Oklahoma Family Tree Stories
This beautiful sculpture of three redbud trees is located just outside the Eleanor and John Kirkpatrick Research Center in the Oklahoma History Center. Each leaf of the Oklahoma Family Tree memorializes an Oklahoma family with the family surname, first name(s), and the town or county where they lived. In addition, a short family history is preserved in the digital family history book at the base of the tree. Sponsoring a leaf is a special way to recognize your family history and benefit future generations at the same time. To find out how to honor your own family with a leaf visit the Oklahoma Family Tree Project page.
Fouquet Family
Family Tree Leaf
Fouquet, Toussant (George) & Mary
Arlington, Lincoln County
(Family information provided by donor)
Ola Bon Fouquet was born to Genese Joe (1906-1952) and Dollie May (Deffenbaugh) Fouquet (1906-2001) on March 21, 1937, near Arlington, Oklahoma. He attended school at Arlington through the eighth grade and completed his education at Prague High School. His father died when he was a freshman, leaving his mother to raise him and his brother, Joe Don (1934-1984), who was two years his senior.
A year after Genese died, the Fouquets channeled their agricultural interests into a dairy and farming operation that was located on the north half of the southeast quarter and east half of the northeast quarter of section 19-13-6. Ola Bon was drafted into the Army in 1957 and returned home after two years and nine months of service. Unable to secure full-time employment, Ola Bon was relieved when he found an opportunity to launch a civil service career. He recalled his good fortune as "the opportunity of a lifetime."
In 1962 one of Ola Bon's co-workers introduced him to his daughter, Charlotte Burleson. They were smitten; not for the first time, Ola Bon felt that he had lost all reason. Describing his relationship with Charlotte as "the best thing that had happened in his life," he married her on July 27, 1963.
Charlotte Irene Burleson was born to Wilbert Lee (1920-1978) and Darlene Ruth (Waterbury) Burleson (b. March 24, 1919) on a farm near Pocasset on September 28, 1940. She lived on a farm eleven miles north of Verden, where she attended schools for twelve years. After graduation, Charlotte moved with her family to a farm south of Wellston in Lincoln County. She earned a degree from Oklahoma State University and was enrolled at Oklahoma University School of Medical Technology when her father introduced her to Ola Bon Fouquet. Charlotte's two sisters are Rosa Lee Swafford (b. August 7, 1939) and Angela Kay Tedesco (b. December 31, 1948). Her two brothers are David Grant (b. December 19, 1945) and Daniel Wilbert (b. September 22, 1952).
With Oklahoma country dirt coursing through their veins, Ola Bon and Charlotte were destined to return to a farm after living and working in Oklahoma City. In 1964, they purchased the farm (northwest quarter of section 20-13-6) homesteaded by C. D. Deffenbaugh, Ola Bon's grandfather, and began to raise Hereford cattle and hay.
Ola Bon and Charlotte have always been interested in community activities. They have particularly enjoyed working in the Arlington United Methodist Church. They belong to the Lincoln County Cattlemen's Association. Ola Bon is an Arlington Volunteer Firefighter, a member of the Arlington Independent Order of Odd Fellows No. 89, and serves on the Lincoln County Fair Board.
Their three daughters include Teresa Lynn (b. January 21, 1965) and Vicki Lee (b. December 5, 1966), both of whom graduated from Prague High School and Oklahoma State University, and Genise Lavelle (b. November 11, 1968), who graduated from Prague High School and East Central State University.
Teresa married Robert Scott Miller (b. January 15, 1964) on October 17, 1997, in Prague. Their children include Jessica Miller (b. February 17, 2000) and Grace Miller (b. May 19, 2003). Vicki married Allen Dale Newman (b. May 3, 1966) on July 21, 1990, in Prague. Their children include John Haden (b. September 30, 1992), Joshua Stephen (b. July 1, 1994), Matthew Allen (b. April 17, 1998), and Shane Elijah (b. August 11, 2005). Genise married Aaron Wayne Fridrich (b. February 18, 1967) on March 13, 1989, in Prague. Their children include Lindsey Paige (b. September 28, 1994) and Preston Kyle (b. March 10, 1999).
