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Submitted: 12/9/20 • Approved: 12/10/20 • Last Updated: 12/13/20 • R370562-G0-S3
December 14, 1849-December 26, 1923
*Photo/information, courtesy of Edith Guynes Stanley
*Obituary
The Ira Yake family came to Hutchinson County in 1901 from Comargo, Okla. Ira and Mary Yake, four sons, William, Albert, Chester, and Henry; three daughters, Samantha, Rose, and Alice, moved here in a covered wagon. They had no maps, so they followed the Canadian River. They came here to buy grazing land for their cattle. The Yakes have always been cattle raisers. For over 100 years they have branded their cattle with the connected horseshoes and the YAKE brands.
Upon arrival, the Yakes purchased land on the north side of the Canadian River. Some of the land they bought for twenty-five cents an acre. Immediately the Yake men built a half-dugout on the banks of Willow Creek that became home to the Yakes. In 1909, this home burned and the family built a four room house just a short distance from their first homesite. The men hauled building supplies from Stratford, Texas, to complete this wood-frame structure, which serves as a family landmark today.
Ira Yake was a cattle rancher. He made his living off the land and thus respected and loved the land. Every day at sunrise, Mr. Yake would climb a hill just north of their home and gaze over the ranch. Upon his death in 1923, Mr. Yake was buried atop this hill. Mr. Yake, having received a teaching certificate in 1871, was one of the only qualified men in Hutchinson County to hold elections.
Mary Yake served her family and community as a doctor, mid-wife, and mortician. In the flu epidemic of 1918, she nursed many people back to health. Mary Yake added to the family income by hauling fresh produce to the Amarillo St. Anthony's Hospital which had only six beds. The round trip to Amarillo was a two day treacherous journey. She usually made it by wagon returning with ranch supplies. When visiting the sick Mary would most often ride a horse and stay till her patient could tend themselves.
The Yake children attended the Record School which was about six miles from their home. They either walked or rode a horse to school. The family had very little time for entertainment as ranch work kept them very busy. Living in such a remote area, it was a rare occasion that the Yakes had neighbors come to visit.
Ira Yake and his family faced many hardships. Transportation was hampered by the unreliable Canadian River and the many creeks the Yakes had to cross to reach home. Blizzards, droughts and prairie fires were a constant worry. Plemons, Texas was the nearest place the Yakes had to get their mail and groceries. Despite these difficulties the Yakes loved the land, its rugged beauty and the life it provided.
In 1901, when Ira Yake moved his family to Hutchinson County, little did he realize that he started a way of life that has continued for three generations, know as the YAKES RANCHES.
Submitted by Mary Yake for the History of Hutchinson County, Texas, 104 years, 1876-1980.
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Texas, Death Certificates, 1903-1982
Name: Ira Yoke
Gender: Male
Race: White
Age: 74
Birth Date: 14 Dec 1849
Birth Place: Stovill, canada
Death Date: 26 Dec 1923
Death Place: Plemons, Hutchinson, Texas, USA
Father: William Yake
Mother: Liza Ann Anderson
Contributed on 12/9/20 by neldapat
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Record #: 370562