Sunday, November 08, 2009

Smile for the Camera-18th Edition--Travel


This edition of Smile for the Camera is the 18th edition and the word prompt is Travel.
My contribution is a picture of my Uncle Morris B. Cooke(my Dad's brother) on his Indian Motorcycle. I'm not sure what year this was taken. My guess would be late 1940's/early 1950s. I believe the motorcycle would be a model made some time in the mid-40s. My Cooke family lived in Old Hickory, TN which was for the most part a company town built around the Dupont plant which opened there in 1918.

Tuesday, November 03, 2009

A Genealogist's Holiday Wish list

The holidays are drawing near and about this time every year people are wondering what to get the genealogist on their list. I've read articles on this subject which have suggested

  • Subscription to Family Tree Magazine, Heritage Quest or another genealogy related magazine
  • Database Subscriptions(Footnote.com, Ancestry.com, WorldVitalRecords etc.)
  • Week long trip to the FHL in SLC
  • A Genealogy Conference

All of those are wonderful ideas. I love my subscription to Family Tree Magazine as well as my Footnote.com subscription.

Now if Santa is wondering what I'd like for Christmas:
(Cue the "Santa Baby" music)

  • William Clifford Cook's parents' names(he married in Williamson Co TN and lived in Bedford Co. TN)
  • Census Entries for the Wm. Taylor Hale family in 1860 & 1870(minus Wm.) they should be in Van Buren Co. TN
  • Thomas Adcock's parents' names--(Warren Co TN area)
  • Records from Annie Pitman Dunham's visit to Talequah in 1866
  • Pictures of the six GG Grandparents( I have pics of 2 sets): Wm C. & Elizabeth Putman Cook, George & Catherine Morrow Jakes, David & Rebecca Manley Frizzell, Elisha & Keziah Rigsby Luna, David and Mary Adcock Pitman, Wm P. & Nancy Arminda Hitchcock Hale.
These should all be fairly easy for Santa. After all, at one time he had to know where these people were in order to deliver Christmas goodies(or perhaps their lump of coal).

Sunday, November 01, 2009

In Search of Confederate Pension Records

I read an article from the Terre Haute News entitled GENEALOGY: Confederate pension records out there for the asking written by Tamie Dehler.

It has some good information for those researching Confederate soldiers but one section in particular caught my attention.

Dehler writes:

"However, the National Archives has no Confederate pension records in its files. To order these, one would have to contact the state from which the Confederate soldier served."


The last statement is not correct. To order PENSION files a researcher would contact the state in which the soldier or widow was living when they applied for pension. This wouldn't necessarily be the state in which the soldier served since the majority of states that granted Confederate pensions did not do so until 20+ years after the war(on average).

I've done a bit of research using Confederate Pension Records mainly with Tennessee & Texas pensioners. Most of the TX Pensions I have worked with were for soldiers who had served in TN.

See my Confederate Pension Abstractions for an idea of what is on the TN & TX applications. These application did vary in the questions that they asked even within the same state and year to year.

My favorite question that they asked the Soldier is:

Do you use intoxicants?

Friday, October 23, 2009

Clues from Pearl

I've spent the last few weeks pouring over old letters postcards and receipts that my grandmother had in her scrapbooks. I was able to get a lot of information about where my grandparents lived at different times by studying things that you might not think would contain genealogy information.

Television repair receipts, postcards from family & friends, insurance policies, hospital bills, money order receipts....yes my Grandma Pearl Jakes Cooke was a pack rat but I'm thankful for that.

Sept 1945 911 Dotson St. Old Hickory, TN
Nov 1952 1209 Calvin Ave. Nashville, TN
July 1953 1209 Calvin Ave. Nashville, TN
Nov 1957 903 W. Eastland Ave. Nashville, TN
Mar 1965 402 North 16th St Nashville, TN
June 1966 1020 W. Eastland Ave. Nashville, TN
June 1970 144 Harrington Ave Madison TN
Dec 1971 203 North Charlotte St Dickson, TN
June 1974 110 Mae Circle Dickson, TN

Tuesday, October 20, 2009

Tombstone Tuesday-Dekalb Co. TN- Mt Holly Cem. picture taken in early '90's

Wade Clinton Ervin
son of Charlie Clinton Ervin
Grandson of Thomas Clinton Ervin & Ella Watts
Gr Grandson of Christopher Columbus Ervin

This photo was taken abt 1992. The Ervin line is a paternal line of my deceased son.
My son was the GGG Grandson of Christopher Columbus Ervin.

Monday, October 19, 2009

1920 Federal Census--Sons of Wm Green Cook & Jane Bell King Cook

Saturday Night Genealogy Fun post about the Increase of my great grandparents got me thinking about their children. Below are the census entries for their sons--John Lemuel Cook, Thomas DeWitt Cooke(my grandpa) and Wm. Clarence Cook. Click on images for closer look.


1920 Marshall Co. TN Dist 1 pg 7a & 7b --Wm. Clarence Cook



1920 Marshall Co. TN Dist 1 pg 4 --Thomas DeWitt Cook(e)




1920 Marshall Co. TN Dist 1 pg 9 --John Lemuel Cook


Saturday, October 17, 2009

Genea-Musings: Saturday Night Genealogy Fun - A Family's Increase

Following Randy's Seaver's instructions for Sat. Night Genealogy Fun

Genea-Musings: Saturday Night Genealogy Fun - A Family's Increase


Wm. Green Cook & Jane Bell King

I chose my Cook great grandparents
William Green Cook(1854-1944) and Jane Bell King(1853-1921)

I made a genealogy report of descendants in FTM 10.

They had 6 children(all are deceased-I only met one--my grandfather who died when I was 2 yrs old)

They had 15 grandchildren(all but 3 are deceased--I met 8 of them)

They had 32 great grandchildren(all living-I've met 12)

They had 25+ great great grandchildren(2 deceased)

They currently have at least 8+ GGG grandchildren of which I'm aware.

Wm G Cook's grandchildren lost touch with each other because they really never had family gatherings after 1960s.
There are Rowland, Graves, Cook, Hargrove, Brannon and other great great grandchildren I'm sure with whom I've not been in contact.

Facebook has been helpful to get back in touch with several cousins.

Seated: Wm. Green Cook & wife Jane Bell King, Son John Lemuel Cook & his wife Malissa Gee
Standing: Son-in-law, Charlie Thompson & Daughter, Rebecca L. Cook, Wm. Clarence Cook, Thomas Dewitt Cooke and Eliza A. Cook.

Sunday, October 11, 2009

School Picture--Old Hickory TN





This picture is probably from the late 1920s. The two girls to the right of the X's
marked on the picture are my aunts(left to right)
Viola White Cooke Agee and Magnus Cooke Snoddy
I believe this is in front of the Dupont School in Old Hickory TN

Friday, October 09, 2009

My Grandma's Post Cards--US Navy










My Grandmother's Post Cards--Tennessee Buildings

This is the War Memorial Building in Nashville Tennessee probably from around the late 1950s perhaps the early 1960s.


Memphis State College--postmarked Nov. 24 1957(postage 2 cents)
Grandmother was living at 903 West Eastland Avenue, Nashville Tennessee



Kirkland Hall, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, USA

Wednesday, October 07, 2009

My Grandmother's PostCards


This postcard was sent to my Grandmother Pearl Gray Jakes Cooke
It is of the Bay County Memorial Hospital in Panama City, Florida.
It is postmarked from Panama city on Nov 28 1952 and the postage was 2 cents.
My Grandmother's address at that time was 1209 Calvin Avenue Nashville, TN.
The note is signed from Bill however I don't recognize it as my father Bill Cooke's handwriting. I think it has to be from someone on the Jakes side of the family because it mentions my Grandmother's sisters.



This postcard was in my Grandmother's collection. It was not one she received or that was mailed. The subject of the postcard is the town in which they lived, Old Hickory Tennessee. My Grandfather(her husband) was an employee of the Dupont Company that built the town of Old Hickory and retired from there in the 1950s.



Sent by my Grandmother Pearl Gray Jakes Cooke to her eldest daughter Magnus Cook on June 8th 1945 from Washington DC. The scene is one of Fountain Square in Cincinnati OH. Postage was 1 penny. This documents that my Grandparents were still living at 911 Dodson St, Old Hickory TN in June of 1945.

Tuesday, October 06, 2009

Childhood Memories-Tuesday Afternoon Genealogy Fun(Apologies to Randy Seaver)

Football caused me to miss Randy Seaver's Sat. Night Genealogy Fun post.
So...I'm posting it as my Tuesday Afternoon Genealogy Fun.

The instructions from Randy's Geneamusings Blog

Here is mine:

I really have very few childhood memories. My earliest I guess would have to be of my Grandpa Cooke. He died when I was two years old yet I remember toddling into his room(he was in the last stages of Lung Cancer) and my Mom & Grandmother trying to get me out of it. I remember him speaking though I don't remember exactly what he said. My Mother some years later told me that he'd told them that they didn't have to rush me out and that it did him good(my unplanned visit)

My next memories were of me starting school. We lived in Charlotte TN at the time and my parents were renting an old farm house from Ralph Taylor. It was close to a cow pasture and I remember at times the ticks were soooo thick on the screen door that it made it hard to see through. I didn't attend kindergarten but started school in the 1st grade in 1974. I was in Mrs. Rachel Weaver's first grade class and I rode the bus to school on my first day. I still remember being scared...it was Mr. Petty's bus. I remember a few of the other children who I think were in Mrs. Weaver's room as well: Lorne Christy, Reid Nicks, Deborah Greer, Daron Richardson, Steven Dawson, Timmy Gibbs, Cynthia Talley, Marsha Sutton and Cindy Procter. A few others from Elementary School were Cynthia Bell, Thom Spicer, Joe Springer, Branford Vaughn, LaTonya Corlew, TomCat, Tonya Travis and Chris R. Caldwell. The teachers would bring a television set into the classroom and would let us watch PBS shows such as "The Electric Company". It was the start of the Sesame Street Generation. For 2nd Grade, my teacher was Mrs. Elliot. I thought the world of her. We got to make molding clay in her class and I can still remember the smell. I was only in her class for a few months before my family moved and I attended Burns Elementary School until the redistrict. Those two months were long enough for me to have one of my most embarrassing moments of my life. I think this happened during a test but it might have been while we were doing seatwork. I'd been bouncing my head off my eraser...unfortunately I forgot I'd turned the pencil around and I broke the lead off in my forehead....something I still have 'til this day.....lol. I remember bleeding a bit and not wanting anyone to see...and then Mrs Elliot noticed... I don't have a picture from 2nd grade in Mrs. Elliot's class. I don't know if we had them made before I moved or not and I don't have one from Mrs Richardson's 2nd grade class which I was in after we moved either. I'd love to run across a copy of the 1st grade group picture. My Grandmother misplaced mine and I've not seen it in years.

Another memory which was a bit funnier looking back than at the time it happened was when I had asked for a bike for my birthday. I don't remember which birthday it was but I do remember my Dad buying me this HUGE tricycle and telling me it was even better than a bike cause I could ride my two brothers around on the back part of it.....yeah right Dad...Love you anyway!!.

More thoughts on the Putman/Putnam line(Thanks Thomas)

Thanks to Thomas MacEntee, a fellow blogger, for his comment on my earlier blog post about my Putman/Putnam lines. My Putman line came over from England where it was Putnam and according to several who have researched the earlier ancestors was Puttenham in the 1400s. There is a book at Google Books(see below) which tells a bit about the name.

The passage speculates that Puttenham was from the Flemish word putte which means "a well" and ham of course meaning home. This would have it meaning a settlement by a well. Strangely enough in Bedford Co. TN where my Putmans settled in the early 1800s there is an area named Putman Well which was in earlier times also called Putnam Well. Talk about redundancy





As Thomas mentioned the "flip-flopping" of spellings causes us to have to research both names or risk missing out on something. That's also true of my Pitman/Pittman/Pitmon line which has a variety of spellings and which I've also seen confused with Putman/Putnam. Don't get me started on the frustration of researching my maiden name of Cooke or my mother's maternal grandmother who was a Hale. Another blog post perhaps.. :-)

Saturday, October 03, 2009

Arrival in America of my Putman/Putnam and Shropshire(surname) Ancestors

I do not have the details to most of my ancestors' arrival in America. All are in America by 1790s so I've listed two of my lines that I have the most details about. I don't have alot of details about these two lines however...ANY is more than I have about some of my other lines.

The Putman/Putnam Line's arrival
Thomas Putnam is my GGGGGGGG Grandfather
Bill Putman has the details of my Putnam/Putman lines coming to America in 1647 on the ship Increase.


The Shropshire Line's arrival
St John Shropshire is my GGGGGGGG Grandfather
According to research done by the Shropshire(surname) Society
St. John Shropshire was tried and convicted of a felony in Derbyshire, England.
Initially he was sentenced to death however in March 1690 his sentence was reprieved and he was ordered to be transported to America and arrived in Virginia.

Saturday, September 19, 2009

Sat. Night Gen. Fun Post--George Jakes

Following the instructions for Randy Seaver's Saturday Night Genealogy Fun
I took my father's age and divided it by 4 which rounded to 20. Randy's instructions were to write about the the person who was #20 in my Ahnentafel.

#20
George Jakes (great great grandfather).

He was born in Franklin County Virginia in the year 1820 to James Jakes & Nancy Harger. He moved with his parents to the middle Tennessee area and married Catherine Morrow around 1845. His younger brother, James Jakes, was also his brother-in-law since James married Catherine's sister, Margaret Caroline Morrow. George & Catherine lived in the same general area pretty much all their adult life--Dist 1 of Bedford Co. TN & Dist 24 of Rutherford Co. TN. I have not been able to find a death date for George or Catherine. However, since I can't find them after the 1880 census I've narrowed their death date down a little to between 1880 and 1900. George like many men in the Tennessee area in that time period was a farmer.

Saturday, September 12, 2009

Saturday Night Genealogy Fun



My Genealogy Trading card made using the instructions at

Randy's Genea-Musings Saturday Night Genealogy Fun

It's Saturday Night - time for some Genealogy Fun! Each week, a number of devoted Genea-Musings readers accept a Mission Possible - if they choose to. We have had over 60 entries some weeks!

For this weeks challenge, please go read Sheri Fenley's blog (The Educated Genealogist) post Trading Cards, Get Your Trading Cards and then:

1) Make your own Trading Card(s) on http://bighugelabs.com/deck.php . It's easy to do, but you need a head shot photo of your subject.

2) Post your Trading Card on your web site, your blog, or on your Facebook account (or some other account where you can upload a JPG file).

Saturday, September 05, 2009

My 32 Great Great Great Grandparents( 30 known, 2 unknown)

This is a follow-up to a previous post on my 16 GG Grandparents.

Paternal Lines(1-16)
Maternal Lines(17-32)


1. Cook(unknown to me)
2. Cook spouse(unknown to me)

3. Jabel Putman, b. 1772 in Culpepper Co., VA, USA; d. 1835 in Williamson Co., TN, USA. Son of James Putman and Joice Prince.
4. Nancy [?????], b. in SC USA.

5. John King, b. Mar. 04, 1799; d. Sept. 18, 1876. Son of John King and Nancy Brandon. .
6. Rebecca Upshaw, b. Aug. 08, 1800 in Elbert Co. GA; d. Apr. 23, 1877 in Bedford Co. TN. Daughter of Adkins Upshaw and Charity Ann Patton.

7. David Lemuel Manire, b. Jan. 18, 1792; d. Jan. 29, 1837 in Williamson Co., TN,USA. Son of John William Manire and Patty Ogilvie.
8. Susan Ann Elizabeth Jackson, b. Aug. 14, 1798; d. Feb. 19, 1862. Daughter of Mark Lambert Jackson and Durcilla Sarah Rainey.

9. James Jakes, b. Feb. 10, 1788 in Franklin Co., VA, USA; d. Sept. 05, 1847 in Bedford Co., TN, USA. Son of John Jakes.
10. Nancy Harger, b. 1790 in Franklin Co., VA, USA; d. Aft. 1850 in Bedford Co., TN, USA.

11. James Morrow, b. Bet. 1780 - 1790; d. June 1839.
12. Margaret [?????], b. Bet. 1790 - 1800; d. Bet. 1835 - 1839.

13. James M. Frizzell, b. Sept.r 21, 1787 in Anson Co., NC, USA; d. Jan. 30, 1862 in Calloway Co., KY, USA. Son of Nathan Frizzell & Ruahama Weaver.
14. Mary Kennedy, b. Jul. 02, 1790 in , , NC, USA; d. Jan. 19, 1875 in TN, USA. Daughter of Hugh Henry Kennedy and Ann [?????].

15. Reuben Manley, b. Oct. 14, 1782; d. Oct. 07, 1854.
16. Margaret Elizabeth Frizzell, b. Jan. 17, 1783; d. Jul. 25, 1827. Daughter of Nathan Frizzell and Ruahama Weaver.

17. Elisha Luna, b. 1784; d. 1842 in Dekalb Co., TN, USA. Son of Peter Luna and Mary Pitman.
18. Mary Ann Lennox, b. 1785; d. Aft. 1860.

19. Canada Rigsby, b. Abt. 1788; d. Bef. 1850. Son of Thomas Rigsby.
20. Mary Lewis, b. Abt. 1790; d. Bet. 1850 - 1860.

21. Daniel Pitman b. 1803 in NC, USA; d. Bet. 1860 - 1870. Believed to be son of John Pitman(Marion Co TN)
22. Comfort Hatfield, b. 1808 in KY, USA; d. Aft. 1870. Daughter of James Hatfield and Annie Rice(of the Ross Indians).

23. Thomas Adcock, b. Apr. 09, 1817 in Jefferson, Dekalb Co. TN, USA; d. August 30, 1905 in Dekalb Co., TN, USA.
24. Frances Bowles, b. March 11, 1819; d. Bet. July 1906 - 1910. Daughter of John M. Bowles and Frances Bolling.

25. Jonathan Acuff, b. Abt. 1809; d. Bet. 1880 - 1900. Son of William Acuff and Magdaline Hall.
26. Eleanor Curvin, b. 1817; d. Bet. 1870 - 1880.

27. Andrew Jackson McElroy, b. Apr. 24, 1820 in Warren Co., TN, USA; d. Aft. 1900 in Van Buren Co., TN, USA. Son of Andrew McElroy and Martha Shropshire.
28. Jane Webb, b. 1825 in White Co. TN; d. 1867. Daughter of Jeremiah Webb and Sarah Copeland.

29. William Taylor Hale b. 1820; d. 1861 in Collins River, Warren Co., TN, USA. Son of John Nathanel Hale and Catherine [?????].
30. Eliza Adeline Elzie b. Apr. 15, 1820 in , AL, USA; d. Apr. 20, 1906. Daughter of William Elzie.

31. James P. Hitchcock, b. Mar. 08, 1810 in Warren Co., TN, USA; d. 1897 in Bledsoe Co., TN, USA. Son of George Hitchcock and Millie Riddle.
32. Charlotta Fleming, b. Sept. 23, 1819 in Warren Co., TN, USA; d. Apr. 24, 1909 in Bledsoe Co., TN, USA. Daughter of John Fleming and Nancy Combs.

Monday, August 17, 2009

My 16 GG Grandparents(better late than never)

I've been meaning to make this post ever since Randy Seaver's Sat. Night Genealogy Fun idea to
Post your 16 GG Grandparents

Just now finding time. I've not attempted to determine exact percentages for my ancestral ethnicity mainly because I have very few of them back to their immigration date. Most of them were in what would become the US by 1770s and some of them earlier than that. I'd say that I'm probably over 90% a combo of English Scottish and Irish.

Paternal Lines(1-8)

Maternal Lines(9-16)

  1. William Clifford Cook: born 4th April 1811 in NC, USA; married 27th of Sept 1831 in Williamson Co., TN, USA; died 1 Jan 1882 in Bedford Co., TN, USA.
  2. Elizabeth Putman: born 1814 in Union Co., SC, USA; died 5th Sept. 1880 in Bedford Co., TN, USA.
  3. William Benton King: born Feb 1819 in Bedford Co., TN, USA; married 30 Sept. 1841 in Williamson Co., TN, USA; died 1901 in Gainesville, Cooke Co., TX, USA.
  4. Eliza Jane Manire: born 1818 in Williamson Co., TN, USA; died April 1896 in Gainsville, Cooke Co., TX, USA.
  5. George Jakes: born abt. 1820 in Franklin Co.,VA, USA; married abt 1845 in Tennessee; died after 1880 census in TN, USA.
  6. Catherine Morrow: born abt. 1830; died after 1880 census in TN, USA.
  7. David Frizzell: born 23rd Oct. 1808 in Bedford Co., TN, USA ; married 15th Nov 1834 in ; died 27th Dec 1870 in Bedford Co., TN, USA
  8. Rebecca Manley: born 1818 in Bedford Co., TN, USA ; died 1862 in Bedford Co., TN, USA.
  9. Elisha Luna: born 5th Nov. 1825 in Smith Co., TN, USA; married 11th Dec 1851 in Dekalb Co., TN, USA; died 19th June 1889 in Dekalb Co., TN, USA.
  10. Keziah Rigsby: born 1832 in White Co., TN, USA ; died 1909 in Dekalb Co., TN, USA.
  11. David Pittman: born April 1838 in Jackson Co., AL, USA; married 22th Dec 1859 in Dekalb Co., TN, USA; died 11th Feb 1922 in Dekalb Co., TN, USA.
  12. Mary D. Frances Adcock: born 20th of May 1842 in Dekalb Co., TN, USA; died 30th of Dec. 1902 in Dekalb Co., TN, USA
  13. William Leon Acuff: born 25th of Jan. 1842 in Bledsoe Co., TN, USA; married 5th Jan. 1871 in Van Buren Co., TN, USA; died 3 Feb. 1898 in Van Buren Co., TN, USA.
  14. Sarah McElroy: born 28th Nov 1847 in Van Buren Co., TN, USA; died 2nd July 1925 in Dallas, Madison Co., AL, USA.
  15. William P. Hale: born 1849 in Van Buren Co., TN, USA; married abt 1871 prob. in Bledsoe Co., TN, USA ; died bet. 1920-1930 in Warren Co., TN, USA.
  16. Nancy Arminda Hitchcock: born 6th Sept 1840 in Warren Co., TN; died before 1887 in TN(prob. Van Buren Co.), USA

Wednesday, July 22, 2009

Favorite Genealogy Websites

HeritageQuest
It's great for placing an ancestor. Since I pretty much have all but 2 of my gg grandparents in the census records back to early 1800s I now use it mostly to track down siblings of my direct lines. This has sometimes led to more papertrails from my own direct line when they are listed in records of an area where their siblings lived.

FamilySearch
This site is really growing. Wish they had more TN records but I was so excited to find some of my TN relatives that moved to Huntsville AL in the AL death records which they recently added. They also have a good bit for my husbands Michigan lines.

Hugh Wallis' IGI Site
While I've used it mainly for the US sites I need to explore the Canadian ones for my husband's lines.

Linkpendium
Every link to be had for just about any surname or place. If it ain't here then it's just not out there yet.

Facebook
Facebook is wonderful for keeping up with my Genealogy contacts and also with my family.

Footnote.com
This is the one site that I did subscribe to this year. I love it but wish there were more offerings for those researching in the Tennessee area.

Rootsweb.com--Mailing Lists
I've always loved the RW Genealogy Mailing lists and they are even more useful with their current search capabilities.


Joe Beine's Death Index Site
The TN page of this site brings many of the sites I'd list seperately were it not for them being brought together there on the TN page

USGenWeb

Thursday, July 16, 2009

Genealogy Software

I started researching my family history back in 1990. At that time I didn't have a home computer. That changed in 1994. I was working and attending college(yes I've made a career out of going to school) so I didn't have much free time. The first software I used to organize my research was the "blue screen" version of what would become Family Tree Maker. Over the years I have only upgraded my software 3 times. I really couldn't see buying each version as it came out when the version I had did what I wanted it to do so basically I stuck with that version until I upgraded my Operating System and the software wouldn't work on it. I think I went from the Blue Screen version(I can't remember what number that was), to FTM 3. Then I had FTM 6 forever and a day. From that I went to FTM 10 which I've had for about 4 years. This software does everything I want to do(and more that I don't bother doing). I've tried other software through their free version or their demo and just never really liked them. The ones I recall right off the top of my head are Legacy, Brother's Keeper, TMG and PAF. None of them were as easy to follow as FTM. TMG was nice in the fact that you could customize it provided you had the free time to do that. I plan on staying with FamilyTreeMaker 10 until I have to change from Windows XP. Not sure what I will do then as I do not like any of the FTM versions after FTM 10.
FTM versions after FTM 10 feel like more of a marketing tool than anything else.

Friday, July 10, 2009

Elisha Miller Robinson(1825-1896)

In my search for a subject for my blog I began looking over photographs of stones in the Arkadelphia Cemetery here in Cullman Co. Alabama which I'd photographed several years ago. My daughter has several paternal ancestors resting there(mostly Hoglands). As I walked through the cemetery, the gravestone of Elisha M. Robinson had caught my eye and I made sure we got a picture of his and his wife's gravestones. Later while reviewing the photographs I noticed another Robinson. I had taken a picture of Emma Robinson McAnnally's stone(the McAnnally surname is another from this area in my daughter's paternal lines). Emma, as fate would have it, was the daughter of Elisha & Nancy E. Duncan Robinson.


With the information from Elisha's stone I went looking for records online so that I could learn more about him and his family. There is a good bit online about him though some of it is hard to follow.


Elisha Miller Robinson was most likely the son of Joseph A. Robinson & Betsey Miller of South Carolina. He is enumerated in Chattooga Co. GA in the 1850 census with his 1st wife Emily Caroline Stamper and 3 of their children--Jacob A. Robinson, Joseph Taylor Robinson and James Peyton Robinson.







His first wife Emily died in 1853 according to files at WorldConnect


He married Nancy E. Duncan 17 AUG 1854 in Floyd Co GA and moved the family to the town of Arkadelphia Alabama which at that time was in Walker Co. AL.(present day area of Cullman Co.). They are enumerated in the 1860 Walker Co AL census in Arkadelphia Alabama






You can read more about Elisha Miller Robinson's Civil War Service at
the following link.


Elisha Miller Robinson's life in Civil war Prison Camp--


Story from Archaeology.com magazine about Elisha Miller Robinson's life in a Civil War Prison Camp--as told by Dr. William B. Gresham, Jr., Birmingham, AL



A bit of info in the images at Footnote.com list the following

Elisha Robinson Civil War AL 13th Infantry

Description 5'10"

Fair Complexion

Dark Hair

Dark Eyes

Captured in Vicksburg Miss July 4 1863


Just doing a quick search I did not find the family in 1870 though they were in Blount Co. AL in 1880.






Pictures of gravestones relating to this family online at my SEROOTS site.


Elisha Miller Robinson

Born:    26 Feb 1825

Died:    08 Jan 1896

Buried: Arkadelphia Cemetery 



1st Wife--Emily Caroline Stamper

Born:   11 April 1827

Married:  29 Jan 1845 Chattooga Co GA

[source: http://files.usgwarchives.net/ga/chattooga/vitals/nzbride.txt]
Died:   19 Jan 1853



Children of Elisha Miller Robinson & Emily Caroline Stamper

Jacob A Robinson
          
B 19 Nov 1845

D 15 Jan 1895



Joseph Taylor Robinson

B 19 May 1847

D



James Paton Robinson

B 24 Jan 1849

D 14 Apr 1929 Cullman Co. AL

[Source: Film number: 1908465 Reference number: cn 10177
Collection: Alabama Statewide Deaths 1908-1974 ]



2nd Wife--Nancy E Duncan

Born:    8 Jan 1829

Married:  17 AUG 1854 in Floyd Co. GA

[Source: Vol. A (2nd volume) 1852-1873 FHL US/CAN Film 282712 ]

Died:  26 Sept. 1897

Buried in Arkadelphia Cem.



Children of Elisha Miller Robinson & Nancy E Duncan



Thomas Franklin Robinson 

B 18 July 1855

D 14 April 1926



Thomas Franklin Robinson's Bio from Notable Men of Alabama

--


John Robinson

B

D



Emily Robinson (wife of Allison Cicero McAnnally)

B 11 Oct 1858

D 12 Nov 1912

Emma Robinson McAnnally is enumerated in the Bryce Hospital for the mentally ill in Tuscaloosa AL at the time of the 1900 census. One of the stones located at Arkadelphia cemetery is that of her infant son, Elisha McAnnally. No doubt that played a big part in her mental state. She also lost several family members during the time period from 1895 to 1900.



Very interesting family to follow across the years.

Thursday, January 15, 2009

What's in a name?

My favorite names from 18 years of census research.

  • Male: Hugh Askew

  • Female: Fannie Pack