Monday, December 27, 2021

Aunts, Uncles, and Cousins

 While catching up on some emails over the Christmas holiday, I came across one about a blog post called "Aunts, Uncles and Cousins" on the Family History across the seas blog by Australian Pauline Cass a/k/a cassmob. It inspired me to write this post.  You can check out her post here: https://cassmobfamilyhistory.com/2021/08/01/aunts-uncles-and-cousins/.  (Yes this post was written August 1.  I did say I was "catching up" on emails!)

My father had two sisters and eight brothers.  My mother had one of each.  So I have/had plenty of aunts, uncles, AND cousins.  Let me explain that I am about 20 years younger than my first cousins.  My father was 38 when I was born, and he was the youngest of all of those siblings, so I was baby cousin, Mary Elizabeth.  Unfortunately I have lost most of my first cousins, but with genealogy and Facebook, I have connected with some of their children, and I love it!  There are not many left of my immediate family.  So I am blessed to be able to connect with any family, even 3rd, 4th, and 7th cousins!

Some background here on my father's family.  His parents were Lusion and Nealie (Drake) Tapley.  Lusion was 25 years older than Nealie.  He had been married twice before, and both wives had passed away either in childbirth or from complications of childbirth.  He had one daughter with his first wife, three surviving sons with his 2nd wife, and five boys and one girl with Nealie.  The boys from his 2nd marriage were 10, 7, and 5 when my grandparents married.  So Grandma Nealie raised them.  

My father's oldest sister was Annie Jane.  Her mother died when Annie was only 2 months old.  Back then, the men had to go to work, so Annie was raised by my Grandfather Lusion's parents, Jim and Becky Tapley.  I guess because of that, she never seemed part of Lusion's family.  My father talked about going to visit her, but I think that was more to visit with her husband and his family than it was to see her.  They just weren't close.  She passed away in 1960, so I never met her.  


This is a picture of my grandmother, Nealie Drake Tapley, standing right in the middle (with the hat) of all of her children, even the three that were not biologically hers.  They were her sons in her mind and heart, I am sure. This picture was probably taken in the 1960s.  (As you can see, I colorized this picture at MyHeritage, and that will be very helpful in identifying folks.)

First row, on the left in the white shirt and regular tie, is my Uncle James.  Everyone else called him "Fella."  He was the oldest of the three boys my grandma Nealie raised.  Uncle James and his wife, Aunt Reida Mae, would give you the shirt off their backs.  They lived in Macon and would invite in and feed anyone who arrived at their house.  I can remember being at their house and eating Sunday dinner with them a few times.  I can also remember playing in the front yard while the adults sat on the front porch and talked all afternoon.  Uncle James and Aunt Reida Mae never had children.  I was only 7 years old when Uncle James passed away.  As a matter of fact, he and his two brothers all passed away in a 7 month period between 1973-74.  

The gentleman on the far right of the first row with the white shirt and bow tie, is my Uncle Lamar.  He was the oldest of Grandma Nealie's children.  Because my father and him did not get along (I don't think Uncle Lamar got along with many folks.), I did not even meet Uncle Lamar until I was 6 years old.  I think that may be the only time I ever saw him, and he passed away when I was 18.  He and his wife, Anna Lois, lived in Jacksonville, Florida.  They had two children, Mary Anne and Buddy.  I only met Mary Anne once when I was a child as she lived in central Florida, but we have been in contact in the last few years.  Mary Anne is 80 years old and just had surgery due to a cancer diagnosis.  I wish her the best.  She is one of only two first cousins I have left.  I have become very good friends with her daughter, Sheri, on Facebook, and am also Facebook friends with her other daughter, Denise.  

My parents and I lived in Jacksonville for 4 years in the early 1970s.  Uncle Lamar's son, Buddy, lived just a few blocks from us.  (That is Buddy in the picture - kind of back row on the far left with the white shirt and a bow tie like his father!)  I worshipped Buddy.  He was fun and he didn't ignore me like some adults may have.  We hung out at his house a lot and did things with them.  He had a step-daughter, Rhonda, who was my age.  I loved playing with her!  Buddy has two sons, Steve and Russ (who goes by Thomas now).  I lost touch with the family when we moved back to Georgia, but as an adult, I finally got back in touch with Buddy and was able to visit him once before he passed away.  He was just as great as I remembered.  Rhonda and I have reunited, so to speak, on social media  I am in touch with Russ (Thomas) some.  I was never close to Steve, so we have had no contact since we became adults.  

Rhonda celebrated my 6th birthday with me!

The first person on the left in the 2nd row, is Charles.  He is also one the of the three Grandma Nealie raised.  

The tall gentlemen next to him is my Uncle Hugh.  Everyone else called him "Dorse."  See, he was named Dorsey Franklin at birth. He didn't like that for whatever reason, and he later changed his name to Hugh Dorsey.  He introduced himself as Hugh from then on.  But the family still called him by his nickname.  Uncle Hugh was my favorite uncle.  I was his favorite niece.  Sorry to all the others, but that's just how it was.  He was gruff and squeaked when he walked (in other words, he was stingy with his money!), but he was never that way with me.  Uncle Hugh was in a car accident long before I was born, and one leg was damaged so that he walked with a limp forever afterwards.  One of my early memories is telling someone that they would recognize Uncle Hugh by his limp.  And I proceeded to demonstrate it!  I'm sure my parents worried it would hurt his feelings, but Daddy told him anyway, and Uncle Hugh loved it!  He mentioned it many times over the years and would just laugh.  

Uncle Hugh was married to Thelma.  They went their separate ways and reunited too many times over the years to count.  They were a toxic combination.  They had five children:  Carolyn (who passed away as a baby), Ronnie, Gary, Beverly, and Denise.  Ronnie is another cool cousin that I worshipped.  While life gets in the way, we are still close, and I just talked to him on Christmas Day.   (That's him lurking in the very back of the picture.)  I was also close to his brother, Gary, at one time.  He loved to  hear about my genealogy discoveries.  However, since I moved to North Carolina, we had lost touch, and tragically he was killed in a house fire just six months ago.  I never knew Beverly very well.  Mom and Dad hired Denise to babysit me once, but she was a teenager and more interested in having her boyfriend over than watching me!  Both Beverly and Denise have passed away. 


Here I am with my favorite 1st cousins: Buddy (on the left) and Ronnie, 2009.

 The jaunty looking gentleman next to Uncle Hugh with the plaid shirt, hat, and shades was my Uncle Russ.  (I have written about him before, and you can read that post here:  Family Legend.)  He was the glue that held the family together.  He was everyone's favorite.  I remember both Uncle Hugh and my dad saying right before they each passed that they were ready to see Russ again.  His wife was Elizabeth.  I was named for her.  The sweetest, kindest soul there ever was.  We lived near her in Jacksonville, and I would get to see her all the time.  She took me to the beach.  We also lost touch after we moved back to Georgia, but I reconnected with her as an adult, and visited her every time I was in town.  I lost her, Uncle Hugh and my dad within two years' time.  Uncle Russ and Aunt Elizabeth never had children, but they were parents to almost every niece and nephew.  Ronnie and his siblings practically lived over there.  My brother broke his arm in their front yard.  I cannot stress enough how much the entire family loved and depended on Russ.


Aunt Elizabeth and me at Jacksonville Beach

On the other side of Russ, also in a hat, is my Uncle Champ.  (That's really his name!) He was the last of the three boys Grandma Nealie raised.  I remember visiting Uncle Champ as a child.  He lived right in Kite.  He was married to Pauline, and they had six children:  Hubert, Doris, Edna, Richard, Jackie, and Joann.  We didn't hang around them.  I remember Hubert, Edna, and Richard from when I was a child, and we would run into them around town or something.  I speak to Joann occasionally by phone.  When I was a teenager, I hung out with Richard's sons because they ended up going to my high school.  I have connected with Doris's girls and Hubert's daughter on Facebook.  Daddy always said that Uncle Champ looked the most like their father.  

Next to Buddy on the third row is my father, Gilbert.  He's the one wearing a jacket with his bow tie.  

Next to Daddy, is my Uncle Dempsey.  He's the one with the goofy smile on his face.  He wore that same smile a lot as I remember.  Uncle Dempsey lived with us for a while while I was child, so we were especially close.  Uncle Dempsey was another one who would give you the shirt off his back.  He was very soft  hearted and kind.  I never saw him angry.  However, he could spin some tales!  Let's just say... if he told you it was raining, you had better go look outside!  Uncle Dempsey was married to Blanche and they had two children, Jearl and David.  Let's just say Blanche was not a good person, and she taught her children her ways.  Once Uncle Dempsey and Blanche divorced, their kids really did not have much to do with the Tapleys.  I was never close to either one of them.  They would visit occasionally when I was young, but that was it.  I do not have contact with their children.

On the other side of Grandma Nealie, is her only girl, Aunt Irene.  She lived in Macon near my Uncle James.  We visited her sometimes.  Aunt Irene was stand-offish so we were never close.  I think there was some falling out with some of the brothers, including my father, about Grandma Nealie's sewing machine after she died.  Perhaps she standoffish because of that.  Aunt Irene was married to Bart, and they divorced before I was even born, I think, but the rest of the family remained close to him so I remember him being around often.  I absolutely loved my Uncle Bart, and I still kept in touch with him as an adult.  Aunt Irene then married Alton, and he was very nice.  She had one daughter, Betty Jean.  I knew Betty Jean when I saw her, that's it.  I was a child and she was busy living her life.


Here's my Aunt Irene and Uncle Alton, circa 1980s.

My mother has one sister, Evelyn, and one brother, Bob.  

Aunt Evelyn is the only aunt I have left.  I have only met her once in my life because she has always lived on the west coast, first California and then Arizona.  Mom and I went and visited her more than 10 years ago.  We have become very close since then.  We talk on the phone often.  She is over 80 now and her memory is failing.  But she never forgets who I am or that she loves me!  I never knew the father of her children, Norm.  They had three children, Drina, Rick, and Linda Lee (Kim).  I did know Aunt Evelyn's last husband, Ted.  He was a wonderful, Christian man with a beautiful smile.  Now that he's gone, Rick lives with Aunt Evelyn and is her caretaker.  I've only spoken with Rick on the phone, and that's usually just long enough ask how he is and can I speak to my aunt.  I have become very close (long distance) with Drina.  She lives in Oregon, and we message or email when we can.  I have never spoken to Kim.   

Aunt Evelyn (on the left) and my mom, 2009

Lastly, there is my Uncle Bob.  Listen, it is no secret that my family is and was dysfunctional.  I probably saw my Uncle Bob one time after I was 6 years old.  My father saw to it that the relationship between my mom and her brother was severed, due to his own insecurities and need to control the people around him.  I am sure my mom never saw her brother again after their parents died.  Uncle Bob passed away in 1999, I just took my mom this past June to visit his grave near Atlanta.  Uncle Bob was married to Louise, and I remember her being very sweet.  Uncle Bob had two sons, Robert Jr and David.  I made contact with Robert Jr once, many years ago, but then he just disappeared.  I wouldn't know either one of them if they showed up at my door.

I was blessed with many uncles, aunts, and cousins.  Through my genealogy journey, I have added many cousins to my life, and I am thankful for each and every one.  If you have a cousin you haven't connected with in awhile, give them a call or send them a message.  Cousins are the best kind of friends.  

Saturday, November 13, 2021

A Time Line for Emma Vermell Harrell Drake (1867-1935)

 Hello, genealogy friends.  I have been away for quite awhile.  It's been a tough year.  Right now, I am recovering from COVID.  I have been sick for 3 weeks and just realized yesterday that I am finally getting better!  So I have been able to spend some time on a favorite activity that had fallen by the wayside - genealogy!  I have been following Ancestry.com hints like crazy for a couple of days, while trying to catch up on my emails and messages.  I also peeked in at what Family Search sends me about my family tree, and I love their Time Lines!  I like being able to see the main events in an ancestor's life all in a line.  It makes it seem more real somehow.  

Now my last post from April was about my great-grandmother, Emma Vermell Harrell Drake (1867-1935).  I basically told what I know about her in a running commentary or story.  However, now Family Search has sent me a time line for her life, and I think seeing it in this format helps my story - makes it easier to take in.  So I'm going to share it here (with many corrections and tweaks!).  

Our connection:

Liz (that's me!)

↓↓↓

Gilbert Earl Tapley, 1928-2008 (my father)

↓↓↓

Nealie Vermell Drake Tapley, 1895-1970 (my grandmother)

↓↓↓ 

Emma Vermell Harrell Drake, 1867-1935 (my great-grandmother)


Time Line for the life of Emma Vermell Harrell Drake: 

1867

Age 0

 

Birth

September 4

Emanuel County, Georgia, USA

1875

Age 8

Death of a Parent

September 11

Her mother, Catharine M Odom Harrell (1841-1875) passed away at age 34, leaving 4 children, ages 15, 8, 5, and 3.

 

1878

Age 10

Remarriage of a Parent

January 1

Her father, William Robert Harrell (1838-1908) remarried in Emanuel County to Winford Barwick (1853-1939).  They went on to have 2 children (sons) together.

 

1883

Age 15

Marriage

July 30

Emma married William John Drake (1857-1927).  He was 25 years old with a 2-year-old daughter. 

 

1884

Age 17

Birth of 1st Child

A girl, Hattie Lay Drake, was born September 10.

 

1886

Age 18

Birth of Child

Another girl, Kenneth Catherine Drake, was born April 3.

 

1890

Age 22

 

 

Historical Event

Woman’s Suffrage.  An organization formed in favor of women’s suffrages. By combining two organizations, membership eventually increased to 2 million people.  This voluntary organization held a major role in passing the Nineteenth Amendment.

 

1892

Age 24

Birth of Child

A boy!  William Lovick Drake was born October 2nd.  

 

1893

Age 25

 

 

Historical Event

The Last Public Hanging in Georgia. The last public hanging in Georgia was on September 28, 1893. The General Assembly prohibited public executions in December 1893. Prior to this law, Georgians commonly traveled to witness scheduled public executions.

 

1895

Age 27

 

Birth of Child

Nealie Vermell Drake was born on January 29.

 

1897

Age 29

 

Birth of Child

William Robert Drake was born on January 22.

 

1900

Age 32

Historical Event

Trading Wildlife.  This law prohibits trade in wildlife, fish, and plants that have been taken, possessed, transported, or sold illegally.

 

1900

Age 32

 

Birth of Child

James Weldon Drake was born February 17.

 

1903

Age 35

Birth of Child

Keland Lawton Drake was born July 12.

 

 

1906

Age 38

 

Birth of Child

On March 20, Nancy Mary Ann Drake was born.

 

1906

Age 39

Historical Event

The Atlanta Race Riot.  The Atlanta Race Riot of 1906 occurred on the evening of September 22-24. A newspaper reported the rapes of four white women by African American men. Fueled by preexisting racial tensions, these reports enraged white men who then arranged gangs to attack African American men. Over the next several days, several thousand white men joined in and in the end, 26 people were killed and many were injured.

 

1908

Age 40

Birth of last child

On March 11, Martha Lou Drake was born.

 

 

1908

Age 40

 

Death of a Parent

Emma’s father, William Robert Harrell, passed away on April 10 in Emanuel County, Georgia.

 

1910

Age 42

 

Historical Event

The Mann Act.  This Act makes engaging in transport of any woman for any immoral purpose, prostitution, illegal.  Its primary intent was to address prostitution, immorality, and human trafficking, particularly where trafficking was for the purposes of prostitution. 

 

1910

Age 42

 

Residence

Emanuel County, Georgia, USA

1912

Age 44

Death of a Child

Emma’s oldest child, Hattie Lay Drake, died of typhoid fever on July 25.

 

1912

Age 45

Death of a Child

Emma’s first born son, William Lovick Drake, died on December 17 at age 20 of typhoid fever.

 

1920

Age 52

Residence

Emanuel County, Georgia, USA

 

 

1922

Age 54

Historical Event

Women Granted the Right to Vote. The 19th Amendment, which allowed women the right to vote, was passed and became federal law on August 26, 1920. Georgia law prevented women from voting until 1922. The amendment wasn’t officially ratified until 1970.

 

1927

Age 59

Death of a Child

William Robert Drake was murdered on June 19, 1927. 

 

1927

Age 59

Death of Spouse

William John Drake, Emma’s husband, was accidentally shot and killed by their son, James Weldon Drake, on August 9. 

 

1932

Age 65

 

Death of a Child

Nancy Mary Ann Drake passed away on December 10 in Montgomery, Alabama.  She was 25 years old.

 

1935

Age 67

Historical Event

The Social Security Act created a basic right to a pension in old age and insurance against unemployment.

 

1935

Age 68

Death

Emma passed away on October 19 in Sandersville, Washington County, Georgia, USA.

She was buried at Poplar Springs Methodist Church in Adrian, Johnson County, Georgia, USA like most of the Drakes.

 

 Unfortunately, I do not have any images of my 2nd great-grandmother.  I will share a picture of her headstone, which I believe says all it needs about her faith and where she got her strength.


Sunday, April 11, 2021

52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks: 2021 (Week 14): Great

 Amy Johnson Crow from Generations Cafe is again hosting the blog writing prompt this year called 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks: 2021.  I'm going to try to participate more fully this year.  I like that she gives us "permission" to interpret the prompt however we wish and share it however we wish.  It doesn't have to be a blog post; it could be a family video, a letter to a child or grandchild, an e-mail, etc.  

The Theme for Week 14 (Apr 5 - Apr 11) is Great.

My GREAT grandmother, Emma Vermell Harrell Drake (1867-1935), was my paternal grandmother's, Nealie Drake Tapley (1895-1970), mother.  I know almost nothing about Emma.  If I could meet her, I would have so many questions.  

Emma was born September 4, 1867 in Emanuel County, Georgia to William Robert Harrell (1838-1908) and Catherine M Odom Harrell (1841-1875).  Robert was born in South Carolina, as was his father before him.  Catherine's family, on both of her parents' sides, had been residents of Emanuel County since at least the late 1700s.  

Emma was one of three children born to Robert and Catherine.  She was the oldest.  Her sister, Nancy Jane (1869-1901), was 2 years younger, and her brother, John Milledge (1872-1951) was 5 years younger. 

Emma also had an older "half" brother.  Roan Perry Riner (1860-1941) was Catherine's child from her first marriage to Lawson Riner (1837-1863).  Lawson died in the Civil War.    

In 1875, tragedy struck the family.  Emma's mother passed away just 13 days after Emma's 8th birthday.  Catherine was only 34 years old.  Her obituary states that in her last moments, she turned "her attention to her four small children, [and] said many things to them." I cannot imagine how heartbreaking and confusing this would have been for the children.  

So Robert was left with three small children to raise.  In those days, the men had to go out and work to make a living to support their family.  So usually, in the case of a baby, another relative would take that child and raise it or the the man would remarry quickly.  Just a little over two years after Catherine's death, Robert remarried.  On January 1, 1878 in Emanuel County, he married Winford "Mimie" Barwick (1853-1939). Turns out that Catherine and Winford were 1st cousins.  Again, it wasn't that unusual for a widower to marry a member of his late wife's family, even her sister!

Robert and Winford had a baby boy in 1881, Robert Lanier Harrell (1881-1947).  Emma would have been 13 years old when this new baby brother was born.  As the oldest (and a girl), I am sure she had to help take care of all the other children.  In 1885, another brother was born named Grover Cleveland Harrell (1885-1928).  

Emma married William John Drake (1857-1927) on July 30, 1883.  She was 15 years old.  John had been married before (his wife had passed) and had a baby girl, Samantha Augusta Drake (1881-1966), who was only 2 1/2 years old at the time of their marriage.  Fifteen months after marrying, Emma gave birth to the first of their nine children:

Hattie Lay (1884-1912)

Kenneth Catherine (1886-1973)

William Lovick (1892-1912)

Nealie Vermell (1895-1970)

William Robert (1897-1927)

James Weldon (1900-1977)

Keland Lawton (1903-1972)

Nancy Mary Ann (1906-1931)

Martha Lou (1908-1986)

In my opinion, Emma had more than her share of tragedy during her life.  In addition to losing her mother so young, she lost two of her children, Hattie Lay and William Lovick, to typhoid fever within a few months of each other in 1912.  She experienced double tragedy again in 1927 when her son, William Robert, was murdered in June and her husband was accidentally shot and killed by their son, James Weldon, in August.  Then 4 1/2 years later, in 1931, her daughter, Nancy Mary Ann died at only 25 years of age.  (I do not know her cause of death.)  

In addition, her daughter, Kenneth Catherine, moved away to South Carolina, and I don't know how often Emma got to see her.

My grandmother, Nealie Vermell, "ran off" with a man twice her age with three children, and from what I can tell, Emma may have never seen her again.

Nealie's husband, Lusion K Tapley (1870-1935), passed away in July 1935.  Emma passed in October of that same year.  My father was shocked when I told him that because he said he had absolutely no memory of his mother attending Emma's funeral.  Of course, he was only age 7 at the time, so he may have just not remembered.  He also didn't remember ever meeting his grandmother.

However, I am led to believe that perhaps some of Daddy's older brothers may have met their grandmother because my first cousin, Gary, who is the son of Daddy's brother, Hugh "Dorsey" Tapley, told me that Emma was a little "off."  I am theorizing Gary got that from his father, but I don't know if Uncle Hugh witnessed it for himself or was just repeating what he had heard.  Either way, who could blame her if she was?  

I do not know that I have any pictures of Emma or her husband.  I do have  this picture that belonged to Grandma Nealie and is unidentified.  Could this be the Drake family?  


The little girl on the left looks very much like my Aunt Irene, who was Nealie's only daughter.  That makes me think the little girl in the photo was Nealie and this is a picture of her family.  If that's the case, the woman in the middle, dressed in black and holding the baby, would be Emma Vermell Harrell Drake, my great grandmother.  
 

Sunday, April 4, 2021

52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks: 2021 (Week 13): Music

 Amy Johnson Crow from Generations Cafe is again hosting the blog writing prompt this year called 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks: 2021.  I'm going to try to participate more fully this year.  I like that she gives us "permission" to interpret the prompt however we wish and share it however we wish.  It doesn't have to be a blog post; it could be a family video, a letter to a child or grandchild, an e-mail, etc.  

The Theme for Week 13 (Mar 29-Apr 4) is Music.  Yes, I skipped a couple of weeks/challenges.  Part of the beauty of this series is we can join in when we can.  

My family was not the ones who gathered around the piano and sang songs together.  There was no one in my immediate family trying to make it in the music business.  I mean music was a part of our lives.  I'm not sure there is anyone on this planet who could avoid music.  

I've told the story of my paternal grandmother, Nealie Drake Tapley, who played the organ at Powell's Chapel Church in Johnson County, Georgia, and how she would drive her horse and buggy more than 8 miles each way on Sunday mornings to play there.  

My mother plays the piano.  I took five years of lessons.  It was not my favorite thing, and I do not play very well today.  I've always said that my mother tricked me.  I told her I wanted to learn to play the guitar, and she told me I had to  start with the piano, to get the basics of playing music, so to speak.  I don't know if that was true or not, but I did the piano lessons and never got to guitar lessons!

My father was a country music fan.  He passed that along to me.  I grew up in the 1970s listening to Daddy's 8 track tapes of Hank Williams, Loretta Lynn and more.  I loved Charlie Rich, Charley Pride, Brenda Lee, and Tammy Wynette.  And of course I know every word to "Harper Valley PTA" by Jeannie C. Riley.  My father's favorite song was "Satin Sheets" by Jeanne Pruett.  

My mother also instilled the love of show tunes.  We had the album of the soundtrack of My Fair Lady, and I would belt out the song "Just You Wait (Henry Higgins)" on Saturday afternoons.  

As I got older (into my teen years), of course I discovered rock 'n roll.  I loved Chicago and Foreigner.  In the 1980s, I loved the big hair bands:  Bon Jovi, Whitesnake, and Poison.  

Nowadays, I still love country music.  But I also alternate between it, rock and pop music.  I think my tastes are quite eclectic.  (Though I do not enjoy opera.)  

During my ongoing search of relatives, I did come across a cousin who was an actual country musician in Nashville!  

Clayton Claxton (1944-2020) was my 4th cousin.  We are both descended from my 3rd great-grandparents, Zachariah William Claxton (1806-1895) and Lincelia Bush (1806-1872).  His obituary stated he had been a member of the Grand Ole Opry since 1999 and was a founding member of the band, Rode West.  


So I decided to do some research into his career.  I could not find much.  Here's what I did find on AirPlayDirect.com:

"Clayton Claxton, singer, songwriter, and entertainer, since he was 12 years old, loves to be in front of people. With his band, RODE WEST, they play stomp down Country music their own way, wherever they are called to play.  Impressionist, humorist, and songwriter, he has fronted shows for major Country stars for years.  Having his own #1 record in Australia and chart records in the USA, Clayton worked on the world famous GRAND OLE OPRY for 22 years.  The guys in the RODE WEST BAND have been with Clayton for over 20 years, one being his son, the lead guitar player. They do a family show that everyone can enjoy. They do some fifty's music, they do some old Cowboy harmony songs from yesteryear, and they bring the Grand Ole Opry to the stage with impersonations."

I particularly like this song:

He had an excellent, traditional voice. Here's another one that seemed to have been popular in Australia:


So this is my closest brush with an actual country music star, and I never even got to meet him!

Saturday, April 3, 2021

Saturday Night Genealogy Fun - Google Maps of Ancestral Homes

 From Randy (cousin discovery!!) over at Genea-Musings:

it's Saturday Night 
time for more Genealogy Fun!!!


Your mission, should you decide to accept it, is to:

(1)  Identify an ancestral home address (preferably one with a street address...) for one of your ancestral families.  (You DO know where they lived, don't you?  If not, consult the 1900-1940 U.S. Census Records or City Directories.)

(2)  Go to Google Maps (https://maps.google.com/) and enter the street address (and city/town if necessary - usually you can pick from a list) for your selected ancestral home.  

(3)  Look at the street map, the satellite map, and the street view.  Zoom in or out or manipulate the image as you wish.

(4)  Tell us all about it in your own blog post, in a comment to this post, or in a post on Facebook.  

(5)  Do you have maps and street view pictures for all of your known ancestral homes?

Here's mine:

I picked one of the homes where my great-grandparents lived at 313 S. Sierra Way, San Bernardino, California.  Luther Boardman Ranney lived here from about 1938-1943, when he passed away.  His wife, Bessie Carter Ranney, lived there with him and then moved to Redlands in 1944.  Their eldest daughter, Alice, lived there with them the entire time.  Their youngest daughter, Ethel (my grandmother) moved there with them in 1938, but she married my grandfather the following year and moved out.  

Here is the Map View:



Here is the Satellite View:



A zoomed in view of the house on the Satellite View shows that it now sits on a very busy 4 lane road:



The Street View shows the front of the house:


I am sure the house looks very different now than it did in 1938-1944!  I could have sworn my mother and I visited this location in 2010 when we visited, but the place we saw was an empty lot.  This is definitely not.  

I do not have Google Map images for any of  my ancestral homes.  I will now add the project to save the ones that I have the street address.  However, so many of my ancestors were farmers and lived out of town on a rural route.  It will be almost impossible to pinpoint those places.  

That was a lot of work (I couldn't remember how to do a screenshot!), but it was fun!  I looked at several locations in California before choosing this one, however, most are no longer there.  When I found one, it was neat!

Saturday, March 27, 2021

Saturday Night Genealogy Fun - "Who Was Your First Ancestor Born in...?"

 From Randy (cousin discovery!!) over at Genea-Musings:

it's Saturday Night 
time for more Genealogy Fun!!!


Your mission, should you decide to accept it, is to:

(1)  Lorine McGinnis Schulze asked in her blog post "Who Was Your First Canadian or American Born Ancestor?"

(2)  Let's broaden it a bit to "Who was your first ancestor born in Canada, America, or your chosen country, state, province, or county?" based on your known ancestry.

(3)  Tell us all about it in your own blog post, in a comment to this post, or in a post on Facebook.  

Here's mine:

None of my ancestors were from Canada.  Most were from various countries in Europe, but I haven't "jumped the pond" yet in my research.  So I'll be concentrating on various states in the United States.

- My first ancestor born in American and the state of Connecticut was my 9th great-grandmother, Mary Hubbard, born 16 Jan 1642 in Hartford, Connecticut.  She was the daughter of George Hubbard Sr and Elizabeth Watts Hubbard.

- The first of my ancestors born in Massachusetts was Stephen Snow, born before 1648, though I'm not sure exactly where in Massachusetts.  He was my 8th great-grandfather.  His parents were Nicholas Snow and Constance Hopkins Snow.  Constance came over as a teenager on the Mayflower in 1620 and Nicholas came over three years later on the Anne.

- The first of my ancestors born in New York was Jacob Isaac Osman, born 1732 in Suffolk County, New York.  He was my 5th great-grandfather.  He was the son of Isaac Osman and Mary Bayley Osman.

- Pennsylvania:  Peter Conrad Hesser was born 1760 in Germantown, Philadelphia County, Pennsylvania.  He was my 5th great-grandfather.  His parents were Johann Conrad Hesser and Anna Heizer Hesser.

- After a migration to the Western Reserve, my 4th great-grandfather, Luther Boardman Ranney, was the first of my ancestors born in Ohio.  He was born in Hudson, Summit County, Ohio on 28 Nov 1809.  He was the son of Comfort Ranney and Elizabeth Hubbard Ranney.


- Soon the Ranney family migrated again... to Michigan.  The first of my ancestors born there was also named Luther Boardman Ranney (grandson of the one mentioned above).  He was born 11 Mar 1870 in Chapin, Saginaw County, Michigan.  He was my great-grandfather.  He was the son of Comfort Ranney and Mary Margaret Hesser Ranney.


Now let's head south...

- Virginia was the landing place of most of my southern ancestors.  The first of my ancestors born there was Thomas Jordan II, born 07 July 1634 in Isle of Wight County.  Thomas was my 8th great-grandfather.  His parents are unknown.

- The first of my ancestors born in North Carolina was my 5th great-grandfather, Dempsey Goff.  He was born in 1758 somewhere in the state.  His parents are unknown.  
    
    (However, this information is unsourced so to be on the safe side, let me say that it is possible that my first ancestor born in North Carolina was actually Francis Bryant Drake.  He was born 16 Oct 1806 in Nash County.  He was my 3rd great-grandfather and the son of Richard Drake and Pherabah Bryant Drake.)

- My 3rd great-grandmother, Sarah Tapley, born in 1775, was the first of my ancestors born in South Carolina.  She was born on a stopover during the family's migration from North Carolina to Georgia.  She was the daughter of Newhampton Tapley.  Her mother's identity is unknown.

- Last but not least is my home state of Georgia.  Samuel Goff was born 1790 in Emanuel County, Georgia.  He was my 4th great-grandfather.  He was the son of Dempsey Goff and Catherine Herring Goff.  
    
    (Again, the Goff information is not well sourced, so it is possible that the first ancestor of mine born in Georgia was one of Sarah Tapley's twins.  George Washington Tapley (my 2nd great-grandfather) and James Marion Tapley were born 02 May 1814 in Emanuel County, Georgia.  Their father was Canneth Swain.)