The Proeger Family · Generation 4 — Kristin's great-grandparents

Thomas Walton Caffey Sr.

1873–1930

Thomas Walton Caffey Sr.

TexasConfirmed

1873–1930

Born
13 October 1873, Texas
Sources
6
Images
6

Life in the order the records give it

Birth1873
Born 13 October 1873, Texas on his memorial
⚠️ his 1917 draft registration card reads 14 October, one day apart, and neither is preferred here S34; died 13 April 1930, Salado, Bell County; buried Salado Cemetery S34
Census1910
🆕 In 1910, in Williamson County, he was 36 and in his second marriage, of five years. His wife is written “Rachel E.”, 22, probably the Medie of family accounts; with them were Thomas O., 3 months, and Mattie Lee, 11 S521. added 25 September 2026.
Military1918
🆕 His World War I draft card, now read from the image, was filled in at Salado on 12 September 1918: Thomas Walton Caffey, 44, born October 14, 1873, farming, medium height, slender, grey eyes, dark hair Confirmed S997. His nearest relative is written Alyeda (or Almeda) Caffey, Salado; the name is hard to read, and it may be Medie's formal name. Know more? Use “Add to this record”. added 29 September 2026
Burial1832
His memorial quotes Texas death certificate #16496, which names his own parents as "Van Caffey (b. Alabama)" and "Matty Lee (b. Georgia)"
identified as Hooper Van Caffey (1832–1901) and Melvina Amanda "Mattie" Griffin (1850–1933) Probable S34. ⚠️ Note the certificate says "Matty Lee" where the memorial says Griffin; that discrepancy is unresolved and the surname is not treated as settled.

Family parents, marriages, children, siblings

Parents
Named as T.W. Jr's father in the NUMIDENT record S33
Marriage1904
Married Medie Owens in 1904 S34
⚠️ the county is not settled: the full pedigree records 25 September 1904 at Bastrop, the Caffey line note gives Bell. Neither rests on the marriage record, which has not been retrieved, so neither is preferred here

Photos & documents 1 photo · 5 documents

Photos (1)
Headstone of Thomas Walton Caffey Sr. (1873-1930), Salado Cemetery
Headstone of Thomas Walton Caffey Sr. (1873-1930), Salado Cemetery 13 April 1930 Confirmed S359 S946 Download · Source ↗ · → card
Documents (5)

Documents · 5 page images all documents

Retrieved from the UNT Libraries' Portal to Texas History, or — for the University of Texas Cactus yearbooks — from Texas ScholarWorks. Each thumbnail opens the full page scan, which can also be downloaded. The quoted text is the OCR that ships with the scan, copied verbatim; the page image is the authority.

Page 6 of Temple Daily Telegram (Temple, Tex.), 19 July 1916

Temple Daily Telegram (Temple, Tex.) — page 6

Newspaper · 19 July 1916 · page 6 of 8

… loan. I). C. McLean. N. B. Vernon. Z. W. Nance. A. W. Parrott. For Commissioner, lie-at No. 3. Frits Wlesherlbg. j A. J. Kuykendall. F. W. C'hudej. ^ For C'om m issioner, Beat No. 4, Jno. A. Hall. For JuMice of th© Peace, lYeclnct No. !• G. \Vr. Mulhollati. I>. S. Hafley. For Justice of the Peace Precinct No. 8. T. W. Caffey. (J. N*. Vickery. Fpr .Justice of the Peace, Precinct No. S« W. B. May. For Justice of the Peace, Precinct No. 4. J. W. Brock. C. L. Gibson. For Justice of the Peace, Precinct No. ff» (Place No. 1.) J. A. Humphries. For Justice of the Pence, Precinct No. ft. (Place No. 2.) B. J. Roop. L. J. Derrick. For Justice of the …

Probable because Bell County publication dated 1916, before T.W. Sr.'s death in 1930 and before T.W. Jr. was old enough to be named this way, which is where T.W. Caffey Sr. lived — but no second detail on the page rules out another Bell County T. W. Caffey.

View full page Download image Original at texashistory.unt.edu ↗

Page 2 of Temple Daily Telegram (Temple, Tex.), 19 June 1917

Temple Daily Telegram (Temple, Tex.) — page 2

Newspaper · 19 June 1917 · page 2 of 10

… enty-four, the names en- rolled at Salado being as follows: E. E. Griffith, Mrs. E. E. Griffith, H. T. Weaver, J, E. Anderson, Mrs. J. E. Anderson, Marcus Halsey, Mrs. Mar- cus Halsey, Miss Addie Barton, Mrs. L. M. Crockett, Mrs. L. A. Barton, R. S. Mobley, Mrs. W. M. Town*nd, J. W. McDanlel, Mrs. J. W. McDaniel, T W. Caffey, Mrs. T. B. Russell, Miss Etlda Campbell, Mrs. Arch Smith, T. G. Harkey, Mrs. T. G, Harkey, Fred Cawthon. Mrs. Fred Cawthon, W. T. Foster, Mrs. W. T. Foster. By Marian Bonsai! Davis. (Iff*. Davit tpenl <« montit in Frtnte a a volunteer warier. Thit iketch u the retail of • visit to N*ucy.) To lean, patriotism. It ia w …

Confirmed because Bell County publication dated 1917, before T.W. Sr.'s death in 1930 and before T.W. Jr. was old enough to be named this way; the page carries Salado/Bell corroboration. Corroborating names on the same page, as the OCR spells them: Salado.

View full page Download image Original at texashistory.unt.edu ↗

Page 3 of Temple Daily Telegram (Temple, Tex.), 28 March 1920

Temple Daily Telegram (Temple, Tex.) — page 3

Newspaper · 28 March 1920 · page 3 of 24

… d Jr. C. W. Blalock. Mrs. C. W. Blalock. W. M. Townsan. Mrs, W. M. Towsaa. J. K. Collins. R. B. Ward. W. T. Foster. K. W. Watson. B. F. Fisher. R. C. Crockett J. D. Norwood. W. L. Smyth. O. S. Russell. X. C. Cabantss. C. A. Reed. M. T. Carter , J. W. French. B. F, Bridges. Ed. Walker. P. L. Bentley. J. R. Berry. J. O. Caffey. T. W. Caffey. A. C. Caffey. W. X. Berry. W. R. Baker. W. A. Baker. W. M. Brown. Sam Arnold. Henry Smith. R. J. Berry. W. W. Walker. Frank R. Klmbrough. W. W. Prlvett D. A. Wheeler, M. E. Butler. T. O, Harkey. M. T. Shepperd. H. B. Rainwater. J. H. Cabaniss. W. B. Arnold. T. R. Russell Jr. T. S. Sutherland Jr. W. P. W …

Probable because Bell County publication dated 1920, before T.W. Sr.'s death in 1930 and before T.W. Jr. was old enough to be named this way, which is where T.W. Caffey Sr. lived — but no second detail on the page rules out another Bell County T. W. Caffey.

View full page Download image Original at texashistory.unt.edu ↗

Quoted text is the Portal's own OCR of this page, copied verbatim. OCR of 1960s newsprint drops punctuation and mis-reads letters — "Caffey" is read as "Caffcy", "Caftey" and "Cafley" on these pages; the page image is authoritative and should be read before treating any wording as exact.

In the record Generation 4 — Kristin's great-grandparents

Thomas Walton Caffey Sr. · Sources

Citations

Sources cited on this card

6 of the record's sources are cited here. The numbering is the record's own; the full list, with where else each is cited, is at Sources.

  1. S33US Social Security NUMIDENT / Death Master File / VA-BIRLS, and the Texas Marriage and Divorce indexes — Caffey entries, republished verbatim at SortedByName.com. Government records. Supplies T.W. Caffey Jr's birth at "Salado Bell, Texas" and his parents Thomas W Caffey and Medie Stobaugh; Lucille's birth at "Austin Travi, Texas" and her parents Will Kretschmar and Liessi Ladusch; his Marine Corps service 1941–45; the shared Wimberley retirement ZIP; and the 1969 Caffey–Walker marriage and its 1980 dissolution. The Caffey pages 403'd on a second attempt the same day.
  2. S34FindAGrave memorials, Caffey / Kretschmar / Ladusch — Thomas Alan Caffey 274110930, Thomas Walton Caffey Jr 39163436, Lucille Lorene Kretschmar Caffey 39163435, Thomas Walton Caffey Sr 62147776, Medie Caffey Stobaugh 62147759, Willie Frank Kretschmar 41405071, Hattie "Liessi" Ladusch Kretschmar 41405070. Grave inscriptions, plot numbers and dates are transcriptions of stones. Family links on FindAGrave are contributor-asserted, not records — they corroborate here and are never the basis. Memorial 62147776 additionally quotes Texas death certificate #16496, which is a record.
  3. S359Vermont death return — Harriet Artimiza Henderson, Ryegate, 7 December 1930. Ancestry record 216231. Image examined, read 24 September 2026. Confirmed Harriet Artimiza Henderson, married, housewife, aged 63 years 1 month 19 days, born at Ryegate 18 October 1867, daughter of Orange G. Morrison and Elizabeth J. Miller, both born at Ryegate; died of lobar pneumonia after 7 days. Certified copy by Clarence J. McLam, town clerk. This settles her full name, which the site had only from a shared tree.
  4. S5211910 U.S. Federal Census — Thomas W. Coffey [Caffey] household, J.P. 7, Williamson County, Texas. Ancestry record 28722956. Image examined, read 25 September 2026. Confirmed Thomas W., 36, in his second marriage, of five years; wife “Rachel E.”, 22; Thomas O., 3 months; Mattie Lee, 11; his brother James C. on the next line. Next dwelling: Mattie V. Coffey, 59, widow, born Georgia. “Rachel E.” is probably the wife known in the family as Medie; the name is not settled.
  5. S9461930 United States Federal Census — Pittsburgh Ward 11, Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, ED 2-172, sheet 13A, lines 35–37 (7 April 1930). Ancestry record 48469282. Image examined in the Stage 2 reading, 24 September 2026. Confirmed 711 N. St. Clair Street, owned, valued $16,000, radio: Murfin, Godfrey, head, 53, married (first at 37), born England, immigrated 1905, first papers, salesman of linens; Gertrude P., wife, 40, born Pennsylvania to German-born parents; Marjorie, daughter, 12, at school. Gertrude's 40 is the outlier against her other records (born about 1884); the site keeps about 1884. Collection: 1930 United States Federal Census.
  6. S997World War I draft registration card — Thomas Walton Caffey, Salado, Bell County, Texas, local board 1, serial 1278 (12 September 1918). Ancestry record 71072410. Image examined in the Stage 2 reading, 29 September 2026. Confirmed Thomas Walton Caffey, of Salado, 44, born October 14, 1873, farming; medium height, slender, grey eyes, dark hair. Nearest relative Alyeda (or Almeda) Caffey, Salado. The nearest relative's name is hard to read and needs a second reader; it may be the formal name of Medie, his second wife (“Rachel E.” in 1910, S521).

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Living adults appear by name and relationship, with the year only: no full date of birth and no home town on any page that search engines index, and a living person’s own page is kept out of search engines. Minors appear by name only — no date of birth, no birth year, no age, no school, no place, no address, no other identifying detail. A minor may be named and may appear in a family photograph; nothing further about them is published. Where it is not established whether someone is an adult or a minor, the minor rule applies.

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