the 7^th grade. ⁱⁱ While this may seem low according to our 21^st-century standards, a survey taken among adults in Clay County in 1950 suggests that that level of education for the time period was fairly common.ⁱⁱⁱ In such a rural area at the tail-end of the 19^th century, schools were probably rare and the need for an intensive, traditional education even more so. Being the only daughter, Maud may have also been needed at home—especially when her father, David. H. Trout died in 1898 in his early 50s, leaving much younger, widowed Mary Elizabeth to care for a farm and their two minor children.

In the fall of 1901 at the age of eighteen, she became the wife of James Robert “J.R.” Stephens^iv.

Like Maud's father, her husband JR was a farmer. Clay County, located in north Texas, consists of fairly flat and fertile land dominated by the raising of cotton, corn, and cattle. The Texas Historical Association documents that the first railroad appeared in the area around 1887, causing a major population boom. It grew even further with the introduction of a second line in 1904—the early days of Maud and JR's marriage.^v JR probably produced one of those three commodities while his wife managed the household.

Over the next twenty years, JR and Maud became the parents of four known sons:

1. John David Stephens (b. 1903)
2. Thomas Jefferson Stephens (b. 1908)
3. Bert Stephens (b. 1910)
4. Edgar Lee Stephens (b. 1919)

[Note: Other Stephens in the tiny cemetery in which the family is buried suggests that there may have been more children born to Maud and JR (including a pair of infant twin girls that died in 1906). There are only a little over a hundred people buried in historic Friendship Cemetery, so it is likely that any other Stephens buried there are related in some way.]

Maud died of cerebral hemorrhaging on 24 July 1952 in Bellevue, Clay County^vi. Her husband, JR followed five years later^vii, and both are buried at Friendship Cemetery just outside of Bellevue.

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i "Texas, Deaths, 1890-1976," index and images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/JDT6-YW5 : accessed 05 Feb 2013), Maud Stephens, 24 Jul 1952; citing reference cn 32266, State Registrar Office, Austin, Texas.

ii "United States Census, 1940," index and images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/KWJD-KP1 : accessed 05 Feb 2013), Maud Stephens in household of Jim Stephens, Commissioner's Precinct 4, Clay, Texas, United States; citing enumeration district (ED) 39-15, sheet 4B, family 88, NARA digital publication T627, roll 4006.

iii Clark Wheeler, "CLAY COUNTY," Handbook of Texas Online(http://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/hcc12), accessed February 04, 2013. Published by the Texas State Historical Association. “In 1950 only 23.5 percent of adults twenty-five and older had a high school education, and only 4 percent had a college degree.”

iv "Texas, County Marriage Index, 1837-1977," index, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/XL89-1PV : accessed 05 Feb 2013), J R Stephens and Maude Trout, 1901.

v Clark Wheeler, "CLAY COUNTY," Handbook of Texas Online(http://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/hcc12), accessed February 04, 2013. Published by the Texas State Historical Association.

vi "Texas, Deaths (New Index, New Images), 1890-1976," index and images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/K3ZD-QCN : accessed 05 Feb 2013), Maud Stephens, 1952; citing State Registrar Office, Austin, Texas.

vii "Texas, Deaths, 1890-1976," index and images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/JFQG-NB7 : accessed 05 Feb 2013), James Robert Stephens, 03 Aug 1957; citing reference cn 44716, State Registrar Office, Austin, Texas.