Jonathan Acuff's Place Mentioned in Newspaper Article(1932)

My 3rd Great Grandfather, Jonathan Acuff was mentioned in an article in the Sept 22, 1932 edition of the Bledsonian and Pikeville Banner. The article was a follow-up to a previous piece about Blackmon Shirley(known as the oldest G. A. R.veteran) who, according to Calhoun Swafford, had at one time lived at the Jonathan Acuff's place. 

But at what time was that?  

I did find Blackmon in Bledsoe County Tennessee. during the 1850 US Federal Census. Blackman's age in census records is all over the place.  After looking at the listing of his reported ages as a whole, I feel his actual birth year was around 1830, which would make him about 103 at the time of his death--definitely an interesting character.

Mr. Swafford noted in the article that it had been about 55 years since he had seen Blackmon, placing their last encounter prior to 1877. Hamilton County Tennessee borders Bledsoe County, but it is most likely that Blackmon lived at the Acuff place sometime between the 1840s and 1860. While we know he was in Bledsoe County at the time of the 1850 Census, we cannot say for certain that he was living at the Acuff place at that exact time.

 

Transcription of the article:

Calhoun Swafford Knew Shirley 

Calhoun Swafford of Route 1, came to the Bledsonian office Saturday and said that he remembers Black Shirley. An article about Shirley was published in our last issue. He is now said to be living in Springtown, Texas, where is getting considerable publicity on account of his age, he having reached his 114 year. An article clipped from the daily press said that he was a native of Tennessee having lived at Pikeville. Mr. Swafford said Black Shirley at one time lived at the Jonathan Acuff place, now owned by Mrs. Mary Brown on Route 1. Later he lived near Summer City and afterwards moved to Rhea county and from there he moved to Texas. Mr. Swafford thinks it must have been at least 55 years since he last saw him. Mr. Swafford relates an interesting experience with Shirley. He said that Shirley came to their home many years ago and boasted that he could ride a wild horse they had in the barn lot. Shirley was warned by Mr. Swafford's father that the horse was wild and could not be ridden. Shirley tried it anyway, and after a fit of bucking Shirley was thrown to the ground and stayed at their home several days before recovering from injuries sustained in the fall. Shirley was related to Mr. Swafford's mother, Mrs. Miria Mills Swafford. He also married a Swafford, it is said. Mrs. H. G. Ferguson stated to The Bledsonian editor that her mother, Mrs. C. E. Pope, also knew Shirley or knew of him when he lived here.

Source:

"Calhoun Swafford Knew Shirley," Bledsonian and Pikeville Banner, Vol XIV, No 51,  Sept 22. 1932, p 1 col 2; image, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QHK-Q3RX-38B8  : accessed 16 August 2026 ) IGN 8972078, Image 102 of 1057.

1850 US Federal Census Population Schedule, Bledsoe County, Tennessee, Eastern District, Household 361, line 11, Blackman Shurley; image, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:S3HT-6L9Q-R8N :  accessed 16 August 2026 ). IGN 4191096(Item 2 of 2), Image 202 of 276

Mothers of my Direct Line--Out to the 2nd Great Level

In celebration of Mother's Day I've gathered the information I have for the Mothers in my direct line out to my 2nd Great Grandmothers.  I did not include my mother as she is still living. This was a very interesting exercise and it let me see where I have opportunities for more research on these mother lines.  My Dad's mother, Pearl Gray Jakes Cooke was the only one of these women that I met.

Decoration Day where my maternal grandparents and maternal great grandparents are buried is on Mother's Day.  I remember when we would go to place flowers on the graves that the women whose mother was still living wore a red rose and those whose mother had passed on wore a white rose.

Grandmothers

Pearl Gray Jakes Cooke

Birth: 21 Mar 1891 in Bell Buckle, Bedford Co., Tennessee

Death: 1 Jul 1993 in Dickson, Dickson Co., Tennessee (Aged 102)

Burial: Jul 1993 at Mt. Olivet Cemetery, Davidson County, Tennessee

Parents

Father: James M Jakes (1857–1941) 

Mother: Telitha Ann Frizzell (1858–1920).

Husband

Thomas Dewitt Cooke (1888–1971), married 10 Mar 1912 in Shelbyville, Bedford County, TN solemnized by Brom R. Whittemore, Justice of the Peace.

Children

Magnus Elizabeth Cooke (1913–2000)

Viola White Cooke (1915–2006)

Thomas Dewitt Cooke (1918–1927)

Olive June Cooke (1923–2006)

Morris Bradford Cooke (1927–1994)

Billy Joe Cooke (1930–2011)

Living- Daughter

She survived six of her seven siblings living to the age of 102 and lost her 8 yr old son Tomie D to scarlet fever.

Sources

Census 

1900 Bedford Co TN Dist 4 p 12B

1910 Bedford Co TN Bell Buckle p 6A

1920 Marshall Co TN Dist 1 p 4B

1930 Davidson Co TN Dist 4 p 28A

1940 Davidson Co TN Dist 4 Old Hickory p 10B

1950 Davidson Co TN Old Hickory ED 19-17 Sheet 10

Vital Records

Tennessee Delayed Birth Records (1869-1909)

She was 60 years old when she applied for her delayed TN birth certicate. The sources on that certificate are the births of two of  her children, Jakes Family Bible and her sister's death certificate.

Pearl is listed as Mother in the US Social Security Application and Claims Index accounts of her children Magnus, Viola, June and Morris.

US City Directories

She is listed in several City Directories in the 1950s in Nashville.

Newspapers.com obituary from The Tennessean (3 Jul 1993)

https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-tennessean-obituary-of-pearl-gray-ja/12003253/

Several personal items are noted, including saved envelopes from her scrapbooks that verify her various Nashville addresses. 

Find a Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/34100383/pearl_gray-cooke : accessed May 8, 2026), memorial page for Pearl Gray Jakes Cooke (21 Mar 1891–1 Jul 1993), Memorial ID 34100383, citing Mount Olivet Cemetery, Nashville, Davidson County, Tennessee, USA.

You can read more about her in a blog post I did a number of years back on her birthday.

https://mariegen.blogspot.com/2017/03/march-21-1891-birthday-of-pearl-gray.html

DNA

atDNA matches in the expected range with cousins that descend from the Jakes & Frizzell lines and thru siblings of Pearl.

mtDNA haplogroup U3a1c8a.

Minnie Acuff Luna

Birth: October 26, 1899, in Van Buren County, Tennessee.

Death: July 5, 1957, in Lincoln County, Tennessee.

Burial: Charity Baptist Church Cemetery, Hazel Green, Alabama.

Minnie's obituary is transcribed in my blog post at

https://mariegen.blogspot.com/2026/04/obituary-of-minnie-acuff-luna-lincoln.html

Parents

Father: James Polk Acuff (1872–1939)

Mother: Emma Frances Hale (1875–1939)

Husband

William Richard Luna (1892–1994) married July 18, 1915, in Van Buren Co., Tennessee.

Children

Eustace/Huston Haskell Luna (1916–1992)

James Bertrom Luna (1919–2000)

Geneva Hortense Luna (1922–1923)

Mary Elizabeth Luna (1924–1925)

Ressie Mae Luna (1926–2015)

Otis Linel Luna (1929–2006)

Jessie Lee Luna (1932–2024)

Living Daughter

William Ernest "Bill" Luna (1937–2020)

My Mother who is still living

Roy Wayne Luna (1943–2013)

Sources

Censuses

1900 Van Buren Co TN Dist 1 p2A

1910 Van Buren Co TN Dist 1 p2A

1920 Madison Co AL Dallas p 10B

1930 Lincoln Co TN Dist 2 p 7A

1940 Lincoln Co TN p 4B

1950 Van Buren Co TN ED 88-5 sheet 3

Vital Records

She lost two infant daughters, Geneva & Elizabeth. Elizabeth's birth announcement was listed in the Huntsville Times(AL).

She was in and out of the hospital several times. My Mom remembers that they pulled fluid off of her frequently.  

She was struck by lightning and lived.

She was also hit by a stray bullet from folks hunting while sitting in her front yard in Van Buren Co TN and survived that but died at the age of 57.

Find a Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/9335871/minnie-luna : accessed May 8, 2026), memorial page for Minnie Acuff Luna (26 Oct 1899–5 Jul 1957),.Memorial ID 9335871, citing Charity Baptist Church Cemetery, Hazel Green, Madison County, Alabama, USA.

atDNA matches in the expected range with cousins that descend from the Acuff & Hale lines and thru siblings of Minnie.

mtDNA haplogroup is H3ei2.

Great Grandmothers

Jane Bell King Cook

Birth: March 5, 1853, in Arkansas.

Death: May 7, 1921, in Rockvale, Rutherford Co, Tennessee. 

The cause of death is noted as pulmonary tuberculosis.

Burial: May 1921, at the King Cook Cemetery in Rover, Bedford County, Tennessee.

Parents

Father: William Benton King (1819–1901)

Mother: Eliza Jane Manire (1818–1896)

Husband

William Green Cook (1854–1944); Married 1876.Marriage: February 3, 1876, in Bedford County, Tennessee, to William Green Cook.

Children

John Lemuel Cook (1877–1968)

Rebecca Love Cook (1882–1928)

Eliza Amacy Cook (1885–1973)

Thomas Dewitt Cooke (1888–1971)

William Clarence Cook (1891–1962)

Laura E. Cook (1896–1898)

Sources 

Census

1860 Bedford Co TN Dist 10 Rover P.O. p222

1870 Bedford Co TN Dist 10 p 292A

1880 Bedford Co TN Dist 10 p 275C

1900 Bedford Co TN Dist 9 p 5B

1910 Rutherford Co TN Dist 12  p 14B

1920 Entire Household was missed (She had Tuberculosis)

Vital Records

Jane is listed as mother on the TN Death Certificates of her son Clarence and her daughter Rebecca.

Jane is listed as mother on the Indiana Death Certificate of daughter, Eliza.

Find a Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/15668259/jane_belle-cook : accessed May 7, 2026), memorial page for Jane Belle King Cook (5 Mar 1853–7 May 1921),Memorial ID 15668259, citing King-Cook Cemetery, Unionville, Bedford County, Tennessee, USA.

DNA

atDNA matches in the expected range with cousins that descend from the King & Manire lines and thru siblings of Jane.

Telitha Ann Frizzell Jakes

Birth: 28 Mar 1858 in Bedford County, Tennessee.

Death: 18 May 1920 in Bedford County, Tennessee 

Burial: 19 May 1920 at Willow Mount Cemetery, Bedford County, Tennessee.

Parents

David W. Frizzell (1808–1870)

Rebecca Manley (1818–1862)

Husband

James M. Jakes (1857–1941)01 Sep 1880 in Rutherford County, Tennessee.

Children

Ella Ruby Jakes (1881–1934)

Fannie Cora Jakes (1883–1965)

Lula B. Jakes (1885–1977)

Katherine "Kitty" Jakes (1887–1963)

John L. Jakes (1889–1937)

Pearl Gray Jakes (1891–1993)

William Bryan Jakes (1897–1997)

Frank Euless Jakes (1900–1983)

Sources

Census 

1860 Bedford Co TN Dist 4 p 117

1870 Bedford Co TN Dist 4 p 171B

1880 Never Located her in this census

1900 Bedford Co TN Dist 4 p 12B

1910 Bedford Co TN Bell Buckle p 6A

1920 Bedford Co TN Dist 7 excluding Shelbyville p 1B

Vital Records

Annie is listed as Mother on son John's Social Security Applications and Claims Index and also on his TN Death Certificate as well as the TN Death Certificate of daughter Cora.

Property Records: Bedford County Deed Book 21, p 124 (Recording the sale of land to Abe Eaton in 1914).

Find a Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/95394553/thelitha_ann-jakes: accessed May 7, 2026), memorial page for Thelitha Ann “Annie” Frizzell Jakes (28 Mar 1858–18 May 1920), Memorial ID 95394553, citing Willow Mount Cemetery, Shelbyville, Bedford County, Tennessee, USA.

DNA
atDNA matches in the expected range with cousins that descend from the Frizzell & Manley lines and thru siblings of Annie.
mtDNA haplogroup U3a1c8a.

Nancy F Pitman Luna

Birth: 1867 in Tennessee.

Death: April 1899

Burial: Indian Mound Cemetery, DeKalb County, Tennessee.

Parents

Father: David Pitman (1838–1922)

Mother: Mary D. Frances Adcock (1842–1902)

Husband

David Enoch Luna (1865–1948) on July 19, 1885, in White Co, Tennessee. 

Bond and License were issued on July 18, 1885.

Children

Minnie Frances Luna (1887–1976)

Martha Elizabeth Luna (1889–1939)

Haskell Luna (1891–1891)

William Richard Luna (1892–1994)

Mary Lee Nova Luna (1896–1996)

Samuel Douglas "Dougie" Luna (1899–1989)

Sources

Census

1870 Rutherford Co TN, Dist 6 p 298B

1880 Dekalb Co TN, p 97B

Research Note

Nancy’s residence moved between Rutherford and DeKalb counties during her youth. Notably, her final child, Samuel, was born in March 1899, just one month before her recorded death in April 1899.

When she gave birth to my maternal Grandfather Will in April of 1892 she was in Jordan, Fulton County, Kentucky.  I've always been puzzled by that because the family lived in the Dekalb, White, and Van Buren Co of Tennessee any other time I find them.  My theory is that she was visiting some of her kinfolk there and went into premature labor.  Pa was a really small baby and they did not think he was going to make it but he lived to be 101 years old--dying less than a month from what would have been his 102 birthday.

Find a Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/57299038/nancy_florence-luna : accessed May 7, 2026), memorial page for Nancy Florence Pittman Luna (1867–1899),Memorial ID 57299038, citing Indian Mound Cemetery, DeKalb County, Tennessee, USA.

Emma Frances "Fannie" Hale Acuff

Birth: 5 Nov 1875 in Cane Ridge, Van Buren County, Tennessee.

Death: 5 Sep 1939 in Huntsville, Madison County, Alabama.

Burial: Sep 1939 at Charity Cemetery in Hazel Green, Madison County, Alabama.

Parents

Father: William P. Hale (1849–1926)

Mother: Nancy Arminda Hitchcock (1840–1887)

Husband

James Polk Acuff: Married 27 Feb 1897 in Van Buren County, Tennessee.

Children

William Elsie Acuff (1898–1981)

Minnie Acuff (1899–1957)

Ovena Acuff (1902–1975)

Ernest Odin Acuff (1904–1935)

Emma Lou Acuff (1908–1994)

Sarah Acuff (1911–1989)

Sources

Census 

1880 Bledsoe Co TN, Dist 1, p 3A HH # 50

1900 Van Buren Co TN, Dist 1, p 2A

1910 Van Buren Co TN, Dist 1, p 2A

1920 Van Buren Co TN, Dist 1, p 10A

1930 Madison Co AL, Dallas, p 10A

Vital Records:

Fannie is listed as the mother on the TN Death Certificate of daughter Minnie as well as in the Social Security Application and Claims Index for daughter, Sarah.

The Huntsville Times, 5 Sep 1939, p 8, col 3

DEATH CLAIMS MRS. ACUFF, 63 

Rites For Local Woman Will Be Held at Home Tomorrow 

Mrs. James Acuff, 63, died this morning at 4 o'clock at the residence, 319 Rison avenue, following a long illness. Funeral services will be held tomorrow afternoon at 4 o'clock at the home, with Homer P. Reeves, minister of the Central Church of Christ, officiating. Burial will follow in Charity cemetery, with Womack in charge of arrangements. Surviving are the husband; one son, William Acuff; four daughters, Mrs. Minnie Luna, Mrs. Ovena Sharp Sara Acuff, all of Huntsville, and Mrs. Emma Sanders, of Tennessee; and two brothers, Sam and Charles Hale, both of McMinnville, Tenn.

Pallbearers at the funeral will be John McBride, Bob Knowles, H. P. Patton, Lloyd Polk, Raymond Smith and Horace Anderton. 

DNA
atDNA matches in the expected range with cousins that descend from the Hale & Hitchcock lines and thru siblings of Fannie.
mtDNA haplogroup is H3ei2.

2nd Great Grandmothers

Elizabeth Putman Cook

Birth: 1814 Union County, South Carolina, USA

Death: Sept 5, 1880 Bedford County, Tennessee, USA

Burial: Sept 1880 Rover, Bedford County, Tennessee, USA

Parents

Father: Jabel Putman (1772–1835)

Mother: Nancy Tyler (1784–1870)

Husband

William Clifford Cook(1811–1882): Married on September 27, 1831

Children

Minerva Cook (1834–1900)

James Polk Cook (1836–1888)

Angeline Cook (1838–1938)

Joseph Knox "Joe" Cook (1840–1907)

Rebecca Cook (1843–1857)

Jefferson Gideon Cook Sr. (1845–1931)

Elizabeth Cook (1848–1848)

David V. Cook (1849–1857)

Lurainy Jane Cook (1852–1924)

William Green Cook (1854–1944)

Cass Buchanan Cook (1857–1908)

Sources

Census

1840 Dyer Co TN p 104

1850 Likely Enumerated in Bedford Co TN Dist 10(Dist 10 entries are lost)

1860 Bedford Co TN, Dist 10, p 222

1870 Bedford Co TN, Dist 10, p 292B

1880 Bedford Co TN, Dist 9, p 269D

Vital Records: Vital Records: Her maiden name is listed on the TN Death Certificate of Daughter Lurainy(though it is not spelled correctly.  Her full name is listed on the TN Death Certificates of son Wm Green Cook and Jefferson Gideon Cook.  I have not yet located the death certificate of Angeline Cook.

Newspapers: National Banner and Nashville Whig (December 7, 1831)announces W C & Elizabeth's Sept marriage along with others.  Note on Marriage Date: While some transcriptions list the marriage as September 29, the original license confirms the ceremony was solemnized by Lemuel Manire on September 27, 1831.

FamilySearch Records: Including a deed for 42 acres in Williamson County

https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-CS4T-Q99F-3

Jabel’s Estate Division of Land. https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:939L-6WVD-J

Find a Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/66488146/elizabeth-cook : accessed May 6, 2026), memorial page for Elizabeth Putman Cook (1814–5 Sep 1880), Memorial ID 66488146, citing Simpson Cemetery, Bedford County, Tennessee, USA.

DNA

atDNA matches in the expected range with cousins that descend from the Putman line thru siblings of Elizabeth.

Eliza Jane Manire King

Birth: 1818 in Williamson Co., Tennessee.

Death: April 1896 in Gainesville, Cooke Co., Texas.

Burial: Gainesville, Cooke Co., Texas.

Parents

Father: David Lemuel Manire (1792–1837)

Mother: Susanna Elizabeth Jackson (1798–1862)

Husband

William Benton King (1819–1901), married in 30 Sep 1841 in Williamson Co., Tennessee. The ceremony was solemnized by William Davis.

Children

Susanna Rebecca King (1842–1932)

Minerva Mary King (1845–1925)

W. J. King (1848–1860)

Stephen Robert King (1850–1913)

Jane Bell King (1853–1921)

Margaret Jordon King (1855–1926)

Richard Nance King (1857–1910)

Sources

Census 

1830 Williamson Co TN p 178 line 16 She is Female 10-14 in fathers Household

1840  Not yet found likely Williamson Co TN in Widowed Mother's Household

1850 Rutherford Co TN Versailles, p 245A

1860 Bedford Co TN Dist 10 p 222

1870 Bedford Co TN Dist 10 p 292A

1880 Bedford Co TN Dist 10 Rover p 275C

Vital Records

Eliza's maiden name of Manier/Manire is listed on Mary Manerva's TX Death Certificate.  Her full name is listed on the TN Death Certificate of her daughter Jane B King Cook.

Find a Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/89397706/eliza_jane-king : accessed May 6, 2026), memorial page for Eliza Jane Manire King (1818–Apr 1896), memorial ID 89397706, citing Fairview Cemetery, Gainesville, Cooke County, Texas, USA.

DNA

atDNA matches in the expected range with cousins that descend from the Manire line thru siblings of Eliza.

Catherine Morrow Jakes

Born: About 1830

Died: After 26 Dec 1881 evidenced by her role in a deed transfer at that time.

Parents

Father:   James Morrow(1785–1839)

Mother:  Margaret Sutton(1792–1844)

Dates of parents death(year) are given in records concerning land which fell to her and her siblings after parents death.

Husband

George Jakes married about 1845

Children

Ann Jakes (1846–1890)

Parthenia Jakes (1847–1895)

Margaret Elizabeth "Bettie" Jakes (13 Jun 1850 – 1933)

Jane Jakes (1855–1898)

James M Jakes (02 May 1857 – 1941)

William Jakes (Born ~1859)

Sources

Census:

1830 Bedford County  p 110 line 1(She is female under 5 in James Morrow's Household)

1840 Not Found likely in Bedford as she marries there abt 1845 look at guardian records

1850 Bedford Co TN Dist 1 p 80(stamped)

1860 Bedford Co TN Dist 1 Fairfield PO p 6(written)

1870 Bedford Co TN Dist 1 Shelbyville PO p 119(stamped)

1880 Rutherford Co TN Dist 24 p 372B

Court & Legal:

To determine a date of death range, the following court case was used.

George Jakes Deed to W A Kelton Rutherford Co TN Dist 24

https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-CSTZ-H3ML-L

Tennessee Death Records (1908-1958) listed on daughter Bettie's TN Death Certificate but spelled as Marr likely from how some pronounced Morrow.

DNA

atDNA matches in the expected range with cousins that descend from the Morrow line thru siblings of Catherine.

Rebecca Manley Frizzell

Birth: 1818 in Bedford County, Tennessee.

Death: 1862 in Bedford County, Tennessee.

Parents

Father: Reuben Manley (1782–1854)

Mother: Margaret Elizabeth Frizzell (1783–1827)

Husband

David W. Frizzell (1808–1870)(source: Frizzell Bible)  15 Nov 1834

Children

Lee Andrew Frizzell (1835–1901)

Margaret Catherine Frizzell (1837–1845)

James Reuben Frizzell (1839–1912)

Mary Elizabeth Frizzell (1840–1910)

David Crockett Frizzell (1842–)

Henry Hugh Clay Frizzell (1845–1917)

Permelia Jane Frizzell (1846–1882)

John B. Frizzell (1851–1929)

Absalom Manley Frizzell (1852–1931)

Theoderick Rushing Frizzell (1854–1926)

Telitha Ann Frizzell (1858–1920)

Sources

Census

1830: Bedford Co Tennessee p  131  Line 16(Female 10-14 in Reuban Manley's Household)

1840: Bedford Co Tennessee p 20 line 1(Female 20-29 in David's Household)

1850: Bedford Co Tennessee Dist 4 p 113B 

1860: Bedford Co Tennessee Dist 4 p 116B 

Tennessee Death Records (1908-1958) She is listed as mother on her children John B, Ab Manley and Telitha Annie's Death Certificates

Frizzell Bible(published 1846) Transcribed in Bible Records of Calloway County and Adjoining Counties(1971)

DNA

atDNA matches in the expected range with cousins that descend from the Manley line thru siblings of Rebecca.

mtDNA haplogroup U3a1c8a

Keziah Rigsby Luna

Birth: May 1832 in Tennessee.

Death: 1909 in DeKalb County, Tennessee.

Burial: 1909 at Indian Mound Cemetery, DeKalb County, Tennessee.

Parent

Father: Canada Rigsby (1788–1848)

Mother: Mary Lewis (1790–1850)

Husband

Elisha Luna (1825–1889)December 11, 1851, in DeKalb County, Tennessee

Children

Samuel Turney Luna (1853–1903)

Elisha Luna (1855– )

James Dykes Luna (1858–1930)

Nancy Frances Luna (1863–1937)

David Enoch Luna (1865–1948)

Perry Green Luna (1869–1920)

Sources

Census

1850 DeKalb Co. TN Dist. 6 p 86 

1860 DeKalb Co. TN Dist. 7 Smithville PO p 129

1870 DeKalb Co. TN Dist. 7 p 177b

1880 DeKalb Co. TN Dist. 7 p 171c

1900 Dekalb Co. TN Dist. 7 p 181

US Federal Census records. These place her consistently in Civil Districts 6 and 7 of DeKalb County, Tennessee.

Vital Records

Tennessee Death Records (1908-1958) Listed as mother on the TN Death Certificate of her sons, James D, and David E.  Also listed as mother on son, Perry G. and daughter, Mary F's AL Death Records.

Find a Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/71693814/keziah_ziggy-luna : accessed May 5, 2026), memorial page for Keziah “Kizzie” Rigsby Luna (May 1832–1909), Memorial ID 71693814, citing Indian Mound Cemetery, DeKalb County, Tennessee, USA.

DNA 

atDNA matches with cousins thru Rigsby and Lewis lines.

Mary Adcock Pitman

Birth: 20 May 1842 DeKalb County, Tennessee
Death: 30 Dec 1902 DeKalb County, Tennessee
Burial: Young Bend Cemetery, DeKalb County, Tennessee

Parents
Father: Thomas Adcock (1817–1905)
Mother: Frances Bowles (1819–1906)

Husband
David Pitman (1838–1922)
Marriage Date: 22 Dec 1859 DeKalb County, Tennessee

Children
Thomas Lucian Pittman (1861–1912)
Marshall Pitman (1865–1939)
Green Pitman (1867– )
Nancy Florence Pittman (1867–1899)
David Harlin Pitman (1869–1949)
Francis P. Pittman (1872–1947)
Mary Evelyn Pittman (1873– )
Sarah L. Pittman (1878–1961)
James M. Pittman (1880–1910)
William Horace Pittman (1883–1953)
John Tatum Pitman (1886–1970)
Robert Cecil Pittman (1886–1959)

Sources
Census 
1850 DeKalb Co. TN Dist 6 p 84A
1860 Dekalb Co. TN 7th Civil Dist p 132
1870 Rutherford Co. TN 6th Civil Dist PO Florence p 298B
1880 Dekalb Co. TN Dist 11 p 97B
1900 Dekalb Co. TN Civil Dist 7 p 175A

Tennessee State Marriages (1780-2002): Documentation for her 1859 wedding.
Her maiden name of Adcock is listed on her son David's California Death Certificate
Her full name is listed on TN Death Cert. of daughters Sarah and Pearl as well as the Social Security Application of her son Wm Horace Pittman.

Find a Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/54762406/mary_frances-pitmon : accessed May 5, 2026), memorial page for Mary Frances Adcock Pitmon (20 May 1842–30 Dec 1903), Memorial ID 54762406, citing Young Bend Cemetery, DeKalb County, Tennessee, USA.

DNA 

atDNA matches with cousins thru Adcock and Bowles lines.

Sarah McElroy Acuff
Birth: November 28, 1847, in Van Buren County, Tennessee.
Death: July 2, 1925, in Dallas, Madison County, Alabama.
Burial: July 4, 1925, at McElroy Cemetery, Van Buren County, Tennessee.

Parents
Father: Andrew Jackson McElroy (1820–1900)
Mother: Jane Webb (1825–1867)

Husband 

William Leon Acuff: Married January 5, 1871, in Van Buren County, Tennessee.
They met while he was preaching at the Antioch Christian Church.
He preceded her in death in 1898.

Children
James Polk Acuff (1872–1939)
Andrew Jackson Acuff (1873–1942)
Mattie Ella Acuff (1877–1950)
William Howard Acuff (1880–1914)

Sources
Census Records
1850: Van Buren Co TN Dist 1 p 367B HH# 14
1860: Van Buren Co TN Spencer P.O. p 21 HH# 273
1870: Van Buren Co TN Bone Cave 1st Civil Dist p. 304a HH# 15
1880: Van Buren Co TN Dist 1 p 245A
1900: Van Buren Co TN Dist 1 p 3A
1910: Van Buren Co TN Dist 1 p 2B
1920: Van Buren Co TN Dist 1 p 1B

Vital & Legal Records
Marriage Record: Van Buren County Marriage Book (January 5, 1871).
Death Records: * Alabama Death Index (1908-1959)
Alabama Death Certificate for Mrs. Sarah Acuff.
Listed as Mother on AL Death Cert of son James
Tennessee Death Records (1908-1958)
Listed as Mother on TN Death Cert of sons, Andrew and Wm Howard & daughter Mattie

Obituary: Published in The Huntsville Times(AL) on July 3, 1925 p 1 col 2
Mrs. Sarah Acuff, age 77 years, died Thursday evening at 3 o'clock at residence No 405 Rison Ave., after a long illness.
She survived by one daughter, Mrs. M. E. Slattons, two sons, A. J. and J. P. Acuff, all of Huntsville.
The body will be shipped to Quebeck, Tenn., Saturday morning for interment with Laughlin in charge.

Burial: McElroy Cemetery Van Buren Co. TN, USA
Find a Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/52395889/sarah-acuff : accessed May 5, 2026), memorial page for Sarah McElroy Acuff (28 Nov 1847–2 Jul 1925), Memorial ID 52395889, citing McElroy Cemetery, Van Buren County, Tennessee, USA.

DNA
atDNA matches with cousins thru McElroy and Webb lines.

Nancy Arminda Hitchcock Hale
Birth: September 6, 1840, in Warren County, Tennessee.
Death: Between April 1883 and 1887 (based on birth of last child and husband's date of remarriage)

Parents
James P. Hitchcock (1810–1897)
Charlotta Fleming (1819–1909)

Husband
William P. Hale (1849–1926) Married around 1870.

Children
Charles Forest Hale(1872–1956)
America Hale Hillis(1874–1963)
Emma Frances Hale Acuff(1875–1939)
Vesta C. Hale Hillis(1876–)
Alice Hale(1878–)
James Buchanan Hale(1880–1947)
Sam Hale(1883–1947)

Sources
Census
1840: Warren County, TN (p 366b) She was born after census date Family enumerated
1850: Bledsoe County, TN (P 411a)
1860: Bledsoe County, TN (P 381, HH# 23/23) PO: Pikeville
1870: Bledsoe County, TN (P 1b, HH# 13/13) Dist 1
1880: Bledsoe County, TN (P 3A, HH# 50) Dist 1

Vital Records
Tennessee Death Records (1908–1965). Listed as Mother on
Buck and Sam's Death Certificates
U.S. Social Security Applications and Claims Index (1936–2007) Listed as Charles' mother on his US Soc. Sec Application and Claims Index.

DNA
atDNA matches with cousins thru Hale & Fleming lines.
mtDNA haplogroup is H3ei2.

Obituary of Minnie Acuff Luna--Lincoln Co TN(1957)

Funeral Services Held At Taft Church Sunday For Mrs. Minnie Acuff Luna

Funeral services for Mrs. Minnie Acuff Luna, 57, were held Sunday afternoon at 2 o'clock, at the Taft Church of Christ by Lewis Ellenburg of Huntsville, Ala.

Mrs. Luna died at the local hospital last Friday at 7:30 p.m., following a very long illness. Interment was at Charity.

Survivors include her husband, Will Luna; four daughters, Mrs. Lester Moore of Nashville, Mrs. Rufus Luna of Sparta, Mrs. William Brown of Peoria, Ill., and Miss Beatrice Luna of Taft; five sons, Bert and Wayne Luna of Taft, Haskel Luna of Huntsville, Ala., Otis Luna of Nashville, and Ernest Luna of the Smyrna Air Base; three sisters, Mrs. Ovenia Sharp and Mrs. Sarah Adair of Chattanooga, and Mrs. Emma Sanders of Huntsville; one brother, Elsie Acuff of Chattanooga, and 12 grandchildren.

[Note:  The name Rufus should be Reefus]

While searching through the Lincoln County News and the Fayetteville Observer, I found several mentions of my grandmother, Minnie Acuff Luna, in the local hospital listings. When I called my mother to verify my grandmother’s hospitalization dates, she recalled that she, too, had been hospitalized with lockjaw shortly after her mother’s passing. I checked those same newspaper columns again and was able to confirm her account.

Sources:

"Funeral Service Held at Taft Church Sunday for Mrs. Minnie Acuff Luna," July 11, 1957 , Vol 53, No 28, p 1, col 3: digital images, FamilySearch(https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QHK-93T3-XD3G : accessed 27 April 2026), IGN 8992133, Image 430 of 1297.

"Patients In Hospital," Fayetteville Observer(TN), July 14 1955, Vol CV, No 27, p 4, col 3; digital image, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QHK-Q3RT-S3QF : accessed 27 April 2026), IGN 8984986, Image 899 of 1277.[Mrs W. R. Luna Taft Rt.]

"Patients At Hospital," Fayetteville Observer(TN), Nov 17 1955, Vol CV , No 45, p 12, col 5; digital image, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QHV-13RT-SS2M : accessed 27 April 2026), IGN 8984986, Image 1175 of 1,277.[Mrs W. R. Luna Taft Rt.]

"List of Patients at Local Hospital," Lincoln County News, Nov 17 1955, Vol 51, No 46, p 1, col 1,; digital image, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QHK-93T3-HK96 : accessed 27 April 2026) IGN 8992132, Image 494 of 1072. [Mrs W. R. Luna Taft Route.]

"List of Patients at Local Hospital," Lincoln County News, Dec 29 1955, Vol 51, No 52, p 1, col 1; digital image, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QHV-13T3-HKVW : accessed 27 April 2026) IGN 8992132, Image 580 of 1072. [Mrs W. R. Luna Taft Route.]

"Patients At Hospital," Fayetteville Observer(TN), Dec 29 1955, Vol CV, No 51, p 1, col 3; digital image, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QHV-B3RT-SSF6 : accessed 27 April 2026), IGN 8984986, Image 1264 of 1277.[Mrs W. R. Luna Taft Rt.]

"Patients At Hospital," Fayetteville Observer(TN), Apr 25 1957, Vol CVII, No 17, p 7, col 5; digital image, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QHK-93RT-QV12 : accessed 27 April 2026), IGN 8984988, Image 207 of 732.[Mrs W. R. Luna Taft Rt.]

Obit of Andrew Jackson Acuff(1942)

ACUFF Andrew Jackson Acuff, 68, died at his home at Quebeck in White county Friday . The funeral services were conducted from the residence Saturday afternoon by John W. High. Burial was in the McElroy cemetery . Mr. Acuff was born in Van Buren county December 3, 1873. He was a son of William and Sarah McElroy Acuff. He was married to Hannah Hash in 1904 . Survivors include one son, Elbert Acuff of Quebeck and a daughter, Mrs. Livy Woodlee of Chattanooga. Mr. Acuff had been a member of the Church of Christ since early in life.-- Arrangements by High Funeral company

Source:
Obituary(Acuff), Southern Standard, Vol LXIII NO 41, 24 July 1942, p 6, col 1, Obituary of Andrew Jackson Acuff; image, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QHK-43TC-GFF4 accessed 21 November 2025), IGN 8992355 Image 1027 of 1194.

J.P. Acuff Estate--Van Buren Co. TN(1940)

James P Acuff died in November 1939, about 2 and a half months after his wife's death. They were both living in Madison County, Alabama, at the time they died but still owned land in Van Buren County, Tennessee.  Minnie Acuff Luna was living in Lincoln County, Tennessee.  Mildred Acuff is Ernest Acuff's daughter and the only grandchild listed presumably because Ernest had passed 5 years earlier. I'm not sure why Ovena's name is spelled Evena, but this is not the only case where her name has not been spelled as one would have expected.  

This notice was ordered to be published in the Southern Standard for 4 consecutive weeks.

Dates of publication were:

May 24, 1940
May 31, 1940
Jun 7, 1940
Jun 14, 1940

ORDER OF PUBLICATION

To Evena Sharp, Emma Sanders, Er-

nest Acuff, Mildred Acuff, Sarah 

Thomas and W.E. Acuff
------
W.E. Acuff, Administrator
vs
Minnie Luna et al

In the County Court of Van Buren
County, Tenn.

-------
In this cause it appearing from the
petition which is sworn to, that Evena
Sharp, Emma Sanders, Ernest Acuff,
Mildred Acuff, Sarah Thomas and
W.E. Acuff, the only heirs of J.P.
Acuff, deceased, are non-residents of
the State of Tennessee, they are
therefore, hereby required to appear,
on or before the 1st Monday in July,
1940, before the County Court of Van
Buren county, Tennessee, at the Court
House, in Spencer, Tennessee, and
make defense to the petition filed
against them in said Court, by W.E.
Acuff, administratior, or otherwise the
petition will be taken for confessed as
to them.

It is further ordered that this no-
tice be published for four consecutive
weeks in the Southern Standard, a
newspaper published at McMinnville,
Tennessee, there being no paper pub
lished in Van Buren County, Tenn.
Said petition seeks to sell the lands
of J.P. Acuff, deceased, as an insol-
vent estate, to pay his indebtedness.
This May 16, 1940.

W. B. Cummings, Clerk

4t-32

Source:

"Order of Publication," Southern Standard(McMinnville, Tenn.), 14 Jun 1940, Vol LXI, No 35, p 7, col 2; image,

FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QHK-C3TC-GX1H : accessed 25 Mar 2025), IGN 8992355, Image 75 of 1194.

Antioch news from Warren Co. TN(Sept 1933)

Before there was online social media, there were newspaper articles focused on specific areas where they posted about what all the citizens of that area were doing.  This one is from Antioch, a community in Warren County Tennessee(not to be confused with the city in Davidson County)

Notes of Interest Around Antioch  (Sept. 1933)

(transcribed as written)

Mss Aileen Johnson spent the week-

end with her sister, Mrs Evy Spark-
man of Cummingsville.
Andrew McElroy has malaria fever.
Sam Brady is some better.
Mrs. Charles Rogers is visiting her
daughter, Mrs Oda Grissom.
Andrew Hillis was in Sparta Satur-
day.
Mrs. Jim Breedlove and children and
Miss Della Chandler were Wednesday
guests of Mrs. Andy Acuff.
Miss Willie Maye Witt visited Mrs.
Bascomb Chandler Sunday.
Mr. and Mrs R.obert Wednestead
visited Mr. and Mrs. Ervin Wednestead.
There will be a box supper at Semi-
nary(near Bone Cave) Saturday night,
Sept. 23. The public is invited.


"Notes of Interest Around Antioch," Southern Standard(McMinnville, TN), Vol LIV, No 30, 21 Sept 1933, p 7, col 2; images, FamilySearch(https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QHV-B3RM-16VB : accessed 24 February 2025) IGN 8964042, Image 828 of 1152.

W L Acuff Released from 1882 Poll Tax--Van Buren Co. TN

W L Acuff mentioned in the above image is my 2nd Great-grandfather, William Leon Acuff. He was a Christian Church minister. According to family stories passed down, he met my 2nd Great-grandmother, Sarah McElroy when he came to the McElroy community in Van Buren County to preach.

orderdered(sic) by the Court that W L Acuff 
be Released of his poll tax for 1882 he being 
a minister of the gospel and the trustee and 
tax collector have a Credit the same

Source:  Van Buren County, Tennessee, Court Minutes 1872–1886, p 532, April 1883 Term, W L Acuff released from poll tax 1882; images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-C39N-BTYH : accessed Oct 18, 2024), image 482 of 612; IGN 8478553.

The Name's Wrong, The Identity's Right: Overcoming Record Errors

Yesterday, I received a notice from FamilySearch that they might have found my great-grandmother in a record.

The record on which my Great-grandmother Fannie Hale Acuff was listed was the 2nd marriage of her daughter Ovena Acuff to Owen Sharp.  I'd had the date of her marriage but never entered it. She didn't have children with Owen so that was not a priority for me.  Her name on their marriage record is wrong on two counts. She is listed as Lovena Hammonds.  She should have been listed as Ovena Damrel.  She had been married to Ben Damrel who had died about four years prior. At Ancestry, the record was buried in the hints for Ovena where it was indexed as it was written on the record and probably was only picked up as a hint because of the mention of her parents.

I'm used to names being indexed wrong but this was a case of it being wrong(on two counts) on the record.  I submitted a correction on Ancestry and the record is attached correctly to Ovena at FamilySearch.  I knew she was likely born in either White or Van Buren Co TN because her family lived there until just before the 1920 census when they moved to Madison Co AL for work in the cotton mills.  If I can believe this record gives her place of birth as Doyle TN which is just over the Van Buren County line in White County. 

Source:  
"Alabama County Marriages, 1809-1950", FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:939V-Z7LC-P : accessed 16 September 2024), Marriage Record Entry for Owen Sharp and Ovena Damrel(listed incorrectly as Lovena Dammonds), 24 Aug 1936.

Divorce: Emma Sanders vs Dallas Sanders--Madison Co. Alabama 1946

Image 1

Image of Folder 

Image 2 

Divorce Decree. The State of Alabama, Madison County. Circuit Court of Madison County, in Equity 23rd Judicial Circuit

No 8833  June 20th 1946  Emma Sanders(Plaintiff)  vs. Dallas Sanders(Defendant) 

Granted-Plaintiff’s pleadings were taken pro confesso since the defendant did not appear despite having been served a summons. 

Image 3 

Wrapper of Decree

Image 4 

Summons

May 18th 1946 Summons for Dallas Sander to be delivered by sheriff.

Image 5 

Outer Wrapper of Summons

Signed by register and execute on same day.

Filed May 20th 1946

Rec Bk 37 pg 594

Image 6
Plaintiff's pleadings ask for a vinculo matrimonii(absolute divorce)

Image 7

Wrapper of Plaintiff's pleadings

Image 8

Acknowledgement of served summons on defendant and defendants failure to answer.

Image 9

Decree Pro Confesso 

Order Bk  6 pg. 210

Image 10

June 23rd 1946 Complainant's submission for final decree

Image 11

Notice of Register's Submission

Image 12

Certificate of Commissioner regarding Oral Depositions

Image 13

Outer Wrapper Commission to take Oral Depositions

Image 14

Deposition of Emma Sanders witness sworn and examined under and by virtue of a commission issued out of the Circuit Court of Madison County in equity in a certain cause therein pending wherein they said Emma Sanders is Complainant and Dallas Sanders is Defendant. The said witness, being duly sworn to speak the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, deposes and says as follows:

My name is Emma Sanders. I am the Complainant in this cause and I am of full age and of sound mind. I am bona fide a resident of Madison County, Alabama having bona fide resided in the state for more than one year next before the filing of my bill for divorce. The Defendant also is of full age of sound mind and he resided at the time of the filing of my bill for divorce at 407 Rison Avenue, Huntsville, Madison County, Alabama and still lives in Madison County, Alabama. He and I were married on the 4th day of March 1933 by license regularly issued out of the probate court of Madison County Alabama and lived together thereafter as men and wife until the 12th day of May, 1946, at which time we separated while living in Madison County, Alabama, and we have not lived together since. During the time that we cohabited the Defendant drank to excess and was extremely quarrelsome when intoxicated. He has on more than one occasion struck me and has threatened my life. I was afraid that he might carry out his threats and separated from him at the time mentioned above and have not since cohabited with him.

Emma Sanders

"Alabama, Madison County Chancery and Circuit Court Records, 1829-1968," images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QS7-897T-TXHD?cc=1978142&wc=9L3B-6MF%3A1080063303%2C1080497701%2C1080551102 : accessed 23 March 2023), Divorces and Disputed Estates > 1946 > Case no 8833 Sanders, Emma vs Sanders, Dallas > image 1 of 14; citing Madison County Record Center, Huntsville.

Emma Lou Acuff Sanders
1908-1994

Finding work and more in the cotton mills

My Acuff and Luna family were like many others who left the Upper Cumberland Plateau counties to find work after WWI.  My folks ended up in Madison Co Alabama working for the Dallas Mill(Dallas Manufacturing Company.) The Dallas Mill was located north of Huntsville.  If you read thru the census records for the Dallas community in the 1920s and 1930s you can see what a big part it played in the community and the different jobs that those employed there held.  An article from the Huntsville Times in August of 1923 estimated that there were about 800 employed at the Dallas Mill.  I'd imagine it was similar to the company towns but perhaps on a lesser scale.  

If you have ever worked for a larger company you also know that they have their own social network.  Not in the way we think of social networks today.  Likes, Dislikes, Friends list and blocking someone were done in different ways than they are on today's social platforms. My grandmother's 1st cousin, Josephine Acuff Woodlee and I used to exchange letters and she had told me about some of her memories as a child.  She would hear the grownups in the kitchen discussing the "happenings" of the day.  If you are using DNA in your research(and you should be) keep in mind a person's place of employment may play a role in how two "parties" met. My mother DNA tested in hopes of finding descendants of an older rumored paternal half-sibling conceived during this time period(no suprises so far.)  I'm sure that this is just one of many DNA discoveries that could potentially be made among the families of the mill workers.  Some of the family remained in the Huntsville area and others moved back to the farm in Van Buren Co. around the time of the depression.

Sources:

"Huntsville's Large Industrial Plants That Employ Thousands," The Huntsville Times(Huntsville, Alabama), 05 Aug 1923, p. 11, col. 1-3; digital images, Newspapers.com (https://www.newspapers.com : accessed 3 May 2022).

Woodlee, Sarah Josephine Acuff.  Letter to Marie Cooke Beckman(Granddaughter of 1st Cousin) postmarked 3 September 2002, Chattanooga, Tennessee. Personal Correspondence Collection of Marie Cooke Beckman. Letters from Sarah Josephine Woodlee spanning the years 2001-2004. In my possession. 

James Polk Acuff(12 Jan 1872-23 Nov 1939)--52 Ancestors

In the early 2000s, my maternal grandmother's 1st cousin, Sarah Josephine Acuff Woodlee and I exchanged letters.  I still have a large envelope of the letters she wrote to me.  In a letter written in Oct of 2001, she also included a small tin type picture of my Gr Grandfather James Polk Acuff(1872-1939) sitting on his Dad's lap.  It is one of my favorite and my most treasured possessions. I thought for sure I'd lost the picture in my move back to Tennessee in January of 2012.  Thankfully, I had not.  In packing up my desk, I'd inadvertently knocked the envelope into my box of backup discs and that was where I found it when I was going thru those discs in 2018.  

Polk looks to be around the age of 2 in the picture which would mean it was likely taken around 1874.  I have a copy of a picture of  Polk's parents, William Leon Acuff and his wife Sarah McElroy Acuff which would have been taken around the same time.  I can tell this because Polk's Dad looks exactly the same in both pictures(groomed and clothing wise.)  Polk grew up in Van Buren Co TN and later moved to Huntsville AL in the Dallas area of Madison County as many folks did in search of work. His oldest daughter(my grandmother) was living there in 1920 with her husband and his family and their two sons.  Many folks who moved to that area went to work in the Dallas cotton mills.  Polk and and his wife moved there some time after 1927. He is listed in the 1929 City Directory of Huntsville along with 4 of his children, his brother and nephew, all employed by Dallas Mills.  Polk and family are in the 1930 census there as well.  Polk's wife, Fannie Hale Acuff died in September of 1939 and Polk died that same year in November.  Any time I hear Rison Avenue mentioned I think of my Acuffs  I believe the section of Rison Avenue they lived on no longer exist after the Interstate 565 exchange was built 

To give you an idea of how small the picture is, I'm including a photo of it in my hand below.

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.

Bone Cave, Tennessee about 1951--Granny Minnie is shot

The David E Luna Family
Wm R Luna(son of D E Luna by 1st wife) is standing
first from right.  Minnie Acuff Luna is seated holding her son
Bert on her lap in this picture from about 1920 Huntsville AL

 A Facebook thread about a near miss from a bullet brought to mind a story my Mom had told me about my Grandmother, Minnie Acuff Luna.  I'd heard the story many times but called Mom for an interview of sorts.  Mom's parents(Wm Richard Luna & wife Minnie) were living in Bone Cave, TN on C.P Moore's place about 1951 where they were sharecropping.  The house they lived in had a rail fencing around the yard.  My grandmother was in the yard and my mother and her younger brother, Wayne were playing nearby chasing each other around a chair.  Mom's older brother, Ernest Luna and Douglas Deaton(Mom called him "Douger") were down the road talking near a tree that had fallen.  They heard the shot and then Granny told Grandpa she thought she'd been shot.  As far as Mom could remember they thought it was someone hunting on C P Moore property without his knowledge that was responsible for the stray bullet.  Grandpa went to get Florence(C.P. Moore's wife) so that they could get Granny Minnie to the hospital in McMinnville.  The bullet had went in her right leg missing the bone but hadn't exited.  Granny Minnie recovered but passed about 6 years later.  

Source:  This story is from the information I gathered from my Mom when I asked her about what she remembered from the incident.  If anyone else had ever heard about this I'd love to hear from them with any corrections if they have any.  My Mom would have been around 11 years old at the time this took place.  

Why I have not tested my mtDNA path

After reading Roberta Estes' blog post about mtDNA The Forgotten Test, I thought about the reasons why I haven't mtDNA tested.  Let's face it....I'm cheap.  I repurpose many fabrics and mend clothes til they are thread bare.  I save seeds and divide plants and bulbs every chance I get.  So my reason would be a financial one in that I can't justify the amount of money spent on a mtDNA test because it doesn't answer as many questions for me as an autosomal test.  If I did do the mtDNA testing I would want to do more than the minimal test and I don't have that kind of extra money available. The atDNA testing is all I have had and all I have bought for several others while they were on sale.  Thinking about this also made me want to recognize the ancestors who are responsible for passing me my mtDNA

Until then I remain a mtDNA carrying descendant of:
Beatrice Luna Cooke
Minnie Acuff Luna
Emma Frances Hale Acuff
Nancy Arminda Hitchcock Hale
Charlotta "Lottie" Fleming Hitchcock
Nancy Combs Fleming
Wife of Mason Combs Jr.

Visual representation of Chromosome mapping

This is my daughter Brittany's Chromosome map. She and I both have done the autosomal test as have her maternal grandmother and paternal grandmother.

In addition to her grandmothers testing she has a maternal aunt and a paternal uncle who have also tested as well as several Paternal Great Aunts & a Great Uncle.  This will help to sort thru her matches.

MGF--Cooke/King  & Jakes/Frizzell
MGM- Acuff/Hale & Luna/Pittman
PGF- Beckman/Folley & Harper/Mattox
PGM-Mosley/Hogland & Demonia/Brantley

This segment map is a screenshot from the GenomeMate Pro program which I use to help track my matches for kits I manage.

My 16 GG Grandparents(better late than never)

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

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

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

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