MarieB's Genealogy Blog--Southeastern USA

Listing of TN/KY Hospitals Participating in Credit Plan of Nashville Regional Blood Center

2011-10-30T19:59:00.001-05:00

Since Halloween is tomorrow I thought this post was seasonally appropriate.

The following scans are of a letter which my Grandfather, Thomas D. Cooke received as a pensioner. The letter which is dated April 19th 1956, contains a listing of KY/TN hospital participating in a Credit Plan of the Nashville Regional Blood Center.

Snuck in some genealogy today :-)

2011-07-29T18:17:00.000-05:00

Seems I don't get to work on genealogy as much as I'd like. For an assortment of reasons there just hasn't been time readily available for research or transcribing. After looking like I was starting on a bad day I decided to take matters into my own hands and make time for a little genealogy. I went to Footnote.com and added Annotations for some of the War of 1812 pension images they have(free). Looked in the state where the majority of my ancestors were prior to statehood.and chose 2 surnames with which I'm familiar. Looks like they just have some of the Letter A....must be a new collection. It didn't take alot of time but it made me feel better. I should do something like that every day even if it is only for half an hour.

16 GG Grandparents Place of Birth & Place of Death--Sat. Night Genealogy Fun

2011-07-16T15:58:00.000-05:00

Haven't participated in Randy Seaver's Sat. Night Genealogy Fun challenge in awhile. This one caught my eye as I enjoyed the one he had almost 2 yrs back about listing the 16 gr gr grandparents.

Paternal Lines(1-8)
Maternal Lines(9-16)

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.
Elizabeth Putman: born 1814 in Union Co., SC, USA; died 5th Sept. 1880 in Bedford Co., TN, USA.
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.
Eliza Jane Manire: born 1818 in Williamson Co., TN, USA; died April 1896 in Gainsville, Cooke Co., TX, USA.
George Jakes: born abt. 1820 in Franklin Co.,VA, USA; married abt 1845 in Tennessee; died after 1880 census in TN, USA.
Catherine Morrow: born abt. 1830; died after 1880 census in TN, USA.
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
Rebecca Manley: born 1818 in Bedford Co., TN, USA ; died 1862 in Bedford Co., TN, USA.
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.
Keziah Rigsby: born 1832 in White Co., TN, USA ; died 1909 in Dekalb Co., TN, USA.
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.
Mary D. Frances Adcock: born 20th of May 1842 in Dekalb Co., TN, USA; died 30th of Dec. 1902 in Dekalb Co., TN, USA
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.
Sarah McElroy: born 28th Nov 1847 in Van Buren Co., TN, USA; died 2nd July 1925 in Dallas, Madison Co., AL, USA.
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.
Nancy Arminda Hitchcock: born 6th Sept 1840 in Warren Co., TN; died before 1887 in TN(prob. Van Buren Co.), USA

Yep...I'm a Tennessee Girl :-)

Dekalb Co. TN--District 6

2011-01-11T22:38:00.003-06:00

Several of my ancestors lived in Dist 6 of DeKalb Co TN between the years 1840-1880. I have been putting abstracted indexes of the US Federal Census for that area and have gotten 1840-1870 finished. The families in my line were the Pitmans, Adcocks and Lunas(maternal lines). I would like to do a study of the families from that area but have not had the time to put into it and didn't want to do something half the way.

The new additions are for the 1850 and 1860 census..but you can view each of the years for Dist 6 at the following links.

1840

1850

1860

1870

52 Weeks To Better Genealogy - Challenge #2

2010-01-11T12:28:00.008-06:00

I'm choosing to write about Wallace State Community College's genealogy collection rather than my local library(Hanceville branch of Cullman Co. Public Library System). WSCC Genealogy library is one of the best library collections for southeastern US research. I am fortunate to live only 2 minutes away from the library although I don't get to visit nearly as much as I'd like. I first became interested in family history research in the late 1980's. In 1990 after experiencing a personal loss, I decided that researching my family history would be a good way to keep busy. I was correct. A friend took me to the WSCC library, which at that time was mainly on the 5th floor of the library. Today the genealogy collection is housed on the 5th and the 6th floor of the library. The 5th floor contains mainly microfiche, microfilm, indexes and military books as well as computer stations. The 6th floor has many books covering a wide variety of research topics, surnames and areas.

The Genealogy and Family History Department is headed by Bob Davis(genws@hiwaay.net). The department offers a wide range of genealogical classes for college credit however if you wish to take them without college credit you can do so for $30 a semester regardless of how many you take under the Continuing Education Credit. You can also order microfilm from LDS's vast collection through WSCC.

If you have a PDF reader you can read and print outlines for research on a variety of topics by clicking on the links in the left column of the page. If you don't have a PDF reader you may download by clicking on the word ADOBE. Try a search of the WSCC Card Catalog or take a virtual tour of the campus.

Smile for the Camera-18th Edition--Travel

2009-11-08T10:02:00.005-06:00

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.

A Genealogist's Holiday Wish list

2009-11-03T08:59:00.007-06:00

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).

In Search of Confederate Pension Records

2009-11-01T07:03:00.008-06:00

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?

Clues from Pearl

2009-10-23T20:08:00.006-05:00

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

Wordless Wednesday

2009-10-21T15:43:00.005-05:00

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

2009-10-20T08:20:00.007-05:00

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.

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

2009-10-19T15:25:00.008-05:00

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

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

2009-10-17T19:24:00.006-05:00

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.

School Picture--Old Hickory TN

2009-10-11T21:51:00.002-05:00

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

My Grandma's Post Cards--US Navy

2009-10-09T20:21:00.009-05:00

U.S. S. Pollack

U.S.S. Pennsylvania

My Grandmother's Post Cards--Tennessee Buildings

2009-10-09T10:17:00.006-05:00

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

My Grandmother's PostCards

2009-10-07T11:06:00.011-05:00

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.

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

2009-10-06T16:16:00.004-05:00

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(can't remember her last name maybe Sutton) and one of the Proctor girls(Kim or Cindy). A few others from Elementary School were Cynthia Bell, Thom Spicer, Joe Baynham, Branford Vaughn, Tonya Corlew, Tonya Travis and Lori Cranfield(I think). 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)

2009-10-06T09:37:00.004-05:00

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.. :-)

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

2009-10-03T20:36:00.003-05:00

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.

Sat. Night Gen. Fun Post--George Jakes

2009-09-19T20:59:00.003-05:00

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 Night Genealogy Fun

2009-09-12T17:42:00.003-05:00

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).

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

2009-09-05T14:20:00.006-05:00

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.

Wordless Wednesday

2009-09-02T20:35:00.003-05:00

My 16 GG Grandparents(better late than never)

2009-08-17T16:04:00.007-05:00

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)

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.
Elizabeth Putman: born 1814 in Union Co., SC, USA; died 5th Sept. 1880 in Bedford Co., TN, USA.
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.
Eliza Jane Manire: born 1818 in Williamson Co., TN, USA; died April 1896 in Gainsville, Cooke Co., TX, USA.
George Jakes: born abt. 1820 in Franklin Co.,VA, USA; married abt 1845 in Tennessee; died after 1880 census in TN, USA.
Catherine Morrow: born abt. 1830; died after 1880 census in TN, USA.
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
Rebecca Manley: born 1818 in Bedford Co., TN, USA ; died 1862 in Bedford Co., TN, USA.
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.
Keziah Rigsby: born 1832 in White Co., TN, USA ; died 1909 in Dekalb Co., TN, USA.
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.
Mary D. Frances Adcock: born 20th of May 1842 in Dekalb Co., TN, USA; died 30th of Dec. 1902 in Dekalb Co., TN, USA
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.
Sarah McElroy: born 28th Nov 1847 in Van Buren Co., TN, USA; died 2nd July 1925 in Dallas, Madison Co., AL, USA.
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.
Nancy Arminda Hitchcock: born 6th Sept 1840 in Warren Co., TN; died before 1887 in TN(prob. Van Buren Co.), USA

Favorite Genealogy Websites

2009-07-22T21:30:00.004-05:00

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

Genealogy Software

2009-07-16T07:19:00.003-05:00

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.

Elisha Miller Robinson(1825-1896)

2009-07-10T14:35:00.011-05:00

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.

What's in a name?

2009-01-15T11:20:00.003-06:00

My favorite names from 18 years of census research.

Male: Hugh Askew

Female: Fannie Pack

Looking for Leonards

2008-12-22T15:28:00.006-06:00

	This is a known picture of Margaret Jane Leonard Buchanan( daughter of Thomas H. Leonard & Jane McHugh)
	I believe this is Margaret from the picture shown below.

This picture is most likely that of the Thomas H. Leonard family. The notes shown on the pic were made by me with info from their census entries. Click on the picture for a larger version. I am trying to locate a descendant of Mary Leonard Bassett who posted to the Rootsweb message boards in 1999 but have yet to get a current email addy on her. (her name is Tammy Meyer of the Dearborn Heights MI area.

Brickwall Monday

2008-12-16T07:13:00.003-06:00

Days like yesterday(Monday) make me realize how lucky I am. Not that anything bad happened..far from that. I awoke at 5a.m. Monday morning and started through my usual routine. Make coffee, check email, do a little genealogy before it's time to get my daughter up and ready for school. Jim and I will be married two years in mid Feb. I've been researching his family history for about a year now. While we have lots of pictures of the older generations we don't have an inkling who most of the older ones are. I'd been thinking about that and feeling like the only way I could find out who those people were was to get back a generation or two on his Sutherland & Irving lines. These are the lines of his great grandparents: James Sutherland and Anna Gertrude Irving. We have pictures of Anna in her wedding dress and several others taken around the same time which have photographers markings or identification from Ontario Canada. Most of them are from the Woodstock area so I had a fairly good idea of where the family was from but given the popularity of the surname and nothing to go on to help identify that I had the correct family it seemed a bit hopeless. I typed the search terms Sutherland, Irving, Woodstock and Oxford into Google Search.

The result was pretty amazing. The 2nd listing was the link to
The Ontario Vital Statistics Project
and the marriage info of James & Anna. I'd known from their 1910
census entry that they were married in 1903. So not only did I get the exact date, but also the names of James parents and Annie's as well. From there I've found census entries for both families and will be working my way back. I posted a few queries yesterday to another researcher who seems to be looking at the same lines earlier on but since their post is from abt. 10 yrs ago I don't hold much hope in hearing anything back from them.

http://homepages.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~maryc/oxford03p2.htm

014784-03 ( Oxford Co) James SUTHERLAND , 26 , machinist , Woodstock , Hamilton , s/o William SUTHERLAND & Elspeth MILNE , married Annie G. IRVING , 24 , Drumbo , Woodstock ,d/o Pierce IRVING & Anna KEELER , witn: W.J. SUTHERLAND of Woodstock & Margaret McKAY of Hamilton , 30 Mar 1903 at Woodstock.


1881 Blenheim, Oxford North, Ontario  Canada Dist 166 Sub-dist  G  Div  2 Pg 80 HH # 380
NA Film Number      C-13268
Piercie IRVING   M   Male Scottish   40  Scotland  Farmer C. Presbyterian
Annie IRVING   M   Female Scottish  36  O.         C. Presbyterian
Robert IRVING        Male   Scottish   12  O.         C. Presbyterian
Arthur IRVING         Male   Scottish   7  O.         C. Presbyterian
John IRVING         Male   Scottish   4  O.         C. Presbyterian
Annie IRVING         Female Scottish   2  O.         C. Presbyterian
George KEELER         Male   Scottish   21 O.  Farmer C. Presbyterian

1901 Woodstock, Oxford North, Ontario Canada (#101) F-9 Page 10
37 104     Irving Piercie M  Head     M     Aug 2     1839     61    
38 104     Irving Anna F     Wife     M     Jul 13     1839     61
39 104     Irving Arthur W. M  Son S     Apr 29     1876     24
40 104     Irving John B. M Son     S     Nov 15     1878     22
41 104     Irving Anna F     Dau     S     Oct 10     1880     20

Time is flying....but my research seems to be standing still.

2008-12-05T14:47:00.003-06:00

I have been so busy with the holidays, school projects(mine & Brittany's) and with finals coming up haven't had much time at all for Genealogy. I'm hoping that during the time between semesters I can write up some reports on some of my brickwalls so that I have a mission plan. Writing a synopsis of what I have and where I'm at in research on a specific line has helped me several times to think through things and come up with new ideas on where to search. Two things that have helped me most are researching a direct ancestors siblings and looking at the neighbors from their census entries. Hopefully I will be kicking some idea around over the holidays.

People in the Pictures Continued.

2008-11-03T09:30:00.003-06:00

The discoveries from the photos sent to me by the Clawson Historical Museum's curator have really got me trying to come to conclusions as to which families are in the pictures which we have from my husband's family which are unidentified. The majority of the pictures don't have photographer's studio marks and those that do were Canadian which is where virtually all of Hubby's lines were prior to settling in Michigan. One photograph of a large family had a marking that said "Wheel City Studio Cheboygan, Michigan" so I looked at my FTM file for Jim's lines that were in that area. There were two families there in the 1900s--Ellen Lincoln Buchanan Stoner(she was widow of John Buchanan and mother of 3 sons) she had remarried and by 1910 is in Pierce Co. WA. The other family that was in that area was that of the elusive Thomas H. Leonard. Going by Census & Death records I've been able to place him in the area around 1901-1910. He and his wife Jane McHugh had a rather large family with 7 children--3 sons & 4 daughters. The picture with the Wheel City Studio shows what looks to be parents with their seven children. I got out the census entry for this family to compare the children listed with the ones in the picture. I grouped the children in the picture from oldest to youngest and the pattern of son, daughter, daughter, daughter, son, daughter, son fits perfectly with the known children of Thomas & Jane. I immediately looked at the daughter who would if my guess was correct be Margaret Leonard (my husband's great grandmother). A comparison of the face with a known picture of an older Margaret Leonard really makes me believe even more that this is the Leonard family. I'd been working with another Leonard researcher who believes that her lines may connect with that of my husbands so I sent her a quick explanation and copy of the pic via email. She thinks she may have a similiar picture but we will have to wait until she can get to her box of family pictures.

The People in the Pictures

2008-10-28T19:09:00.007-05:00

Last week I wrote an email to the Clawson(MI) Historical Museum inquiring about Alice Shallow Buchanan. Alice was the wife of William Buchanan(b. 1873) and was listed as a widow in the 1930 census(see below) living in Clawson MI. I wanted to know if Alice worked in Clawson at the town hall as a Stenographer or did she merely work IN Clawson.


1930 Oakland Co. MI Clawson Village Enum Dist 63-113 Sup. Dist 14 Sheet 11 A pg 249
Alice M. Buchanan Head F W 47 Wd marr 1st at 18 MI NY NY Stenographer Village
Keith N. Buchanan Son M W 21 S WA MI NY
Oliver L. Buchanan Son M W 17 S WA MI NY
Frances J. Mitchell Boarder F W 24 S MI IL MI Stenographer Village

I heard back from Melodie Nichols, the curator of the Clawson(MI) Historical Museum later that day, She responded that she would see if she could find anything and get back to me in the coming week. Today I received an email from her which included

A note on the Buchanan's listed in the 1924 Polk Directory
- Buchanan, Alice, cook at Burke's confectionery. Residence on Renshaw, 1 blk south of Clawson Road (14 Mile)
- Buchanan, Frank (Julia A, B&B bus), residence on Madison
- Buchanan, Willard (B&B bus), boards with Frank Buchanan

A picture of the buses from B&B bus line of the buses.

Two pictures of Burke's confectionery when it was known as Buchanan's Confectionery and owned by Frank & Family taken in 1921.

A picture of Main street and the Burke's confectionery taken in 1924.

The picture of Frank & Julia helped me to identify them in some old family photos that weren't labeled. I'm so glad that I wrote and inquired about this history. Things like these bring the people in the pictures to life.

Chasing Leonards

2008-08-30T06:46:00.002-05:00

I'd sent off for the death record from the Cheboygan Co. MI library of a John Leonard in hopes that this would be THE John Leonard who was an Uncle of Thomas H. Leonard(Jim's Direct line) & living in Thomas H.'s household in the 1900 census. You can read my earlier post here. I don't want to go down the wrong road in this research but the age and location is certainly right on the money for it to be his Uncle. From the Death Info I learned that this John Leonard was a widowed farmer and was the son of Hugh Leonard & Dorothy Downey. This doesn't tell me for certain that this John Leonard is the one I'm looking for as I don't know for certain who Thomas H. Leonards parents were. It is progress though in that I can see if there is a trail from the Hugh Leonard & Dorothy Downey that might lead to Thomas H. Leonard's Dad.

Song my grandma sang

2008-08-13T07:42:00.000-05:00

I consider myself lucky to have had two grandparents who lived to be over 100 years old. My maternal grandfather died a few days shy of what would have been his 102nd birthday. My paternal grandmother lived a few months beyond her 102nd birthday. My parents married later than average and were both the next to the youngest child in their family. This meant that by the time I was born, my grandparents were in their early 80s. I did start my research in 1990 at the age of 22 which at that time was a bit of an early age for interest in genealogy. However, by that time my grandparents were not in the best health and state of mind for remembering. I woke up this morning realizing that I did not remember that much about my grandparents heritage that had been passed down from them and not just from what I had learned about their families through my own research. It's too late to ask what they remembered from their childhood. My paternal grandmother's parents(The Jakes) raised horses in Bedford Co. TN. These great grandparents descended from JAKES, HARGER, MORROW, FRIZZELL, & MANLEY families. I don't remember much about my early childhood but I do remember parts of a song that my grandmother used to sing when she bounced one of my brothers on her knee. I think it might be an Irish tune though I'm not sure whether its a lullaby or a drinking song. I tried Googling the words I remembered but most of the hits didn't call up anything that looked remotely similar. The words I remember, and I don't think that she was singing all of the lyrics, were "Dee Dee Diddle To rah riddle....long summer day".

My Next Step in Searching for Jim's Leonard Line

2008-08-01T15:38:00.002-05:00

I had written in an earlier post about Jim's Leonard lines and finding a John Leonard living next door to possibly his brother and nephews. I know that Jim's Thomas Leonard lived in Cheboygan Co. MI & had his Uncle John Leonard living with him in 1900. The death index showed a John Leonard dying in Cheboygan Co. MI in 1901 who would have been the correct age to have been this guy & the one from the 1880 census. I've sent off a lookup request(on July 29) to the library there and am hoping to prove or disprove that.

Top five discoveries in my ancestry

2008-07-30T12:28:00.003-05:00

Admittedly none of the top discoveries were made specifically by me. I will admit to prodding other researchers of my lines and asking way too many questions. Whatever works...lol.

1. Acuff- Proof of Wm. Leon Acuff's father was found(by Billie McNamara)in Bledsoe Co. TN court records when under oath Wm. L. Acuff was asked how he knew Jonathan Acuff whose case was being heard. His answer was "He is my Father". Case notes and statements further verify that this Wm. L Acuff was indeed the one who lived in Van Buren Co. TN(where my GG grandfather is found on census records)

2. Millie Hitchcock's maiden name--I believe it was Agnes Jones & another researcher who found the marriage record from March 11, 1806 for George Hitchcock and Millie Riddle in Roane Co. TN records.

3. Comfort Pittman's maiden name-- This is the first of 3 breakthrus that came about from one record. That record was the Application to the Eastern Cherokee of Comfort's Grandson, John R. Dunham--discovered by Royce Dunham & Jan Hicks. John was denied but the application stated Comfort was a Hatfield before she married Daniel Pittman.

4. Finding older Children of Daniel & Comfort Hatfield Pittman--These were listed on Annie Pitman Dunham's son's Eastern Cherokee application. These were children who were out of the household before 1850 census.

5. Comfort Hatfield's parents--The Eastern Cherokee application doesn't plainly list her parents names but it does say her mother was Annie Ross and that her dad was a Hatfield. There is record of an Annie Ross who was the first wife of James Hatfield which we feel is correct considering several key factors. There is also a sworn statement that Annie Pittman Dunham(Dau of Daniel & Comfort Pittman) was at Tahlequah in Aug of 1866 though I don't even pretend to know how to go about finding those records I'm going to try. I need to review the copy of the Eastern Cherokee Application. Thankfully the Wallace College Library where I attend classes has those on Microfilm.

My Top Five Brickwalls

2008-07-29T08:59:00.007-05:00

1. My Hale family's whereabouts in the 1860 & 1870 census. More on this in my previous post.

2. My Cook(e) ancestry--My Dad's father's lines have been difficult to say the least and is the line on which I feel I've made the least amount of progress. They were in Bedford Co. TN and were originally from NC. We have the traditional three brother story but nothing proven. My Gr Gr Grandparents William Clifford Cook married Elizabeth Putman in Sept of 1831 in Williamson Co. TN. Elizabeth's parents did live in Williamson Co. I think the best bet on getting an idea of where to search with such a common surname is DNA research.

3. John Fleming--I'd love to know more about John Fleming since there are so many conflicting stories and so many of them to try and sort out. My John Fleming(well actually I have two) was the son of John Fleming and Martha Jane(or Nancy) Edwards. One family story says they didn't immigrate until the early 1800s which I find a bit hard to believe. Another says that John(the youngers) mother was in VA & KY and that his half brother William Marrs Logue married there. They then moved to the Warren Co. TN area which is where I find them in the 1830s. I had initially thought he might be kin to the Williamsburg SC Fleming line but DNA has disproved that so now I'm trying to find his connection.

4. My Pitman/Hatfield line--What happened to Daniel & Comfort Hatfield Pitman family between 1860 & 1870 that caused the entire family to move and be in Rutherford Co. TN before some of them moved on to Gibson Co. TN and then on to OK. There is a native american connection on the Hatfield side but I suspect alot of the cause might have been the upcoming war. I do not know where Daniel was in 1870 as it seems that Comfort was widowed by then. She is not found in the 1880 census so I feel that she too must have passed on. Where are their graves? Are they buried in Rutherford Co. TN? If so it would probably be in the area that was then known as Florence. This area is right next to the Stones River National Battlefield & Cemetery which makes me wonder if Daniel died in the War though I've not found any indication that he served.

1860 Census Dekalb Co. TN Daniel & Comfort(w children)

1869 Marriage Rutherford Co. TN E. M. Burkett & Mourning Pittman

1869 Marriage Gibson Co. TN Daniel Monroe Pittman and Josephine Tolbert

1870 Census Gibson Co. TN Daniel M Pittman & wife Josephine

1870 Census Rutherford Co. TN Comfort(and family)Elder Daniel perhaps deceased.

1870 Census Rutherford Co. TN David & wife Mary are next door to Comfort

1870 Census Rutherford Co. TN Mourning & E. Burkett & family

1877 Marriage Dekalb Co. TN(May 8) Wm. Pain to Betsy Pitman

1879 Death Gibson Co. TN Daniel M Pittman of Typhoid Fever

1880 Census Dekalb Co. TN David & Mary Adcock Pittman & Family District 11

1880 Census Dekalb Co. TN Bettie Pittman Payne & Family

1880 Census Dekalb Co. TN Nancy Pittman Lawrence & family

1880 Census Gibson Co. TN Jane Pittman & husband, Joseph Oneal

1880 Census Gibson Co. TN Mourning Pittman Burkett & Family

1880 Census Gibson Co. TN Thomas Lee Pittman & wife, Nancy & Family

5. I've found no proof as to who Thomas Adcock's father was. I have been over the Names of the Adcock men who were in the Warren Co. TN area in 1830 with males in their household who would have been Thomas' age but have not been able to narrow that down as of yet. Perhaps a will or court records exist which would fill in the blanks. I do have Thomas and his widow's pension application but it didn't mention his parents names. Thomas Adcock(1817-1905) lived in the Dekalb Co. TN area the majority of his life.

It's Been a Search of a Hale..

2008-07-27T21:18:00.007-05:00

My Gr Gr Grandfather Wm. P. Hale & his parents have probably been the biggest brick wall opportunity that I've faced in the 18 years I've been researching. It took me a while to sort through information on Wm. P. Hale and find that he had been married not just once...but three times. I did find him in the census with each of his three wives between the years 1880 & 1920. I've not been as lucky with his parents.

How can a family escape being listed in both the 1860 & 1870 Federal Census? The answer is most likely that they didn't & that they are in fact listed but not in a location or with the expected names that would allow me to recognize the family. The family is that of Wm. Taylor Hale and his wife Eliza Adaline Elzey(spelling varies) They had Two Girls(Lucinda Caroline, Mary A.) & Three Boys(James Arvil, Wm P. & John Nathaniel). Here is a time line I've worked out for the family covering the years 1850-1880.


Wm. Taylor Hale (1820/22-1861)
Eliza Adaline Elzie(1820-1906)

1843  Marriage Wm Taylor & Eliza Adaline Elzie/Elsie(June 29) 
1844  Birth of Lucinda Caroline Hale(dau of Wm & Adaline)
1846  Birth of James Arvil Hale(son of Wm & Adaline)
1849  Birth of Wm. P. Hale(son of Wm & Adaline)
1850  Census Wm & Family --Van Buren Co. TN Dist 6(Sept 13)
1855  Birth of Mary Hale(Dau of Wm & Adaline)
1861  Death of Wm T. Hale(drown in Collins River)
1861  Birth of John Nathaniel Hale
1865  Marriage of Lucinda Caroline Hale to John Bishop(Van Buren Co. TN Aug 8)
1866  Birth of Lucinda & John's son--James Monroe Bishop
1876  Birth of Lucinda & Mr. Davis' son--Luther Davis
1880  Census Adaline & Lucinda living same household (Van Buren Co. TN Dist 8) 
1880  Census James A. Hale & Family(Van Buren Co. TN Dist 8)
1880  Census Wm P. Hale & Family(Bledsoe Co. TN Dist 1)
1880  Census Mary Hale Johnson & Family(Bledsoe Co. TN Dist 1)

They could have left the Van Buren/Warren Co. TN area after Wm. Taylor Hales Death however they were back for Lucinda's marriage & births of both children. I've searched in 1870 for the Bishop surname in the chance that the family might have been enumerated under that name. I've tried creative spellings of Hale. Also have tried creatively spelling Adaline and Lucinda Caroline. Searching age groups within the Hale variants to cut out false positives(hopefully). No signs of them--not sure what to do at this point.

FamilySearch & Ancestry.com

2008-07-23T14:42:00.002-05:00

I have mixed feelings about the collaboration of FamilySearch & Ancestry.com. Sure it is exciting in some ways...but in others its a let down.

Personally, I feel it was a move on Ancestry.com's part to keep from having a competitor who was giving away what Ancestry.com was selling. Granted the census records are only a small portion of what Ancestry subscribers get, they are probably the most valuable in that the census records cover the largest area. Some yrs back I had an Ancestry.com subscription but the most valueable part of that subscription was the census records. This might have been because most of my ancestors were in TN early on and they really don't have alot to offer for that area database wise. I no longer have the need for an Ancestry.com subscription as I have access to HeritageQuest census images. I would hope that this venture will allow FamilySearch to get the indexes online alot faster than they would have had this not been an option. While I've been helping with indexing for FamilySearch I am not sure if I will continue. I will most likely be one of those who will be checking the index at FamilySearch and then locating the Images at HQ.

More on Jim's Michigan Ancestry

2008-07-23T11:05:00.002-05:00

I've been working on Jim's Leonard lines with another Leonard researcher. We both feel there is a connection though we've not been able to narrow it down just yet.

Thomas H. Leonard has his Uncle John living with his family in the 1900 Cheboygan Co. MI census. I believe I may have found Thomas Leonard & brothers(if this is him) living with his father in 1880 census. It also appears given the age that this Uncle John & wife were living next door. If this is him then finding the names of John's parents on his death records from 1901 in Cheboygan should give me John & Thomas's Dad's parent's names. Now to write for that.

I received Irving Piercie Sutherland's Naturalization papers. While it wasn't overly revealing it did feel in some blanks we had and verified information.

More Breakthrus on Jim's Michigan Lines

2008-06-19T15:22:00.002-05:00

Still working with Jim's Michigan lines(Shallow & Buchanan) and have made major finds with the help of two great sites:

Family Search Labs

Searchme.com

At the Family Search Labs site
Michigan Births 1867-1902
Michigan Deaths 1867-1897
Michigan Marriages 1868-1925
Washington Death Certificates, 1907-1960
Also brought up a transcription of the Allice Shallow Wm Buchanan Marriage.

The Searchme.com site helped me to find the death date of Oliver Shallow listed on a WIGenWeb page though he died in MI and had lived in Arkansas. I was also able to find census entries for Oliver's daughter who lived in WI.

Michigan research today(yes I know that's not southern.)

2008-06-18T18:00:00.001-05:00

Very productive day. I had gotten an email from Karren Salminen who is researching a William Buchanan. Karren went on to explain that she had a marriage record which showed that her William Buchanan must have married Allice Shallow before marrying her grandmother but that the age for William Buchanan was off by six yrs or so on the marriage certificate. I wrote explaining that Jim's Gr Gr grandfather Frank Buchanan who married a Julia Shallow had a brother named William and asked if Wm. Buchanan might have had a brother named Frank. I had not really done any research on who Wm Buchanan had married or what children he might have had. Karren replied that her grandfather didn't have any brothers. I received another email from Karren with a copy of the marriage entry which showed that this Wm. Buchanan's parents were John Buchanan & Ellen Lincoln. This meant that this Wm. Buchanan was indeed a brother to Frank as that was also Frank's parents' names. Then just below that it showed the name of Allice's parents. Allice's parents were also Julia Shallow's parents!! So two Buchanan Brothers married two Shallow sisters. I'd not had any luck with the census entries for the 1900 census for Frank's mother(she remarried) or Frank...but with this new info I was able to find census entries for the both of them and also for Wm. 's family. Allice never appeared in a census with her parents because she was born in 1883 and was living with Frank & Julia in 1900. Seems that by 1910 Wm's family had moved along with his Mom & Stepdad to Washington State but by the 1920 census Allice was widowed and again living with her sister and brother in law in Oakland Co. MI. Without having gotten a copy of that marriage I probably wouldn't have been able to find Frank and may have never pursued research on his brother William so I'm doubly in debt to Karren for sending me that info. I don't believe that this Wm. is the one which Karren was looking for but I do intend to try and help find him. I also want to know what happened to William Buchanan and family in Washington.

Unclaimed Persons --Rootstelevision

2008-06-06T17:22:00.002-05:00

I absolutely love this idea and it shows that genealogist have skills beyond seeking out their own ancestry.

Genealogy Researcher uncovers Hoax

2008-03-01T11:24:00.002-06:00

Genealogy in the News
This is a sad story but shows that genealogy research
is just more than a hobby and can be used for seeking out
truths.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080229/ap_on_re_us/holocaust_book_hoax

Wanted--Free time to research

2008-02-21T15:52:00.003-06:00

Have had almost no time to work on my genealogy though I have plenty of lines that I really need to get working on. I want to work more on the Pitman line and find out how it relates to the NJ Pitmans that our DNA results showed we were from the same bloodlines. Also I recently heard from a researching concerning Morrow Jakes Gaston lines and I'd really love to look into that more. Thats just two of the projects I'd like to start up. Speaking of projects there is a site called Family Pursuits which is in Beta stage right now that I think will be great. It lets users work on projects(such as the Pitman research questions etc.)

House Histories

2007-10-05T05:33:00.000-05:00

Interesting article about researching the history of a house. When I wrote my Business Plan for Small Business Management Course this is something that I thought would be fun to explore.

About two authors--their family and history

2007-08-19T05:54:00.000-05:00

Brittany started back to school earlier this month and I started back online Friday. On campus classes begin Monday and I plan to spend some time at the college library working on genealogy. Brittany has the Little House on the Prairie books. I was helping her organize her books and that prompted me to check out sites about Laura Ingalls Wilder and her family. I found the following link and thought it was pretty cool to see Laura's Family Tree.

Laura Ingalls Wilder's Family

I also read some about Louisa May Alcott. I have just finished reading The Inheritence, a book Alcott wrote at age 17. It was originally thought that Louisa had died of Mercury poisoning. There are now some doctors who think she may have died of Lupus although the Lupus may have been brought on by the exposure to mercury.

Links to Obits for the Warren Co. TN area

2007-07-06T06:47:00.001-05:00

Great news for anyone who has Warren Co. TN connections or in the surrounding counties of Dekalb, White or Van Buren. High's Funeral Home has their obituaries for the past several years online. Since I am kin to probably 75% of the people in those counties in some shape or fashion and don't live in TN I am thrilled to be able to view this resource. I wish they had the early years online.

High Funeral Home

101 College Street

McMinnville, TN 37110

Phone: 931-473-2137

Email: info@highfuneralhome.com

Current listings

Previous Month

2005 obits

2006 obits

2007 Obits

Also you might check the Sparta Expositor, Love-Cantrell Funeral Home and Hunter Funeral Home websites.

2007-06-28T10:38:00.000-05:00

Have been working on locating my husband's lines in the census records. I'm going to have a real challenge working on his lines as they aren't based in the South. His family are Canadians and Scots who arrived in Michigan most coming down from Canada. This will give me a chance to try research in that state as well as to get familiar with researching Catholic church records as most of them were of that faith.

2007-03-27T05:41:00.000-05:00

Article on FamilySearch.org(LDS site)'s indexing of records

http://deseretnews.com/dn/view/0,1249,660205784,00.html

2006-11-05T07:08:00.000-06:00

Just a few things I thought were interesting.

US television networks are bidding for rights to a popular British gameshow called "Who do you think you are" which traces the genealogy of celebraties. Read more here

I checked out the Freegenealogysearchengine site but so far haven't had much luck.
It's located here

Genealogy on Good Morning America
Questions on Genealogy answered by Megan Smolenyak Smolenyak

2006-10-12T06:48:00.000-05:00

http://www.sltrib.com/news/ci_4479583

2006-10-01T17:22:00.000-05:00

Has been forever since I've posted to my genealogy blog. I'm now attending classes at Wallace State Community College and will hopefully finish out my associates degree within a yr. Wednesday Oct 4th I will be giving an informative speech in my Communications class on Beginning your genealogy research. The speech can be from 7-9 minutes long so hopefully I will have just enough info. I know the topic...I just don't like speaking in front of people. Hopefully it won't rain as I have to hike across campus to this Communications class. It was originally supposed to be directly across from my first class of the day...not any more.

2006-07-21T07:27:00.001-05:00

I know I'm a little late about writing about this but Rootsweb users now have the option of registering. I really like this cause it allows me to view a listing of all the areas I'm active in at Rootsweb with the exception of the Rootsweb/Ancestry Message Boards which from what I understand are going to be updated soon. I can view a listing of Post ems that I've added to others files my RSL a list of WorldConnect Files and a listing of my Mailing list memberships as well as a listing of those I admin(and a link to my tools page for those). Also for those who have PML there is a link to your PML settings page. :-)

2006-02-20T08:24:00.000-06:00

Spent most of yesterday working on my Hale lines. I am fairly certain now that the Catherine Hale in Warren Co. in 1840 is the mother of Wm. Taylor Hale. This would mean that the two males who are living with her in 1840 are most likely Wm. Taylor and Francis A. Hale(Male b. abt 1825)

2006-01-17T13:49:00.000-06:00

A wonderful breakthru shows that there is a perfect match of the 37 markers of the descendant of Jonathan Pitman(b 1748 NJ) to our descendant of Daniel & Comfort Hatfield Pitman. This is a MAJOR breakthru and now to find where the two lines meet.

2005-07-29T10:01:00.000-05:00

www.PittmanDNA.com - Family Project Website

Am really excited about the Pitman DNA testing. We have a male who is a descendant from Daniel & Comfort Hatfield Pitman's line(my line) who is testing. I wonder what the results will show and what direction they will point us in.

2005-07-26T13:14:00.000-05:00

I had heard about an episode of History Detectives, a show broadcast on PBS which was going to be focused on Genealogy. It aired Monday July 25th and I watched it. While I really enjoyed hearing the stories I was a bit disappointed at how simple they made the research look. As a researcher I know it is not. However to keep within the amount of time alloted and not to bore the typical viewer I guess they couldn't have included everything I"d like to have seen. Really interesting stuff though.

2005-04-26T11:05:00.000-05:00

IN THIS ISSUE:
1. NEWS, NOTES, AND SITES WORTH SEEING

1a. Editor's Desk: Who's the Head of Household?

Marie Beckman writes, "While checking several possibilities in the U.S. census records for a lookup request I had received I came across an entry that struck me as odd. It listed R. E. MORRIS as "Head of Household" -- nothing shocking about that, but the listings which followed were that of six sons. What was odd about the sons was that none of them had the surname MORRIS and some were even older than the R. E. MORRIS who was listed as head of household.

"The census went on to list a daughter and nine more sons. The entries that followed was just as odd. Upon checking the top of the census form, I found that these were entries from the Tennessee State Penitentiary. Obviously the census taker didn't follow the instructions he was given. These entries are located in the 1900 U.S. Census of Davidson County Tennessee, 13th Civil District, on pages 158-168 (T623_1566)."

The instructions to the enumerators for the 1900 census were rather specific in this regard, but obviously not everyone followed them.

They were:

"Wherever an institution, such as a prison, jail, almshouse, hospital, asylum, college, convent, or other establishment containing a resident population, is to be enumerated, the full name and title of the institution should be written on the line provided therefore at the head of the sheet, and all persons having their usual places of abode in such institution, whether officers, attendants, inmates, or persons in confinement, should then be entered consecutively on the schedules.

"If, as sometimes may be the case, a sheriff, warden, or other official lives in one end of the institution building, but separated by a partition wall from the building proper, his family (including himself as its head) should be returned as a separate family, and should not be returned as part of the 'census family' to which the inmates are credited. In such case the officer in immediate charge should head the institution schedule.

"When the officers or attendants, or any of them, do not reside in the institution buildings, but live with their families in detached dwellings located in the institution grounds, they should be reported as separate families, but should be included as a part of the institution population. The families of officers or attendants who reside wholly outside the institution precincts, either in houses rented or owned by the institution, or by themselves, should not be enumerated as a part of the population of the institution.

"When an institution is enumerated, write on each sheet in parenthesis, immediately following the name of the institution at the head of the sheet, the numbers of the lines upon which the inmates thereof have been entered, as for example, 'East Side Mission (lines 6 to 69, inclusive).' In all such cases, however, give in the proper place of entry the name of the township or other division of county and also the name of the city, village, or borough, etc., in which the institution is situated. "Special enumerators will be appointed to canvass many of the larger institutions, and in such cases the tour of duty of the special institution enumerator will not extend beyond the boundaries of the institution grounds, but should include all those persons and inmates whose usual places of abode are clearly within the institution territory."

See "Instructions to the Enumerators" for 1880, 1910, 1920, and 1930:
http://www.ipums.org/usa/voliii/inst1880.html
http://www.ipums.org/usa/voliii/inst1910.html
http://www.ipums.org/usa/voliii/inst1920.html
http://www.ipums.org/usa/voliii/inst1930.html

Previously published in RootsWeb Review: 20 April 2005, Vol. 8, No. 16.

2005-02-23T16:31:00.000-06:00

The last six weeks or so have been strange ones for me as it concerns my genealogy research/obsession. From these I have learned several things.

The RW mailing lists which I admin 40+ were out of service several times. Thankfully it was a fixable thing although it did leave me with free time that I wasn't used to having. I was able to use that time to catch up on a few things around the house and also in my research. From this I learned.

1. $hit happens.
2. When life gives you lemons make lemonade.

AOL announced that they will no longer be supporting newsgroups feed for their customers. A genealogy "columnist" took that statement and passed it on to her readers--unfortunately she thought that newsgroups were the same as Mailing lists...and (they are not--mailing lists are delivered to subscribers via email). It strikes me as ironic that a person who is so deep in genealogy AND considers herself a writer would not at least check her sources without first acting. This columnist even went so far as to write a four part series on her take of this "news". What's really sad is that there were some who believed her. When several persons contacted her about her error she refused to admit the error and has yet to pull the false information from her website(Feb 23rd). Journalists owe it to their readers to print a retraction when they make an error. Yet she buries her head in the sand and denies that she said what she said even though her statement is plastered all over the net(on her own sites and msg boards) is just (for lack of a better word) "stupid'.

1. Always check your sources.
2. Misinformation travels faster than truth.
3. To err is human....to refuse to admit that you made an error and denying yourself the wisdom of learning from that error takes a real "flake".
4. There is none so blind as (s)he who will not see.
5. Don't believe everything you read.

2005-01-17T12:43:00.001-06:00

Finally finished this page. Work on it was interupted by the holiday
season(go figure)
1930 Cullman Co. AL, Antioch District 8--Head of Household Index

2005-01-16T19:39:00.000-06:00

Interesting Genealogy Related articles

Ancestry.com - Giving Back to Your Genealogical Society

Ancestry.com - Ahnentafel Explained

Ancestry.com - RootsWorks: The Seven Habits of Highly Effective Genealogists

2004-11-24T22:14:00.000-06:00

Genealogy News, Articles, and Blogs - rssGenealogy.com

2004-11-18T12:16:00.000-06:00

Had a pretty good day yesterday in my research. Haven't gotten to go to the college library in a good while and probably should keep me a list of things I want to check there handy in case I do get to go. I worked on the Nelson line out of Bedford Co. TN. It is not a direct line of mine but my Gr. Uncle Will B. Jakes Sr. married Georgia Dean who descends from Eli P. Nelson so I enjoy researching it.

2004-10-21T19:19:00.000-05:00

Spent some time this week posting to my lists. List traffic has been slow. The two county lists I admin seem to have come alive some for now. They are usually sporadic. Worked in census records today. Found some occurances where the indexers had transposed the person's given name with that of their surname listing it incorrectly. Posted those to a few lists that I am on in case anyone had been searching for them

2004-07-19T20:02:00.000-05:00

Skillbuilders from the Board for Certification of Genealogists -- This has some wonderful articles that will help to increase researching skills.

2004-05-27T21:34:00.000-05:00

Microfilm & Microfiche Readers

Micrographic Solutions

Census Microfilm

Doc-Imaging

Readers For Sale on Auction Sites

Ebay Search for Microfiche & Microfilm readers

Search Auctions for Microfiche or Microfilm readers

Carriers for Roll Film

Carriers for Converting Fiche Readers to Film Readers
Indus International

2004-05-03T15:30:00.000-05:00

U.S. Census Maps 1790-1930

2004-05-01T22:02:00.000-05:00

I sent off my order for a roll of microfilm to TN State Library & Archives on Monday. Imagine my surprise when I received that order today. Needless to say....I was totally amazed.

The Microfilm I ordered was
Shellsford Missionary Baptist Church (McMinnville, Tenn.) Records 1855-1960

Microfilm #286 -- Shellsford Missionary Baptist Church Records. McMinnville, 1855-1960. 6 vols. TSLA. 1 reel. 35 mm. Microfilm Only Collection.
Records of Shellsford Church, consisting of minutes, membership lists, and associational letters, which contain financial and statistical records for this Warren County church.

2004-04-29T20:29:00.000-05:00

I started my family history research in 1990. Didn't have a computer til about 1994 and then didn't really get into genealogy online until about 1997. I hope to add to this blog some thoughts, links etc. that I have found useful in my research