Williams Family - Drake, OK - Graves Mentioning a Cause of Death on Waymarking.com

The family's grave is marked by a modern, gray granite headstone, upon a wide plinth, that reaches a point at the top, with a flower above the family name, "Williams" (which is in a box on both sides). Below is a box, listing the family members:

Father
William Alex
1869 June 1, 1917

Mother
Josephine
1870 June 1, 1917

Daughter
Emma J.
Feb. 1900 June 1, 1917

Daughter
Rebecca
1903 June 1, 1917

Son
Robert
1906 June 1, 1917

"This family was killed by a tornado." is inside a box at the bottom of the headstone. Each family member is listed on Findagrave (see link), and in each of their entries is the background of the tornado as described by The Davis News on June 7, 1917:

Five Killed in Cyclone at Drake.

Leaving death and destruction in its wake, a cyclone visited the southern part of this county last Friday afternoon. In the little inland town of Drake five members of one family were killed. W.A. Williams, Mrs. Williams (Josephine), their daughters, Emma and Rebecca, aged 17 and 13, and their son Robert, aged 11 years. Another son, Bart, aged 22, was badly injured.

The cyclone was seen to from east of Dougherty by a number of citizens of that vicinity, who watched it as it dipped to earth and then rose again. Citizens of Drake saw it coming and made their way quickly to storm cellars. The children of the Drake school were at the school building practicing for an entertainment when the teachers, A.W. Gentry and Miss Elizabeth Hendricks, saw the approaching cloud and marched the children into the school cellar and thus saved their lives. The school building was completely demolished and the homes of W.A. Williams and his son Floyd Williams and A.A. Aldrich were also swept away. Trees were uprooted, fences blown down and some live stock killed.

The Williams family, victims of the storm, were buried in a single grave Saturday afternoon, Rev. H. Capers of Dougherty conducting the funeral service.

The death of the five members of the Williams family by cyclone recalls the fact that a cyclone passed three miles east of Davis on March 24 last year and killed eight members of A. Edgmon's family.

Type of Death Listed: Killed by something Website (if available): [Web Link] Cause of death inscription on headstone: Not listed

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