Father: Francis R. W. ATWOOD "Frank", b: 21 Sep 1870, Sullivan Co, MO; d: 22 Apr 1943, Milan, MO, Newton Cem, Newton, MO
Mother: Anna Irene CARMER "Annie", b: 23 Aug 1892, Ft. Madison, IA; d: 28 May 1950, Ft. Scott, KS, burial: Oak Grove Cem, Ft. Scott, Bourbon Co, KS
married #1 Frank ATWOOD on 7 Sep 1908
children:
i) Chester Lee ATWOOD b: 5 May 1913, Newton, MO; d: 26 Jan 1984, Kansas City, MO
ii) Arthur Gailen ATWOOD "Red" b: 23 May 1916, Newton, MO; d: 9 Jun 1991, Oklahoma City, OK
iii) Carl Earl ATWOOD b: 1917; d: Dec 1918 (a baby)
iv) Sarah May ATWOOD b: 29 Oct 1919, (probably) Blackwell, OK; d; 13 May 1929; burial: Crown Hill Cemetery, Excelsior Springs MO

#2 James Alvie LeMASTER "Jim" on abt 1920
#3) Walter Ira PATE (known as Walter K. HALL as child) b: 16 Feb 1886, St. Louis, MO; d: 16 Jan 1957, Ft. Scott, KS, burial: Oak Grove Cem, Ft. Scott, KS (step-father)

When she was 9 years old, Sarah May came in from playing outside complaining of a headache. Her mother gave her an aspirin and had her go lay down to rest, Sarah never woke up. That is the family story. Sarah's death certificate shows she died from a ruptured appendix. Sarah's younger (half) sister, Emma Pate-Eckert, recalls her sister, "..She had pretty blue eyes and hair the color of a brand new penny, very long." and Emma also recalled, "...she would change my and Emmett's diapers..." (Emma & Emmett Pate are twins)

The following information researched by Jinks Pate Lee [email protected] (a PATE family researcher), shows she made the same mistaken that many researchers have made regarding Sarah May's surname because of the following census record. Jinks Lee wrote the following:

"1920 Kay Co, OK - Blackwell TS ED 124/p 12A - HH 254/282
Jim A Lemaster, age 25, b. US/US/US he listed as railroad section hand
Annie I Lemaster, age 26, b. IA/KY/VA
Sarah M LEMASTER, age 7 mos, b. OK/US/IA
Arthur G Atwood, age 3y7mo, b. MO/US/IA
"So - Sarah was a Lemaster, not an Atwood Not sure about the JIM Lemaster, was a J-- A, but hard to read. Evidently Basil was also a Lemaster - so it looks like Walter & Annie Irena must have married around 1925-27 when the twins were born. But also, since Walter says he md at age 33 (1920) it is also possibly he had been married before too.
I'll keep digging. " (This per Jinks Pate Lee)

Researchers mistakenly ASSUME Sarah was a LeMaster because of this census and probably because she was so young when the census was taken that the Census taker simply assumed she was second husband, Jim LeMaster's, child.

There is much more reliable, first hand evidence that Sarah was an Atwood.

First, her half-sister, Emma, tells the family story their mother told, "When Mom (Irena) left Mr. Atwood she said she had a suitcase in one hand a child on her hip and one in her belly." The child in her belly was Sarah.

Also, Sarah's death certificate gives her name as Sarah (Ann, should have been Mae) Atwood, informant Walter K. Pate ("father" who actually was step-father). After Irena left Mr. Atwood, pregnant, and with the younger of the two sons she had with Atwood, she ended up in Blackwell, Oklahoma, "married" to Jim LeMaster. Irena and LeMaster had one son, Basil "Oray" LeMaster-Pate. Irena and LeMaster "divorced" when Oray was very young. Irena then met Walter Pate in Blackwell, OK and they married. He raised Sarah and Oray as his own children. Oray in fact took the name Pate as his own, and lived, married, had children and died a Pate. Sarah Mae has a homemade grave marker, although it is deteriorating and somewhat hard to read, it clearly shows her name as Sarah May Atwood.

Furthermore, Sarah's biological father's, Francis "Frank" R. W. Atwood, obituary very clearly lists Sarah as his daughter who preceded him in death.

Also, a little bible her brother, Emmett Pate, possessed, which probably originally belonged to their older brother, Arthur Gailen Atwood, states on page one, "Shara May Atwood Dec 25, 1927" and "Shara May Atwood deid 25 1927" I do not know why Gailen wrote these incorrect dates, they make no sense, and her dates of birth and death are well documented, perhaps he wrote the info in his bible at a moment of great grief, I do know the entire family greatly grieved the loss of Sarah May, and the point here is that even her older brother acknowledged Sarah was an Atwood.

I try to correct the "was Sarah May an LeMaster or an Atwood" dilemma/mistake when I catch it. Some researchers have argued that 'the methods of the census takers' meant this (1920) census had to be correct". I still have no clue what they mean by that but I do know Sarah Mae was an Atwood, and this census was wrong. Also, I have done a great deal of genealogy research and have found tons of mistakes made by the Census gatherers.