Benjamin Harley Welch

The Welch Family line begins with Jesse Welch, born about 1820 in Virginia. At some point he moved to the now defunct James County, Tennessee, near Chattanooga. He married Susana, last name unknown to us and they had five children. Martha, born in 1836, Mary, born in 1838, John, born in 1840, William M., born in 1846 and Sarah, born in 1849. The line continues with William M. Welch, born October 20, 1846 in Tennessee. On July 3, 1870 in Hamilton Co., he married Eliza M. McCombs, also born in Tennessee on June 27,1850. They are listed in the 1880 census in the now defunct James Co., Tennessee along with their children, Sarah J., born abt. 1873, Jesse C., born abt. 1874, John W., born abt. 1875 and James W. born abt. 1878. They then moved to Revilee, Logan Co. Arkansas, and had four more children. Alvzo, born abt.1883, Evelina, born abt. 1885, Thomas A. born abt. 1888 and Benjamin Harley, born September, 1891. Harley was a oilfield worker who was killed when a oil derrick fell on him. It took three days for him to die. Harley was the youngest of the Welch children, shown in this picture in his army uniform with what are believed to be his siblings.

Welch is a locational surname meaning "One who comes from Wales."
However, family tradition has it that the Welches came from Germany. The Jim Welch family believes the Welches were Cherokee. More research is needed.

Sometime after 1900, the Welch family left Logan Co., Arkansas and settled in Welty, Okfuskee Co., Oklahoma. William and Eliza are buried there.

Benjamin Harley Welch and Sylvania Eva Estep

This picture was taken on their wedding day in 1916 when Vania was 18 years old. Harley was 24. The Welches had moved to Welty, Oklahoma sometime after 1900. Vania's sister, Peralee had married Harley's brother, Jim. That must have been how they met.

Drumright, Oklahoma The oil town where Vania and Harley settled to raise their boys.

Sylvania (Vania) Estep Welch Allen

Born Sylvania (Vania) Eva Estep, June 8, 1898, in Magazine, Logan County, Arkansas, died August 13, 1968, in Norwalk, Los Angeles County, California, Vania is buried next to Harley in Drumright, Oklahoma where they were raising their boys when Harley was killed. Her mother was Mary Elizabeth White, born January 31,1859 and died November 28, 1902. Vania was only 4 years old at the time of her mother's death. Her father was Franklin Asberry Estep, born November 15th, 1847 and died January 23, 1903, only two months after his wife's death. Vania was raised by her older sister, Eliza Bailey. She had fourteen brothers and sisters, four half-siblings from her father's first marriage and ten brothers and sisters from his second marriage to her mother. Her older sister, Peralee married Jim Welch, one of Harley's brothers. After his death in Welty, Oklahoma in 1924, Peralee remarried and moved her family to Texas. . Peralee died in Panhandle, Texas. The Estep line begins with THOMAS ESTEP, born in 1709 in Frederick County, Maryland. He was probably the son or grandson of an immigrant, Richard or Joseph Estep, from Middlesex or London, England. Thomas died August 25, 1772 in the same county, where he also met and married MARY, about 1729 in Anne Arundel, Maryland. She was born about 1712 and died December 21, 1793 in Rowan, North Carolina. Thomas owned a property called "Valleys and Hills, Tom and Wills" along with his brother, William near Anne Arundel. After his death in 1772, his son, Thomas sold the land and moved with his brothers and their families to the Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina. HIS SON: SHADRACH ESTEP, was born October 10, 1745, in St. Margarets Parish, Anne Arundel, Maryland. he died 1801, in Ashe County, North Carolina, at only 36 years old. He married RUTH DUGGER WFT Est. 1758-1789. She was born WFT Est. 1727-1754 in Ashe County, North Carolina and died WFT Est. 1786-1843. Shadrach's profession was a miller, he ground local grain. HIS SON: ELIJAH ESTEP. was born about 1779 in Frederick County, Maryland. He died about 1860 in Madison County, Arkansas. He married first, Elizabeth Stone, WFT Est.1787-1820. She was born WFT Est. 1770-1882 in Grayson County, Virginia and died WFT Est. 1843-1911. He married REBECCA WHITTINGTON WFT Est. 1787-1820. She was born in 1775 in North Carolina and died about 1831.She was the mother of ELIAS CLEVELAND ESTEP. Elijah Estep served as a private during the War of 1812 in Captain Jos. Williams' company from September 28, 1814 to April 27, 1815. He entered the service in Fayetteville, Lincoln County, Tennessee and discharged at Colbert's Ferry, Tennessee. He moved to Bond County, Illinois before 1818 and to Sangamon County, Illinois in 1821. He built a grist mill at present day Petersburg, Illinois in 1826. In 1840 he was in Barry County, Missouri. November 11, 1850, Elijah declared for bounty land from Madison County, Arkansas. He was 79 years old. HIS SON: ELIAS CLEVELAND, born March 19, 1808 in Ashe County, North Carolina and died February 9, 1888 in Madison County, Arkansas. He first married a woman named Mandy Jane, then RACHEL SHASTED, the mother of FRANKLIN ASBERRY ESTEP, on July 15, 1827 in Sangamon County, Illinois. She was born WFT Est. 1814-1816 in either Tennessee or Illinois and died about 1848 in Combs, Madison County, Arkansas. He then married Elizabeth Tucker about 1849 in Madison. The Estep family features were listed as naturally curly hair, short - not over 5'5", big nose, good dispositions, good farmers. Health Items were listed as strokes and heart troubles. Elias was listed in 1850 as living in Madison, Arkansas, next to his father. He is buried in Brashew Cemetery, South Madison County, Arkansas. HIS SON: FRANKLIN ASBERRY was born November 15, 1847 in Madison County and died January 23, 1903 in Magazine, Logan County, Arkansas. He married Martha Vaugh July 30, 1868 in Arkansas. She was born 1850 and died in Magazine. He then married MARY ELIZABETH WHITE in 1875 or 76 in Logan County, Arkansas. She was born January 31, 1851 in Scott County, Arkansas and died November 26, 1902 and is buried beside her husband. FRANK A. and MARY E. ESTEP, as they are named on their headstone, are the parents of VANIA ESTEP.

The Welch Boys

Clyde Levene (toe-headed boy at the top) October 14, 1925 - October 15, 1975, William Shelton June 30, 1919 - January 27, 1975 and Orval A. Welch, died 1958. Sons of Sylvania (Estep) and Benjamin Harley Welch Clyde was born in the Oklahoma oil town of Drumright in 1925. He was 20 months old when his father died. Then Vania moved her boys to Hulbert, Oklahoma where she owned a small cafe. It was at this time she met and married John Hubert Allen and had three more children. J.D. (aka "June"), Vera Lee, and Mary Christian (Christine). This marriage ended in divorce but being the good Baptist she was, Vania never remarried. Clyde attended school in Hulbert until the 8th grade, when in 1941 he attended the Electric Arc Welding School, National Youth Administration in nearby Muskogee, Oklahoma. The largest town nearest Hulbert was Tahlequah. At about the age of 16, Clyde was visiting in Tahlequah when a little girl saw him walking down the street..... "That's my man, if I never get him." That girl was Nina Keys.

Nina didn't see Clyde for a couple of more years. He went to Desoto, Kansas to stay with his brother, Orval, his wife, Floy and their new son, Orval Jr. While there he worked for Brodrick and Gordon, making major repairs on heavy machinery and becoming what you'd call a 'tractor mechanic.' Meantime, World War II had broken out and Clyde's older brother Bill had gone missing in action some where in Burma. Orval, the oldest, had moved to Washington State at the time so Clyde decided he'd go out there to join the Army and go find his brother Bill. He worked awhile for Guy F. Atkinson in Hanford, Washingtion, then for the Army Engineers Supply Depot before joining the Army. His reasoning for going to Washington was that if he enlisted on the West Coast, they would send him to Oklahoma for basic training and he'd be close to home. It worked. He was stationed at Fort Sill.

Clyde L. Welch

An 18 year old private in the U.S. Army, he entered the service on February 18, 1944. He spent four and a half months in basic training. He would soon be sent to France and Germany, where he was gravely injured.

A little story of pay it forward.... After Clyde returned from WW II (He was in Gen. Patton's 3rd Army Tank Corp. in Germany.) he and Nina and their little girl, Elizabeth Clydean left Oklahoma for the Sierra Nevada mountains of California, where they had two more children, Donna Jean and David Levene. A little place called Big Oak Flat near Groveland, Ca. Nothing more than a logging camp back then, life was good there. They lived in a cabin Clyde built himself and he had a steady job as a logger. Then one day he was riding in the cab of a pick up truck that was transporting the men to the job site when the driver missed the curve in the road and sent them over a 300 ft. cliff. The 2 men in the back were thrown clear, Clyde was thrown half out of the cab... hitting his head on every rock and tree `till the pick up finally came to rest by the edge of a little stream at the foot of the embankment. The driver suffered a broken leg, cuts and bruises but was able to summon help. Twice Clyde was given up for dead and twice some anonymous nurse refused to accept that. She worked on him and stayed right by his side until he was out of danger. Her name has passed from memory but so much is owed her. Of course, recovery was slow and he was not able to work so the family moved down to Huntington Park where Vania was now living. No such thing as welfare back then, at least nothing Clyde would accept. Vania worked for a wonderful couple named Everett and Opal Murrey and as soon as he was able, they gave him a job as "Night Watchman" there. Now, they had no need of a night watchman but created the job just to help this young couple with 3 small children needing help. When Clyde ask Everett how he could ever possibly repay him. Uncle Everett simply said "Someday someone else will need help, help him."

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