Uncle Ray, remembered by me as quiet and shy, enjoyed televised wrestling that had become an international phenomena in the 1950s. World Wrestling Federation televised theatrical performances that contributed to wrestling no longer being a professional sport but comic entertainment. Uncle Ray was caught up in the fever. Aunt Mattalou (Texas-speak for Mattie Lou) tattled on Uncle Ray to anyone that would listen. Indignant, she laughingly complained that after each show Uncle Ray tackled her to the floor and practiced on her the wrestling holds he’d just seen. I had the impression she didn’t really mind.
Millard “Ray” Warren, fourth-born child of Tom and Jane Warren, was born on October 1, 1905 in Hunt County, Texas. He lived in Wolfe City when the family moved to Floyd County, Texas. Ray was eight years old. He was 15 when his older brother, Lois Oren, died of appendicitis. At 21, Ray married Mattie Lou Hopkins. Ray was 25 at the 1930 census and was next door neighbors with his parents and his brother, Russell Everett “Ebb” Warren. Both Ray and Ebb had young families and likely farmed in partnership with their father, Tom. By 1940, Ray lived a distance away from his parents. He and Mattie Lou were visitation number 243 whereas his parents were visitation number 22 on the Floyd County, Precinct 1, census record. The census showed that Ray went to school through 6th grade and that he made $480 during 1939. Ray and Mattie Lou’s descendant chart is below.
The US Social Security Death Index for Ray indicates that he was issued his social security number in California before 1951. I hadn’t realized that he had lived in California and I’ve been unable to find another record to substantiate that fact. Ray’s son, TR, served in the US Army from 1950 – 1952 so it’s possible they were in California during that time.
Uncle Ray and his family lived many years in Hart, Texas. Hart is only 55 miles from Floydada and I remember our family making the trip a few times to visit. The photo below was taken in September, 1955, at night, when we had just arrived.
In September of 1955 several of the Warren families had a picnic at a lake that may have been Tule by Tulia. The first photo shows Beverly, TR’s wife, in the foreground. In the middle photo is TR and possibly my brother, Bobby Dale, on the lake. Larry Barbee and Johnny Barbee, sons of Uncle Charlie and Aunt Velma, are on the boat in the right photo.
In 1970, David Anthony, son of Lyndall and Patsy and grandson of Ray and Mattie Lou, drowned at age 17. Another tragedy occurred in 1980. David Anthony’s younger brother, James Ray, died at age 25 as a passenger in a pickup truck. The driver veered off the road and crashed into an embankment.
In 1981 the Warren’s had a family reunion at Lubbock, Texas. The photo of Uncle Ray below was taken at Marlene Raley Robertson’s home. Ray used a mechanical voice box to speak because his larynx was surgically removed due to cancer.
The below photo is of Ray’s family at the 1981 Lubbock family reunion. I’m sad to say that I can’t identify most of the relatives in this photo. If anyone can help me out I’d be eternally grateful.
In the photos above, Aunt Mattie Lou (Uncle Ray’s wife) is with her sons Joe (left photo) and Kenneth (right photo) at the 1981 Lubbock family reunion.
I don’t remember who gave me the news but remember feeling tremendous sadness when told, “They’re all gone.” Within six years, from 1986 to 1992, Uncle Ray, Aunt Mattie Lou, and cousins TR, Lyndall, Joe, and Kenneth had all passed away.
I don’t know if TR and Joe had children. I suspect they did and their wives and children are the ones I can’t identify in Ray’s family photo at the Lubbock family reunion. I hope someone can let me know about the other family members so that I can include them in the family tree. If I haven’t included someone it isn’t an intentional oversight. It’s because I was unable to find a public record for them or due to my lack of memory.
Note: My indebted gratitude to my brother, Bobby Dale Warren, for allowing me to scan his photos of the Lubbock family reunion that are included in this post.
Records located on Ancestry.com
1930 US Federal Census, Floyd County, Texas, Precinct 4
1940 US Federal Census, Floyd County, Texas Precinct 1
Ancestry.com Families
Texas Birth Certificates, 1903 – 1932
Texas Birth Index, 1903 – 1997
Texas Death Certificates, 1903 – 1982
Texas Death Index, 1903 – 2000
US City Directories, 1822 – 1995
US Department of Veterans BIRLS Death File, 1850 – 2010
US Public Records Index, 1950 – 1993, Volume 1
US Public Records Index, 1950 – 1993, Volume 2
US Social Security Applications and Claims Index, 1936 – 2007
US Social Security Death Index, 1935 – 2014
Generations 