Tombstone Tuesday - Augustus Swain Norris

 

picture taken September 9, 2022

Augustus Swain "A. S." Norris

b 23 Apr 1873 in Johnson County, Georgia, USA

d 30 Nov 1945 in Dublin, Laurens, Georgia, USA

laid to rest at

Gumlog Primitive Baptist Church Cemetery

Kite, Johnson County, Georgia, USA

Son of

Swain Madison Norris (1850-1918)

and Susan Isabella Tapley (1852-1928)

A.S. was my 2nd cousin, 2x removed.  

Our common ancestors are 

Canneth Swain and Sarah Tapley

buried beside A.S. is his wife,

 Sarah Lavonia Garrette Norris

b 04 Feb 1873, Georgia, USA

d 22 Apr 1944, Johnson County, Georgia, USA

Military Monday - Jack L Ray (1919-2010)

  Military Monday posts are made to honor those in my family tree who have served in the United States military.

Jack Lowery 'Larry' Ray

U.S. Army Air Corps, World War II

August 5, 1942 - aft. September 7, 1944

Published in the
The Dadeville Record
Dadeville, Alabama
Thursday, January 13, 1944, Page 1
Image courtesy of Newspapers.com

"S/SGT. JACK L. RAY

S/Sgt. Jack L. Ray and his two-year-old daughter, Julia, the photograph being made up his visit home last July, first visit during eleven months service.

His training days date from August 5, 1942, when he took boot training in the U. S. Army Air Corps at Miami Beach, Fla., then on to Madison, Wis., Roswell, New Mexico, and is now stationed at Midland, Texas, with the Third Commanding Squadron as chief control tower and radio operator.

His wife, the former Miss Ruby Florence Tapley, resides at Alexander City, an employee of Comer Mills.

S/Sgt. Ray writes: "I receive the Dadeville Record regularly and enjoy every line of it. Be sure to keep it coming. I enjoy the boy’s letters and read lots of them from some of my schoolmates with whom I would be out of touch if it were not for Boy’s column. I would like to see all my friends and especially Dowdle Willis. Please pass my address on: Serv. Det. 5th Ferrying Gp., Midland Air Port No. 2, Midland, Texas." Transcription by ChatGPT.

  Larry is the ex-husband of my 5th cousin, 1x removed, Ruby Florence Tapley (1923-2014). Our common ancestors are Joel Tapley and Mary Avent.

Postscript:  I don't know if Jack legally changed his middle name of Lowery to Larry, or if he just adopted the nickname Larry, but he used it after his military service and for the rest of his life.  Also, I don't know the exact date he left the military.  I used the date above because I found a news blurb published from that day, stating he was a radio operator in Midland, Texas. So I know he was still in the military at that date and time.

Sunday's Obituary - Joann Bellflower(s) Edge (1933-1993)

 

Published in
The Macon Telegraph
Macon, Georgia, USA
Thursday, May 27, 1993, Page 9

"Joann Bellflower Edge

BLOOMINGDALE — Joann Bellflower Edge, 59, of 8 Poplar St., died Wednesday in a Pooler nursing home after an extended illness. Born in Treutlen County, he [sic] lived in Bloomingdale since 1952. Survivors: husband, Floyd Edge; sons, Ronald K. Edge of Statesboro and Randall C. Edge and Mark W. Edge, both of Savannah; parents, Mr. and Mrs. C. A. Bellflower Sr. of Vidalia; sister and brother, Alberta Hutcheson of Garden City and C. A. Bellflower Jr. of Mount Vernon; and five grandchildren.

Services: 3 p.m. Friday in Sammons Funeral Home, Soperton. Burial: Harmony Baptist Church Cemetery near Soperton. The Rev. Kenneth Wren will officiate. Visitation: The family will receive friends tonight in the funeral home."  Transcription courtesy of ChatGPT.

Joann Bellflower(s) Edge

 b 10 Nov 1933 in Treutlen County, Georgia, USA

d 26 May 1993 in Pooler, Chatham, Georgia, USA

Joann was my 3rd cousin, 1x removed.  

 Our common ancestors are 

Canneth Swain and Sarah Tapley 

Surname Saturday - Barwick

Today, I asked ChatGPT, "Can you share the origins of the surname "Barwick" in the southeast of the United States, including Georgia?"

  It did not disappoint.  

"The surname "Barwick" in the southeastern United States, including Georgia, traces its origins to the early settlers William B. Barwick Sr. [should be Jr] (1755–1807) and his wife, Elizabeth Phillips (1760–1820). Originally from North Carolina, they relocated to the Cheraw District (later Darlington County), South Carolina, around 1785. William Sr. [should be Jr]  was a Revolutionary War soldier, serving in the Dobbs County, NC Militia during the late 1770s and early 1780s. ​Find a Grave, Freepages

The couple had fifteen children, nine of whom were sons who carried on the Barwick name. Following Elizabeth's death in 1820, disputes over the family estate led several of their sons to migrate southward:​

• William B. Barwick Jr. (1795–1855): He moved to Thomas County, Georgia, where he became one of the first settlers in the area now known as Barwick, Georgia. The town was named in honor of the Barwick family. ​Find a Grave

• Nathan, Benjamin, and Redden Barwick: These brothers also relocated to South Georgia, contributing to the spread of the Barwick surname in the region. ​

The town of Barwick, Georgia, established in the early 1890s with the extension of the railroad, is divided by the county line between Brooks and Thomas Counties, and it was named after R.H. Barwick, a Primitive Baptist leader, further cementing the Barwick legacy in the area. ​Wikipedia

Today, many individuals bearing the Barwick surname in Georgia and Florida can trace their ancestry back to these early settlers, reflecting a rich family history intertwined with the development of the southeastern United States."

  My further research this afternoon indicates that this information is true and (mostly) correct. 

  In following the sources that ChatGPT used, I found the Surname DB (The Internet Surname Database) which gives some information on the origins of the name Barwick.  According to the site, the name Barwick is an English locational name from Barwick in Norfolk and Somerset. Its place name variations include: Bereuuica (Norfolk), "Berewyk" (Somerset), Berrick, Berwick, and Borwick. All of these derive from the Olde English pre-7th century "berewic," a corn farm, composed of "bere," barley, corn, and "wic," an outlying farm; as in "granary lying some distance away from the main village." Names based on location were originally given as a means of identification to those who left their village or place of origin to settle elsewhere.  Barwick is first recorded in the 13th century. Of course, surnames became necessary when governments introduced personal taxation. In England, this was known as the Poll Tax.  Surnames have continued to "develop" over the centuries, often leading to surprising variants of the original spelling.  

  William B. Barwick Jr.'s son, Nathan Barwick (1782-1868), moved to Emanuel County shortly after marrying his wife, Elizabeth Whiddon (1782-1880), in 1810.  Their son, William Whiddon Barwick (1819-1869) married my 4th grand-aunt, Winnford 'Winny' Odom (1821-1864). 

  Through  the years, the Barwicks have inter-married with Drakes, Keas, Odoms, Tapleys, etc. several times, so I have LOTS of cousins on this line!  Barwick is the 13th most popular surname in my tree with 215 individuals.  The earliest date for a Barwick in my tree is 1731 and the latest date is 1961.

Logo of the City of Barwick
courtesy of 
cityofbarwick.org

Friday Faces from the Past - Joy Lampp

 

Joy Lampp Raborn (1946-2014)

daughter of Leon Faron Lampp Sr (1929-1996)

and

Brunis Harrell (1925-2016)

Joy was my Half 1st cousin, 1x removed. Our common ancestor is Lusion Keman "Loosh" Tapley:

Thursday Tears - There is no love like the love of a cat

  Mom lost her 17 year old cat, Yarko, this morning.  He had been steadily going downhill for the last 3 months or so.  These last two weeks, he stopped eating much, could hardly walk, and would hide almost all day and night.  We took him to the vet this morning, and the vet felt a lump in Yarko's abdomen.  Cancer.  He was about 84 years old in human years.  Mom and I didn't want him to hurt anymore, so we told him goodbye.  

  Pets are part of the family.  They are part of our family stories. I cannot remember a time in my life when I didn't have a cat. I come from a long line of cat lovers on my mother's side of the family.

My great-grandmother,
Bessie Alice Carter Ranney (1883-1960)
with Jerry the cat

My grandmother,
Ethel Irene Ranney Tapley (1913-1973)
with Muffin

  

(I know I have pictures of Mom with Yarko, but I cannot find them right now!)

 

Here I am with Gracie, 
one of the many cats I've had over the years.

  Mom and I went to the shelter here in Augusta in June 2009.  The cats were kept all together in one large room.  Potential adopters went in and picked out which one(s) they wanted. Mom picked out Spiro and Yarko that day (well, actually they picked us). So she's had Yarko by her side for almost 16 years.

  The employees of the shelter actually laughed when we told them we chose Yarko.  We soon learned why.  As an orange cat, he was a wild man.  He was hard-headed, determined to have things his way, a screamer when he was wanting to be fed, and he did not like other cats.  (We only discovered this after  Spiro passed!)  Yarko liked to be the only one; the center of attention.  When Mom later adopted Charlie, Yarko was not having it, and they never bonded.  When I moved in, Yarko had FOUR more cats to deal with.  He was not happy.  He demonstrated his displeasure in various ways every chance he got.  He would slap any cat that got too close.

  Yarko could also be sweet and loving.  I mean, he was a cat, and everything I described also describes most all other cats.  

  Through it all, he loved my mom.  He loved his "sister" - me.  So today was a tough day.  We like to imagine that he is running around and play fighting with Spiro over the Rainbow Bridge this evening.

Yarko
2007-2025

Wedding Wednesday - Morton Larson & Marjorie Stewart

 Majorie Faye Stewart (1922-2000)

and

Morton Laurice "Mort" Larson (1919-1980)

on their wedding day

June 7, 1939

Crystal Lake, Hancock, Iowa, USA

  Transcription courtesy of ChatGPT:

Miss Marjorie Stewart Weds Morton Larson

Crystal Lake Church Scene of Marriage; Pair Leave on Trip

CRYSTAL LAKE—The Methodist church at Crystal Lake was the scene of a candle light wedding when Marjorie Stewart, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Clifford Stewart, became the bride of Morton Larson, son of Mr. and Mrs. Laurice Larson, with the vows being read by the Rev. Miriam Hotchkiss Wednesday.

The bridegroom’s brother-in-law, Ralph Shumann of Union Grove, Wis., played “Blossom Time” as a prelude, Murial Shumann, niece of the bridegroom, and Betty Volding, cousin of the bride, sang “I Love You Truly.” Mr. Shumann played “The Bridal Chorus” from “Lohengrin.”

The bride wore a white silk embroidered mull floor length gown over taffeta, and a veil of white net fingertip length with Juliet cap with seed pearl trim. She wore a seed pearl necklace and carried pink and white roses and baby breath bouquet. Miss Margaret McFarland, aunt of the bride, acted as maid of honor. Miss Ellen Rose, cousin of the bride was the bridesmaid.

The flower girls were Betty Volding and Muriel Shumann. Lyle Shipler and Theodore Volding, cousin of the bride, attended the bridegroom. The ushers were Eugene McFarland and Russell Sorenson.

Dinner was served by the bride’s parents in the church dining room to the wedding party and the immediate families. Mrs. Larson was graduated from the Crystal Lake high school. Mr. Larson also attended Crystal Lake high school and has been engaged in farming with his father. Immediately after the wedding dinner they left on a wedding trip to Wisconsin. They will make their home on one of his father’s farms about four miles southwest of Crystal Lake.

   Marjorie and Mort had 2 children together.  Unfortunately, they were divorced before December 1946, when Mort remarried.  Marjorie also remarried shortly after the divorce. 

  Mort was my 4th cousin, 1x removed.  Our common ancestors are Abraham Ozmun (1764-1848) and Sarah Jordan Ozmun (1762-1812).

These types of news articles offer lots of information for the family tree.  They can provide the bride's maiden name; the names of the parents of the couple and where they are from; the address of the both the bride's and groom's parents; how the couple met; where they each attended school; where the groom and bride were employed; where they plan to live after the wedding, and whether the groom may have served in the military.  Because of the great information they provide, I save all engagement, wedding, and marriage announcements I find.