Robert Hamilton Chew (1874-1918) Our grandfather, Robert Hamilton Chew was born in El Dorado, Arkansas, along with his brother John Edgar, who died at age 35 without marrying, and sister, Lilla Grayson Chew. Lilla married twice (J. Medlock and H. Freeman) but had no children. Another daughter, Fannie, was born in Hot Springs. She married James H. Hatmaker and had two children, Mildred and James, neither of whom ever married. So our grandfather Robert Chew was the only one of this branch to continue the line.

In Garland County Robert Chew met and married Ida Roper (1876-1958) who was one of the 11 children of Addison Roper and Mary Jane Hawkins. Ida had a twin sister Ada and there were two other sets of twins in the family. Click Ida's picture for a larger view or visit Album 1 to see the other old photos.

Robert and Ida Chew started their family in Arkansas where Alton, Halmer, Evelyn and Eloise were all born. The 1911 family photo to the right was taken while they were still in Arkansas, before Eloise was born. Click the photo for a larger view and notice the boots. The photographer probably came to the farm with his backdrop and camera to take the photo.

At some point this Chew family also seems to have developed a pioneering spirit, because in 1912 they set out for the new state of Oklahoma. The oldest child, Alton, remembered taking a train from Arkansas and then a buggy from the train to their new home at Centerview, just South of Prague.

"It was late at night when we arrived so all the kids rushed up to the attic to bed. When we woke up in the morning we were covered in snow because of the large hole in the roof. But it was probably a good thing because several of the children also woke up with the measles and the snow probably kept their fever down." (Paraphrased from a story told by Alton at his sister Evelyn's funeral in 1978.)

Olene and Helen were born after the move to Oklahoma. The family settled into cotton farming at Centerview, just outside Prague on two 80 acre plots. Olene describes the land as two lots that fit together like an 'L.'

This photo of Robert Chew and Ida Roper with most of their children (Helen wasn't born yet) was taken around 1917. The photo includes Robert Chew's mother (John Hamilton Chew's wife) Sara Louise Weathers Chew who was about 75 at the time. Click the photo for a larger view.

Another young widow In 1918, at age 44, Robert Chew died, leaving Ida on the farm with six children under the age of 12. There is some question as to the cause of death. Van Chew remembers his brother Al telling him it was kidney disease, but several others thought their parents said it was liver cancer. According to Olene, the family hired a man to help with the cotton and they lived off that for a while.

Eventually Alton and Hal grew up, married and left the farm, so Ida sold the land and moved into the town of Prague around 1930. Wisely, Ida retained the mineral rights to the land and many of us still see the result of that decision-the only good result from high oil prices. Click the photo to the right to see one of the wells that is pumping out dollars these days.

Prague Memories Olene remembers her family as 'ordinary people' but has no memory of her father who died when she was three. Alton worked the farm with his father and the photo to the right shows the two of them together. Click the photo for a larger view. On the farm they raised cotton but the girls didn't have too many 'chores.' Helen liked to milk the cows though, as Olene remembers.

She also remembers that Helen was nicknamed 'Cottontop Jacktail' because she was very blond as a child. "And Eloise would tease me and call me 'Fuzzyworm' because of my curly hair. Hal liked to swim and dive into the river and at an early age took off to work on the oil rigs. He died in an oil field accident in Louisiana in 1941 when his own children were very small.

Growing up in Prague Many of us remember Ida's two-story house with the large sleeping room upstairs and many beds--beds that were so high off the ground you had to use a step stool (or a parent) to get in. And they were probably covered with some of Ida's quilts. Click the group photo to the right to see the Chew clan with Mildred and Jim Hatmaker, but not Alton. The oldest woman was Sarah Weathers Chew, Ida is next to her and Aunt Fannie Hatmaker, Robert Chew's sister, is on the far right.

At the 2004 cousins reunion, Olene shared some of her memories as a child and growing up in Prague. "Evelyn would always take us where we wanted to go in the car," Olene recalls. The car was a Model T and one time, "...I was standing on the running board and I thought she was going too fast. So I said 'this is where I get off' and jumped from the car." (Click the photo of Olene and the car to the right.) Olene also remembers that she and Evelyn were always planning to take a steamer around the world.

Then there was the big flood with houses washing away down the river, reading by oil lamps and listening to the battery powered radio. "We weren't suppose to listen to the radio when mother was not at home, but we did. She would come home and see the holes in my stockings from the battery acid and know what we had been doing." You can see the holes in Olene's stockings if you click the photo to the right for a larger view.

Carrying On. . . Since Halmer had only daughters, Dorothy Ann and Virginia, it was up to the oldest brother Alton to carry on the Chew name. Alton had two sons, Al and Van, and both have sons who can, hopefully, continue this branch of the Chew name into the future. For more details on these and the other Roper-Chew families, and to find yourself on our family tree, be sure to visit the 'Trees' page.

Many of the next two generations have taken off in still more directions. California, Ohio, Florida, Michigan, Arizona, New Mexico and some back to Virginia, Mississippi and Georgia where other relatives from the many Chew ancestors are also found. There is talk of a large Chew reunion to be held in 2007 on the 400th anniversary of John Chew's maiden voyage to the new land.

More New Territory While there was not much new land for the current generations to pioneer, some have broken new ground in their career paths, moving away from the traditional farming, military and medicine.

First they became teachers, then went into computers, journalism, dentistry, social work and everything in between. Who knows maybe one day a Chew will land on the moon. Kaylon's daughter Rachel has already taken to the skies and become a pilot at the tender age of 20.

This brief history brings us to the present (2005) when Olene Chew Roberts will celebrate her 90th birthday. We dedicate this website to Olene, with much love, for being the ever-strong, ever-present relative who is always there when someone needs her. Happy Birthday Olene!

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