Mitochondrial Riddle

Never say never.  I guess that somewhat applies here.  I've always said that I didn't have a question that mitochondrial dna(mtDNA--mother line DNA) could answer but as I was sending a Hitchcock researcher additional info, I realized that is not the case.

Since I began researching in 1990 other Hitchcock researchers always listed George Hitchcock's wife as Milly Combs.  I had it written in my notes but had never seen a source and still haven't for that matter. Fast forward about 15 years and I received an email from Agnes Jones about records for a George Hitchcox and Milly Riddle in Roane Co TN marriage records in 1806. In addition to that marriage I was also able to find a Riddle land owner whose land bordered the widowed Millie Hitchcock in Warren Co TN where George and Milly had raised their family.  The land had been granted to Basil Riddle around the time of George and Milly's marriage.  Now he was selling it to William Edde. William Edde's son would later marry Milly Hitchcock's daughter.  There are not many records that I've found so far which I can identify as this Basil Riddle.  The name gets reused for several generations in various areas.  I did find a statement in a wills sales, inventory book in Warren Co TN which mentioned Basil Riddle dying intestate, his meager estate and the fact that he has five heirs--none of whose names are mentioned.(see Bazell Riddle post)

A little backstory into what I feel probably brought about the story that Milly's maiden name was Combs.  While I am a descendant of George Hitchcock and Milly Riddle, I am also a descendant of John Fleming and Nancy Combs.  Two of George and Milly's children(James P and Nancy) married two of John and Nancy's children(Charlotta and Alfred P.)   This may have added to the confusion.  So while I may not be able to tell if Milly was a Combs...I can see if she and Nancy had the same mother.  I carry Nancy Combs Fleming's  mtDNA.  Milly has a lot of female descendants so I could probably find a straight line female line and I'd like for that to be thru a different line than that of her daughter Nancy Hitchcock Fleming's line(Not to be confused with Nancy Combs Fleming)  Of course the thing holding me back now would be to find the finances to pay for the mtDNA test.

Democratic State Convention 1853 Bedford Co TN --Delegates

Democratic State Convention  Nashville Tennessee
Davidson Co. Courthouse
Wed 27 April 1853

Bedford Co TN

Nashville Union (Nashville, Tennessee)26 Apr 1853, Tue Pg 2

www.newspapers.com

August 1941--Shelbyville Man Dies in Local Hospital

I found this article using Newspapers.com.  It is the closest thing to an obituary that I have been able to find for my paternal Grandmother's dad, James M Jakes.  He was living with my Grandparents in Old Hickory(Davidson Co. Tennessee) in the 1940 US Federal Census. I do have a copy of his death certificate which shows that he is buried in Willow Mount Cemetery in Bedford Co TN.  For whatever reason, his death year was never placed on his gravestone.   I should also note that there are several errors in the survivor listing.  Two Sons:  Will and Euless Jakes Four Daughters Mrs. Tom Bell, Mrs. Cora Gibson, Mrs. Lula Gibson, and Mrs. Tom Cooke.

Source: 
"Shelbyville Man Dies In Local Hospital"
The Tennessean, 15 Aug 1941, p. 15, col. 6 & 7; digital images, Newspapers.com (https://www.newspapers.com : accessed 16 Sep 2017).

Bankrupt Notices Several Middle TN Counties--March 1842--Part 3

Bankrupt Notices from The Tennessean (Nashville, Tennessee)--23 Mar 1842(Wed) Pg. 3
The following are the persons filing from Giles, Lawrence, Maury, Montgomery, and Robertson Counties of the Middle District of TN and I've listed them by county in no particular order.

Elzey Families involved in Buggy Wreck--1895

I found the following article in an old Alabama newspaper at Newspaper.com.  Was it published in there because the Elzeys had a connection to that area of Alabama?  I wish I knew.  May have been carried in many newspapers over the country as they liked to run news from all over the US.  My 3rd Great Grandmother Adeline Eliza Elzey Hale was said to have been born in Alabama but I have never been able to find anything on her family.  The only insight I have is info given by her granddaughter, Phoebe Hale McCormick.  In evaluating the information in the statement I need to remind myself that Phoebe was only 5 years old when her Dad's mother, Adeline passed away in April of 1905.   Too, it should be noted that Phoebe's Dad, John Nathaniel Hale  was the youngest child.  John N. Hale never knew his Daddy as William Taylor Hale drowned in the Collins River shortly before his birth.  The account of Wm Taylor Hale's unfortunate death is mentioned in Phoebe's recollection of her Grandparents.  Much of the information detail events which happened up to 80 years before Phoebe was even born.


Of course these events in this newspaper article are happening in  1895 which is about 10 years before Adeline Hale dies.  These could be nephews, or brothers cousins or even great nephews.  Her surname has been spelled a variety of ways.  The details of the buggy wreck are pretty gruesome.

The Eutaw Whig and Observer (Eutaw, Alabama)
01 Aug 1895 Thu
Page 1

www.newspapers.com

So I went looking for any record of a William Elzey in the 1880 census and found one in the Adams Co Indiana area. From that information I was able to find details of who he married and also his Death Certificate(from Ancestry.com) which lists him as a widower.  

Indiana Death Certificates, 1899-2011  Searched on William Elsey (Decatur area)
Year:  1904 Roll : 01

The Ancestry Database
Ancestry.com. Indiana, Death Certificates, 1899-2011 [database on-line]. Lehi, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2015.

Based on records from:
Indiana State Board of Health. Death Certificates, 1900–2011. Microfilm. Indiana Archives and Records Administration, Indianapolis, Indiana.

I did a search for the cemetery where he is buried, having gotten that information from the Death Certificate and found a listing for Reynolds Cemetery at the Adams County page of the INGenWeb.  Addition info was listed at the website in an obituary and while it didn't say exactly when his wife died it gave the impression that it had been more than several years.  The obituary also told of Wm. Elzey coming to the Decatur area in 1836 with his father from Clinton Co Ohio.  His father is also buried at the Reynolds Cemetery.  LOTS of information.  Also in the Reynolds Cemetery there is a Mary E Elzey Mann who dies in Oct of 1895.  This particular Elzey family doesn't appear to be connected to my Adeline Elzey Hale within the 1800s.  There may be some connection back in Deleware and Maryland. There are several families from Maryland and Connecticut which settled in Van Buren Co TN.  I am also intrigued by the Martin Family connection to this Elzey.  There are many many Martin family connections in my autosomal DNA results but no patterns yet.  I'm putting this aside for now but this information could come in handy if I ever make a connection to Elzeys in Maryland.

Van Buren Co TN -1857 Political meeting

The A.J. McElroy mentioned is my 3rd Great Grandfather whose full name was Andrew Jackson McElroy. His Dad was Andrew McElroy who moved his family to the area from Oglethorpe County, Georgia.

Nashville Union and American (Nashville, Tennessee)12 Apr 1857, Sun  Page 2