Stella's Roots- Part 3

    After arriving home from our trip to the Winchester area, Jim and I started an online search on the Machen family. In Allie Mae's obituary Willis and Sallie (Sargent) Machen were listed as her parents. It took awhile, but we finally found them.
    Willis and  Sallie were married  on October 23, 1893 in Jackson County, Alabama. On the 1900 census Willis and Sallie were living in Hollywood, Jackson County, Alabama along with Lucille (5) and Lovey (65).  Lovey was Willis' mother.
     By the 1910 census Willis (43) and Sallie had four children.  One of which was Allie Mae who was one year old. They were still living in Hollywood.  On the 1920 census their last name was spelled Matchen. Willis (52), Sallie (48) and Allie M.(11) were the only ones in the household.  Once again they were living in Hollywood.
     When reviewing the actual 1920 census there was a Goins family listed directly above them.  Fanny Goins (29) was listed as a widow  with four children: William (11), Paul (9), Nellie A.(7) and Bee M. (5).  In the previous census Fannie's husband was Marlin L. Goins.
      Since Stella was born in 1920, the search for her has been more difficult. If Allie Mae's story of her and Stella having the same father is true then Willis Machen is our guy. As for the mother, who knows. Jim thinks the Goins family on the census is not coincidental. He made some good points about the possibility of this woman being Stella's mother, but without proof, I cannot fully buy into his new theory.
     A trip to the state archives is planned for this week. Neither one of us is holding out for full disclosure of Stella's parents, but maybe a few clues to keep us going.

Stella's Roots - Part 2

Jim and I traveled to Franklin and Coffee County. Our first stop was the public library in Winchester. We obtained a copy of Allie Mae Nolen Kirk's obituary.  Allie Mae was reportedly Stella's half sister.  Willis and Sallie (Sargent) Machen were listed as her parents.  I had hoped her parents would be Goins but no such luck.  The in-house genealogist was a little overwhelmed with our questions about the local girls school, the Francis family of Cowan and the local record keeping, so she recommended  a visit to the county archives to consult with Judy Phillips.

Ms. Phillips was very helpful.  When we mentioned the school Stella attended, she immediately called it by name, Tullahoma Vocational School for Girls. She once had a friend whose mother had been at the school and in later years, found the school records in a barn in Nashville.  After a phone call, Ms. Phillips felt certain the records were now housed at the state library in Nashville.

Two of three original buildings for the vocational school. 

After learning Jim's mother could have been a Goins, she shared an interesting tidbit about the last name.  Goins is a Melungeon-associated surname that represents multiracial descendants. We found the discussion very interesting regardless whether Stella turns out to be a Goins or not.  Hopefully, the records at the state library will aid in the search for Stella's heritage.

Looking for Stella's Roots

          Since Jim’s family tree was one-sided, he and I started investigating mother’s background earlier this year but with little success.  The family always thought she was adopted, but we could not locate any adoption papers on file in the state of Tennessee.  During the holiday break we hope to find out who Stella really was?

          Very little is known about her family, but this is what we know as of now. Stella remembered as a small child being taken to an orphan’s home (girls school) in Tullahoma, Tennessee by a man she believed was her father.  On the 1930 census Stella appeared in the household of Nora Francis as an adopted child. Her last name was listed as Francis.  They were living in Winchester at that time.

            At some point Mrs. Francis returned Stella to the girls’ school. Edith Holderfield of the Totty’s Bend area took Stella into her home. She did housework in exchange for room and board. During this stay she met Alvin and married.

            Stella always thought Mrs. Francis was her biological mother, but no paperwork was found after Mrs. Francis’ death to support her theory.

            As an adult, Stella was approached by Allie Mae Nolen who claimed she was a sister.  Allie Mae stated she and Stella had the same father but different mothers.   Also, Stella learned she had two half brothers in the Chattanooga area and met both of them.  Their last name was Goins. Stella referred to herself as a Goins.

If only the walls could talk!

    We finally made it back to Hickman County last week. Based on Cousin Jean's directions, we located the home place of  Robert Anderson, Jim's gggg-grandfather.  In the History of Hickman County,Tennessee this home is believed to be the oldest house in Hickman County.

   According to the History of Hickman County, Tennessee, Robert Anderson settled on the north side of the Duck River in the Little Lot bend near the river in 1804, but later relocated and built a house(the above house) on the other side of the river in 1805.

   Robert married Jane Shinn, daughter of Colonel Joseph Shinn.  Shinn served in a North Carolina regiment in the Revolutionary War.  For his service in the War, Colonel Shinn was given by the North Carolina Legislature 2,500 acres of land.  Robert inherited the lands from his father-in-law. 

    Robert and his brother, Richard “Kettle Dick”, bought other warrants granted by North Carolina for services in the Revolutionary War.  Their lands were in the area of what became known as Anderson’s Bend. 

    If this house is a part of the original Anderson home, I wonder if the original walls exist under the exterior.  Given the current condition and curb appeal of the house, I doubt anyone passing by gives this house a second glance.

Gone But Not Forgotten

   Today Windie and I  visited McGavock Cemetery at Carnton Planation in Franklin, Tennessee. The goal was to locate and take photos of Elijah H. Whitwell's stone.  Mission accomplished!  Elijah was my ggg-grandfather.  From what I understand he enlisted in Linden and was assigned to the 42nd Infantry Regiment.  Unfortunately, Elijah did not survive the Battle of Franklin on November 30, 1864.
  

Elijah was thirty-two years old at the time of his death. He was survived by his wife, Angeline, and four children ranging in age from 10 to 4.  The widow later remarried Joseph Dabbs.

  
   

Road trip to Shady Grove

     Today we spent the afternoon in Shady Grove visiting with Jim's distinct cousin, Jean, who shared her family notes and photos with us. Jim's great grandfather, William D., was Jean's grandfather.  William had lived with her parents as well as Jim's parents before his death.
      We know very little about the man other than he lived in Hickman County as well as Obion County during his life, and he was married twice. When we showed Jean our two photos of William and his wife at different time periods, she immediately replied the earlier photo was William and Mary, his first wife, and the later photo was William and Betty, the second wife. Hooray! That was a question we asked ourselves at the very beginning of our search.  Jean did note the second wife was reportedly mean. Betty who is shown in the second photograph, with her hands on her hips, gives the appearance of being a little cantankerous.

     We discovered Jim's great grandfather's middle name was Depree which was a nice surprise.  All the records we found referred to him as William D. Another discovery was William's first wife's name may have been Mary Carolyn instead of Mary Carlin, and she may have been called Carolyn instead of Mary.
    When we talked about the Anderson side of the family, she told us the house that Jim's gggg-grandfather, Robert Anderson, built was still standing. In the old edition of  History of Hickman County, Tennessee  Robert Anderson's house was reportedly the oldest in Hickman County. We were surprised to learn it is still standing. She gave us directions to the house, but we opted for sliced bologna and crackers at the country store saving the house for a future visit.  
     Before leaving, Jean gave Jim an old photograph of her and her sister, Clara, standing with William Depree around 1928.  We now have four photos of William.  In all of them he is sporting his signature mustache.
    Thanks Jean for your boost up the family tree!  We are a long way from the top, but we are enjoying the climb!

George didn't make it today!

    Jay did a wonderful job putting the three pieces of the George's headstone back together. He used stainless steel around the outside. With the new support it should last many more years.

    Unfortunately, George's headstone could not be placed today. We weren't prepared.  Windie nor I could remember exactly what the base looked like.  After probing around the base, we (the men) came up with a plan.  Sometime next month we will return to the cemetery to put George back where he belongs.

     After inspecting George's wife's headstone, it needs a little support at the base as well. Before we left, Jay noticed the words across the headstone of George's wife, Susan. I had overlooked it on my previous visits.  At the top it reads "AT REST" and beside the tree it reads "in hope" with a hand below it.

I said I wouldn't do it, but I did!

  When I first started researching the family trees, I regularly used ancestry.com, but one of the things I noticed with frequency was the amount of repeated misinformation in the public member trees.  Apparently, people copied the information from other public member trees without checking the validity.
   Yesterday, I came across some more misinformation, and I saw red. At that point I decided to develop a public tree with the correct facts. It won't be it a quick project, but the work will worth it in the long run.
    My luck, people will want to challenge my findings rather than copy it.

Do your ears hang low....

  I just love old photographs. It doesn't matter whether I know them or not.  In this case I do know the family.
  When my cousin, Windie, first looked at this photo, she burst into laughter over the Westmoreland ears.  Upon closer inspection, I realized she was right.  Everyone of the men had well defined ears.  I'm not sure, but  I bet the sister in the center wore her hair longer on the sides to cover her ears.
   For fyi, the father of this brood is the second man from the left on the top row.

The Poor Farm

  This morning my cousin, Windie, and I visited the local archives.  Our plan was to do more digging on our gg grandfather, George Henderson.  I scanned the reverse deed index while she read through old newspaper editions  looking for death notices for George or his wife, Susan.  Both of us came up empty-handed.
  Before we left I skimmed through the Westmoreland family folder.  One old newspaper article caught my eye- the poor farm. The article  under the picture told how "seven helpless, friendless, old people" now had a new home at the Maury County poor farm. The new building replaced the five old frame houses which were in  poor state of repair.  The caretaker was Cliff Westmoreland, our grandfather.  The article did not mention Nellie, our grandmother, but anyone who knew the couple would say Nellie ran the place.

   I have few memories of the poor farm as a child. I have seen photos of myself and my cousins hunting Easter eggs on the lawn and of Granddad sitting in his infamous chair, but few actual memories.  I do recall one of the tenants, a mentally challenged man named Leonard. At the age of three I was quite envious of Leonard's collection of  Romper Room toys of which I had none, but Leonard always shared.

What a difference a few days can make!!

Not only a few days, but a family reunion and a family "go-to" girl can make a big difference!  I am thrilled about the things I have learned about George W. Henderson.  Even though a lot of puzzle pieces are still missing, the form is taking shape.

George was born in England in 1827. Supposedly, his family died from an epidermic, and an uncle sent him to America as an indentured servant. It took seven years of service in the Cross Bridges community to pay for his passage.

At this point, no time line for George's early life can be determined.  There was a George Henderson, age 6, who appeared on the passenger list for the Ship Montreal. It departed from London, and later  arrived in New York on September 22, 1834.  Maybe more facts will surface to shed light whether this is our George.

George appeared on the 1860 census along with  Leecy  Henderson and two males ages 19 and 17 with the last name of McClure.  In reviewing Tennessee marriages, I found George  married Leecy McClure on Sept. 23, 1858. Apparently, she died sometime after 1860, and he remarried Susan Mills (my gg-grandmother) on Oct. 16, 1864.

George served in the Confederacy. He was a prisoner of war, but  I'll save that history for another day.

Back to the 1860 census, his occupation listed was stone mason.  At the reunion I learned George worked on the rock wall at the Pinewood Mansion in Pinewood, Tennessee.  After some online research I discovered the mansion burned in 1975. Disappointed with the news, I still had hopes the rock wall remained.

Today my cousin, Windie and I rode to Hickman County to find the walls of Pinewood. No disappointment today!! For the most part the walls are still intact. As I sat atop the wall posing for a picture, I felt a connection to the past and a sense of pride in the work 
my gg-grandfather did
over 100 years ago.

Back to work

      I've played hooky long enough.  It's time to begin researching again, but I'm not certain whose bones to begin digging up. 

  The Pilkinton family reunion is scheduled for this Saturday, and I plan to be there.  It's been years since I made an appearance. Maybe I can reconnect with distance relatives to see what family history they have preserved. Hopefully, this broken headstone will be addressed at the reunion. I'm not sure how long it has been broken, but it has been awhile. G.W. Henderson is my great, great grand-pappy. His daughter married an Pilkinton. Apparently "the family" focused on the paternal side because lots of information exists about the Pilkintons. Not much is known about G.W. other than he was born in England.  

Happy birthday, Freddie Jane!

   My grandmother, Jane, turned 97 years old on May 9th. Quite an accomplishment!  If you quickly do the math, you will determine she was born in 1913. In that year Ford Motor Company introduced the assembly line, and Woodard Wilson became the 28th President. Richard Nixon, Rosa Parks and Vivien Leigh are just a few who share her birth year.

One interesting tidbit about Miss Jane is she embellished  her name. Growing up with only a first name, Jane decided to choose an additional name-Freddie; thus, she became known as Freddie Jane. After she married, her husband completed Jane's social security application for her.  He listed Freddie Jane as her full name on the form.  He didn't realize until afterwords that Freddie wasn't her real name.

Family Reunions

When I was a kid, we had two family reunions to attend every summer.  One was the Johnson reunion (my mom's side) and the other was the Pilkinton reunion (my dad's side).  The above picture represents the Pilkinton reunion in 1970. The older lady in the reddish orange dress is my grandmother, Nellie Pilkinton Westmoreland.  Her husband, Cliff,  is standing behind her. Three of her boys, Windell, Paul and Jack, their spouses and children flank each side. I'm in the pink dress.

Blink and you might miss it!

   The search for Old Flat Creek Cemetery in Bedford County, Tennessee is finally over. After two trips, a lot  of backtracking and a little help from a local, Mr. Butler, we located the cemetery behind someone's house.  It is overgrown and in need of an extreme makeover.  

  Mama found her gg grandfather, William A. Evins, as well her ggg grandfather, William M.,  in the cemetery.  Pretty exciting stuff!

  William M and Elizabeth Evins share a headstone.
On the bottom of the stone it reads:

Dearest parents thou hast left us

And thy loss we deeply feel

Tis the Lord that has bereft us

Of the ones we loved so well

   Near William M. and Elizabeth's headstone are three broken headstones propped against a clump of trees. Manerva, Martha and Wesley Evins are the names listed on the broken headstones. I am wondering if Wesley is the same Wesley Evins who owned a store in Culleoka. Another mystery to solve.

How Many Times Can a Person Die?

   One of the controversies surrounding John Robert is his actual death date.  When I first started the family research, I used Ancestry.com.  It is a great resource, but the information provided on the public member trees can vary greatly.  Every one of the public member trees containing John Robert, showed his death as March 1, 1935.  Where they got that date, I'm not sure. My guess is one person wrote the date, and everyone copied it as true.
   The date I began to use was the date his widow, Martha, listed on her application for John R.'s pension-May 16, 1873. She should know, right? I felt like sending messages to all of the public tree members rubbing my findings in their "cyberface".
   Thank goodness I didn't. About two months ago I was reviewing census records, and guess who appeared on the 1880 census-none other than John Robert. What happened?  Did Martha forget when her husband died?  Did she lie and all those public tree members were right?   Could Martha's "1873" she wrote on the application form actually be other numbers?
   Last week at the state archives, I thumbed through many books about Hickman County.  One of the books I located contained obituaries from the Hickman Pioneer.  I found two references to John Robert's death.  None of the previous death dates matched. May 16, 1882 was the date listed in the newspaper. This date supports the 1880 census.
   When I reviewed the date written by Martha on the pension application form, I tried very hard to make 1873 into 1882, but I could not. In Martha's defense, John Robert had been dead over twenty years when she filed for his pension, so maybe her memory was a little faulty.
   From this point I plan to use May 16, 1882 as his death date.  I believe this date holds more validity than the others.  Now, the next question is, where is he buried?

The War, Papa and a Patch of Land-Part III

 At the archives on Wednesday I tried to locate more information on two land grants-one for Elijah Hooten and the other for Joseph Shinn( his daughter married Elijah's grandson, Andrew).  From the reverse mortgage index, I found both land grants existed.  The next step was a trip to the state archives in Nashville.

  On Thursday my sister and I visited the state archives. Wow! That's another story for another day. With the information from the index, we got the microfilm in record time.  Actually it took more time to locate the grants on the film than to find the microfilm.

   As it turns out Joseph Shinn received 2000 acres along the Duck River in Hickman County. The property was eventually divided among his heirs, one of which was Joseph's daughter, Jane, who married Robert Anderson.  Their daughter, Jane, married Andrew Hooten ( Jim's ggg-grandfather.)

    Elijah Hooten only received 50 acres in Overton County.  The land grant indicated the property was on the waters of the Roaring River on the road leading from Monroe to Sparta. I broke out the map and quickly determined I was confused again. The Roaring River does cross Hwy 42 running from Monroe to Sparta, but is it the same route as the noted in the survey?  Also, according to my research after the war Elijah moved to White County and then to Warren County. There was no mention of Overton County. Did Elijah or any of his children ever live in Overton County? Any thoughts?

The War, Papa and a Patchof Land-Part II

 When reviewing census records, Papa(William D.), Jim's great grandfather, appeared in 1900, 1920 and1930 skipping 1910.  On the 1920 census he and his wife, Mary C., appeared in Obion County, Tennessee. What? I had my doubts, but how many William D. and Mary Cs could there in Tennessee. They used their first name with an initial almost every time. In searching the 1930 census I found William D with another spouse, Betty. Jim was stumped.  No one had ever mentioned Papa having two wives.

  While at the archives on Wednesday, I looked for William D.'s death certificate.  You may recall  we didn't have a death date until last week's visit to Stand Cemetery. It is amazing the information you can learn from a death certificate.  William was listed as a widow.  His wife's name-Betty!  I was pretty excited to learn the hours of research were  backed by the death certificate.  Also, the cause of death was related to lobar pneumonia and his heart was in bad condition.  William died before the doctor returned to his home.

Our question now is why were they in Obion County?  Bob Duncan, local historian, told me many people from Hickman, Perry and other surrounding counties moved to upper west Tennessee to farm.  The farmlands were very rich much better than  in the previously stated areas. 

One more question?  Is this the same lady in both pictures?  It is definitely William in both pictures, but is it the same woman?

The War, Papa and A Patch of Land- Part I

   My sister, Vickie and I went to the Maury County Archives today. She just went along for the ride with no old bones to dig up.  I, on the other hand, had three things to research-the war, Papa and a patch of land. None of the three directly relate to the other.   For today I will start with the war.              .
    Jim's gg grandfather, John R. Hooten, fought in The War between the States. He served in the Co. C of 9th(Gantt's) Tennessee Calavry Battalion beginning in November 1861. In February of 1862 John was captured at Fort Donaldson and held prisoner at Camp Morton in Indiana. He was one of only a few within his company to be captured. From what I have read, Camp Morton was estimated to hold 2000 prisoners, but 3000 prisoners were housed within months of opening. John arrived by train at the camp around February 24, 1862 and marched about a mile to the fairgrounds( the location of Camp Morton). Housing consisted of 4 large, wood-frame fair buildings that were nothing more than exhibition halls, stables and barns which had dirt floors covered with straw.
   I am so thankful for the muster rolls.  Even though they do not account for the entire period, they do allow you follow a soldier's movement during the war. John was exchanged in Vicksburg September 16, 1862 and rejoined his company. Muster rolls indicate John was in French's Division Hospital in Lockhart, Mississippi from August to October of 1863.  From June 30 to December 31, 1864 John was absent on a surgeon certificate. On March 16,1864 John's company was at Tunnel Hill, and the battalion was paroled on May 3, 1865 in Charlotte, North Carolina. 
   Today's question: what type of  injuries or illness did John acquire during the war? 

Jim's Double G- Papa

   When we started digging into Jim's family history, we quickly had more questions than answers. Several questions centered around Jim's great-grandfather, William D. We could not find records of his death.  According to the death certificate of his wife, Mary C., she died in 1925 and was buried in Sheboss Cemetery along the Maury and Hickman County line. From a local historian's records, Mary had a barely readable tombstone years ago, but no burial records existed for William D.   We talked about a road trip to Sheboss Cemetery many times, but it just didn't materialize.  Last week it finally happened, unfortunately, due to the death of Jim's second cousin in Hickman County. While at the funeral home, we discovered his cousin would be buried at Stand Cemetery not far from Sheboss and might possibly contain some missing relatives.

   Stand Cemetery was our first stop.  This cemetery is located in the Shady Grove community of Hickman County.  After scanning row after row of headstones looking for any relations, we can across a surprise-William D!  We couldn't believe it. He died in 1941 outliving his wife by nearly 16 years.
    On cloud nine we headed for Sheboss to locate William's wife.  I really like the name Sheboss. I was told an inn or a trading post existed in the area, and it was ran by an Indian and his white wife.  When business transactions were to occur, the Indian would refer the customers to his wife, saying "she boss." Just a great  name!

  Unfortunately, after two misturns and lots of backtracking to the cemetery, Jim and I did not find Mary's tombstone. We are not giving up yet.  I plan to contact the cemetery committee to see whether they know where she is buried.  If they do, Mary might get a new headstone.
   Another question. Why are William and Mary not buried in the same cemetery? Jim and I can only speculate. One question answered and more that may never be answered.

My side today

This afternoon we went in search of the Renfro Cemetery located off the Culleoka Highway in Culleoka. Since my dad was in possession of the gate key to the property, he served as our tour guide even though he didn't drive. My cousin, Lea Ann, and hubby Jim joined our outing. We could only drive so far before hiking a short distance.  The day was beautiful, and the ticks were not in abundance.

The cemetery is located on top of a wooded hilltop near a huge tree.  Several old marked tombstones as well as numerous field stones dot the ground. Most of the tombstones date back to the early 1800's.  I didn't locate the names of my Renfros, but I am sure they are buried there.

Stella rides again

The cards were stacked against us when we started climbing Jim's family tree. No one in his family recorded any family information. With both of his parents deceased, our prospects looked bleak, but with some help from Judy, a family friend, we have made a lot of headway.
We have acquired a few old photos with no names written on the back, but we are narrowing down the possibilities. The picture below is a picture of Jim's mother riding a mule in the 1930's. She was already married at the time of the picture and living in  Totty's Bend in Hickman County.