Obits from DuPont Employee Newsletter--Cheatham and Jarman

Old Hickory Record Vol 21 No. 4 March  26, 1971 pg 2 Obituaries section
This is a newsletter for DuPont employees and was also mailed out to retirees.  While it listed the age, it doesn't list the birth or death dates.

George H. Cheatham

Age 56  (Nashville, TN)
Survivors:
Wife, Pearlene Cheatham
Daughter, Dorothy Phillips
Mother, Mrs. Mary Crisman
A sister
Employed with DuPont from 1944-1971
(Shipping area since 1965)








William B. Jarman
Age 63 (Portland, TN)
Survivors:
Wife, Velma
Daughters,
Mrs. Betty Sue Bradley
Mrs Elsie Taylor
Mrs Lillie Belle Long
Son: Amos Jarman
Employed with Dupont from 1925-1953
(retired--majority as a spinner)

Mr. and Mrs. Horace E. Tomlinson--From The Old Hickory Record.

This article was in The Old Hickory Record a company paper distributed by DuPont .  Presumably this would have been published in late Sept / early Oct edition as they married September 25, 1948.  My Grandmother saved newspaper clippings of people she knew.  This was one of them.

Reba's parents were Earnest Lillard Massey and Effie Mai Glover Massey who lived on Hadley Avenue in Old Hickory and can be found there in the 1930 & 1940 US Federal Census of Davidson Co TN(Dist 4 Old Hickory).  At that time my grandparents, Tom D. & Pearl Jakes Cooke,  lived at 911 Dodson Street.  That residence no longer exist and has been gone since at least the early 70s as I remember when we would drive down Dodson Street on the way to my paternal Aunt's house(on DeBow St.) Dad would point out that the house they lived in used to be at that corner lot.

In my earlier post about folks who lived near my grandparents when they lived on Clarke Street in Old Hickory my goal was to identify the persons in the pictures from that time period.  Now I've come up with all sort of questions about that time period and place.

Do any of these DuPont Company papers still exist?  Are they in an Archive?

What happened to the Rent records or employee records for the earlier DuPont years(pre-1950)

Is there an Old Hickory Directory for the years 1923-1950 or so? 

I've contacted the Nashville Public Library and the TN State Library & Archives and they have directed me to the Old Hickory Branch of the Nashville Public Library.  I'm hoping to contact them and find out if they know the answers to any of those questions.  If I do learn more about that I will post here.

2019 Opportunities--My wishes for the New Year

In the 1990s, I had a boss who was fond of saying, "We don't have problems.  We have opportunities."  As we approach 2019, I've made a list of opportunities for myself and other areas in my genealogy life where I'd like to see improvements.   This is just me "blue-skying"

Improvements I'd like to make for myself in 2019

• I'd like to try and improve my focus on my research.  Why is it so easy to get sidetracked?
• Identify the unknowns in my old family pictures.
• Stay in contact with cousins and share more info about our families.  I'd like to make sure that my cousins have copies of the family photos and I hope they will share with me.

Improvements I'd like to see elsewhere in 2019

• More researchers blogging about their ancestors.
• Local Genealogy Societies having ScanFest to preserve local pics.
• County Genealogy Societies having membership drives & making more of an effort with an online presence which is what it is going to take to interest the younger generation and survive.
• More Genealogy Webinars from State Societies for both members and nonmembers.
• An increase in the number of documents available for ordering from State archives via index and online purchases.
• The above would also be great at the Federal level and a decrease in the price would increase the demand.
• A new messaging system and username directory at Ancestry that actually works.    
• Better communication for all.  Family Stories within our families(so much oral history has been lost), DNA match communication, and communication between fellow surname & locality researchers.

May we all have a BLESSED new year full of all the answers we seek.

Freddie W. Wauford & Thomas D. Cooke retirement announcements

Headlines From Dupont's Company Paper(Old Hickory, TN)
Rayon Record  Newspaper Aug 5, 1953
Two Veteran Maintenance Men Retire Effective August 1
Freddie W. Wauford and Thomas D. Cooke(my grandfather)




Freddie W. Wauford, Maintenance Locker Room Attendant, retired from the Company under the age requirement on August 1, after more than 24 years' service.

Mr. Wauford was born in Alexandria in DeKalb County, Tennessee. He was engaged in farming before joining the Du Pont Company in 1929. He first worked in Plant 1 Textile and was then a Wash and Bleach Operator until that operation was discontinued. After short periods again in the Textile Areas and Inspections, he was sent to the Maintenance Department in April 1941 as Locker Room Attendant. He remained in this job until his retirement.

He was married in 1910 to Miss Ida Washer. They now live at 1302 Jones Street in the Village, where they own their home. The Waufords have three sons and one daughter. Two of the sons are plant employees, Orvestil, who works in Plant 2 Laboratory and William, of Plant 1 Spinning. The other son is a former employee and the daughter is married to Bill Willoughby, who works in Plant 1 Chemical Building.

Mr. Wauford says he has no immediate plans following his retirement. Speaking of his career with Du Pont, he said, "It comes from my heart when I say you could travel the world over and not find a better company than Du Pont for which to work. And that group of men in the Maintenance Department is the best bunch of fellows I've ever known. I count every one of them as a friend and want to wish them well."

AncestryDNA Match List Stats--Then and Now

I was reviewing one of my blog posts from last year-- DNA Randomness: Siblings and noticed I had included some stats for our AncestryDNA match lists from that date---August 25, 2017, comparing the number of AncestryDNA matches in various categories of the DNA match lists of my sister, and myself.  I wondered how this year's stats would compare so I have included the ones from August of 2017( reformated for comparison purposes) in a table along with the stats I collected today

Clarke Street Neighbors(Part 2)--Old Hickory, TN 1923-1946

This post continues me gathering more information about the Old Hickory residents who lived near my paternal grandparents.  My grandparents lived at 1009 Clarke Street in Old Hickory until some time between the latter part of 1927 and 1930.  They moved from Clarke Street to 911 Dodson Street.  I'm attempting to identify neighbors who might be the "unknowns" in pictures that my grandmother had which are from this time period.  As I mentioned in the previous post(see link below), I will be adding these neighbors to the neighborhood tree database at Ancestry.  Hopefully, this will help me to find the family of the "not yet identified" persons in these pictures.

Clarke Street Neighbors--Old Hickory, TN 1923-1946 (Part 1)  

Map of the area of Clarke Street
Showing my notes of the residents from 1930 Census entries

1930 US Federal Census Davidson Co. TN; District 4; Enum. Dist.: 0244; Page: 47B; FHL microfilm: 2341977. Ancestry.com images; image 91 & 92 of 105.

1000 Clark Street Rent $18[Appears to be "Haskell" model]
Frank E Diehl--head--31 yrs old--mar at 23 TN KY OH Foreman in Chemical Blding Rayon Mills
Sarah B Diehl--wife--28 yrs old--mar at 21 TN TN TN
Sarah M Diehl--dau--5 yrs old--single TN TN TN
Emily J Diehl--dau--4 3/12 yrs old--single TN TN TN
Harold Fykes--lodger--26 yrs old--single AL TN TN Carpenter Building Construction Company

1002 Clark Street Rent $23 [Appears to be "Georgia" model]
Charles R. O'Brien--head--35 yrs old--mar at 22 PA PA PA Supervisor Spinning Room Rayon Mills
Leah M O'Brien-wife--33 yrs old--mar at 20 NJ PA GA
Robert J. O'Brien-son--12 yrs old--single  NJ PA NJ
Charles Jr. O'Brien-son--7 yrs old--single--NJ PA NJ

1004 Clark Street Rent $18 [Appears to be "Haskell" model]
John Rudd--head--43 yrs old--mar at 20 KY KY KY Deputy Sheriff Village
Azalee Rudd--wife--42 yrs old--mar at 19 TN TN TN clerk Grocery
James Rudd--son--18 yrs old--single KY KY TN
Callie W Stigall--nephew--32 yrs old--mar at 24 KY KY KY Slitting Machine Operator Cellophane Plant
Mary Stigall--niece--24 yrs old mar at 16 KY KY KY
Callie Stigall Jr.--son--7 yrs old--single KY KY KY
Mildred L. Stigall--daughter-- 1 10/12 yrs old--single KY KY KY
Frank Power--boarder--42 yrs old--mar at 41 KY KY KY mechanic Cellophane Plant
Mary Power--boarder--26 yrs old--mar at 25 TN TN TN
Jim Pendleton--boarder--31 yrs old--single  KY KY KY mechanic Rayon Mills

1006 Clark Street $18 [Appears to be "Haskell" model]
Nellie Hambaugh--head--70 yrs old--widow--TN TN KY--None
Eddie Burgdorf--daughter--41 yrs old--widow--TN TN TN Clerk in Accounting Dept Rayon Mills

1008 Clark Street Rent $23 [Appears to be "Georgia" model]
Rosco Savage-head--24 yrs old--mar at 21 TN TN TN Painter Building Construction Co.
Minnie Savage-wife--21 yrs old--mar at 18 TN TN TN Misc Worker Rayon Mills
Carrie N Halloman--boarder-- 24 yrs old--TN TN TN Laboratory Worker Rayon Mills 

1010 Clark Street Rent $18 [Appears to be "Haskell" model]
Harry F Nees-head--26 yrs old--mar at 23 TN TN TN Manager Theater
Mary Nees-wife--21 yrs old--mar at 18 KY KY KY
Bettie Nees-daughter--1 yr old--single TN TN KY
Bertha Bright-MIL-51 yrs old-wd  TN TN TN
Hattie Bright-SIL--19--single KY KY TN cone inspector Rayon Mills
John Bright-BIL--13 yrs old--single TN KY TN
Jackson Miller --lodger--17 yrs old--single TN TN TN clerk gasoline filling station

Taken abt 1926
L-R Back Row Unknown Female, Magnus Cooke, Unknown Female Viola Cooke
L-R Front Row Unknown Child, June Cooke, Tomie D Cooke

This picture isn't very clear but it is a good picture of the houses.  The persons in the picture are L-R
Viola Cooke and the same girl who is the first person on the Left of the Back Row in the above picture.

Unknown Female might be a Clarke Street Neighbor
or someone from Dodson Street(the # 1931 is written on the back
along with the # 11)

Clarke Street Neighbors Old Hickory, TN 1923-1946

[Edited 12/20/2018 to include a link to Part 2 at end of this post]

In February of 1927, my grandparents were living at 1009 Clarke Street in Old Hickory, Tennessee when their oldest son died of scarlet fever.   His name was Thomas D. Cooke Jr and his parents and siblings always called him Tomie D.  I have several pictures of him with friends and family that I have published on my webpage, in my tree at Ancestry, and here on my blog.  My grandmother had pictures of him and his sisters with children from the neighborhood where they lived which came into my possession as the family historian.  I can identify my aunts, and Tomie D. in the pictures but do not know who the other children are.  Presumably, they would be children who lived near them on Clarke Street or the surrounding streets.  I thought it might be good to review the area and look at the folks who were living there during 1927 but so far I have been unable to find a city directory for that area.  My grandparents moved to 911 Dodson Street(Old Hickory) shortly after Tomie D.'s passing but I wanted to see who all was living in that area of Clarke Street in 1930.  Maybe eventually I'll be able to find some sort of listing.  Old Hickory was a company town at least prior to 1945/46 so all residents on that street were renters.  I've contacted TN State Archives and the Nashville Library and neither know of a directory for that area covering the time period.  For the time being, I'm studying the 1930 census and hoping to learn more.  I"ve started a research tree on Ancestry for those who lived in that area and have begun researching the families and the houses.  The houses, which were Sears Modern Homes, are just as interesting as the people.  Looking at Google's street view I was able to see how they look present day.  As you might imagine, some have been modified, but they still retain enough of the features to allow for identification.  The styles on Clarke Street both on the north side(odd house numbers) and the south side(even house numbers) seem to be either a Georgia model or a Haskell model home.

Tomie D Cooke(on right) and friend
circa 1925

I'd love to know the identity of the other boy in the picture.  I would guess they are about the same age.  Also, I'd love to hear from other descendants of people who lived on Clarke Street or Dodson St in Old Hickory Tennessee between 1923-1946.

Map of the area of Clarke Street
Showing my notes of the residents from 1930 Census entries

Below is a little bit of the household information I was able to gather from the 1930 census as well as my additional comments on the house style from viewing them on Google Maps.  I'll post some more pictures and additional households for the south portion of Clarke Street in a future blog post.

1930 US Federal Census Davidson Co. TN; District 4; Enum. Dist.: 0244; Page: 47B; FHL microfilm: 2341977. Ancestry.com images; image 94 of 105.

1001 Clark Street (Rent $23)[Appears to be "Georgia" model]
Lenard N. Roaden--Head--age 40- --mar at 26 TN TN TN Spinning Room Belt man Rayon Plant
Alma Roaden--wife--age 37--mar at 25 TN TN TN 
James A Roaden--son--age 4 4/12 single TN TN TN
Lenard M Roaden--son--age 3/12 single TN TN TN

1003 Clark Street (Rent $18)[Appears to be "Haskell" model]
Howard D Bowman--head--age 26 mar at 22 TN TN TN Foreman in Spinnerette Lab Rayon Mills
Aileen Bowman--wife--age 21 mar at 17 TN TN TN
John H. Bowman--son--age 1 8/12 -single--TN TN TN 

1005 Clark Street (Rent $18)[Appears to be "Haskell" model]
Wilburn R Hunt --head--age 37 mar at 21 TN TN TN Fire Dept. Chief --Village
Mattie N. Hunt--wife--age 36 mar at 20 TN TN TN
Blanche Hunt--daughter--age 14 single TN TN TN
Elizabeth Hunt--daughter--age 13  single TN TN TN
John W(est) Hunt--son--age 10 single TN TN TN
Howard L. Hunt--son--age 10  single TN TN TN
Joe M. Hunt--son--age 8 single TN TN TN
Wilburn E Hunt--son--age 4 6/12 single TN TN TN
Kenneth R Hunt--son--age 1 4/12 single TN TN TN

1007 Clark Street Rent $18[Appears to be "Haskell" model]
Douglas Cone Jr.--head--age 26 mar at 20 TN TN TN Foreman in Spinning Room Rayon Mills
Mattie W. Cone--wife--age 26 mar at 20 MS MS MS
Douglas Cone III--son--age 4 3/12 single TN TN MS

1009 Clark Street Rent $18[Appears to be "Haskell" model]
Henry Powell--head--age 27 mar at 26 TN TN TN Foreman in Spinning Room Rayon Mills
Mildred Powell--wife--age 26 mar at 25 TN TN TN Forelady in Reeling Room Rayon Mills
Howard McKibbon--boarder--age 29 mar at 29 TN TN TN Foreman in Spinning Room Rayon Mill
Bessie McKibbon--boarder--age 23 mar at 23 TN TN TN

1011 Clark Street Rent $23[Appears to be "Georgia" model]
Arthur L. Snyder--head--age 32 mar at 29 Can.(Eng) Can.(Eng) Can.(Eng) Sales Serviceman Rayon Mills
Dora Snyder--wife--age 23 mar at 20 KY KY KY
John Snyder--son--age 1 8/12--single--MN Can.(Eng) KY
John S Fonda--boarder--age 29 mar at 27 NY NY NY Research Chemist Rayon Mills
Marion G Fonda--boarder--age 30 mar at 28 NY NY NY 

Clarke Street Neighbors Part 2 

Tinkering with the latest genetic networks tool from Genetic Affairs

An amazing new Auto-Clustering tool from Genetic Affairs is the latest tool available to aid genetic genealogist in building genetic networks.  The leaders in Genetic Genealogy have all been blogging about it.  If you're interested in learning more about it, check out the links included at the end of this post.

This tool allows me to "drill down" in my matches at Ancestry where I have over 2500 4th  cousins or closer.  I've run several reports using varied settings.  The example shown below was done with the settings at option A and amounts 40cM-15cM.  It's having timing out issues right now due to size and my double colonial ancestry but this is really great output despite that.  Below is an annotated screenshot of the output.  I've not included the DNA Matches names which run across the top and down the left margin of the report.  This is just the top portion of this particular report.  There are a total of 68 clusters in this report.

The report also includes a match data table that is very helpful.  If you keep good notes you will have a much easier time figuring out what groups each cluster represents.  For the last few years, I have been sorting my AncestryDNA matches and attributing them to one of my 4 grandparents(noting PGF, PGM, MGF, or MGM in the Notes).  This has helped me tremendously.  Below is an example of the table data for my Cluster 14(not shown in the chart above)

I believe that each person's results will vary depending not only on their settings but also on their family dynamics and the number of family members(both close & distant) who have tested. 

Relevant Links:

• Genetic Affairs --Users manual linked under FAQ from their menu
• Automatic Clustering from Genetic Affairs--Kitty Cooper's Blog
• Forming and Using Genetic Networks with Genetic Affairs--Blaine Bettinger's YouTube
• Autoclustering by Genetic Affairs--DNAeXplained Roberta Estes' Blog

A Christmas Card from Granny's Paper Collection: Card 2

Another Christmas Card from my Paternal Grandmother's collection.

This one is also from Granny Pearl Jakes Cooke's brother, Will B Jakes and his wife Georgia.

Front of Card --Still has a great deal of Glitter

Inside of Card

There isn't a logo of any sort on the back of the card.  The bottom left corner has P-5 and the bottom right corner 124-2 (beneath that in tinier letters is Litho in U.S.A.)

Do you mail out cards during the holidays?  Did your family mail out cards?   Did any family members save cards they have received?

A Christmas Card from Granny's Paper Collection:

I've spent the last week getting my Christmas cards ready to mail.  Not an easy task with my reduced visual field but it's one of the traditions I'll continue as long as my eyes let me.  Blogger  Chris Otto posted on his Papergreat blog, about a vintage Christmas card by Hawthorne-Sommerfield that he has.  I found one of their cards among my grandmother's papers.  It was a Christmas card she received from her brother, Will B. Jakes and his wife Georgia.  There wasn't an envelope with it so I have no idea what year it was made or received.

Inside of the card & the signature

The bottom portion of the back of the card and the only info on the card. 

Thanksgiving 1918

The Ralston Project at FamilyTreeDNA

Today's blog post focuses on the Ralston Project at FamilyTreeDNA.  While I have no direct Ralston connection, I do have Ralston cousin connections thru my King and Manire lines.  One of those cousins happens to be one of the administrators of the Ralston Project.  

I asked him to tell me and my readers more about the project.  The following was his response:

As a Ralston, I cannot tell you how many times in my life I have been asked, “Are you kin to the Ralston in Ralston-Purina?” We’ve all heard of it: Checkerboard logo, Rice Chex cereal, Chex mix for parties, Purina Dog Chow, Animal chow for just about any animal you can name.

The fact is, there never was a person named "Ralston" associated with the Purina Feed company. It was a marketing ploy, to piggyback on the Ralstonism movement that was popular near the beginning of the twentieth century.

But the net effect has been that everyone in America knows how to spell and pronounce the surname “Ralston". Or to put it better, we North Americans have all been brainwashed to this mindset.

There are over a dozen legitimate ways to spell the surname. There are probably at least 6 distinct ways to pronounce the variations in spelling. But the marketing efforts of the Ralston-Purina Company, TV ads, and the rest, have homogenized the spelling and pronunciation of the Surname Ralston, in North America.

That is not necessarily a bad thing. It makes it easier for strangers to understand how to spell and pronounce the name.

But other spellings and pronunciations are accepted elsewhere in the English-speaking world. So, Americans and Canadians should be aware that "RAWL-ston" is not the only way to pronounce it. That is just the way it has been pronounced in advertising for the last century.

So, in this limited context, the word R-A-L-S-T-O-N is an acronym for the following: Regime, Activity, Light, Strength, Temperation, Oxygen, and Nature.

So, although there was no “Ralston” in Ralston-Purina, there are many Ralstons in the world, most just regular folks, but some notable or famous ones. Are they all kin – or are they of different lineages? These families may spell their names differently; for example, Roulston, Raulston, Rolston, etc. The Ralston Project at FamilyTreeDNA.com wants to find out how/if these Ralstons are connected and where they originated. If you are a male Ralston (or variant of the name) you can help us with this effort and help yourself learn more about your origins. We are specifically looking for Ralston men who are:

• Irish Rollestons with clear English descent
• English Rollestons
• Scottish Ralstons with ancestors from Beith, Kilwinning, Glasgow and surrounds.
• Irish Roulstons/Rolstons/Ralstons, etc., or descendants of such.
• Any Ralston who wishes to learn more about the origin of their paternal lineage.

For more information visit  Ralston Project at FamilyTreeDNA.com or The Ralston Project.

Visualizing DNA tested Descendants of an Ancestor Couple

If you are actively working to identify what relationship you share with your DNA matches, you have likely heard of the What Are The Odds tool, commonly referred to as WATO.   It is part of DNAPainter.com and you can learn more about all of the tools by visiting the website. While I use the tool mainly when I'm helping adoptees, lately I've been using it to get a visual of the assessment of people who have tested from specific ancestor couples.

One of my larger AncestryDNA Circles is that of Jabel Putman my 3rd Great Grandfather.  There are 106 members but I want to know if these testers represent someone from all of his children or just ones thru several branches. He is believed to have had 12 children.  Using the WATO tool I chart each line from Jabel to the tester.  I also look at the shared matches within the circle members to see if I can identify others who are descendants of Jabel who weren't included due to not having him in their tree.  I have added some that I've found at other sites as well.  Below is a closer look at two of the children of Jabel.  I didn't show the right side of the chart as it contains the names of living and testers but it gives you some idea of how it looks.

The chart is a work in progress.  I will be adding more testers as I identify them.
Of Jabel's 12 known children, it looks like all but 2 have descendants that have tested. There is a representation of the following among the Jabel Putman descendants:

2 of William's children
4 of Lavina's children
2 of Parry's children
3 of Hiram's children
4 of Noah's children
5 of Sarah/Sally's children
4 of Elizabeth's children
3 of Susan's children
3 of Janette's children
2 of Simpson's children

Please note that there are varying amounts of testers from each of those children's children who have tested.  Below is a zoomed out shot of the chart(just a small portion of it) which continues out to the testers on the right for each line.  This can be used to see the coverage or to identify testing opportunities.

Sams-Jakes Marriage(Jan. 1950)

Sgt. & Mrs. Tom B. Sams

Old Hickory Record Clipping Thur. Jan 26, 1950

Old Hickory, TN

Just a small portion of a family's paper trail

I have been planning for what seems like forever to go thru papers that were salvaged from Granny Cooke's Scrapbooks. To tell you what all the scrapbooks have been thru would take up more time than I wish to spend on this post.  Let's just say it's a miracle any of the contents survived.  I've had manila folders full of the contents in a file box for a number of years.  This weekend I processed a good bit of them.  I took each of the papers and put them in sheet protectors.  After arranging the pages in chronological order in a 3 ring binder, I began the process of cataloging each page.  I've finished with this notebook for now but I think it's safe to say there will be more added once I am able to get to some of the other files. 

The papers cover the time period from 1943 to 1976.  The following is a list of some of the types of papers that were included.

• Report Cards
• Certificate of Life Insurance(National Service Life Insurance)
• Employment History Draft of my Uncle
• Certificate of Promotion(School)
• Letter Home while in Army(my Dad)
• Television Repair Receipt
• Receipt for purchase of Portable Record Player
• Bill of Sale detailing financing for 1960 Rambler
• Bank Note(Third National Bank)
• Blue Cross Blue Shield Itemized Insurance Statement for Hospital Stay
• Correspondence from Veterans Administration
• An Employment Application filled out by my Dad 
• Proof of Auto Insurance from Allstate(1967-1968)
• Letter acknowledging  transfer of Church Membership from Old Hickory 1st Baptist Church
• Letter from Dupont about Pensioners' Day
• Loan Papers from First American National Bank

These papers all had dates on them and most even had addresses.  This captures what was going on with the family at that given point in time.  

Women's Apparel--Fox on 5th Avenue--Nashville TN--1948

June Cooke Brannon

Among the things that my paternal Grandmother had in her Scrapbooking box were two store credit/layaway payment cards.  The cardholder is her daughter--my Aunt June.  The store sold women's apparel and was located in Nashville.    The time of the purchases and layaway(early 1948) coincides with Aunt June's wedding to John Arnette Brannon.  Their wedding announcement describes the outfit she wore as a navy blue suit with matching accessories and also mentions that she wore red roses on her jacket lapel.  June was working for Southern Telephone Company during this time.

US Federal Census Research: Reflecting and Preparing

What was the most recent Federal Census available to the public when you began researching? For me, it was the 1910 census. A few months after the 1920 Federal Census was released I spent a great deal of time on the 5th floor of the Wallace State Community College Library(Hanceville, AL) in their Family History Collection viewing my ancestors on microfilm and giving my arm a workout advancing and rewinding the film. It won't be too long until we will be able to access the 1950 Federal Census from home. It will be released to the public on April 1, 2022.  I feel old...and grateful.

In what area will you be looking for your ancestors(or yourself if you were alive)?  If you don't know, you need to ask someone who does know.  You might try consulting a City Directory.  That's what I did.  I thought I knew where my Dad and his parents would be but upon consulting the directory, I found out that I did not.  

Preparing to find Dad's Family in 1950

Dad passed on 7 years ago so I'm not able to ask him where he was living.  Consulting a Nashville Directory I found a 1950 entry of Thos E Cook(Pearl)  which I believe is my Grandparents(Mr. & Mrs Thomas D Cooke).  My Uncle Morris is also listed at the same address and my grandfather's place of employment and job title are what they should be which reinforces that I have the correct entry.  The 1950 directory gives 1301 Gallatin Road as the address where my Grandparents lived however the address listed in the 1951 Directory is 1311 East Greenwood Ave.  Between about 1954 and mid-1960s, my grandparents rented homes and moved frequently.  Sometimes Tom and Pearl had separate households.  I do have listings of the addresses I obtained from my grandmother's correspondence as well as a wide variety of receipts and other papers which she and Tom saved.  I would have expected them to still be living at 911 Dodson Ave in Old Hickory because I had been told that my Grandmother insisted that they stay there until my Dad returned from the service.  He didn't enlist until 1952 and had been working at Dupont prior to his enlistment.  He returned to work there when he came back home from Korea.  Apparently, my Grandparents begin moving around abt 6 years prior to what I'd always been told.

Preparing to find Mom's Family in 1950

Mom is still living so I asked her if she remembered where her family was in 1950.  She is "pretty sure" she and her family were living at C.P. Moore's place in Bone Cave in 1950.  She was 10 at the time so this may or may not be where they were.   Bone Cave is in Van Buren Co TN and even if I have to read the entire county it won't take near as much time to find her as it would if I had to do the same for Davidson Co TN for Dad.  There is also a slight possibility that they were in Lincoln Co TN as her family was sharecroppers and frequent movers.

This should be fun.  We've got a little under 4 years to figure it out.  Here's hoping that indexing for it will happen as soon as possible once it is released.  

Share your Ancestry trees via unique invite links

Allowing people to view your Ancestry tree is now easier than ever.  This will be a huge help not only for DNA testers but for sharing in general. I will be using this for most of my tree shares.  It is almost impossible to send a tree share invite to those who use their name instead of a username and who aren't able to see the tree because of a lack of a subscription.  This will take care of that.

1. While viewing the tree you wish to share, select Tree Settings.  Under Tree Settings select Sharing.
Under the Sharing section, Select Invite People.

2.  Notice there are now 3 ways to share the tree.  Select Shareable Link.

3.  You can choose the roles:  Guest, Contributor or Editor.  Also, the option to allow them to see living persons is available by share link.

4.  Once you have selected the Create Link a unique URL will appear which you can share.  Please note the blurb above the URL for more info on how the link will work.

A little webinar inspiration...

Earlier this month, I attended Gena Philibert-Ortega's  webinar--“Researching Your Female Ancestor by the Company She Kept.” The webinars are one of the perks of being a member of the Virtual Genealogical Association(VGA).    So today I'm making a list of "communities" to research for my not just my female ancestors but my male ancestors as well.  I hope to be adding to this list so this blog post will(I hope) have many updates.

• The Cotton Mill in Madison Co AL 1920-1930(Luna & Acuff)
• Dupont workers during 1923-1952(Papaw Cooke)
• Old Hickory village 1923-1952(Cooke/Jakes)
• Pencil Mill in Chapel Hill TN 1920
• Early schools in Bedford Co. TN
• Christian & Church of Christ Church Warren, White, Van Buren Co TN(Acuff & McElroys)
• Cumberland Presbyterian(King) 
• Baptist Church In Early TN(Y DNA Cook lines)
• Horse Farms in Bell Buckle TN 1890-1912(Jakes & Frizzells)
• Distillers in early Middle Tennessee area(Ogilvies/Allisons)
• Jackson Co AL prior to 1838(Pittman & Hatfields)
• 200 block of North Charlotte St Dickson TN (1969-1975)

Looking for Locations? Check Pension files.

I really enjoy pension research. It's great for finding out where our ancestors and their families were living. Knowing that information can help us find even more documents and clues in areas in which we might not otherwise have known to look. One of my autosomal DNA matches has a William Eakin who is living in the same county where my paternal lines lived. This may or may not be the connection to my own family. I read thru the application (and later the transcription which I found within a Family Tree file at Ancestry) because I wanted to know where this family had been before coming to Tennessee.

Bedford Co TN ---7th May 1833 William Eakin states under oath that he was born 8th Oct 1765 in York District South Carolina and that he was a citizen and resident in that same district and state when he entered the Service(from earlier testimony--16 November 1780) and continued to be a Citizen of said District until the year 1810 when he removed to the State of Illinois and in 1812 he removed to Bedford County Tennessee where he has lived ever since. His widow filed for a pension in TX where they moved before his death. Her pension application includes additional dates and persons who knew them. (info from transcription at http://revwarapps.org/w3530.pdf )

"United States Revolutionary War Pension and Bounty Land Warrant Applications, 1800-1900," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:N9N5-857 : 9 March 2018), William Eakin, pension number W. 3530, service S.C.; from "Revolutionary War Pension and Bounty-Land Warrant Application Files," database and images, Fold3.com (http://www.fold3.com : n.d); citing NARA microfilm publication M804 (Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 1974); FHL microfilm 970,883.

Images at Ancestry: https://search.ancestry.com/search/db.aspx?dbid=1995  

Search on William Eakin pension date 1833  Elizabeth(wife)

This William Eakin and/or his family was in

• York District, South Carolina
• Illinois
• Bedford County, Tennessee, USA
• Shelby County, Texas, USA
• Any number of places between these locations may contain a paper trail link

This is just a small portion of the information included in this pension file. Who knows what is waiting to be found for your families. Sometimes, we tend to think that just because our ancestors didn't have the transportation modes we have today, they just didn't travel that much. Read through a few Pension application files.  I assure you, that is NOT the case. Many of my Tennessee lines(some direct and others cousin lines) went to Texas from Tennessee. Some returned to Tennessee while others stayed in Texas or moved on to California. This was all before the automobile was on the scene.  

Check the FamilySearch's Wiki page for more information about Pensions.

Y-111 test Results are in for my Cook line

Results posted for my family's Y-111 marker DNA test several weeks back and I'm just now getting around to blogging about it.  When we tested at 37 markers we were close to descendants of Shem Cooke(1722-1796 Amelia Co VA) but our Y results were also close to a group of Patterson men.  By "close", I mean ranging from a genetic distance of 0 to 2.  So I upgraded to a 67 marker test and began studying all of the matches and where they had settled.   Just out of curiosity I also looked at the matches at 25 markers and could see that it had even more who were from the line of Shem Cooke.   At 67 markers we were still a genetic distance of 0 with one of the men from the Patterson group and were at a genetic distance of 1 -3 with the Shem Cooke descendants.  With the upgrade to 111 markers, we are now at a genetic distance of 2 with the Patterson tester we matched at GD=0 in the 67 marker level.  Also at GD=2 is the Shem Cooke descendant who also has a small match with my brother's autosomal test.  This descendant of Shem is from a line that moved to Carroll Co GA during the early 1800s.  So, for now, I'm still studying records in the earliest place our Cook line is known to have been as well as studying the lines that came out of Lunenburg Virginia on to Granville Co North Carolina and later to parts of Arkansas, Georgia, Mississippi, Missouri, and Tennessee.

I've put all of the close matches from each level who are from the Patterson or Cook(e) lines into a spreadsheet.

Even though I don't have all the answers yet that will make the direct connection between my 2nd Great Grandfather and his Cook linage I do have way more information on the lines and a better idea of where to look.  Also if you descend from any of the Cook(e)s who were in Bedford, Rutherford or Williamson Co TN thru the direct male line consider doing YDNA at the 37 marker level AND an autosomal DNA test.  If your Cook lines were from that area and you aren't thru a direct male line you can still take an autosomal test which might find a connection for you thru this or other lines.

I'd love to hear more discussion about what others are doing with their YDNA test results as far as analysis and findings.  I need to brainstorm/blog what to do next.

Using DNApainter to visualize match "coverage" & collect more clues

I've been using  DNApainter(a WONDERFUL DNA analysis tool by Jonny Perl) for a while now.  I'm not sure the exact date, but it couldn't have been more than a few minutes after I read about it in the Genetic Genealogy Tips & Techniques Facebook Group.  You can learn more about both of those by clicking on the linked text.  DNApainter is free but has additional tools available for subscribers.  Today I subscribed and I've been playing around with it.  I wanted to see what kind of coverage I had from my matches at GEDmatch.  I had used my kit and my Mom's kit to phase my DNA matches.  My Dad passed before we began DNA testing.  While the Paternal Phased kit is not a true comparison against his it will show all the matches I have which aren't Mom's which are presumably paternal. 

• At DNApainter,  I created A New/ Blank Profile --I named mine Marie GEDmatch
• At GEDmatch, I ran Tier 1 Matching Segment reports for each phased kit and saved each as csv files. You should set the minimum cMs high enough to reduce by chance matches.  I set mine at 12 cM for this.  I can delete matches if necessary later.
• At DNApainter, I opened the New / Blank Profile and used DNApainter's premium feature to Import Paternal phased (P1) & Maternal Phased(M1) match list.
• As I imported each phased group, I chose a color, name, and identified it as paternal  or maternal matches.

It was abt at 74% coverage(I wish I had taken a screenshot then but I didn't) and I wanted to import the data from the painting I had done on my main profile.  I exported the segment information from that main profile and imported it into the Marie GEDmatch profile.so that I could identify more matching segments.  

Below is a screenshot showing only the GEDmatch Import as Active(using the key)

Once the main profile is imported here is how mine looked. Now to look at each chromosome and collect the clues.

Follow that man--David T. W. Cook

For those that haven't been following my search to find the identity of Joseph S. Cook who died in Williamson Co TN here is the short version of that.  I've located two Joseph Cooks in the 1820 census in areas where my families were and I want to know if either of these is the Joseph Cook who married Tamar Northern in 1803 Granville Co NC.  I believe he is the one who is in Simpson Co KY and is listed with Northern families near.  The other Joseph Cook is enumerated in Wilson Co TN near others who have Granville Co NC ties and who will in a few years end up in Williamson & Bedford County Tennessee area.  Our Cook Y DNA points to descendants of Shem Cooke(he died in 1796 in Granville Co NC and was from Amelia Co VA).  I also want to determine if either one of them is the Joseph S. Cook from Williamson Co TN.   To add to the confusion, the probate papers of 2 other Joseph Cooks(one of which IS Joseph S Cook) have been combined and labeled as the Joseph S. Cook in Williamson County TN records and as such, that is how it appears within the Ancestry database.  Joseph S. Cook died without a will and Wm C Cook(my 2nd Great Grandfather) was appointed admin of Joseph S. Cook's estate and reported an inventory and sale of the estate.  The other Joseph Cook in that file folder left a will and the majority of the papers in that folder are for his estate detailing the division of his property among his children.  He died a few years after Joseph S. Cook and lived in Davidson Co and I believe he was a resident of Dist 2 Williamson Co TN.

So I had looked at the entry for the marriage of Joseph Cooke & Tamar Northern in Granville Co NC but never really looked at the marriage bond.  It was hard to find as it is incorrectly indexed as James Nothern instead of Tamar Northern.  I think part of that comes from an indexer who isn't familiar with the document that is being indexed and what to expect on it.  The first name on the bond is that of  James Turner who was Governor of North Carolina at that time.  The bondsman who signs with Joseph Cook is David T W Cook.

From Newspapers.com

Mississippi Free Trader(Natchez, MS) Jun 18, 1840 pg 3 Marriage to Miss Sarah Godley(Wilkinson)

Mississippi Free Trader(Natchez, MS) Nov 16, 1819 pg. 5 --an advertisement that he had placed in order to sell land. (appears to have run Nov 9-mid Dec)

• 10 Lots in the town of Woodville(including those I live on)
• 640 acres of land on the river Comite, Popular Springs improved 
• 350 acres of land well improved near the Mississippi 
• 4500 acres in West TN on Duck, Big Harper, and Elk Rivers.

Weekly Raleigh Register(Raleigh, NC) Dec 28, 1821, Pg. 4

A petition for divorce filed by Lydia Cook in Currituck Co. NC against David T W Cook.

(published for 3 months beginning Nov 8, 1821)

From Ancestry.com

Mississippi, Compiled Marriages, 1776-1935 marriage Elizabeth Collingsworth 13 Jan 1812(Wilkinson)

Mississippi, Compiled Marriages, 1800-1825 marriage Matilda Nelson 26 Oct 1815(Wilkinson)
Mississippi, Compiled Marriages, 1776-1935 marriage Matilda Nelson 2 Nov 1815(Wilkinson)
Louisiana, Compiled Marriages, 1718-1925 marriage Caroline M Nelson 14 Jan 1817(West Feliciana)

1813 Mississippi, State and Territorial Census Collection, 1792-1866 Wilkinson Co. MS
1820 Mississippi, State and Territorial Census Collection, 1792-1866 Wilkinson Co. MS
1820 United States Federal Census in Wilkinson Co. MS
1830 United States Federal Census in Tipton Co. TN
1840 United States Federal Census in Wilkinson Co. MS

U.S. Army, Register of Enlistments, 1798-1914 1798 May 17-1815 ----- "C"
6535 Cook David T W Capt Miss. Militia  Col Neilson

The Remarks column from that entry is shown in the image below

At FindAGrave.com

I found the entry for his wife Matilda Caroline Nelson Cook

This was a wonderful find as there are biographies for her, her siblings, and her father, John Nelson.  The bio entry has sources and while focusing on the Nelsons and their lives, has a bit about David Taylor Woodward Cook.  The story of where the Nelsons were from, why they came to Louisiana, Mississippi and for a time parts of Tennessee including, Williamson County, Tennessee is in the bios on the Nelsons memorial pages.  They are a great read separate and apart from this mystery.  Do yourself a favor and read them.

At Hathitrust.org

A dictionary of all officers, who have been commissioned, or have been appointed and served, in the army of the United States, since the inauguration of their first president in 1789, to the first January, 1853,--with every commission of each;--including the distinguished officers of the volunteers and militia of the states, and of the navy and marine corps, who have served with the land forces --Gardner, Charles K. (Charles Kitchell), 1787-1869. pg. 125

The Austin papers / edited by Eugene C. Barker. 1919 v.2 pt.2. Austin, Moses, 1761-1821. pg 1751

David T. W. Cook to Austin, July __, 1822.  Came to Texas to see you "in behalf of myself and many others."  Wants land.

The Austin papers / edited by Eugene C. Barker. 1919 v.2 pt.1. Austin, Moses, 1761-1821. pg 355
The above-mentioned letter dated July 1822 is as noted asking for land and was delivered by Austin's brother.  David T W Cook says he will be "on the  River Brassos 3 weeks" and asks him to direct any communication to Mr. Andrew Robertson.

American State Papers: Documents, legislative and executive, of the Congress of the United States ... / selected and edited under the authority of Congress.  pg 63  and pg. 774  Listed among the settlers with claims west of the Pearl River.  

At the Bureau of Land Management site 

I found David T W Cook among a long list of names for Land Holders in Louisiana.  Louisiana Meridian 020N - 002E Lot/Tract 1 Section 20 Union Co.

Do I have the answers or the connection? Not yet. I have a lot more questions and a great number of resources to check.  Would I love to find one of his direct male descendants?  You bet.  My brother has taken the YDNA test and I'd love to compare.  We are currently waiting on our upgrade from Y-67 to Y-111.

Finis E Plumlee--Van Buren Co. TN

I found a book available at HathiTrust Digital Library  It's written by Thomas L. Wilson and titled Sufferings endured for a free government; or,  A history of the cruelties and atrocities of the rebellion.  Complete with a table of contents, it tells the stories of many folks who lost their lives during the time period of the Civil War.

Since the text is fully searchable I was able to find an incident from a county in which many of my maternal ancestors lived.  Though there is a difference in the spelling of his name,  I believe that the story "Murder of Phileneas Plumley" is detailing the events of the death of Finis E Plumlee of Van Buren Co TN.  Finis was married to Lucinda Sparkman.  I have numerous connections to the Sparkman family thru marriages of my cousins.

The page detailing the murder says

"He left a wife and seven little children(who all witnessed his murder) to mourn the loss of a good husband and father."

I was found the census entries for 1850, 1860, and 1870 for the family.  Finis is not listed in the household for the 1870 entry and his burial information including a picture of his headstone can be found at Findagrave.com.   It should be noted that the book says this happened in the early part of 1863 while Finis' gravestone gives February 5th of 1864 as his date of death.  (image of Plumlee household from 1870 Census shown below)

I did find another incident which was claimed to have taken place in Clinton County Tennessee.  While there is a Clinton, TN, there is no Clinton County TN.  I believe the author meant Kentucky instead of Tennessee as I was able to find a record of the person he mentioned living in that county in Kentucky.

This brings to mind Robert Scott Davis' Georgia Black Book, Vol. #1: Morbid, Macabre and Disgusting Records of Genealogical Value.  Davis' work and research is far more in-depth than Wilsons but I'll take research clues wherever I can get them

Sources:
Wilson, Thomas L.(of Tennessee), Sufferings Endured for a Free Government; Or, A History of the Cruelties And Atrocities of the Rebellion ... Philadelphia: King & Baird, 1865. (Online at https://catalog.hathitrust.org/Record/008653811).

Tennessee, Van Buren County. 1850 U.S.Federal census, population schedule. Database with Images. Ancestry http://ancestry.com Tennessee .> Van Buren > Dist 3  > Pg 374, line 18( image 4 of 8).

Tennessee, Van Buren County. 1860 U.S.Federal census, population schedule. Database with Images. Ancestry http://ancestry.com Tennessee .> Van Buren > Not Stated > Pg 3,  Line 1(image 6 of 60).

Tennessee, Van Buren County. 1870 U.S.Federal census, population schedule. Database with Images. Ancestry http://ancestry.com Tennessee .> Van Buren > Not Stated > Pg 2,  Line 15(image 2 of 7).

Find A Grave, database, and images (https://www.findagrave.com: accessed 04 September 2018), memorial page for Finis Ewing Plumlee (5 Jun 1820–5 Feb 1864), Find A Grave Memorial no. 19885633, citing Sparkman Cemetery, Van Buren County, Tennessee, USA; Maintained by Ash Far (contributor 46913275).

Down the Rabbit Hole: Several Williamson Co TN Kings

D. Hamner King was the son of George Peay & Lucinda Tate Gooch King.  There is a short biography about him included in the Madison Co TN section of Goodspeed's History.  [I scanned down the biographies and noticed that there seem to be several of them with Williamson Co. TN ties.  The information listed below is a timeline of the events listed in the Goodspeed bio.]

A native of Williamson Co TN 
1835 Birth: Feb 14th 
1849 Residence: Moved to Carroll Co TN & Farmed
1852 Residence: Moved to Madison Co TN
1855 Residence: Jackson 
1855 Occupation: clerk
1856 Occupation: Engaged in the liquor business
1858 Married: Miss Sarah C Wilson(TN Marriages Ancestry.com)
1864 Military: Enlisted Forrest's Calvary(in Quartermaster's Dept prior to this) 
1874 Business: Built King's Opera House
1883 Business: In March, Opera House burned down.
1891 Death: Oct 14th
1891 Burial: Riverside Cemetery(Jackson, TN Find A Grave)

From a section of the paper devoted to Jackson, TN
The Times-Democrat (New Orleans, LA)20 Nov. 1882 pg. 8 column 1 (1)
Images at www.newspapers.com

While the bio lists his years as mayor as 1872-1876 an article about the Mayors of Jackson lists him as mayor for the years 1873, 1875 and 1876.(2.)

D. H. King also ran the King's Palace Saloon in addition to the Opera House. (3.)

The younger brother of D. Hamner King was David Gooch King whose bio is listed below.
History of the Twentieth Tennessee Regiment Volunteer Infantry, C.S.A.
By William Josiah McMurray, Deering J. Roberts, Ralph J. Neal pg 423

The aunt who is mentioned as having raised David Gooch King was a maternal aunt as she was Elizabeth Gooch before her marriage to Beverly Ridley in Williamson Co TN. David Gooch King's bio carries over onto the next page(424) "David Gooch King came of good parentage than which, on the Gooch side there were none better in the state" (4.)

I found conflicting information as to whether their father, George Peay King, went to Mexico. An unsourced statement in several online trees at Ancestry.com says he left for California in 1849 during the gold rush and was killed in Texas.

Also, there seems to be another Lucinda Tate Gooch who married Joseph Kimbro in Rutherford Co TN in 1822. That's ten years prior to the marriage of George Peay King and Lucinda Tate Gooch who marry in neighboring Williamson Co TN in 1832.(5.) Maybe the elder Lucinda is a paternal aunt of the younger Lucinda. I'm fascinated by seeing the Kimbro connection as the Kimbro/Kimbrough family was around my own King lines who were in Williamson, Rutherford and Bedford Counties in TN. Some of my Kings moved on to Weakley and Carroll Co TN area as well.   Not sure if these Kings are related to my King line. A male from our King line is currently doing the YDNA testing and hopefully, that should provide some insight into our Kings.

1. "Jackson, TN: The second city in size and business importance in West Tennessee" The Times-Democrat, 20 Nov 1882, pg 8 col. 1; digital images, Newspapers.com (https://newspapers.com: accessed 21 Aug 2018).

2. “Milestones of Progress Have Marked Administrations of 32 Mayors,” The Jackson Sun, 29 May 1972, p. 70, col. 2; digital images, Newspapers.com (https://www.newspapers.com : accessed 17 Aug 2018).

3. "Jackson, TN: The second city in size and business importance in West Tennessee" The Times-Democrat, 20 Nov 1882, pg 8 col. 3; digital images, Newspapers.com (https://newspapers.com: accessed 21 Aug 2018).

4. McMurray, William Josiah, Deering J. Roberts, and Ralph J. Neal. 1904. History of the Twentieth Tennessee Regiment Volunteer Infantry, C.S.A. Nashville, Tenn: Publication Committee, consisting of W.J. McMurray, D.J. Roberts, and R.J. Neal. pg 424 (https://books.google.com : accessed 21 Aug 2018)

5. "Tennessee Marriage Records, 1780-2002" Database with images. Ancestry. (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 21 Aug 2018) Williamson 1830 - 1839: Marriages, (Loose) Jo-Pr Image 108 of 1277.