Tombstone Tuesday - Harriett L. Ramsey Proctor

Ramsey Taylor Cemetery, Renfro Valley, Rockcastle County, Kentucky

Harriet L. Proctor

Born May 19, 1844

Died Mar 13, 1915

Harriett was the daughter of Thomas Ramsey, Jr. and Rhoda Ann Lavender. She married John J. Proctor on 4 Apr 1883. 

Ancestor Bio - Margaret E. Ramsey Taylor

Margaret E. Ramsey was born on 15 Nov 1840 in Rockcastle County, Kentucky. She was the first of three children born to Thomas Ramsey, Jr. and Rhoda Ann Lavender. Her brother, Joseph Love, was born on 29 May 1842 and her sister, Harriett L. was born 19 May 1844. During at least part of Margaret's childhood the family lived in Mt. Vernon on the corner of Main and Richmond Streets and her father ran a blacksmith shop behind the house. (Today the property is a parking lot.) Thomas and Rhoda Ann both died while their children were young. The date of Rhoda Ann's death is not known but it was before 1850 as she was not listed with Thomas and the children in that census. The date of Thomas' death is also not known but he disappears from the Rockcastle County Tax List after 1851. So, by the time Margaret was 12 years old, Joe was 10 and Harriett was 8, they were orphaned.  

Rhoda Ann had two sons, William Thomas and Jerome Burke Lair from her first marriage to Stephen Bradford Lair. Stephen had died when the boys were young and Rhoda Ann married Thomas Ramsey when they were 10 and 8 years old. We don't know for sure who cared for the young Ramsey children after their father's death. By 1860, Margaret was married but Joseph (age 18) and Harriett (age 16) were living with their half-brother, Tom Lair, and his family so Tom may have taken responsibility for them from the beginning. It's also possible that Jerome cared for them for at least a while. Margaret was certainly close to her half-brothers as she gave one of her sons the middle name Burke and a daughter the middle name Lair. 

Margaret married James Francis "Jim" Taylor on 11 Oct 1855 in Rockcastle County when she was just shy of 15 years old. Even though it wasn't uncommon for girls to marry at such a young age at that time, you have to wonder if the loss of her parents pushed her to marry a little earlier than she might have otherwise.

Margaret and Jim had eleven children. Some researchers have mistakenly given Jim a previous wife and made her the mother of oldest son, Willliam Thomas. The confusion comes from Tom's birth record showing he was born on 11 Aug 1856 to parents James Taylor and Elizabeth Ramsey. The people who list Elizabeth Ramsey as Jim's 1st wife say that Jim and Margaret were married on 11 Oct 1856 (instead of 1855). The set of records where their marriage is recorded was certified by the Rockcastle County Clerk on 7 Jul 1856 which means they could not have been married after that date. So there is no doubt that Jim and Margaret were married in 1855 and Tom was born 10 months later.  And then there is the fact that Jim's father was named William and Margaret's was named Thomas so it appears Tom was named for both of his grandfathers. Margaret was listed in the 1880 census with a middle initial E. It could be that her name was Margaret Elizabeth (or even Elizabeth Margaret) or it could be that the clerk recording Tom's mother simply made a mistake.Regardless. I'm convinced that Margaret was Tom's mother.

The other ten children born to Margaret and Jim were: Josiah Love born 20 Dec 1858, Martha Ann born 10 Jun 1861, John Cook born 25 Dec 1863, Rhoda Nell born 19 Apr 1866, Margaret Lula born 31 May 1868, Robert Burke born 14 Aug 1870, Milton J. born 17 Feb 1872, Alford born 7 May 1875, Susan born 6 Aug 1877 and Nancy Lair born 4 Nov 1880.

Margaret and Jim lived in Rockcastle County during their entire marriage and all of their children were born there. They barely eked out a living on their farm between Mt. Vernon and Renfro Valley but today that property is prime real estate near I-75. The arrow between Wendy's and KFC in the picture below shows were their house was located. The main road at that time was in that location and a piece of it still exists. Several other business are located on this strip of the old farm and US 25 runs through the middle of it.

Clipped from GoogleMaps

Margaret died on 23 Jun 1892 and was buried in what is now called the Ramsey Taylor Cemetery. The cemetery was most likely located on their farm (although I haven't yet done the deed research to prove that). If the cemetery property was not part of their farm then it definitely adjoined their farm. 

It is unknown when either of these pictures of Margaret were taken but this one surely wasn't taken too long before she died. The hard life she had was definitely written on her face - she was only 51 years old when she died.  

Margaret was my 2nd great-grandmother. Click the link above for sources and additional information about her family. The 1st photo of Margaret is courtesy of the late G. F. Thompson and the 2nd is courtesy of W. H. Taylor, both great-grandsons of Margaret and Jim. 

This Week in the Family History - August 29 - September 4

Sep 1626 (384 years ago) - Thomas Waller died, probably in England. Thomas was the son of William Waller and Jane Bowland and the husband of Dorothea Gerrard. [11th great-grandfather, Hankins line]

1 Sep 1683 (327 years ago) - William Buckland died in Rehoboth, Bristol County, Massachusetts. William's parents are unknown. He was the husband of Mary Bosworth. [10th great-grandfather, Hopkins line]

Surname Saturday - Carr

Today's surname is Carr, the name of one of my 6th great-grandmothers. (Ahnentafel numbers included to make the relationships clearer.)

5. Verda Waller Hankins
10. Thomas Leander Hankins
21. Isabella Jane Goodloe
42. John Emerson Goodloe
84. Henry Lewis Goodloe
169. Dorothy Waller

339. Agnes Carr
Born abt. 1712
Married John Waller abt. 1730
Died abt. 1779

678. Thomas Carr
Born abt. 1679
Married Mary Dabney abt. 1704
Died May 1737

1356. Thomas Carr
Born abt. 1655, England
Married Mary Garland abt. 1676
Immigrated to Virginia by 1701

Click on the links above for sources and possibly additional information on each ancestor and their families. If you have a connection, e-mail me.

Treasure Chest Thursday - Newspapers (Part 4)

More treasures from newspapers.

This group of clippings continues the information I've learned about my grandmother's brother, A. E. "Elvie" Hankins. In last week's post we left off with Elvie's 1st wife, Ella Edmounds Hankins, leaving Hopkins County, Kentucky to join him in Kansas City in April, 1902.

From the Earlington Bee, Hopkins County, Kentucky:

18 Jun 1903: Mr. Elva Hankins formerly of this place, but now of Kansas City, Mo., is visiting friends and relatives here. 

23 Jul 1903: Mr. Elva Hankins, left Tuesday night, for Kansas City, Mo.

7 Apr 1904: Mr. A. E. Hankins has returned from East St. Louis, where he has been switching in the yards. 

30 Mar 1905: Mr. Elvie Hankins, who has been employed by the L. & N. R. R. as brakeman for sometime, has resigned and will seek employment elsewhere.

25 May 1905: Messrs. Elvie Hankins and Floyd Deberry, of Nortonville, were here Friday on business.

8 Jun 1905: Mr. Elvie Hankins, of Nortonville, was here Saturday on business.

Elvie was working for the railroad. He apparently moved from Kansas City, Missouri to East St. Louis, Illinois and then back to Hopkins County, Kentucky all between July, 1903 and April 1904. In 1905, he quit the railroad for some unidentified business and was living in Nortonville (a community in Hopkins County about 7 miles south of Earlington).

Wonder what happened to Ella? There was no mention of her returning to Hopkins County with Elvie for his visit in 1903 or the move back to Kentucky in 1904. Knowing small town newspapers, it's almost certain that she would have been mentioned on both occasions if she was with him so it seems there are only two choices - she either died or they divorced. If they had divorced and she moved back home to Hopkins County, that would have probably been mentioned in the paper so I'm betting she died but I have no proof of that yet.

There is still more to learn about Elvie from newspapers so check back next Thursday.

These clips were found using the searchable newspaper collection at Kentuckiana Digital Library. Kentucky papers in this collection are also available through the Library of Congress' Chronicling America. (Both of these sites are free.)

Wordless Wednesday - Gracie Taylor

Gracie was born 27 Aug 1886 (124 years ago on Friday).

She was the daughter of John C. Taylor and Sarah Ramsey.

Gracie (center) with nieces Henrietta and Marie Krueger

Gracie (center) with sister, Emma (on left) and step-mother, Emma Jane (on right)

Gracie with her great-niece, me

Tombstone Tuesday - Joseph Love Ramsey

Ramsey-Hiatt Cemetery, Renfro Valley, Rockcastle County, Kentucky

J. L. Ramsey

May 29, 1842 - Dec. 19, 1901

Joe was the son of Thomas Ramsey, Jr. and Rhoda Ann Lavender. He was married twice - 1st to Martha Jane Bryant and 2nd to Glathia Jane Coffey.

FGS 2010 - Things I Learned

This isn't a post about what I learned in the 14 sessions I attended. I'm not sure I even know yet what all I learned from them. This is about all the other things I learned while attending my first national genealogy conference.

1. Genealogists are very friendly. 

The 1st evening in Knoxville I decided to just have dinner in the hotel restaurant. By the time my food arrived two ladies from Oklahoma had invited me to move to their table. Every morning someone invited me to join them for breakfast so I dined with people from Washington, Texas and Virginia. If you aren't going to conferences because you don't have anyone to travel with, don't worry about. You will make new friends.

2. Twitter really is useful. 

I'm not going to explain that again here but check out my earlier post 52 Weeks to a Better Genealogy - Challenge #33 - Twitter. 

3. I need a better phone. 

My cell phone is just that, a cell phone. I can text on it (barely) but don't have Internet access. I didn't really think I was missing that much until I met the Twittering Bloggers.

4. Next time I'm taking my backpack.

The bag I took to carry during the day was really too big so I never used it at all. FGS gave everyone a bag with registration that I'm sure I will use for other things later but for this kind of activity I really needed something that went comfortably on my shoulder (read padded straps). I often wished for the small, lightweight backpack that I left at home. It will definitely make the trip to my next conference.

5. Next time I'll made better choices.

The 1st day I didn't make the best choices from the sessions available. I don't mean to imply the sessions I attended weren't good, it's just that a couple were a little more basic than I wanted. I now understand that the track can be an indicator of the level of the class but it would be simpler (especially for 1st timers) if the sessions were also rated beginner, intermediate and advanced.

6. Some speakers should never be missed. 

Elizabeth Shown Mills is definitely one of those. I didn't attend her Southern Research Strategies on Thursday because I has going to her session on The Genealogical Proof Standard the next day. That's a newbie mistake I won't make again. 

7. I want to attend every conference from now on.

Well, that won't happen but I will definitely attended FGS again every chance I get. NGS is also on my radar, especially 2011 in Charleston, SC. Their conference blog is already up and running.

8. Bloggers are great! (I really already knew that.)

I've said this in earlier posts but this group definitely made the conference more enjoyable for me. I'm really glad I became a blogger before going to my first conference.

Now I'm off to look over bibliographies and start making lists of books I need to find. That's how motivating this conference was - I want to get to work right now!

52 Weeks To Better Genealogy - Challenge #33 - Twitter

This series of challenges was developed by Amy Coffin at The We Tree Genealogy Blog. I do these challenges almost every week but somehow I never seem to get around to writing about them. It's a great series and you can find the previous weeks here at GeneaBloggers. This particular challenge was for last week so I'm a little late.

Here's the challenge:
Monitor genealogy on Twitter at least twice a day for seven days. To do this, go to Twitter.com and type #genealogy in the search box. Examine the information being shared and exchanged. Twitter is a web site for sharing information in a format that allows only 140 typewritten characters. Much of the information on Twitter is useless (kind of like television). The trick is to control the information coming to you and ignore the rest. By indicating that you are interested in genealogy, you’ll get only information that contains the word genealogy. Check this #genealogy Twitter feed (not the regular Twitter feed) for a week. Notice the genealogy “tweets” that are posted. What type of information is being shared? Authors of genealogy blogs can write about their impressions of using Twitter for genealogy. Active Twitter-using bloggers can describe the benefits/drawbacks of the micro-blogging service to their readers.

I've had a Twitter account for a while but used it only as a news source. I followed my favorites for University of Kentucky football and basketball news and also followed a few genealogy news types. I had a couple of them routed to my phone (which is just a basic cell phone) and checked the others on the computer a few times a day using Tweetdeck to organize things. Beyond that, I didn't see much use for Twitter. 

Then I went to FGS in Knoxville last week and saw the light.

Before I left home, I'd seen the #fgs10 hashtag and started following it (on the computer). Wednesday evening I saw tweets from @ACoffin and @geneabloggers saying where they were, who was with them and inviting others to join them. Several bloggers (@genwishlist, @toniasroots, @baysideresearch and @jtrahan2003 to name 4)  made full use of Twitter during FGS, tweeting out sessions they were attending, who else was there, making lunch plans, etc. 

About a year ago, I couldn't see any use in text messaging but I gradually came around to seeing the benefits of that. Now Twitter is growing on me but I've seriously got to get a better phone. 

Who said you can't teach an old dog new tricks?

This Week in the Family History - August 22 - 28

22 Aug 1894 (116 years ago) - John Cook Taylor married Margaret Frances Warren in Rockcastle County, Kentucky. John was the son of James Francis Taylor and Margaret E. Ramsey. Fannie was the daughter of Fieldon and Jane Warren and John's 2nd wife. [great-grandfather, Taylor line]

25 Aug 1780 (230 years ago) - Titus Fox married Elizabeth Wright in Wilkes County, North Carolina. Titus was the son of James Fox. Elizabeth's parents are unknown. [5th great-grandparents, Hankins line]

25 Aug 1829 (181 years ago) - Rhoda Ann Lavender married Stephen Bradford Lair in Lincoln County, Kentucky. Rhoda was the daughter of John Lavender. Stephen's parents are unknown. [3rd great-grandmother, Taylor line]

25 Aug 1842 (168 years ago) - Martha (maiden name undetermined) Ramsey died in Garrard County, Kentucky. Martha was the wife of Thomas Ramsey. Her maiden name may have been Goldman or Gouldman but that has not been proven. [4th great-grandmother, Taylor line]

27 Aug 1854 (156 years ago) - William Taylor married Mary G. Ramsey in Rockcastle County, Kentucky. William's parents are undetermined. Mary was the daughter of Daniel F. Ramsey and Mary Donaho and William's 2nd wife. [3rd great-grandfather, Taylor line]

FGS 2010 - Day 3

Time really does fly when you're having fun. Seems like I just arrived in Knoxville and I'm already back home.

Since I had to pack up and load the car this morning, I skipped the 8 AM session but attended four sessions on this last day of the conference before heading home.

"The Anatomy of a Will and the Records It Spawns" presented by Christine Rose provided some great tips to put to use right away.

The other three sessions were "The Land Grant Processes of North Carolina and Tennessee" presented by J. Mark Lowe, "Using Georgia's Land Lotteries to Prove Family Relationships" presented by Susan B. Sloan, "From Ulster to the Carolinas: The Scots-Irish" presented by David E. Rencher. These all deal with things I need to get into at some point so these sessions will help me out down the road.

Once again there was always at least one other blogger in every session. Seven of us - Tina Lyons (and hubby), Greta Koehl (and hubby), Tonia Kendrick, Jennifer Trahan, Amy Coffin and Missy Corley - took one last walk to Market Square for lunch. It was a great three days and having this crowd to hang out with made it even better.

I'll have a wrap-up post about FGS sometime tomorrow after I get rested up.

See GeneaBloggers for a compiled listing of posts about FGS 2010.

Surname Saturday - Washington

Today's surname is Washington, the name of one of my 6th great-grandmothers. (I've included Ahnentafel numbers to make the relationships clearer.)

4. John William McCauley
8. Joseph Smith Lanier
16. William Washington Lanier
32. James Lanier
64. Nathaniel Lanier
128. James Lanier

257. Elizabeth Washington
Born abt. 1689
Married Sampson Lanier abt. 1706, Surry County, Virgina
Died abt. 1773, Pitt County, North Carolina

514. Richard Washington
Born 5 Sep 1660
Married Elizabeth Jordan abt. 1682, Surry County, Virginia

1028. John Washington
Married Mary (maiden name unknown) 15 Sep 1658, Surry County, Virginia
Died abt. 1660, Virginia

Click the links above for sources and possibly more information on each ancestor and their family. Note that Richard's wife and his father have not yet been added to my family tree site so they don't appear through the links above. If you are connected to this family, e-mail me.

FGS 2010 - Day 2

It's been a great day but a long one so this is going to be short.

I started the day by skipping the 8 AM session. Anyone who knows me isn't surprised by that. I still managed to get in 5 sessions (although one can't be discussed) and some time in the Exhibit Hall.

I made 4 great choices today with "Planning Reasonably Exhaustive Research" presented by Thomas W. Jones, "The Genealogist as CSI" presented by George G. Morgan, "Murder at the Sawmill" presented by Pamela K. Sayre and "The Genealogical Proof Standard in Action!" presented by Elizabeth Shown Mills. All four of these sessions had a common thread of preparing and executing a research plan but none of them seemed like a duplication of the other. There were some very interesting case studies presented and I actually made some notes related to specific issues in my own tree.

Over the course of the day, I attended sessions with fellow bloggers - Greta Koehl, Tina Lyons, Tonia Kendrick, Jennifer Trahan and Amy Coffin. They are all blogging about the conference so check out what they are saying. Tina, Tonia, Jennifer and I walked a few blocks to Market Square for lunch then headed back to the Convention Center for some time in the Exhibit Hall before the afternoon sessions started and after the sessions we all went back to the Exhibit Hall for the door prize drawings. (Greta won a prize.)

At 7:00 we went to the War of 1812 Bicentennial Celebration Reception sponsored by FamilySearch. FGS and the National Archives have started a project to digitize the War of 1812 pension records. Learn about that project and how your donations can help on the FGS website.

See GeneaBloggers for a compiled listing of posts about FGS 2010. 

FGS 2010 - Day 1

Since I'm not much of an early morning person, I almost skipped the Keynote Session. That would have been a mistake. J. Mark Lowe (representing Tennessee) and Kent Whitworth (representing Kentucky) entertained the crowd with (what else) Tennessee vs Kentucky. Wearing coon skin caps, they debated the differences between the two states, including who was greater - Davy Crockett or Daniel Boone. They ended by leading the crowd in singing My Old Kentucky Home and Rocky Top. (I should note that as a long time University of Kentucky football fan, being subjected to Rocky Top before 9:00 AM could actually be considered torture.)

The Exhibit Hall opened immediately after the Keynote Session and several GeneaBloggers got together there. Thomas MacEntee passed out Blogger beads and ribbons to everyone. (Thanks Thomas.) We posed for a group photo which you can see at Greta's Genealogy Bog now and later at The We Tree Genealogy Blog. I probably shouldn't try to list everyone in attendance because I'm sure to miss someone (apologies in advance) but here goes anyway: Amy Coffin, Missy Corley, Brenda Joyce Jerome, Tonia Kendrick, Greta Koehl, Tina Lyons, Thomas MacEntee, Kimberly Powell, Jennifer Trahan, Paula Stuart-Warren. 

The remainder of the day was filled with sessions covering a wide variety of topics. I attended the following four. 

"Wanted Dead or Alive! Looking for Southern Vital Records" presented by Russell P. Baker:

I learned that Civil War records for both the Union and Confederacy should be checked for southern ancestors. Now, I knew that was the case for Kentucky and Tennessee but it had never occurred to me to search Union records for my Alabama and Georgia ancestors.

"Exploring Our Maternal Ancestries with Mitochondrial DNA" presented by Terry Barton:

I definitely have a better understanding of mtDNA.

"Southern States Immigration Research" presented by David G. Dilts: 

I picked up some tips for identifying the origins of southern ancestors.

"The Genealogy Guys Podcast" presented by George G. Morgan and Drew Smith: 

This was a real treat since I've listened to every one of their previous 207 podcasts.

It was nice to run into fellow GeneaBloggers throughout the day and after the last session Tonia Kendrick, Jennifer Trahan and I enjoyed a relaxing dinner at Market Square.

I'm looking forward to tomorrow.

See GeneaBloggers for a compiled listing of posts about FGS 2010.

Treasure Chest Thursday - Newspapers (Part 3)

More treasures from newspapers.

My grandmother's brother, A. E. "Elvie" Hankins, left Hopkins County, Kentucky as a relatively young man, lived the remainder of his life "out west" and was married several times (maybe as many as 7 times) although no one in the family seemed to remember much about his wives.

I think I've learned more about Uncle Elvie from newspapers than from family stories.

From the Earlington Bee, Hopkins County, Kentucky:

27 Jun 1901: "Yesterday evening at the home of the bride's sister, Mrs. F. M. Richardson, in this city, Miss Ella Edmonds and Mr. Elvy Hankins were united in marriage, Rev. B. M. Currie performed the ceremony. Mr. Hankins is the son of Rev. Hankins who was formerly pastor of the General Baptist church at this place, and an employe of the St. Bernard Coal Company, while the young lady he has chosen for his bride is a bright young business woman and has held a position as bookkeeper for Jno. M. Victory and Co., for some time. They will visit relatives of the bride in Webster county and also in Illinois. The Bee extends congratulations and best wishes."

This was a complete surprise. I'm not sure anyone in the family (who wasn't alive in 1901) knew about this marriage. I'd never looked for a marriage record for Elvie in Hopkins County because I was under the impression that all of his marriages happened after he left Kentucky.

There's more:

27 Mar 1902: "As I am going to leave Earlington I will dispose of the furniture purchased two months ago, at reasonable figures. The furniture includes 1 iron bed, 1 wash stand, dining room chairs, 1 cook stove, 1 spring cot, 1 kitchen table, and can be seen at J. M. Victory's store. Mrs. Ella Hankins"

10 months after the wedding, Ella is selling furniture and leaving town. Where is she going? Where is Elvie?"

3 Apr 1902: "Mrs. Ella Hankins, who for some time past has been bookkeeper for the firm of J. M. Victory & Co., has gone to join her husband in Kansas City, Mo., where he is employed in a power house. We trust they may be successful and contented in their new home."

So Elvie had moved to Kansas City for a job and Ella stayed behind in Hopkins County for awhile, sold their furniture and then joined him.

There is lots more to learn about Elvie from newspapers. Stay tuned.

These clips were found using the searchable newspaper collection at Kentuckiana Digital Library. Kentucky papers in this collection are also available through the Library of Congress' Chronicling America. (Both of these sites are free.)

FGS 2010 - The Conference Has To Be Better Than The Trip

It was pouring the rain when I got up this morning and hadn't slacked up any by the time I left at 9:45 AM for the (usually) less than 2 hour drive to Knoxville. 

It wasn't like this all the way, most of the time it was worse. Driving over Jellico in a monsoon with heavy fog (sorry, no pictures of that) is definitely on my list of 5 least favorite things to do but somehow I made it.     

I'm expecting tomorrow to be a better day. 

Wordless Wednesday - Hankins Brothers

Thomas Richard (1880-1965) , Albert Elvie (1882-1959), James Bailey (1901-1974)

Sons of Thomas Leander Hankins and Samantha Angeline Petty

abt. 1956

Jimmy, Elvie and Dick

Elvie, Dick and Jimmy

Tombstone Tuesday - Thomas Kemp Goodloe

Grapevine Cemetery, Hopkins County, Kentucky

Thomas Kemp Goodloe

Born Feb. 12, 1802

Died Dec. 23, 1887

Kemp was the son of Henry Lewis Goodloe and Elizabeth Berry. He married Diana Dunkerson.

This Week in the Family History - August 15 - 21

17 Aug 1635 (375 years ago) - Mary Foxwell was born in Scituate, Plymouth Colony, Colonial America. Mary was the daughter of Richard Foxwell and Ann Shelley. [9th great-grandmother, Hopkins line]

17 Aug 1742 (268 years ago) - Nancy Ann Walker was born in St. Stephens Parish, Northumberland County, Colony of Virginia. She was the daughter of Richard Walker and Rachel (maiden name unknown). [5th great-grandmother, Hankins line]

20 Aug 1862 (148 years ago) - Elizabeth Berry died 20 Aug 1862 in Hopkins County, Kentucky. She was the daughter of John Berry and Elizabeth (maiden name unknown) and the wife of Henry Lewis Goodloe. [4th great-grandmother, Hankins line]

FGS - My First National Conference!

On Wednesday I'll be heading down I-75 to Knoxville for the Federation of Genealogical Societies (FGS) Annual Conference. I'm really excited because this will be my first national genealogy conference and my first chance to meet other GeneaBloggers. It's only a two hour drive so I plan to get in a little research at the East Tennessee Historical Society on Wednesday afternoon. 

After reviewing the program and wavering back and forth several times, I've finally picked the workshops I want to attend. I suspect I've over scheduled myself but I couldn't actually plan to skip a session (well except for the 8:00 AM sessions, I'm really not an early morning person). 

I hope to blog about this experience along the way but if that doesn't happen you'll know I just didn't have enough strength left at the end of each day. 

Graphic courtesy of Webweaver

Surname Saturday - Cole

Today's surname is Cole, the name of one of my 5th great-grandmothers. (I've included Ahnentafel numbers to make the relationships clearer.)

6. Elmer Dennis Hopkins
12. James Arton Hopkins
25. Eliza Hopkins
50. Stephen Hopkins, Jr.
100. Stephen Hopkins, Sr.

201. Elizabeth Cole
Born 26 Jul 1739, Swansea, Bristol County, Massachusetts
Married Nehemiah Hopkins 11 Mar 1762 in Warren, Bristol County, Rhode Island
Died bef. 1830

402. Joseph Cole
Born 3 May 1716, Swansea, Bristol County, Massachusetts 
Married Freelove Mason 1 May 1738

804. Hugh Cole
Born 30 May 1683, Swansea, Plymoth Colony
Marrieed Martha Luther 13 Dec 1705
Died 14, Jun 1753
Buried Kickemuit Burying Ground, Warren, Bristol County, Rhode Island

1608. Hugh Cole
Born 8 Mar 1657/58, Plymouth, Plymouth County, Massachusetts
Married Deborah Buckland 6 May 1681
Died 1 Feb 1737/38
Buried Kickemuit Burying Ground, Warren, Bristol County, Rhode Island

3216. Hugh Cole
Born 29 Jun 1628, Barnstaple, Devonshire, England
Married Mary Foxwell 8 Jan 1654/55
Died 22 Jan 1698/99, Swansea, Bristol County, Massachusetts
Buried Tyler Point Cemetery, Barrington, Bristol County, Rhode Island

6432. James Cole
Born abt. 1600, London, Enland
Married Mary Tibbes 1 May 1625, Barnstaple, Devonshire, England
Died abt. 1692, Plymoth Colony

Click the links above for sources and possibly more information on each ancestor and their family. If you are connected to this family, e-mail me.

Treasure Chest Thursday - Newspapers (Part 2)

More treasures from newspapers.

From the Earlington Bee, Earlington, Hopkins County Kentucky:

10 Oct 1903: "Mrs. Jane Devault, of Earlington, visited her mother, Aunt Lizzie Goodloe, Wednesday."

11 Aug 1904: "Mrs. Lizzie Goodloe is visiting her children, Em Goodloe and Mrs. T. K. Devault."

This might not look like much unless you know that Isabella Jane Goodloe was the daughter of John E. Goodloe and Eliza Ann Dobyns. Eliza died when Janie and her sibilings were pretty young. John married Elizabeth "Lizzie" Pettus in 1849 when Janie was just 11 years old. John and Lizzie had two children - one of them was Em (Emsley) mentioned in the 2nd clip. Knowing all that, these little clips seem to imply that Janie and her step mother were close and that she may have even thought of her as her mother. Lizzie apparently didn't make a big difference in her biological son, "Em" and her step-daughter, Janie (Mrs. T. K. DeVault) since both were referred to as "her children".  At the very least, the person who wrote these little blurbs for the newspaper did not realize that Lizzie and Janie weren't mother and daughter.

26 Nov 1903: "Miss Verda Hankins, who has been very ill with typhoid fever for some time, is improving."

From family stories, I knew my grandmother, Verda Hankins, had been seriously ill at some point before she married my grandfather, Will McCauley, in September, 1904. She was not even able to feed herself for a time during the illness so neighbors and family members pitched in to help her mother take care of her. The story goes that Will, who was friends with one of her brothers, also helped out by feeding her. I didn't know exactly when she was sick or what the illness was and also didn't know exactly when my grandfather came to Hopkins County from Mississippi. This clip identifies when she was ill, what she was suffering from and, since it says Verda was improving in November, 1903, it also places Will in Hopkins County at least by late summer/early fall of 1903.

These clips were found using the searchable newspaper collection at Kentuckiana Digital Library. Kentucky papers in this collection are also available through the Library of Congress' Chronicling America. (Both of these sites are free.)

Wordless Wednesday - Aunt Sary

Sarah Howard Brock

15 Sep 1861 - 16 Jan 1958

Daughter of John Covey Howard and Mary F. Morris 

Tombstone Tuesday - Unknown Union Soldier Buried in Heard County, Georgia

An unknown Union soldier is buried in Adamson Cemetery in Heard County, Georgia. This location along the central Alabama and Georgia border was the heart of the Confederacy. Even though the sons of this area were off fighting for the other side, this soldier was given a proper burial by a local resident. See the post "A Documented Source Isn't Always A Valid Source" from yesterday for more about this story.

The poem inscribed on these concrete slabs was written by Nathaniel Rufus Adamson. Adamson was a local resident but was only 10 years old when the soldier died so the poem had to have been written and added some years later.

  

Transcription:

This dying man his friends had fled
Left to his foes not a word he said

Away from home away from friends
And all that heart holds dear
A federal soldier buried here
No earthly friend was near

His lips were closed his body frale [sic]
His dying groans and his face was pale

Away from home away from friends
All all that heart holds dear
A federal soldier buried here
No earthly friend was near

The clothes he wore blue uniform

His body showed not a mark of harm

Away from home away from friends

And all that heart holds dear

A federal soldier buried here

No earthly friend was near

His death occurred from unknown cause

Had a deadly stroke and fell from a horse

Away from home away from friends

And all that heart holds dear

A federal soldier buried here

No earthly friend was near

His coffin rough and loosly [sic] laid

Of scraps of plank and they had no nails

Away from home away from friends

And all that heart holds dear

A federal soldier buried here

No earthly friend was near

The plank was off a nearby barn

Where federals robbed of its wheat and corn

Chorus

N. R. Adamson

At the bottom of the left slab is also inscribed:
McCook's Raid
July 31, 1864

A Documented Source Isn't Always A Valid Source

It seems there is always some discussion going on about the lack of sourcing in on-line trees. It's definitely a problem and it makes me crazy but today I ran into a new slant on the subject.

Some time ago I found a tree with notes for David Gamble (my 3rd great-grandfather) of Heard County, Georgia. The story goes that an unknown Union soldier died at the well of David Gamble. This soldier had been with General McCook during his raid through that area of Georgia and even though David and his wife, Anna, had lost two sons who fought for the Confederacy [I've only been able to prove one son died in the war but it's possible there were two], David built this soldier a coffin using planks from his barn and buried him in nearby Adamson Cemetery. Now granted this particular tree acknowledged that the notes came from another tree but went on to say that this event "is recorded in "Sherman's Horsemen, Union Cavalry Operations in the Atlanta Campaign" by David Evans.

Wow! A source in an on-line tree.

I made note of the book in my to do list for David Gamble and filed the story in my head. In June, I was in Heard County, Georgia and visited the Adamson Cemetery where David and Anna Finney Gamble are also buried. I saw the grave of this unknown Union soldier. In addition to an unknown soldier marker, there are two big concrete slabs with a poem written by Nathaniel R. Adamson inscribed in the concrete. The story seemed to be accurate. Right?

Unknown Union Soldier's Grave, center with flag

When I returned home, I checked World Cat and found the book was available close by at the Berea College Library. Today I finally ran by there to check it out. On page 286, in the Chapter "McCook's Raid: The Chattahoochee River to Marietta", Evans tells about Union troops traveling southwest from Newnan, Georgia across the Chattahoochee River and into the area near Glenn, Georgia. The following is the complete quote regarding this incident:

"The sun was at its zenith when one of the dismounted men staggered and collapsed with a mournful cry. Some of his comrades gingerly picked him up and carried him into J. C. Gamble's yard, just west of a little settlement called Glen. Gamble offered what assistance he could, but the stricken trooper never regained consciousness and soon died."

So, I guess you see my problem - the source material doesn't back up the story.

Now David did have a brother named James but he had died in Tallapoosa County, Alabama in 1856 so he couldn't be this J. C. Gamble, besides his middle initial was A. David and his sons (none with initials J. C.) were the only Gamble's in Heard County, Georgia and nearby Randolph County, Alabama in the 1860 and 1870 census so I have no clue who J. C. Gamble might have been (or if the author just made a mistake with the name).

The only thing I'm sure of is this soldier is buried in the Adamson Cemetery. Check back tomorrow for Tombstone Tuesday with a transcription of the poem inscribed on his grave.

Surname Saturday - Walker

Today's surname is Walker, the name of one of my 5th great-grandmothers. (I've included Ahnentafel numbers to make the relationships clearer.)

5. Verda Waller Hankins
10. Thomas Leander Hankins
21. Isabella Jane Goodloe
43. Eliza Ann Dobyns
87. Sarah Mott

175. Nancy Ann Walker
Born 17 Aug 1742, St. Stephens Parish, Northumberland County, Virginia
Married Randolph Mott abt. 1765, Richmond County, Virginia

350. Richard Walker
Married Rachel (maiden name unknown)
Died abt. 1772, Northumberland County, Virginia

Click the links above for sources and possibly more information on each ancestor and their family. If you are connected to this family, e-mail me.

Treasure Chest Thursday - Newspapers (Part 1)

I love researching in old newspapers - especially the ones that are digitized and searchable. It's amazing what you can find to fill in the details of an ancestor's life - especially if they lived in a relatively small town where the local paper printed "personal" news from every little community in the area. Over the next few weeks, I'll be sharing some of the things I've found in newspapers that I likely would never have discovered any other way.

From the Mt. Vernon Signal, Mt. Vernon, Rockcastle County, Kentucky:

10 Jul 1908: "Mrs. M. C. Owens, who has been sick for the past fifteen months, is no better."

13 Nov 1908: "Mrs. M. C. Owens, of the Freedom section, is very low and we understand that there is no chance for her recovery."

Celia Owens (my 2nd great-grandmother and wife of Madison Crawford Owens) died on 18 Nov 1908. Death certificates weren't kept at that time in Kentucky so I don't know the cause of her death but these clips tell me that she had been sick for about 19 months before she died.

23 Jul 1909: "Miss Gracie Taylor, who has been very sick with malaria fever is better."

No one ever mentioned that my grandmother's sister, Gracie, had malaria when she was 22 years old.

These clips were found using the searchable newspaper collection at Kentuckiana Digital Library. Kentucky papers in this collection are also available through the Library of Congress' Chronicling America. (Both of these sites are free.)

Wordless Wednesday - Muldon, Mississippi

Sometimes a research trip can take an unexpected turn. 

This may have actually been a road when my grandfather lived in the area around 1900.

Muldon, Monroe County, Mississippi

July, 2009

Tombstone Tuesday - John Corum Hankins

Grapevine Cemetery, Hopkins County, Kentucky

Father

J. C. Hankins

1893 - 1923

Woodsmen of the World Logo

John Corum Hankins was the son of Thomas Leander "Lee" Hankins and Samantha Angeline Petty. He was born 22 Dec 1893 in Hopkins County and died there on 7 Sep 1923 at the age of 29. He married Gertie Tapp on 28 Dec 1910 in Hopkins County.

This Week in the Family History - August 1 - 7

Aug 1723 (287 years ago) - Dr. John Waller died in Newport Pagnell, Buckinghamshire, England. Date of death not known but he was buried on Aug 6th. John was the son of Thomas Waller and Anne Keate. [8th great-grandfather, Hankins line]

7 Aug 1932 (78 years ago) - Ralph Raymond McCauley was born in Greenville, Muhlenberg County, Kentucky. He was the son of John William McCauley and Verda Waller Hankins. [uncle]