Reginald Gordon Cruse Family

Lemuel C. Cruse was born in Mississippi in 1817.  He was married three times with children born to each marriage.

Marriage 1 - Pency Lands of South Carolina; married on August 4, 1835 in Copiah County, Mississippi.
Marriage 2 - Sarah Nancy Gore of Alabama; married circa 1837.
Marriage 3 - Matilda Ratcliff of Louisiana; married on November 3, 1853 in Catahoula Parish, Louisiana.

Lemuel died sometime after 1860 in Catahoula Parish, Louisiana.  Nancy died on May 9, 1852 in Catahoula Parish.  Burial locations are unknown at this time.

The following children were born to the marriage of Lemuel C. Cruse and Sarah Nancy Gore:

John, 1838-1861
James Henry, 1842-?
William, 1844-?
Francis "Frank" Marion, 1848-1927 (m. Harriet Clearman)
Andrew Jackson, 1848-1903 (m. Olive Tarver)
Daniel, 1859-?
George Washington, 1852-1933 (m. 1. Pauline Lowe, 1857-1880; 2. Selia Wooten, 1850-1924)

Reginald Gordon Cruse, son of George Washington Cruse, will be the focus of this post.  Future posts will focus on other descendants of Lemuel C. Cruse.

George Washington Cruse was born on March 8, 1852 in Catahoula Parish.  The 1860 U.S. Census shows George living with his father, step-mother and siblings in Pine Woods, Catahoula Parish, Louisiana.

On August 3, 1877, George married Pauline Lowe in Caldwell Parish, Louisiana.  The following children were born to this marriage:

William Ernest, 1878-1966 (m. Mellie Ethridge, 1887-1963)
Fredrick, 1880-1880

Pauline Lowe Cruse died in September of 1880.  She is buried in the Lowe Cemetery in Holum, Caldwell Parish, Louisiana.  Tombstone photograph was taken by FindAGrave member, Karen Klemm Pinckard.

Pauline Lowe Cruse

Following Pauline's death in 1880, George married Selia Wooten.  Selia was born on September 10, 1850 in Caldwell Parish, Louisiana.

George Washington Cruse died on December 14, 1933 and Selia Wooten Cruse died on March 4, 1924. Both are buried in the Lowe Cemetery in Holum, Caldwell Parish, Louisiana.  Tombstone photographs were taken by FindAGrave member, Karen Klemm Pinckard.

The following children were born to the marriage of George Washington Cruse and Selia Wooten:

Reginald Gordon, 1885-1963 (m. 1. Mamie Couey, 1890-1920; 2. Lavilla Volentine, 1895-1984)
Eva, 1887-1895
Elmo Murray, 1891- ? (m. Etta)

Reginald Gordon Cruse was born in Catahoula Parish on January 26, 1885.  On August 19, 1906, he married Mamie Couey.  Mamie was born in Arkansas in 1890 to the marriage of Marion Thurman and Virginia Grubbs.

The 1910 U.S. Census shows Reginald, Mamie and three of their six children living in Ward 3, Caldwell Parish, Louisiana.

The 1920 U.S. Census shows the family living in Caldwell Parish.

Mamie Couey Cruse died on December 8, 1920 in Caldwell Parish, Louisiana.  Her burial location is unknown at this time.

Children born to the marriage of Reginald and Mamie Cruse:

Gladys Ruth, 1907-1983 (m. Henry Hoerl)
Geraldine, 1908-1979 (m. George E. Wycoff, 1904-?)
Eva Marie, 1909-1982 (m. Thomas Lester Henslee, 1904-1985)
Reginald Gordon, Jr., 1911-1913
Buddy, 1914-1916
Mamie Dell, 1920-2002 (m. Henry Clarendon Peck, Sr., 1919-2004)

On February 22, 1922, Reginald Cruse married Lavilla Volentine.  Lavilla was born on January 26, 1895 in the Holum community in Caldwell Parish, Louisiana.  She was the daughter of Enoch and Estelle Volentine.

From Our Island Heritage, Vol. 3, compiled by Sophie Crawford Haley and Mickie Farmer Smith, 1978:

In 1932, Reginald Cruse moved his family to Sicily Island where he established a sawmill and lumber yard.  Being a man of many interests, he soon branched out into other fields.  With J. J. McKeithen of Columbia, Louisiana as a partner, he went into building construction and with another partner tried the gravel business and road construction.  He also established the Conoco Oil Distributing Plant here somewhere around 1950.  Sometime before he died, Mr. Cruse sold the sawmill to Youngblood and Moore of Monroe, and the gravel business to A. B. Chisum and Asa Kiper, but the industrious spirit of this man has provided jobs for many people on the Island and greatly boosted the economy of the area.

Mrs. Lavilla Cruse never had children of her own but has been a real mother to her four step-daughters and a loyal helpmate to her husband.  She lives on in Sicily Island today in the home which she and Reginald Cruse built.  She is a devoted worker in the First Baptist Church and maintains an active interest in community activities.

Reginald Gordon Cruse died on May 3, 1963 and Lavilla Volentine Cruse died in June of 1984.  Both are buried in the Highland Park Cemetery in Sicily Island, Catahoula Parish, Louisiana.  No tombstone photographs are available at this time.