Aunt Mariah was not called by her first name, Frances, but instead by her middle name, Mariah. Warrens often honored the southern tradition of calling children by middle names. Although my oldest and youngest brothers stopped, long ago, being called by their middle name, I stubbornly hung on to the middle as did my sister, Linda Gail. At doctors’ offices, government agencies, and other official places I have to listen closely so that I know it’s me being beckoned when Barbara is called instead of Sue. I wonder if Aunt Mariah fretted as I do about this naming practice.
I was amused at my ignorance when I realized, from public documents, that Aunt Mariah’s name was actually Mariah instead of Mariar as pronounced by family. Aunt Mariah’s middle name was likely given to her in honor of her maternal grandmother, Mahala Mariah Shanks Knowles.
Frances “Mariah” Warren was the third-born child of my grandparents, Tom and Jane Warren. She was born in Wolfe City, Hunt County, Texas, on August 2, 1903. Mariah was eleven when the family moved to Floyd County. The 1920 census indicated that she was a laborer on the home farm at age seventeen. At twenty-one, she married Foster Amburn. Initially they farmed but later Foster became employed with law enforcement and became deputy sheriff of Floyd County. Mariah worked as a seamstress. They had three children during their marriage. A descendant chart for Mariah and Foster is below.
Mariah submitted the document below for inclusion in the genealogical book published about Floyd County, Texas, and its families. A copy of the book is at the Floyd County Historical Museum in Floydada.
Mariah and Foster celebrated their 60th wedding anniversary on December 7, 1984.
Mariah and Foster were playful with one another as reflected in the photo below with Foster teasing Mariah with a fly swatter.
Below is a photo of the Amburn’s that attended the 1987 family reunion in Plainview.
When I remember Aunt Mariah I think of cookies and milk with me and my younger brother, Clifford Wayne, sitting at her pretty table at 123 West Virginia Street in Floydada. She was as sweet as her smile in the photo above.
Mariah lived a long life. Like Stella and Bob (Mariah’s older sister and brother-in-law), Mariah and Foster died within a few months of each other. Mariah died first, at age 95, on October 18, 1998, and Foster followed, at age 96, on December 15, 1998. Their obituaries are in the Find-A-Grave Memorials below.
Below is a photo of Mariah’s son, Glen, in 2005. He received the Cooperative Observer Award, a national weather service.
Glen Amburn’s Find A Grave Memorial is below.
Find A Grave Memorial for Thomas “Tommy” Wayne Amburn is below.
Thomas W. “Tommy” Amburn, 81, of Amarillo died Friday, May 25, 2012.
Graveside services will be at 10 a.m. Tuesday in Memory Gardens Cemetery with Ken Haney, chaplain at Interim Hospice, officiating. Arrangements are by Griggs-Schooler-Gordon Funeral Directors, 5400 S. Bell St.
Thomas was born Oct. 30, 1930, in Floydada to Foster and Mariah Warren Amburn. He graduated from Floydada High School in 1948. Thomas served his country in the Army from 1951 to 1953. He served as a sergeant in
Germany during the Korean War. He worked for Southwestern Bell Telephone Co. from 1949 to 1986. Thomas retired as cable supervisor in 1986 after almost 40 years.
Thomas married the love of his life, Betty Beck, on Dec. 23, 1950, in Clovis, N.M. In their early years, they lived in various cities. They moved to Amarillo in 1954, to Lubbock in 1969 and to Abilene in 1971, before
settling back in Amarillo in 1979.
Thomas was a plain man who loved his wife and family. He loved playing the guitar, square dancing and country music. He was highly skilled in all kinds of woodworking. He enjoyed watching old Western movies with John Wayne and Clint Eastwood. Thomas was a loving husband, father, grandfather, brother and friend who will truly be missed.
He was preceded in death by his parents.
Survivors include his wife, Betty Amburn; two sons, Johnny Amburn and wife Lynda of Denton and Greg Amburn of Lubbock; a granddaughter, Cherilyn Amburn of Midland; a grandson, Travis Amburn of Dallas; a brother, Glen Amburn and wife Elizabeth of Tulia; a sister, Juanelle Taylor of Frisco; and several nieces and nephews.
The family would like to give a special thanks to the staff of Interim Hospice and a special thanks to Crystal for her love and care for Thomas.
Sign the online guest book at http://www.griggsschoolergordon.com.
Amarillo Globe-News, May 28, 2012
Family links:
Parents:
Foster Amburn (1902 – 1998)
Frances Mariah Warren Amburn (1903 – 1998)
Sibling:
Glen Amburn (1925 – 2014)*
Thomas W. Amburn (1930 – 2012)
https://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=90861589
My brother, Clifford Wayne, and I visited Floydada in 2003. We were surprised and delighted when our cousins (Aunt Mariah’s children) Glen and his wife Elizabeth, Tommy, and Juanelle showed up at the Floyd County History Museum to meet with us. They shared family history and showed us Grandpa and Grandma Warren’s home from the 1940’s. A photo of them is below.
I remember you fondly, Aunt Mariah. Rest in Peace.
Records located on Ancestry.com
1910 US Federal Census – Hunt County, Texas, Justice Precinct 5
1920 US Federal Census – Floyd County, Texas, Justice Precinct
1930 US Federal Census – Floydada, Floyd, Texas
Ancestry.com Family Trees
Texas Birth Certificates, 1903 – 1932
Texas Birth Index, 1903 – 1997
Texas Death Index, 1903 – 2000
US City Directories, 1822 – 1995
US Public Records, 1950 – 1993, Volume I
US Find A Grave Index, 1600s – Current
US Social Security Applications and Claims Index, 1936 – 2007
US Social Security Death Index, 1935 – 2014
Generations 