Born: October 18, 1863, Decatur, Alabama
Died:May 27, 1950, Hollis, Oklahoma
Married: Viola Almedia Boyd
Cornelius was born after his father left for the Civil War. His father was killed in the war, so that Cornelius never saw his father. His mother remarried a Mr. Montgomery and they lived in Memphis, Tennessee for awhile. After his mother died, Cornelius ran away from home to Arkansas and met and married Viola Boyd. He worked as a logger after they married and she taught school in Stamps, Arkansas. Later, they moved to Palmer, TX where he farmed. In 1900, they moved to Hollis, Oklahoma Territory and established a farm there, where they remained until their deaths. Their children were Lula Nannie, Maggie Bell, Annie Murtle, Chester Lee “Buddy”, Maude Alma, Lillie Mae, Nettie Viola, Floyd Schley, Ivy Earline and Gracie Violet. Lula and Annie Murtle died early. The rest grew up, married and raised large families (with the exception of Floyd who had only one child, Chesna Lee; and Buddy who was killed in WWI and never married).