Marguerite Vivian Scaife (1872-1909)

Marguerite Vivian Scaife Zeigler

Marguerite Vivian Scaife, or Maggie as she was called by family and friends, was a lovely and educated southern girl born and raised in Claiborne Parish, Louisiana. She was born in the small town of Lisbon on February 25, 1872, and was the ninth of ten children born to Charner Poole Scaife and Sarah Ann Hollingsworth. Sadly, Maggie’s mother died when she was only three years old.  Sarah passed away on October 9, 1875, ten days after giving birth to a son, Adam, their tenth and last child. Charner was now a widower with a newborn infant and nine other children ranging in age from three years old to 21 years old.  Fortunately for Charner, two of the older children were daughters, Edith age 21 and Martha “Mattie” age 17, who could help with the younger children and the housekeeping.

Like many others during this time period in Louisiana, Charner Scaife was a cotton planter but he also owned and operated a textile mill in the small town of Arizona, Louisiana. He did quite well for himself while managing a large family, which must have been challenging after he lost his wife.  Charner's mother, Mary Crosby Poole Scaife, a widow, had migrated to Claiborne Parish from Alabama in about 1855 with three of her children and their families - son Charner and his wife Sarah Hollingsworth Scaife, son Dr. James M. and Sarah Blackman Scaife, and daughter Mary Scaife Blackman and husband Jefferon J. Blackman. Maggie's grandmother, Mary Poole Scaife may have helped out a little with her grandchildren after their mother died. However, she was 75 years old at the time and had already helped raise two other granddaughters, Mollie and May Blackman, by her daughter Mary who died in 1867 from childbirth. Mary Poole Scaife was widowed at the age of 35 with eight children to raise and never remarried so she must have been a strong and determined woman. She lived until 1892 when she died at the age of 89, which was quite an achievement in those days.

In the 1880 Claiborne Parish, Louisiana census Charner's family was living in Arizona and Maggie’s sister Edith, her husband Victor, and their two year old daughter Mattie were living in the Scaife household.   Charner's mother, Mary, was living in Arizona also with her son-in-law, Jefferson J. Blackman and granddaughters Mollie and May. Charner remained a single father until 1885 when he married Mary Elizabeth Goodwin.  In 1888, Charner and Mary had a son, Fletcher Terry Scaife.

In March of 1893 there was an article in The Guardian-Journal newspaper of Homer, Louisiana under the heading “Bridgeman Schoolhouse Dots” regarding a social honoring Miss Maggie Scaife, administrator for the Bridgeman Schoolhouse. She was only 21 years old at the time. While researching this article I found that “Dots” was a term used for news or gossip. Maggie was granted a teaching certificate in May of 1893 to teach first grade in Homer.

Later, Maggie attended Sam Houston Normal School in Huntsville, Texas.  This was an institution with the purpose of preparing individuals for positions in the public schools of Texas as teachers and later became Sam Houston State University. Maggie began her teaching career in East Texas shortly after her education was complete.

  

Maggie must have been teaching somewhere in East Texas near the Gregg county area because she happened to meet a young and handsome Longview entrepreneur and business owner by the name of John Philip Zeigler. We will never know when, how, or where they met but if we can assume anything from the note below, then it would be that John, being 34 years old and well established in Longview, was ready for married life!

Note written by John P. Zeigler

They courted, fell in love and married at 10 o’clock on Tuesday morning, October 19, 1897 in Center, Shelby County, Texas at the home of Dr. and Mrs. J. W. Rogers of Center. The ceremony was officiated by Rev. A. J. Frick of the First Methodist Church in Longview, Texas. The bridal party consisted of Mr. and Mrs. J. P. Zeigler, Rev. A. J. Frick, Mr. G. E. Ramsey, and Miss Ruth Scaife, sister of the bride.

Marriage license

Marriage announcement in
Longview newspaper.

Marriage announcement in the
Homer, Louisiana newspaper

John purchased a house at 209 West Methvin in April 1897 for $650.00 to be their first home after they married.  John and Maggie settled down in Longview, Texas and on July 12, 1899 their first son, Roland Scaife Zeigler, was born.  Roland was named after Maggie’s brother, Roland Lee Scaife.  After starting a family and probably needing more space, the young couple purchased their second home on September 20, 1899, located at 215 West Methvin Street for $1,550.00 - two houses down from the first house.  In the 1900 census the Zeigler household included John’s sister, Romania, who never married and was always known as Aunt Minnie, Maria Turner, a cook, and Beatrice Parker, a nurse. 

1900 census

Deed for 215 W. Methvin St., Longview, Texas

Lots 7 & 8, Block 8

1916 Sanborn Map, Longview, Texas

Within the next six years, the Scaife family was blessed with two more sons, John Philip Zeigler, Jr., born July 9, 1902, and Leroy Trice Zeigler, born February 28, 1906.  Leroy was named after Leroy Trice, the husband of John's sister, Mollie Zeigler Trice.  John's meat market was doing well and their life was probably quite busy with three young boys and living in the downtown area of Longview.  They lived within walking distance of every necessity, John's meat market, First Methodist Church, friends, family, church, parks, groceries, physician, and all the social happenings in Longview. 

Leroy Trice Zeigler

Roland and John Jr. Zeigler

Roland and Leroy in front of the Zeigler home at 
215 West Methvin Street

In a 1903 Prohibition Petition Maggie and her sister-in-law Minnie and other family members joined the ladies of Longview in submitting a petition to the voters of Longview to try and persuade them to vote their conscience at the upcoming polls regarding the sale and consumption of alcohol.

This parade in 1908 traveled down Methvin Street in front of the First Presbyterian Church which was on the same block as the Zeigler home. 

Below is a photo of the unveiling of the Confederate Monument at Bodie Park in Longview.  It is highly likely that the Zeigler family are somewhere in this crowd because Robert F. Echols, a Confederate veteran, was married to Alabama "Aunt Bama" Zeigler, John's sister.  The Echols and Molly and Leroy Trice families also lived in the downtown area just a block or two from each other.  This monument now stands  on the Gregg County courthouse lawn.

The Zeiglers had a full and happy life until late in 1907 when Maggie became ill and increasingly weak.  She was diagnosed with “consumption”, also known as tuberculosis, and later their son John, Jr. also was diagnosed with this terrible disease.  After being ill for about three months, their precious little Johnnie died on July 28th 1909 at the age of seven.  Maggie passed away just two months later on October 2nd.  Amazingly, no one else in the household was infected but the sadness and loneliness must have been devastating.  Both Maggie and John Jr. were buried in a family plot in Greenwood Cemetery located near the downtown area.  

John P. Zeigler, Jr.
obituary

Maggie Scaife Zeigler obituary 

Headstone of Maggie & John Zeigler, Jr

Gregg County, Texas
Death Index Ledger

John was fortunate to have his sister Minnie living with them to help with Roland and Leroy as well as many other family members nearby to help them get through their loss.  

In the 1910 census it was just John, Roland, Leroy, and Minnie in the household. Three years later, on December 24, 1913, John married Nora Culver, a lovely 31 year old school teacher who had never married. Less than two years later, on August 18, 1915, Nora gave birth to a son, Robert Edward Zeigler. John, at 52 years old, was not a young man anymore and was probably quite hopeful that the family could put all the tragedy behind them and enjoy life again.

It was a short-lived respite as Minnie Zeigler, age 47, passed away on September 12, 1914.  According to her obituary the cause of death was heart trouble.  The beautiful tributes in the newspaper show what a caring and selfless person Aunt Minnie was to all who knew her.

Romania "Minnie" Zeigler

Maggie had three sisters but she was closest to her sister Ruth who was three years older.  The other two sisters, Edith Olivia and Martha "Mattie" Elizabeth, were respectively, 18 and 15 years older than Maggie and died before she was married.  In 1899 Ruth married George Edward Ramsey, a Texan from Shelby County.  Ruth and George eventually moved to Sweetwater, Texas and remained there for the rest of their lives.  In the 1900 Cherokee County, Texas census, Maggie's brother, Dr. Robert Hollingsworth Scaife and his family, wife Nevada Gibbs, daughter Aldina, and son Robert Dayton, were living in Mt. Selman near Jacksonville, Texas and had a daughter, Margaret born there in 1903. After Dr. Scaife died in 1904, his wife and children returned to Louisiana to live near family.  This is all the family Maggie had in Texas.  Ruth and her brother James Madison Scaife, who remained in Claiborne Parish, Louisiana,  were the only two siblings that survived Maggie.

There is much more to be written about the Zeigler family but this is Maggie's story. Her life was far too short but she will never be forgotten by those who loved her. The note below was written to John and Maggie's youngest son, Leroy Trice Zeigler, by Ruth Scaife Ramsey, Maggie's sister on what would have been Maggie's 70th birthday.

Charner Poole SCAIFE and Sarah Ann HOLLINGSWORTH

Descendant Chart - 3 Generations

Charner Poole SCAIFE

  b. 21 Mar 1830, DeKalb County, Georgia

  d. 2 Apr 1895, Claiborne Parish, Louisiana

& Sarah Ann HOLLINGSWORTH

  b. 23 Apr 1836, Henry County, Georgia

  d. 9 Oct 1875, Claiborne Parish, Louisiana

  m. 6 Oct 1853, Fayette County, Georgia

| Edith Olivia SCAIFE

|   b. 2 Sep 1854, Georgia

|   d. 14 Sep 1890, Atlanta, Fulton, Georgia

| & Victor Ernest St. CLOUD

|   b. 27 Dec 1858, At Sea - Gulf of Mexico

|   d. 3 Feb 1917, Moroni, Sanpete, Utah

|   m. 24 Apr 1877, Claiborne Parish, Louisiana 

| | Martha Inez St. CLOUD

| |   b. 15 Jun 1878, Claiborne Parish, Louisiana

| |   d. 16 Aug 1959, Baytown, Harris, Texas

| | & William Andrew LYON

| |   b. 13 Oct 1867, Abbeville, Abbeville, South Carolina

| |   d. 29 Sep 1930, San Marcos, Hays, Texas

| |   m. 12 Apr 1904, Augusta, Richmond, Georgia

| | Sarah “Sallie” Irene St. CLOUD

| |   b. 1881

| |   d. 1913

| | Victor Ernest St. CLOUD Jr.

| |   b. 1883

| |   d. 1885

| | William Purse St. CLOUD

| |   b. 1888

| |   d. 1889

| Dr. Charner Augustus “Gus” SCAIFE

|   b. 18 Mar 1856, Claiborne Parish, Louisiana

|   d. 26 Mar 1900, Dougherty, Murray, Oklahoma

| & Leoma Enoch BARKMAN

|   b. 30 Aug 1860, Texarkana, Bowie, Texas

|   d. 19 Apr 1942, Lake Charles, Calcasieu, Louisiana

|   m. 2 Jan 1877

| | William Stonewall SCAIFE

| |   b. 5 Jan 1878, Texarkana, Bowie, Texas

| |   d. 31 Mar 1956, Lake Charles, Calcasieu, Louisiana

| | & Edna Lucille POOLE

| |   b. 20 Jul 1872, Lovelady, Houston, Texas

| |   d. 3 Jun 1953, Lovelady, Houston, Texas

| | Minnie SCAIFE

| |   b. Feb 1880, Texas

| | Charner Augustus SCAIFE   Jr.

| |   b. 14 Jun 1884, Gibsland, Bienville, Louisiana

| |   d. 11 Sep 1944, Nocona, Montague, Texas

| | & Ida May SLOAN

| |   b. 1887, Cleburne, Johnson, Texas

| |   d. 1964, Lake Charles, Calcasieu, Louisiana

| |   m. 25 Sep 1910, Nolan County, Texas

| | Claude SCAIFE

| |   b. 15 Dec 1886, Texarkana, Bowie, Texas

| |   d. 18 Apr 1899, Dougherty, Murray, Oklahoma

| Martha Elizabeth SCAIFE

|   b. 28 Nov 1857, Claiborne Parish, Louisiana

|   d. 31 Dec 1891, Claiborne Parish, Louisiana

| & Preston S. SMITH

|   b. Mar 1854, Fayette County, Georgia

|   d. 1906

|   m. 1 May 1883

| | Byron SMITH

| |   b. Aug 1886, Georgia

| | Victor E. SMITH

| |   b. Sep 1888, Georgia

| James Madison SCAIFE

|   b. 19 Jan 1860, Claiborne Parish, Louisiana

|   d. 10 Aug 1912, Claiborne Parish, Louisiana

| & Rhoda Missouri COLVIN

|   b. 9 Oct 1858

|   d. 20 Jan 1944

|   m. 18 Dec 1881, Lincoln Parish, Louisiana

| | Roland Lee SCAIFE*

| |   b. Oct 1884, Louisiana

| | & Mineola GIBBS

| |   b. 1882

| |   d. 1954

| |   m. 1907

| | Roland Lee SCAIFE*

| |   b. Oct 1884, Louisiana

| | & Mineola “Minnie” GIBBS

| |   b. Dec 1882, Louisiana

| |   d. 1954, Caddo Parish, Louisiana

| | Florence SCAIFE

| |   b. Oct 1886, Louisiana

| | Elmore SCAIFE

| |   b. Sep 1888, Louisiana

| | Ruth SCAIFE

| |   b. 27 Feb 1893, Ruston, Lincoln, Louisiana

| |   d. 26 Aug 1968, Benton, Saline, Arkansas

| | & Elmer V. COLLINS

| |   m. 4 Nov 1916, Union County, Arkansas

| | Ruby SCAIFE

| |   b. 3 Apr 1895, Ruston, Lincoln, Louisiana

| |   d. Dec 1977, Princeton, Bossier, Louisiana

| | & Arthur ALFORD

| |   b. 1898

| |   d. 1968

| | Robert Roy SCAIFE

| |   b. 13 Feb 1896, Ruston, Lincoln, Louisiana

| |   d. 13 Feb 1959, Beaumont, Jefferson, Texas

| | Donald Augustus SCAIFE

| |   b. 26 Feb 1899, Lincoln Parish, Louisiana

| |   d. 28 Jan 1984, Sabine Parish, Louisiana

| | & Selma MAINS

| |   b. 9 Jun 1914

| |   d. 6 Jun 2007, Many, Sabine, Louisiana

| Dr. William Isaiah SCAIFE

|   b. 16 May 1862, Claiborne Parish, Louisiana

|   d. 21 Jul 1902, Claiborne Parish, Louisiana

| & Blondel Elizabeth GRIFFIN

|   b. 27 Feb 1869

|   d. 8 Aug 1941

|   m. 17 Nov 1891, Lincoln Parish, Louisiana

| | Erin R. SCAIFE

| |   b. 21 Sep 1893, Louisiana

| |   d. 28 Jan 1982, Shreveport, Caddo, Louisiana

| | & Henry Clunn McKEAN

| |   b. 1888, Arkansas

| |   d. 1961

| |   m. 8 May 1917, Lafayette, Lafayette, Louisiana

| | Zorita SCAIFE

| |   b. 31 Jul 1896, Louisiana

| |   d. 25 Oct 1963, Caddo Parish, Louisiana

| | & Austin Sherman MANN

| |   b. 20 Dec 1885, Brooksville, Florida

| |   d. 21 Jul 1947, Houston, Harris, Texas

| | Charner G. SCAIFE

| |   b. Apr 1899, Louisiana

| Roland Lee SCAIFE

|   b. 11 Jun 1864, Claiborne Parish, Louisiana

|   d. 11 Jul 1904, Arkansas

| & Hammie MOORE

|   b. abt 1873, Alabama

|   d. aft 6 May 1940, Chicot County, Arkansas

|   m. 19 Mar 1893, Chicot County, Arkansas

| | Roland Lee SCAIFE

| |   b. 11 Feb 1896, Grand Lake, Chicot, Arkansas

| |   d. 25 Feb 1953, Eudora, Chicot, Arkansas

| | & Jane F. RAMSEY

| |   b. 2 Mar 1902, Mississippi

| |   d. 4 May 1994, Arkansas

| |   m. 29 Oct 1923, Covington County, Mississippi

| | Edward SCAIFE

| |   b. Mar 1898, Chicot County, Arkansas

| |   d. UNKNOWN

| Dr. Robert Hollingsworth SCAIFE

|   b. 5 Jan 1867, Homer, Claiborne Parish, Louisiana

|   d. 25 Dec 1904, Mt. Selman, Cherokee, Texas

| & Nevada GIBBS

|   b. 25 Dec 1878, Panola County, Texas

|   d. 2 Jun 1960, Winnsboro, Franklin, Louisiana

|   m. 3 Feb 1896, Union Parish, Louisiana

| | Aldina S. SCAIFE

| |   b. 1896, Louisiana

| | & ____ GATES

| | Robert Dayton SCAIFE

| |   b. 1899, Louisiana

| | Margaret SCAIFE

| |   b. 12 Dec 1903, Cherokee County, Texas

| |   d. 4 Jul 1995, Baton Rouge, East Baton Rouge, Louisiana

| | & Daniel Roy GIANELLONI

| |   b. 23 Nov 1902, Donaldsonville, Ascension, Louisiana

| |   d. 28 Oct 1989, Baton Rouge, East Baton Rouge, Louisiana

| Ruth SCAIFE

|   b. 1 Jan 1869, Claiborne Parish, Louisiana

|   d. 18 Nov 1950, Sweetwater, Nolan, Texas

| & George Edward RAMSEY

|   b. 31 Aug 1870, Shelby County, Texas

|   d. 25 Aug 1952, Sweetwater, Nolan, Texas

|   m. 7 Jun 1899, Longview, Gregg, Texas

| | George Edward RAMSEY   Jr.

| |   b. 13 Sep 1904, Sweetwater, Nolan, Texas

| |   d. 2 Jan 1966, Midland, Midland, Texas

| | & Winifred Gertrude BARRONS

| |   b. 11 Nov 1909

| |   d. 6 Feb 1989, Sweetwater, Nolan, Texas

| |   m. 26 Dec 1933, Jackson County, Missouri

| | Charner Scaife RAMSEY

| |   b. 19 Aug 1906, Sweetwater, Nolan, Texas

| |   d. 28 Apr 1918, Sweetwater, Nolan, Texas

| Marguerite Vivian SCAIFE

|   b. 25 Feb 1872, Claiborne Parish, Louisiana

|   d. 2 Oct 1909, Longview, Gregg, Texas

| & John Philip ZEIGLER

|   b. 16 May 1863, Gilmer, Upshur, Texas

|   d. 15 Jun 1916, Longview, Gregg, Texas

|   m. 17 Oct 1897, Center, Shelby, Texas

| | Roland Scaife ZEIGLER Sr.

| |   b. 12 Jul 1899, Longview, Gregg, Texas

| |   d. 30 Apr 1964, Plainview, Hale, Texas

| | & Mildred Katria POOLE

| |   b. 22 Jul 1898, St. Louis, Missouri

| |   d. 20 Jan 1987, Plainview, Hale, Texas

| |   m. 20 Jun 1923, Greenville, Hunt, Texas

| | John Philip ZEIGLER   Jr.

| |   b. 9 Jul 1902, Longview, Gregg, Texas

| |   d. 28 Jul 1909, Longview, Gregg, Texas

| | Leroy Trice ZEIGLER

| |   b. 28 Feb 1906, Longview, Gregg, Texas

| |   d. 24 Jan 1972, Longview, Gregg, Texas

| | & Nelda Mae WILKINS

| |   b. 20 Dec 1905, New Willard, Trinity, Texas

| |   d. 26 Apr 1990, Tyler, Smith, Texas

| |   m. 23 Mar 1929, Longview, Gregg, Texas

| Adam SCAIFE

|   b. 29 Sep 1875, Claiborne Parish, Louisiana

|   d. 2 Dec 1895, Claiborne Parish, Louisiana

Compiled by Debbie T. Hilliard

February 15, 2021

Sources:

Leroy Trice Zeigler Family Scrapbook

John P. Zeigler, Jr. Obituary, The Times-Clarion, Longview, Texas, 29 July 1909. Longview

Public Library, microfilm.

Gregg County, Texas Death Index Ledger, Volume A; Delayed Death Certificates. Longview Public

Library, Genealogy Department.

Louisiana. Claiborne Parish. 1880 U. S. census, population schedule. Digital images. Ancestry.com.

http://www.ancestry.com : 2010.

Texas. Gregg County. 1900 U. S. census, population schedule. Digital images. Ancestry.com.

http://www.ancestry.com : 2004.

Texas. Gregg County. 1910 U. S. census, population schedule. Digital images. Ancestry.com.

http://www.ancestry.com : 2006.

"Texas, County Marriage Records, 1837-1977," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal\\\ark:/61903/3:1:33SQ-GP3B-9V75?cc=1803987 : accessed 14 February 2021), > image 1 of 1; multiple county clerks, Texas.

Zeigler/Scaife Marriage Record

[Bodie Park], photograph, 1931; (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth191205/: accessed February 14, 2021), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu/; crediting Longview Public Library.

Parade Float 1908, photograph, Longview Chamber of Commerce, Historical Photo Gallery, accessed October 19 2014.  [Web page no longer exists; photo unavailable online.]

Sanborn Fire Insurance Map from Longview, Gregg County, Texas. Sanborn Map Company, Jun, 1916. Map. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, <www.loc.gov/item/sanborn08626_007/>.

Sanborn Maps, Longview, Texas

Harris, D. W. (18861976). The history of Claiborne Parish, Louisiana: from its incorporation in 1828 to the close of the year 1885, with sketches of pioneer life in North Louisiana ... also the muster and death rolls of her sons in the late bloody war .... New Orleans: Press of W.B. Stansbury & Co..

HathiTrust.org-The History of Claiborne Parish, Louisiana

Marriage of Maggie Scaife, The Guardian-Journal (Homer, Louisiana), 27 October 1897, p. 3, image copy, Newspapers.com (https://www.newspapers.com/ : downloaded 6 December 2020).

Scaife, Maggie. "Teachers Granted Certificates." The Guardian-Journal (Homer, Louisiana), 23 May 1897, p. 3, image copy, Newspapers.com (https://www.newspapers.com/ : downloaded 6 December 2020).

Gregg County, Texas, Deed Book Q: 453-4, Robert A. McLain and wife Maud McLain to J. P. Zeigler, 20 September 1899; County Clerks Office, Longview.