Chester Baseball Team

I found another photo of the Chester, Oklahoma baseball team that was shared on Facebook.  This one really excited me because the poster had the names of each player written on the photograph.  

My grandfather, Les Louthan, loved baseball.  His father, Samuel Louthan, played on a traveling team in Kansas and Oklahoma in the late 1880s.  I suspect he played in Missouri as well, but I have not found any newspaper articles to back my suspicion.  

On thing I should note, Harold is actually Howard.  All of these men are related either directly or by marriage.  All of these men can be found in the US Federal Census in Sheridan Twp., Major County, Oklahoma.  

In the Census image below, you will find Howard Louthan, Leonard Louthan, and Lee Chapman. They were all farmers.  Like many rural communities, baseball was a favorite passtime!

I downloaded all 19 images for the 1940 Census for Sheridan Twp.  My dad is found in this census for the very first time, he was listed as 1 year old, but he was nearly 2.   I also found my mother in the 1940 census. No surprises, that put both my parents at ease.  Census records are my favorite resource, not because they are completely accurate, but because they have so many clues! Oftentimes leading me on a real adventure of discovery!

By the way, I signed up for the 52 Week Challenge!  http://www.nostorytoosmall.com/posts/challenge-52-ancestors-in-52-weeks/ I will make my first post Sunday, January 5th!