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.