Re: Dr. Ellen Lawson/Joseph W. Dabbs - TX
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In reply to:
Re: Dr. Ellen Lawson/Joseph W. Dabbs - TX
Joseph Townsley 2/08/09
It seems my romantic or tragic end for Ellen Lawson Dabbs was a bit off. I have been provided information which tells a bit more of a sad tale.
According to a cousin, Ellen contracted TB. My cousin's version had Ellen taking her own life to avoid dying a horrible death. That may or may not be true. I don't discount the story.
Another friend has done some real research and will soon be publishing a book on Ellen. In her research she found that Ellen went to Logan, New Mexico and there she died. Logan, as I understand it, was one of the places people with TB went to escape the illness and its effects. Somewhat like Doc Holiday and Tombstone, AZ.
This is what my friend Ruth related to me. When I get her book /essay I'll post its whereabouts for those of you interested in her life.
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Death date August 19, 1908 (Source: Publication of Order for Hearing Petition for Letters of Administration [executor's duties], Waurika News 11-27-1908 (pg. 4).Died in Logan, New Mexico, Waurika News, 11-6-1908.
As to the tuberculosis, Quay County and the ranches around Logan were a destination for thousand of patients with tuberculosis.Primarly this area was toted as a "cure" through the intense sunlight, unpolluted air and "healthy" living on the ranches.I visited Logan, New Mexico in September, and fortunately had the assitance of a local person with anthropology background and local contacts.I checked three unlisted cemeteries on ranchland (the city cemetery's earliest burial is 1910).There are a number of unmarked graves and weathered markers that make identification of the buried person impossible.What we think of as conventional grave memorial stones were not in use untillater.
Also a researcher and cemetery lister in Rusk County was enlisted to check the Lawson family properties for a family graveyard.
To date, her grave has not been located or that of her parents and grandparents and brothers.
Hope this helps.