Thursday, October 21, 2021

Hights in Johnson County Illinois

My mother DNA tested at AncestryDNA and I have viewer rights to a number of my Cook / Putman cousins match list there as well.  Mom's test  helps to sort matches so that I know if they don't match her they are thru my Dad. I sort Dad's lines into Cooke / King and  Jakes / Frizzell.  I can further sort within each group.   We have a group of  matches who are the descendants of  John Hight and Eleanor Nichols.  These matches are shared with my Cook / Putman cousins.  Several of their descendants were already in my tree as they are kin to some of my Putman cousins but not thru the sibling of the Putman I match.  

A number of these Hights were in the area of Bedford County where my W. C. Cook(2nd Gr Grandfather) lived and one among the purchasers from the estate of Joseph S Cook.(W.C. was admin of that estate but we do not know WC's connection to Joseph)  Many  times the movement of our ancestors occurs because of their desire to own land.  Some of John & Eleanor's descendants moved to Johnson County Illinois.  Illinois uses the public land survey system(think grids) and because of this I can use HistoryGeo's First Landowners Project to look at Johnson Co. IL to see if I can find any of the Hights.  A visual reference can be very helpful.

I was able to find them and also some surnames that were familiar to me from my research of the Cook and Putman lines.  Now to add exploring all of the Johnson Co IL records to my "To Do" list.  I'm still working on the ones in Williamson, Maury, Rutherford, Bedford and Marshall Co TN--places where descendants of the Y DNA line which my Cooks match were known to have been.   


Notes:  
HIGHT-- There is another Archibald Hight mentioned in Maury Co TN  probate records. The purchasers at the estate sale  are Richard B Hight, Sion Hight, Robert Hight, Wm Hight and several others.

Ancestry.com. Tennessee, U.S., Wills and Probate Records, 1779-2008 Maury Co TN  Wills Vol B-C 1809-1825 images 635(sale p.390) & 698(inventory p. 495) of 714.

Ancestry.com. Tennessee, U.S., Wills and Probate Records, 1779-2008 Maury Co TN  Wills Vol D-E 1826-1832  image 117(settlement p.170) of 596.


SMITH--While Smith is a very common surname it is one that intermarries with Hight, Harrisons and Putmans.

SIMPSON--The cemetery where W.C. Cook & his wife are buried in Bedford Co TN is the Simpson Cemetery.  It was named after the family who gave the land for the cemetery.(John W Simpson)

THOGMORTON--Typed index to burned volumes made from the register's notebook 1852-1861 for Bedford Co has an entry for a deed from a Thomas Cook to Martha Thugmorton(similar enough to note)  See list on profile page of W C Cook in my Cooke / Luna Tree at Ancestry.

Tuesday, October 19, 2021

George H. Solifelt(1843-1935)

In a previous blog post about Tennessee Ferguson Hill I had found that she moved to Iola KS after she was widowed with a George Solifelt.  The paper and census records list Tennie as his niece but I have not been able to find any connection.  If there is a connection it would likely have to be thru Tennie's deceased husband.  

Death

Info from George H. Solifelt's Obituary
  • Born 4th July 1843 in Lewistown, Pennsylvania
  • Died 30 January 1935 in Iola
  • Served in PA Calvary during Civil War
  • Moved to Texas after leaving Army
  • Worked several years in Texas on a cattle ranch.
  • Then moved to Rosebud, Miss --Farmed for many years[This would be Leake Co.]
  • Later Came to Ft Smith Arkansas(lived in town)
  • 28th of April 1909 came to Iola along with niece(Mrs Tennie Hill)
  • Father killed in Mexican War(while Mr. Solifelt was an infant)
  • Only Brother killed in Civil War
  • Mother and two sisters deceased
  • Mrs. Hill his niece is his only known family

Source:  “Obituary(George H. Solifelt),” The Iola Register, 2 Feb 1935, p. 2, col. 3; digital images, Newspapers.com (https://www.newspapers.com : accessed 17 Oct 2021).

Info from George H Solifelt's death notice.

Civil War Veteran Dies
End Comes to George H Solifelt at Age of 91--He lived in Allen County Since War
  • Died at Residence 421 South Buckeye
  • Funeral Friday(Feb 1 1935)
  • Burial at Highland
  • Came to county shortly after the close of Civil War. 
  • Spent virtually all remainder of life in country or Iola where he came to live in 1909
  • Only remaining family a niece Mrs. Tennie Hill with whom he was living
  • Member of Presbyterian church
Source:  “Civil War Veteran Dies End Comes to George H Solifelt at Age of 91.” The Iola Register, 30 Jan 1935, p. 1, col. 4; digital images, Newspapers.com (https://www.newspapers.com : accessed 17 Oct 2021).

Pension Records

From First Card

Subject:  Solifelt, George H
Pri Co H 126 Reg't PA

Record & Pension Office
War Departmeny Sep 2 1896
#457725

William H Settle, Atty
Lewistown, Mifflin Co PA

X Alias Theodore Sullivan

Source:  Date of Reply or final Disposition.  Sep 3 1896
"United States Index to General Correspondence of the Pension Office, 1889-1904," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:KDTJ-77L : accessed 19 Oct 2021), George H Solifelt, ; citing NARA microfilm publication M686 (Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.); FHL microfilm 1,527,989.

From Second Card

Subject:  Solifelt, George H
Co C 2 PA Inf 3 mon 1861
Co H 126 PA Inf
Co E 20 Reg't Pa Inf
Co C 1 Reg't PA Prov  Cav

Record & Pension Office
War Department Oct 22 1896
#460588

For Full Mil. History

X alias Theodore Sullivan
See also Nos.:  #457725

Date or Reply of final disposition.  Oct 27 1896

Source:  "United States Index to General Correspondence of the Pension Office, 1889-1904," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:KDTJ-77G : accessed 19 Oct 2021), George H Solifelt, ; citing NARA microfilm publication M686 (Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.); FHL microfilm 1,527,989.

Court and Penitentiary Records

I'd entered what little information I had on him at Ancestry and found an inmate record which I believe is him in the town in which he was known to have lived.

Pennsylvania Prison, Reformatory, and Workhouse Records, 1929-1971
# 6718 George Solifelt
Age:  Twenty Seven
Native of Philadelphia
Bound: Not
Trade:  Baker & Laborer
Complexion:  Light
Eyes:  Grey
Hair:  Brown & Curly
Stature:  5 ft 6  Foot 10
Marks:  Female Figure on left arm & ? right arm
No of convictions:  First
Parents:  Motherless
Reads & Writes:  Both
Temperate:  Moderate
Married:  Married & 1 child
Property: Not Any
Crime:  Highway Robbery
Sentence:  One Year 6 months
County and Court: Mifflin;  Oyer & Terminer
Sentenced:  August 27, 1870
Received:  August 29, 1870
Remarks:  (no text in this area but 2 yrs Army written across top of his entry)

Source:  Ancestry.com. Pennsylvania, U.S., Prison, Reformatory, and Workhouse Records, 1829-1971 [database on-line]. Lehi, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc.; Eastern State Penitentiary > Convict Reception Registers > 1869 - 1886 > images 65 of 725.

The record of his time at the Penitentiary sent me in search of a court case which I located on FamilySearch.  Below is the information contained in that case file.


Transcript from the Docket of Joseph S Warcam J P  
Augt. 20 1866 Warrant issued to A Wagner Constable on oath of Dennis Igo that on the 20th Augt 1866 whilst going from the Lewistown Bridges to the Lewistown Depot a person whom he believes to be George Solifelt asked him what time of day it was and when he took out his watch said person jerked the watch out of his hand with the purpose of feloniously appropriating it to his own uses.  Alias Warrant issued Nov 1 1866 to George Miller  Feb 12 1868 Deft brought up bail requests in $300 Same day deft committed--March 22 1868 Dennis Igo held in $50 to appear and testify in the above cases
July 2nd 1870 2nd Alias Warrant issued to G W Woods Cmo
July 2nd 1870 Deft brought up
George Solifelt }  each held in $300 that George Solifelt the
Henry A Walters }  deft shall be and appear at this next court of Quarter Sessions to answer such charges
as may be brought against him on the part of the
Commonwealth and not to depart said court without leaves
taken and acknowledged before me July 2nd 1870 J S Warcam J P 
Mifflin Co SS Certified from the Records Augt 19th 1870
Jos. S Warcam J P

Costs:(This was written in the left margin of case)
J S W  .75 paid by Igo
J S W 2.25
A.W.   .62 paid by Igo
A.W.   .50
G W W  .62

Source:  Mifflin Co PA Court Papers, Quarter Sessions Papers Aug 1870-April 1875 imaged at Familysearch.org: accessed 18 Oct 2021, img 32 of 1472  
https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QHV-J3D8-93DS?cat=53132

Draft & Military Service Records

Residence:  Lewistown
Name: Sullifelt, G T 
Age 1st July 1863:  21 Yrs old  White Laborer Single 
Place of Birth:  Ohio 126th Regt PA
Remarks Dis 20th May 1863

Source:  Ancestry.com. U.S., Civil War Draft Registrations Records, 1863-1865 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2010.Pennsylvania > 17th > Vol 1 of 1> Image 607 of 627.

Also found  two men named George Solifelt listed in Court Martial records in the National Archives Catalog.  


I think the top one is probably him since the Company and Regiment matches on that is in his service and pension file but the one in New York is likely a different guy as I did find one that was in New York City.  I'd like to check both if I get the opportunity.  

Other service records on Ancestry list him as a POW on 19 Jul 1864 at Ashby's Gap, Virginia.  He was very hard to find in census records prior to living in Kansas.  I found him in the ones he should be in there 1910, 1920 & 1930 Federal as well as the Kansas State Census for the years 1915 & 1925.

George and Tennie are buried side by side in the Highland Cemetery at Iola, Kansas. Their entries are listed on FindAGrave along with a picture of their gravestones.


Sunday, October 17, 2021

John F Tipton--Charity Baptist Church Cemetery(Hazel Green, AL)


Information from the Death Notice of Husband of 2nd Cousin 3 times removed.

John F Tipton Age 55
Died: Sun 12 Feb 1950(8:30am)
Services and Burial
Mon 13 Feb 1950
Charity Baptist Church
Charity Baptist Church Cemetery
Rev Floyd Kilpatrick & Rev Johnny Jenkins
Laughlin - Service Funeral Home

Survivors
Wife: Mrs. Allie Moss Tipton
Sons:
Richard Tipton
Arthur Tipton
Arnold Tipton
Cecil Tipton
All of Route 1 Huntsville

Daughters:
Mrs. James Moore(Evans GA)
Mrs. Wilson Moon(New Hope, AL)
Mrs. Dewey L Boyett(Hillsboro, TN)

Brothers:
Lindsay Tipton(Elora AL)
William Henry Tipton(Meridianville, AL)
Marvin Tipton (Route 4 Fayetteville)

Sister:  Mrs. Martha Moss(Hazel Green AL)
7 Grandchildren and several nieces and nephews.

Active Pallbearers:

Wilburn Moss
Dewey L Boyett
Wilson Moon
James Moore
William Pierce
Roy Uptain.

Source:
"John F Tipton's Rites held Today," The Huntsville Times(Huntsville, Alabama), 13 Feb 1950, p. 8 col 8, digital images, Newspapers.com (https://www.newspapers.com : accessed 17 Oct 2021).

Notes:  
Ethel Evelyn Tipton is Mrs. Dewey L Boyett
Allene Victoria Tipton is Mrs. Wilson Moon
Bertha Arietta Tipton is Mrs. James Moore

Allie Moss Tipton is kin to me thru our William Acuff and Magdeline Hall.  They are her Great grandparents(she descends thru their daughter Martha Ellen Acuff Thomas Pierce).  They are my  4th Great Grandparents(I descend thru their son Jonathan Acuff)

I was inspired to look for other descendants of Martha when one appeared as a hint in my Thrulines at AncestryDNA.

This 2C3R( Allie Moss Tipton) and her husband are buried in the same cemetery as my maternal grandparents.  The parents of my maternal grandmother are also buried in the same cemetery.  My maternal grandfather's Dad and his stepmom are buried in Charity Cemetery as well.

Monday, October 11, 2021

Thank You, Charlie and Alice!

I frequently blog about the Y DNA line of my Dad and my research attempts to find the connection between my Patrilineal 2nd Great Grandfather and the other Cooks we match which includes the male line of Shem Cooke(d. 1796 in Granville Co. North Carolina)  While I've done some analysis and research of the others we match and looked for others researching those lines it's been a struggle not only due to the Cook(e) surname being a common one but the given names which they use which you would think would be uncommon(Rowland, Claiborne, Shem...), get used multiple times in each generation.  This happens so much that it's hard to figure out the immediate family in which they belong.  It's great when I can find the work of other researchers and see their take on things.  This post is a "thank you" to a number of  those people.


Thank you to Charles G. Cooke who wrote up the information he'd gathered in his self published book, Many Cooke's and their Broth. Charles G Cooke was a descendant of Old Shem thru Shem(d. 1862 Carroll Co GA) and his wife Temperance Blackwell thru their son Rowland Bryant Cook.   He'd published his work in the late 1960s before I was born and abt 20+ years before I began my research.  I first heard about him having published his work almost 5 years ago when I received the results of my brother's YDNA test.  At the time it was a Y37 which had plenty of matches to the Cook(e) Family.  Later I'd upgraded to 67 Marker, 111 Marker and eventually the Big Y700.  As part of my search to learn more about our YDNA line I had searched Ancestry Message Boards trying to find others who were researching Shem Cooke and happened upon mention of Charles' work and thankfully was able to obtain a copy. As it happens Charles G. Cooke was the paternal 1st cousin of my brother's closest Cook(e) YDNA match.  I'd also like to thank that YDNA tester who is deceased although I won't mention his name here.(His test is listed in his wife's name which initially was somewhat confusing)  The Family History library has access to Charles' self-published book.

Thank you to Alice Wright Algood.  Alice published her article about Shem Cooke's descendants in a Maury Co TN Quarterly publication in March of 1996. I'd been doing searches for "Shem Cooke" and a Google Alert pointed me to an item that had been on Amazon.  I was able to get enough information about the item to tell it was a historical quarterly.  I took this information and searched on the Tennessee State Library and Archives site to see if they had a copy of the publication.  Fortunately they did and I was able to order a copy of the article.  Alice was a descendant of Shem Cooke(d. 1796 NC) thru his daughter Falicia/Phalisa If you get the opportunity check out Alice's Find A Grave memorial.  She was truly a remarkable lady..

I'm grateful that these people took the time to write up and publish their research.  I've found errors in both works however that in no way takes from the overall usefulness of their publication.  I have access to more records than they had and neither of them were able to take advantage of the information which DNA research provides.  I'm still trying to find the connecting lines for my Cookes and many other of my families but I am so thankful for their published works.  I hope this will inspire the current generation of researchers to write about your research.  Also if you have a common surname, use DNA testing--YDNA, autosomal DNA and mitochondrial DNA (where applicable)  

Sources: 

Cooke, Charles G. 1967. Many Cooke's and their broth; [a genealogical outline of the Cooke family of Virginia, North Carolina, Georgia, and Alabama.

Algood, Alice Wright. 'Shem Cooke and his Family in Granville and Franklin Counties, North Carolina'. Historic Maury-a Quarterly Publication of the Maury County Historical Society 32, no. 1 (Mar 1996): 12-29.

Friday, October 08, 2021

Joseph Cook--Franklin Co GA 1785


The warrant in this folder is likely one of those included in an previous post(here) I did about the Joseph Cook entries in the records for Greene, Franklin, and Wilkes Co GA although it looks like this one has been transferred.

Folder Labels

Cook, Joseph

1 Warrants

SEE: 

 Lindsay, John
Taylor, Grant
Long, Nimrod
Shelman, Michael

Warrant

Georgia to John Gorham Esq. County Surveyor for the County of Franklin

You are hereby authorized and required to admeasure and lay out, or cause to be admeasured and laid out, unto Joseph Cook a Tract of Land, which shall contain Nine Hundred and Twenty Acres, in the said county of Franklin, On the Bounty certificates of William Davis, William Anderson, William Lewis, & Benjamin Allen

Reserved

Taking special care that the same has not heretofore been laid out to any person or persons; and you are hereby also directed and required to record the Plat of the same in your Office: and transmit a copy thereof, together with this Warrant, to the Surveyor General, within Six months from this Date.  Given under my Hand, as Senior Justice of Said County, this 6th Day of June 1785

Walker Richardson C F C

On outer side of Warrant

Middle Panel

Joseph Cook
920 Acre
Warrt.

Right Panel

Franklin County } To the worshipfull Court of
Now Selling your Petitioner Joseph Cook prayeth that the within warrant be renewed in John Pope's name and your Petitioner will ever pray

Joseph Cook


Source:  "Georgia, Headright and Bounty Land Records, 1783-1909," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:33S7-9YMM-FK6?cc=1914217&wc=M617-R3F%3A200589401 : 20 May 2014), Headright and bounty documents 1783-1909, Cone, Aaron-Cooner, James > image 472-474 of 546; Georgia State Archives, Morrow.


Wednesday, October 06, 2021

Tennessee Ferguson Hill(1862-1946)

 Mrs. Tennessee Hill Funeral Tomorrow

Mrs. Tennessee Hill, 83, died last night at her home at 421 South Buckeye.

Mrs. Hill was born in Bedford County, Tenn., and had been a resident of Allen county since 1930. She was a member of the First Methodist church.

She is survived by one sister, Mrs. Sophia Boyce of Unionville, Tenn.

Funeral Services will be at the Sleeper chapel tomorrow afternoon at 2 o'clock. The Rev. Lynn Rupert will conduct the services and burial will be in Highland cemetery.

Source:  The Iola Register(Iola, Kansas) 12 March 1946 p. 1 col 3.

She was the daughter of James C Ferguson and Susan Carson.  Susan married a 2nd time and Tennie is listed as Tennessee Cook in the home of her stepfather in 1870 & 1880 Bedford Co TN.  She moves with them to Ozark, Arkansas and marries there in 1886.  While her death notice says that she has been a resident of Allen Co since 1930, I was able to find her in a city directory there in 1912 listed as a housekeeper.  She is also listed in several of the Kansas State Censuses one of which notes her as the niece of the head of household George H Solifelt.  I found George's obituary at Newspapers.com and it details the time that he and his niece arrived in Iola.  I have not been able to figure out how she is his niece as of yet.  Perhaps he was married to a sibling of one of her parents rather than being kin by blood.  Will address that in another blog post.